Pilomatricoma is a well defind and characteristic entity histologically, but this tumor may be encountered during aspiration biopsy of subcutaneous mass, and is, occasionally, confused with other neoplasms, particularly squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and epidermal inclusion cyst. Recently, we have experienced a case of pilomatricoma diagnosed by aspiration biosy. The smear of the aspirate revealed anucleated "ghost" squamous cells, basaloid or basophilic squamous cells and nucleated squamous cells, which lack nuclear features of malignacy. These findings are consistent with pilomatricoma.
Basophils ; Biopsy, Needle ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Child* ; Humans ; Pilomatrixoma ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as epigastric fullness, nausea, and vomiting are often observed in CAPD patients. Intraabdominal pressure depends on the amount of dialysate and the body positions. It is not clear whether upper gastrointestinal symptoms are manifestations of raised intraperitoneal pressure produced by dialysate. To investigate the changes of LESP according to the amount of dialysate and the body position and the relationship between LESP and parameters of 24-h esophageal pH monitoring, esophageal manometry and 24-h esophageal pH monitoring were performed in 12 CAPD patients. The sex ratio was 1:2. The duration of CAPD of patients except one was less than 1 month. The mean age was 47.5 15.5(SD) years old. There were no changes in supine LESPs according to the infused volume of dialysate. Sitting LESPs at 500, 1500, and 2000ml were elevated significantly compared to basal sitting LESP(27.1 5.5, 27.0 6.0, and 28.5 7.0 vs. 23.9 5.7mmHg, p<0.05). Supine LESPs at basal and 500ml of dialysate significantly higher than sitting LESPs(30.2 9.1 and 31.2 8.5 vs. 23. 9 5.7 and 27.1 5.5mmHg, p<0.05). There were no differences in LESP by age, sex, and diabetic status. Supine LESP at 2000ml strongly correlated with total reflux episodes(r=-0.92, p<0.01), fraction time of pH<4.0(r=-0.85, p<0.01), and total reflux score(DeMeester)(r=-0.88, p<0.01), but other LESPs did not. When the patients were divided into group I(<30mmHg) and group II(330mmHg) by supine LESP at 2000ml, group I had more total reflux episodes(73.7 27.0 vs. 14.0 10.3, p<0.05), fraction time of pH<4.0(4.0 3.7 vs. 0.5 0.4%, p<0.05), and total reflux score(15.2 10.5 vs. 2.8 1.5, p<0.05). In conclusion, CAPD patients seem to have a risk of gastroesophageal reflux due to elevated intraperitoneal pressure by dialysate, especially if supine LESP at 2000ml was lower than 30mmHg.
Esophageal pH Monitoring* ; Esophageal Sphincter, Lower* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Manometry ; Nausea ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Sex Ratio ; Vomiting

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and shoulder adhesive capsulitis (AC) using a large-scale, nationwide, population-based cohort in the Republic of Korea. Methods: A total of 3,471,745 subjects aged over 20 years who underwent a National Health Insurance Service medical checkup between 2009 and 2010 were included in this study, and followed from the date of their medical checkup to the end of 2018. Subjects were classified into the following four groups based on the presence of dysglycemia and history of diabetes medication: normal, prediabetes, newly diagnosed T2DM (new-T2DM), and T2DM (claim history for antidiabetic medication). The endpoint was new-onset AC during follow-up. The incidence rates (IRs) in 1,000 person-years and hazard ratios (HRs) of AC for each group were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard regression models. Results: The IRs of AC were 9.453 (normal), 11.912 (prediabetes), 14.933 (new-T2DM), and 24.3761 (T2DM). The adjusted HRs of AC in the prediabetes, new-T2DM, and T2DM groups were 1.084 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.075 to 1.094), 1.312 (95% CI, 1.287 to 1.337), and 1.473 (95% CI, 1.452 to 1.494) compared to the normal group, respectively. This secular trend of the HRs of AC according to T2DM status was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Conclusion This large-scale, longitudinal, nationwide, population-based cohort study of 3,471,745 subjects confirmed that the risk of AC increases in prediabetic subjects and is associated with T2DM status.

Objective: A simultaneous detection of germline and somatic mutations in ovarian cancer (OC) using tumor materials is considered to be cost-effective for BRCA1/2 testing. However, there are limited studies of the analytical performances according to various sample types. The aim of this study is to propose a strategy for routine BRCA1/2 next-generation sequencing (NGS) screening based on analytical performance according to different sample types. Methods: We compared BRCA1/2 NGS screening assay using buffy coat, fresh-frozen (FF) and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) from 130 samples. Results: The rate of repeated tests in a total of buffy coat, FF and FFPE was 0%, 8%, and 34%, respectively. The accuracy of BRCA1/2 NGS testing was 100.0%, 99.9% and 99.9% in buffy coat, FFPE and FF, respectively. However, due to the presence of variant allele frequency (VAF) shifted heterozygous variants, tumor materials (FFPE and FF) showed lower sensitivity (95.5%–99.0%) than buffy coat (100%). Furthermore, FFPE showed 51.4% of the positive predictive value (PPV) on account of sequence artifacts. When performed in the post-filtration process, PPV was increased by approximately 20% in FFPE. Buffy coat showed 100% of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in BRCA1/2 NGS test. Conclusions On the comparison of the analytical performance according to different sample types, the buffy coat was not affected by sequencing artifacts and VAF shifted variants. Therefore, the blood test should be given priority in detecting germline BRCA1/2 mutation, and tumor materials could be suitable to detect somatic mutations in OC patients without identifying germline BRCA1/2 mutation.

PURPOSE: Asthma is prevalent in many countries. Few studies have investigated the association between asthma and concomitant diseases. We retrospectively analyzed the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey database, performed in 2008 using nationwide stratified random sampling to obtain a representative cohort of the Korean population. METHODS: We evaluated the association between both self-reported ever-asthmatics and wheezers and concomitant diseases such as arthritis, hypertension, gastrointestinal (GI) ulcers, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, rhinitis, depression, stroke, and obesity in subjects aged > or =40 years. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify concomitant diseases independently associated with asthma, after adjustment for age, gender, income, cigarette smoking, and other chronic diseases. RESULTS: Of the total of 4,445 subjects, 2,596 (58.4%) were female and the mean age was 58.3 years. Of the 4,445 subjects, 195 (4.4%) had been diagnosed with asthma at some point, and 444 (10%) were wheezers. Multivariate analysis showed that arthritis (odds ratio [OR] 1.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-2.42), rhinitis (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.14-2.78), depression (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.05-2.07), and obesity (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.08-2.40) were significantly associated with self-reported ever-asthma, and arthritis (OR 1.50, 95% CI 1.19-1.909), hypertension (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.07-1.67), GI ulcers (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.05-2.08), rhinitis (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.16-2.19), depression (OR 1.94, 95% CI 1.51-2.48), and obesity (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.17-2.09) were significantly associated with wheezers. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that arthritis, rhinitis, depression, and obesity may be associated with both self-reported ever asthma and wheezers in the Korean population.
Aged ; Arthritis ; Asthma ; Cohort Studies ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyslipidemias ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; Smoking ; Stroke ; Ulcer

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the effect of arm sling on static balance of hemiplegic patients. METHOD: 23 hemiplegic stroke patients were evaluated. Subjects rested about for twenty minutes in sitting position before examination. Balance was examined by Mediance (Human-Tech Inc, Korea) for 30 seconds in three conditions (no-sling, with cuff-type arm sling and with Kang's Multi support). The order of examination was randomly selected. These tests were repeated for three times. Balance was represented as weight asymmetry and postural sway. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in weight asymmetry between no sling group and cuff-type arm sling group, but with Kang's Multi-support group, weight asymmetry was significantly decreased compared to no-sling group and cuff-type arm sling group. Postural sway was identical with no-sling group, cuff-type arm sling group and Kang's Multi-support group. CONCLUSION: Kang's Multi-support was helpful to reduce weight asymmetry compared with no-sling or cuff-type sling, nd to improve standing balance of hemiplegic patients.
Arm* ; Hemiplegia ; Humans ; Stroke

