It has been reported that the cause of the bacterial endophthalmitis following cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation was G(+) organisms in most cases. However, the endophthalmitis caused by G(-) organisms has worse prognosis than that by G(+)organisms. We experienced a case of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia endophthalmitis which has not yet been reported in Korea. A 77-year-old female presented with blurred vision, conjunctival injection and ocular pain 5 days after cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation. Ocular findings such as corneal edema, hypopyon and thick posterior capsular opacity were consistent with infectious endophthalmitis. Culture of vitreous aspirate isolated Stenotrophomonas maltophilia 15 days after cataract extraction.
Aged ; Cataract Extraction ; Cataract* ; Corneal Edema ; Endophthalmitis* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular ; Prognosis ; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia* ; Stenotrophomonas*

Verrucous hyperplasia of the distal stump skin is a rare condition which shows multiple, irregular warty papules and plaques but histologically no evidence of viral warts. It has been suggested that verrucous hyperplasia results from persistent stump edema, usually when the distal stump is unsupported in the prosthesis socket. We present a 53-year-old male who showed verrucous plaques on the distal stump skin and also showed edematous change with oozing. He has been wearing a below-the-knee prosthesis for 35 years since a traumatic amputation and has not changed the prosthesis for 30 years. Histopathological findings showed hyperkeratosis, parakeratosis, acanthosis, papillomatosis, dermal edema, fibrosis, dermal vessel proliferation and dilatation. He was diagnosed as having verrucous hyperplasia with lymphedema by clinical and histopathological findings.
Amputation ; Amputation, Traumatic ; Amputees* ; Dilatation ; Edema ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Hyperplasia* ; Lymphedema* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Papilloma ; Parakeratosis ; Prostheses and Implants ; Skin ; Warts

Several conditions such as nipple eczema, erosive adenomatosis of the nipple, mammary Paget's disease and hyperkeratosis of the nipple and areola occur exclusively in the region of the areola and nipple. Seborrheic keratosis is a benign epidermal lesion that can appear on any part of the body but reported cases appearing on the areola are very rare. Cutaneous horn generally presents as an asymptomatic, conical keratotic mass, which commonly occurs on sun-exposed skin, and has an underlying condition that may be benign, premalignant, or malignant. Seborrheic keratosis is a well known benign underlying condition of the cutaneous horn. We herein present a 49-year-old male with a conical hyperkeratotic mass on his right areola, which, upon microscopic examination was revealed to be seborrheic keratosis.
Animals ; Eczema ; Horns* ; Humans ; Keratosis, Seborrheic* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nipples ; Paget's Disease, Mammary ; Skin

Metric dimensions of skull of Korean adults were measured and the indices of each dimension were calculated to identify the morphological characteristics of neurocrania of Koreans in 97 cases. The results were as follows. The maximal anteroposterior length was 171.6±8.4 (149.0~191.0)mm and the maximal lateral length (maximal breadth) was 142.4±5.4 (128.0~155.0)mm. The horizontal cranial index was 83.3±5.0 and therefore the neurocrania of Koreans were classified to brachycranic type (rounded cranium). The auriculo-bregmatic height was 119.3±5.1mm and basio-bregmatic height was 140.5±4.9mm. The height-breadth index on the basis of the auriculo-bregmatic height was 98.5±3.6, and belong to medium skull. The height-length index was 81.8±3.8, therefore they belonged to high skull. Height-breadth index on the basis of auliculo-bregmatic height was 85.4±5.7, and belonged to medium skull, and the height-length index was 70.5±5.4 and belonged to high skull. In the case of mean height index, the auriculo-bregmatic height was 77.2±5.0 (high skull), basio-bregmatic height was 87.6±2.6 (high skull).
Adult* ; Humans ; Skull

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. Secondary amyloidosis can occur as a complication of chronic systemic inflammatory and infectious diseases. Until now there has been no report of secondary amyloidosis associated with MS. We report herein a case of renal biopsy-proven secondary amyloidosis in a patient with MS. CASE REPORT: A 41-year-old woman with MS was hospitalized due to aggravated quadriparesis and edema in both lower extremities. Laboratory findings showed nephrotic-range proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia. A percutaneous renal biopsy procedure was performed, the results of which revealed secondary amyloid-A-type amyloidosis associated with MS. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of secondary amyloidosis associated with MS.
Adult ; Amyloidosis ; Biopsy ; Central Nervous System ; Communicable Diseases ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Edema ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Lower Extremity ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Proteinuria ; Quadriplegia

