We evaluated MR imaging of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis degenerative spondylolisthesis and retrolisthesis in 14, 9 and 20 patients respectively. Sagittal and axial spin echo and gradient echo images were obtained with 25-30cm FOV and 5mm/0.5mm thickness/gap by using spine surface coil. Sagittal images showed defects of pars interarticularis just inside of the pedicles of spines in all the cases of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis with relatively variable signal intensity. Displaced vertebrae were commonly observed at L5 (8/14) in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, at L4 (5/9) in degenerative spondylolisthesis and at variable locations in retrolisthesis. The mean length of displacement of vertebrae in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis was about 7mm and less displacement was onserved in degenerative spondylolisthesis and retrolisthesis. Seven, four and six cases of pseudobulging of disk at displaced level were observed in cases of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, degenerative spondylolisthesis and retrolisthesis respectively. Seven, five and 14 cases of true disk lesions were onserved in cases of spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, degenertive spondylolisthesis and retrolisthesis respectively. Grade II neural foraminal stenoses (obliteration of one half epidural fat of neural foramen) were commonly (8/14) seen in spondylolytic spondylolisthesis, however the other two types showed less severe neural foraminal stenosis. In conclusion, MR imaging is a highly accurate method for the diagnosis and evaluation of spondylolisthesis and associated lesions of spine and disks.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Methods ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis*

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Survival Rate*

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a known, but relatively rare complication of pulmonary metastases of sarcoma. A 19-year-old man was presented with chest pain and dyspnea for three days and was diagnosed as left pneumothorax. After bleb resection, microscopic examination revealed metastatic osteosarcoma forming subpleural fistula and dystrophic calcification. Four years ago, he had had limb salvage operation and chemotherapy for osteosarcoma of left femur. After two and a half years he had a bleb resection for right pneumothorax without any evidence of metastasis. Six months later, he was found to have a 4x3cm sized lung mass in the right lower lobe. After lobectomy, he was diagnosed as pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma. Pneumothorax is the common complication of metastatic osteosarcoma to the lung and it may be presented before the pulmonary metastasis is clinically evident. It is important to recognize a pneumothorax of the patients with osteosarcoma as a possible sign of metastases.
Blister ; Chest Pain ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Femur ; Fistula ; Humans ; Limb Salvage ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Osteosarcoma* ; Pneumothorax* ; Sarcoma ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: HLA-Cw6 has the strongest individual association with psoriasis in many racial groups, and associations with the positive family history and early age at onset have been noted in many studies. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate whether Cw6 correlate with the clinical parameters of Korean psoriatic patients. METHODS: One hundred and twelve unrelated patients with psoriasis, and 166 healthy controls were examined with regard to Cw*0602, using a PCR-SSP method. We divided the patients into two groups according to Cw*0602 positivity, and compared two groups with reference to several clinical parameters. RESULTS: The results are summarized as follows: 1. Cw*0602 was found in 69.6% of the 112 patients, but only in 9.0% of the 166 healthy controls(p<0.05, RR=23.1). 2. The presence of Cw*0602 correlated with early age at onset(26.1 vs. 32.5 years, p<0.05), and Cw*0602 was present in 75.0% of the patients with early onset(p<0.05, RR=30.2). 3. The presence of Cw*0602 did not correlate with a positive family history of psoriasis among the first-degree relatives, but correlated with an overall positive family history (p<0.05). 4. There were no positive correlations with arthritis, the history of inpatient treatment, the clinical type of psoriasis, and onset or exacerbation after upper respiratory infection. CONCLUSION: The presence of Cw*0602 correlated with a positive family history for psoriasis and early age at onset, but did not correlate with arthritis, the history of inpatient treatment, the clinical type of psoriasis, and onset or exacerbation after upper respiratory infection.
Arthritis ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Psoriasis

Childhood intestinal tuberculosis is difficult to diagnose for its protean clinical manifestations, especially in cases without pulmonary involvement. Differential diagnosis with Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease and other malignancy is also important. Surgery has often been required for pathologic confirmation or therapy. Colonoscopy may be performed safely under consciousness sedation in children for bacteriologic and histopathologic confirmation of the biopsy specimen in addition to gross appearance of the lesion. We have experienced a case of intestinal tuberculosis presenting with chronic abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss and anemia in a 9 year old girl who was diagnosed by a colonoscopic examination and culture of the biopsy specimen from the ascending colon. The patient was managed with antituberculous drugs and recovered uneventfully.
Abdominal Pain ; Anemia ; Biopsy ; Child ; Colon, Ascending ; Colonoscopy* ; Consciousness ; Crohn Disease ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diarrhea ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Tuberculosis* ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. Connexin32 (Cx32) gene mutations on Xq13.1 cause the X-linked form of CMT disease, and PMP22 gene duplication on 17p11.2-p12 causes CMT1A. The aim of the present study is to determine the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics between X-linked CMT patients with Cx32 missense mutations and CMT1A patients with PMP22 duplications. METHODS: We screened for 17p11.2-p12 duplication, and for point mutations in Cx32 genes of 48 Korean CMT families. Both neurological examination and nerve conduction studies were performed in all patients. RESULTS: Frequency of CMTX (6.3%) in our study was similar to Japanese, and was lower than those in European peoples. CMTX patients displayed no man-to-man transmission, and had cranial nerve involvement. CMTX patients showed more wide range of motor and sensory nerve conduction velocities than CMT1A patients. We found one family with axonal neuropathy and two families with demyelinating neuropathy in CMTX patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that mutations in Cx32 are probably less frequent in Asian CMT patients than European patients, and CMTX neuropathy is intermediary between CMT1 and CMT2. In addition, inheritance pattern and cranial nerve involvement are useful in differentiating CMTX from CMT1A with duplication.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Axons ; Cranial Nerves ; Gene Duplication ; Humans ; Inheritance Patterns ; Mutation, Missense* ; Neural Conduction ; Neurologic Examination ; Point Mutation

We investigated whether β-carotene (β-CA) or ellagic acid (EA), originating from various fruits and vegetables, has a preventive effect against male infertility induced by exogenous scrotal hyperthermia. ICR adult mice were intraperitoneally treated with 10 mg/kg of β-CA or EA daily for 13 days consecutively. During this time, mice were subjected to transient scrotal heat stress in a water bath at 43℃ for 20 min on day 7, and their testes and blood were obtained on day 14 for histopathologic and biochemical analyses. Heat stress induced significant testicular weight reduction, germ cell loss and degeneration, as well as abnormal localization of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Heat stress also altered the levels of oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, SOD activity, and PHGPx, MnSOD, and HIF-1α mRNAs), apoptosis (Bax, Bcl-xL, caspase 3, NF-κB, and TGF-β1 mRNAs), and androgen biosynthesis (serological testosterone concentration and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA) in testes. These changes were all improved significantly by β-CA treatment, but only slightly improved by EA treatment. These findings indicate that β-CA, through modulations of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and androgen biosynthesis, is a potent preventive agent against testicular injuries induced by scrotal hyperthermia.

We investigated whether β-carotene (β-CA) or ellagic acid (EA), originating from various fruits and vegetables, has a preventive effect against male infertility induced by exogenous scrotal hyperthermia. ICR adult mice were intraperitoneally treated with 10 mg/kg of β-CA or EA daily for 13 days consecutively. During this time, mice were subjected to transient scrotal heat stress in a water bath at 43℃ for 20 min on day 7, and their testes and blood were obtained on day 14 for histopathologic and biochemical analyses. Heat stress induced significant testicular weight reduction, germ cell loss and degeneration, as well as abnormal localization of phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) in spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Heat stress also altered the levels of oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, SOD activity, and PHGPx, MnSOD, and HIF-1α mRNAs), apoptosis (Bax, Bcl-xL, caspase 3, NF-κB, and TGF-β1 mRNAs), and androgen biosynthesis (serological testosterone concentration and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA) in testes. These changes were all improved significantly by β-CA treatment, but only slightly improved by EA treatment. These findings indicate that β-CA, through modulations of oxidative stress, apoptosis, and androgen biosynthesis, is a potent preventive agent against testicular injuries induced by scrotal hyperthermia.
Adult ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Baths ; beta Carotene ; Caspase 3 ; Ellagic Acid ; Fever ; Fruit ; Germ Cells ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Infertility, Male ; Leydig Cells ; Male ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress ; Oxidoreductases ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Testis ; Testosterone ; Vegetables ; Water ; Weight Loss

Temporal and subcellular distributions of hyaluronic acid (HA) as a degradable nanoparticle (NP) in animals were investigated to determine if HA-NP could be utilized as an appropriate drug delivery system. After mice were intravenously injected with 5 mg/kg of Cy5.5-labeled HA-NP sized 350–400 nm or larger HA-polymers, the fluorescence intensity was measured in all homogenized organs from 0.5 h to 28 days. HA-NP was greatly detected in spleen, liver and kidney until day 28, while it was maintained at low levels in other organs. HA-polymer was observed at low levels in all organs. HA-NP quantities in spleen and liver were reduced until day 3, but increased sharply between days 3 and 7, then decreased again, while their HA-polymers were maintained at low levels until day 28. In kidneys, both HA-NP and HA-polymer showed high levels after 0.5 h of administration, but steadily decreased until day 28. According to ultrastructural analyses, HA-NP was engulfed in Kupffer cells of liver and macrophages of spleen and kidney at day 1 and was accumulated in the cytoplasm of kidney tubular cells at day 7. Overall, these findings suggest that HA-NP could be considered a desirable drug carrier in the liver, kidney, or spleen.
Animals ; Cytoplasm ; Drug Carriers* ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Fluorescence ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Kidney ; Kupffer Cells ; Liver ; Macrophages ; Mice* ; Nanoparticles* ; Pharmacokinetics ; Spleen

Mutations of the CMT genes develop a variety of distinct phenotypes. Cx32 gene mutations cause the X-linked form of CMT disease, and mutations in EGR2 are associated with CMT type 1, DSS, and congenital hypomyelination neuropathy. Her parents, grandmother and sister did not show the V136A mutation in Cx32. We report the first CMT patient with EGR2 and Cx32 mutations.
Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease ; Humans ; Parents ; Phenotype ; Siblings