No abstract available.
Brain* ; Mood Disorders*

Tetanus is an infectious disease that causes muscle spasm with spastic paralysis and pain. Localized tetanus is rare and milder than the generalized form, however, it should be immediately treated because it may precede the onset of generalized form. The authors experienced a case of localized tetanus in both legs with abdominal pain after lumbar radiculopathy acupuncture treatment and here report this case with relevant literature reviews.

Tetanus is an infectious disease that causes muscle spasm with spastic paralysis and pain. Localized tetanus is rare and milder than the generalized form, however, it should be immediately treated because it may precede the onset of generalized form. The authors experienced a case of localized tetanus in both legs with abdominal pain after lumbar radiculopathy acupuncture treatment and here report this case with relevant literature reviews.

Post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMO) is a major global human health concern. Owing to the need for therapeutic drugs without side effects, natural extracts containing various polyphenolic compounds that may exert estrogenic effects have been studied in depth. Rhus verniciflua Stokes (RVS), which has been used as a traditional herbal medicine for centuries in Korea, was recently revealed to exert estrogenic effects attributable to its bioactive ingredients sulfuretin and butein, which have strong estrogen receptor–binding affinities. In this study, the protective potential of RVS in PMO was evaluated by using an experimental animal model of PMO, which was established by ovariectomy (OVX) of female Sprague Dawley rats. The oral administration of RVS at 20 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg for 8 weeks markedly protected against OVX-induced atrophy of the uterine tube and reversed the elevation in the ratio of serum receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand to osteoprotegerin, which is a marker of disease severity. In addition, RVS inhibited OVX-induced tibia bone loss, activated osteogenic activity, and suppressed osteoclastic activity in the tibial epiphyseal plate, a region of bone remodeling. Collectively, these factors indicated that the oral intake of RVS might be beneficial for the prevention of PMO.
Administration, Oral ; Atrophy ; Bone Remodeling ; Estrogens ; Fallopian Tubes ; Female ; Growth Plate ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Korea ; Models, Animal ; Models, Theoretical* ; Osteoclasts ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal* ; Osteoprotegerin ; Ovariectomy ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rhus* ; Tibia

Catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy associated with pheochromocytoma is a relatively well-recognized but rare entity. We report a case of 15-year old man with a pheochromocytoma and severe heart failure caused by a catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy. He had symptoms such as fatigue, cold sweating, and dyspnea for 7 months. The chest x-ray showed an enlarged cardiac shadow and pulmonary edema. Echocardiography showed severe decreased left ventricular contractility with multiple thrombi and right ventricular hypokinesia with mild pulmonary hypertension. This report describes our experience of the anesthetic management for the removal of pheochromocytoma with catecholamine-induced cardiomyopathy, which barely responded to high vasopressin and epinephrine.
Cardiomyopathies ; Cold Temperature ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Epinephrine ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Fatigue ; Heart Failure ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Hypokinesia ; Pheochromocytoma ; Pulmonary Edema ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Thorax ; Vasopressins

Pulmonary artery sling is a rare congenital condition in which the left pulmonary artery arises from the right pulmonary artery forming a sling around the trachea. This causes tracheal compression with the resulting respiratory symptoms. Most cases are associated with cardiovascular and tracheobronchial abnormalities. Some cases present incidentally without respiratory symptoms in adolescents and adults. We report a case with double left aberrant pulmonary artery associated with multiorgan anomalies which was incidentally found.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Humans ; Pulmonary Artery* ; Trachea

