BACKGROUND: The skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) exhibits a striking susceptibility to colonization with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Superantigens produced by S. aureus and their specific IgE antibodies are thought to be important precipitating factors of AD, but there are few reports evaluating these 2 factors at the same time, particularly in adult AD patients. OBJECTS: Our purpose was to investigate the differences in the culture degree of S. aureus from the lesion, non-lesion, and control group of child and adult AD patients, to research the correlation between the exotoxin production, total IgE, anti-SEA IgE and the disease severity by SCORAD index, to ascertain the differences between child and adult AD patients. METHODS: The clinical severity of 30 child (2 to 15 years of age) and 30 adult patients (16 to 40 years of age) with AD was evaluated by using SCORAD index. S. aureus was isolated from lesional and non-lesional skin of AD patients, and from healthy controls. Staphylococcal exotoxins were detected by using reversed passive latex agglutination toxin detection kits. Anti-SEA IgE antibody was determined by using AlaSTATt assay RESULTS: S. aureus colonizations were found in 11 (36.7%) of the lesional skin, in 5 (16.7%) of the non-lesional skin of 30 child AD patients, and in 26 (86.7%), in 20 (66.7%) of 30 adult AD patients, respectively. The colonization rates of S. aureus in child patients were much lower than those in adult patients, both form lesional skin and non-lesional skin. Staphylococcal exotoxins were detected in 5 (45.5%) of the 11 colonizations from lesional skin, in 2 (40%) of the 5 colonizations from non-lesional skin of children, and in 10 (38.5%) of the 26 colonizations, in 9 (45%) of the 20 colonizations of adults, respectively. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) was most frequently detected in both groups. S. aureus colonization was correlated with the severity of AD in childhood, but not in adulthood. However, there were no statistical significances between severity of AD and others such as exotoxin production, and the level of total IgE and anti-SEA IgE in both groups. CONCLUSION: The colonization of S. aureus was more common in adult AD patients than child AD patients. Anti-SEA IgE level was much higher in adult AD patients than in child AD patients. It is tempting to speculate that the colonization of S. aureus and exotoxin production might be related to the disease. duration rather than clinical severity of AD.
Adult ; Agglutination ; Antibodies ; Child ; Colon ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Enterotoxins* ; Exotoxins* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Latex ; Precipitating Factors ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Strikes, Employee ; Superantigens

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Meningitis*

In order to study the clinical efficacy of the metallic stent of the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis, the clinical and arteriographic findings of the 8 patients were retrospectively reviewed. All 8 patients were males with an age of 51 to 79. The Fontaine class for the functional status of lower extremities was II in 4 patients, III in 3 patients and IV in 1 patients. Self expandable Gianturco stent was inserted in 7 iliac arteries and balloon expandable Palmaz stent was inserted in 2 iliac arteries in the 8 patients. The indications for the metallic stent application were localized dissection with significant residual stenosis in 6sites, recoiling due to calcification in one case and eccentricity of the stenotic lesion in 2 sites. The deployment of the metallic stent was successful in all the cases to maintain the patency of iliac arteries with residual stenosis less than 30%. The Fontaine class was improved to I in 6 patients, II a in 1 patients IIb in another one. During the follow-up period of 3 to 14 months, none except one developed recurrence of the symptom. On the basis of our experience, we believe that metallic stent is safe and effective for the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis. However, we think that it is a complementary measure to the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. The comparative study between different types of metallic stent and the long-term effect should be investigated further.
Angioplasty ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents* ; Treatment Outcome

In order to study the clinical efficacy of the metallic stent of the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis, the clinical and arteriographic findings of the 8 patients were retrospectively reviewed. All 8 patients were males with an age of 51 to 79. The Fontaine class for the functional status of lower extremities was II in 4 patients, III in 3 patients and IV in 1 patients. Self expandable Gianturco stent was inserted in 7 iliac arteries and balloon expandable Palmaz stent was inserted in 2 iliac arteries in the 8 patients. The indications for the metallic stent application were localized dissection with significant residual stenosis in 6sites, recoiling due to calcification in one case and eccentricity of the stenotic lesion in 2 sites. The deployment of the metallic stent was successful in all the cases to maintain the patency of iliac arteries with residual stenosis less than 30%. The Fontaine class was improved to I in 6 patients, II a in 1 patients IIb in another one. During the follow-up period of 3 to 14 months, none except one developed recurrence of the symptom. On the basis of our experience, we believe that metallic stent is safe and effective for the treatment of iliac arterial stenosis. However, we think that it is a complementary measure to the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. The comparative study between different types of metallic stent and the long-term effect should be investigated further.
Angioplasty ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents* ; Treatment Outcome

