The surgical approach to high placed basilar tip aneurysm presents a special technical problem. The author experienced the case of a 70-year-old female who developed subarachnoid hemorrhage due to rupture of superoposteriolry projecting and high placed basilar tip aneurysm. For the purpose of minimal brain retraction and excellent exposure, the author used a technique which was a combination of the detachment of the zygomatic arch and pterional approach. This aneurysm was clipped successfully and easily with the zygomatic approach, but under the anesthesia there was a severe subcutaneous emphysema and pneumothorax which was produced through a tracheostomy site.
Aged ; Anesthesia ; Aneurysm* ; Brain ; Female ; Humans ; Pneumothorax ; Rupture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Subcutaneous Emphysema ; Tracheostomy ; Zygoma

Most liver diseases lead to hepatic dysfunction with organ failure. Liver transplantation is the best curative therapy, but it has some limitations such as donor shortage, possibility of rejection, and maintenance of immunosuppressant. New therapies have been actively searched for over several decades, primarily in the form of artificial liver support devices and hepatocyte transplantation, but both of these modalities remain experimental. Stem cells have recently shown promise in cell therapy because they have the capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation, and are applicable to human diseases. Very recent reports of unexpected plasticity in adult bone marrow have raised hopes of stem cell therapy offering exciting therapeutic possibilities for patients with chronic liver disease. Both rodent and human embryonic stem cells, bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, umbilical cord blood cells, fetal liver progenitor cells, adult liver progenitor cells, and mature hepatocytes have been reported to be capable of self-renewal, giving rise to daughter hepatocytes both in vivo and in vitro. These cells can repopulate livers in animal models of liver injury and appear to be able to improve liver function. However, significant challenges still exist before these cells can be used in humans, such as the lack of consensus about the immunophenotype of liver progenitor cells, uncertainty of the physiological role of reported candidate stem/progenitor cells, practicality of obtaining sufficient quantity of cells for clinical use, and concerns over ethics, long-term efficacy, and safety. There have been reports of phase 1 trials using stem cell transplantation in humans for liver diseases, but more effective trials are needed. We review the use of stem cells (focusing on adult ones) and the reported human clinical trials, and highlight the challenges facing clinicians in their quest to use liver stem cells to save lives.
Bone Marrow Cells/cytology ; Cell Differentiation ; Embryonic Stem Cells/cytology/transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/cytology ; Humans ; Immunophenotyping ; Liver/*cytology/physiology ; Liver Diseases/*therapy ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology ; *Stem Cell Transplantation

No abstract available.
Muir-Torre Syndrome*

Despite therapeutic advances, the overall survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been significantly improved in the last two decades. In the majority of the cases, there is underlying cirrhosis, therefore the prognosis of HCC depends not only on tumor stage but also on liver function. Patients at an early stage are those who present with an asymptomatic single HCC with a maximum diameter of 5 cm or up to three nodules each less than 3 cm. They will be benefitted by curative therapies, including resection, liver transplantation (LT), and percutaneous ablation, such as destroying tumor cells via the injection of chemical substances, radiation, or heating or cooling. Patients exceeding these limits, but who are free of cancer-related symptoms and vascular invasion or extrahepatic spread may be benefitted by palliation with chemoembolization and hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy. Recently, other treatments were developed under investigation treatments arising from technical advances in ablation and radiation. New promising image-guided therapies are continuously emerging and minimize hepatic toxicity and ultimately improve quality of life and survival of patients with HCC. The 3-dimensional conformal RT, tomotherapy, stereotatic radiosurgery, high intensity focused ultrasound, and proton beam radiotherapy will provide the opportunity for curative treatment of HCC, while avoiding critical normal tissue. New drugs, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and antiangiogenic agents, are currently being tested in the setting of clinical trials. These new approaches may help to address the enormous need for expanded treatment options for patients with HCC. In the future, patients with HCC will be best treated by a multidisciplinary team approach, utilizing a combination of techniques to improve the patient survival.
Angiogenesis Inhibitors ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Fibrosis ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Prognosis ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Protons ; Quality of Life ; Radiosurgery

No abstract available.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; Humans ; Liver Diseases/*therapy ; *Stem Cell Transplantation

PURPOSE: Conventional MRI may not visualize the structural abnoramlity in large proportion of patients with intractable extratemporal lobe epilepsy. METHODS: Five patients with intractable extratemporal lobe epilepsy underwent resective surgery. Preoperatively, all patients underwent video-EEG monitoring using extracranial electrodes and MRI. Three had PET scans and four had MRS. 3D-reconstruction of the MRI was performed in all patients. Then, subdural grid electrodes were implanted on the suspected lesion in 3D-reconstructed brain; One had bitemporal depth electrodes insertion, and subdural grid electrodes implantation on bilateral frontal lobe. Two had frontal resection and including supplementary sensorimotor area in one. Parietal and parieto-temporal resection was performed in each. One had partial occipital lobe resection. RESULTS: All had complex partial seizures and four of them had lateralizing signs. Standard surface EEG recordings were not reliable in lateralizing or localizing the epileptogenic zone in any of patients. Conventional MRI revealed subtle abnormality in the superior parietal lobule, and atrophic changes in parietal lobe and posterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus, in each. Three did not show any structural abnormalities. MRS showed abnormal NAA/Ch: Cr ratio in two; one in the lesion and one in the bilateral hipocampus. PET showed hypometabolism in the extensive area in three with limitation in localizing the epileptogenic zone. All had abnormal gyral and sulcal paterns in 3D-reconstructed brain; two in the frontal lobe, superior parietal lobule, and inferior parietal and posterior portion of the superior temporal gyrus, in each, and one in the occipital lobe. Histopathologic findings revealed cortical dysplasia in all. Three were seizure free and two were class I in Engel's classification during follow-up between 4 to 24 months. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that in the surgical treatment of the extratemporal lobe epilepsy without prominent abnormalities in conventional MRI, 3D-reconstruction of the MRI may be of value in localizing the epileptogenic zone.
Brain ; Classification ; Electrodes ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Frontal Lobe ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Malformations of Cortical Development ; Occipital Lobe ; Parietal Lobe ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Rabeprazole ; Seizures

OBJECTIVES: The reported incidence rate of varicella infection in Jeju-do is higher compared with the national average. This study aimed to examine varicella vaccination history and evaluate clinical manifestation of varicella cases in Jeju-do. METHODS: Based on the guideline suggested by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), two epidemic investigations for varicella infection were conducted in the first half of 2017. The history of varicella vaccination was confirmed using the Integrated Control System for Diseases and Health operated by the KCDC. RESULTS: Out of a total of 60 elementary school children as the study subjects, all had been previously vaccinated against varicella. Twenty cases (33%) showed mild clinical manifestations and no complications. CONCLUSIONS: As the government of Jeju-do has supplied a single-labeled vaccine since 2011, there is a need to evaluate the type of vaccination failure such as primary or secondary.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Chickenpox Vaccine ; Chickenpox* ; Child* ; Humans ; Immunization ; Incidence ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Vaccination*

OBJECTIVES: The reported incidence rate of varicella infection in Jeju-do is higher compared with the national average. This study aimed to examine varicella vaccination history and evaluate clinical manifestation of varicella cases in Jeju-do.METHODS: Based on the guideline suggested by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), two epidemic investigations for varicella infection were conducted in the first half of 2017. The history of varicella vaccination was confirmed using the Integrated Control System for Diseases and Health operated by the KCDC.RESULTS: Out of a total of 60 elementary school children as the study subjects, all had been previously vaccinated against varicella. Twenty cases (33%) showed mild clinical manifestations and no complications.CONCLUSIONS: As the government of Jeju-do has supplied a single-labeled vaccine since 2011, there is a need to evaluate the type of vaccination failure such as primary or secondary.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Chickenpox Vaccine ; Chickenpox ; Child ; Humans ; Immunization ; Incidence ; Jeju-do ; Korea ; Vaccination

The mortality due to chronic liver disease, including liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), ranks as one of the highest in Korea. The prevalence rates of hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in the general Korean population are approximately 1 and 5%, respectively. Blood transfusion was the strongest risk factor for the transmission of HCV infection. Therefore, the evaluation of risk factors for HCV infection including blood transfusion, intravenous drug user, hemophilia, and hemodialysis, is important. The most prevalent HCV genotype is 1b followed by 2a. The annual incidence of HCC among HCV-related liver cirrhosis has been estimated at 5%, and approximately 12% of HCC is attributable to HCV and 68% to HBV in Korea. HCV infection is more closely associated with HCC in elderly patients than HBV-related HCC. Even though the prevalence of anti-HCV in Korea has been reduced and the risk of HCV transmission through blood transfusion has markedly decreased, public-health programs to prevent de novo infections should be developed. This review describes the HCV prevalence and risk factors among the general population, and the distribution of HCV genotypes as well as the clinical course of HCV in Korea.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*virology ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus/genetics/isolation & purification ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/*complications/*epidemiology ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Cirrhosis/*virology ; Liver Neoplasms/*virology ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors