BACKGROUND: As co-factors of metalloenzymes, zinc(Zn) and copper(Cu) have a considerable effect on nearly all the metabolism that takes place in organs of the body, including the skin. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate zinc and copper status in alopecia areata patients. METHODS: We measured serum levels of zinc and copper in 30 cases of alopecia areata patients and 10 normal individuals by atomic absorption spectrometry. Furthermore, we studied the significance of the ratio between serum levels of the two metals. RESULTS: The serum levels of zinc were significantly lower in alopecia areata patients than in healthy controls. The serum levels of copper were slightly lower in alopecia areata patients than in healthy controls. Ratios of Cu/Zn were slightly higher in alopecia areata patients than in healthy controls. But their differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We suggest that a serum Zn assay should be included in the chemical assessment of patients with alopecia areata.
Absorption ; Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Copper* ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Metals ; Skin ; Spectrum Analysis ; Zinc*

BACKGROUND: A history of osteoporotic fractures is strongly associated with the subsequent osteoporotic fractures. To prevent subsequent fractures, the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis following osteoporotic fractures are very important. A distal radius fracture (DRF) is the second most common type of osteoporotic fracture in South Korea. We analyzed the rate of osteoporosis diagnosis within 6 months post-DRF.METHODS: We used data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service nationwide claims database from 2010 to 2016. International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision codes and procedures codes were used to identify patients aged over 50 years with newly diagnosed DRFs; the osteoporosis assessments of these patients were then analyzed. We used Cochran-Armitage trend test to examine trends in osteoporosis diagnosis.RESULTS: A search of database identified 77,209 DRFs in patient aged above 50 years of age from 2011 to 2016. Among these patients, only 19,305 (25.0%) underwent diagnostic examination for osteoporosis. The number of osteoporosis examinations increased slightly, but not significantly, every year (P=0.061).CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians who treat DRFs shoulder also evaluated patients for osteoporosis after DRFs.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; International Classification of Diseases ; Korea ; Osteoporosis ; Osteoporotic Fractures ; Radius Fractures ; Radius ; Shoulder

Periprosthetic humeral fractures in patients with total shoulder arthroplasty are rare and difficult to treat. With the significant increase in the number of older patients who have undergone total shoulder arthroplasty in recent years, an increase in the number of periprosthetic shoulder fractures can be estimated. The decisions of treatment have to be taken individually, depending on the stability of the prosthesis, fracture location, and bone quality. On the other hand, there are limited data for treatment guidance and outcomes. This paper reviews the risk factors, classification, treatment, and outcomes of periprosthetic humeral fractures.

PURPOSE: To evaluate spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images of acute central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). METHODS: Six eyes of 6 patients who were diagnosed with acute CRAO were enrolled in the present study. The main SD-OCT measurements included macular thickness in the macular cube map and retinal thickness in the 5-line raster map. RESULTS: In acute CRAO, macular thickness increased more than that in the normal fellow eye in all cases. SD-OCT images demonstrated increased reflectivity and thickness in the inner retinal layer, especially in the nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell layer. However, in the outer retinal layer, SD-OCT images disclosed decreased reflectivity and increased thickness. The central subfield thickness area image showed normal reflectivity and thickness. The horizontal cross-sectional image showed relatively the same edema ratio between the inner retinal layer and outer retinal layer thickness. There was no cystoid or serous foveal detachment-type edema. CONCLUSIONS: SD-OCT images of CRAO showed increased outer retinal layer thickness and decreased reflectance as well as increased inner retinal layer thickness and reflectance. However, inner segment and outer segment junctions of the photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial signal were intact.
Edema ; Eye ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Nerve Fibers ; Retinal Artery ; Retinal Artery Occlusion ; Retinaldehyde ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

No abstract available.
Biopsy*

To evaluate the efficacy of pelviscopic surgery in gynecologic patient, we have reviewed 1196 patients treated pelviscopically from June 1992 to November 1996. The results of this study were summarized as follows; 1. The common indication were ectopic pregnancy(44.6%), ovarian cyst(14.0%), and myoma uteri(10.5%). 2. The major types of surgery were salpingectomy(24.8%), cystectomy(12.6%), salpingostomy(9.9%), adhesiolysis(6.5%),and myomectomy(5.8%). 3. The age of the patients ranged from 15 to 79 years and the mean age was 30.8 years. 4. the mean parity of the patients was 1.24. 5. The mean duration of hospitalization was 3.2 days. 6. The most common complication was hemorrhage at the trocar site, but it was controlled without difficulty.
Female ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Myoma ; Parity ; Surgical Instruments

No abstract available.
Transplants

Sarcoma of the uterus is very rare malignant tumor arising from the muscle or connective tissue, and there are only a few cases reported in Korea. We have experienced 16 cases of uterine sarcomas for 10 years from 1986 to 1995. The results are as follows: 1. The incidence of uterine sarcomas in uterine leiomyomas was estimated to 0.69%. 2. The pathologic types were 5 cases(31.3%) of leiomyosarcoma, 3 cases(18.8%) of endometrial stromal sarcoma, 6 cases(37.5%) of malignant mixed Mllerian tumor 2 cases(12.5%) of rhabdomyosarcoma in order. 3. The mean age was 46.4 years. 4. Seven(58.7%) were stage I, 2(16.7%) were stage III, and 3(25.6%) were stage IV. 4. The chief complaints on admission were abdominal mass(50%), abnormal bleeding(25%), and pelvic or abdominal pain(25%). 5. The estimated median survival was 43 months, and there was no correlation between survival and number of mitotic figure per 10 high power fields, stages, or radiation therapy.
Connective Tissue ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leiomyoma ; Leiomyosarcoma ; Prognosis ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Endometrial Stromal ; Uterus

BACKGROUND: The vasculitis are a group of diseases and disorders sharing the central feature of inflammation of the blood vessel wall with attendant tissue ischemia. The purpose of this study was to determine the types and frequency of neurological involvement in patients with vasculitis. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 131 patients with vasculitis who were examined at Severance Hospital. RESULTS: The nervous system was involved in 47 out of 131 cases. Patients with systemic necrotizing vasculitis showed the highest frequency of neurological involvement (78.3%) of which peripheral involvement was the most common. Patients with Wegener's granulomatosis showed 36.4% of neu-rological involvement of which all cases were cranial nerve palsy. Neurological involvement was found in 18.7% of cases with Takayasu's arteritis and was limited to the central nervous system. Neurological symptoms were initial mani-festations in 56.5% of cases with systemic necrotizing vasculitis, 9% with Wegener's granulomatosis, and 2.7% with Takayasu's arteritis. Among various laboratory values, positive rate of p-ANCA was significantly higher in Wegener's granulomatosis cases with neurological involvement than cases without involvement. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the frequency and distribution of neurological involvement vary with the underlying disorder. Neurological manifestations may provide an important clue for the diagnosis of systemic necrotizing vasculitis because neurological involvements frequently occur as an initial manifestation of it. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(4):370~375, 2001)
Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Blood Vessels ; Central Nervous System ; Cranial Nerve Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Ischemia ; Medical Records ; Nervous System ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Peripheral Nerves ; Takayasu Arteritis ; Vasculitis ; Wegener Granulomatosis

No abstract available.
Humans ; Survival Rate*