Infantile digital fibromatosis is a rare benign tumor on the fingers and toes of infants and childhood which is characterized by fibroblastic proliferation. Usually the lesions occur singly or severally on the dorsal or lateral aspects of the distal phalanges of the toes and fingers. The thumb and great toe are usually spared. These asymptomatic, firm, red, smooth nodules, some lcm diameter, occur during the first year of life. Forty-seven percent occur in the first month of life. This disease can occur after trauma. The lesions do not metastasize. Occasionally, spontaneous regression has been reported. After excision, recurrence can be possible. A 2 years old female infant had three large bean sized erythematous masses on the left 2,3,4th fingers. The erythematous aacule was developed at 6 months old and grew slowly. We could find inclusion body stained bright red with Massons trichrome and purple with PTAH in cytoplasm of fibroblast. The patient was treated with a simple excision followed by a skin graft. During 5 rnonths after operation, recurrence was not occurred.
Child, Preschool ; Cytoplasm ; Female ; Fibroblasts ; Fibroma* ; Fingers ; Humans ; Inclusion Bodies ; Infant ; Recurrence ; Skin* ; Thumb ; Toes ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Viral warts are common viral infections and are usually self-limiting. However, there have been few studies assessing the characteristics of patients with viral warts. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of viral warts during a five-year-period. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients with viral warts who had been diagnosed in the Myongji hospital from January 2007 to December 2011. RESULTS: One thousand seven hundred and ninety patients with viral warts were assessed. A group of patients aged under 10 years had the highest occurrence of common warts (46.8%). The mean age was 16.9 years. Hands (47.7%) were more commonly involved than feet (36.4%). Cryotherapy was used to treat most of the patients. One thousand and sixty-one patients (59.3%) showed complete resolution of the wart lesion in the clinical ground. CONCLUSION: The number of patients with viral warts is currently increasing. This study provides useful data on the prevalence and characteristics of viral warts.
Aged ; Cryotherapy ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Warts

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the effect of seizures on the bilateral hippocampus in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) and neocortical epilepsy by single voxel proton magnetic spectroscopy. METHODS: Forty-one patients with mTLE having unilateral hippocampal sclerosis and 43 patients with a neocortical epilepsy who underwent subsequent epilepsy surgery were recruited. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals of N-acetyl aspartate/choline (NAA/Cho) and NAA/creatine (NAA/Cr) ratios in 20 healthy control subjects were used as threshold values to determine abnormal NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr. The relationship between the results of MRS and the duration of epilepsy, the frequency of seizure, the effect of secondary generalized tonic clonic seizures (2GTCS), and the postsurgical outcome was evaluated. RESULTS: NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr were significantly lower in the ipsilateral hippocampus of mTLE and neocortical epilepsy. NAA/Cho was abnormally low in the ipsilateral hippocampus in 43.9% (18/41) and bilateral hippocampus in 26.8% of mTLE patients. Ipsilateral or bilateral abnormal NAA/Cr was detected in 46.3% (19/41) of mTLE. NAA/Cho was abnormally lower in the ipsilateral hippocampus in 27.9% and bilateral hippocampus in 41.9% of neocortical epilepsy patients. Ipsilateral or bilateral abnormal NAA/Cr was detected in 32.6% of the patients with neocortical epilepsy. Using AIs for patients with bilaterally abnormal ratios of NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr combined with unilateral abnormal ratio, the seizure focus was correctly lateralized in 65.9% of the patients with mTLE and 48.8% of neocortical epilepsy patients. Bilateral NAA/Cho abnormality was significantly related with a poor surgical outcome in mTLE. No significant relationship was found between the results of NAA/Cho or NAA/Cr and the surgical outcome in neocortical epilepsy. The mean contralateral NAA/Cr ratio of the hippocampus in mTLE was significantly lower in patients with a history of the secondary generalized tonic clonic seizure (2GTCS) than in those without it. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate functional abnormality of the hippocampus in neocortical epilepsy and the relation between 2GTCS and NAA/Cr of the contralateral hippocampus in mTLE. This proves the presence of the seizure effect on the hippocampus in neocortical epilepsy as well as in mTLE.
Epilepsy* ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe* ; Hippocampus* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy* ; Protons ; Sclerosis ; Seizures* ; Spectrum Analysis ; Temporal Lobe*

