Kaposi's sarcoma was first descrided by Kaposi in 1872 as an idiopathic multiple hemorrhagic sarcoma. Its clinical features revealed to be erythematous red or purple macule started out, and developing into palpable dome-shaped nodules. Etiology is not defined to detail at present. Kaposi's sarcoma is classified to 4 categories; Classical, African, Epidemic and Transplant type. Epidemic or AIDS categories is found approximately 20 % of all AIDS and has strong predilection for head and neck region. The first case of Kaposi's sarcoma observed in patients with kidney transplants was reported in 1969. Kaposi's sarcoma now accounts for 5% of all tumors associated with transplanted patients and alteration of the immunosuppression may have played a key role in these recipients. The most common site of Kaposi's sarcoma in transplanted patients are extremities but rare in head and neck area. We report a case of Kaposi's sarcoma on the hard palate in the kidney transplantation patient.
Extremities ; Head ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Kidney ; Kidney Transplantation ; Mouth* ; Neck ; Palate, Hard ; Sarcoma ; Sarcoma, Kaposi*

Although the global prevalence of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is decreasing, PUD is still one of the most common upper gastrointestinal diseases in the world due to Helicobacter pylori infection and increased use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In Korea, the prevalence of H. pylori infection is also declining, but it is still the major cause of PUD. The outcomes of H. pylori infection are caused by imbalances between bacterial virulence factors, host factors, and environmental influences. In this review, we describe the prevalence trends of H. pylori infection in Korea, the mechanism of H. pylori infection-related PUD, and treatment strategies.
Epidemiology ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Korea ; Peptic Ulcer* ; Prevalence ; Virulence Factors

Hypoglycemic encephalopathy is a rare problem among diabetic patients who are receiving treatment with insulin or other glucose-lowering drugs. The MRIs of patients with hypoglycemic encephalopathy commonly show scattered lesions in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and basal ganglia, but lesions in the cerebellum or brain stem are extremely rare. A 44-year-old alcoholic woman without diabetes was admitted with a semicomatose mentality and seizure with severe hypoglycemic encephalopathy with extensive brain lesions seen on MRI at the middle cerebellar peduncle and midbrain, as well as in the other brain areas.
Adult ; Alcoholics ; Alcoholism ; Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Brain Stem ; Cerebellum ; Cerebral Cortex ; Female ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Insulin ; Mesencephalon ; Seizures

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the fixation methods for reattaching a trochanteric fragment in a pertrochanteric fracture treated with bipolar hemiarthroplasty. Materials and methods: Forty cases of an unstable femur pertrochanteric fracture were analyzed and followed up for average of 19(6~40) months. There were 18 cases fixed with tension band wiring (group 1), 7 cases treated using modified tension band wiring with K-wires (group 2) and 15 cases treated with the GTRD (Greater Trochanteric Reattachment Device) (group 3). Result: Group 1 was treated with simple a surgical procedure and the results were good. The second group had firm fixation postoperatively but required additional surgery in two cases to remove the K-wires because of wire migration after ambulation. Group 3 had relatively good results but required more dissection and a longer operating time. Conclusion: Tension band wiring or GTRD are good fixation methods for reattaching trochanteric fragments in pertrochanteric fractures. Moreover, tension band wiring is recommended for old osteoporotic patients due to a simple procedure and firm fixation. The use of modified tension band wiring using K-wire or a Steinmann-pin should not be used due to the possibility of distant migration.
Femur* ; Hemiarthroplasty* ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Walking

BACKGROUND: Although the topical application of glycolic acid (GA) could possibly exert some effects on the normal epidermal permeability function, the exact effects and its mechanism of action have not been well documented. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of GA on the expression of epidermal cytokines and to clarify its chelation effect on the epidermal calcium ions, which are known to control the secretion of lamellar bodies. METHODS: After topical application of 70% GA aqueous solution on the flank of hairless mice, the expression of epidermal IL-1alpha and TNF-alpha was assessed and the change of epidermal calcium ions was evaluated. RESULTS: The results could be summarized as the following: (1) real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining studies showed increases in mRNA and protein expression of epidermal IL-1alpha and TNF-alpha; (2) the GA reduced intracellular calcium ion concentrations in vitro and resulted in the loss of epidermal calcium gradient in vivo. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that, like iontophoresis or sonophoresis, GA could influence the skin's barrier homeostasis, possibly by lowering the epidermal calcium ions.
Animals ; Calcium* ; Cytokines* ; Homeostasis ; Ions ; Iontophoresis ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless* ; Permeability ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare disorder characterized by infantile hypotonia, subsequent obesity with hyperphagia. Hypogonadism, cryptorchidism, delayed psychomotor development, short status, strabismus, myopia, scoliosis, kyphosis and temperature regulation abnormality are other features. The cause of this syndrome is unknown, but a disturbance in the hypothalamus has been postulated because of the various manifestation of the syndrome. The major genetic mechanism giving rise to PWS is a paternal deletion of about the same size in the 15q11-q13 region, that occurs in 70% of the cases. The principal problems related to anesthesia are those that are secondary to the patient's hypoglycemia, skeletal muscle hypotonia and obesity. An 20-month-old boy with PWS was scheduled for surgical correction of bilateral undescended testes. The trachea was intubated with the aid of succinylcholine 7.5 mg intravenous injection. Muscle relaxation was facilitated with intermittent intravenous administration of atracurium (total dose 8 mg). No prolonged effect of muscle relaxants was observed during anaesthesia. High grade fever (38-39 degrees C) was present during anaesthesia.
Administration, Intravenous ; Anesthesia ; Atracurium ; Cryptorchidism ; Fever ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Hypoglycemia ; Hypogonadism ; Hypothalamus ; Infant ; Injections, Intravenous ; Kyphosis ; Male ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Muscle Relaxation ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myopia ; Obesity ; Prader-Willi Syndrome* ; Scoliosis ; Strabismus ; Succinylcholine ; Trachea

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the usefulness of resorbable plate and screw for treatment of maxillofacial bone fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From july, 2000 to july, 2002, we used resorbable plates and screws(Biosorb. FX, Bionix Inc, Finland) on 126 patients for treatment of maxillofacial bone fractures. Among them, 80 patients were capable of periodic following up to present season. We evaluated these patients with clinical, radiographic findings and subjective satisfaction. RESULTS: 80 patients composed of 63 men and 17 women. Complication rates are 7.5%(6/80) recorded. 1 of bulging sensation, 3 of infection sign, 2 of the plate detachment were shown. The plates involved in such complications were removed. The other patients(92.5%) were not shown any problems. We could not find complete resorption of screw holes in the mandibular symphysis area even though two years later after surgery. CONCLUSION: Bioresorbable plates and screws are useful as fixation material at maxillofacial fractures although strength is thought to be weaker than titanium plate. But to reduce the possible complicaions, need to careful clinical and radiographical evaluations.
Female ; Fractures, Bone ; Humans ; Male ; Seasons ; Sensation ; Titanium

PURPOSE: The aim of this investigation was to analyze the dimensions of clinical crowns and to classify the crown and the gingival type in the anterior teeth in Korean young adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Casts were obtained from 50 subjects ranging in age from 24 to 32. Measurements of length and width were made on the casts using a pair of digital calipers on the entire dentition. Crown thickness and papilla height were also measured and MDW/CL (mesiodistal width to clinical length) and CW/CL (cervical width to clinical length) ratios of the maxillary anterior teeth were calculated. The K-clustering method was used for CW/CL to classify the anterior tooth shape into three groups (tapered, ovoid, and square), and one-way analysis of variance and Duncan's post-hoc comparison were used to evaluate statistical significance between the groups. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed between tooth shape and papillary height (PH) to demonstrate the correlation between tooth shape and gingival morphological characteristics. RESULTS: The average length of the maxillary central incisors was 9.89 mm; the mesio-distal width was 8.54 mm; and the ratio of width/length was 0.86 in Korean young adults. The average bucco-palatal thickness of the central incisor was 3.14 mm at the incisal 1/3 aspect. Ovoid type was the most common tooth shape (48%), followed by square type (29%) and taper type (23%) in the central incisors of Korean young adults. Tooth shape and gingival type were correlated with each other. CONCLUSION: New reference data were established for tooth size in Korean young adults and the data show several patterns of tooth shape and gingival type. Clinicians should diagnose and treat based on these characteristics for better results in the Korean population.
Crowns* ; Dentition* ; Humans ; Incisor ; Methods ; Tooth ; Young Adult*

BACKGROUND: Propofol often causes pain when injected into small peripheral veins, but the pain can be minimized by using a larger vein. This study was designed to determine whether local warming of the injection site and forearm before propofol injection is effective in reducing pain. METHODS: Sixty adult patients undergoing general anesthesia for an elective surgery were randomly allocated to one of two groups. All were unpremedicated and had an 18-gauge cannula inserted into a cephalic vein on the wrist. Patients in group 1 (n = 30) received 1% propofol at room temperature. Patients in group 2 (n = 30) received 1% propofol after local warming (36-37 degrees C) of the injection site and forearm using a forced-air warming system (Bair Hugger(R)). For each patient, the pain during injection of the propofol solution was graded as none, mild, moderate, or severe. RESULTS: Overall the incidence of pain was significantly reduced in group 2 (36.7%) compared with group 1 (66.7%). No patients complained of pain at the injection site and forearm in group 2. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence or severity of pain on the elbow and axilla between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found that local warming applied to the injection site (wrist) and forearm before propofol injection is significantly effective in reducing pain at the injection site and forearm, but there was no improvement of pain on the elbow and axilla when injecting.
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Axilla ; Catheters ; Elbow ; Forearm* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Propofol ; Veins ; Wrist

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of estrogen on detrusor contraction and the expression of muscarinic receptors in ovariectomized rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 24 Sprague-Dawley female virgin rats(12 weeks old) were separated into three groups of 8 rats each. Group I served as a control group, group II was the ovariectomized only rats(Ovx group) and Group III was given estradiol benzoate(0.8mg/kg/day) subcutaneously for 7 consecutive days, beginning 1 week after ovariectomy(Ovx+E group). At the end of the experimental period, each rat was sacrificed and the urinary bladder was removed for contractile studies. The expressions of M2 and M3 receptors in the bladder epithelium and the muscle layer were investigated by performing immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS: The Ovx group showed a significantly decreased bladder contractile function on the KCl and carbachol-induced contractile tests, whereas the Ovx+E group showed increased contractility(p<0.05). The Ovx+E group showed an increase of smooth muscle compared to the other groups. Ovariectomy induced a significant increase in the M3 receptors density in the bladder body, as compared to the control group(p<0.05) but there was no significant difference between the Ovx group and the Ovx+E group. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder dysfunction of menopausal women is thought not to be related with the changes of muscarinic receptors. Our results suggest that the detrusor contractility of menopausal women might be improved after estrogen replacement therapy.
Animals ; Contracts ; Epithelium ; Estradiol ; Estrogen Replacement Therapy ; Estrogens ; Female ; Humans ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscle, Smooth ; Muscles ; Ovariectomy ; Rats ; Receptors, Muscarinic ; Urinary Bladder