Benign symmetric lipomat,osis is a rare disease of undetermined cause characterized by symmetric deposits of adipose tissue o:n the neck, upper trunk and abdomen. We report three cases of kienign symmetric lipomatosis, one of which is associated with alcoholic liver disease and the patient complained of a diffieulties in neck motion, All of them are about sixty year old men with history of frequent alcohol consumption. In histopathologic findings, the reticular dermis was completcly replaced by mature fat cells and there was a slight increase in vascular and fibrous elements.
Abdomen ; Adipocytes ; Adipose Tissue ; Alcohol Drinking ; Dermis ; Humans ; Lipomatosis* ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Male ; Neck ; Rare Diseases

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is rare but life-threatening severe cutaneous adverse reaction, which is mostly induced by drugs. It characterized by widespread epidermal necrosis, resulting in bullae with sloughing and frequent involvement of the mucous membrane. Due to high mortality, management of patients requires prompt withdrawal of the causative drug, appropriate supportive care, and consideration of immune-modulating agents, such as intravenous immunoglobulin or corticosteroids. Wilson disease is an inherited disorder of copper transport that results in excessive accumulation of copper in the body. Copper chelation with penicillamine is an effective first line therapy in most patients. We present a 20-year-old man with Wilson disease who developed TEN following administration of penicillamine. He was successfully treated with systemic corticosteroid, intravenous immunoglobulin, and supportive management.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Copper ; Hepatolenticular Degeneration* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Mortality ; Mucous Membrane ; Necrosis ; Penicillamine ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome* ; Young Adult

Numerous tumor markers have been investigated and have been in clinical use for the management of cancer patients. Among them, carcimoembryonic antigen(CEA), CA19-9, and CA125 are the most commonly used tumor markers in periampullary cancer. We carried out this study to estimate the usefulness of these three tumor markers in the management of periampullary cancer. The serum levels of CEA, CA19-9, and CA125 were measured in 55 patients between Jan. 1990 and Feb. 1997. We also valuated the changes in the levels of these three tumor markers after surgery. The serum level of CEA was elevated in 30 patients(60%) preoperatively. The serum level of CA19-9 was elevated in 38 patients(83%), and the serum CA125 level was elevated in 13 patients(59%) preoperatively. The CA19-9 levels decreased in 20(95%) of 21 patients who had received a tumor resection, while only one of those patients had an elevated level of serum CA19-9 postoperatively. Similarly, the CEA levels decreased in 23(88%) of 26 patients who had received a tumor resection. The mean level of CA19-9 has higher in advanced stages than in early stages, but this difference was not statistically significant. In conclusion, there was no single reliable tumor marker in periampullary cancer. However, CA19-9 was the most sensitive tumor marker among the three.
Biomarkers, Tumor ; Humans

Anesthesiologists may encounter pulmonary thromboembolism during the perioperative period. However, the diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism is difficult because clinical symptoms and signs are not specific, and specialized diagnostic tools are not readily available in the operating room. We report a case of pulmonary thromboembolism during modified radical mastectomy. A 52 year old female patient underwent modified radical mastectomy under general anesthesia. 90 minutes after induction there were a sudden increase of peak airway pressure and a decrease of oxygen saturation. We treated symptomatically under the impression of pulmonary edema during operation. After operation, pulmonary thromboembolism was diagnosed and treated successfully with oxygen therapy and anticoagulant therapy. After 26th days of operation she was no longer suffered from hypoxia. At the 36th day after operation, she was discharged without any sequelae.
Anesthesia, General ; Anoxia ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Mastectomy, Modified Radical* ; Middle Aged ; Operating Rooms ; Oxygen ; Perioperative Period ; Pulmonary Edema ; Pulmonary Embolism*

