Venous hemangioma is a vascular tumor that has been reported by such diverse names as; "cirsoid aneurysm", "arteriovenous hemangioma", "acral arteriovenous tumor" according to the author's opinions of its origin and histopathologic classification. It is benign and rarely biopsied, and it is also rarely reported in dermatology literature. We present two cases of venous hemangioma. The first case was a 64-year-old man who was presented with an elliptical dark-red plaque with overlying several grouped papules on the left periorbital area which had been present for 7 years. The second case was a 56-year-old man who was presented with a single red papule on the right postauricular area which had been present for 4 months. Histopathologically, there were a well-circumscribed proliferation of thick-walled muscle-containing blood vessels in the dermis. Intermingled with the thick-walled blood vessels, there were also thin-walled dilated blood vessels. In both cases, the thick-walled blood vessels resembled arteries, but they lacked elastic fibers on the Verhoeff van Gieson stain.
Arteries ; Blood Vessels ; Classification ; Dermatology ; Dermis ; Elastic Tissue ; Hemangioma* ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Cutaneous smooth muscle hamartomas are benign proliferations of smooth muscle bundles within the dermis. They can be congenital or acquired, and most cases are congenital. Congenital smooth muscle hamartomas (CSMHs) usually manifest at birth as well-circumscribed, frequently hypertrichotic, hyperpigmented or skin-colored patches or plaques on trunk or extremities. We report a case of CSMH in a 10 year-old girl, who showed a localized skin-colored patch showing prominent follicular papules on the lateral aspect of her right upper arm, which were found at birth. There was no hypertrichosis and the pseudo-Darier sign was negative. This patchy follicular variant is the less common clinical type of the disease.
Arm ; Dermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Hypertrichosis ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Parturition

Although a number of remedies like corticosteroids, retinoids, griseofulvin, PUVA, cyclosporine, antibiotics, dapsone, cyclophosphamide, surgery, methotrexate, radiation therapy, antimalarial drugs, psychotharapy and psychiatric medications have been used to treat lichen planus, there were no specific methods until now. We report herein an interesting case of lichen planus in which complete healing was achieved by griseofulvin administration. The patient was a 54-year-old male who for 3 months had variouly sized and shaped, flat-topped, scaly, violaceous papules and plaques on the whole of his body. We confirmed the patients disease as lichen planus by a histopathologic examination of a skin biopsy specimen and gave him 500mg ultramicronized griseofulvin daily in divided dosages. After 12 weeks of the medication nearly all of the skin lesions were regressed, and by 14 weeks all skin lesions had disappeared leaving hyperpigmentation. Up to now, l9 months after discontinuation of the medication, no recurrence of the disease has been noted.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Antimalarials ; Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Cyclosporine ; Dapsone ; Griseofulvin* ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Lichen Planus* ; Lichens* ; Male ; Methotrexate ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence ; Retinoids ; Skin

PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the effects of a weight control program on body weight and the sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior in psychiatric inpatients. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data were collected from March 1 to September 30, 2007. Female mentally ill patients in closing psychiatry ward of H University Hospital participated in the study (16 persons in the experimental group and 13 in the control group). RESULTS: The weight control program including diet therapy, exercise, education and behavior modification therapy decreased the rate of weight gain in female mentally ill patients taking atypical antipsychotics, and effectively increased a sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior. CONCLUSION: Weight control program had a positive effect as a nursing intervention to decrease obesity and to increase the sense of efficacy for control of dietary behavior of psychiatric inpatients in psychiatric inpatients.
Adult ; Cognitive Therapy ; Diet Therapy ; Exercise ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Inpatients/psychology ; Mentally Ill Persons/*psychology ; Middle Aged ; Patient Education as Topic ; Psychiatric Nursing ; *Weight Loss

Dermatophytoses are often observed coexisting fungal infections. Trichophyton (T.) rubrum syndrome is defined as the following obligatory criteria. (A) Skin lesions at the following four sites: (1) feet; (2) hands; (3) nails; and (4) at least one lesion in another location than (1) (2) or (3), except for groins. (B) Positive microscopic findings of KOH preparations of skin scrapings in all four locations. (C) Identification of T. rubrum by culture at three of the four locations at least. Three cases of T. rubrum syndrome is reported in a 50-year-old woman, in a 73-year-old man, and in a 55-year-old man.
Aged ; Female ; Foot ; Groin ; Hand ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Tinea ; Trichophyton*

Acquired digital fibrokeratoma is a relatively unusual benign fibrous tumor that is usually found on the distal extremities. It is characterized by a solitary, flesh-colored, firm and hyperkeratotic projection with a surrounding collarette of raised skin at the base. We report a case of acquired digital fibrokeratoma resembling cutaneous horn in a 31-year-old male who showed a 0.5x0.5x2 cm, firm, hyperkeratotic protruded mass with secondary changes including crust and bleeding on the left 4th finger.
Adult ; Animals ; Extremities ; Fingers ; Hemorrhage ; Horns* ; Humans ; Male ; Skin

Nodular hidradenoma is a relatively infrequent benign tumor that shows differentiation from or toward the structure of the eccrine sweat gland. We report a case of nodular hidradenoma with apocrine differentiation in a 74-year old female who had an asymptomatic, 3.5x2.7x1.0cm-sized, smooth-surfaced, round, erythematous to bluish tumor mass with cystic grape-like nature on the right thigh for 3 years. Histological findings showed a well-circumscribed tumor composed of solid portions with fusiform basophilic cells and clear round cells, cystic spaces, tubular lumina, squamoid feature and decapitation secretion.
Acrospiroma* ; Aged ; Basophils ; Decapitation ; Female ; Humans ; Sweat Glands ; Thigh

Occasionally, a posterior fossa arachnoid cyst can induce compression of the spinal cord and cause syringomyelia. Here, we report the case of a 29-year-old man with both progressive shoulder pain and gait disturbance, who was found to have a huge retrocerebellar arachnoid cyst associated with syringomyelia. Accordingly, posterior fossa decompression and arachnoid cyst excision were performed. Post-operative MRI showed a marked reduction in the size of the arachnoid cyst and syringomyelia. The patient's symptoms were clearly improved compared to before surgery. In our view, treatment in such patients should focus on decompressing the foramen magnum and include the removal of the coexistent arachnoid cyst walls, which appear to be the crucial factor in development of syringomyelia. In this report, we discuss the pathogenic mechanisms underlying syringomyelia-associated retrocerebellar arachnoid cyst and review the current literature on this topic.
Adult ; Arachnoid* ; Decompression ; Foramen Magnum ; Gait ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Shoulder Pain ; Spinal Cord ; Syringomyelia*

OBJECTIVE: Apoptosis or programmed cell death is a normally physiological cell suicide program that is highly conserved among all animals. We previously evaluated overexpression of c-IAP1(Inhibitor of Apoptosis Protein) in ovarian carcinomas compared with normal ovaries. In this study, we demonstrate evidence for the involvement of c-IAP2 in ovarian carcinomas. METHODS: Fresh 9 normal ovaries, 5 benign ovarian cysts and 13 ovarian carcinomas were obtained from routine gynecologic surgeries carried out for benign and malignant ovarian tumors. They were examined for the presence of c-IAP2 by RT-PCR(Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction), Western blot analysis and immunohistochemical stains. RESULTS: Nine of 14 normal and benign ovarian tumors were negative and 11 of 13 ova rian carcinomas were positive for c-IAP2 by RT-PCR. Positive RT-PCR for c-IAP2 was seen in 11/13 of ovarian carcinomas, a significantly higher percentage than in normal and benign ovarian tumors(5/14). All of these tumors showed strong positive for c-IAP2 by western blot and immunohistochemical staining. Whereas negative RT-PCR for c-IAP2 was seen in 9/14 of normal and benign ovarian tumors, a significantly higher percentage than ovarian carcinomas(2/13). Of these 9 negative samples, 6 had positive Western blot and immunohistochemical stains. There was weak concordance of the result. But expression of c-IAP2 in normal ovarian tissue was localized exclusively in the corpus luteum. Therefore, c-IAP2 may play important role in determining the fate of the follicular destiny. There was no expression in normal ovarian stroma cells for c-IAP2. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that c-IAP2 is expressed in ovarian carcinomas and emerging role in cancer. The c-IAP2 expression has been investigated in the normal ovary, where apoptosis is thought to play an important role in ovulation.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Death ; Coloring Agents ; Corpus Luteum ; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases ; Female ; Gynecologic Surgical Procedures ; Ovarian Cysts ; Ovary ; Ovulation ; Ovum ; Suicide

Granulocytic sarcoma (GS), also known as chloroma, is an extramedullary tumor of granulocytic lineage. It usually occurs in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), myeloproliferative disorder, or myelodysplasia but can develop in patients with no known hematologic disorder (isolated chloroma). The sites of predilection are bone and periosteum, and the next most common sites are soft tissues of the skin, kidneys, gut and lymph nodes. We report herein two cases of GS in a 36 year-old male and a 39 year-old female. The former had been treated for AML for 4 months before GS developed as an exophytic and multiple cutaneous masses on his left arm. In the latter, whose chief complaint was plum-colored nodules on her trunk, the initial diagnosis was malignant lymphoma. A follow-up after chemotherapy revealed that she had AML and reversely the final diagnosis of GS could be made for her skin tumor.
Adult ; Arm ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Myeloproliferative Disorders ; Periosteum ; Sarcoma, Myeloid* ; Skin ; Prunus domestica