BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The atherosclerotic plaque in the thoracic aorta has been considered as potential source of cerebral embolization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of atherosclerotic plaque burden and aortic distensibility by combined transesophageal echocardiography(TEE) and acoustic quantification(AQ) in patients with cerebral infarction without cardiac origin of emboli. METHODS: The maximal intimal-medial thickness and distensibility of descending thoracic aorta using TEE (a 7.5 MHz multiplane transducer, Hewlett Packard Sonos 2500) and AQ were prospectively measured in 36 patients(mean age ; 61+/-9 years) with cerebral infarction without cardiac origin of emboli and compared with 87 controls(mean age ; 56+/-11 years) without history of cerebral infarction. After the quality of the short-axis images of the aorta was optimized, a software of AQ was activated and gain controls were adjusted. A region of interest was mannually traced around the descending thoracic aorta and then integrated software was used to compute and instantaneously display arotic lumen area as a function of time. Maximal and minimal cross sectional area and fraction area change were calculated as an average from five consecutive heart cycle. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in gender, hyperlipidemia and smoking, but hypertension and diabetes were more common in the cerebral infarction group. The atherosclerotic intimal-medial thickness above grade 3 was found in 13(36.1 %) out of 36 patients with cerebral infarction and 15(17.2%) out of 87 controls(p<0.05). Aortic areas normalized for body surface area were not statistically different between patients and normal controls, but there were significant differences for elastic indices except compliance. Patients with cerebral infarction had a lower fractional area change(5.7+/-3.2% vs. 7.8+/-4.1%, p<0.05) and higher stiffness index(12.2+/-7.7 vs. 8.0+/-5.1, p<0.05) compared with control group. There was an inverse relationship between the aortic intimal-medial thickness and the fractional area change of descending aorta(r=-0.380, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The data suggest that the aortic distensibility noninvasively measured by TEE and AQ predicts the atherosclerotic burden. Thus the aortic distensibility may be an additive risk factor for cerebral infarction.
Acoustics* ; Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Body Surface Area ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Compliance ; Heart ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Transducers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The atherosclerotic plaque in the thoracic aorta has been considered as potential source of cerebral embolization. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relation of atherosclerotic plaque burden and aortic distensibility by combined transesophageal echocardiography(TEE) and acoustic quantification(AQ) in patients with cerebral infarction without cardiac origin of emboli. METHODS: The maximal intimal-medial thickness and distensibility of descending thoracic aorta using TEE (a 7.5 MHz multiplane transducer, Hewlett Packard Sonos 2500) and AQ were prospectively measured in 36 patients(mean age ; 61+/-9 years) with cerebral infarction without cardiac origin of emboli and compared with 87 controls(mean age ; 56+/-11 years) without history of cerebral infarction. After the quality of the short-axis images of the aorta was optimized, a software of AQ was activated and gain controls were adjusted. A region of interest was mannually traced around the descending thoracic aorta and then integrated software was used to compute and instantaneously display arotic lumen area as a function of time. Maximal and minimal cross sectional area and fraction area change were calculated as an average from five consecutive heart cycle. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in gender, hyperlipidemia and smoking, but hypertension and diabetes were more common in the cerebral infarction group. The atherosclerotic intimal-medial thickness above grade 3 was found in 13(36.1 %) out of 36 patients with cerebral infarction and 15(17.2%) out of 87 controls(p<0.05). Aortic areas normalized for body surface area were not statistically different between patients and normal controls, but there were significant differences for elastic indices except compliance. Patients with cerebral infarction had a lower fractional area change(5.7+/-3.2% vs. 7.8+/-4.1%, p<0.05) and higher stiffness index(12.2+/-7.7 vs. 8.0+/-5.1, p<0.05) compared with control group. There was an inverse relationship between the aortic intimal-medial thickness and the fractional area change of descending aorta(r=-0.380, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The data suggest that the aortic distensibility noninvasively measured by TEE and AQ predicts the atherosclerotic burden. Thus the aortic distensibility may be an additive risk factor for cerebral infarction.
Acoustics* ; Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Body Surface Area ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Compliance ; Heart ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Transducers

Rectus sheath hematoma is an uncommon entity of the anterior abdominal wall and an unusual cause of painful abdominal mass. Rectus sheath hematoma have been in association with trauma, infections, debilitating disease, collagen vascular disease, pregnancy. and the puerperium. Sudden disruption of a deep epigastric vessel may result in an abdominal wall hematoma, which depending upon its location and size, can produce symptoms and clinical findings compatible with a variety of acute intra-abdominal conditions. Such hematoma are infrequently encountered and early accurate diagnosis could prevent surgical intervention. Unfortunately, the clinical manifestations of rectus muscle hematoma are sometimes so dramatic that laparotomy is performed under the belief that intra-abdominal pathology is present. The diagnosis was confirmed at surgery in both patient. We present two cases of rectus sheath hematoma which were diagnosed by clinical & ultrasound examination preoperatively.
Abdominal Wall ; Collagen Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Pathology ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Ultrasonography ; Vascular Diseases

