Bertolotti’s syndrome is a congenital abnormality in which the expanded lower lumbar transverse process articulates with the ilium or sacrum. It is an important cause of low back pain in children and adolescents that is frequently misdiagnosed. We describe the case of a 17-year-old girl with low back pain who had a 4-year history of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. She subsequently underwent plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging and was eventually diagnosed with Bertolotti’s syndrome. She was managed conservatively with 6 weeks of physical therapy and an exercise program, and her pain subsided.This case demonstrates the importance of considering anatomical and structural variants when evaluating low back pain in adolescents.

Bertolotti’s syndrome is a congenital abnormality in which the expanded lower lumbar transverse process articulates with the ilium or sacrum. It is an important cause of low back pain in children and adolescents that is frequently misdiagnosed. We describe the case of a 17-year-old girl with low back pain who had a 4-year history of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. She subsequently underwent plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging and was eventually diagnosed with Bertolotti’s syndrome. She was managed conservatively with 6 weeks of physical therapy and an exercise program, and her pain subsided.This case demonstrates the importance of considering anatomical and structural variants when evaluating low back pain in adolescents.

Despite its benign nature, chronic subdural hematoma (SDH) can be fatal if surgical intervention is delayed. Here, we report on bilateral chronic SDH in an 84-year-old man who died of duret hemorrhage in the brain stem and ischemia in the occipital and temporal lobes. We discuss the necessity for urgent surgical intervention to treat bilateral chronic SDH, and provide a review of the relevant literature.

Chronic expanding hematoma (CEH) is a hematoma that increases in size, usually occurring after trauma or surgery, more than a month after initial bleeding. Thighs and upper limbs are the most common sites of CEH. Only a few cases of CEH have been reported in the amputation stump site since CEH itself is a rare disease.We experienced a case of a 59-year-old man who underwent transtibial amputation and suffered from recurrent non-infectious hematoma. For the treatment of CEH, the patient underwent an open bursectomy, followed by bony spur removal surgery. However, CEH recurred, and the pain was only managed by intermittent aspiration and compression. We report a long journey of managing painful CEH of the transtibial amputation stump.

Symptomatic neuromas after amputation can be troublesome to treat and make it difficult to properly fit a brace. Surgical management is required when conservative management such as prosthetic socket modification or local injections fail. However, small cutaneous nerves adhere to adjacent soft tissue and they are difficult to locate. The authors suggest that ultrasonography guided tattoo localization using a charcoal suspension is useful to find a visually indistinguishable neuroma.

Perrault syndrome 5 is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by the association of sensorineural hearing loss and ovarian dysgenesis in females with diversity of neurologic deficits due to variants of twinkle mtDNA helicase (TWNK) gene. Since neurologic deficits develop gradually, patient is often misdiagnosed with other neurological disease during early age. Herein, we report a case of genetically diagnosed Perrault syndrome 5.

This study was conducted to investigate relationships and gender differences in dietary supplement (DS) and oriental supplement (OS) prevalence as well as anti-doping awareness during training and the game period. Korea National Sport University athletes (343 male and 136 female) participated in this study and completed DS and OS practice and anti-doping awareness questionnaires. Forty-six percent of athletes used DS during the training period, and there was significantly higher DS use in females (53%) compared to males (43%) (P < 0.05). Twenty-eight percent of athletes used OS, and there was significantly higher OS use in females (35%) than males (26%) (P < 0.05) during the training period. The primary reason of DS use was to supply energy both in males (36%) and females (28%). The main reason for male athletes' OS use was to supply energy (41%). Meanwhile, the reasons for female athletes' OS use were to supply energy (23%), to maintain health (19%), and to improve recovery ability (20%), which showed a significant gender difference (P < 0.05). Athletes rated their perceived degree of satisfaction, perceived importance, and beliefs in efficacy of DS and OS use all over 50% during the training period, and no gender differences were detected. In a comparison between athletes educated about anti-doping (at least more than one time) and non-received athletes, DS and OS use during the training period was 2.30 (1.47-3.60) and 1.71 (1.03-2.82), respectively. DS and OS use immediately before the game period was 2.38 (1.50-3.80) and 3.99 (1.20-13.28), respectively. Elite athletes' anti-doping education was highly related to increased DS use during the training period and immediately before the game. Although elite athletes use various DS and OS during the training period and before the game period, doping education for elite athletes is related with DS and OS use during the training period and before the game.
Athletes ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sports

Objectives: Various sensory symptoms have been recognized after COVID-19 vaccination. Here, we aimed to explore the association between the suggestive symptom of restless legs syndrome (RLSss) and COVID-19 vaccination using an online survey. Methods: We prospectively studied participants who were working in our hospital after at least the first dose of the ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. The participants were invited via smartphone messages and voluntarily filled out an online questionnaire that included adverse events after vaccination. We considered the participants as having RLSss if they reported that they had three or more symptoms in the restless legs syndrome (RLS) diagnostic criteria. Results: A total of 628 participants (506 female; mean age, 37.7±12.4 years) responded fully to our online survey. 588 participants (93.6%) received the first dose of the ChAdOx1 vaccine (BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine for 40 participants). A total of 44 out of the 628 participants (7.0%) reported that they had RLSss. Myalgia was more common in participants with RLSss than in those without RLSss (97.7% vs. 67.3%, p<0.001). Multivariate testing showed that age (odds ratio, 1.037 per 1 year increase; 95% CI, 1.004–1.071) and the presence of myalgia (odds ratio, 20.479; 95% CI, 4.266–368.206) were associated with the presence of RLSss. Conclusions This pilot study explored RLSss after COVID-19 vaccination and the results suggested that RLS might be one of the causes of adverse symptoms after COVID-19 vaccination. Further studies are required to confirm the relationship between RLS and COVID-19 vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of globus pallidus interna deep brain stimulation (GPi-DBS) for treating dystonia due to the GNAL mutation. METHODS: We provide the first report of a dystonia patient with a genetically confirmed GNAL mutation in the Korean population and reviewed the literature on patients with the GNAL mutation who underwent GPi-DBS. We compared the effectiveness of DBS in patients with the GNAL mutation compared to that in patients with DYT1 and DYT6 in a previous study. RESULTS: Patients with the GNAL mutation and those with DYT1 had higher early responder rates (GNAL, 5/5, 100%; DYT1, 7/7, 100%) than did patients with DYT6 (p = 0.047). The responder rates at late follow-up did not differ statistically among the three groups (p = 0.278). The decrease in the dystonia motor scale score in the GNAL group was 46.9% at early follow-up and 63.4% at late follow-up. CONCLUSION: GPi-DBS would be an effective treatment option for dystonia patients with the GNAL mutation who are resistant to medication or botulinum toxin treatment.
Botulinum Toxins ; Deep Brain Stimulation ; Dystonia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Globus Pallidus ; Humans