Calcifying aponeurotic fibroma (CAF) is an uncommon benign tumor and a locally aggressive fibroblastic lesion. It commonly affects the palmar side of the hand and fingers, and the soles of the feet. The typical clinical manifestations are known as a poorly circumscribed, slow-growing, and asymptomatic firm mass. Most CAFs usually reveal low to intermediate or isointensity on T1-weighted images, and strong heterogeneous enhancement. However, various signal intensities on T2-weighted images have been reported depending on the degree of hypocellularity or the amount of calcification or collagen within the tumor. This report provides the radiographic and MRI finding of CAF arising in uncommon site, the knee region, of a 19-year-old male who presented with a painful and palpable mass.
Collagen ; Fibroblasts ; Fibroma* ; Fingers ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Knee* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Male ; Young Adult

115 patients with lower ureteral stone for which intervention was considered have been treated by ureteroscopy (URS) or in situ extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). Of 57 patients treated by URS, successful evacuation of major part of the stone was achieved in 73.7% but 1 patient was required surgery for serious complications. In the ESWL group of 58 patients. stone free rate was recorded in 98.3% and there were no significant complications. We conclude that ESWL should be the primary method of intervention in patients with lower ureteral stone, in view of therapeutic effectiveness such as hospital stay, anesthetic risk, stone free rate and complications.
Humans ; Length of Stay ; Lithotripsy* ; Shock* ; Ureter* ; Ureteroscopy*

Intermediate-resolution HLA-DQ typing has gained importance in organ transplantation recently. We evaluated the performance of the LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 typing kit (Immucor, USA) using sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probe and Luminex platform (Luminex Corp., USA) on 100 samples tested by sequence-based typing (SBT) using the AlleleSEQR HLA-DQB1 kit (Abbott Molecular, USA) in Korean individuals. No sample showed ambiguity in the assignment of 4-digit HLA-DQB1 allele with the LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 SSO typing kit, and the results were fully concordant with those of high-resolution typing of AlleleSEQR HLA-DQB1 SBT up to 4-digit level. Three samples required adjustment of false reactions (3/100, 3.0%): two samples with DQB1*03:03/*06:01 showed false-positive result in probe 253, and 1 sample with DQB1*04:02/*05:02 showed false-negative result in probe 217. We tested an additional sample with DQB1*03:03/*06:01, which showed same false-positivity in probe 253 and 2 samples with DQB1*04:02/*05:02, which showed no false reaction. The false reactions did not result in ambiguity or change in the HLA allele assignment. We could assign HLA-DQB1 alleles to 4 digit-level without ambiguity, with 100% concordance with the SBT results. Thus, LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 SSO typing kit showed good performance for intermediate-resolution HLA-DQB1 typing in clinical laboratory for organ transplantation in Koreans.
Alleles ; DNA Primers/metabolism ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; HLA-DQ beta-Chains/*genetics/metabolism ; Histocompatibility Testing/*standards ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic/*standards ; Republic of Korea

Anti-Xga is a rarely occurring antibody, and only two cases with this antibody have been reported in Koreans. We describe here another example of anti-Xga which was detected in a 47-year-old male. The patient suffered from burn injury on the 20% of body surface area, acute renal failure, and ulcer bleeding. Unexpected antibody identification test demonstrated anti-Xga, which was reactive only by antiglobulin phase, and the reaction disappeared after the treatment with bromelin. The red cell phenotype of this patient was Xg(a-). Fourteen units of packed red blood cell were transfused without any adverse reactions. It has an important clinical concern in safe transfusion practice to determine the specificity and the clinical significance of blood group alloantibodies.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Body Surface Area ; Bromelains ; Burns ; Erythrocytes ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Isoantibodies ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ulcer

As dried blood spots (DBSs) have various advantages over conventional venous blood sampling, some assays for detection of one or two anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs in DBSs have been developed. However, there are no assays currently available for the simultaneous measurement of three or more anti-TB drugs in DBSs. In this study, we developed and evaluated a multiplex method for detecting nine anti-TB drugs including streptomycin, kanamycin, clarithromycin, cycloserine, moxifloxacin, levofloxacin, para-aminosalicylic acid, prothionamide, and linezolid in DBSs by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Seventy-nine patient samples of DBS were analyzed on the UPLC-MS/MS system. All drug concentrations were determined within 4 min, and assay performance was evaluated. All drugs were clearly separated without ion suppression. Within-run and between-run precisions were 1.7-13.0% and 5.7-17.0%, respectively, at concentrations representing low and high levels for the nine drugs. Lower limits of detection and quantification were 0.06-0.6 and 0.5-5.0 µg/mL, respectively. Linearity was acceptable at five level concentrations for each drug. Correlations between drug concentrations in plasma and DBSs by using Passing-Bablock regression and Pearson's rho (ρ, 0.798-0.989) were acceptable. In conclusion, we developed a multiplex assay to measure nine second-line anti-TB drugs in DBSs successfully. This assay provided convenient and rapid drug quantification and could have applications in drug monitoring during treatment.
Antitubercular Agents/*blood ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; *Dried Blood Spot Testing ; Humans ; Limit of Detection ; Reproducibility of Results ; *Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Advances in molecular biology have made it possible to understand the tumor biology of breast cancer at the molecular level and have revealed molecular targets for the therapy of breast cancer. Nowadays, targeting agents are used as mono-therapy or as combined therapy with other anti-cancer drugs for the treatment of breast cancer. Much more efforts is also being made in the development of better therapeutic agents targeting molecules having an important role in tumor biology. In this article, promising molecules for targeted therapy are reviewed for their roles in the pathophysiology and the treatment of breast cancer. We also introduce and summarize new preclinical agents, developed or on developing, with preliminary results from clinical trials. Given the progress currently being made, targeted therapy could become a main strategy for the treatment of breast cancer in the near future.
Biology ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Molecular Biology

PURPOSE: Chronic constipation is not uncommon even in children. Recently biofeedback treatment (BT) is considered as a useful modality in the treatment of various types of constipation. The aim of this study was to evaulate the effectiveness of BT in children with chronic constipation. METHODS: We reviewed 24 cases of childhood constipation (17 boys, 7 girls) who visited the Jinju Hakmoon colorectal surgery clinic and GNUH1 between April, 2001 and September, 2002. Balloon-mediated anorectal manometry system was used for BT. The effects of therapy was assessed by bowel movement, defecation time, fecal soiling and balloon evacuation test in the early course of therapy. The long term follow up survey was done by telephone interview at January 2003 and the effects of therapy was assessed by bowel movement, defecation time, fecal soiling and parents' satisfaction. RESULTS: Patients received the BT for the three times on average, and as the result of the therapy, 20 patients experienced disappearance of symptoms (87%) or at least improvement of symptoms. In terms of manometric values, the mean resting pressure was 113.4 mmHg before the BT, but decreased to 86.3 mmHg after the BT (P=0.0012). Mean pushing pressure dropped to 85.98 mmHg from 130.45 mmHg (P=<0.0001). Mean sensitivity decreased from 55 ml to 35 ml (P=0.0053). Mean compliance decreased from 20.28 H2O/cm to 4.21 H2O/cm (P=0.0015). 13 patients (76%) showed disappearance or improvement of symptoms in the long term follow up. CONCLUSIONS: The Balloon mediated biofeedback therapy is effective in children with chronic constipation. It is safe, easy to administer and also improve symptoms and objective parameters of anorectal function. Balloon mediated biofeedback therapy could be the first-line therapy in child patient with chronic constipation who failed conservative management.
Biofeedback, Psychology* ; Child* ; Colorectal Surgery ; Compliance ; Constipation* ; Defecation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Manometry ; Soil

Lymphocyte subset analysis is widely used in clinical laboratories, and more than two levels of daily QC materials are required for reliable results. Commercially available, expensive QC materials have short shelf lives and may not be suitable in resource-poor settings. We compared different methods for preparing homemade QC material, including fixation with 1%, 2%, or 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA); freezing with 10% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 0.1% bovine serum albumin-phosphate buffered saline, or after ethanolic dehydration; and using cryopreservation temperatures of -20℃, -80℃, or -196℃. We found an optimal experimental condition, which is 'fixation with 4% PFA, freezing with 10% DMSO, and storage at 80℃'. To evaluate long-term stability of QC materials prepared in this optimal condition, two levels of QC materials (QM1 and QM2) were thawed after 30, 33, 35, 37, 60, 62, 64, and 67 days of cryopreservation. Lymphocyte subset was analyzed with BD Multitest IMK kit (BD Biosciences, USA). QM1 and QM2 were stable after 1-2 months of cryopreservation (CV <3% for CD3, CD4, and CD8 and 5-7% for CD16/56 and CD19). We propose this method as an alternative cost-effective protocol for preparing homemade internal QC materials for lymphocyte subset analysis in resource-poor settings.
Cryopreservation ; Cryoprotective Agents/chemistry ; *Flow Cytometry/standards ; Lymphocyte Subsets/*cytology ; Quality Control ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Time Factors

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to measure circulating levels of nitric oxide metabolites (nitrites) in the uteroplacental, fetoplacental, and peripheral circulation in women with normal pregnancy and preeclampsia. METHODS: Two groups of pregnant women were included : 20 patients with preeclampsia and 18 normotensive women. At cesarean, blood samples were taken from the antecubital vein and uterine vein draining the placental site before delivery of the baby, and the umbilical vein after delivery of the baby. Plasma nitric oxide concentrations were determined with the Griess reaction by measuring combined oxidation products of nitric oxide, plasma nitrite and nitrate after reduction with nitrate reductase. RESULTS: Significantly higher serum nitrite concentrations were found in umbilical (46.53+/-22.01 vs. 17.51+/-7.43 M/L, p<0.05), uterine (51.78+/-14.19 vs. 21.23+/-11.6 M/L, p<0.05) and antecubital (66.41+/-20.87 vs. 21.26+/-9.54 M/L, p<0.05) venous plasma in the preeclamptic group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: We observe higher levels of nitirc oxide metabolites in the uteroplacental, fetoplacental, and peripheral circulation in women with preeclampsia than in normal pregnancy. These results support the hypothesis that increased nitric oxide production may be a compensatory response to improve blood flow and offset the pathologic effects of preeclampsia.
Female ; Humans ; Nitrate Reductase ; Nitric Oxide* ; Plasma* ; Pre-Eclampsia* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Umbilical Veins ; Veins

Macrodystrophia lipomatosa is a rare congenital disease characterized by and increase in all mesenchymal elements, particularly fibroadipose tissue. We experienced a case of surgically proven macrodystrophia lipomatosa of index finger in a 44-year-old male. MR imaging showed hypertrophy of fibroadipose tissue that characterizesthis condition.
Adult ; Fingers ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male