Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related disorder. Both the prevalence and the incidence of AD double approximately every 5 years after the age of 60. This is a particularly serious problem considering that the Korean elderly population is rapidly growing. We present three illustrative cases of AD in mild, moderate, and advanced stages, respectively. Their initial symptoms were memory impairment which was followed by language disturbance and visuospatial dysfunction. Abnormal behaviors such as delusion and aggression occurred in moderate and severe cases. The presence and severity of dementia in these cases were established by history taking, neurological examination, standardized mental status assessment, and neuropsychological test. Laboratory investigations showed no abnormalities that could account for the cognitive deficits. Brain CT or MRI findings of the patients wee not remarkable except for a diffuse atrophy demonstrated by increased ventricular volume, narrowed gyri, and widened sulci, As an addendum, risk factors, clinical symptoms, clinical diagnosis, and natural history of AD were reviewed.
Aged ; Aggression ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Cognition Disorders ; Delusions ; Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory ; Natural History ; Neurologic Examination ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

No abstract available.
Ameloblastoma* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle*

PURPOSE: The clinical significance of preoperative serum levels of CEA and CA19-9, levels of CEA and CA19-9 in peritoneal washing fluid and free cancer cells in peritoneal washing fluid in gastric cancer patients were evaluated in this study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum and peritoneal levels of CEA and CA19-9 and peritoneal washing cytology in 115 patients with gastric cancer were analyzed with respect to the prognostic factors using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Positive rate of serum CEA and CA19-9 was 16.5%, 13.0%. And that of peritoneal washing CEA, CA19-9 and cytology was 15.7%, 7.8% and 9.6%. A univariate analysis showed that tumor markets in serum and peritoneal washing fluid and peritoneal washing cytology had significant correlations with the progression of the tumors, and patients with positive serum or peritoneal tumor markers had poorer survival after operation than did the patients with negative tumor markers. But in a multivariate analysis showed that only peritoneal CA19-9 was an independent risk factor. And combination of these five markers provided rnore predictable prognostic informations in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Combination of serum or peritoneal levels of CEA, CA19-9 and washing cytology appeared to be a useful marker for managing gastric cancer patients.
Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Biomarkers, Tumor

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In addition to diagnostic criteria, a broad range of nonspecific clinical features can be found in patients with Kawasaki disease. This lack of specificity may cause confusion with other febrile illnesses and delay the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease. The purpose of this study is to describe common associated symptoms and their clinical significances in children affected with Kawasaki disease. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: As a retrospective study, we reviewed the medical records of 121 children who were treated for Kawasaki disease at Presbyterian medical center from January 2005 to June 2010. All clinical symptoms, laboratory data and echocardiographic findings in patients with KD were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: We found that there are 9 associated symptoms, namely cough, rhinorrhea, sputum, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, arthralgia, headache and seizure, which occur in patients with Kawasaki disease. Among the study group, there were only 32 children with no associated symptoms (26.4%). Patients with abdominal pain and headache had an older mean age than those without such symptoms. The incidence of seizure was significantly higher in incomplete Kawasaki disease patients compared with those with complete Kawasaki disease. Vomiting was highly associated with IVIG non-responder group. CONCLUSION: To decrease the incidence of serious coronary complications due to delayed diagnosis, physicians need to be aware of the manifestations of Kawasaki disease and the possibility of associated symptoms, which, being unspecific, may otherwise not raise any red flags.
Abdominal Pain ; Arthralgia ; Child ; Cough ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diarrhea ; Headache ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Incidence ; Medical Records ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Protestantism ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Vomiting

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is the impairment of motor programming. However, the exact nature of this deficit remains unclear. In particular, AOS without other speech-language deficit is called pure AOS, but it is very rare. When diagnosing AOS, the characteristic of articulation is considered a crucial criterion, which has been proposed for differentiating AOS from phonological and dysarthric disorders. The present study reports on pure AOS in a 37-year-old right-handed male after a left insular, front, temporal infarction. This report may be useful for further AOS study and diagnosis in the clinical setting.
Adult ; Apraxias ; Humans ; Infarction ; Male

The purpose of the study is to develop a Web-based health information service system for the disabled. To identify users' information needs, we conducted an online and offline survey of the disabled and their caregivers as well as welfare institutes' staff. Based on the user's information needs, a Web-site was developed. The Web-site was evaluated by users for their satisfaction with the Web-site and by experts for the quality of the site. Content of the Web-site includes information on rehabilitation, welfare, and diseases causing the disability, definition and classification of disability, prevention from disability, management of the disabled, and disability related policies. Besides this information, FAQ on the disabled, statistics, links to the disabled institutes and Web sites, risk factor appraisal tool, and aiding tools for the disabled are added. The Web site is a subsystem of the Healthguide. Users rated efficiency, convenience, and design of the site highly in their satisfaction rating. Staff at welfare institutes rated design, efficiency, and relevance of the site highly in their satisfaction rating. Experts rated easiness, reliability, clearness and appropriateness of the site highly in their site evaluation. It is expected that this Web-based health information service system for the disabled will contribute to the disabled's health promotion as well as provide a community for the disabled related researchers, professionals and experts to share information on the disabled's health.
Academies and Institutes ; Caregivers ; Classification ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Information Services ; Information Systems ; Internet ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors

A 50-year-old man who had suffered from chronic indigestion complained of upper abdominal pain and vomiting which had persisted for 4 days. Consequently, he had eaten two persimmons before sleeping detected each day for five days. An irregular multinodular villous filling defect was in the duodenal bulb on, the UGI series, which had its location and changed its position. It was difficult to differentiate a papillary gastric polyp or villous tumor from the duodenal bezoar, but the patient's history of having eaten persimmons was helpful. The endoscopic and pathologic study confirmed a phytobezoar which was located in the normal duodenal bulb. Subsequently we are reporting this case having reviewed the related literature of the phytobezoar which was found in the normal duodenal bulb.
Abdominal Pain ; Bezoars* ; Diospyros ; Duodenum ; Dyspepsia ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Polyps ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: In children, 24-hour urine collections are unreliable for evaluating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) because of the difficulty of regulating voiding and the daily variation of urinary creatinine up to 25%. Additionally, creatinine clearance (Ccr) based on urinary creatinine is considered inaccurate. The purpose of this study was to compare estimated GFR determined using Ccr, formulas with serum cystatin C and creatinine, and 99mTc-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (MAG3) dynamic renal scintigraphy. METHODS: This retrospective study included 101 patients (age, <18 years) who visited Chung-Ang University Hospital between July 2011 and August 2012. GFR was estimated using 24-hour urinary creatinine, five formulas with serum creatinine and cystatin C, and 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan. RESULTS: Of the 101 patients, glomerular renal diseases were present in 60 patients (59.4%) and non-glomerular diseases were present in 41 patients (40.6%). There was a significant correlation between estimated GFR determined using 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan and Ccr (r=0.389, P<0.001). The correlation values between estimated GFR determined using 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan and each formula of Schwartz, Counahan-Barratt, Cockcroft-Gault, Filler and Lepage, and Bokencamp were 0.265 (P=0.007), 0.128 (P=0.044), 0.230 (P=0.021), 0.356 (P<0.001), and 0.355 (P<0.001), respectively. 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan was correlated with estimated-GFR by all formulas in decreased renal function. CONCLUSION: Estimated GFRs determined using serum creatinine and cystatin C, and 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan correlated well with estimated GFR determined using Ccr. 99mTc-MAG3 renal scan may be replaced for evaluation of renal function with convenience in patients with renal disease and decreased renal function in childhood.
Child* ; Creatinine ; Cystatin C ; Glomerular Filtration Rate* ; Humans ; Radionuclide Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Technetium Tc 99m Mertiatide ; Urine Specimen Collection

We report a case of multicystic mesothelioma in the visceral peritoneum anterior of the ascending colon. A 39-year-old female patient visited hospital with a palpabel tender mass in the right flank. An ultrasonogram showed multiple cystic mass lesions in the right flank and CT scan showed a multicystic rative mass with enhancing wall and septum in front of the ascending colon. The patient underwent explolaparotomy and the mass. which inpathology turned out to be a benign multicystic masothelioma, was removed.
Colon, Ascending ; Female ; Humans ; Mesothelioma* ; Peritoneum* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Severe hyperemesis gravidarum is a rare but potentially life-threatening it left untreated. Its serious complications are dehydration, ketosis, alkalosis from loss of hydrochloric acid, hypokalemia, and compromised pre-renal acute kidney injury. We experienced a very rare case of a 20-year-old woman who presented to the emergency department with severe hyperemesis gravidarum associated with a loss of kidney function at 25 weeks' gestation. Her initial serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen were 5.0 and 45.9 mg/dL, respectively. The patient underwent hemodialysis for three days and achieved a subsequent recovery of renal function. In conclusion, our case indicates that clinicians should be aware of the possibility of acute kidney injury associated with severe hyperemesis gravidarum although rare.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Alkalosis ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Creatinine ; Dehydration ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrochloric Acid ; Hyperemesis Gravidarum* ; Hypokalemia ; Ketosis ; Kidney ; Pregnancy ; Renal Dialysis ; Young Adult