No abstract available.
Induction Chemotherapy*

No abstract available.
Neck*

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) is often accompanied by Parkinson's disease (PD) and may predict the development of mild cognitive impairment or dementia, longitudinal brain perfusion changes in PD patients with SCI remain to be elucidated. The current prospective study examined cerebral perfusion changes in PD patients with SCI using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). METHODS: Among 53 PD patients at baseline, 30 patients were classified into the PD with SCI group and 23 patients were assigned to the PD without SCI group. The mean follow-up interval was 2.3±0.9 years. The Mini-Mental State Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating, and Global Deterioration Scale were used to assess impairments in cognitive function. Brain SPECT images were acquired at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: Significant differences between the two groups were not found for demographic variables, PD severity, or cognitive function at either baseline or follow-up. At baseline, the PD with SCI group showed decreased perfusion in the left angular gyrus compared to the PD without SCI group. Longitudinal analysis revealed widespread perfusion reductions primarily in the bilateral temporo-parieto-occipital areas and cerebellum in the PD with SCI group. Relative to the PD without SCI group, an excessive decrease of perfusion was found in the left middle frontal gyrus of the PD with SCI patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that perfusion deficits in the middle frontal area may play an important role in the pathophysiology of SCI in PD.
Brain ; Cerebellum ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders* ; Dementia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Parietal Lobe ; Parkinson Disease* ; Perfusion* ; Prospective Studies ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) treatment may have beneficial effects on Alzheimer's disease (AD), its underlying neural correlates remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate cerebral perfusion changes after ALC treatment in AD patients using technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). METHODS: A total of 18 patients with early AD were prospectively recruited and treated with ALC at 1.5 g/day for 1.4±0.3 years. At baseline and follow-up, brain SPECT, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) were used to assess participants. After ALC administration, changes in brain perfusion, severity of dementia, cognitive performance, and neuropsychiatric disturbances were examined. RESULTS: After ALC administration, changes in scores of MMSE, CDR, GDS, and NPI were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Voxel-wise whole-brain image analysis revealed that perfusion was significantly (p<0.001) increased in the right precuneus whereas perfusion was reduced in the left inferior temporal gyrus (p<0.001), the right middle frontal gyrus (p<0.001), and the right insular cortex (p=0.001) at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Although previous studies have suggested that AD patients generally demonstrate progressive deterioration in brain perfusion and clinical symptoms, this study reveals that the perfusion of the precuneus is increased in AD patients after ALC administration and their cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms are not aggravated. Further studies are warranted to determine the potential association between perfusion increase in the precuneus and clinical symptoms after ALC treatment in AD patients.
Acetylcarnitine* ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Brain ; Cerebral Cortex ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Parietal Lobe ; Perfusion* ; Prospective Studies ; Temporal Lobe ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

