Blue nevus is a benign melanocytic neoplasm and represents itself usually as a solitary blue or blue-black papule. It rarely occurs as multiple lesions grouped in a circumscribed area. How-ever, non-grouped disseminated blue nevi are exceedingly rare. We report a patient with acquired multiple blue nevi that was distributed over the entire body discretely and showed an increase in the number of the nevi without any causal factors.
Humans ; Nevus ; Nevus, Blue*

The trachea is a cartilagenous and membranous tubular midline structure with parallel walls. Tracheal deviation may be caused either by traction toward the diseased hemithorax or by compression toward the normal side. Unless an obvious mass is observed radiographically, occasionally it can be difficult to decide whether the trachea has been pushed or pulled from its normal position in the mediastinum. We studied the differences between tracheal deviation patterns in 23 patients with fibroatelectatic pulmonary tuberculosis and 35 patients with elongated and dilated aortas. In cases of retraction of the trachea by fibroatelectatic pulmonary tuberculosis, the diameter of the deviated segment was greater than that of the normal segment and deviation of the wall adjacent to the fibroatelectasis from its normal position was greater than that of the opposite wall. In cases of compression of the trachea by the elongated and dilated aorta, the diameter of the diviated segment was smaller than that of the normal segment and deviation of the wall adjacent to the aortic arch from its normal position was greater than that of the opposite wall. We conclude that these differences between tracheal deviation patterns are useful signs for discriminating retraction from compression. Thus when the trachea is retracted, the deviation of the juxtalesional wall is greater than that of the lesion-free wall, and vice versa.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Mediastinum ; Trachea* ; Traction* ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

PURPOSE: Testicular microlithiasis (TM) is an uncommon benign condition characterized by calcium deposits in the lumen of the seminiferous tubules. It may be associated with testicular malignancies and infertility. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of clinical charts and scrotal ultrasound findings of 18 patients who were found to have TM. Scrotal ultrasound scans were performed using 5- to 10-mHz high-resolution transducers. The indication for ultrasonography was an abnormal scrotal examination. RESULTS: The mean age at presentation was 39.9 years (range 14 to 70 years). Most (15; 83.3%) of the patients had bilateral TM. There were no differences in the sonographic patterns and appearance according to patient age. A third of the patients (7; 38.9%) had benign epididymal lesions. Two with bilateral TM had unilateral testicular malignancy. A varicocele was identified in two men, who demonstrated normal semen parameters. A 16-year-old boy showed no interval sonographic changes at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Testicular microlithiasis usually affects both testes. The association between TM and progres sion of cancer is unclear.
Adolescent ; Calcium ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infertility ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Semen ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis ; Transducers ; Ultrasonography ; Varicocele

Iliac vein compression syndrome is an uncommon process in which the right common iliac artery compresses the left common iliac vein, resulting in left iliofemoral deep vein thrombosis, severe leg edema and ulceration. We experienced a 55-year-old male patient with recurrent left leg ulcer for 15 years. Skin grafting had been done three times, but none of them healed the patient. Femoral venography showed a complete occlusion of the left common iliac vein. Palma-Dale bypass grafting procedure(crossover saphenous vein bypass grafting) and arteriovenous fistula formation was done. The leg ulcer healed two months after the operation.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Edema ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Iliac Vein* ; Leg Ulcer* ; Leg* ; Male ; May-Thurner Syndrome* ; Middle Aged ; Phlebography ; Saphenous Vein ; Skin Transplantation ; Transplants ; Ulcer ; Venous Thrombosis

