Acral lentiginous melanoma is a rare variant of malignant melanoma and is characterized by a lentiginous (radial) growth phase that evolves over months or years to a dermal (vertical) invasive stage. Clinical and pathological features were reviewed in 3 cases of acral lentiginous melanoma of the soles. The first case was a 59-year-old female. On gross examination, there was a black, nodular, round, and ulcerated mass, 1.5 x 1.5 cm, on the posterior portion of the left sole. This mass was accompanied by peripheral pigmented macules. Histologically, the macular lesion revealed the pattern of a lentiginous growth phase, with a diffuse hyperplasia of atypical melamocytes in the basal layer of the epidermis. In the vertical growth component, atypical melanocytes (predominantly spindle cell) infiltrated the dermis, showing level 3 invasion. The second case was a 47-year-old male. On gross examination, there was a dark brown to black, nodular, hemorrhagic and ulcerated mass, 7x7 cm, on the middle portion of the right sole. This mass grew radially into neighboring tissue. Histologically, the radial growth component revealed atypical melanocytes which were distributed in the basal portion of epidermis. In the vertical growth component, atypical melanocytes (spindle, round, or polygonal cells) infiltrated the dermis, showing level 4 invasion. The third case was a 87-year-old female. There was a formation of satellite pigmented macules, up to 2x0.5 cm, on the right sole. The color of macules was usually not uniform but was likely to be scattered radially, being grayish brown, bluish black, or black. Histologically, the peripheral, macular, hyperpigmented lesion revaled the pattern of a lentiginous growth phase. In the vertical growth component, atypical melanocytes (predominently polygonal cells) infiltrated the dermis, showing level 13 invasion.
Female ; Humans

Malignant acanthosis nigricans is very rare disease. The disease is related with internal malignancy, especially gastrointestinal tract malignancy. Reported occurrence rate of malignant acanthosis nigricans associated internal malignancies are 64% of stomach adenocarcinoma, 27% of other organs of abdomen (liver, gall bladder, small intestine, rectum, uterus, ovary), 9% of non-abdominal organs(breast, lung). We report a case of malignant acanthosis nigricans associated with stomach adenocarcinoma from 20-year-old female and discuss review of literature on a acanthosis nigricans briefly.
Female ; Humans ; Adenocarcinoma

Benign solitary schwannoma of the chest wall is a rare disease of nerve sheath origin A 43-year-old female patient was admitted to our hospital for right upper quandrant pain Chest X-ray shows nonspecific finding, ultrasonography & CT scan revealed a solid tumor on the right lateral chest wall. On aspiration needle biopsy, this mass was turned out to be a schwannoma of the right lateral chest wall. This mass was excised surgically in an encapsulated state by right lateral thoracotomy. Histological section revealed a typical schwannoma, which is characterized by Antoni A and Antoni B tissues of high & low cellularity.
Adult ; Biopsy, Needle ; Female ; Humans ; Neurilemmoma* ; Rare Diseases ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thoracotomy ; Thorax* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of aromatase inhibitor (AI) for ovulation induction in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients with thin endometrium, hyper-responsiveness after clomiphene citrate (CC) treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A prospective study was performed in 43 PCOS patients (50 cycles) with ovulatory dysfunction between March 2004 and September 2004. AI group (total 36 cycles) included the patients 1) with thin endometrium below 6 mm on hCG day after CC (n=17), 2) with more than 5 ovulatory follicles after 50mg of CC (n=4), 3) who do not want multiple pregnancy (n=14). Patients were treated with Letrozole 2.5mg for days 3 to 7 of the menstrual cycle. CC group (total 14 cycles) were treated with CC 50~100 mg. RESULTS: In PCOS patients, ovulation was occurred 97.2% after AI use. Between AI group and CC group, there was no significant difference in the mean age, duration of infertility, interval of menstruation, basal FSH, prior treatment cycles, and the day of hCG administration. But, the number of mature follicles (> or =15 mm) was lower in the AI group (1.08+/-0.45 vs. 1.64+/-0.75) (p=0.018), and the thickness of endometrium (mm) was significantly thicker in the AI group (10.35+/-1.74 vs. 9.23+/-1.61) (p=0.044), and E2 (pg/ml) concentration on hCG day was lower in the AI group (116.9+/-75.8 vs. 479.5+/-300.8) (p=0.001). Among the AI group, patients with prior thin endometrium (below 6 mm) during CC treatment showed 10.6+/-1.6 mm in the endometrial thickness and 106.6+/-66.8 pg/ml in E2 concentration. Patients with more than 5 ovulatory follicles after CC showed decreased follicle number (1.25+/-0.5) compared to prior CC cycle. CONCLUSIONS: In PCOS patients, AI group showed significantly thicker endometrium, lesser number of mature follicles, and lower E2 concentration on hCG day than CC group. AI might be useful alternative treatment for ovulation induction in PCOS patients with thin endometrium and hyper-responsiveness after CC treatment.
Aromatase* ; Clomiphene* ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility ; Menstrual Cycle ; Menstruation ; Ovulation ; Ovulation Induction ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Multiple ; Prospective Studies

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe sexual behavior and understand the correlation between knowledge and attitude of contraception and provide preliminary data to develop a sex education program. METHOD: The subjects of this study were 400 university students. Data was collected from November 14 to 20,2005 by using structured questionnaires. RESULT: The percent of subjects that experienced sexual intercourse was 32%. The respondents' score of knowledge of contraception was a mean score of 15.33 on a scale of 20 and there were significant differences in major departments, existence or nonexistence of sexual intercourse and sexual knowledge. The respondents' score of attitude of contraception was a mean score of 40.98 on a scale of 60 and there were significant differences in sex. There was no significant correlation between knowledge and attitude of contraception. CONCLUSION: A sex education program that uses practical knowledge and attitude of contraception to prevent conception should be developed rather than the present sex education that only attaches schoolbook knowledge.
Adult ; *Attitude ; *Contraception Behavior ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; Male ; Program Evaluation ; Questionnaires ; Sex Education ; *Sexual Behavior ; Students/*psychology ; Universities

The survey was conducted to look out the characteristics of menstruation and it's management, menstrual attitudes and degree of dysmenorrhea in the adult women. The subjects were 601 women, aged 20 year old and over, selected by convenient sampling. The results were as follows; 1. The mean age of the subjects was 29.1 years, the subjects were consisted of 346 unmarried and 304 delivery experienced person. 2.The characteristics of menstruation were as follows; irregular 167 person(27.8%), painful 451 person(75%), mean score of pain was 5.9 point and first day was most severe(45.1%). On the while, they have used the method to manage the pain such as "endure 50.8%", "to have a medicine 31.5%". 3.Menstrual attitudes were as follows; attitudes was negative such as it was meaningful as a woman (78.9%), only for birth a baby (51.6%), and menstruation was acceptable (42.9%), hope to get away(28.8%). 4.The degree of dysmenorrhea was a significant difference by age(F=4.0, P<0.01). Especially, in the subcategory, it was significant except for water retension. That is, lower concentration(F=2.60, p<0.05), negative affect(F=3.09, p<0.05), behavior change (F=6.41, p<0.050), pain(F=3.89, p<0.01), autonomic nerve response(F=2.80, p<0.05). We can conclude there were many women to have negative attitudes to menstruation and first day was most severe dysmenorrhea and it was different by age. From this results, we may suggest as follows; 1. We suggest the program for women to have a positive attitudes will be developed. 2. We can suggest that we need to develop the active and effective method to control dysmenorrhea in the first day during menstruation.
Adult* ; Autonomic Pathways ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Hope ; Humans ; Menstruation ; Parturition ; Single Person ; Water ; Young Adult

