Congenital lung cyst is known to be very rare. Recently we experienced one case of congenital lung cyst wihich was confirmed by autopsy. Review of literature was done briefly.
Autopsy ; Lung*

A significant association between increased arterial stiffness and the development of cardiovascular disease has led to the increased use of arterial stiffness in the clinical assessment of cardiovascular risk. Various methods are currently available. With advances in technology, the assessment methods have become easy to use and more acceptable to patients. However, the different techniques that are available measure arterial stiffness at different locations and have unique indices for arterial stiffness. For the appropriate assessment of arterial stiffness, accurate and reproducible measurements of arterial stiffness are essential. Here we review the methodological aspects of the measurement of arterial stiffness and provide information on the measurement methods available and their clinical applications.
Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Elasticity ; Humans ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Stiffness

Seventy four children with mumps meningitis were hospitalized to Pediatric department, Hangyang University Hospital between May, and August, 1977. The clinical illness of these children were studied and the following results were obtained. 1. The incidental ratio to total inpatients was 1%. 2. The seasonal distribution was highest in summer, and the peak incidence in July(28%). 3. The sex incidence was more common in male(M:F=4:1). 4. According to age distribution, Children between 6 to and 8 years of age comprised 45.2% of alll studied cases. 5. The signs and symptoms of mumps meningitis on admission revealed vomiting, fever, neck stiffness, positive Kernig's sign etc. in order. 6. The symptoms and signs of meningitis were present in 5(7%) before salivary gland swelling, in 56(75%) after it, and in 13(18%) simultaneously. 7. Other salivary gland involvement without parotid gland swelling was relatively high in mumps meningitis compared with simple mumps. 8. Fever was normalized within 4th hospital day in 85% of cases. 9. On C.S.F. findings, the cell counts were elevated in all cases, protein was normal or slightly elevated and sugar was normal in all cases. 10. Average hospital days were 4 days. 11. All cases were completely recovered within 7th hospital day except a case of orchitis and a case of pancreatitis.
Age Distribution ; Cell Count ; Child ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inpatients ; Male ; Meningitis ; Mumps* ; Neck ; Orchitis ; Pancreatitis ; Parotid Gland ; Salivary Glands ; Seasons ; Vomiting

We report three cases of Diabetes insipidus which charactrized by the polyuria and polydipsia. All of the three cases well controlled with oral addministration of chlorpropamide. Two cases were idiopathic and the other was suspected pituitary tumor. A briet review of literature was made.
Chlorpropamide ; Diabetes Insipidus* ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Polydipsia ; Polyuria

BACKGROUND: We compared brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) measured by a simple oscillometric method with heart-carotid (hc) and heart-femoral (hf) PWVs measured by a conventional tonometic method. METHODS: Using an automatic waveform analyzer, we measured hcPWV, hfPWV and baPWV simultaneously. The subjects comprised 82 healthy subjects (normal group), 229 subjects without coronary artery disease (CAD) but with hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, low HDL-cholesterol, smoking, or obesity (risk group), and 106 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD group). In 30 subjects, reproducibility of PWVs were determined. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation coefficients of intraobserver reproducibility of hcPWV, hfPWV and baPWV were r=0.855, r=0.912 and r=0.976, respectively (p<0.001 for all). The corresponding coefficients of variation (CV) were 4.5%, 4.5% and 2.6%. Pearson's correlation coefficients of interobserver reproducibility of hcPWV, hfPWV and baPWV were r=0.751, r=0.802 and r=0.972, respectively (p<0.001 for all). The corresponding CV were 7.8%, 5.8% and 3.3%. baPWV correlated well with hcPWV and hfPWV (r=0.457 and 0.640, respectively, p<0.001 for both). In normal and risk groups, age, sex and hypertension were major independent factors affecting hcPWV, hfPWV and baPWV. PWVs were increased according to the number of risk factors (p<0.001 for all). In CAD group, hfPWV was higher in patients with 3 vessel disease than those with 1+2 vessel disease (p=0.024). hcPWV, hfPWV and baPWV did not differ between risk and CAD groups in the age of 50 to 69 (p=NS for all). CONCLUSION: baPWV has good reproducibility and correlates acceptably with hcPWV and hfPWV. This simple measurement of baPWV is useful for screening of arterial stiffness.
Atherosclerosis ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Disease ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Pulse Wave Analysis* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Vascular Stiffness

