BACKGROUND: Neovascular glaucoma is common secondary glaucoma at high risk for failure of glaucoma filtering surgery. Recently, trabeculectomy with adjunctive mitomycin C trabeculectomy has been tried to improve the surgical success rate of conventional trabeculectomy. But, the long-term effects of mitomycin C trabeculectomy for neovascular glaucoma are unknown. Thus, we evaluated the long-term effects of mitomycin C trabeculectomy and its prognostic factors influencing the outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical records of 62 eyes of 55 neovascular glaucoma who had undergone mitomycin C trabeculectomy were retrospectively reviewed. Surgical success was defined as intraocular pressures of 21 mmHg or less with or without glaucoma medications and no loss of light perception. Surgical failure was defined as postoperative loss of light perception in patients with preoperative vision better than light perception, additional glaucoma surgery, or phthisis bulbi in patients with preoperative vision of no light perception. RESULTS: Postoperative success was obtained in 37 (60%) out of 62 eyes after mean follow- up period of 23.9+/-16.2 months. Using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, cumulative success rate at the 6-, 12-, 24- and 36-month intervals were 85%, 71%, 57% and 52%, respectively. Success rate was greater in eyes with diabetic retinopathy than other causes(p=0.005) and in eyes with preoperative panretinal photocoagulation(PRP) than without PRP(p=0.015). However, Cox proportional hazard regression analysis revealed that preoperative PRP was not a significant risk factor for surgical failure. CONCLUSION: Prognosis of neovascular glaucoma caused by diabetic retinopathy was better than that caused by the other disorders following mitomycin C trabeculectomy. The author would suggest that mitomycin C trabeculectomy could be effective and relatively safe as the first procedure of choice before performing glaucoma drainage device implantation or cyclodestructive procedure.
Diabetic Retinopathy ; Drainage ; Filtering Surgery ; Glaucoma ; Glaucoma, Neovascular* ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Medical Records ; Mitomycin* ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Trabeculectomy*

To evaluate the structural characteristics that might be related to the clinical features noted in preeclamptic patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis(FSGS), we analyzed post-partum renal biopsies of 8 preeclamptic patients with FSGS (group 1) by morphometry and glomerular studied the structural-functional relationships. These findings were also compared with those from three postpartum cases with minimal change lesion(group 2) and normal age-matched women(group 3). Mean glomerular volume (MGV) in group 1 and group 2 was (2.64 +/- 0.49) x 10(6) micrometer3 and (2.56+/-0.25)x 10(6) micrometer3, respectively. MGV in both groups was significantly increased compared with that of the control group [(1.11+/-0.22)x10(6) micrometer3](p<0.0005). The volume density of the mesangium/glomerulus [Vv(mes/glom)] in the group 1 patients was significantly increased (p<0.0001) when compared with that of the group 2 and the control group patients. The increment of Vv(mes/glom) was related to both the mesangial cell proliferation and expansion of mesangial matrix. The volume density of the capillary lumen/glomerulus [Vv(cap/glom)] in group I was significantly decreased(p<0.0001) when compared with that of group 2 and the control group. Vv(cap/glom) was directly related to Ccr in group l(r=0.70, p=0.05). These results suggest that reduced capillary luminal area caused by mesangial interposition is related to the decreased glomerular filtration rate in preeclamptic FSGS.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Humans ; Biopsy

No abstract available.
Receptors, Antigen*

The cohort study is an observational epidemiological study which selects the specific study population attempting to study the relatiqnship between an exposure to the purported cause and the subsequent risk of developing disease in accordance of time direction. Since Doll and Hill had studied the association between lung cancer and smoking behavior among the British medical doctors in the years of the last fifties, the defined group cohort studies analysing the relationship between an exposure and the occurence of a disease have become very popular. Cohort studies can be classified as either prospective or retrospective, depending on the temporal relationship between the initiation of the study and the occurence of the disease. Cohort studies are admitted as the very valuable studies for demonstrating the association between an exposure and a disease because it is possible to drive relative and attributable risks and often incidence measures. They can even examine multiple effects of a single exposure. However, they are usually expensive to carry out and large cohorts are required for rare diseases in addition to the time consum ing works. There are also very significant problems associated with selection of appropriate groups to be studied as far as complete ascertainment of disease occurence in them. Usually it is necessary that we must compromise to provide the opportunity for various types of bias such as selection bias, follow-up bias, information bias or misclassification, confounding bias and post hoc bias to occur which can result in incorrect conclusions. Only the success of a cohort study would be expected when the investigator pay the deep care in recognizing and correcting for these biases.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cohort Studies* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung Neoplasms ; Rare Diseases ; Research Personnel ; Selection Bias ; Smoke ; Smoking