Twenty six year old man was struck by a bus, and sustained multiple rib fracture, sternal fracture, right scapular fracture, left subclavian arterial obstruction, and traumatic tracheoesophageal fistula. Diastolic murmur was heard, and echocardiography revealed a markedly regurgitant aortic valve and suspected vegetation. After establishing cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest, the aorta was opened. The left and right coronary cusp were ruptured 10mm, and 7mm, respectively. The leaflets were sutured with running 5-0 Prolene sutures. After the repair of the ruptured valve cusp, the valve was coapted well. He was discharged with excellent outcome on postoperative day 14.
Aorta ; Aortic Valve* ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Echocardiography ; Heart Murmurs ; Polypropylenes ; Rib Fractures ; Running ; Sutures ; Thorax* ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of vitreomacular traction (VMT) on ranibizumab treatment response for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: A retrospective review of 85 eyes of 85 patients newly diagnosed with neovascular AMD was conducted. Patients were eligible if they had received more than three consecutive monthly ranibizumab (0.50 mg) treatments and ophthalmic evaluations. Patients were classified into a VMT (+) group or VMT (-) group according to optical coherence tomography imaging. Best corrected visual acuity and central retinal thickness (CRT) measurements were obtained at three and six months after initial injection. RESULTS: One month after the third injection, mean visual acuity (VA) increases of 6.36 and 9.87 letters were observed in the VMT (+) and VMT (-) groups, respectively. The corresponding mean CRT values decreased by 70.29 microm and 121.68 microm, respectively. A total 41 eyes were identified as eligible for a subsequent fourth injection; 71.1% of patients (27 eyes) in the VMT (+) group but only 29.8% of patients in the VMT (-) group needed a subsequent fourth injection. Follow-up was extended to six months for 42 of the 85 enrolled patients (49.4%). The trends in VA and optical coherence tomography were found to be maintained at six-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: VA and CRT appeared to be more improved after ranibizumab treatment in the VMT (-) group compared to the VMT (+) group. VMT might antagonize the effect of ranibizumab treatment in a subpopulation of AMD patients.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angiogenesis Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intravitreal Injections ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ranibizumab/*therapeutic use ; Retina/pathology ; Retinal Diseases/*physiopathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Tissue Adhesions ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/antagonists & inhibitors ; Visual Acuity/drug effects ; Vitreous Body/*pathology ; Wet Macular Degeneration/*drug therapy/physiopathology

PURPOSE: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children has become an important public health issue because of its high prevalence and severity. Several noninvasive methods for estimating NAFLD are under investigation. We aimed to evaluate the usefulness of serum ferritin as a biomarker of severity of pediatric NAFLD patients. METHODS: A total of 64 NAFLD patient were enrolled from Severance Children's Hospital from March 2010 to February 2013. Serum ferritin levels, liver related laboratory tests, liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (2-dimensional [2D] proton density-fat fraction) and NAFLD severity markers were compared between obese group and overweight group. Correlation analyses were performed between serum ferritin and laboratory values including NAFLD severity markers. RESULTS: In obese group, serum ferritin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total bilirubin, international normalized ratio (INR), MRI 2D proton density-fat fraction, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) (an index score calculated from platelet count, ALT, AST and age) were significantly higher than those of overweight group. NAFLD severity markers, APRI and FIB-4, and liver specific important laboratory values, AST, ALT, INR, cholesterol, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein show significant correlation with serum ferritin in NAFLD patients. CONCLUSION: Serum ferritin concentrations could be a candidate of useful severity marker in the pediatric NAFLD patients.
Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Bilirubin ; Biomarkers ; Blood Platelets ; Child ; Cholesterol ; Fatty Liver* ; Ferritins* ; Humans ; International Normalized Ratio ; Lipoproteins ; Liver ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Platelet Count ; Prevalence ; Protons ; Public Health ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: To report the effects and complications of conjunctival fixation to the sclera in conjunctivochalasis patients with inferior punctal occlusion. METHODS: The authors of the present study evaluated the degree of conjunctivochalasis and performed Fluorescein Dye Disappearance Test (FDT) in 15 eyes of 8 patients diagnosed with conjunctivochalasis with inferior punctal occlusion. Under topical anesthesia, the inferior bulbar conjunctiva was attached to the sclera with 3 8-0 vicryl stitches 8 mm posterior from the limbus. After surgery, the relief of symptoms, postoperative complications and improvement of conjunctivochalasis were observed. RESULTS: One week after the surgery, all 15 eyes achieved a subjective improvement of symptoms and the degree of conjunctivochalasis and FDT showed statistical difference after surgery (p = 0.000, 0.000, respectively). A complication occurred in 1 eye which was a retinal hemorrhage due to scleral puncture. CONCLUSIONS: Conjunctival fixation to the sclera could improve epiphora in conjunctivochalasis patients with inferior punctal occlusion. However, this procedure should be performed with caution.
Anesthesia ; Conjunctiva ; Eye ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases ; Polyglactin 910 ; Postoperative Complications ; Retinal Hemorrhage ; Sclera