Natural products have long been major sources of pharmaceutical products in medicine. We have undertaken a series of studies designed to characterize the pharmacologic profiles of natural products used to treat psychotic illnesses in Korean traditional medicine. In our previous screening assays, we found that three of plant extracts (Coptidis j, Citrus u, and Phellodendron a) contain active components which show relatively potent binding to alpha-2 adrenoceptors. The present study is to explore pharmacologic activities of extracts as agonism or antagonism by G-protein modulations in radioligand receptor binding study. We have found that two extracts(Coptidis j and Phellodendron a) contain active ingredients which have antagonistic properties to alpha-2 adrenoceptors, whereas one plant extract (Citrus u) has agonistic properties. The demonstration of three plant extracts used to treat psychotic illnesses in Korea may help in the elucidation or their pharmacologic characteristics and provide insights for the development of new psychotropic drugs.
Biological Products* ; Citrus ; Felodipine ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Medicine, Korean Traditional ; Medicine, Traditional ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Phellodendron ; Plant Extracts ; Plants ; Psychotropic Drugs ; Receptors, Adrenergic

PURPOSE: The incidence of renal tuberculosis has decreased considerably in recent years, but the disease still threatens public health. Childhood genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB) has been very rare. The aim of the study was to analyze the clinical aspects and characteristics of childhood GUTB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 145 cases of GUTB were diagnosed. We analyzed retrospectively the clinical manifestations of eight patients with GUTB younger than 15 years of age. RESULTS: The age of the patients, six boys and two girls, ranged from 5 to 14 years. Follow up period ranged from 12 to 145 months. Presenting features were diverse and included gross hematuria in five cases. Rarer presenting features included one case of epididymorchitis. All had had BCG vaccination at around 1 month old. Conclusive diagnosis was made on the basis of isolation of mycobacterium tuberculosis in five patients, whereas three patients were given a therapeutic trial based on clinical manifestations. The most common site of involvement was the kidney (7 cases). Temporary urinary diversional procedures were performed in two patients for relieving ureteral obstruction. Excisional surgery was needed in three patients, whereas one underwent ureteroneocystostomy for ureteric stricture. Response to antitubercular drug therapy was gratifying. No relapse was observed during follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood GUTB is rare, but may become serious. The importance of early diagnosis is emphasized, and aggressive treatment is needed in advanced childhood tuberculosis for preservation of renal function.
Child* ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Kidney ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Public Health ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Renal ; Ureter ; Ureteral Obstruction ; Urinary Diversion ; Vaccination

Cancer is the most frequent cause of death in both developing and developed countries, including Korea. The aim of this study was to present survival rates of Korean cancer patients. Survival analysis was carried out with data collected under the Korea Central Cancer Registry Program, which included all cancer patients diagnosed from January 1, 1997 to December 31, 1997. We have analyzed the effects of age at diagnosis and sex on cancer survival from the cancer registry data of 64,240 Korean patients diagnosed of cancer in 1997. The overall survival rate of all Korean cancer patients (both men and women) was 67% at 1 yr and 57% at 2 yr. The 1- and 2-yr survival rates for all cancers in men were 58% and 47%, respectively, while those in women were 77% and 69%, respectively. Men had a lower survival rate than women in most malignancies. The pancreatic cancer was shown the lowest 1-yr survival rate.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms/*mortality ; Survival Analysis ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: This study analyzed the characteristics of stable pelvic bone fractures with intra-abdominal solid organ injury. METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed from January 2000 to December 2009 of patients with stable pelvic bone fractures. A stable pelvic bone fracture according to Young's classification is defined as a lateral compression type I and antero-posterior compression type I. Subjects were divided into two groups, one with (injured group) and one without (non-injured group) intra-abdominal solid organ injury, to evaluate the dependences of the characteristics on the presence of an intra-abdominal solid organ injury. Data including demographics, mechanism of injury, initial hemodynamic status, laboratory results, Revised Trauma Score (RTS), Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), Injury Severity Score (ISS), amount of transfusion, admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and mortality were analyzed. RESULTS: The subjects were 128 patients with a mean age of 42 years old, of whom were 67 male patients (52.3%). The injured group had 21 patients(16.4%), and the most frequent injured solid organ was the liver. Traffic accident was the most common mechanism of injury and lateral compression was the most common type of fracture in all groups. Initial systolic blood pressure was lower in the injured group, and the ISS was greater in the injured group. Arterial pH was lower in the injured group, and shock within 24 hours after arrival at the emergency department was more frequent in the injured group. Transfused packed red blood cells within 24 hours were 8 patients(38.1%) in the injured group and 11 patients(10.3%) in the non-injured group. Conservative treatment was the most common therapeutic modality in all groups. Stay in the ICU was longer in the injured group, and three mortalities occurred. CONCLUSION: There is a need to decide on a diagnostic and therapeutic plan regarding the possibility of intra-abdominal solid organ injury for hemodynamically unstable patients with stable pelvic bone fractures and for patients with stable pelvic bone fractures along with multiple associated injuries.
Abbreviated Injury Scale ; Abdominal Injuries ; Accidents, Traffic ; Blood Pressure ; Demography ; Emergencies ; Erythrocytes ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Injury Severity Score ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pelvic Bones ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock

OBJECTIVE: This study was to investigate in vivo antidopaminergic activities of polygalasaponins which included in the roots of Polygalae tenuifolia, one of the natural plants prescribed to treat psychotic disorders in traditional medicine. METHODS: The chemical separations were conducted by chromatographies with various columns and the chemical structures were identified using spectroscopy, NMR and so on. The apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors and climbing behaviors in mice as animal models of psychotic disorders were applied to explore the antidopaminergic activity. RESULTS: The active compounds with antidopaminergic effects in the roots of Polygalae tenuifolia were identified as polygalasaponin A-D. The polygalasaponins showed to suppress the apomorphine-induced stereotyped behaviors and climbing behaviors in dose-related fashions. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that polygalasaponins might have antipsychotic activities. The natural products need to be explored extensively as sources of new medications in psychiatric fields. Further explorations for chemical and pharmacological properties of polygalasaponins are required.
Animals ; Apomorphine ; Biological Products ; Chromatography ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Medicine, Traditional ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; Polygala* ; Psychotic Disorders ; Stereotyped Behavior

BACKGROUND: IL-18 was originally cloned as a IFN-gamma inducing factor in primed T cells. In synergy with IL-12, IL-18 has been shown to induce strikingly high levels of IFN-gamma production by T cells and to enhance Th1 development. Also this cytokine exerts induction of Th2 development through IL-4 induction. METHODS: Resting CD4+ T cells were sorted by negative selection and activated by anti-CD3 plus anti-CD28 Ab. Expression of IL-12 binding sites, IL-18 binding sites, IL-18Ralpha, and GATA-3 mRNA were analysed by FACS and RT-PCR, respectively. RESULTS: Resting CD4+ T cells expressed IL-18Ralpha chain but not IL-18 binding sites, suggesting a lack of IL-18Rbeta expression. IL-18Ralpha was maintained on the Th1 and Th2 committed cells. IL-18 binding sites were induced on the Th1 but not Th2 cells. Exposure of these cells to IL-18 led to up-regulation of GATA-3 mRNA expression only in Th2 committed cells. To elucidate the relationship between IL-18Ralpha expression and GATA-3 induction by IL-18, Th1 and Th2 committed cells were further cultured in medium with or without IL-12 for 2 days. IL-12 binding sites were maintained on the Th1 and Th2 cells regardless of IL-12 treatment, but IL-18Ralpha expression was rapidly down-regulated on the IL- 12-untreated Th2 cells which did not induce GATA-3 mRNA expression followed by IL-18 stimulation. CONCLUSION: IL-12 supports expression of IL-18Ralpha and GATA-3 mRNA expression was induced by IL-18 through IL-18Ralpha without expression of IL-18 binding site in Th2 cells.
Binding Sites ; Clone Cells ; Interleukin-12* ; Interleukin-18 ; Interleukin-4 ; RNA, Messenger ; T-Lymphocytes ; Th2 Cells* ; Up-Regulation