OBJECTIVE: To investigate the treatment efficacy between low and high dose of triamcinolone acetonide in the treatment of ultrasonographic-guided subacromial bursa injection. METHOD: Forty two patients with periarticular shoulder disorders were randomly assigned to receive injection with 10 mg (group 1, 20 patients) or 40 mg (group 2, 22 patients) triamcinolone acetonide. After a single injection, participants were followed up for 6 weeks. Treatment efficacy was measured upon pre-treatment and post-treatment on week 1, 3, 6, using visual analog scale for average pain intensity during 24 hours (24 h VAS), Shoulder Function Assessment scale (SFA), Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ), and active range of motion (AROM). Participants and the assessor were blinded for group assignment. RESULTS: Six weeks after injection, the 24 h VAS, the SFA, the SDQ, and the AROM (internal rotation, external rotation, and abduction) showed a significantly greater improvement in group 2 than group 1 (p <0.05). CONCLUSION: This study showed that in the treatment of periarticular shoulder disorders greater pain relief and functional improvement were obtained with a dose of 40 mg triamcinolone acetonide than with a dose of 10 mg.
Humans ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Shoulder ; Treatment Outcome ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

Traumatic dissection of the aorta is a fatal injury that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. In assessing acute thoracic aortic injury, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has recently compared favorably with standard diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and aortography. These latter include time-consuming, contrast injection and the transportation of the patient to another area, requiring the interruption of resuscitative efforts. But, TEE includes less invasive nature, shorter procedure time, no contrast injection, portability at bedside, ability to be done concurrently other procedures such as resuscitation or hemodynamic monitoring and has high sensitivity and specificity for the evaluation of trauma patients with suspected injuries of the thoracic aorta. TEE may be suggested as primary diagnostic modality in suspected traumatic aortic injury in emergency department. We report two cases of traumatic aortic dissection diagnosed early by transesophageal echocardiography in the emergency department.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortography ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Resuscitation ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transportation

PURPOSE: To determine the therapeutic effect of transcatheter embolization in the treatment of splanchnicpseudoaneurysm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involved eleven patients who underwent embolization for thetreatment of splanchnic pseudoaneurysm. Nine were men and two were women ; their ages ranged from 8 to 74 (mean,51) years. The etiology of these cases included postoperative pseudoaneurysm(n=4), pancreatitis(n=3), stabinjury(n=1), and suspected infection(n=1), while two cases were uncertain. The locations of the pseudoaneurysmwere the splenic artery(n=4), the gastroduodenal artery(n=3), the hepatic artery(n=2), the celiac artery(n=1), andboth the right renal and lumbar artery(n=1). All patients underwent angiography prior to embolization. Thematerials used during embolization were a microcoil, a 5-cm metallic guide wire, and a detachable balloon. RESULTS: Embolization was successful in all eleven cases. Among nine cases in which follow-up was possible, angiographywas performed in four, and five cases of thrombus were confirmed by abdominal CT. Three of these nine patientsunderwent re-embolization. One patient underwent elective surgery for a pseudocyst due to pancreatitis. CONCLUSION: Transcatheter embolization is a safe and convenient modality for the treatment of splanchnic pseudoaneurysm.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False* ; Angiography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Pancreatitis ; Thrombosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Most common diseases are caused by multiple genetic and environmental factors. Among the genetic factors, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are common DNA sequence variations in individuals and can serve as important genetic markers. Recently, investigations of gene-based and whole genome-based SNPs have been applied to association studies for marker discovery. However, SNPs are so population-specific that the association needs to be verified. Fifty-five genes and 384 SNPs were selected based on association with disease. Genotypes of 337 SNPs in candidate genes were determined using Illumina Sentrix Array Matrix (SAM) chips by an allelespecific extension method in 364 unrelated Korean individuals. Allelic frequencies of SNPs were compared with those of other populations obtained from the International HapMap database. Minor allele frequencies, linkage disequilibrium blocks, tagSNPs, and haplotypes of functional candidate SNPs in 55 genetic disease-associated genes were provided. Our data may provide useful information for the selection of genetic markers for genebased genetic disease-association studies of the Korean population.
Base Sequence ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Markers ; Genotype ; Haplotypes ; HapMap Project ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the superficial hyperechoic band (SHEB) in articular cartilage by using ultrasonography (US) and to assess its correlation with histological images. METHODS: In total, 47 regions of interest (ROIs) were analyzed from six tibial osteochondral specimens (OCSs) that were obtained after total knee arthroplasty. Ultrasonograms were obtained for each OCS. Then, matching histological sections from all specimens were obtained for comparison with the ultrasonograms. Two types of histological staining were used: Safranin-O stain (SO) to identify glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and Masson's trichrome stain (MT) to identify collagen. In step 1, two observers evaluated whether there was an SHEB in each ROI. In step 2, the two observers evaluated which histological staining method correlated better with the SHEB by using the ImageJ software. RESULTS: In step 1 of the analysis, 20 out of 47 ROIs showed an SHEB (42.6%, kappa=0.579). Step 2 showed that the SHEB correlated significantly better with the topographical variation in stainability in SO staining, indicating the GAG distribution, than with MT staining, indicating the collagen distribution (P<0.05, kappa=0.722). CONCLUSION: The SHEB that is frequently seen in human articular cartilage on high-resolution US correlated better with variations in SO staining than with variations in MT staining. Thus, we suggest that a SHEB is predominantly related to changes in GAG. Identifying an SHEB by US is a promising method for assessing the thickness of articular cartilage or for monitoring early osteoarthritis.
Arthroplasty ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular* ; Collagen ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Humans ; Knee ; Knee Joint ; Osteoarthritis ; Ultrasonography*

OBJECTIVES: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by abnormalities of social functioning, communication and behavior. The association of the 7q21-34 region with ASD has been reported. The DLX6 gene, which is located at the 7q22 region, is one of the positional and functional candidate genes for ASD. We found that there is no association between DLX6 polymorphisms and ASD in the Korean male population. METHODS: We selected three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that might be implicated in the change of the DLX6 gene expression. The genomic DNA was collected from the venous blood of 147 male controls and 179 male patients with ASD. The genotypes of the selected SNPs were determined using the Illumina GoldenGate assay, and the statistical analyses were performed using HapAnalyzer software and SAS Enterprise. RESULTS: We found no association of the three SNPs in the DLX6 gene with ASD in the Korean male population. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the three SNPs in the DLX6 gene are not associated with ASD, and we need to analyze the previously reported regions for their associations with ASD.
Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; DNA ; Gene Expression ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Phenothiazines ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide