No abstract available.
Adult* ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation* ; Humans ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Pulmonary Embolism*

Soon after the discovery of riboflavin, it was recognized that a deficiency of riboflavin was associated with disorders of lid, cornea, lens and retina. This study was devised to observe the effect of riboflavin on the metabolic changes in arteriosclerotic retinopathy, diabetic retinopathy and cataract. The experiment was carried out on 30 adult humans. After each case was treated with riboflavin, visual acuity, retinal change and cholesterol level in serum were determined. The result obtained from this experiment are summarzed as follows; 1. In Arteriosclerotic retinopathy, visual improvement is noted in 46% of 13 cases. Serum cholesterol level is decreased 32mg/dl in average. 2. In diabetic retinopathy, visual improvement is noted in 43% of 14 cases. Serum cholesterol level is slightly increased 0.9mg/dl in average. 3. In cataract, no visual improvement is noted. Serum cholesterol level is decreased 10.2mg/dl in average. 4. There was no known side effect during riboflavin therapy.
Adult ; Cataract* ; Cholesterol ; Cornea ; Diabetic Retinopathy* ; Humans ; Retina ; Retinaldehyde ; Riboflavin ; Visual Acuity

Sphenoid sinus aspergillosis is notorious for its serious complications, such as permanent cranial nerve deficits and possible death. The most common associated symptoms are headache, followed by visual changes, and cranial nerve palsies. Because of an insidious onset, frequently resulting in missed and delayed diagnosis, sphenoid sinus aspergillosis is a potentially lethal medical condition. We report a case of visual loss secondary to isolated sphenoid sinus aspergillosis. A 69-year-old man presented to our hospital with the complaint of headache. The headache started one year previously and was described as severe dull pain localized bilaterally to the temporo-orbital region. The patient took daily NSAIDs for the pain. The neurological examination was normal. The MRI of the brain showed a left sphenoid sinusitis. A transnasal endoscopic superior meatal sphenoidotomy was performed. Aspergillosis was confirmed after a surgical biopsy was obtained. The patient was discharged from hospital without antifungal therapy. One month later, the patient complained of headache and loss of vision bilaterally. The orbital MRI showed a left cavernous sinus and bilateral optic nerve invasion. The loss of visions was permanent. In our case, the diagnosis was delayed; antifungal agents were not administered after surgery and the patient lost his vision as a result. Therefore, early diagnosis and proper treatment are important. Although the treatment of an invasive type of aspergillus has not been established, surgical removal of a nidus and aggressive antifungal therapy are recommended.
Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Antifungal Agents ; Aspergillosis* ; Aspergillus ; Biopsy ; Blindness* ; Brain ; Cavernous Sinus ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Cranial Nerves ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Headache* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Optic Nerve ; Orbit ; Sphenoid Sinus* ; Sphenoid Sinusitis

PURPOSE: Thyroxine is the hormone indispensible to the growth and development of infants. We made this study to confirm the influence of temporary depression of serum thyroxine levels on the development of intelligence. METHODS: I adopted as the study group 14 patients diagnosed with depression at the pediatrics department of Pusan National University Hospital from April of 1991 to October of 1997, and selected as the control group 24 infants born with normal functioning of thyroid glands in the same period. From August 18 to September 3 2003, a clinical psychologist carried out Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children on the patient group and the control group. According to the guidelines, they conducted 12 small tests, gave them marks and expressed the intelligent quotients by the conversion grade in seven articles. RESULTS:The patient group had meaningfully lower grades than the control group in three(similarity, vocabulary, digit scan) out of six articles of the small test of verbal scales, and the former had meaningfully lower grades in two(picture completion, object assembly) out of six articles of the small test of performance scales by K-WISC-III. The I.Q. shows the group of patients was meaningfully depressed in six(verbal IQ, performance IQ, global IQ, verbal comprehension, perceptional organization, working memory) out of seven articles; out of the six articles, the working memory was most depressed. CONCLUSION: Transient hypothyroidism can bring the mental retardation of children, so we think that there should be further studies for appropriate thyroid hormone replacement therapy on these patients.
Busan ; Child ; Comprehension ; Congenital Hypothyroidism* ; Depression ; Growth and Development ; Hormone Replacement Therapy ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Infant ; Intellectual Disability ; Intelligence ; Memory, Short-Term ; Pediatrics ; Psychology ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroxine ; Vocabulary ; Weights and Measures

STUDY DESIGN: A case report. OBJECTIVES: To report a case of thoracic spinal meningioma and lumbar spinal schwannoma found in one patient. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: patients with different types of spinal cord tumor, specifically meningioma and schwannoma, are rare in medical literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 66 year-old female presented with complaints of walking difficulty. She had masses on the thoracic and lumbar spine and underwent open excision and biopsy. RESULTS: Three months after operation, the patient could walk independently and no recurrence was found at 1-year follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Thoracic spinal meningioma and lumbar spinal schwannoma occurring in one individual were treated successfully by operative management.
Female ; Humans ; Meningioma ; Neurilemmoma ; Recurrence ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Neoplasms ; Spine ; Walking

Tuberculosis of the breast is an extremely rare disease. That needs to be differentiated from inflammatory breast cancer, acute or subacute breast abscess and actinomycosis of the breast in order for it to be treated effectively. However, tuberculosis of the breast is difficult to diagnose because of the diagnostic methods used. In addition, significant time is needed to identify tuberculosis by culture. We experienced a case of tuberculosis of the breast that developed during the anti-tuberculous medication. The patient was diagnosed quickly using tuberculosis PCR and treated with a combination of a surgical excision and anti-tuberculous medication.
Abscess ; Actinomycosis ; Breast* ; Humans ; Inflammatory Breast Neoplasms ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rare Diseases ; Tuberculosis*

