PURPOSE: Microdeletions on the Y chromosome have been associated with infertile in men. The deletions cluster in three regions, named azoospermia factor (AZF): AZFa, AZFb and AZFc. It has been suggested that deletions in AZFa result in Type I Sertoli cell-only (SCO) infertility (no spermatogonia present), deletions in AZFb in spermatogenic arrest, and deletions in AZFc Type II SCO (some spermatogonia present with limited spermatogenesis). The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Y chromosome microdeletions and to correlate of the pathologic presentation with specific deletions in infertile Korean men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 115 non-obstructive azoospermic (NOA), 30 obstructive azoospermic (OA), 30 severe oligospermic (sperm concentration <5 x 10(6)/ml) patients and 50 fathered men. We tested leukocyte DNA by PCR for the presence of STS markers, AZFa (sY84, 85, 86), AZFb (sY129, 134, 135, 143, RBM1) and AZFc (DAZ, sY242). The PCR results were confirmed by Southern hybridization and were investigated by SSCP analysis for DAZ gene muations. RESULTS: None of 30 OA and 50 fertile men had microdeletions, but 15 (13.0%) of the 115 NOA and 4 (13.3%) severely oligospermic patients had one or more microdeletions. Deletions involving only the AZFc region were found in 9 men (3 severe oligospermia, 4 spermatogenic arrest, 1 Type I SCO and 1 Type II SCO). Deletions involving only the AZFb were found in 4 (1 severe oligospermia and 3 spermatogenic arrest), and deletions involving only AZFa were found in 1 (Type I SCO). Also, deletions involving the AZFb and AZFc were found in 5 (2 severe oligospermia and 3 Type I SCO). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of Y chromosome microdeletion was 13.0% and 13.3% in NOA and severely oligo spermia patients. The earlier reported association with particular types of infertility was not confirmed. The region of the deletions does not correlate with severity of spermatogenic failure or the presence of visible sperm. Deletions involving more proximal regions of the Y chromosome (AZFa) seemed to be rare.
Azoospermia ; DNA ; Fathers ; Humans ; Infertility ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Oligospermia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Prevalence ; Spermatogonia ; Spermatozoa ; Y Chromosome*

PURPOSE: With the westernization of dietary life, domestic prostate cancer prevalence has remarkably increased recently. Therefore, to examine the effects of obesity on prostate cancer, we analyzed the effects of leptin and adiponectin, which are the cytokines secreted from adipocytes, on prostate cancer in vitro and confirmed the results by in vivo experiment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro, the human androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line DU-145 was exposed to various concentrations of adiponectin and leptin, and their effects were measured with the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. In vivo, the effects of tumor growth were observed in xenografted nude mice with prostate cancer. RESULTS: Adiponectin significantly repressed DU-145 cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. Leptin promoted DU-145 cell growth in dose-dependent manner, but it was not significant statistically. In vivo, adiponectin-treated mice demonstrated a reduced tumor volume, although it was not significant statistically. By contrast, leptin-treated mice showed a significantly increased tumor volume (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The in vitro and in vivo finding suggested that adiponectin suppresses the proliferation of prostate cancer cells and that leptin plays an important role in the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. We suggest that adiponectin and leptin have a relation to the progression of prostate cancer in the obese population.
Adipocytes ; Adiponectin ; Animals ; Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Humans ; Leptin ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Tetrazolium Salts ; Thiazoles ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Tumor Burden

PURPOSE: To investigate the peripapillary choroidal thickness (PCT) of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and to evaluate their responses to anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). METHODS: Thirty eyes with PCV and 25 eyes with exudative AMD who were treatment naïve were included in this study. PCT and subfoveal choroidal thickness were evaluated both before and after intravitreal anti-VEGF. RESULTS: The initial mean PCT of PCV (153.78 ± 56.23 µm) was thicker than that of exudative AMD (88.77 ± 23.11 µm, p < 0.001). Temporal, superior, nasal, and inferior PCTs of PCV were all thicker than those observedin exudative AMD (all p < 0.05). After anti-VEGF, the mean PCT of PCV was significantly reduced (134.17 ± 41.66 µm, p < 0.001), but the same was not true not in exudative AMD (86.87 ± 22.54 µm, p = 0.392). PCTshowed a similar tendency in all quadrants. CONCLUSIONS: PCV exhibits a thick choroid in the peripapillary region. PCT decreases after anti-VEGF in PCV but not in exudative AMD. In exudative AMD, subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased, but that in the peripapillary region did not.
Choroid* ; Endothelial Growth Factors* ; Macular Degeneration

OBJECTIVES: Congenital muscular torticollis, a common disorder that refers to the shortening of the sternocleidomastoid in infants, is sensitive to correction through physical therapy when treated early. If physical therapy is unsuccessful, surgery is required. In this study, we developed a support vector regression model for congenital muscular torticollis to investigate the prognosis of the physical therapy treatent in infants. METHODS: Fifty-nine infants with congenital muscular torticollis received physical therapy until the degree of neck tilt was less than 5degrees. After treatment, the mass diameter was reevaluated. Based on the data, a support vector regression model was applied to predict the prognoses. RESULTS: 10-, 20-, and 50-fold cross-tabulation analyses for the proposed model were conducted based on support vector regression and conventional multi-regression method based on least squares. The proposed methodbased on support vector regression was robust and enabled the effective analysis of even a small amount of data containing outliers. CONCLUSIONS: The developed support vector regression model is an effective prognostic tool for infants with congenital muscular torticollis who receive physical therapy.
Humans ; Infant ; Least-Squares Analysis ; Neck ; Prognosis ; Torticollis

PURPOSE: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common problem that's experienced by aging men, and it can lead to serious outcomes, including acute urinary retention (AUR). We studied the factors that influence the clinical outcomes after trial without catheter (TWOC) for AUR due to BPH. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records of all 455 BPH patients who visited the emergency room for the first time with AUR from March 2001 through February 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were divided into two groups: the success group (group I) or failure group (group II) that underwent trial without catheter. The patient's characteristics were compared between the two groups using logistic regression analysis and the chi-square test. RESULTS: From the 292 cases of group I and the 163 cases of group II, the multivariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the retention volume (p<0.01), the prostate volume (p<0.01) and the previous use of alpha-blockers before AUR (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The prostate volume, retention volume and previous use of alpha-blockers before AUR were thought to influence the clinical outcomes of TWOC for the BPH patients with AUR, and these factors should be considered in future treatment planning.
Aging ; Catheters* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Catheterization ; Urinary Retention*

A resorbable barrier membrane is commonly used for the repair of perforated sinus membranes during sinus lifting surgeries. However, repairing largescale perforations poses challenges for clinicians as the protection and isolation of graft material remain uncertain. With this technique, we aimed to prevent graft material loss and subsequent sinus-related complications using intra-sinus rigid fixation of the resorbable barrier membrane in cases with a large perforation of the sinus membrane.

OBJECTIVE: Although several genetic factors have been associated with defects in human spermatogenesis, the unambiguous causative genes have not been elucidated. The male infertility by haploinsufficiency of PRM1 or PRM2 has been reported in mouse model. The aim of this study was to identify the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of PRM1 and PRM2, related to the genotype of Korean infertile men. METHODS: Genomic DNAs were extracted from peripheral bloods of infertile men with oligozoospermia or azoospermia, and analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. We carried out the direct sequencing analysis of amplified fragments in PRM1 (557 nucleotides from -42 to 515) and PRM2 (599 nucleotides from 49 to 648) genes, respectively. RESULTS: Three SNPs of coding region in the PRM1 gene was found in the analysis of 130 infertile men. However, the SNPs at a133g (aa 96.9%, ag 3.1% and gg 0.0%), c160a (cc 99.2%, ca 0.8% and aa 0.0%) and c321a (cc 56.9%, ca 35.4% and aa 7.7%) coded the same amino acids, in terms of silence phenotypes. On the other hand, as results of the PRM2 gene sequencing in 164 infertile men, only two SNPs, g398c (gg 62.2%, gc 31.1% and ga 6.7%) and a473c (aa 63.4%, ac 29.9% and cc 6.7%), were identified in the intron of the PRM2 gene. CONCLUSIONS: There was no mutation and significant SNPs on PRM1 and PRM2 gene in Korean infertile men. These results suggest that the PRM1 and PRM2 genes are highly conserved and essential for normal fertility of men.
Amino Acids ; Animals ; Azoospermia ; Clinical Coding ; DNA ; Fertility ; Genotype ; Hand ; Haploinsufficiency ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; Introns ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Mice ; Nucleotides ; Oligospermia ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide* ; Spermatogenesis

A 36-year-old male patient with no remarkable medical history was admitted to our hospital for a health check up. On chest radiography, bilateral aortic notches at the level of aortic arch were shown suggesting aortic arch anomaly without any clinical symptoms. Two aortic arches were almost same-in-size on suprasternal view of transthoracic echocardiography. In addition, multidetector computed tomography showed balanced type double aortic arch forming a complete vascular ring which encircled the trachea and esophagus. The trachea was slightly compressed by the vascular ring whereas the esophagus was intact. Nevertheless, the pulmonary function test was normal. The patient was discharged from hospital with instructions for periodic follow-up.
Adult ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Echocardiography ; Esophagus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Thorax ; Trachea

Central nervous system involvement by tuberculosis is rare, and intramedullary involvement is even more rare. A patient that developed intermittent amnesia during anti-tuberculous therapy underwent brain CT and MRI and spine MRI. The latter showed multiple small enhancing nodules in the brain and spinal cord. The patient was treated with anti-tuberculous medication and steroids under the suspected diagnosis of miliary tuberculosis. Follow-up CT showed decreased nodule size and number. We report a case of miliary tuberculosis in the brain and spinal cord and present a review of the literature related to similar cases.
Amnesia ; Brain ; Brain Diseases ; Central Nervous System ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spine ; Steroids ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Central Nervous System ; Tuberculosis, Miliary

PURPOSE: Early detection of recurrence is an important factor for long term survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Measurement of serum levels of CEA, CA 19-9, CT and PET/CT has been commonly used in the postoperative surveillance of colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic ability of PET/CT, tumor marker and CT for recurrence in colorectal cancer patients after treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: F-18 FDG PET/CT imaging was performed in 189 colorectal cancer patients who underwent curative surgical resection and/or chemotherapy. Measurement of serum levels of CEA, CA 19-9 and CT imaging were performed within 2 months of PET/CT examination. Final diagnosis of recurrence was made by biopsy, radiologic studies or clinical follow-up for 6 months after each study. RESULTS: Overall sensitivity, specificity of PET/CT was 94.7%, 91.1%, while those of serum CEA were 44.7% and 97.3%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were 94.2%, 90.4% for PET/CT and better than those of combined CEA and CA 19-9 measurement (52.1%, 88.5%) in 174 patients measured available both CEA and CA 19-9 data. In 115 patients with both tumor markers and CT images available, PET/CT showed similar sensitivity but higher specificity (92.9%, 91.3%) compared to combination of tumor markers and CT images (92.9%, 74.1%). CONCLUSION: PET/CT was superior for detection of recurred colorectal cancer patients compared with both CEA, CA 19-9, and even with combination of both tumor markers and CT. Therefore PET/CT could be used as a routine surveillance examination to detect recurrence or metastasis of colorectal cancer.
Biopsy ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Biomarkers, Tumor