BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are common in the medically ill patients although depressive disorders are considerably underdiagnosed and undertreated. Therefore, we examined the characteristics of depressive tendency in medical inpatients. METHODS: The patient group-144 subj.cts(90 males, 54 females) were selected from medical inpatients of Kae Jung hospital. 158 subjects(106 male, 52 females) with no prior history of diseases were selected for the control group. The Beck Depression Inventory(BDI) and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression(HRSD) was used for both groups from June to December 1997. RESULTS: The patient group had a significant higher BDI and HRSD score than controls(p<0.01). In the patients, 31.3% had scores on the BDI greater than the cutting score of 21, and 26.4% had scores on the HRSD greater than the cutting score of 22. In the patients, demographic and medical variables were evaluated with respect to depression. those in their 60's, with education level of elementary school and below. the divorced, bereaved and separated, and having duration of illness more than one year were statistically more depressed, but depression was not associated with sex, religion and medical diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that depressive tendency may be a common phenomena in medically ill patients. Therefore, we should suspect depression in the management of these patients.
Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnosis ; Divorce ; Education ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Male

Tuberculous spondylitis is not rare disease. Today the posterior instrumentation and posterior or posterolateral fusion concomitant with the anterior decompression and anterior interbody fusion have been used for the treatment of spinal tuberculosis. The authors experienced a case of tuberculous spondylitis complicated with descending aortic pseudoaneurysm. An aneurysm is defined as a localized dilatation of an artery that is at least one-half the size greater than is expected for that artery. Pseudoaneurysm occurring after previous operation, trauma, and infection. Erosion of the thoracic aorta with the development of an fistula in the presence of infection is an unusual and difficult problem to manage. We report a case and review related articles briefly.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Arteries ; Decompression ; Dilatation ; Fistula ; Rare Diseases ; Spondylitis* ; Tuberculosis, Spinal

No abstract available.
Thrombocytopenia, Neonatal Alloimmune*

No abstract available.
Thrombocytopenia, Neonatal Alloimmune*

Vascular complications such as hematoma, pseudoaneurysm and arteriovenous fistula that occur after intracoronary or intracardiac procedures are responsible for considerable morbidity and some mortality. Iatrogenic aneurysms are usually postcatheterization pseudoaneurysms of the femoral artery. Nowadays, it is not uncommon as a consequence of more complex interventional procedures, larger catheters and prolonged anticoagulation treatment. Surgical repair has been mainstay of treatment for pseudoaneurysm. However, recently has it been shown that color Doppler ultrasound-guided direct, noninvasive compression of the pseudoaneurysm stops the blood flow in the communication and lead to pseudoaneurysm clotting and obliteration. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm in femoral artery, which was developed at the right inguinal puncture site in 74 year old male patient with myocardial infarction who had received continuous intravenous infusion of heparin and had undergone primary percutaneous coronary angioplasty and temporary pacemaker insertion treated successfully with color Doppler ultrasound guided direct compression.
Aged ; Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False* ; Angioplasty ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Cardiology* ; Catheters ; Femoral Artery* ; Hematoma ; Heparin ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Male ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Punctures ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Gardnerella vaginalis* ; Gardnerella*

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common form of hand mononeuropathy that is typi-cally caused by median nerve compression. Although it is often idiopathic, CTS can also result from various conditions, including space-occupying lesions. Tumoral calcinosis, a rare condition characterized by periarticular deposition of calcified masses, is an un-common cause of secondary CTS. We present a case of a 78-year-old woman with idio-pathic tumoral calcinosis that caused secondary CTS. Despite conservative treatments, her symptoms persisted, and diagnostic imaging, including radiographs, computed to-mography, and magnetic resonance imaging, revealed a calcified mass in the carpal tun-nel. A surgical intervention involving carpal tunnel release and excisional biopsy con-firmed the diagnosis of tumoral calcinosis. Postoperatively, the patient showed complete resolution of symptoms, with no recurrence on follow-up radiographs. This case high-lights the importance of considering space-occupying lesions, such as tumoral calcinosis, as a rare but treatable cause of secondary CTS.