A pancreatic hamartoma is a rare benign lesion that may be mistaken for malignancy. A pancreatic hamartoma can present with vague, non-specific symptoms, which can be difficult to diagnose despite modern diagnostic tools. We report here a pancreatic hamartoma diagnosed after surgical resection. A 52-year-old female presented with postprandial abdominal discomfort. Abdominal computed tomography and pancreatic magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 2.2 x 2.5-cm cystic mass in the pancreatic head. The patient underwent a pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. The histopathological and immunohistochemical studies helped make the diagnosis of pancreatic hamartoma. Here, we report a case of pancreatic hamartoma and review the relevant medical literature.
Female ; Hamartoma ; Head ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Pancreas ; Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are severe cutaneous adverse reactions to drugs, which carry significant morbidities and mortalities. Although SJS and TEN can be treated by corticosteroids or intravenous immunoglobulin, they may be induced by steroids. We experienced a 36-year-old man who developed whole body erythromatous maculopapular rashes and multiple bullae after ingestion of deflazacort. After avoidance of deflazacort and use of dexamethasone, skin lesions resorbed. We reported a case of TEN diagnosed by characteristic clinical findings with a brief review of the literature.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Dexamethasone ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome ; Eating ; Exanthema ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Mortality ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Skin ; Steroids ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome*

Aberrant expression of BORIS/CTCFL (Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites/CTCF-like protein) is reported in different malignancies. In this study, we characterized the entire promoter region of BORIS/CTCFL, including the CpG islands, to assess the relationship between BORIS expression and lung cancer. To simplify the construction of luciferase reporter cassettes with various-sized portions of the upstream region, genomic copies of BORIS were isolated using TAR cloning technology. We analyzed three promoter blocks: the GATA/CCAAT box, the CpG islands and the minisatellite region BORIS-MS2. Polymorphic minisatellite sequences were isolated from genomic DNA prepared from the blood of controls and cases. Of the three promoter blocks, the GATA/CCAAT box was determined to be a critical element of the core promoter, while the CpG islands and the BORIS-MS2 minisatellite region were found to act as regulators. Interestingly, the polymorphic minisatellite region BORIS-MS2 was identified as a negative regulator that repressed the expression levels of luciferase reporter cassettes less effectively in cancer cells compared with normal cells. We also examined the association between the size of BORIS-MS2 and lung cancer in a case–control study with 590 controls and 206 lung cancer cases. Rare alleles of BORIS-MS2 were associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of lung cancer (odds ratio, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–4.08; and P=0.039). To conclude, our data provide information on the organization of the BORIS promoter region and gene regulation in normal and cancer cells. In addition, we propose that specific alleles of the BORIS-MS2 region could be used to identify the risk for lung cancer.
Alleles ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; CpG Islands ; DNA ; Gene Expression* ; Luciferases ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Minisatellite Repeats* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gallbladder polyps (GBP) are a common clinical finding that can express malignant potential. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether vegetarianism protects against GBP, together with other putative risk factors. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional study was conducted with subjects who received a health check-up from July 2005 to December 2011. Korean Buddhist priests, who are obligatory vegetarians by religious belief, were identified as vegetarians (vegetarian group) and compared with a non-vegetarian control group sampled from those coming for health check-ups at the same institution. RESULTS: Out of 18,483 subjects, GBP were found in 810 (4.4%). Although GBP tended to be less common in the vegetarian group (23 [3.5%] out of 666) than in control group (787 [4.4%] out of 17,817), the difference was insignificant statistically (p=0.233). By logistic regression, old age (OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.19-2.26 for 30-39 years; OR=1.47, 95% CI=1.08-1.98 for 40-49 years), male gender (OR=1.51, 95% CI=1.31-1.75), high BMI (OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.00-1.39 for > or =23.0 kg/m2 and <25.0 kg/m2) and HBsAg positivity (OR=1.53, 95% CI=1.19-1.98) were independent risk factors of GBP. CONCLUSIONS: GBP was significantly associated with old age, male gender, high BMI and HBsAg positivity, but not with vegetarianism.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Gallbladder Diseases/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Polyps/*epidemiology/pathology ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Vegetarians

PURPOSE: Hypoxia can impair the therapeutic efficacy of radiotherapy (RT). Therefore, a new strategy is necessary for enhancing the response to RT. In this study, we investigated whether the combination of nanoparticles and RT is effective in eliminating the radioresistance of hypoxic tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) consisting of a silica core with a gold shell were used. CT26 colon cancer mouse model was developed to study whether the combination of RT and GNPs reduced hypoxia-induced radioresistance. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was used as a hypoxia marker. The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining were conducted to evaluate cell death. RESULTS: Hypoxic tumor cells had an impaired response to RT. GNPs combined with RT enhanced anti-tumor effect in hypoxic tumor compared with RT alone. The combination of GNPs and RT decreased tumor cell viability compare to RT alone in vitro. Under hypoxia, tumors treated with GNPs + RT showed a higher response than that shown by tumors treated with RT alone. When a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger was added, the enhanced antitumor effect of GNPs + RT was diminished. CONCLUSION: In the present study, hypoxic tumors treated with GNPs + RT showed favorable responses, which might be attributable to the ROS production induced by GNPs + RT. Taken together, GNPs combined with RT seems to be potential modality for enhancing the response to RT in hypoxic tumors.
Animals ; Anoxia ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Colonic Neoplasms ; DNA Nucleotidylexotransferase ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mice ; Nanoparticles* ; Radiotherapy* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Silicon Dioxide