OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted autogenic training for chronic tension-type headache, and to determine the relationship among the changes in electromyography (EMG) activity, headache activity, and mood states according to the psychophysiological treatment. METHODS: Chronic tension-type headache patients aged from 20 to 40 years (n=35) were randomized to the treatment group receiving biofeedback-assisted autogenic training (8 sessions) or the monitoring-only control group. EMG activities, headache index, and various psychological variables were examined. RESULTS: We found greater treatment response rate (> or =50% reduction in headache index) in patients with biofeedbackassisted autogenic training than in the monitoring group (61% vs. 18%; chi-square=6.882, df=1, p=0.01). There were no significant changes in the mean values of the pretreatment EMG activities across the sessions in either group (all p's>0.1). Mood states including anxiety and depression improved over time in the both groups, with the improvements being more prominent in the treatment group. Moreover, the reduction in depression level predicted treatment outcome in terms of headache index (95% confidence interval: 0.272-0.966, p=0.039). CONCLUSION: These results show that biofeedback-assisted autogenic training is effective for the treatment of chronic tension-type headache in a Korean population. Changes in mood states may be closely associated with the clinical outcome in the treatment of chronic tension-type headache using biofeedback-assisted autogenic training.
Aged ; Anxiety ; Autogenic Training ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Depression ; Electromyography ; Headache ; Humans ; Tension-Type Headache ; Treatment Outcome

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic, multisystem disease that rarely involves the genitourinary tract. Here we present an unusual case of testicular sarcoidosis with extensive lymphadenopathy that mimicked a metastatic testicular tumor. A 27-year-old male presented with a palpable right testicular mass accompanied by multiple palpable inguinal lymph nodes. The scrotal ultrasound showed a hypoechoic lesion at the inferior portion of the right testis. Extensive enlarged lymph nodes were noted in multiple areas on the abdominal computed tomography. Preoperative testicular tumor markers were within the normal range. Exploration of the right testis with a frozen section analysis of the right testicular mass and of a palpable right inguinal lymph node showed granulomatous inflammation. The testis was salvaged and the final pathological diagnosis was sarcoidosis. Treatment with high-dose corticosteroids resulted in complete resolution of the intratesticular mass and a significant decrease in the extent of the lymphadenopathy.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Frozen Sections ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Male ; Reference Values ; Sarcoidosis ; Steroids ; Testicular Neoplasms ; Testis ; Biomarkers, Tumor

Xanthogranulomatous epididymitis is an extremely rare disease. Its etiology is unclear, but it is characterized by chronic suppurative granulomatous inflammation. We report on a 53-year-old diabetic man who suffered from left scrotal swelling and pain. Because the condition did not improve with the use of antibiotic therapy, left orchiectomy was performed. Pathological examination revealed a xanthogranulomatous epididymitis.
Epididymitis* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Orchiectomy ; Pyelonephritis ; Rare Diseases

Pseudoachalasia secondary to primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the liver is extremely rare and has not been reported until now. Here, we report a unique case of primary SCC of the liver initially presenting with progressive dysphagia along with short periods of significant weight loss. A 58-year-old man initially presented with progressive dysphagia along with significant weight loss over brief periods of time. The radiographic and manometric findings were consistent with achalasia. Subsequent esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a moderately dilated esophagus without evidence of neoplasm or organic obstruction. However, firm resistance was encountered while traversing the esophagogastric junction (EGJ), although no mucosal lesion was identified. Due to the clinical suspicion of the presence of a malignant tumor, endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and computed tomography scans of the chest and abdomen were obtained. A huge hepatic mass with irregular margins extending to the EGJ was found. EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration was performed, and the mass was diagnosed as a primary SCC of the liver by immunohistochemical staining.
Abdomen ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Deglutition Disorders ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Endosonography ; Esophageal Achalasia ; Esophagogastric Junction ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Thorax ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: We investigated the relationship between the expression of caveolin-1, using a tissue microarray (TMA), and the prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: TMA sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of RCC from 82 patients, who had undergone radical nephrectomy, were stained immunohistochemically with specific antibodies against caveolin-1. The caveolin-1 immunostaining was semi-quantitatively estimated based on intensity. The expression pattern of caveolin-1 was compared with the clinicopathological variables. RESULTS: The expression of caveolin-1 was significantly correlated with tumor size (p=0.002), TNM stage (p<0.001), T stage (p=0.001), M stage (p=0.004), grade (p=0.028) and metastasis (p<0.001), and was also significantly higher in clear cell than non-clear cell RCC (p<0.001). The survival of patients with higher caveolin-1 expression was significantly worse than that of patients with lower caveolin-1 expression (p=0.001). Univariate analyses were able to identify all variables, including caveolin-1 expression as significant prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival; multivariate analyses indicated that TNM stage, M stage and grade were independent prognostic factors. Caveolin-1 expression was not an independent factor. CONCLUSIONS: The increased expression of caveolin-1 is associated with tumor size, stage, grade, metastasis and a worse prognosis in RCC, which suggests that caveolin-1 may be important in the progression of RCC.
Antibodies ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Caveolin 1* ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nephrectomy ; Prognosis*

Open heart surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in patients with liver cirrhosis is prone to the development of various complications associated with high mortality rates. According to recent studies, patients with advanced cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class B or C cirrhosis) have a significantly higher mortality rate (50-100%) after open heart surgery under CPB. We report the anesthetic management of cardiac surgery using CPB of 61-year-old man with aortic valve regurgitation, tricuspid regurgitation and ventricular septal defect (VSD) who had complicated by liver cirrhosis of Child-Pugh class B. The patient underwent successfully aortic valve replacement, tricuspid valvuloplasty and VSD closure. The use of tranexamic acid and transfusion of fresh whole blood appears to produce beneficial effects for outcome.
Aortic Valve ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Fibrosis ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Middle Aged ; Thoracic Surgery ; Tranexamic Acid ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite increased demand for cancer patient's to make their own decisions based on an adequate understanding of what is involved in chemotherapy, the primary signing agent and the reasons for surrogate signing have not been appropriately evaluated. METHODS: The ethics committee of the palliative medicine subgroup of the Korean Cancer Study Group designed this study and solid cancer patients to whom chemotherapy was offered, from seven institutions, were evaluated. The details relating to surrogate's signing of chemotherapy consent were evaluated. Then, we analyzed the factors associated with surrogate's signing according to patient's demographics and characteristics related to chemotherapy consent. RESULTS: Surrogate's signing was noted for 20.7% (84/405) of patient and over half of surrogate signings were performed by the patients' son or daughter (60.7%). Two main reasons for surrogate signing were patient's incapacity (34.5%) and taking over authorization from patients (33.3%). The factors associated with more frequent surrogate's signing were absence of spouse, lower education level, outpatient, and when residents played a role as a principle provider of chemotherapy consent. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests the lack of patients' own decision making for chemotherapy in some situations. This ethical dilemma must be considered for adequately informed decision making for chemotherapy while ensuring the patients' autonomy is maintained.

PURPOSE: Right lobe donation was advocated to overcome size-mismatch between left lobe and larger-size recipient in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), however, safety of donor is a major concern. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety of donor in adult-to-adult LDLT. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 104 adult-to-adult LDLT was performed by comparison of left lobectomy (n=50) and right lobectomy (n=54) groups. RESULTS: The median age of donors was 28 years and offsprings were most common donors (33.7%). The right lobe graft provided larger mass by 60% than left lobe. The ratio of residual liver volume to total liver volume, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative ICU stay showed significant differences in both groups. Recovery of liver profiles was delayed by several days in right lobectomy group, but all donors recovered uneventfully. There was no mortality nor sequela in both groups. Severe postoperative complications occured more frequently in right lobectomy group, and they were bile leakage (n=3), postoperative bleeding (n=5), and portal vein thrombosis (n=1). All complications were controlled with safety. CONCLUSION: Right lobe harvesting can be safe but should be performed only by expert operators because there is potential operative risk. To minimize operative complications, attention should be paid to every step of procedures and to postoperative surveillance.
Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Mortality

Thyroid hormone plays an important role in the process of implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium, as well as in the division and development of the fertilized egg. In addition, maternal thyroid hormone is essential for the formation and development of the fetal brain, nervous system, and bones. Therefore, when maternal thyroid hormone is insufficient, complications such as miscarriage, stillbirth, low birth weight and preeclampsia increase. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy were established and published by the American Endocrine Society, the American Thyroid Association, and the European Thyroid Society. The Korean Thyroid Society also published recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease during pregnancy and postpartum in 2014. However, since the revised guidelines of the American Thyroid Association were published in 2017, many studies, including large-scale randomized controlled trials, have been published in relation to thyroid and pregnancy, and the need to revise the existing recommendations has emerged in Korea.The main revisions of this recommendation are changes in the normal range of TSH during pregnancy, detailed description of treatment policies according to pregnant women’s autoantibodies and thyroid function status. Also, a description of the effect of thyroid autoantibodies on assisted reproductive procedures has been added.

Differentiated thyroid cancer demonstrates a wide range of clinical presentations, from very indolent cases to those with an aggressive prognosis. Therefore, diagnosing and treating each cancer appropriately based on its risk status is important. The Korean Thyroid Association (KTA) has provided and amended the clinical guidelines for thyroid cancer management since 2007. The main changes in this revised 2024 guideline include 1) individualization of surgical extent according to pathological tests and clinical findings, 2) application of active surveillance in low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, 3) indications for minimally invasive surgery, 4) adoption of World Health Organization pathological diagnostic criteria and definition of terminology in Korean, 5) update on literature evidence of recurrence risk for initial risk stratification, 6) addition of the role of molecular testing, 7) addition of definition of initial risk stratification and targeting thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations according to ongoing risk stratification (ORS), 8) addition of treatment of perioperative hypoparathyroidism, 9) update on systemic chemotherapy, and 10) addition of treatment for pediatric patients with thyroid cancer.