Decreased sensitivity of N. gonorrhoeae to many existing antibiotics and the emergence and increase of penicillinase producing and of spectinomycin resistant N. gonorrhoeae necessitate intensive efforts to study on resistance. Male patients with uncomplicated gonococcal urethritis treated during the year 1990 at the VD clinic of Choong-ku Public Health Center in Seoul were included in this study. A total of 85 strains, 44 strains of non-PPNG and 41 strains of PPNG isolated from the patients were studied to evaluate their sensitivities to ampicillin, penicillin, cefoxitin, kanamycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, spectinomycin and cotrimazole. The results are summerized as follw: In non-PPNG strains, the range of MICs. MIC50 and MIC90 for both ampicillin and penicillin were 0.125-32, 2 and 16 mcg/ml respectively. For cefoxitin, they were 0.125-8, s and 16 mcg/ml respectively, and for kanamycin, 8--<64, 32 and 64 mcg/ml, respectively. For tetracycline, they were 1-64, 8 and 32 mcg/ml, while for erythromycin, 0.06-16, 2 and 8 mcg/ml respectively. For spectinomycin, they were 4--<64, 32 and 64 mcg/ml and for cotrimazole, 5--<160, 40 and 160 mcg/ml respectively. In the case of PPNG, the range of MICS, MIC50 and MIC90 for ampicillin were 8--<128, 32 and 128 mcg/ml respectively but for penicillin, 8--<128, 64 and 128 mcg/ml respectively. And for cefoxitin, they were 0.5-32, 4 and 16 mcg/ml while for kanamycin, 16--<64, 64 and >64 mcg/ml respectively. For tetracycline, the values were 2-64, 16 and 32 mcg/ml, and for erythromycin, they were 0.5-16, 4 and 8 mcg/ml respectively. for spectinomycin, they were 8--<64, 32, and 64 mcg/ml and finally for cotrimazole, 5--<160, 80 and 160 mcg/ml respectively. From these results, it is concluded that the MICs of both PPNG and non-PPNG were about 2 folds higher than the results of sensitivity tests at the same instituition in 1985. 2) The prevalence of PPNG among 35 gonorrhoeae patients who received treatment before the visit was 60% (21/35), while that among the patients without previous treatment was 40% (20/50). 3) In the cases of ampicillin, penicillin and cotrimazole, their MIC values were found to be significantly higher for the strains isolated from the patients with previous treatment history than those without previous treatment (p<0.05). 4) In non-PPNG strains, a significant positive correlation is found between the sensitivities to most pairs of ampicillin, penicillin, cefoxitin, kanamycin, tetracycline, erythromycin and spectinomycin. However this excludes some pairs such as : tetracycline-cefoxitin, erythromycin-penicillin, erythromycin-cefoxitin, spectinomycin-penicillin, and spectinomycincefoxitin (p<0.05). 5) In PPNG strains, a significant positive correlation is also found between the sensitivities to most pairs of ampicillin, penicillin, cefoxitin, tetracycline, erythromycin and spectinomycin. However, the exceptional cases include tetracycline-cefoxitin, erythromyoinpenicillin, erythromycin-cefoxitin, spectinomycin-penicillin, and spectinomycin-cefoxitin pairs. In addition, the sensitivity to kanamycin was found to be strongly correlated with that to tetracycline, erytheromycin and spectinomycin (p<0.05). Therefore it is essential for the management fo gonorrhoeae, together with a correct diagnosis, to use currently most effective treatment regimens which would also prevent the emergence of resistant strains. It is also suggested that when a treatment is failed, to use the durg which do not show correlation in sensitivities on re-treatment.
Ampicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Antibodies* ; Cefoxitin ; Diagnosis ; Erythromycin ; Humans ; Kanamycin ; Male ; Penicillinase ; Penicillins ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Seoul ; Spectinomycin ; Tetracycline ; Urethritis