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Even short-term treatment with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor in essential hypertension has been known to improve left ventricular (LV) diastolic function, LV hypertrophy (LVH), and aortic stiffness. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of angiotensin II receptor antagonist (Losartan) on LV diastolic function, LVH, and aortic stiffness in essential hypertension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-three hypertensive patients who were aged over 50 years, previously untreated, and without cardiac, renal, neurologic disease, or diabetes, were studied. Before and 12 weeks after monotherapy with Losartan 50 mg q.d., (1) supine arterial blood pressure by sphygmomanometry, (2) interventricular septum and LV posterior wall thickness, and LV end-diastolic dimension by M-mode echocardiography, (3) mitral peak E and A wave velocity by doppler echocardiography, (4) pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the descending aorta from aortic arch to the bifurcation by doppler echocardiography, were done. RESULTS: Twelve weeks after treatment, systolic blood pressure was lowered from 168.2+/-3.5 mmHg to 142.9+/-2.9 mmHg (p<0.05), diastolic blood pressure from 98.52.4 mmHg to 87.51.3 mmHg (p<0.05). Peak E/A ratio was increased from 0.75+/-0.04 to 0.82+/-0.04 (p<0.05). LV mass was decreased from 267.5+/-15.8 g to 235.6+/-12.6 g (p<0.05), and LV mass index from 166.8+/-8.0 g/m2 to 146.9+/-6.0 g/m2 (p<0.05). However, there were no significant change in PWV (from 7.18+/-0.10 m/sec to 7.23+/-0.30 m/sec, p>0.05), compliance (from 1.31+/-0.04 to 1.34+/-0.12, p>0.05), and compliance index (from 0.16+/-0.01 to 0.15+/-0.01, p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Short-term treatment with Losartan decreases blood pressure, improves LV diastolic function and LVH, but not aortic stiffness.
Angiotensin II* ; Angiotensins* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Compliance ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy ; Losartan* ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Receptors, Angiotensin ; Vascular Stiffness* ; Ventricular Function, Left*

One of the most important therapeutic targets of current cardiology practice is to determine optimal strategies for the minimization of myocardial necrosis and optimization of cardiac repair following an acute myocardial infarction. Myocardial necrosis after acute myocardial infarction induces complement activation and free radical generation, triggering a cytokine cascade initiated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) release. When reperfusion of the infarcted area is initiated, intense inflammation follows. Chemokines, cytokines and the complement system play an important role in recruiting neutrophils in the ischemic and reperfused myocardium. Cytokines promote adhesive interactions between leukocytes and endothelial cells, resulting in transmigration of inflammatory cells into the site of injury. The recruited neutrophils have potent cytotoxic effects through the release of proteolytic enzymes, and they interact with adhesion molecules on cardiomyocytes. In spite of the potential injury, reperfusion enhances cardiac repair; this may be related to the inflammatory response. Monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 is upregulated in reperfused myocardium and can induce monocyte recruitment in the infarcted area. Monocyte subsets play a role in phagocytosis of dead cardiomyocytes and in granulation tissue formation. In addition, the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta plays a crucial role in cardiac repair by suppressing inflammation. Resolution of inflammatory infiltration, containment of inflammation and the reparative response affecting the infarcted area are essential for optimal infarct healing. Here, we review the current literature on the inflammatory response and cardiac repair after myocardial infarction.
Adhesives ; Cardiology ; Chemokines ; Complement Activation ; Complement System Proteins ; Containment of Biohazards ; Cytokines ; Endothelial Cells ; Granulation Tissue ; Inflammation ; Leukocytes ; Monocytes ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardium ; Myocytes, Cardiac ; Necrosis ; Neutrophils ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Phagocytosis ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury ; Transforming Growth Factors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Ventricular Remodeling

