Postoperative epidural hematoma (EDH) usually present with neurological deficit. Massive EDH presenting with only severe pain without neurological deficit are rare. Atypical presentations of postoperative EDHs may lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment. We present three such cases after posterior cervical spine surgery. Three patients presented with severe neck pain and spasms without motor deficits several days after posterior cervical decompressive procedures. Imaging studies identified compressive EDHs at the surgical site with severe compression of the spinal cord. All were treated with emergent decompression, with resulting improvement of symptoms and pain relief without further neurological sequelae. In conclusion, postoperative EDHs after posterior cervical spine surgery may result in minimal neurological deficit. Our report reminds surgeons to keep this possibility in mind when patients complain of unusually severe neck pain and spasms after posterior cervical spine surgery.
Decompression ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Neck Pain* ; Neck* ; Postoperative Complications ; Spasm ; Spinal Cord ; Spine*

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae endocarditis in man is a very rare disease. The bacteria can be easily misiden- tified as nonpathogenic gram-positive bacilli or streptococci. This organism was isolated from blood samples taken from a 39-year-old male farmer with subacute bacterial endocarditis. The patient had cirrhosis of the liver; diabetes, and tuberculosis. The isolate showed typical cultural and biochemical characteristics such as facultative growth, formation of small greenish colonies on blood agar, positive hydrogen sulfide, negative catalase, and nonmotility. The isolate was susceptible to penicillin G and the cephalosporins.
Adult ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/diagnosis* ; Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial/drug therapy ; Erysipeloid/diagnosis* ; Erysipeloid/drug therapy ; Human ; Male

Vibrio vulnificus causes very severe infections. The organism is isolated, for the most part, from the blood, and skin lesions. Isolation from other sources, including the urine, is very rate. Four cases of V. vulnificus septicemia were bacteriologically diagnosed in 1984 and 1985 at Severance Hospital. All of the patients were men, 42 years and older, with preexisting liver disease. All of them showed hypotension and secondary skin lesions, and all expired. The organism was isolated from the blood in all patients, from the peritoneal fluid in one, and from skin lesions in two. From one patient, isolation from a urine speAmen was also accomplished. All of the isolates were typical in their characteristics such as in their forming green colonies on Thiosulfate citrate bile sucrose (TCBS) agar, delayed acid production from lactose, and growth in broth with 6% NaCl.
Adult ; Human ; Middle Age ; Septicemia/diagnosis* ; Vibrio/isolation & purification ; Vibrio Infections/diagnosis*

STUDY DESIGN: Observational. PURPOSE: To develop a simple and comprehensive grading system for cervical discs that precisely, consistently and meaningfully presents radiologic and morphologic data. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: The Thompson grading system is commonly used to classify the severity of degenerative lumbar discs on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Inherent differences in the morphological and physiological characteristics of cervical discs have hindered development of precise classification systems. Other grading systems have been developed for degenerating cervical discs, but their versatility and feasibility in the clinical setting is suboptimal. METHODS: MRIs of 46 human cervical discs were de-identified and displayed in PowerPoint format. Each slide depicted a single disc with a normal (grade 0) disc displayed in the top right corner for reference. The presentation was given to 25 physicians comprising attending spine surgeons, spine fellows, orthopaedic residents, and two attending musculoskeletal radiologists. The grading system included Grade 0 (normal height compared to C2-3, mid cleft still visible), grade 1 (dark disc, normal height), grade 2 (collapsed disc, few osteophytes), and grade 3 (collapsed disc, many osteophytes). The ease of use of the system was gauged in the participants and the interobserver reliability was calculated. RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficient for interobserver reliability was 0.87, and 0.94 for intraobserver reliability, indicating excellent reliability. Ninety-five percent and 85 percent of the clinicians judged the grading system to be clinically feasible and useful in daily practice, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The grading system is easy to use, has excellent reliability, and can be used for precise and consistent clinician communication.
Classification ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration* ; Intervertebral Disc* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Spine

PURPOSE: In this multi institutional study, the data of 604 men with clinically localized prostate cancer, who underwent radical prostatectomy, with updated nomograms predicting the pathological stage, were analyzed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prostate biopsies and prostatectomy specimens from men treated with radical prostatectomy, obtained between 1990 and 2003, were included. The patient distribution with respect to clinical stage, serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and biopsy Gleason score, as well as final pathological findings, including organ-confined disease (OCD), extracapsular extension (ECE), seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), and lymph node metastasis (LNM), were analyzed for the construction of nomograms representing the percent probabilities of each respective pathological outcome. RESULTS: The median serum PSA at the time of surgery and biopsy Gleason score were 9.9ng/ml and 7, respectively. The preoperative serum PSA was 4ng/ml or less in 38 (6.3%) patients and the tumor was impalpable in 292 (48.2%) of patients. The biopsy Gleason scores were 7 and 8 or higher in 186 (30.7%) and 169 (27.9%), respectively. Throughout the clinical stages and PSA ranges, the Gleason score was 7 or higher in more than 50% of patients, but 8-10 in 20-30%. The overall OCD, ECE, SVI and LNM rates were 57.1, 27.8, 10.9 and 4.2%, respectively. CONCLISIONS: A significantly high proportion of prostate cancers arising in Korean men exhibited poor differentiation, with Gleason scores of 7 or higher, regardless of the clinical stage or initial serum PSA. Updated nomograms acknowledging such characteristics have been developed, which may aid in the treatment planning of these individuals.
Biopsy ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nomograms* ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Seminal Vesicles

Cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily, and it is a key enzyme responsible for the metabolic activation of many smallmolecular-weight compounds such as alcohol, which is classified as a human carcinogen. In this study, we identified 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP2E1 in Korean population. In these SNPs, we examined possible genetic association of CYP2E1 polymorphisms with HBV clearance and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Five common polymorphic sites were selected, CYP2E1 polymorphisms at rs381-3867, rs3813870, rs2070673, rs2515641 and rs2480257 , considering their allele frequencies, haplotype-tagging status and LDs for genotyping in larger-scale subjects (n=1,092). Statistical analysis demonstrated that CYP2E1 polymorphisms and haplotypes show no significant association with HBV clearance, HCC occurrence and onset age of HCC (p>0.05). Previous studies, however, have shown contradictory findings on associations of CYP2E1 polymorphisms with CYP2E1 activities and HCC risk. Comparing the contrasting results of previous researches suggest that CYP2E1 polymorphism is associated with CYP2E1 activity induced by ethanol, but is not directly associated with HCC risk. CYP2E1 variation/haploype information identified in this study will provide valuable information for future studies on CYP2E1.
Age of Onset ; Biotransformation ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Ethanol ; Gene Frequency ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

We report the first case of summer-type hypersensitivity pneumonitis(SHP) in Korea diagnosed by positive serum antibodies to Trichosporon cutaneum. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis(HP) has been commonly classified as an occupational respiratory diseases. However, evidence that sensitizing organisms can also contaminate and cause pulmonary diseases in home environment has been increasing. One such disease is SHP. In Japan, 75% of cases with HP are SHP. Even though there has been no known SHP case in Korea yet, there has been high possibility of SHPs in Korea because our country has areas which have hot and humid summer climate similar to Japan. This first case of SHP in Korea suggests that there may be another cases in Korea and nation-wide survey may be required. We report here the first confirmed case of SHP in Korea.
Antibodies ; Climate ; Hypersensitivity ; Japan ; Korea* ; Lung Diseases ; Trichosporon ; Trichosporonosis*

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta), a pleiotropic growth factor, is a potent inhibitor of cellular proliferation in cells of epithelial origin. Recently, it has been suggested that a loss of sensitivity to TGF-beta through a loss of expression of TGF-beta receptors T beta R-I and T beta R-II--is associated with tumor initiation and progression. Therefore, to investigate the relationship between TGF-beta receptors expression and carcinogenesis of bladder TCC, this study examined the expression of T beta R-I and T beta R-II in 46 bladder TCC patients using immunohistochemistry. Since histopathological grade is a widely accepted marker of prognosis, the results were compared in relation to the three grades of bladder TCC. The results demonstrated that the loss of TGF-beta receptors expression is associated with increasing histopathological grades of bladder TCC. Specifically, both T beta R-I and T beta R-II were readily detected in all 10 normal bladder mucosa specimens. Likewise, all 6 specimens of grade I TCC samples expressed high levels of both TGF-beta receptors. However, among grade II TCC samples, T beta R-I and T beta R-II were detected in 78% and 89%, respectively: among grade III TCC samples, T beta R-I and T beta R-II were detected in 45% and 41%, respectively. These results suggested that loss of sensitivity to TGF-beta may play a role in the progression of TCC from low to high grade disease.
Adult ; Aged ; Bladder Neoplasms/pathology* ; Bladder Neoplasms/metabolism* ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/pathology* ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/metabolism* ; Human ; Middle Age ; Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism* ; Reference Values

BIRC5 (Survivin) belongs to the inhibitor of apoptosis gene family. The BIRC5 protein inhibits caspases and consequently blocks apoptosis. Thus, BIRC5 contributes to the progression of cancer allowing for continued cell proliferation and survival. In this study, we identified eight sequence variants of BIRC5 through direct DNA sequencing. Among the eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), six common variants with frequencies higher than 0.05 were selected for larger-scale genotyping (n=1,066). Results of the study did not show any association between the promoter region polymorphisms and the clearance of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) occurrence. This is in line with a previous study in which polymorphisms in the promoter region does not influence the function of BIRC5. Initially, we were able to detect a signal with the +9194A>G, which disappeared after multiple corrections but led to a change in amino acid. Similarly, we were also able to detect an association signal between two haplotypes (haplotype-2 and haplotype- 5) on the onset age of HCC and/or HCC occurrence, but the signals also disappeared after multiple corrections. As a result, we concluded that there was no association between BIRC5 polymorphisms and the clearance HBV infection and/or HCC occurrence. However, our results might useful to future studies.
Age of Onset ; Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Caspases ; Cell Proliferation ; Haplotypes ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Integrins are transmembrane receptor proteins that mediate cell-cell adhesion and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) adhesion. The deregulation of cell-ECM adhesion and the abnormal expression of beta1 (beta1) integrins (ITGB1s) are involved in tumor development and metastasis. In the liver, the expression of integrins and ECM proteins can be a cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development. We performed direct DNA sequencing of 24 individuals, and identified 23 sequence variants of ITGB1 polymorphisms. Among these 23 variants, 7 common variants were selected based on frequencies and linkage disequilibrium, and then genotyped in a larger-scale group of subjects (n=1,103). The genetic associations of ITGB1 polymorphisms with the clearance of HBV and HCC outcome of HBV patients were analyzed using logistic regression models and Cox relative hazard models. Although there was no significant association observed between the polymorphisms and the HCC outcome of HBV patients, the second most common haplotype (ITGB1 haplotype-2 [C-C-C-C-T-C-T]) was putatively associated with HBV clearance (OR=0.75, p=0.008 and P(corr)=0.05). The minor allele frequency (MAF) of ITGB1 haplotype-2 of the spontaneously recovered (SR) group was significantly higher than that of the chronic carrier group (CC) (freq. = 0.248 vs. 0.199). The information derived from this study could be valuable for understanding the genetic factors involved in the clearance of HBV.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Gene Frequency ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Integrins ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Liver ; Logistic Models ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Proteins ; Sequence Analysis, DNA