Ultrasonographic findings in 34 cases of primary hepatoma, and 18 cases of secondary hepatoma, which had been proved histopathologically or suspected clinically and ultrasonographically, were reviewed. The results were summarized as follows. 1. Among 52 cases, 40 cases were male and 12 cases were female. The male predominent than the female with the ratio of 4:1. In 52 cases, 40 cases (77%) of the patients were between 41 years and 60 years.2. The most common ultrasonographic finding of hepatoma was discrete homogeneous hyperechoic mass. 3. Primaryhepatomas were usually solitary and relatively large, while secondary hepatomas were usually multiple andrelatively small. 4. Hepatitis, liver cirrhsis, and clonorchiasis were more common in primary hepatomas than secondary hepatomas.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Clonorchiasis ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Liver ; Male

The platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been advocated as a way to introduce increased concentrations of growth factors and other bioactive molecules to injured tissues in an attempt to optimize the local healing environment. A 94-yr-old woman with various comorbidities presented with a two-week history of severe cutaneous ulcer on the left dorsum of foot. It was caused by recurrent mechanical trauma and did not respond to several wound debridement and simple dressings. However, after she was completed on seven times of autologous PRP treatments, we observed complete healing of the skin lesion within 3 months. Herein, we report a case of recalcitrant cutaneous ulcer with various comorbidities and discuss about the promising possibility of autologous PRP as an effective alternative therapeutic modality.
Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Humans ; *Platelet-Rich Plasma ; Skin Ulcer/complications/*therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Wound Healing

OBJECTIVE: The association of neurotrophic factors with the etiology of schizophrenia has been widely studied. Among them, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is known to promote the survival and differentiation of dopaminergic neurons. Considering dopamine hypothesis and neurodevelopmental theory, GDNF gene may be related with schizophrenia. In this study, we tried to clarify the association between schizophrenia and GDNF gene polymorphism. METHODS: Genotype and allele frequencies in the promoter and intron regions of GDNF gene were studied by using restriction fragment length polymorphism to compare 180 Korean schizophrenics with 105 Korean controls. RESULTS: We found significant differences between the schizophrenics and the controls in genotype and allele frequencies of BsaI polymorphism in the promoter region of GDNF gene (x2=18.208, df=2, p=0.0001/x2=11.264, df=1, p=0.0008). But no significant differences were found in intron region (p=0.06, p=0.984). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that polymorphism of GDNF gene might be related to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.
Dopamine ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor* ; Introns ; Nerve Growth Factors ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Schizophrenia

PURPOSE: To investigate the rate of lateral retinacular release and the contributing factors between the patellar resur- faced total knee arthroplasty(TKA) and patellar retained TKA. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From Jan. 2003 to Jan. 2006, 179 cases(90 patella retained, PR; 89 patellar resurfaced, PS) were enrolled in this study. To investigate the contributing factors on the lateral retinacular release along the patellar replacement, the preoperative and postoperative radiographic evaluation was done. Patellar height, congruence angle and medial displacement was measured with the Merchant view. Anterior-posterior knee distance was measured at a lateral film. The statistical significance between two groups was analyzed using the student's t-test. RESULTS: Lateral retinacular release was done in 59 of 179 cases. Thirty-six cases of PR group and 23 cases of PS group were undertaken. The rate of lateral retinacular release was higher in PR group(p<0.05). The difference between preoperative and postoperative patellar height at a Merchant was 2.5, 0.5mm reduction in PS and PR group respectively. PS group showed more medial displacement(mean 2.5mm) than PR group(mean 1.2mm)(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In PR group, higher rate of a lateral retinacular release was shown than PS group. Less reduction of patellar height and less medial displacement of patella might be related with the high rate of a lateral retinacular release in PR group.
Arthroplasty* ; Knee* ; Patella*

Adult ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Maxilla ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; Osteotomy ; Recurrence ; Surgery, Oral

0.05). Amnesia during local injection was observed in eight patients (34.8%). Compared with the preoperative anxiety score, the intraoperative anxiety score was decreased.CONCLUSION: In this study, we found cardiovascular and respiratory stability in intravenous sedation using dexmedetomidine with pethidine, in plate and screw removal, after orthognathic surgery. Furthemore, intravenous sedation using dexmedetomidine with pethidine shows adequate analgesic and sedative effects.]]>
Amnesia ; Anxiety ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Dexmedetomidine ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives ; Meperidine ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Oxygen

Inverted follicular keratosis is a benign, solitary skin lesion that is mainly diagnosed histologically, rather than clinically. The pathogenesis of inverted follicular keratosis has not been elucidated. It is still controversial as to whether the inverted follicular keratosis is a distinct hair follicle lesion, an old lesion of verruca vulgaris, or an irritated seborrheic keratosis. It is usually presented with a verrucous firm papule or nodular lesion clinically, and it commonly mimics other proliferative skin lesions, such as warts, cutaneous horn and basal cell carcinoma. However, inverted follicular keratosis with a pedunculated feature has been hardly found. Clinical morphology of the inverted follicular keratosismight be related with the site of tumor origin. Herein, we report two interesting cases of inverted follicular keratosis with a peculiar pedunculated feature.
Animals ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Hair Follicle ; Horns ; Keratosis ; Keratosis, Seborrheic ; Skin ; Warts

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia increase the risk of vascular disease, dementia and cognitive impairment. The effect of homocysteine on cognitive function may be as a consequence of direct neurotoxicity or indirectly through cerebrovascular disease. Thus we examined the association between homocysteine levels and cognitive function, and assess whether this may be mediated by cerebral white matter lesions. METHODS: Non-dementic participants were recruited from March to December 2005, and underwent brain MRI. White matter hyperintensities(WMH) were rated visually by 4-class WMH grades. Informations of age, gender, education and vascular risk factor were obtained from interview. Cognitive function were assessed by using K-MMSE and HDS-R. The cross-sectional relationship between homocysteine level and cognitive test score was assessed by multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: Severe WMH groups more exposed to vascular risk factor such as age, hypertension and higher levels of homocyteine. More severe WMH grades also had lower K-MMSE and HDS-R score. Higher group of homocysteine concentration were significantly related to poorer performances on K-MMSE and HDS-R tests. In multiple linear regression analyses for the relationship between homocysteine and cognitive performances, higher homocysteine level was also related to lower cognitive performances. Adding cerebral WMH changes to the level of homocysteine did not significantly change the effect of homocysteine on cognitive ability, and cerebral WMH had a separate and additive effect with homocysteine. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated homocysteine level is associated decreased cognitive score and cerebral white matter lesion on MRI is independent association to the cognitive abilities.
Brain ; Dementia ; Education ; Homocysteine* ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Hypertension ; Linear Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Diseases

Interferon (IFN) alpha is commonly used for the treatment of chronic hepatits C with a combination of ribavirin. There are numerous dermatologic adverse events of IFN, such as xerosis, pruritus, alopecia, and injection site reaction. Panniculitis is one of the rare cutaneous side effects of IFN treatment, which may have a significant reduction on patient's quality of life and may lead to discontinuation of the treatment. Although there have been several reports of panniculitis induced by IFN-beta, IFN-alpha induced panniculitis are rarely reported in the literature. Herein, we report a case of panniculitis caused by pegylated IFN alpha2a injection in a patient with chronic hepatitis C.
Alopecia ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha ; Interferons ; Panniculitis ; Pruritus ; Quality of Life ; Ribavirin