Primary intimal sarcoma of the aorta is a rare disease and has poor prognosis due to the difficulty of early diagnosis. Recently, we experienced a 42 year-old female patient who had primary intimal sarcoma of the aorta with metastasis. She complained of claudication, abdominal pain, flank pain and pulselessness. CT angiography showed thrombus-like lesion in the aorta. In our case, the transesophageal echocardiographic findings were different from those of usual thrombus, which suggested the importance of transesophageal echocardiography in the differential diagnosis of intra-aortic mass. Exploration was done because of the highly mobile portion and the biopsy revealed that the mass was intimal sarcoma. Immunohistochemical staining for actin and vimentin was positive. She died of massive gastrointestinal bleeding during admission. At autopsy, the sarcoma was found to metastasize into small intestine, kidney, and ovary.
Abdominal Pain ; Actins ; Adult ; Angiography ; Aorta* ; Autopsy ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Female ; Flank Pain ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestine, Small ; Kidney ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ovary ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Sarcoma ; Thrombosis ; Vimentin

Primary intimal sarcoma of the aorta is a rare disease and has poor prognosis due to the difficulty of early diagnosis. Recently, we experienced a 42 year-old female patient who had primary intimal sarcoma of the aorta with metastasis. She complained of claudication, abdominal pain, flank pain and pulselessness. CT angiography showed thrombus-like lesion in the aorta. In our case, the transesophageal echocardiographic findings were different from those of usual thrombus, which suggested the importance of transesophageal echocardiography in the differential diagnosis of intra-aortic mass. Exploration was done because of the highly mobile portion and the biopsy revealed that the mass was intimal sarcoma. Immunohistochemical staining for actin and vimentin was positive. She died of massive gastrointestinal bleeding during admission. At autopsy, the sarcoma was found to metastasize into small intestine, kidney, and ovary.
Abdominal Pain ; Actins ; Adult ; Angiography ; Aorta* ; Autopsy ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Early Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Female ; Flank Pain ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestine, Small ; Kidney ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ovary ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Sarcoma ; Thrombosis ; Vimentin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We investigated in patients with coronary vasospastic angina whether the exercise ECG test results are influenced by the different modes of exercise load and compared the clinical characteristics including coronary risk factors between patients with positive and negative exercise tests. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study comprised 34 patients with documented coronary artery spasm without significant stenosis (coronary artery luminal diameter narrowing <70%) and treadmill exercise test. Treadmill exercise ECG test was performed based on Bruce's protocol (graded exercise test, GET) and sudden rapid exercise protocol (non-graded exercise test, NGET) in the morning of the same day. RESULTS: 1) Of 29 patients who underwent both GET and NGET, 19 patients manifested positive result by NGET, whereas only 11 patients did by GET (66 vs. 38%, P=0.04). All patients with positive GET had positive NGET and 8 of 18 patients with negative GET had positive NGET. 2) Of 34 patients who underwent GET, there was no significant difference in frequency of hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, presence of effort chest pain by history, mixed disease (fixed stenosis >50%, <70% of luminal diameter) or total cholesterol level between patients with positive and negative results. In 18 typical variant angina patients by clinical history, 8 of 10 patients with high disease activity (5 times or more attack per week) manifested positive result by GET or NGET, whereas 4 of 8 patients with low disease activity (80 vs. 50%, P=NS). CONCLUSION: In patients with coronary vasospastic angina, sudden rapid exercise could induce more frequently coronary artery spasm than multistage exercise. The result of an exercise test may not be correlated with coronary risk factors, coronary anatomy, effort chest pain, and the disease activity.
Arteries ; Chest Pain ; Cholesterol ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Vessels ; Electrocardiography ; Exercise Test* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Phenobarbital ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spasm