BACKGROUND: Human selenium binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) is a protein that binds selenium as a cofactor. The decreased expression of SELENBP1 in several types of carcinomas and its association with a poor prognosis have previously been reported on. In this study, we evaluated the expression of SELENBP1 in low-grade and high-grade epithelial dysplasia/ adenomas and adenocarcinomas. METHODS: We analyzed 45 cases of low-grade epithelial dysplasia/adenomas, 42 cases of high-grade epithelial dysplasia/adenomas and 64 cases of adenocarcinomas and all of them were obtained from endoscopic mucosal resection or endoscopic submucosal dissection. We analyzed all of them for their SELENBP1 expression by immunohistochemistry. Eight triple-paired cases of gastric mucosa, adenoma and adenocarcinoma from the same patient were selected for RT-PCR analysis. RESULTS: There was a progressive decrease in the expression of SELENBP1 from the low-grade dysplasia/adenomas (42/45, 93%) to the high-grade dysplasia/adenomas (29/42, 69%) and finally to the adenocarcinomas (24/64, 37%), (p<0.001). The progressive decrease in the SELENBP1 expression was also evident in the eight paired cases that were analyzed by RT-PCR. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the SELENBP1 expression is suppressed in gastric epithelial dysplasia/adenomas and adenocarcinomas. The suppression of SELENBP1 was significantly more frequent and severer in the adenocarcinomas than that in the low-grade dysplasia/ adenomas, and this implies that the suppression of SELENBP1 is a late event in gastric carcinogenesis.
Humans ; Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha(HIF-1alpha) is a transcription factor for various target genes that are involved in adapting cells to hypoxia. It promotes cell proliferation and survival via modulation of such cell cycle regulators such as cyclin A1 and cyclin B1 in response to hypoxia. This is associated with local failure of radiotherapy, which renders a poor prognosis for cervical carcinoma. METHODS: Using the tissue histologic sections and a tissue microarray of the archived biopsy and surgical specimens of uterine cervical carcinoma from 57 patients who were treated with radiation therapy alone, we performed immunohistochemical staining for HIF-1alpha and cyclin A1 and B1 to evaluate the correlations between the expressions of these proteins in tumors and the clinicopathologic parameters associated with the prognosis. RESULTS: The large tumor cell nests and invasive front margins of the tumors showed comparatively intense immunoreactivity of HIF-1alpha. There was no significant correlation between the HIF-1alpha, cyclin A1 and cyclin B1 expressions and the clinicopathologic factors. CONCLUSIONS: The HIF-1alpha expression showed marked intra-tumoral heterogeneity. The HIF-1alpha expression is neither a powerful predictor of resistance to radiotherapy nor is it a poor prognostic marker in cervical carcinoma patients who are treated with radiotherapy. The expressions of cyclin A1 and cyclin B1 are neither independently associated with the response of radiation therapy nor are they associated with the prognostic parameters of uterine cervical carcinoma.
Anoxia ; Biopsy ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclin A ; Cyclin A1 ; Cyclin B ; Cyclin B1 ; Cyclins ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; Population Characteristics ; Prognosis ; Proteins ; Transcription Factors ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To report two cases of intrapapillary hemorrhage with adjacent peripapillary subretinal hemorrhage (IHAPSH). METHODS: A 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl who had sudden the sensation of floaters underwent ophthalmic examination including fundus examination, fundus photographs, fluorescein angiography, Goldmann visual field test, B-scan ultrasonography, and optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: Initial corrected visual acuities were 20/20 and 20/25. Intrapapillary hemorrhage with adjacent peripapillary subretinal hemorrhage was found upon fundus examination. Blocked fluorescence due to peripapillary subretinal hemorrhage was found by fluorescein angiography. Intrapapillary and peripapillary subretinal hemorrhage was spontaneously resolved without treatment in eight weeks later. CONCLUSIONS: Intrapapillary hemorrhage with adjacent peripapillary subretinal hemorrhage (IHAPSH) is a benign and self limiting disease. It is important to diagnose and differentiate IHAPSH from the other diseases.
Adolescent ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Fluorescence ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Male ; Myopia ; Sensation ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Ultrasonography ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Field Tests

PURPOSE: To report a case of endophthalmitis after 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy. METHODS: A 60-year-old male patient underwent 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy through the epiretinal membrane. He was diagnosed as endophthalmitis on 7th postoperative day. Immediate vitrectomy and intravitreal antibiotics injection was done. RESULTS: Coagulase-negative staphylococcus was identified in vitreous culture and incarcerated vitreous through the previous unsutured sclerotomies were found. During vitrectomy, we found generalized retinal necrosis and vascular occlusion with retinal hemorrhage, cheese like thick membrane firmly adherent to the retina due to inflammatory response. The organism was sensitive to antibiotics administered. After treatment, inflammatory response was controlled and the retina became stable but the visual outcome was poor. CONCLUSIONS: Vitreous incarceration through unsutured sclerotomy may occur after 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy. This can be a possible conduit for bacteria in the eye and be a cause of endophthalmitis. Sutureless sclerotomy should be carefully monitered and managed postoperatively.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Cheese ; Endophthalmitis* ; Epiretinal Membrane ; Humans ; Male ; Membranes ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Retina ; Retinal Hemorrhage ; Retinaldehyde ; Staphylococcus ; Vitrectomy*