STUDY DESIGN: A case of brain infarction due to occlusion of vertebral artery after cervical spine fracture is reported. OBJECTIVES: Documentation of possibility and clinical significances of brain infarction as one of grave complications after cervical spine injury. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Occlusion of vertebral artery and consequent brain infarction can be associated with cervical spine injuries because vertebral arteries course through the transverse foramina from sixth to second corvical vertebrae. Infarction of vertebrobasilar system may cause impairment of cerebral, cerebellar, or brain stem function and can occasionally bring grave functional loss, even death. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case of occlusion of vertebral artery and consequent cerebral infarction after cervical spine fracture in a 66 year-old man. Brain CT and angiogram were performed. He was managed with anticoagulants. RESULTS: Neurologic deficits from brain infarction disappeared after 2 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Attention to the possibility of these complications and awareness of their clinical features seem to be mandatory in managing cervical spine injury patients.
Aged ; Anticoagulants ; Brain ; Brain Infarction ; Brain Stem ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Humans ; Infarction ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spine* ; Vertebral Artery*

No abstract available.
Embryonic Structures* ; Humans* ; Upper Extremity*

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of physical characteristics on the incidence of varicoceles. Although previous reports have alluded to the fact that taller individuals may have a higher incidence of varicoceles, this has not been systematically studied. We hypothesized that physical characteristics such as height and weight could have a significant impact on the incidence of varicoceles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed charts of 145 patients who presented for evaluation of varicocele between 2000~2005. Each patients' age, symptoms, height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. Independent t-tests were performed to determine whether a correlation existed between presence of a varicocele and height, weight, or BMI. Moreover, we selected 90 patients whose varicocele was detected by pain and performed the same analysis in order to exclude selection bias. Additionally, we compared varicocele grade with height, weight and BMI by one-way ANOVA test. RESULTS: Our analysis showed that there was no association between height and the presence of a varicocele. However, the weight of the patient and the incidence of varicocele approached significance with greater weight associated with a lower incidence of varicoceles. There was also an association between BMI and the presence of varicoceles but the correlation did not depended on varicocele grade. CONCLUSIONS: Although previous reports have alluded to a higher incidence of varicoceles in taller patients, the current study found no correlation between height and the presence of a varicocele. Increased weight, however, was associated with a significantly lower incidence of varicoceles. Varicocele grade was not correlated with any factor. This study demonstrates that height is not a consideration when evaluating the infertile male, whereas weight may affect the ability to diagnose the varicocele.
Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Selection Bias ; Varicocele*

PURPOSE: The prostate of the young adult is not a subject which has received much attention, and the vast majority of prostate studies have placed their emphasis predominantly on elderly patients. It seems, then, that an investigation of the prostate in younger patients is warranted, and perhaps long past due. Thus, we attempted to determine the mean prostate volume in Koreans in their 20's. We also reported on the relationships between prostate size and body mass index, as well as body surface area, and compared the prostates of normal Korean youths with those of chronic prostatitis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between March 2002 and February 2008, we chronicled 583 cases of transrectal ultrasonography(control group: 271, chronic prostatitis group: 314) and calculated prostate volumes via the biplane method. 178 of the cases in the chronic prostatitis group were again examined after treatment. In all of the cases, body mass index and body surface area were assessed. RESULTS: The mean age of the patient was 22.83+/-2.46 years. The mean prostate volume of the 583 young adults was 15.58+/-3.11ml(control group: 15.61+/-3.16ml, chronic prostatitis group: 15.56+/-3.07ml). We ensured that there were no differences between the normal group and the chronic prostatitis group. The prostate volumes of the chronic prostatitis patients made no odds with the treated prostates. Additionally, prostate volume was directly proportional to the body mass index and the body surface area. CONCLUSIONS: The prostate volume of young Korean adults in their 20's was approximately 15.6ml. The development of chronic prostatitis in young men had no appreciable effect on prostate size, but was shown to induce a variety of histologic changes in the prostate, and these changes were similar to those observed in older patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Body Mass Index ; Body Surface Area ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostatitis ; Young Adult

