Dermatomyositis (DM) is an idiopathic inflammatory process characterized by proximal muscle weakness and cutaneous lesions, such as the Gottron's sign, heliotrope rash, and erythematous photosensitive rash. Administration of systemic agents for the treatment of underlying systemic diseases leads to remission of the cutaneous lesions in many cases. However, cutaneous lesions may remain refractory to treatment. Pimecrolimus is a calcineurin inhibitor with combined anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity. It has high affinity to the skin and low permeation potential, even in patients with acute skin inflammation and in those undergoing post-topical corticosteroid therapy. We herein report two DM patients whose cutaneous lesions were refractory to conventional treatment but showed dramatic response to topical pimecrolimus. The clinical outcomes suggest that topical pimecrolimus may be a good therapeutic alternative for the management of the cutaneous lesions of DM.
Calcineurin ; Dermatomyositis ; Exanthema ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Muscle Weakness ; Skin ; Tacrolimus

BACKGROUND: Oral isotretinoin is an effective treatment modality for acne, but this agent may cause dryness of the skin and mucous membrane. Gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) has been known to improve skin moisture and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL). It is also known to have anti-inflammatory effects and to inhibit 5-alpha reductase. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of GLA in the prevention of xerosis and improvement of acne lesions after concomitant administration of isotretinoin. METHODS: In this prospective study, 102 Korean acne patients were enrolled and randomized to receive isotretinoin either with or without GLA for 12 weeks. Comparing evaluations included skin hydration, TEWL, visual analogue scale (VAS) score for dryness of the lips and skin, number of acne lesions such as comedos, papules, and pustules, Korean acne grading system (KAGS) grade, and patient satisfaction regarding treatment. RESULTS: The decrease of skin hydration and increase of the TEWL of the lips and cheek were less definite in the experimental group than those of the control group. VAS score for dryness of the lips and skin was significantly lower in the experimental group compared with the control group. The number of acne lesions decreased in both groups; only the numbers of papules were different between the two groups. The decrease of the KAGS grade was more definite in the experimental group than that in the control group. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that GLA could be used effectively for the improvement of acne lesions as well as for the prevention of xerosis.
Acne Vulgaris* ; Cheek ; gamma-Linolenic Acid* ; Humans ; Isotretinoin* ; Lip ; Mucous Membrane ; Oxidoreductases ; Patient Satisfaction ; Prospective Studies ; Skin

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate of correlation between ultrasonographic findings of endometrosis and endometriosis stage and recurrence. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of fifty-nine patients who admitted the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Sanggye Paik Hospital from April 1998 to June 2004 and were surgically confirmed endometriosis stage 3-4. GnRH agonist was injected every 4 weeks after the first injection following initial operation and a total of six doses were injected to a patient. We performed ultrasonographic examination of pre- and post-operation at an interval of 3 or 6 months. The endometriotic ultrasonographic findings were classified into three group; low-level internal echo (LIE), LIE and septation, LIE and hyperechoic wall foci. The correlation between ultrasonographic finding of endometrioma and endometriosis stage and recurrence were analyzed by Fisher's exact test and Pearson's chi-square test. RESULTS: The follow-up periods after operation were about 11.9 months. Typical ultrasonographic findings of endometrioma were observed on 50 of 59 patients, diagnostic performance of ultrasound in the detection of endometrioma had a 84.7% sensitivity in this study. In 50 cases, 48% (n=24) had a only low-level internal echoes, 32% (n=16) had a low-level internal echoes and multiple septation, 20% (n=10) had a low-level internal echoes and hyperechoic wall foci. The most common ultrasonographic findings were LIE (50%) in stage 3, LIE and septation (33.3%) in stage 4. During follow-up we observed ultrasonographic recurrence in 6 (10.2%) cases. There were no statistically significant correlation between ultrasonographic finding and endometriosis stage or recurrence. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound is a convenient and reliable method for diagnosis of endometrioma. But, it appears that ultrasonographic findings of endometrioma not correlate with endometriosis stage or recurrence. Further long term follow-up studies in large scale is needed for correlation between ultrasonographic findings of endometriosis and clinical significance.
Diagnosis ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Obstetrics ; Recurrence* ; Ultrasonography

Late stent thrombosis (LST) which is a life threatening complication has emerged as a serious problem of drug-eluting stents (DES). Several studies have suggested that incomplete neointimal coverage of stent struts contributes to LST. Progressive atherosclerosis within the neointima is an another possible cause of LST, but this phenomenon has seldom been reported in DES. We present a case of LST following DES implantation after a period of 28 months due to ruptured atheromatous plaque, despite complete neointimal coverage of stent struts proven by optical coherence tomography.
*Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Coronary Angiography ; *Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neointima/*pathology/ultrasonography ; Thrombosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Tomography, Optical Coherence/*methods ; Ultrasonography, Interventional/*methods

INTRODUCTION: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is now considered as an alternative treatment option for severe aortic stenosis (AS) patients who cannot undergo surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). CASE REPORT: We describe the first Korean case of transaortic TAVI with mini-sternotomy using CoreValve. A 83-year-old woman with severe AS and recent history of non-ST elevation myocardial infarction was referred to our institution for TAVI intervention. There was no amenable peripheral vascular access for transfemoral or trans-subclavian approach. Considering the relatively high procedural risk of transapical approach in this patient, we performed transaortic TAVI with mini-sternotomy. CONCLUSION: The present case suggests transaortic approach may be an effective and safe strategy for TAVI in high risk severe AS patients without eligible femoral or subclavian access routes.
Aged, 80 and over ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Aortic Valve* ; Female ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Vascular Access Devices

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is indicated as an alternative treatment modality to surgical aortic valve replacement for high risk patients. The standard retrograde approach through the femoral artery is not feasible in the case of unfavorable iliofemoral anatomy or severe peripheral arterial disease (PAD). However, patients with aortic stenosis (AS) have a higher prevalence of for PAD because both diseases are consequences of atherosclerotic degenerative changes. Transsubclavian, transapical, and direct access to the ascending aorta by thoracotomy are alternative routes for the TAVI procedure. In this report, we present the first Korean patient with symptomatic severe AS and bilateral iliofemoral artery disease who was successfully treated with TAVI using a CoreValve (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) by transsubclavian approach.
Aorta ; Aortic Valve ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Arteries ; Catheters ; Femoral Artery ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Humans ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Prevalence ; Prosthesis Implantation ; Thoracotomy

Surgical replacement of the aortic valve is the standard therapy for severe aortic valve stenosis. However, it is generally associated with increased mortality and morbidities in older individuals. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a less invasive procedure and has shown similar clinical outcomes as surgical treatment in elderly patients at high risk for conventional surgery. In this report, we describe the first case of TAVI using a CoreValve in Korea. An 84-year-old man with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis was successfully treated by transfemoral TAVI. The patient was discharged without any significant complications and remained free of adverse clinical event for a follow-up duration of 6 months.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aortic Valve ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Catheters ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Humans ; Korea ; Prosthesis Implantation

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative treatment modality for surgical aortic valve replacement in patients at high surgical risk. Transfemoral access is not feasible in many cases with unfavorable iliofemoral anatomy or severe peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Elderly patients with severe aortic valve stenosis have a higher prevalence of PAD due to atherosclerotic degenerative changes in the large and small vessels. Transsubclavian, transapical, and direct access to the ascending aorta by thoracotomy are alternative routes for the TAVI procedure. In this case, we describe a patient with a previous coronary artery bypass graft and bilateral iliac artery stenosis who successfully underwent TAVI using a CoreValve(R) by transfemoral approach after balloon angioplasty of iliac artery stenosis.
Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aorta ; Aortic Valve ; Aortic Valve Stenosis ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Heart Valve Prosthesis ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Peripheral Arterial Disease ; Prevalence ; Thoracotomy ; Transplants

OBJECTIVE: To examine the ability of published osteoporosis risk indices for prediction of osteoporosis in post- and perimenopausal women. METHODS: Subjects included 1559 of post- and perimenopausal women, 45 year old and older, recruited from Menopause Clinic from January 2002 to June 2004. Their bone mineral density (BMD) of femur neck was determined by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and their historical and clinical risk factors were assessed. We employed the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic criteria of osteoporosis for calculating the T scores, using race/ethnic and gender-specific young adult mean values. We applied 6 published osteoporosis risk indices (OSTA, ORAI, SCORE, SOFSURF, ABONE, NOF practice guideline) to each subject. Also, the predictive abilities of risk indices were assessed using the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: The prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia was 8.7% and 32.6% for femur neck, 16.0% and 30.1% for lumbar spine, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis for femur neck was increased dramatically in the coming decades (1.6% for fifties, 8.7% for sixties, 43.0% for seventies, 64.1% for over eighties). ROC curve for predicting osteoporosis according to femur neck by OSTA showed the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.920. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) were 93.4%, 75.4%, 26.6%, respectively. AUC for ORAI, SCORE, SOFSURF, ABONE, and NOF practice guideline was 0.896, 0.916, 0.871, 0.846, and 0.856, respectively. CONCLUSION: Validated risk indices have varying complexity, but similar sensitivity, specificity, and PPV for identifying individuals who are likely to have osteoporosis. However, OSTA is the most excellent risk index and simple tool.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Area Under Curve ; Bone Density ; Bone Diseases, Metabolic ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Menopause ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis* ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spine ; World Health Organization ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To compare umbilical cord plasma leptin level between infants of mothers with gestational diabetes and infants of control subjects and to evaluate the regulation of leptin in GDM. METHODS: Leptin concentrations were measured in cord blood at birth using a specific radioimmunoassay employing human recombinant leptin (Human Leptin RIA kit; Linco Research, Inc. USA). We compared cord plasma leptin level between gestational diabetes (n=18 women) and control pregnancies (n=21 women). RESULTS: Maternal weight, fetal birth weight, Ponderal index and placental weight were significant variables among the demographic variables. There was statistical difference in cord plasma leptin level between infants of mothers with gestational diabetes and infants of control subjects (Control subjects: 4.8 [3.7-7.9]ng/mL, GDM women: 8.0 [6.6-11.9]ng/mL, P=0.022). There was also statistical difference in the ratio between cord plasma leptin level and birth weight (Control subjects: 0.001 [0.001-0.002]ng/mL/gm, GDM women: 0.002 [0.002-0.003]ng/mL/gm (P=0.022)), and between cord plasma leptin level and Ponderal index (Control subjects: 0.280 [0.217-0.579], GDM women: 0.605 [0.452-1.005], (P=0.008)). There was no difference in gender. CONCLUSION: We found significant difference in umbilical cord plasma leptin level and adjusted leptin level for fetal birth weight, Ponderal index and placental weight between infants of mothers with gestational diabetes and infants of control subjects. It is suggested that umbilical cord plasma leptin is produced by fetal fat tissue, but it is more complicatedly regulated by placenta and other factors in gestational diabetes.
Birth Weight ; Diabetes, Gestational* ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Fetal Weight ; Humans ; Infant ; Leptin* ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Placenta ; Plasma* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Umbilical Cord*