Transient cortical blindness is a known but rare complication occurring in 0.3~1% of patients undergoing cerebral or vertebral angiography. It is an extremely rare complication following cardiac catheterizaton and coronary arteriography. Cortical blindness is characterized by complete loss of visual perception and optokinetic nystagmus with preservation of ocular motility, pupillary responses, and normal fundoscopic examination. It has been suggested that its occurrence is due to an adverse reaction to the contrast agent, which causes an osmotic disruption of the blood-brain barrier. Patients outcome appears to be generally favorable with return of vision within 24-48 hr. We report a case of 48 year-old male patient with transient bilateral cortical blindness after coronary angiography.
Angiography ; Blindness, Cortical* ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Coronary Angiography* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nystagmus, Optokinetic ; Visual Perception

Lemierre's syndrome is characterized by anaerobic bacterial infection in the head and neck, causing thrombophlebitis of the jugular vein. This disease is usually associated with a history of pharyngitis. The most common pathogens are Fusobacterium species, particularly Fusobacterium necrophorum. Lemierre's syndrome is seen most commonly in teenagers and young adults. We present a case report of a 67-year-old man with an atypical clinical manifestation of an uncommon pathogen in Lemierre's syndrome with epilepsia partialis continua.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Bacterial Infections ; Epilepsia Partialis Continua ; Fusobacterium ; Fusobacterium necrophorum ; Head ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Lemierre Syndrome* ; Neck ; Pharyngitis ; Thrombophlebitis ; Venous Thrombosis ; Young Adult

Fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) is an uncommon hyperplastic disorder affecting medium-sized arteries. It can lead to renovascular hypertension, sometimes associated with dissection. But it rarely causes renal infarction. We here report a case of recurrent renal infarction due to FMD. A previously healthy 29- year-old man presented with acute onset of right flank pain. He had been treated for the same symptom 8 years ago. Abdominal CT scan showed renal infarction at upper pole of right kidney. Renal arteriography demonstrated string of bead, consistent with FMD. It showed also old renal infarction at lower pole of right kidney. To our knowledge, recurrent renal infarction due to FMD has not been previously reported.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Fibromuscular Dysplasia ; Flank Pain ; Hypertension, Renovascular ; Infarction* ; Kidney ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacterial infection causes delayed response to antibiotic treatment and consequently results in serious problem, because it can hydrolyze the majority of beta-lactam antibiotics. Here we report a case of multiple renal abscess by ESBL producing Escherichia coli in a patient with diabetes mellitus who had a history of repetitive urinary tract infection. A 49-year old woman was admitted to our hospital because of intermittent fever, left flank pain, and vomiting. She had been diagnosed as acute pyelonephritis and treated with the first and third cephalosporin for 1 month at a clinic. At admission, urinary bacterial culture revealed Escherichia coli resistant to both the first and third cephalosporin such as cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime. Double disk synergy test confirmed ESBL. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated multiple renal abscess. After treatment of imipenam for 4 weeks, she discharged with improved condition.
Abscess* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; beta-Lactamases* ; Cefotaxime ; Ceftazidime ; Ceftriaxone ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Female ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pyelonephritis ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Vomiting

Reversible splenial lesion may occur in encephalitis rarely. A 21-year-old man was admitted with viral encephalitis. High signal on the diffusion MRI and low signal on the ADC map image was showed in the splenium. As the patient improved, the lesion suggestive of cytotoxic edema was completely resolved one month later. Although the concrete pathophysiology of focal cytotoxic edema in encephalitis is unclear yet, MRI is valuable diagnostic tool to manage encephalitis in the view of prognosis.
Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Diffusion* ; Edema ; Encephalitis* ; Encephalitis, Viral ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prognosis ; Young Adult

A hyperintensity in the subarachnoid space on fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) images is often caused by diseases such as subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis. Oxygen has a known paramagnetic effect and also causes signal changes in the subarachnoid space on FLAIR images. These changes usually develop when the inspired air contains a high oxygen fraction. Here we present a patient with a hyperintensity in the subarachnoid space on FLAIR images whose inspired air contained only a low oxygen fraction.
Humans ; Meningitis ; Oxygen* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Subarachnoid Space*

Aortic thrombus is a rare but life threatening disorder. The usual causes of aortic thrombus are primary or secondary thrombocythemia, malignancy, atherosclerosis, trauma, and acute infectious disease. Here, we report a case of aortic arch thrombus associated with acute pyelonephritis in a patient with thrombocythemia. A 78-year-old woman was admitted with acute pyelonephritis. A complete blood cell count showed severe thrombocythemia with platelet count of 1, 340, 000/mm3. Chest CT scan demonstrated floating thrombus in the aortic arch. After antibiotic treatement, platelet count decreased to 770, 000/mm3 and aortic thrombus disappeared without thrombolytic therapy.
Aged ; Aorta, Thoracic* ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Cell Count ; Communicable Diseases ; Female ; Humans ; Platelet Count ; Pyelonephritis* ; Thrombocytosis* ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Thrombosis* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies in humans, and its progression is poorly controlled by existing therapeutic methods. Curcumin has been shown to suppress inflammation and angiogenesis. In this study, we evaluated whether curcumin could augment docetaxel-induced apoptosis of ATC cells. We also analyzed changes in nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression levels to delineate possible mechanisms of their combined action. METHODS: ATC cells were cultured and treated with curcumin and docetaxel alone or in combination. The effects on cell viability were determined by MTS assay. Apoptosis was assessed by annexin V staining and confirmed by flow cytometric analysis. Caspase, COX-2, NF-kappaB levels were assayed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Curcumin combined with docetaxel led to lower cell viability than treatment with docetaxel or curcumin alone. Annexin V staining followed by flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that curcumin treatment enhanced the docetaxel-induced apoptosis of ATC cells. Additionally, curcumin inhibited docetaxel-induced p65 activation and COX-2 expression. CONCLUSION: We conclude that curcumin may enhance docetaxel's antitumor activity in ATC cells by interfering with NF-kappaB and COX-2. Our results suggest that curcumin may emerge as an attractive therapeutic candidate to enhance the antitumor activity of taxanes in ATC treatment.
Annexin A5 ; Apoptosis* ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Survival ; Curcumin* ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Humans ; Inflammation ; NF-kappa B ; Taxoids ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*