OBJECTIVE: We report here on two cases of pseudoaneurysms that were diagnosed using computed tomographic angiography (CTA), with one arising in the superficial temporal artery and the other arising in the occipital artery. METHODS: Case 1: A 29-year-old man presented with a slow growing, pulsatile mass on the left side of his forehead following a blow from a fist 10 days earlier. CTA revealed an 11 x 8 x 11-mm oval pseudoaneurysm arising from the frontal branch of the left superficial temporal artery. Case 2 : A 36-year-old man presented with a pulsatile mass in the right suboccipital region that had been present for the past year. He had no history of direct trauma. CTA revealed a 15 x 8 x 13-mm oval dye-filled sac arising from the right occipital artery. RESULTS: Based on the CTA images, the parent arteries were exposed and ligated proximally and distally to the pseudoaneurysms and then they were completely excised. CONCLUSION: CTA is a minimally invasive technique for making the diagnosis of scalp pseudoaneurysms and CTA is also useful for the preoperative planning.
Adult ; Aneurysm, False ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Forehead ; Humans ; Parents ; Scalp ; Temporal Arteries

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Low Birth Weight* ; Infant, Newborn ; Jaundice* ; Phototherapy*

A case of porphyria cutanca tarda is reported, in which the photosensitive cutaneous symptoms developed in association with impaired hepatic function possibly related to chronic consumption of alcohol. Wood's light examination of the urine revealed coral red fluorescence, and qualitative chemical urinalysis was strong positive for uroporphyrin and coproporphyrin. Biopsy of the skin showed subepidermal bulla with festooning arrangement of the naked papillae and basophilic degeneration of the dermis. The patient's favorable response to alkalinization therapy by sodium bicarbonate per os is encouraging, even for a short period's observation. Clinical, histopathological, and biochemical features of this disease are also discussed.
Anthozoa ; Basophils ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Fluorescence ; Porphyrias ; Skin ; Sodium Bicarbonate ; Urinalysis

We present an autopsy case of signet ring cell carcinoma of urinary bladder which underwent widespread metastsis through nearly entire organ. The patient, 45-year old male, suffered from hematuria, dysuria and flank pain for 6 months. Under the diagnosis of the signet ring cell carcinoma by the cystoscopic biopsy, radical cystectomy and ileocutaneous ureteral division were performed. But he died after 11-months after the diagnosis. The autopsy confirmed the widespread metastasis at the lung, kidney, adrenal gland, parathyroid gland, heart, stomach, ileum, spine, rib and meninges. The preveously resected urinary bladder discolosed the well defined fungating mass at the dome and anterio-lateral portion without apparent evidence of the remnant of the urachus. Histologically, the signet ring cells were predominent and focally mucinous pool floating the signet ring cells was noted. We could find several foci of the well differentiated adenocarcinoma and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas. The above findings may reflect that the origin of carcinoma may be from the multipotential transitional cell epithelium.
Adenocarcinoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis

A 49-year-old male had erythematous to rusky red papules, indurated plaques and lichenified patches with hyperpigmentation on sun-exposed areas for 6 years. Phototest revealed the decreased rninimal erythemal dose to UVA(10J/cm. Photopatch test with 5% Trandate ointment, 5% hydrochlorthiazide ointment and vaselin. as a control were all negative. Two weeks after cessation of Trandate, an oral challenge of hydrochlorthiazide followed by phototest was perfrirmed resulting in exacerbation of skin lesions and photosensitivity with a decreased MED to UVA(10J/cm) again. After the cesation of Trandate containing hydrochlorthiazide, the skin lesions were improved with complete loss of photosensitivity. But, improvement of the infiltrated or licheified plaques were delayed. Presenile cataract previously noted in the patient seemed to be related to his longstanding intake of hydrochlorthiazide.
Cataract ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Labetalol ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin