Myopic discs(range: -0.5D) which were taken a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope(HRT, Heidelberg Engineering) were analyzed to determine the relationship between optic disc parameters and myopic refractive errors. Regression analysis and coefficient variation were used for a statistic tool. The disc area was not correlated with the myopic refractive error(p=0.21) and showed 16.0% of coefficient of variation. Cup area, cup disc area ratio, rim area, cup volume, rim volume, mean cup depth, maximum cup depth and cup shape measure showed statistically significant correlation with myopic refractive error, respectively(p<0.05). Among these parameters, rim area varied least(within all myopic eyes) with 16.5% of coefficient of variation. As the rim area is the most stable optic disc parameter interindividually in myopic population, it seem to be valuable for follow-up evaluation when a glaucomatous damage is suspected in myopic eyes by calculating its expected normal value with a regression equation.
Myopia* ; Reference Values ; Refractive Errors*

Myopic discs(range: -0.5D) which were taken a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope(HRT, Heidelberg Engineering) were analyzed to determine the relationship between optic disc parameters and myopic refractive errors. Regression analysis and coefficient variation were used for a statistic tool. The disc area was not correlated with the myopic refractive error(p=0.21) and showed 16.0% of coefficient of variation. Cup area, cup disc area ratio, rim area, cup volume, rim volume, mean cup depth, maximum cup depth and cup shape measure showed statistically significant correlation with myopic refractive error, respectively(p<0.05). Among these parameters, rim area varied least(within all myopic eyes) with 16.5% of coefficient of variation. As the rim area is the most stable optic disc parameter interindividually in myopic population, it seem to be valuable for follow-up evaluation when a glaucomatous damage is suspected in myopic eyes by calculating its expected normal value with a regression equation.
Myopia* ; Reference Values ; Refractive Errors*

The current model of compact bone is that of a system of Haversian (longitudinal) canals connected by Volkmann's (transverse) canals. Models based on either histology or microcomputed tomography do not accurately represent the morphologic detail and microstructure of this system, especially that of the canal networks and their spatial relationships. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the morphologic pattern and network of the Haversian system and to compare endosteal and periosteal sides in rats using three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Ten Sprague-Dawley rats aged 8-10 weeks were used. The femurs were harvested from each rat and fixed, decalcified with 10% EDTA-2Na, serially sectioned at a thickness of 5 microm, and then stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The serial sections were reconstructed three-dimensionally using Reconstruct software. The Haversian canals in the endosteal region were found to be large, highly interconnected, irregular, and close to neighboring canals. In contrast, the canals in the periosteal region were straight and small. This combined application of 3D reconstruction and histology examinations to the Haversian system has confirmed its microstructure, showing a branched network pattern on the endosteal side but not on the periosteal side.
Animals ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Femur ; Haversian System* ; Hematoxylin ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; X-Ray Microtomography

Primary aldosteronism is present in approximately 1% of unselectd hypertensive patients. Adrenal adenoma is a known as one of the surgically curable form of the hypertension. Hypertension is one of the contributing factors for the development of aortic dissection. Cincurrence of aortic dissection in patient with primary aldosteronism is extemely rare. Only one case wasconfirmed by autopsy and reported in the world literature. We report a case of DeBakey type 3 anortic aneursm in a 49-year old hypertensive female patient with primary aldosteronism due to left adrenal adenoma. She underwent left adrenalectomy uneventfully after stabilization of her blood pressure with maximal medical management including nitroprusside, aldactone, enalapril and inderal.
Adenoma ; Adrenalectomy ; Autopsy ; Blood Pressure ; Enalapril ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism ; Hypertension ; Middle Aged ; Nitroprusside ; Propranolol ; Spironolactone

PURPOSE: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious disease which causes life-threatening pulmonary embolism and chronic venous insufficiency. In order to prevent pulmonary embolism, inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement is commonly performed nowadays. We carried out this study to analyze the patterns of the indications for IVC filter placement, the complications associated with procedure, and the follow-up results. METHOD: We treated 42 patients with acute DVT between September 2001 and November 2002 at Gil Medical Center. Our subjects included 10 patients who underwent IVC filter placement during the same period. Duplex sonography and CT venography were performed in all cases. The filter was placed by one interventional radiologist just after checking the nonselective venography. The patients were followed monthly with a physical examination. Plain abdominal film was checked every 3 months, and CT venography every 6 months. RESULT: The mean age was 55.6 years (range 35~72) and the male-to-female ratio was 1:4. The associated diseases were advanced cancer in 3 cases, intracranial hemorrhage in 2 and spinal cord injury and ankylosis of the hip joint in 1. There were 8 cases of hypercoagulable states; 7 of protein S deficiency, 3 of protein C deficiency and 1 of antithrombin III deficiency. Indications for filter insertion were a contraindication to anticoagulation in 5 cases, recurrent pulmonary embolism in 2, floating IVC thrombosis in 2, complication of anticoagulation in 1, prophylactic use before catheter-directed thrombolysis in 1, and quadriplegia in 1. Four Greenfield filters and six TrapEase filters were used. Filters were deployed at infrarenal IVC in 8 cases and suprarenal IVC in 2 cases. There were no major complications related to the procedure. Late complications were not detected during the 7-month follow-up (range 2~16 months). CONCLUSION: We performed 10 IVC filter placements for therapeutic purpose without any serious complications. A wider range of indications, including prophylactic use, might be considered in the future practice for DVT.
Ankylosis ; Antithrombin III Deficiency ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Phlebography ; Physical Examination ; Protein C Deficiency ; Protein S Deficiency ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Quadriplegia ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Thrombosis ; Vena Cava Filters* ; Vena Cava, Inferior* ; Venous Insufficiency ; Venous Thrombosis*

From March 1983 through January 1990, two hundred sixty six patients with non-mall cell lung cancer were treated with external radiation therapy at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College. A retrospective analysis was performed on eligible 116 patients who had been treated with radiation dose over 40 Gy and had been able to be followed up. There were 104 men and 12 women. The age ranged form 33 years to 80 years (median; 53 years). Median follow up period was 18.8 months ranging from 2 months to 78 months. According to AJC staging system, there were 18(15.5%) patients in stage II, 79(68.1%) patients in stage III and 19(16.4%) patients in stage IV. The pathologic classification showed 72(62.8%) squamous cell carcinomas, 16(13.8%) unknown histology. In Karnofsky performance status, six(5.2%) patients were in rage below 50, 12(10.4%) patients between 50 and 60, 46(39.6%) patients between 60 and 70, 51(44.0%) patients between 70 and 80 and only one (0.8%) patients was in the range over 80. Sixty (51.7%) patients were treated with radiation therapy (RT) alone. Thirty three (28.4%) patients were treated in combination RT and chemotherapy, twenty three(19.8%) patients were treated with surgery followed by postoperative adjuvant RT, and of 23 patients above, five(4.3%) patients, were treated with postoperative RT and chemotherapy. Overall response according to follow-up chest X-ray and chest CT scans was noted in 92.5% at post RT 3 months. We observed that overall survival rates at 1 year were 38.9% in stage II, 20.8% in stage III, and 11.5% in stage IV, and 2 year overall survival rates were 11.1% in stage II, 20.8% in stage III and 10.5% in stage IV, respectively. We evaluated the performance status, radiation dose, age, type of histology, and the combination of chemotherapy and/or surgery to see the influence on the results following radiation therapy as prognostic factors. Of these factors, only performance status and response after radiation therapy showed statistical significance (p<0.05).
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Classification ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Karnofsky Performance Status ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Radiation Oncology ; Rage ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: The authors sought to determine whether a shallow needle approach to the axillary artery would improve complete sensory blocks of median, radial, and ulnar nerves as compared with a perpendicular approach when transarterial axillary block is performed using a scalp vein needle (23G, 3/4'). METHODS: Fifty-four patients were allocated equally to a perpendicular group (the PA group) or a shallow approach group (SA group). Sensory and motor scores were evaluated and compared in the two groups at 5-minute intervals for 20 minutes after block. The main outcome variables were rates of blockage of median, radial, and ulnar nerves. RESULTS: Excellent block rates (defined as completion of surgery using brachial plexus block alone) were obtained in both groups (SA group 77.8% vs. PA group 70.3%, P = 0.755). However, the rate of blockage of all three nerves was significantly higher in the SA group (74% vs. 40.7%, P = 0.013). Furthermore, the rate of complete sensory block of the radial nerve at 20 minutes was significantly greater in the SA group (85.2% vs. 59.3%, P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: A shallow needle approach to the axillary artery resulted in a significantly higher median, radial, and ulnar nerve block rate at 20 minutes after LA injection than a perpendicular approach.
Axillary Artery* ; Brachial Plexus Block* ; Brachial Plexus* ; Humans ; Needles* ; Radial Nerve ; Scalp ; Ulnar Nerve ; Veins

BACKGROUND: The authors sought to determine whether a shallow needle approach to the axillary artery would improve complete sensory blocks of median, radial, and ulnar nerves as compared with a perpendicular approach when transarterial axillary block is performed using a scalp vein needle (23G, 3/4'). METHODS: Fifty-four patients were allocated equally to a perpendicular group (the PA group) or a shallow approach group (SA group). Sensory and motor scores were evaluated and compared in the two groups at 5-minute intervals for 20 minutes after block. The main outcome variables were rates of blockage of median, radial, and ulnar nerves. RESULTS: Excellent block rates (defined as completion of surgery using brachial plexus block alone) were obtained in both groups (SA group 77.8% vs. PA group 70.3%, P = 0.755). However, the rate of blockage of all three nerves was significantly higher in the SA group (74% vs. 40.7%, P = 0.013). Furthermore, the rate of complete sensory block of the radial nerve at 20 minutes was significantly greater in the SA group (85.2% vs. 59.3%, P = 0.033). CONCLUSIONS: A shallow needle approach to the axillary artery resulted in a significantly higher median, radial, and ulnar nerve block rate at 20 minutes after LA injection than a perpendicular approach.
Axillary Artery* ; Brachial Plexus Block* ; Brachial Plexus* ; Humans ; Needles* ; Radial Nerve ; Scalp ; Ulnar Nerve ; Veins

Angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia (AFLNH) with well marginated lymphoid masses, is a rare benign disease of unknown etiology. The majority of the disease develop intrathoracically. Histologically this disease can be divided into the hyaline-vascular and the plasma cell types with the hyaline-vascular type prevailing. The plasma cell variant has been associated with nephritic syndrome, anemia, growth failure, fever, hyperglobulinemia, peripheral neuropathy, and hypoalbuminemia. Surgical resection is known to be treatment of choice in most cases, and radiotherapy is reserved for advanced, unresectable lesions. We report a complete remission of AFLNH in a case treated by surgical excision followed by irradiation.
Anemia ; Fever ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Lymph Nodes* ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Plasma Cells ; Radiotherapy

Radiobiological and clinical evidences indicate that hyperthermia combined with ionizing radiation produces a significant improvement in therapeutic effect of cancer. In general, malignant cells are more sensitive to heat than normal cells in the heat range of 41~45degree C. We report the experiences obtained from 42 patients with advanced malignant neoplasms managed with 2,450 MHz microwave-induced local hyperthermia and ionizing radiation at the Department of Radiology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical College. A clinical analysis of 42 thermoirradiated patients showed result of 11(26%), 15(36%), 11(26%) and 5(12%) patients with complete response (CR), partial response (PR), minor response (MR) and no response (NR), respectively. Histologically, there were 17 (40.2%) squamous cell carcinomas, 12(28.6%) adenocarcinomas and 6 (14.3%) miscellaneous cancers. Eleven patients with CR consisted of five squamous cell carcinomas, five adenocarcinomas, and one chloroma. Among 15 patients with PR were five squamous cell carcinomas, five adenocarcinomas, three unknown primary tumors, and one poorly differentiated, and miscellaneous tumor each.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Fever* ; Hot Temperature ; Humans* ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Microwaves* ; Neoplasms, Unknown Primary ; Radiation, Ionizing ; Radiotherapy* ; Sarcoma, Myeloid