PURPOSE: The aims of the present study were to quantitatively assess graft height changes after sinus lift procedures and to analyze the factors that influenced graft height changes, including the residual bone height before surgery, surgical approach, and tooth type. METHODS: A total of 39 maxillary posterior implants placed during a simultaneous sinus lift procedure were evaluated. Panoramic radiographs of all patients were taken immediately after implant installation and at 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years. To analyze graft height changes over time, we measured the distance between the implant platform and the base of the grafted sinus floor at 3 locations. The radiographs were analyzed by a single examiner. RESULTS: Graft height tended to decrease over time, and a statistically significant difference was observed at 2 years compared to baseline (P < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in graft height change according to the surgical approach or tooth type. For residual bone height, a statistically significant difference in graft height change was found between those with 4–7 mm of residual bone height and those with ≥7 mm (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Graft height after sinus lift procedures significantly decreased at 2 years compared to baseline after sinus augmentation. Further studies should be done with controlled variables, and prospective studies with 3-dimensional images are needed to clarify the factors that influence graft height changes.
Alveolar Bone Grafting ; Dental Implants ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; Prospective Studies ; Sinus Floor Augmentation ; Tooth ; Transplants

Background: Pokemon is an oncogenic transcription regulator that plays a critical role in cellular differentiation. Although it has been found to be overexpressed in several types of cancer involving different organs, its role in thyroid gland has yet to be reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of Pokemon in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) based on clinicopathological parameters. Methods: Tissue microarray samples derived from patients with PTC or benign thyroid disease were used to evaluate Pokemon expression based on immunohistochemical analysis. Correlations of its expression with various clinicopathological parameters were then analyzed. Results: Pokemon expression was observed in 22.0% of thyroid follicular cells from the normal group, 44.0% from the group with benign thyroid diseases, and 92.1% from the group with PTC (p < .001). The intensity of Pokemon expression was markedly higher in the PTC group. Pokemon expression level and PTC tumor size showed an inverse correlation. T1a tumors showed strong expression levels of Pokemon. However, larger tumors showed weak expression (p = .006). Conclusions Pokemon expression is associated with tumorigenesis of PTC, with expression showing an inverse correlation with PTC tumor size. This might be related to the negative regulation of aerobic glycolysis by Pokemon.

Background: Pokemon is an oncogenic transcription regulator that plays a critical role in cellular differentiation. Although it has been found to be overexpressed in several types of cancer involving different organs, its role in thyroid gland has yet to be reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the expression of Pokemon in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) based on clinicopathological parameters. Methods: Tissue microarray samples derived from patients with PTC or benign thyroid disease were used to evaluate Pokemon expression based on immunohistochemical analysis. Correlations of its expression with various clinicopathological parameters were then analyzed. Results: Pokemon expression was observed in 22.0% of thyroid follicular cells from the normal group, 44.0% from the group with benign thyroid diseases, and 92.1% from the group with PTC (p < .001). The intensity of Pokemon expression was markedly higher in the PTC group. Pokemon expression level and PTC tumor size showed an inverse correlation. T1a tumors showed strong expression levels of Pokemon. However, larger tumors showed weak expression (p = .006). Conclusions Pokemon expression is associated with tumorigenesis of PTC, with expression showing an inverse correlation with PTC tumor size. This might be related to the negative regulation of aerobic glycolysis by Pokemon.

Lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis (LPSP) is a rare entity that has been described under many different names; LPSP is an autoimmune form of chronic pancreatitis. LPSP may simulate a neoplastic process both clinically and radiologically. We report a case of LPSP with pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A 70-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of pancreatic duct dilatation. The CA 19-9 level was normal and the antinuclear antibody titer was negative. An abdominal CT revealed a low density nodule, 8 mm in size, in the body of the pancreas with parenchymal atrophy and mild dilatation of the main pancreatic duct in the body and tail portion. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography demonstrated a stricture of the main pancreatic duct in the body of the pancreas and mild dilatation of the upstream duct. She underwent subtotal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. The results of the pathologic examination of the resected tissue included pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia in the background of lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Atrophy ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Dilatation ; Female ; Humans ; Pancreas ; Pancreatectomy ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatitis ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Splenectomy