No Abstract available

PURPOSE: Recently, two tests are commercially available for the identification of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI): tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Due to its false positiveness, TST tends to be preferred by IGRA until now. In our study, we simultaneously performed both TST and QuantiFERON(R)-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-GIT) and compared their results. METHODS: TST and QFT-GIT were done for the diagnosis of LTBI among children who visited pediatric out-patient clinic at St. Vincent's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea from February of 2007 to May of 2008. The study group was stratified into two groups in terms of whether there was intrafamilial contact or not. RESULTS: Out of total 35 children, 29 were tuberculosis (TB)-exposed cases and the remainders were diagnosed as clinical pulmonary TB. Among these 29 children, TST was positive 38.9% (7/18) for the intrafamilial and 45.5% (5/11) for the non-intrafamilial, and at the same time, the result for QFT-GIT was positive 5.6% (1/18) and 9.1% (1/11), respectively which implies that TST was more sensitive than QFT-GIT. Among 29 TB-exposed cases, 26 initially went through TST and QFT-GIT together on their first visit to out-patient clinic, and 15 continued the follow-up tests. Out of total 41 cases collected, the agreement (known as kappa value) was 0.063 which was relatively low. Including 6 cases with pulmonary TB who were all positive for TST and only 5 being positive for QFT-GIT, the final kappa value was 0.334. CONCLUSION: In our study, the agreement for TST and QFT-GIT was low, and the majorities were almost the cases of positive TST. In current situation with lacking a gold standard test and limited data on children to adolescents, this result is quite alarming that the recent trend tends to replace TST by QFT-GIT when diagnosing LTBI.
Adolescent ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Interferon-gamma Release Tests ; Korea ; Latent Tuberculosis ; Outpatients ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; Tuberculin ; Tuberculosis

Elephantiasis nostras, the result of recurrent skin infection or chronic lymphedema is characterized by marked skin fibrosis and massive enlargement of a body part. We present a case of elephantiasis nostras due to chronic recurrent erysipelas which affected the lower extremities in a 62-year-old man. The patient had had persisting non-pitting edema, and tender multiple verrucous brownish plaques and nodules on both lower legs for 1 year. On histological examination, there was hyperkeratosis and papilomatosis in the epidermis, fibroplasia, dilated thick walled venules and collagen fibers oriented vertical to the skin surface, and hyperplasia of eccrine ducts in the dermis.
Collagen ; Dermis ; Edema ; Elephantiasis* ; Epidermis ; Erysipelas ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Lymphedema ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Venules

No abstract available.
Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy, Combination* ; Fluorouracil* ; Stomach Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Seminal Vesicles* ; Ureter*

Idiopathic calcinois of the scrotum which was described by Shapiro et al. in 1970 is a rare cutaneous disorder and it seems that this is tbe first case reporting in Korean literature. A 26-year old male was well until age 25 when a few, small nodule developed on the scrotal area and, thereafter, have increased in the numbers and size of the nodules progressively. The skin lessions showed multiple, yellowish, firm, round, smooth nodul ranging in size from that of the head of a pin to that of a pea. Clinica,lly they seemed to be steatoma, but histologic findings showed several islands of calcified amorphous material without: any evidence of residual cysts. He appeared to be in good general health and had an apparently normal skin except for hie scrotum.
Adult ; Calcinosis* ; Head ; Humans ; Islands ; Male ; Peas ; Scrotum* ; Skin

BACKGROUND: The morphalogy of fibroblast in culture is important in the discrimination of normal and abnormal cells as well as in recogniring general physiologic status of the cells. There have been many reports on the morphologic clialges in various skin diseases and in response to various drugs. However, we couldnt find any report on the time-sequential morphologic changes of normal fibroblasts in early subculture using light microscopy. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to describe the time-sequential morphologic changes of normal fibroblhst in early subculture. METHODS: The fibroblaats from 4 normal donors were cultured. We observed the morphologic changes of fibrolMasts in the third passage of subculture using light microscopy at 0-, 30-, 60-, 90-, 120-minutes, 3-, 5-, 24-, 72-hours and days after trypsinization, and electron microscopic exarriioation was done at 21 day-culture. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: Just after trypsinization, the cell were small and round, which divided and increased in number as time went by. At 120-minute culture, many cells had long and thin cytoplasmic elongations and they took stellae,shape at 5-hour culture. At 24-hour culture, several spindle-shaped cells were observec with cell-cell contacts. At 72-hour culture, many spindlle-shaped cells were arranged in medirection, with the appearance of parallel or whorl patterns and showed prominent cell-cell contacts. On electron microscopic examination, there were prominent RER, residial bodies and microfilaments.
Actin Cytoskeleton ; Cytoplasm ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans ; Microscopy ; Skin Diseases ; Skin* ; Tissue Donors ; Trypsin