No abstract available.
Jurisprudence* ; Taxes*

No abstract available.
Taxes*

Left ventricular(LV) diastolic filling is abnormal at rest in many patients with coronary arery disease, even in the presence of normal resting LV systolic function. To determine the effects of improved myocardial perfusion on impaired LV diastolic filling and to detect the most sensitive parameter to assess LV diastolic function, gated radionuclide ventriculography were performed in 14 patients with coronary artery disease before and after successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty(PTCA). All patients had no previous myocardial infarction and no abnormal wall motion in gated radionuclide and contrast ventriculography. The following results were obtained; 1) There were no significant differences in the parameters of LV systolic function, such as peak ejection rate(PER, time to peak ejection rate(TPER), ejection fraction(EF) after successful PTCA. 2) Peak filling rate(PFR) and time to peak filling rate(TPFR), indexes of LV diastolic function, had no significant changes after successful PTCA. 3) The percent contribution of late diastolic filling to stroke volume(%LDF/SV) decreased from 26.5+/-6.8% to 19.1+/-6.6%(p<0.005 by paired t-test). These data suggest that in many patients with angina and normal LV systolic function, impaired global diastolic filling is a reversible manifestation of impaired coronary flow, and percent contribution of late diastolic filling to stroke volume(%LDF/SV) can be a sensitive parameter to evaluate impaired LV diastolic filling in coronary artery disease.
Angina Pectoris* ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Gated Blood-Pool Imaging ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Perfusion ; Radionuclide Ventriculography ; Stroke

Dexmedetomidine is a highly selective α2-adrenoceptor agonist that demonstrates anxiolytic and analgesic properties without inducing respiratory compromise, which makes it a suitable agent for procedural sedation and imaging studies. In our current case reports, intravenous dexmedetomidine infusion was used to provide sedation to 2 pediatric patients over more than 20 sessions of radiation therapy. On both occasions, dexmedetomidine provided adequate sedation without respiratory depression. However, the required dosage increased with repeated radiation therapy sessions.
Dexmedetomidine* ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; Radiotherapy ; Respiratory Insufficiency

OBJECTIVE: This study concernes the usefulness of 11C-methyl-L-and D-methionine(Met)-positron emission tomography(PET) for gliomagrading and detection of recurrence in gliomas, compared with fluorine-18, 2-fluoro-deoxyglucose(FDG)-PET. METHODS: Eighty patients underwent Met-PET study for evaluation of glioma: 37 astrocytomas (WHO grade II, 3; III, 8; IV, 26), 27 oligodendrogliomas (WHO grade II, 16; III, 11), and 12 suspicious recurrent gliomas. All images were taken within 2 weeks before operation. For suspicious recurrent cases on magnetic resonance images, both FDG-PET and Met-PET were performed. RESULTS: In astrocytoma, Mean maximum standard uptake value(SUV) of region of interest(ROI) was not different between WHO grades (p=0.108), but ROI/normal contralateral tissue SUV (T/N) ratio was statistically different between WHO grades (p=0.002). T/N ratio was more closely related to visual scale than maximum SUV of ROI (p<0.001 and p=0.107 respectively). In oligodendroglioma, there was no statistical difference between WHO grades in view of maximum SUV and T/N ratio. For recurrent gliomas, sensitivity of FDG-PET and Met-PET was 25% and 100%, while specificity of FDG-PET and Met-PET were 100% and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Met-PET might be an appropriate tool for tumor grading in astrocytom a and be more sensitive for detection of recurrence in gliomas than FDG-PET.
Astrocytoma ; Glioma* ; Humans ; Methionine ; Neoplasm Grading ; Oligodendroglioma ; Recurrence* ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: Leptin may play an important role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis. However, the effect of letpin on the anabolic and catabolic metabolisms in chondrocytes remains unclearly elucidated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of leptin on proliferation, anabolic and catabolic metabolism of chondrocyte using ATDC5 chondrogenic cell line. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of leptin on chodnrocyte proliferation, anabolic and catabolic meatabolism were examined in ATDC5 cells treated with leptin at varying concentrations(10, 100, 300, 600 ng/ml) for 24, 48, and 72 hours. The cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. The anabolic and catabolic activities were assayed by RT-PCR for transforming growth factor-beta(TNF-alpha), proteoglycan-4 (PRG4), type- I collagen (type- I Col) and tumor necrosis factor-beta(TNF-alpha), matrix metalloproteinase -2 (MMP-2), respectively. RESULTS: Leptin treatment did not influence cell proliferation of chondrocyte regardless of concentration. TGF-beta expression was increased until 48 hours of leptin treatment compared to controls. Especially, it was significantly increased in leptin of 10 ng/ml and 100 ng/ml (P<0.05). PRG4 expression was not different between letpin treatment and controls. Type-I Col expression was decreased in dose- and time-dependent manner. Leptin of 10ng/ml significantly inhibited MMP-2 and TNF-alpha expressions compared to controls (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that leptin at low concentration increases TGF-beta expression, but inhibits the expression of TNF-alpha and MMP-2. Also this study shows that leptin do not affect the cell proliferation of chondrocytes. These results suggest that leptin at low or physiological level contributes to the prevention of cartilage damage by stimulating anabolic activity and inhibiting catabolic activity of chondrocyte rather than chondrocyte regeneration by increasing cell proliferation.
Cartilage ; Cell Proliferation ; Chondrocytes ; Collagen ; Leptin ; Necrosis ; Osteoarthritis ; Regeneration ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: This study was done to review our clinical experience of fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in biliary-pancreatic malignancies, and evaluated its diagnostic accuracy and usefulness. METHODS: FDG-PET was performed in 15 patients with biliary-pancreatic malignancies, to determine the extent of the disease (n=9) and to detect the recurrence (n=6). RESULTS: Of the 9 patients with a suspected loco-regional spread, 6 patients were disclosed by FDG-PET as having multiple metastasis to the regional lymph nodes and extraperitoneal organs, but the other 3 showed no evidence of regional or distant metastasis. Thus, FDG-PET performed preoperatively to estimate the extent of the disease, showed sensitivity and specificity of 100%, respectively. However, for the detection of a recurrent disease only 3 out of 5 with recurrent diseases were detected by FDG-PET (sensitivity: 60%). FDG-PET revealed one suspected recurrent lesion, but a computed tomography (CT) scan showed no evidence of a recurrence. Due to the 2 false-negative results, the overall sensitivity and specificity of this study were 81.8 (9/11) and 100% (4/4), respectively. CONCLUSION: Unnecessary surgical procedures were avoided in 6 cases, and 3 curative surgeries aborted through the use of FDG-PET. Despite the lack of cases, FDG-PET was useful in estimating the extent of a disease, but was unsatisfactory in detecting a recurrent disease compared to CT. Coupled with conventional imaging, FDG-PET may also provide more helpful information for biliary-pancreatic malignancies as well.
Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Primary malignant lymphoma of the uterine cervix is very rare. Lymphomas account for 3.5% of all malignant tumors in the females. Approximately, 25% of all malignant lymphomas arise from extranodal sites, most frequently from gastrointestinal tract and skin. Although the incidence of systemic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and extranodal NHL has increased in recent decades, only 1 to 1.5% arises from female genital tract. Primary pelvic sites include ovary, which is the most common site, uterine corpus, cervix, vagina, and vulva. Primary cervical lymphomas account for 0.12~0.6% of all extranodal lymphomas. However, there is still no consensus on the management of cervical lymphomas due to low incidence of the disease and limited experience in the literature. We experienced two cases of primary malignant lymphoma of the uterine cervix. A 41-year-old woman, Ann Arbor stage IE, was treated with laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy and both salpingo-oophorectomy and 4 cycles chemotherapy. A second case was a 73-year-old postmenopausal woman, Ann Arbor stage III, received five courses chemotherapy without any surgery. In this article, two cases of uterine cervical lymphoma are presented with a review of the available literature.
Adult ; Aged ; Cervix Uteri ; Consensus ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal ; Incidence ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Ovary ; Skin ; Vagina ; Vulva

We describe a 64-year-old man with scrub typhus who presented with both polyneuropathy and cerebral infarction. A eurological examination revealed a confused mental state, stiff neck, hearing impairment, symmetric weakness, sensory loss, and ataxia. Electrophysiologic studies showed demyelinating sensorimotor polyneuropathy and sensorineural hearing loss. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple infarctions. Brain involvement or polyneuropathy associated with scrub typhus has been rarely reported, and the pathogenic mechanism underlying the multiple neurological complications remains to be elucidated.
Ataxia ; Brain ; Cerebral Infarction ; Guillain-Barre Syndrome ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Humans ; Infarction ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Polyneuropathies ; Scrub Typhus

PURPOSE: Leptin may play an important role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis. This study investigated whether leptin concentration in synovial fluid is related to the radiographic severity of osteoarthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Synovial fluids were obtained from 29 osteoarthritis patients who underwent knee surgery and 10 who had no abnormality on articular cartilage during arthoscopic examination. The progression of osteoarthritis was classified by Kellgren Lawrence grading scale. The concentrations of leptin was measured with commercial enzyme-linked immnosorbent assay kits. RESULTS: A significant increase in synovial fluid concentrations was observed in osteoarthritis patients (6.7+/-4.1 ng/ml) compared to the control (2.4+/-1.3 ng/ml). Leptin levels were increased with advancing osteoarthritis stage, resulting in the highest level in stage IV patients(10.7+/-4.9 ng/ml; range 4.7-15.8) compared to that of stage I patients (4.0+/-2.0 ng/ml; range 1.2-7.3). In osteoarthritis patients, age showed a significant correlation with leptin concentrations. CONCLUSION: This study shows that synovial fluid leptin concentrations were closely related to the radiographic severity of osteoarthritis, and suggests that the age of patient may influence synovial fluid leptin concentrations during osteoarthritis progression.
Biomarkers ; Cartilage, Articular ; Humans ; Knee ; Leptin ; Osteoarthritis ; Synovial Fluid