PURPOSE: We used computed tomography (CT) scans to describe normal Korean lacrimal gland volume and lacrimal gland size and then examined their correlations with patient age. METHODS: CT scans were obtained in 213 orbits of 111 patients who underwent CT from January to August of 2013. Aquarius iNtuition (TeraRecon, Foster City, CA, USA) software was used to outline the lacrimal gland in consecutive axial slices and to calculate the volume. RESULTS: The mean volume of the lacrimal gland was 0.589 cm3 in right orbits (SD = 0.090), 0.583 cm3 in left orbits (SD = 0.289), 0.596 cm3 in males (SD = 0.083), and 0.575 cm3 in females (SD = 0.094). There was no significant difference in mean lacrimal gland volume according to laterality (p = 0.614) or sex (p = 0.102) (2-sample t-tests). We investigated mean lacrimal gland volume in 3 age groups. Mean lacrimal gland volume was 0.630 cm3 (SD = 0.080) for the 20 to 40 year old group, 0.553 cm3 (SD = 0.734) for the 41 to 60 year old group, and 0.544 cm3 (SD = 0.885) for the older than 60 years old group. There was an inverse relationship between gland volume and age (Pearson r = -0.384, p = 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: The mean volume of the lacrimal gland decreased with age and there was no significant difference between right and left orbits or between male and female patients.
Aging ; Female ; Humans ; Intuition ; Lacrimal Apparatus* ; Male ; Orbit* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The nucleotide sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the ribosomal DNA including the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) have been determined for 11 species in order to analyze their intrageneric relationships. The total length of these sequences ranged from 530 nucleotides for Trichoderma reesei KCTC 1286 to 553 nucleotide for Trichoderma koningii IAM 12534. Generally speaking, the length of ITS1 region was about 30 nucleotides longer than that of the ITS2 region. Also, the sequences of 5.8S rDNA were more conserved in length and variation than those of ITS regions. Although the variable ITS sequences were often ambiguously aligned, the conserved sites were also found. Thus, a neighbor-joining tree was constructed using the full sequence data of the ITS regions and the 5.8S rDNA. The Trichoderma genus used to be grouped on the basis of the morphological features and especially the shape of phialides needs to be reexamined. The phylogenetic tree displayed the presence of monophylogeny in the species of Trichoderma. Therefore, it was difficult to distinguish the intrageneric relationships in the Trichoderma genus.
Base Sequence* ; DNA, Ribosomal* ; Nucleotides ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S ; Trichoderma*

Tuberous sclerosis is an autosomal dominant disorder of cellular differentiation that affect the brain, skin, heart, kidney and other organs. We experienced three cases of tuberous sclerosis that affect multiple organs in mother and two daughters. We report these cases with brief review and related literatures.
Brain ; Heart ; Humans ; Kidney ; Mothers* ; Nuclear Family* ; Skin ; Tuberous Sclerosis*

No abstract available.
Glomus Tumor*

PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers in many parts of the world, however the molecular mechanisms underlying liver cell transformation remain obscure. The instability of microsatellite sequences dispersed in the genome has been linked to a deficiency in cellular mismatch repair. This phenotype has been frequently observed in various human neoplasms and is regarded as a major factor in tumorigenesis. To investigate cumulative genetic changes related with apoptosis during development and progression of HCC, we examined DNAs isolated from 12 Korean HCCs and their adjacent non-tumorous parts to look for evidence of microsatellite instability (MSI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve microsatellite loci (D6S271, D6S426, D13S153, D13S263, D17S849, D17S938, D17S945, D18S474, D18S64, D19S420, D.19S418 and D19S210) were amplified by PCR from 12 Korean HCCs, and analyzed using an automated DNA analyzer. RESULTS: The high percentages of the MSI were found for the loci of D6S426 (33.3%) and D17S945 (25.0%). The related genes with high frequency of MSI were noted in the wafl (41.7%) and p53 (25.0%). From this study, fifty eight percent of HCCs (7/12) showed MSI with at least one marker. CONCLUSION: This results suggest that the analysis of MSI in HCC might be useful for identifying genes whose loss of function contributes to the development of liver cancer. Furthennore, this method may give a more rapid and accurate sizing of the PCR products of microsatellite; making the routine assessment of MSI possible in many clinical fields.
Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; DNA ; DNA Mismatch Repair ; Genome ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Microsatellite Instability* ; Microsatellite Repeats* ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