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a common condition that produces pain in the orofacial area. However, the exact cause of TN is still unknown. Various etiologies such as tumor, multiple sclerosis and other compressive lesions have been implicated as possible causes. A 35-year-old woman was admitted due to right facial pain which was diagnosed as TN. A brain MRI revealed sphenoidal sinusitis with epidural empyema. We report a case of complicated sinusitis with epidural empyema presenting as TN.
Adult ; Brain ; Empyema* ; Facial Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Multiple Sclerosis ; Sinusitis ; Sphenoid Sinusitis* ; Trigeminal Neuralgia*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pancreatic cancer (PC) patients have poor prognoses because this cancer is typically diagnosed at an advanced stage and the therapeutic options are limited. We examined the potential of metabolic profiling for early diagnosis and identification of potential therapeutic targets. METHODS: Ten patients and 10 healthy volunteer controls older than 20 years of age were enrolled between May and December 2015. The patients were confirmed to have pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cytologically or histologically. Blood plasma samples were derivatized and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Untargeted GC-MS data were analyzed using statistical methods, including Wilcoxon rank-sum test and principal component analyses. RESULTS: L-lysine was 1.36-fold higher in patients than in healthy controls (p<0.05). L-leucine was 0.63-fold lower (p<0.01) and palmitic acid was 0.93-fold lower (p<0.5) in patients than in controls. Orthogonal partial least squared-discriminant analysis revealed significant differences between the patients and controls. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the metabolic profiles of patients with PC are distinct from those of the healthy population. Further studies are required to develop methods for early diagnosis and identify therapeutic targets.
Adenocarcinoma ; Early Diagnosis ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Korea ; Leucine ; Lysine ; Metabolome ; Palmitic Acid ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Plasma ; Principal Component Analysis ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND: Tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance is important in the assessment and treatment of patellofemoral disorders. However, normal and pathological TT-TG values have not been established in Koreans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the TT-TG distance in the Korean population using lower leg rotational profile computed tomography (CT) scans. METHODS: One hundred rotational profile CT scans were retrospectively collected from patients without knee joint problems aged between 25 to 82 years. TT-TG distances were measured, and statistical analysis was performed. Each CT scan was measured twice in a blinded, randomized manner by three reviewers. Patients with pre-existing knee joint problems were excluded from the study; hence 15 of the 100 patients were excluded because of deformity or unreadable CT scans. Thus, 85 of the 100 patients were included in the study. RESULTS: Interobserver and intraobserver reliability of TT-TG distance measurements was good. The median TT-TG distance for this Korean population was 11.24 mm (mean, 10.24 +/- 0.8 mm). TT-TG distance measured nearly 2 mm less on rotational profile CT scans. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the TT-TG distances on rotational profile CT scans were significantly correlated, indicating that they could be accepted. Furthermore, the values on CT scans showed good reliability. In this study, the TT-TG distance in normal Korean people was approximately 10.24 mm without significant differences in TT-TG values between genders.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Femur/*anatomy & histology/*diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Leg/anatomy & histology/diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reference Values ; Republic of Korea ; Tibia/*anatomy & histology/*diagnostic imaging ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Acute myocarditis can be caused by viral, bacterial, or protozoal infection, or drug toxicity. Fulminant myocarditis progresses rapidly and frequently leads to cardiogenic shock, so patients should be supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), mechanical ventilation, or a temporary pacemaker to maintain hemodynamic status. Most patients recover with supportive therapy. However, a few patients have persistent atrioventricular (AV) block. We report the case of a 34-year-old male with persistent complete atrioventricular block after the regression of acute myocarditis. Ultimately, a permanent pacemaker was implanted.
Adult ; Atrioventricular Block ; Drug Toxicity ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Myocarditis ; Respiration, Artificial ; Shock, Cardiogenic

Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a serious complication of myocardial infarction. It presents with a very high mortality rate and can be rescued by accurate diagnosis and emergency surgery. LVFWR can occur with sudden overt clinical symptoms or present insidiously. This report highlights the case of a man with no prior history of coronary artery disease, who presented with LVFWR and pericardial effusion that evolved to severe bacterial pericarditis.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Emergencies ; Heart Rupture ; Myocardial Infarction ; Pericardial Effusion ; Pericarditis ; Rupture

BACKGROUND: Some chemotherapeutic drugs induce NF-κB activation by degrading the IκBα protein in cancer cells which contributes to anticancer drug resistance. We hypothesized that inhibiting IκBα degradation would block NF-κB activation and result in increased tumor cell mortality in response to chemotherapy. METHODS: The "superrepressor" form of the NF-κB inhibitor was transferred by an adenoviral vector (Ad-IκBα-SR) to the human lung cancer cell lines (NCI H157 and NCI H460). With a MTT assay, the level of sensitization to cisplatin and paclitaxel were measured. To confirm the mechanism, an EMSA and Annexin V assay were performed. RESULTS: EMSA showed that IκBα-SR effectively blocked the NF-κB activation induced by cisplatin. Transduction with Ad-IκBα-SR resulted in an increased sensitivity of the lung cancer cell lines to cisplatin and paclitaxel by a factor of 2~3 in terms of IC50. Annexin-V analysis suggests that this increment in chemosensitivity to cisplatin probably occurs through the induction of apoptosis. CONCLUSION: The blockade of chemotherapeutics induced NF-κB activation by inducing Ad-IκBα-SR, increased apoptosis and increasing the chemosensitivity of the lung cancer cell lines tested, subsequently. Gene transfer of IκBα-SR appears to be a new therapeutic strategy of chemosensitization in lung cancer.
Adenoviridae ; Annexin A5 ; Apoptosis ; Cell Line* ; Cisplatin ; Drug Resistance ; Drug Therapy ; Humans* ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Mortality ; Paclitaxel*