A 45-year-old woman with recurrent disturbances of consciousness for 4 years with hypoglycemia was hospitalized with the clinical suspicion of an insulinoma. The findings of transabdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography and angiography were negative. Transhepatic venous sampling for pancreatic hormone assay showed sudden step-up of serum level of insulin in the venous blood from the tail of the pancreas. Finally, an endoscopic ultrasonographic examination established with certainty the origin of the tumor from the tail of the pancreas, which was subsequently confirmed at operation. In conclusion, endoscopic ultrasonography is a useful and valuable procedure for the localization of insulinoma especially in patient with insulinoma of the pancreas that cannot be localized by conventional methods.
Angiography ; Consciousness ; Endosonography* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoglycemia ; Insulin ; Insulinoma* ; Middle Aged ; Pancreas ; Ultrasonography

Endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS) has been used in assessing the depth of cancer invasion of the stomach. However, there are pathologic findings coexisting cancers which are unable to be detected by EUS resulting in mis-staging preoperatively. To find out the causes of mis-staging in determining the depth of cancer invasion, we analysed the pathologic findings of mis-staged cases of gastric cancer by EUS. (continue...)
Endosonography* ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND: The skin of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) exhibits a striking susceptibility to colonization with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Superantigenic exotoxins produced by S. aureus and their specific IgE antibodies are thought to be important precipitating factors of AD, but there are few reports evaluating these 2 factors at the same time. OBJECT: Our purpose was to examine whether the isolation of S. aureus colonies and the presence of the exotoxins from the skin of childhood AD patients and the level of anti-staphylococcal enterotoxin A(SEA) IgE antibody in their sera correlated with their severity of AD. METHODS: Thirty patients with mild-to-severe AD, 2 to 15 years of age, were evaluated by using SCORAD index. S. aureus was isolated from lesional and non-lesional skin of AD patients, and from healthy controls. By using reversed passive latex agglutination toxin detection kits, we examined whether staphylococcal exotoxins could be detected. Anti-SEA IgE antibody was determined by using AlaSTAT(R)assay. RESULTS: S. aureus colonizations were found in 11(36.7%) of the lesional skin and in 5(16.7%) of the non-lesional skin of 30 AD patients. Staphylococcal exotoxins were detected in 5(45.5%) of the 11 colonizations from lesional skin and in 2(40%) of the 5 colonizations from non-lesional skin. SEA was most frequently detected. S. aureus colonization was correlated with the severity of AD. However, there were no statistical significances between severity of AD and others such as exotoxin production, and the level of total IgE and anti-SEA IgE. Total IgE level was significantly higher in the group of exotoxin production, and correlated with the level of anti-SEA IgE. CONCLUSION: The correlation between S. aureus colonization and severity of AD in our study might support the role of S. aureus in patients with AD. On the other hand, it could be considered that exacerbation of AD trigger more colonization of S. aureus by way of disruption of skin barrier function from scratching or reduced immune responses needed for defense against bacteria. Although there was no correlation between AD severity and exotoxin production and the level of anti-SEA IgE in this study, staphylococcal exotoxins and their specific IgE antibodies might play a role at least in a subset of AD patients.
Agglutination ; Antibodies ; Bacteria ; Colon ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Enterotoxins* ; Exotoxins* ; Hand ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Latex ; Precipitating Factors ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Strikes, Employee