PURPOSE: Prepapillary vascular loops are blood vessels that project from the optic disc into the vitreous cavity and then return to the disc to continue their natural cource. Ninety percent are arterial in origin and usually congenital anomaly. We report four cases of prepapillary vascular loops associated with retinal and choroidal disorders. METHODS: Prepapillary vascular channel which showed twisted or ringlike appearance without leakage on fluorescein angiogram constituted the diagnosis. However, there may be a sector delay in filling of the optic disc or retina supplied by the loop due to the increased distance that blood must travel through the loop. RESULTS: These cases are not associated with vision-threatening diseases. The associated retinal diseases are diabetic retinopathy in one case, retinitis pigmentosa in one case, contralateral posterior uveitis in two cases. They are arterial loops. In two eyes were observed multiple prepapillary vascular loops. The vessels may appear as simple hairpin loops, spiral, or corkscrew configuration. In our cases, the presence of a cilioretinal artery and retinal artery obstruction could not be determined; other complication associated with prepapillary vascular loops were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: We assume that prepapillary vascular loops may occur acquiredly associated with other ocular diseases.
Arteries ; Blood Vessels ; Choroid ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Diagnosis ; Fluorescein ; Retina ; Retinal Artery ; Retinal Diseases* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retinitis Pigmentosa ; Uveitis, Posterior

In order to evaluate the confounding factors of neurobehavioral tests and the neurobehavioral effects in the workers exposed to organic solvents, NCTB was carried out on 100 workers. 46 workers had never been exposed to neurotoxic substances, and the others were being exposed to the solvents, mainly toluene. Simple reaction time, digit symbol, Santa Ana dexterity test and persuit aiming were different with age in non exposure group. Simple reaction time was carried out well in males, and digit symbol and persuit aiming were in females. There was no difference at educational level when the subject was educated over 12 years. Santa Ana dexterity and Benton visual test differed according to exposure level to toluene, however simple reaction time didn't. The acute neurotoxic effect was not excluded in this study. But, NCTB could be used to evaluate and prevent neurobehavioral changes in workers exposed to neurotoxic solvents in Korea.
Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Reaction Time ; Solvents* ; Toluene

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the anglographic finding and clinical result of transarterial embolotherapy(TAE) in patients with injuries of renal artery branches by blunt trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was based on retrospective analysis of seven cases, in which TAE was attempted for the control of traumatic renal arterial bleeding. All procedures were performed via the transfemoral approach. TAE was performed with stainless steel coil in two cases, Gelfoam in one case, and Gelfoam and stainless steel coil in four cases. RESULTS: Angiographic findings of vascular injuries were pseudoaneurysm in four cases, extravasation in two cases and arteriocalyceal fistula in one case. All procedures were performed successfully without complication. CONCLUSION: Pseudoaneurysm is a common anglographic finding in patients with injury of renal artery branches and TAE is considered a safe and effective method for treating such cases.
Aneurysm, False ; Embolization, Therapeutic* ; Fistula ; Gelatin Sponge, Absorbable ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Renal Artery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Stainless Steel ; Vascular System Injuries

We report a case of an intraparenchymal schwannoma of the left parietal lobe. A 51-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with complaints of intermittent headaches. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance images revealed a 1.3 cm sized intra-axial homogeneous enhancing mass in the left parietal lobe. The lesion was pathologically confirmed to be a schwannoma.
Brain Neoplasms ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Middle Aged ; Neurilemmoma ; Parietal Lobe

The purpose of this study is to show the correlation between the range of spinal motion and the severity of chronic lower back pain. The subjects of this study were 40 female patients with chronic lower back pain over a 6 months' duration. The range of spinal and hip joint motion was measured with a electrogoniometer, and the severity of back pain was evaluated with the Rolland's score and Pollard's pain disability index. Results were as follows. There was a correlation between the severity of pain and the range of lumbar lateral flexion, rotation, and extension (p< 0.05). Age, height, weight and body mass index had no correlation with the range of spinal motion. These results suggest that the range of lumbar spinal motion can be used as an objective measure for the evaluation of classifying chronic lower back pain patients and for planning and following their treatment.
Adult ; Back Pain/*physiopathology ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Human ; Middle Age ; *Range of Motion, Articular ; Rotation ; Spine/*physiopathology ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

No abstract available.
Humans ; Noninvasive Ventilation* ; Weaning*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this survey is to assess the current practice patterns of vitreoretinal surgeons in Korea regarding the repair of uncomplicated rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. METHODS: Preferences of vitreoretinal surgeons regarding the repair of rhegmatogenous retinal detachments were obtained via electrical mail or mail survey of members of The Korean Retina Society. They were asked which treatment would they prefer for a hypothetical retinal detachment. RESULTS: The majority of respondents selected a scleral buckling procedure for a primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachment with superior retinal break. As the details of the hypothetical detachments became more complicated with myopia, vitreous hemorrhage, or lattice degeneration and additional tear with a positive family history, the respondents selected a scleral buckling procedure with greater frequency. No correlation was identified surgeon's practice career and preferences of procedures. If there were partially precluded fundus detail in pseudophakic retinal detachment, about 50% of respondents selected vitrectomy with or without scleral buckling combined. CONCLUSIONS: From this survey, we found that most members of The Korean Retina Society prefer scleral buckling for repair of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. About a third of members selected pneumoretinopexy for primary procedure. Vitrectomy was considered frequently in the cases with vitreous hemorrhage or with pseudophakia.
Surveys and Questionnaires ; Humans ; Korea* ; Myopia ; Postal Service ; Pseudophakia ; Retina ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinal Perforations ; Scleral Buckling ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreous Hemorrhage

Pulmonary rehabilitation consists of breathing retraining, respiratory muscle rest, airway secretion elimination, reconditioning exercise, psychosocial support, nutritional support, adequate ventilator support, and patient education. It is usually performed by using the appropriate inspiratory/expiratory muscle aids to alleviate and control the symptoms of respiratory diseases and to prevent respiratory complications. It is important to understand the principles of each technique and apply them properly in delivering pulmonary rehabilitation.
Nutritional Support ; Patient Education as Topic ; Rehabilitation* ; Respiration ; Respiratory Muscles ; Ventilators, Mechanical

PURPOSE: In this study, the medication effects of Milnacipran and Pregabalin, as well known as fibromyalgia treatment medicine, in fibromyalgia syndrome patients were compared through the change of BOLD signal in pain related functional MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty fibromyalgia syndrome patients were enrolled in this study and they were separated into two groups according to the treatment medicine: 10 Milnacipran (MLN) treatment group and 7 Pregabalin (PGB) treatment group. For accurate diagnosis, all patients underwent several clinical tests. Pre-treated and post-treated fMRI image with block-designed pressure-pain stimulation for each group were obtained to conduct the statistical analysis of paired t-test and two sample t-test. All statistical significant level was less than 0.05. RESULTS: In clinical tests, the clinical scores of the two groups were not significantly different at pre-treatment stage. But, PGB treatment group had lower Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) score than those of MLN treatment group at post-treatment stage. In functional image analysis, BOLD signal of PGB treatment group was higher BOLD signal at several regions including anterior cingulate and insula than MLN treatment group at post-treatment stage. Also, paired t-test values of the BOLD signal in MLN group decreased in several regions including insula and thalamus as known as 'pain network'. In contrast, size and number of regions in which the BOLD signal decreased in PGB treatment group were smaller than those of MLN treatment group. CONCLUSION: This study showed that MLN group and PGB group have different medication effects. It is not surprising that MLN and PGB have not the same therapeutic effects since these two drugs have different medicinal mechanisms such as antidepressants and anti-seizure medication, respectively, and different detailed target of fibromyalgia syndrome treatment. Therefore, it is difficult to say which medicine will work better in this study.
Antidepressive Agents ; Diagnosis ; Fatigue ; Fibromyalgia* ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Prostaglandins B ; Thalamus ; Pregabalin

Pudenal somatosensory evoked potential (PSEP) and bulbocavernosus reflex (BCR) testing have been reported to be useful in the evaluation of erectile dysfunction and neurogenic bladder. 461 patients with sexual dysfunction were studied to determine the usefulness of the above tests. Abnormality of PSEP was found significantly in upper motor neuron (UMN) type spinal cord patients and average prolonged P1 latency was 47.4 +/- 9.8 msec. Lower motor neuron (LMN) type spinal cord patients revealed great abnormality in BCR latency with an average value of 44.9 +/- 14.5 msec on the right and 44.2 +/- 15.6 msec on the left. Additionally significant differences were obtained in patients with diabetes mellitus, pelvic trauma and spinal cord lesion of the UMN type in the study of PSEP. There was also a significant difference in the patients with diabetes mellitus, pelvic trauma and spinal cord lesion of the LMN type in the BCR study. The findings of our study suggest that PSEP together with BCR study is useful in assessing the integrity of the sacral reflex arc and the central afferent pathway, in differentiating the lesion site and in providing basic data for the management plan in sexual rehabilitation. Furthermore, because erection is under the influence of both the somatic and autonomic nervous system, BCR study and PSEP combined with currently studied electrical activity of the corpus cavernosum would provide a more accurate evaluation of the neurogenic erectile dysfunction patients.
Adult ; *Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Genitalia, Male/*physiopathology ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Penile Diseases/*physiopathology ; *Penile Erection ; Reaction Time ; Reflex/*physiology ; Urethra/*physiopathology