BACKGROUND: The highly developed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) structure in pancreatic beta cells is heavily involved in insulin biosynthesis. Thus, any perturbation in ER function inevitably impacts insulin biosynthesis. Recent studies showed that the expression of tribbles-related protein 3 (TRB3), a mammalian homolog of Drosophilia tribbles, in various cell types is induced by ER stress. Here, we examined whether ER stress induces TRB3 expression in INS-1 cells and found that TRB3 mediates ER stress-induced suppression of insulin gene expression. METHODS: The effects of tunicamycin and thapsigargin on insulin and TRB3 expression in INS-1 cells were measured by Northern and Western blot analysis, respectively. The effects of adenovirus-mediated overexpression of TRB3 on insulin, PDX-1 and MafA gene expression in INS-1 cells were measured by Northern blot analysis. The effect of TRB3 on insulin promoter was measured by transient transfection study with constructs of human insulin promoter. RESULTS: The treatment of INS-1 cells with tunicamycin and thapsigargin decreased insulin mRNA expression, but increased TRB3 protein expression. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of TRB3 decreased insulin gene expression in a dose-dependent manner. A transient transfection study showed that TRB3 inhibited insulin promoter activity, suggesting that TRB3 inhibited insulin gene expression at transcriptional level. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of TRB3 also decreased PDX-1 mRNA expression, but did not influence MafA mRNA expression. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that ER stress induced TRB3 expression, but decreased both insulin and PDX-1 gene expression in INS-1 cells. Our data suggest that TRB3 plays an important role in ER stress-induced beta cell dysfunction.
Blotting, Northern ; Blotting, Western ; Endoplasmic Reticulum ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; RNA, Messenger ; Thapsigargin ; Transfection ; Tunicamycin

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of transvenous embolization in patients with dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: From October 2002 to July 2004, eight patients with angiographically confirmed DAVF underwent transvenous embolization of the affected dural sinuses. Concomitant transarterial embolization was performed in four patients. Patients included five men and three women aged 45-78 years (mean age, 55.4 years). The patient's medical records and angiographic features were retrospectively reviewed. Patients had follow-up periods ranging from 5 to 24 months (mean, 16.5 months). RESULTS: The locations of DAVF were transverse - sigmoid sinus in six patients and cavernous sinus in two patients. According to Cognard's classification, four of the DAVFs were Type I, two were type IIa, and two were Type IIb. Embolic materials used for the transvenous embolization were platinum detachable coils and fibered microcoils. After the transvenous embolization, there was complete obliteration of the DAVF in seven patients and significant flow reduction in one patient. All cases were clinically successful. There were no transient or permanent complications as a result of the endovascular procedures in any of the patients. One patient who had symptom recurrence 2 months after the initial treatment was successfully treated with repeated transvenous embolization. The remaining seven patients had no symptom recurrence during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Transvenous embolization is an effective and safe method in the treatment of patients with DAVF.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Cavernous Sinus ; Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations* ; Classification ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Endovascular Procedures ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Medical Records ; Platinum ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate factors influencing on perinatal outcomes of pregnancy with IgA nephropathy and the effect of pregnancy on the prognosis of IgA nephropathy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and laboratory findings of 28 pregnancies in 25 pregnant women with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy at six hospitals of Catholic Medical Center throughout the period of January 1999 to December 2009. They are divided into two groups by presence or absence of perinatal complications such as preeclampsia and preterm labor and then compared. The prognosis of IgA nephropathy was determined by serum creatinine level and diagnosis of end stage renal disease (ESRD) until 3 years after delivery. Fisher exact test and Mann-Witney U test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The factors that related perinatal complications included high blood pressure (P=0.019), low glomerular filtration rate (less than 50 mL/min) (P=0.029), and high creatinine level (more than 2.0 mg/dL) (P=0.005). Especially, hypertension and high creatinine level (more than 2.0 mg/dL) increased risk of not only preterm birth (P=0.017, P=0.026, respectively) but also preeclampsia (P=0.008, P=0.001, respectively). The factors that increased risk of ESRD within 2 years after delivery included high creatinine level (more than 2.0 mg/dL) (P=0.018) and preeclampsia (P=0.018). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that hypertension and poor renal function could be predictors of poor perinatal outcomes, and when pregnancies with IgA nephropathy are complicated by preeclampsia or high creatinine level (more than 2.0 mg/dL), the prognosis of IgA nephropathy might be poor.
Creatinine ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Immunoglobulin A ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Obstetric Labor, Premature ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Premature Birth ; Prognosis ; Renal Insufficiency ; Retrospective Studies