PURPOSE: Numerous investigations have been conducted in order to determine the potential carcinogenic or chemopreventive activity of capsaicin. The aim of this study is to characterize the effects of capsaicin on colon cancer cells, and provide valuable information concerning the application of capsaicin in chemoprevention as well as for therapeutic purposes. METHODS: CoLo320DM and LoVo cells (human colon cancer cell line) were treated with capsaicin. In order to access cell viability and altered morphology, an MTT assay was performed and the cells were microscopically examined. Decreasing DNA staining was accessed by FACS. The cells were stained with FITC labeled annexin V and analyzed by FACS to detect cellular membrane alteration during apoptosis. The cells were stained with DiOC6(3) and Hydroethidine and analyzed by FACS in order to access ROS and dleta psi m. RESULTS: Capsaicin decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Capsaicin produced a cell morphology corresponding to the apoptotic features including cell shrinkage and chromatic condensation. Capsaicin treated cells induced a loss of nuclear DNA leading to hypoploidy in a dose-dependent manner. Cells were excluded by double staining with PI and FITC labeled annexin v and detected by FACS. We show that treatment of CoLo320DM, L0Vo cells with increasing concentrations of capsaicin parallel an increase in the percentage of red fluorescent cells (HE-->Eth) that reflect ROS hypergeneration and a decrease in the percentage of green fluorescent cells that reflect delta psi m disruption. CONCLUSION: These results clearly demonstrate that capsaicin-induced colon cancer cell death is apoptotic.
Annexin A5 ; Apoptosis* ; Capsaicin ; Cell Death ; Cell Line* ; Cell Survival ; Chemoprevention ; Colon* ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; DNA ; Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate ; Humans* ; Membranes

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of occult HBV infection (OBI) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Korea has not been reported. Additionally, it is unclear whether OBI influences treatment outcome in CHC patients. We investigated the prevalence of OBI and its impact on treatment outcome in patients with CHC. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with CHC were enrolled and treated with pegylated or conventional interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Among the 68 patients who completed treatment and follow-up, HBV DNA was detected in serum from nine (13.2%) patients, liver tissue from 10 (14.7%), and serum or liver tissue from 15 (22.1%). OBI was diagnosed in nine (12.7%) control subjects. No difference in the prevalence of OBI between patients with CHC and controls was observed (13.2 vs. 12.0%; p = 0.92). No significant differences in age, sex, genotype 1 frequency, amount of hepatitis C virus RNA, anti-hepatitis B surface antigen/anti-hepatitis B core-IgG seropositivity, staging, or histology grading were observed in patients with or without HBV DNA. Sustained virological response was achieved in 73.3% of patients with OBI and 83.0% without OBI (p = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that a significant proportion of patients with CHC have occult HBV infection and that OBI does not affect treatment outcome in patients with CHC.
DNA ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Interferons ; Korea ; Liver ; Prevalence ; Ribavirin ; RNA ; Treatment Outcome

In patients with primary aldosteronism who have bilateral adrenal incidentalomas, it is important to identify which adrenal gland is secreting excess aldosterone. Traditionally, adrenal vein sampling (AVS) has been performed for lateralization despite its invasiveness. Here we report a case of bilateral adrenal incidentaloma in which 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) was used to identify the functional adrenal mass. A 53-yr-old man was referred to our clinic due to bilateral adrenal incidentalomas (right: 1 cm, left: 2.5 cm) on computed tomography (CT). Given his history of colon cancer, FDG-PET/CT scanning was used to rule out metastasis. Although there was focal hot uptake lesion in the right adrenal gland, the patient was suspected primary aldosteronism clinically more than metastasis because of the patient's underlying hypertension with hypokalemia. It was consistent with the results of AVS. Based on these findings, we propose that FDG-PET/CT can be used instead of AVS to identify the source of primary aldosteronism between two bilateral adrenal incidentalomas.
Adrenal Gland Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/radionuclide imaging ; Adrenal Glands/pathology/surgery ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18/diagnostic use ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism/*diagnosis/pathology ; Hypertension/diagnosis ; Hypokalemia/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography

A 47-year-old male with recurrent abnormal behavior for ten years was referred to our clinic. He was diagnosed with insulinoma and cognitive dysfunction. Persistent hypoglycemia leads to a high risk of cognitive dysfunction in diabetic patients. However, cognitive dysfunction associated with insulinoma is rare. In this case study, cognitive dysfunction was confirmed by neurological testing.
Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulinoma ; Male

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.
Aged ; Angiography ; Choroid ; Ethnic Groups ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Membranes ; Photography ; Retinaldehyde ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization