Localized fibrous mesothelioma of the liver is very rare benign tumor. It usually manifest large palpable hepatic mass in right upper quadrant area, and the prognosis is excellent by surgical resection. Contrast enhanced CT scan shows well defined hyperattenuating mass and celiac anglogram shows hypervascular mass. Recently we experienced 1 case of localized fibrous mesothelioma of the liver, and we report CT and anglographic findings of this tumor.
Liver* ; Prognosis ; Solitary Fibrous Tumor, Pleural* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

A case of arterial priapism was treated by superselective transcatheteric autologous clot embolization of cavernosal artery 25 days after blunt periheal trauma. No immediate improvement was noted but the priapism subsided on 48th day after the procedure. Normal physiclogic erectlie function was achieved on 53rd day after the procedure, and the period of postprocedure impotence was shortened, as compared with previously reported cases. Autologous blood clot embolization may be an effective treatment method even in delayed priapism, and superselective technique is thought to be more effective to shorten the postprocedure erectlie dysfunction
Arteries ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Male ; Priapism*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Ischemia* ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion*

Using 3D ultrasound, bilateral chylothorax was diagnosed antenatally in the second trimester. Apparently stable, bilateral pleural effusion progressed rapidly to severe hydrops with facial edema during observation, and then we decided bilateral pleural-amniotic shunt operation. Here we present a case where drainage of pleural effusion by a double reverse pig tail stent made by ourself was achieved, although placement of the thoracoamniotic shunt resulted in near complete drainage of bilateral pleural effusion with normalization of intrathoracic anatomic relationships, subsequent resolution of fetal hydrops, but the ultimate outcome was unsuccessful due to the internalization of one catheter and unknown sudden death. We think that ongoing research is required to further evaluation about complications associated with this procedure, specifically failure of function due to obstruction, migration of the catheter,
Catheters ; Chylothorax* ; Death, Sudden ; Drainage ; Edema ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis ; Pleural Effusion ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second ; Stents ; Tail ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: The bystander effect, the phenomenon that non-transduced tumor cells can be killed along with the transduced cells, enables suicidal gene therapy feasible in spite of low efficiency of gene transfer at present time. Increment of thymidine kinase activity in the cells through double copy insertion of HSVtk gene may lead to increased bystander effect in vitro and in vivo, therefore enhancing the therapeutic potential of suicidal gene therapy. To examnine this hypothesis, we did an experiment to improve bystander effect by using double transfer of HSVtk gene into 9L tuomr cells. METHODS: We transduced 9L glioblastoma cells which had one copy or two copies of HSVtk gene using retroviral vector. Two different retroviral vector plasmids containing HSVtk gene were made employing pBabePuro or LXSN plasmid whose selection markers were puromycin and G418, respectively(LtkSP and LtkSN). Recombinant retrovirus was produced from ecotrophic PA317 packaging cells. Infection of the 9L cells with LtkSP recombinant retrovirus and selection with puromycin was done in vitro to make 9L/LtkSP(9LtkS). These cells were infected again with LtkSN recombinant retrovirus and selected under G418 to establish cells containing two copies of HSVtk gene, 9L/LtkSP/ LtkSN(9LtkD). RESULTS: By measuring the intracellular amount of phosphorylated 3H-GCV, 9LtkD cell lines showed significantly increased HSVtk activity, being 70% higher than that of 9LtkS cell lines. The sensitivity to GCV was also markedly increased. In vitro bystander effect, examined by coculturing with HSVtk gene transduced cells and 9L cells, was significantly increased on 9LtkD cell lines. To evaluate the in vivo bystander effect, 9LtkD/9L(20%:80%) cells or 9LtkS/9L (20%:80%) cells were implanted into the brains of Fisher 344 inbred rats, followed by administration of ganciclovir. Rats implanted with 9LtkD/9L cells showed better tumor regression and longer survival than those of 9LtkS/9L after treatment with ganciclovir. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that increasing herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase activity by introducing double copy of HSVtk gene into tumor cells would improve in vitro and in vivo bystander effect, and lead to enhanced efficacy of suicidal gene therapy.
Animals ; Brain ; Bystander Effect* ; Cell Line ; Ganciclovir ; Genetic Therapy ; Glioblastoma ; Glioma ; Herpes Simplex* ; Phosphotransferases* ; Plasmids ; Product Packaging ; Puromycin ; Rats ; Retroviridae ; Simplexvirus* ; Thymidine Kinase ; Zidovudine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate improvement in hearing and changes in the tympanogram according to the types of mastoid pneumatization and the mucosal condition of the Eustachian tube orifice after performing tympanoplasty type 1. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among the patients with chronic otitis media who had received tympanoplasty type 1 at Asan Medical Center from June 1990 to March 1997, sixty five patients were evaluated with pure tone audiometry and tympanometry for a short-term (<6 months) and long-term (>1 year) follow-up period. RESULTS: Greater improvement in hearing was shown in patients with tympanogram type A as compared to the patients with type B and C in both short-term and long-term follow-ups. Patients who showed normal mastoid pneumatization were found to have type A tympanogram more frequently than patients who showed abnormal mastoid pneumatization. However, the degree of postoperative hearing improvement did not depend on the types of mastoid pneumatization. Mucosal condition of the Eustachian tube orifice had some influence on the outcome of postoperative tympanogram and hearing. Greater improvement in the hearing levels were observed more frequently in the normal mucosa. CONCLUSION: Postoperative improvement in hearing was closely related to the postoperative change in the tympanogram. Postoperative hearing results and tympanograms were mainly influenced by the mucosal condition of the Eustachian tube orifice. Relatively greater improvement in hearing was observed in the long-term follow-up compared to the short-term follow-up. However, in order to reach any conclusion on this matter, a longer follow-up period and closer observation would be required.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Audiometry ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Eustachian Tube ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Mastoid ; Mucous Membrane ; Otitis Media ; Tympanoplasty*

Two cases of skull metastasis from thyroid carcinoma are presented. The one case shows multiple involvement inthe skull base with sphenoid sinus, frontal bone, and rib. The other case is solitary extensive involvement to theright parietal bone. The follicular caroinoma of the thyroid shows a strong tendency toward vascualr invasion and dissemination through blood stream to the lungs, bones, liver, brain, and other distant sites. The sternum, thevetebrae, and the pelvis are the most common sites in bone metastasis of thyroid carcinoma, followed by the femur,shoulder girdle, skull, and rib. Metastatic caroinoma to the skull base, including sphenoid sinus s extremelyrare. Authors experienced recently 2 cases of metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid to the skull and report withreview of literature.
Brain ; Frontal Bone ; Liver ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Parietal Bone ; Pelvis ; Ribs ; Rivers ; Skull Base ; Skull ; Sphenoid Sinus ; Sternum ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Purpose: We analyzed the effects of low-dose atropine on myopic progression in elementary schoolchildren aged 6-11 years. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed before and after 6 months of low-dose atropine eyedrops. Myopia was defined as a spherical equivalent < -1 diopter. Low-dose atropine eyedrops (atropine sulfate 0.125% [w/v]) and artificial tear eyedrops (sodium hyaluronate 0.1% [w/v]) immediately afterwards were applied to both eyes daily, and all children regularly visited us for measurement of refractive power, axial length, pupil diameter, and near-point accommodation. symptoms (headache, light sensitivity, near-work disturbance, allergic reaction, dry eye, and poor night vision) were recorded. Results: A total of 116 patients were included. Atropine was prescribed for 65 patients, the remaining 51 patients constituted the control group. In the atropine group, the mean age was 10.2 ± 1.8 years and 23 patients (35.4%) were male. At the initial visit, the mean refractive power was -4.7 ± 2.1 diopters (D) (-1.0 to -10.5) and the mean axial length was 24.95 ± 1.02 mm (22.58-27.99). At the 6-month follow-up, the change of refractive power was -0.9 ± 1.1 D (-0.75 to -4.75) and the change of axial length was 0.47 ± 0.39 mm (0.01-1.6). However, 6 months after application of low-dose atropine eyedrops, the change of refractive power was -0.1 ± 0.2 D (0 to -0.25) and the change of mean axial length was 0.15 ± 0.23 mm (0-1.05). The mean pupil diameter was 6.7 ± 0.6 mm (5.3-9.3) and the near accommodation point was 6.1 ± 2.0 cm (3.1-11.0). Two patients (3.1%) complained of near-work disturbance but none stopped taking the eyedrops. Conclusions Significant decreases in the changes of refractive power and axial length were evident in myopic elementary schoolchildren after low-dose atropine therapy. Low-dose atropine attenuates myopic progression without severe complications.

BACKGROUND: Increased expression of MDR1 gene is one of the major mechanisms responsible for multidrug resistance in cancer cells. Two alternative promoters, upstream and downstream, are responsible for transcription of MDR1 gene in the human. However, the molecular mechanism regarding the transactivation of MDR1 upstream promoter (USP) has not been determined. METHODS: Dual-luciferase reporter gene assays were used to assess the effect of Nkx-2.5 on MDR1 USP activity using reporter plasmids for human MDR1 USP and its mutants. MDR1 mRNA level was examined by quantitative real-time PCR. The direct binding of Nkx-2.5 to the USP of MDR1 was evaluated by promoter enzyme immunoassays and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast ; Chromatin Immunoprecipitation ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Genes, Reporter ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Phenotype ; Plasmids ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Transcriptional Activation

Purpose: Clinical factors affecting the recovery period in patients with vascular or idiopathic paralytic strabismus were evaluated. Methods: This study involved a retrospective review of medical records of patients diagnosed with vascular and idiopathic acquired paralytic strabismus. Vascular paralysis was defined in cases of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, or cardiovascular disease. The angle of deviation and limitation of extraocular movement were evaluated at each visit. Recovery was defined as the absence of diplopia and complete resolution of limitation of extraocular movement. Factors affecting recovery success and recovery period were analyzed. Results: We retrospectively reviewed data of 145 patients consisting of 87 with vascular paralytic strabismus (cranial nerve [CN] III: 21, CN IV: 28, CN VI: 38) and 58 with idiopathic paralytic strabismus (CN IV: 20, CN VI: 24, CN III: 14). The recovery rate did not significantly differ between vascular (60.9%) and idiopathic (63.8%) groups (p = 0.15). The recovery period was longer in the vascular group (130.1 ± 145.1 days) than in the idiopathic group (92.6 ± 76.6) (p = 0.02). Age at onset was significantly associated with the recovery period in both vascular and idiopathic groups. In the vascular group, the recovery periods were 107.4 ± 74.8 days in CN III palsy, 97.2 ± 51.9 days in CN IV palsy, and 159.3 ± 194.1 days in CN VI palsy. The recovery period was significantly longer in patients with CN VI palsy (p = 0.03). Hypertension was significantly influencing the recovery period in patients with vascular CN VI palsy (odds ratio = 2.54, p = 0.01). Conclusions The recovery period was longer in patients with vascular paralytic strabismus than in patients with idiopathic paralytic strabismus. Recovery rates were not significantly different between groups. In patients with vascular CN VI palsy, a history of hypertension was significantly associated with the recovery period.