BACKGROUND: Primary gastric lymphoma is a rare neoplasm that represents 1~4% of all gastric malignancies. The optimal treatment of primary gastric lymphoma remains controversial. This study was designed to examine the prognostic significance of various clinicopathologic factors in patients with gastric lymphoma and to evaluate the role of surgery in the treatment of gastric lymphoma. METHODS: Retrospective study of 71 cases of primary gastric lymphoma which had been undergone laparotomy at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital from Jan. 1982 to Dec. 1996 was performed. The authors reviewed clinicopathologic factors of patients and evaluated their prognostic significance. RESULTS: 1) The mean age of the patients was 50 years, and the most prevalent ages occurred in the 6th & the 7th decade. The ratio of males to females was 1.3:1. 2) The presenting symptoms and signs on admission were epigastric abdominal pain & discomfort, weight loss, anorexia, indigestion, and abdominal mass in decreasing order of frequency. 3) The diagnostic accuracy of the gastrofiberscopic biopsies was 67.1% preoperatively. 4) The most common pathologic type was diffuse histiocytic type (57.1%) in Rappaport classification, and diffuse large cell type (47.1%) in NCI Working formulation classification. 5) The distribution of stages according to modified TNM classification was 47.9% stage I, 36.6% stage II, 11.3% stage III, and 4.2% stage IV. 6) Overall, a potentially curative resection was performed in 92.9% of the cases. Treatment modalities included surgery (S), chemotherapy (CT), and radiotherapy (RT) in the following proportions: 33.8% only S, 53.5% S CT, 11.3% S RT, and 1.4% S CT RT. 7) The overall 5-year survival rate was 78.9%. The 5-year survival rates according to stage were 94.1% in stage I, 80.4% in stage II, 30.0% in stage III and 0% in stage IV.
Abdominal Pain ; Anorexia ; Biopsy ; Classification ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspepsia ; Female ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Survival Rate ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although the treatment efficacy of memantine in Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) has been reported after several weeks of administration, the long-term effects on brain perfusion and clinical symptoms remain unclear. The current study aimed to follow-up PDD patients after 18 months of memantine treatment using (99m)Tc hexamethylpropylene amine oxime single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). METHODS: A total of 15 patients with PDD and 11 healthy participants were recruited into this study and they were assessed with brain SPECT, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Global Deterioration Scale (GDS), and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Differences in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) between the two groups were evaluated at baseline. After 18 months of memantine administration, changes in brain perfusion, severity of dementia, cognition, and neuropsychiatric disturbances were examined in the patients with PDD. RESULTS: The PDD group showed hypoperfusion in most of the cortical, subcortical, and cerebellar areas compared to healthy controls at baseline. At the follow-up, changes in rCBF, CDR (p=0.32), sum of box of CDR (p=0.49), MMSE (p=0.61), GDS (p=0.79), and NPI (p=0.23) were not significant in the PDD patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings implicate that memantine may delay the progression of brain perfusion deficits and clinical symptoms of PDD in the long term.
Brain ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Cognition ; Dementia* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Memantine* ; Parkinson Disease ; Perfusion* ; Prospective Studies* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon* ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a representative neurodegenerative disorder associated with memory disturbance. Recent research has shown that risk factors for cerebrovascular disorders are also causes of dementia. Of these risk factors, hyperhomocysteinemia is well known to be positively correlated with all types of dementias including AD. But it is not clear if there is a difference in the concentration of homocysteine according to subtypes of memory impairment of AD. We performed this study to explore the relationship between homocysteine and memory. METHODS: A total of 54 patients (male: 15 patients) to the dementia clinic at our hospital were recruited for this study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological tests including detailed memory function tests and brain magnetic resonance images. The plasma homocysteine level was measured routinely in all patients. RESULTS: Verbal and visual memories in AD were significantly associated with the concentration of plasma homocysteine. The plasma homocysteine level was significantly correlated with delayed recalls of verbal and visual memories and recognition of visual memory. However, there was no relationship between plasma homocysteine and working memory. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that plasma homocysteine level was related to the consolidation and retrieval stage of memory in AD. Therefore, we cautiously assumed that control of plasma homocysteine level could contribute to management for the prevention of cognitive impairment.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Brain ; Cerebrovascular Disorders ; Dementia ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Memory* ; Memory, Short-Term ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Plasma ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: Clinical diagnosis of multiple system atrophy (MSA) relays on signs and symptoms that are often difficult to identify particularly at early stage. Indeed neuropathological studies have demonstrated that Parkinson variant of MSA (MSA-P) is the first cause of misdiagnosis in a cohort of patients presenting with parkinsonian features. But accurate diagnosis of these disorders is important for deciding on treatment, appropriate advice and prognosis since atypical parkinsonian disorders are characterized by poor response to dopaminergic treatment and more rapid disease progression. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate difference of perfusion Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in patients with the early phase of MSA-P using SPM program. METHODS: We recruited consecutively 21 patients with MSA-P and 48 age-matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent Tc-99m HMPAO perfusion SPECT and this perfusion images were analyzed. RESULTS: For MSA-P, only hypoperfusion was seen in the middle frontal gyrus of left frontal lobe, superior frontal gyrus of right frontal lobe, precentral gyrus of left frontal lobe, middle frontal gyrus of right frontal lobe and precentral gyrus of right frontal lobe with respect to healthy subjects. CONCLUSIONS: We cautiously assume that perfusion SPECT may offer significant advantages compared to other imaging techniques in the assessment of neuronal degeneration in MSA-P and may help the clinician in the diagnostic characterization of patients presenting with atypical parkinsonism.
Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Disease Progression ; Frontal Lobe ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy* ; Neurons ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Perfusion* ; Prognosis ; Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Adult ; Bacterial Infections ; Bacterial Toxins ; Cell Proliferation ; Dermis ; Enterotoxins ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing ; Fibroblasts ; Gingiva ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Male ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Necrosis ; Phenotype ; Staphylococcus ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1

BACKGROUND: The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the expression of nNOS following ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat spinal cord. METHODS: Spraque-Dawley rats (250-300 gm) were classified into two groups according to experimental methods. Control group (n = 5) received sham operation. Ischemia in experimental group (n = 5) was induced by clamping the abdominal aorta just below the left renal artery and the abdominal aorta just above the aortic bifurcation for 20 minutes followed by 20 minutes reperfusion. The spinal cord was obtained 7 days after operation. The expression of nNOS was examined in gray and white matter with confocal microscope and Image Analyzer. RESULTS: There is no difference in nNOS expression of nNOS between gray and white matter in control group. Comparing to control group, experimental group showed higher levels of nNOS expression (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: nNOS expression increased in the rat spinal cord after ischemia/reperfusion injury. We suggest that overproduction of NO may play a role in progressive nerve cell damage.
Animals ; Aorta, Abdominal ; Constriction ; Ischemia ; Neurons* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I* ; Rats* ; Renal Artery ; Reperfusion ; Spinal Cord*