PURPOSE: The demand for suitable organs in the world greatly outweighs the supply of transplantable organs. Perceptions and attitudes of the attending physician to brain death are pivotal for the organ donation process in brain dead donors. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the perceptions and attitudes of the attending physician on brain death and organ donation in order to promote the organ donation from brain dead donors in Korea. METHODS: Questionnaires were collected from 194 (17.9%) among 1,018 physicians and were analyzed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS: 97.5% (189/194) of respondents have positive attitudes toward organ donation. Although 97.9% (190/194) have experienced donor management, the referral rate was no more than half (96/194, 49.5%). The main barriers against organ donation were lack of knowledge on organ donation and transplantation (60/129, 46.5%), cultural background (27/120, 20.9%) and complexity in the organ donation process (12/129, 9.3%). CONCLUSION: Promotion of organ procurement organization and well trained-education programs are crucial to help attending physicians to understand the organ donation process, and eventually to increase the rate of organ donations in brain dead donors.
Brain Death* ; Brain* ; Humans ; Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Referral and Consultation ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tissue and Organ Procurement* ; Tissue Donors* ; Transplantation

Esophageal perforation is a rare but serious complication of anterior cervical spine surgery. Various methods have been developed for it's repair, and due to its multifocal blood supply, considerable length in the neck, and proximity to many important cervical structures, a sternocleidomastoid muscle flap has, in particular, been successfully utilized. The authors report two cases of cervical esophago-cutaneous fistula treated with sternocleidomastoid muscle flap.
Esophageal Perforation ; Fistula* ; Neck ; Spine*

Hepatolithiasis is rare in western countries, but is fairly common in East Asia, including Japan, China, and Taiwan. Calcium bilirubinate stones account for the majority of intrahepatic calculi, while intrahepatic cholesterol stones are very rare, the incidence being 0.37% of all gallstones. However, several investigators have recently reported an increased incidences of cholesterol gallstones in hepatolithiasis cases and have discussed the differing mechanisms for their formation in the intrahepatic biliary tree of patients with calcium bilirubinate stones and cholesterol stones. We report two cases of intrahepatic cholesterol stone, with emphasis on the radiologic findings, and review the literature.
Biliary Tract ; Bilirubin ; Calculi ; China ; Cholesterol* ; Far East ; Gallstones ; Humans ; Incidence ; Japan ; Research Personnel ; Taiwan

To clarify the prognostic factors influencing clinical outcome, the authors retrospectively analyzed 50 cases of thoracolumbar vertebral junction fracture treated at our hospital between September 1989 and October 1992. The age of the patients ranged from 23 to 75 years(median 49 years) and the male-to-female ratio was 33:17. Falling was the major mode of injury(m=27). The kyphotic angle between fractured vertebrae and the ratio of neural canal encroachment was measured in a simple X-ray and a computed tomography(CT) of the thoracic spine. An ANOVA test was performed to evaluate the predicting factors to determine the final outcome. The kyphotic angle and loss of height of vertebral body were not significantly correlated with the neurological status of the patients. However, the ratio of the compromised area of the neural canal was closely correlated with the neurological outcome(p value<0.05). The worst prognosis was found in patients with fracture-dislocation. In conclusion, it is suggested that early surgical intervention must be considered in the neurologically compromised patients whose CT demonstrates neural canal encroachment by bony fragments.
Humans ; Neural Tube ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

Neurologically based clinical grading scales offer excellent prognostic information for the patient suffering diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhaging. These grading scales are less applicable to patients with life-threatening intraparenchymal or subdural hematomas after aneurysmal rupture. During 2 and half years, 9 patients(ICH;5,SDH;1, ICH+SDH;3) in a comatose state with brain stem compression syndromes documented by computerized tomographic scans have undergone emergent operation without angiography in our neurosurgical department. Each patient was so critically ill that we believed it unwise to delay craniotomy for diagnostic angiography. The average delay from the detection to operation was 2 hours. The origin of the hematoma was identified as a berry aneurysm of the middle cereral artery bifurcation in seven patients and a posterior communicating artery aneurysm in two patients. One patient had a good recovery, two patients reovered with hemiparesis and mild cognitive dysfunction, two patients were vegetative and died due to pneumonia, and four patients died due to brain swelling within two weeks postoperatively. Emergent craniotomy with empiric exploration of appropriate subarachnoid cisterns after hematoma decompression may be life-saving management in some cases. The delay imposedfor diagnostic angiography may be avoided in attempts to save vital minutes of severe brain stem compression.
Aneurysm* ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Brain Edema ; Brain Stem ; Cerebral Angiography* ; Coma* ; Craniotomy ; Critical Illness ; Decompression ; Hematoma ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Paresis ; Pneumonia ; Rupture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Weights and Measures