We treated 9 patients of ventrally or ventrolaterally located thoracic lesions with lateral extracavitary approach, six cases of ventrally located thoracic cord tumor, and three cases of central disc herniation. After operation, the patients' neurological symptoms were effectively improved and there were no signigicant postoperative c omplications. Compared to transthoracic approach, this approach is less invasive and enable simultaneous vertebral reconstruction and posterior spinal fixation. Although relatatively small in number experienced, lateral extracavitry approach is considered to be a alternative method to transthoracic approach for the treatment of ventrally and ventrolaterally located thoracic lesion.
Humans

We experienced 5 surgically confirmed cases of spontaneous lumbosacral spinal epidural hematoma. There was no history of major trauma to the lumbar spine, anticoagulant use, or coagulopathy except repeated minor trauma. The clinical findings in spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma were identical to those in acute disc herniation. These cases were combined with diffuse disc bulging and located in one level of intervertebral segment. Etiologic factors, the clinical findings, bleeding source of lumbo-sacral spontaneous epidural hematoma are stressed with review of patient literature.
Hematoma ; Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Spine

Obesity is an independent and modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and known as a core of the metabolic syndrome. Obesity has been largely diagnosed based upon anthrompometric measurements like waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI). We sought to determine associations between anthropometric measurements and dyslipidemia in a community adult sample composed of 1,032 community residents (356 men, 676 women) aged 50 yr and over in Namwon, Korea. Blood tests for lipid profiles, including total cholesterol (TC) and HDL cholesterol (HDL) were performed, and dyslipidemia was defined as TC/HDL greater than 4. Anthropometric measurements included WC, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist-to-hip ratio, and BMI. All anthropometric measures were categorized into quartiles and evaluated for associations with dyslipidemia. TC/HDL showed the significant associations with the anthropometric measures, independently of potential confounders. In women, increases of obesity indexes by quartile analyses showed linear increases of odds ratios for dyslipidemia (p values <0.01 by trend test). In men, except BMI, same patterns of association were noted. WC and WHtR were significantly associated with dyslipidemia in Korean adult population. As a simple and non-invasive method for a detection of obesity and dyslipidemia, anthropometric measurements could be efficiently used in clinical and epidemiologic fields.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Body Composition ; Body Mass Index ; Body Size ; Cardiovascular Diseases/pathology ; Cholesterol/metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemia/*pathology ; Korea ; Lipids/metabolism ; Lipoproteins, HDL Cholesterol/metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Risk Factors ; Waist-Hip Ratio

BACKGROUND: A high level of public awareness of stroke may reduce the stroke risk. The aim of this study was to assess the public's awareness of stroke warning signs and risk factors, and to determine the associated factors. METHODS: The study population was 2492 community-dwelling adults aged 50 years and older who participated in the 2010 baseline Dong-gu Study. Information regarding knowledge of stroke warning signs, stroke risk factors, and demographics was collected using standardized open- and closed-form questionnaires. RESULTS: The stroke warning signs that were most frequently identified by respondents were "sudden numbness or weakness" (73.7%) and "sudden difficulty in speaking or in understanding speech" (73.6%). In multivariate analysis, incomplete awareness of stroke warning signs was significantly associated with a lower education level, no history of past stroke, and incorrect knowledge of the definition of stroke. Hypertension and stress were most commonly recognized as risk factors when open-ended questions were used (by 22.3% and 14.1% of the respondents, respectively) and also with close-ended questions (77.7% and 82.4%, respectively). In multivariate analysis, older age, current smoking, lower education level, and incorrect knowledge of the definition of stroke were associated with a worse awareness of stroke risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: A community-based program is needed to improve public awareness of the warning signs and risk factors for stroke. In order to reduce the risk of stroke, public health education and media efforts should focus on people who are older and have a lower level of education.
Adult ; Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Demography ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypesthesia ; Multivariate Analysis ; Public Health ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stroke

Previous studies have demonstrated that rottlerin, a specific PKCdelta inhibitor, potentiates death receptor- mediated apoptosis through a cytochrome c-dependent or -independent pathway. However, its ability to regulate necrotic cell death, as well as the underlying mechanism, remains unknown. We found that in murine fibrosarcoma L929 cells, treatment with rottlerin protected the cells against TNF-induced necrosis, whereas it sensitized the cells to apoptosis induced by co-treatment with Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin and TNF, in a manner independent of its ability to inhibit PKC-delta. TNF treatment induced rapid accumulation of mitochondrial superoxide (O2") through the Nox1 NADPH oxidase when cells undergo necrosis. Moreover, pretreatment with rottlerin failed to induce the GTP-bound form of small GTPase Rac1 by TNF treatment, and subsequently suppressed mitochondrial O2(-) production and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activation, thus inhibiting necrotic cell death. Therefore, our study suggests that Nox1 NADPH oxidase is a new molecular target for anti-necrotic activity of rottlerin upon death-receptor ligation.
Acetophenones/*pharmacology ; Animals ; Benzopyrans/*pharmacology ; Cell Death/*drug effects ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Mice ; Protein Kinase Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Superoxides/metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*antagonists & inhibitors/pharmacology