Distal thumb injuries are a common and difficult problem for hand surgeons. Coverage of soft tissue on the fingers may be difficult due to the size of the defect or the limitation of local flap mobilization. However, the variable anatomy of the dorsal hand vascular system sometimes prevents successful flap harvest. The purpose of this study was to clarify the vascular anatomy of the dorsal side of the thumb and the first web for the flaps. Twenty six hands (13 right and 13 left hands) from Korean embalmed cadavers were dissected. A catheter was inserted into the radial artery in the forearm, and the red colored latex (Latex 671, Dupont Industry, France) was injected until the dorsum of the hand was colored. The arrangement of the first dorsal metacarpal artery (FDMA) and its branches were vary and classified into three categories according to their branching patterns; Both dorso-ulnar thumb branch (DUTB) and dorso-radial index branch (DRIB) arose from the FDMA (10 cases, 38.5%). Each DUTB and DRIB arose separately from the radial artery (5 cases, 19.2%). The DUTB and the DRIB originated from the princeps pollicis artery and the radial artery, respectively (11 cases, 42.3%). The typical course of the FDMA and its branches ran overlying the first dorsal interosseous muscle in 17 cases of the 26 specimens (65.4%). However, in nine cases (34.6%) the DRIB ran on the first dorsal interosseous muscle and the DUTB had a deep course within the substance of the first dorsal interosseous muscle. The FDMA flap represents a good option to cover defects for the thumb. These anatomical findings in the present study could provide useful knowledge of flaps for dorsal aspect of the thumb and the first web.
Arteries ; Cadaver ; Catheters ; Fingers ; Forearm ; Hand ; Latex ; Muscles ; Radial Artery ; Thumb

In order to investigate supplement use in middle-aged and elderly outpatients suffering from age-related diseases over the last year, a cross-sectional survey was conducted from July to December 2001. The subjects were 1702 (male 731, female 971) age-related disease outpatients over age 50. Data was collected using a standardized questionnaire and in-person interviews. The prevalence of supplement use and the different categories of supplements taken by the subjects were examined using SPSS statistical package. Supplements were used by 48.9% of the subjects. The mean number of kinds of dietary supplements taken by subjects was 1.7. Chinese medicine was the most commonly used supplements in both the male and female subjects. Among the reasons for using supplements, health promotion ranked as the most common. Most of the supplement users, however, did not know or only knew roughly about the health claims of their supplements. Subjects reported the information source on supplements as family, friends or relatives followed by doctors or pharmacists. These results may provide basic information for proper supplement use among Korean middle-aged and elderly outpatients with age-related diseases.
Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Chronic Disease* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dietary Supplements ; Female ; Friends ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Outpatients* ; Pharmacists ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Arteriovenous malformation(AVM) is the rare cause of neonatal intracranial hemorrhage. It is a congenital vascular lesion that can arising anywhere in the body. We report here on an unusual case of AVM in a full-term newborn infant who has no symptoms except enlarged bulging anterior fontanelle. AVM of other organs or adult cases were reported occasionally, but postoperative surviving intracranial AVM in a newborn infant has not been reported in Korea so far. The hematoma which was in the cortex of left temporal area, was removed surgically and the baby is living well under regular neurological check up.
Adult ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Cerebral Hemorrhage* ; Cranial Fontanelles ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Korea

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the prognostic value of HER2 in breast cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 100 consecutive formalin-fixed, paraffin- embedded sections of invasive ductal carcinomas were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining (IHC) and a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay for HER2. The cases of 0/1+ IHC were regarded as negative and 3+ as positive. Among the 100 cases tested by IHC, the 2+ cases were confirmed by FISH. RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 100 cases (27%) were confirmed positive for HER-2, which was significantly correlated with the nuclear grade (NG), ER and PR (P=0.014, P=0.004, and P=0.023, respectively). The mean disease-free survival periods (DFS) and overall survival periods (OS) of the HER-2-positive and -negative patients were 64.6+/-6 months and 82+/-3 months (P=0.0031), and 70+/-6 months and 85+/-2 months, respectively (P=0.0096). Of the 48 axillary lymph node (LN) positive patients, the mean DFS and OS of the HER-2-positive and -negative patients were 46+/-9 months and 80+/-4 months (P=0.0007) and 54+/-9 months and 83+/-4 months, respectively (P= 0.001). In the LN negative patients; however, HER-2 overexpression showed no significant correlation with the prognosis. In a multivariate analysis, DFS was significantly correlated with LN involvement and HER-2 overexpression (P=0.015, and P=0.0396, respectively). However, with regard to the OS. LN involvement and NG were statistically significant (P=0.041, and P=0.0125, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that HER-2 overexpression may play a useful role as an indicator of poor prognosis in invasive ductal carcinoma of breast, especially in LN positive patients.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Lymph Nodes* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis