PURPOSE: To determine the effectiveness of percutaneous transarterial embolization for the treatment of arteriovenous malformation (AVM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven patients with AVMs located in the kidney, liver, lung, chest wall, uterus and paraspinal region underwent angiography and percutaneous transarterial embolization. The embolic materials used were steel coil, gelfoam, contour emboli, and absolute alcohol; in some cases, more than one of these were employed. The analysed the angiographic findings and clinical status following embolization were assessed and analysed. RESULTS: The AVMs had tortuous, dilated feeding arteries (n=7) and veins with early venous drainage (n=6). In the hepatic AVM, a grape-like dilated vessel arose from the hepatic artery and was connected to the portal vein. In the uterine AVM, numerous dilated feeding arteries formed a honeycomb. In the feeding arteries of the chest wall AVM and in the nidus of the pulmonary AVM, aneurysms were present. In simple AVMs, the patient's symptoms were relieved by first embolization. Complex AVMs, however, required repeated embolizations for symptomatic relief. Although extensive, complex AVMs of the chest wall and uterus recurred after initial embolization, repeated treatment successfully improved the clinical status of such patients. The complications developing after emboliation were fever (n=3) and pain (n=3), but these were relieved by conservative care. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous transarterial embolization is a safe and effective therapeutic method for the treatment of AVM. In a case of inoperable complex AVM, repeated embolization is the only method for symptomatic relief and the maintenance of life.
Aneurysm ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Malformations* ; Drainage ; Ethanol ; Fever ; Gelatin Sponge, Absorbable ; Hepatic Artery ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Portal Vein ; Steel ; Thoracic Wall ; Uterus ; Veins

The occurrence of pseudoaneurysm of the femoral artery after catheterization is uncommon. Ultrasonography-guided compression is currently the first choice of treatment, with a success rate of more than 90%. Recently, however, with the increasing use of larger percutaneous instruments and periprocedural anticoagulation, the incidence of pseudoaneurysm unresponsive to ultrasonography-guided compression is increasing. The authors encountered a case of pseudoaneurysm of the common femoral artery which did not respond to the repeated use of this technique, though treatemnt involving was successful. We believe that in ultrasonography-guided percutaneous thrombin injection was successful. We believe that in cases involving occlusion of a a pseudoaneurysm in which ultrasonography-guided mpression has failed, this is a simple, safe, and time-saving procedure.
Aneurysm, False* ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Femoral Artery* ; Incidence ; Thrombin* ; Ultrasonography*

Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Splenic Artery

Young Simpson syndrome is a rare malformation syndrome characterized by congenital hypothyroidism, dysmorphic face, mental retardation, severe postnatal growth retardation, hypotonia and congenital heart abnormalities. In the present study, we report a case of 4-year-old girl with Young Simpson syndrome for the first case in Korea.
Child, Preschool ; Congenital Hypothyroidism ; Female ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Korea ; Muscle Hypotonia

We experienced a case of Takayasus arteritis with eclampsia in a 43-year-old woman. The patient had angiographically definite Takayasus arteritis with the involvement of right common and internal carotid arteries. On MR images performed at clinical manifestations of eclampsia, unilateral involvement of T2 high signal intensities were demonstrated in right cerebral hemisphere. We report this case with a literature review.
Adult ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cerebrum ; Eclampsia* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pregnancy* ; Takayasu Arteritis*

STAT3 plays a prominent role in proliferation and survival of tumor cells. Thus, STAT3 has been considered to be a prime target for development of anti-cancer therapeutics. The electrophilic cyclopentenone prostaglandin,15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2(15d-PGJ2 ) has been well recognized for its capability to modulate intracellular signaling pathways involved in cancer cell growth and progression. We previously reported that 15d-PGJ2 had potent cytotoxicity against harvey-ras transformed human mammary epithelial cells through direct interaction with STAT3. In this study, we have attempted to verify the inhibitory effects of 15d-PGJ2 on STAT3 signaling in human breast tumor cells. The triple negative breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 displaying constitutive phosphorylation of STAT3 on the tyrosine 705 (Tyr705) residue, underwent apoptosis upon inhibition of STAT3 by 15d-PGJ2 . In contrast, estrogen receptor positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells that do not exhibit elevated STAT3 phosphorylation were much less susceptible to 15d-PGJ2 -induced apoptosis as assessed by PARP cleavage. Furthermore, 15d-PGJ2 inhibited interleukin-6-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 in LNCaP cells. According to molecular docking studies, 15d-PGJ2 may preferentially bind to the cysteine 259 residue (Cys259) present in the coiled-coil domain of STAT3. Site-directed mutagenesis of STAT3 identified Cys259 to be the critical amino acid for the 15d-PGJ2 -induced apoptosis as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Taken together, these findings suggest STAT3 inactivation through direct chemical modification of its Cys259 as a potential therapeutic approach for treatment of triple negative breast cancer treatment.

STAT3 plays a prominent role in proliferation and survival of tumor cells. Thus, STAT3 has been considered to be a prime target for development of anti-cancer therapeutics. The electrophilic cyclopentenone prostaglandin,15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2(15d-PGJ2 ) has been well recognized for its capability to modulate intracellular signaling pathways involved in cancer cell growth and progression. We previously reported that 15d-PGJ2 had potent cytotoxicity against harvey-ras transformed human mammary epithelial cells through direct interaction with STAT3. In this study, we have attempted to verify the inhibitory effects of 15d-PGJ2 on STAT3 signaling in human breast tumor cells. The triple negative breast cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 displaying constitutive phosphorylation of STAT3 on the tyrosine 705 (Tyr705) residue, underwent apoptosis upon inhibition of STAT3 by 15d-PGJ2 . In contrast, estrogen receptor positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells that do not exhibit elevated STAT3 phosphorylation were much less susceptible to 15d-PGJ2 -induced apoptosis as assessed by PARP cleavage. Furthermore, 15d-PGJ2 inhibited interleukin-6-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3 in LNCaP cells. According to molecular docking studies, 15d-PGJ2 may preferentially bind to the cysteine 259 residue (Cys259) present in the coiled-coil domain of STAT3. Site-directed mutagenesis of STAT3 identified Cys259 to be the critical amino acid for the 15d-PGJ2 -induced apoptosis as well as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Taken together, these findings suggest STAT3 inactivation through direct chemical modification of its Cys259 as a potential therapeutic approach for treatment of triple negative breast cancer treatment.

PURPOSE: Acute gastroenteritis in infancy is a very common disease with a frequency of a billion diarrhea per year, leading to 3 to 5 million deaths. Since the etiology is not always clear, the treatment plan can be quite difficult to make. The laboratory examinations of stool culture, along with complete blood counts may sometimes be helpful to find bacterial etiology, while occult blood in stool merely means the presence of gastrointestinal tract bleeding. We evaluated the presence of cytokeratin-19 in stools in differentiating bacterial and non-bacterial causes of childhood diarrhea to establish appropriate treatment plans. METHODS: Among 201(male 124 patients, female 77 patients) patients with diarrhea, cytokeratin-19 examined by ELISA was positive in 40 patients. Laboratory findings including peripheral blood leukocytes count with differential count, ESR, CRP were compared between the cytokeratin-19 positive and negative groups. We also investigated the correlation between cytokeratin-19 and stool culture, leukocytes, rotavirus antegen test, and occult blood in stool. RESULTS: The leukocytes count, neutrophil count in peripheral blood and ESR were higher in cytokeratin-19 positive group(P=0.030). There was significant correlation between serum CRP and cytokeratin-19(P=0.007). Sensitivity of cytokeratin-19 was 0.30 and specificity was 0.86 in serum CRP positive group and negative group. CONCLUSION: Cytokeratin-19 in stool was significantly increased in correlation with leukocytes and neutrophil count in peripheral blood, ESR, serum CRP and the specificity of cytokeratin-19 was 0.86 in the serum CRP positive group and the negative group. Therefore, the quantitification of cytokeratin-19 in stool was considered as indicator of differential diagnosis between clinically bacterial and non-bacterial infection groups.
Blood Cell Count ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Diarrhea* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Epithelial Cells* ; Female ; Gastroenteritis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Keratin-19* ; Leukocytes ; Neutrophils ; Occult Blood ; Rotavirus ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: It is very important to differentiate breast cancer from benign mass. There are many reports to evaluate the differential diagnosis under the several diagnostic tools. We evaluated the usefulness of mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography in the differential diagnosis of breast mass and correlated with pathologic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 80 patients (age: 24-72, mean: 48.4) who underwent mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography for breast masses. Scintimammographies (anterior-posterior and lateral projections) were acquired in 10 minutes and 2 hours after intravenous injection of Tc-99m MIBI. Four specialists in diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine evaluated the findings of breast masses under the mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography, and calculated the tumor to background (T/B) ratio. The pathologic results were obtained and we statistically analyzed the correlations between pathologic results and imaging findings under the mammography and Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography by chi-square and correlation test. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of mammography for detection of breast cancer were 87.5%, 56.3%, 75.0%, and 75.0% respectively. 45 cases of 80 patients were suspicious for breast cancer under the Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography. 41 cases of 45 patients were confirmed as breast cancer and the remaining 4 cases were confirmed as benign masses. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography for detection of breast cancer were 85.4%, 87.5%, 91.1%, and 80.8% respectively. The sensitivity of scintimammography was lower than that of mammography for detection of breast cancer, however the specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were higher. In the benign mass, the mean T/B ratio in 10 minutes was 1.409 +/- 0.30, and that in 2 hours was 1.267 +/- 0.42. The maximal T/B ratio of benign mass in 10 minutes was 1.604 +/- 0.42, and that in 2 hours was 1.476 +/- 0.50. In the malignant mass, the mean T/B ratio in 10 minutes was 2.220 +/- 1.07, and that in 2 hours was 1.842 +/- 0.75. The maximal T/B ratio of malignant mass was 2.993 +/- 1.94, and that in 2 hours was 2.480 +/- 1.34. And the T/B ratio under the early and delayed images were meaningful. CONCLUSION: The scintimammography is useful diagnostic tool to differentiate breast cancer from benign mass, although the sensitivity of mammography for detection of breast mass is high. Especially, the use of the T/B ratio is helpful to diagnose breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Humans ; Injections, Intravenous ; Mammography* ; Nuclear Medicine ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Specialization

STUDY DESIGN: In-vitro experiment. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of bone morphogenetic protein-2 in the osteogenesis of human ligamentum flavum cells and test the feasibility of gene transfer to these cells. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) is known to be an important factor in the differentiation and maintenance of the osteoblastic phenotype. Tissue engineering for osteogenesis in ligamentum flavum by BMP-2 and gene transfer has not been previously studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ligmentum flavum cells were harvested and cultured from surgical patients with spinal stenosis. BMP-2 was produced by transfecting pcDNA3.1/Hygro/BMP-2 into CHO cells using Lipofectamine 2000. Adenovirus-lacZ (Ad/lacZ) was also produced, and administered with BMP-2 to cell culture. The expression of lacZ was analyzed by X-gal staining. Bone formation was assessed by alkaline phosphatase, von Kossa, and alizarin Red-S staining, and the expression of osteocalcin was determined immunocytochemically. RESULTS: Ligamentum flavum cell cultures with Ad/lacZ showed marker gene expression. BMP-2 induced osteogenesis in ligamentum flavum cells as evidenced by alkaline phosphatase, von Kosa, and alizarin Red-S staining. Also, cell culture with BMP-2 showed strong positivity with osteocalcin by immunocytochemistry. CONCLUSION: BMP-2 more strongly induced the osteogenesis of ligamentum flavum, and also its gene transfer to ligamentum flavum was found to be feasible. These results may open a new era of ligamentum flavum tissue engineering.
Adenoviridae ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Cell Culture Techniques ; CHO Cells ; Cricetinae ; DNA, Complementary* ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Ligamentum Flavum* ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocalcin ; Osteogenesis* ; Phenotype ; Spinal Stenosis ; Tissue Engineering*