One hundred and twenty-three cases of planned ECCE with biconvex posterior chamber lens implantation were performed in St. Mary's Hospital from April 1988 to February 1990, were followed up for more than 6 months. We also analyzed 123 cases of planned ECCE with convex-plano posterior chamber lens implantation during the same period. The results were as follows: 1. The difference of visual acuity between the two groups was not statistically significant. 2. Of the 123 eyes with biconvex lens, 106 eyes (86%) were within +/- 0.50 spherical equivalent diopter compared to 55 of 123 eyes (44.7%) with convex-plano lens. This difference is statistically signficant (p<.001). 3. Eight out of the 123 eyes with biconvex lens (6.5%) developed after-cataract and two of these eight eyes were of the central type: 36 out of the 123 eyes (29.3%) with convex-plano lens developed after-cataract and 31 of the these 36 eyes were of the central type. This difference is statistically significant(p<.001).
Cataract* ; Visual Acuity

The intrahepatic calculi are prevalent in east Asia and are regarded as malignant disease because diagnosis and treatment are difficult and complication and mortality are high. This study is a retrospective clinical review of 58 cases of patient with intrahepatic calculi in the Department of Surgery, Chungnam National University Hospital from July 1994 through June 1999. The incidence of intrahepatic calculi was 8.8% of total hepatobiliary calculi. The ratio of male to female was 1:2.4. The peak incidence was noted at the 6th decade (32.7%) and mean age was 52.1 years. About the site of stones, left intrahepatic duct (48.3%)was more prevalent than right intrahepatic duct (17.2%). 42 cases(72%) of the intrahepatic calculi were associated with GB stone(8%), CBD stone(45%) or both(19%). As to surgical method, choledochotomy with T-tube drainage was performed in 34 cases(59%), choledochoduodenostomy was in 3 cases(5%) and hepatic resection in 21 cases(36%). Among them choledochotomy with T-tube drainage was the most frequently performed procedure. The remnant stones are most commonly founded after choledochotomy and T-tube drainage (80%) followed after choledochoduodenostomy(33%) and after hepatic resection(24%). But, major postoperative complications such as bile leakage and intra-abdominal abscess are more frequent in casea of hepatic resection. So we suggest that agressive treatment modality such as hepatic resection is more reasonable than drainage procedure in the management of intrahepatic duct stone by the experienced expert.
Abdominal Abscess ; Bile ; Calculi* ; Choledochostomy ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Far East ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Mortality ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies

Filaggrin is expressed in the cornified layer of epidermis and known to be one of the antigenic targets in rheumatoid arthritis. Although the citrulline residue in filaggrin is thought to be an antigenic determinant recognized by autoantibodies, the diagnostic sensitivity of synthetic citrullinated peptide is variable. To investigate the implication of anti-filaggrin antibodies recognizing uncitrullinated filaggrin in rheumatoid arthritis, we assayed antibody titers using unmodified recombinant filaggrin in the sera from 73 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 150 patients with other connective tissue diseases and 70 normal controls. We also performed the correlation analysis between antibody titers and the clinical variables in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Titers of IgG anti-filaggrin antibodies were significantly higher in rheumatoid arthritis patients compared to normal controls (P=0.02), but not in patients with osteoarthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or systemic lupus erythematosus. IgG anti-filaggrin antibodies were more frequently found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis compared to normal controls (12.3% vs 1.4% respectively, P=0.04). An anti-filaggrin antibody titer was correlated with visual analogue scale of pain, tender joint count, Ritchie articular index or C-reactive protein, but not with anti-nuclear antibody or rheumatoid factor. These results suggest that anti-filaggrin antibody recognizes the uncitrullinated filaggrin as an antigen and its titer correlates with clinical parameters, explaining the variable sensitivity of anti-filaggrin antibody test.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Antibodies/*blood/*immunology ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/blood/*diagnosis/*immunology ; Case-Control Studies ; Citrulline/*analysis ; Humans ; Intermediate Filament Proteins/*chemistry/*immunology/isolation & purification ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate long-term post-discontinuation outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who had been treated with tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (TNF-αi) which was then discontinued. Methods: Sixty Korean patients with RA who participated in a 5-year GO-BEFORE and GO-FORWARD extension trials were included in this retrospective study. Golimumab was deliberately discontinued after the extension study (baseline). Patients were then followed by their rheumatologists. We reviewed their medical records for 2 years (max 28 months) following golimumab discontinuation. Patients were divided into a maintained benefit (MB) group and a loss-of-benefit (LB) group based on treatment pattern after golimumab discontinuation. The LB group included patients whose conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug(s) were stepped-up or added/switched (SC) and those who restarted biologic therapy (RB). Results: The mean age of patients at baseline was 56.5 years and 55 (91.7%) were females. At the end of follow-up, 23 (38.3%) patients remained in the MB group. In the LB group, 75.7% and 24.3% were assigned into SC and RB subgroups, respectively. Fifty percent of patients lost MB after 23.3 months. Demographics and clinical variables at baseline were comparable between MB and LB groups except for age, C-reactive protein level, and corticosteroid use. Restarting biologic therapy was associated with swollen joint count (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 3.55) and disease duration (adjusted HR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.23) at baseline. Conclusions Treatment strategies after discontinuing TNF-αi are needed to better maintain disease control and quality of life of patients with RA.