PURPOSE: To describe the magnetic resonance (MR) findings of intracranial dural arteriovenous fistulae (DAVF) and associated venous hypertensive diseases, and to determine their diagnostic value. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR Imagings of twelve cases of angiographically-proven intracranial DAVF were analyzed. The presence of signal voids, dilatation of involved dural sinus, the dilatation of the extra/intradural venous system, high signal intensity on T2 weighted image, cerebral edema, intracranial hemorrhage, and hydrocephalus were retrospectively analyzed. MR findings and angiographic classification were compared. RESULTS: In 11 of 12 patients (92%), MR revealed the location of DAVF. In five cases, these were cavernous, and in six, they were extracavernous; the locations of the latter were as follows: superior sagittal sinus (SSS), 4: torcula, 1; lateral sinus & SSS, 1. Except for the lateral sinus lesion, all the DAVF seen in thses 11 patients showed the presence of signal voids and dilatation of the involved dural sinus. Findings of associated venous hypertensive disease, namely dilatation of the superior ophthalmic vein and cortical venous system, cerebral edema, and high signal intensity on T2-weighted images were observed in three cavernous lesions (50%), but all extracavernous DAVF (100%) showed associated venous hypertensive disease. When the grade of angiographic classification was high and reflux of sinus blood to the cortical vein was seen on angiography, the MR findings of intracranial venous hypertension showed good correlation. CONCLUSION: The MR findings of DAVF include dilatation of the dural sinus and signal voids of feeding arteries and draining vein. Other findings which suggest intracranial venohypertensive disease are dilatation of the cortical and medullary vein, hydrocephallus, cerebral edema and intracranial hamorrhage. These and the angiographic findings correlate well and suggest that in the diagnosis of DAVF and the detection of intracanial venohypertension, MR is a non-invasivse technique which can be use be usefully employed before final diagnosis by angiography.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Brain Edema ; Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations* ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Hypertension ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Retrospective Studies ; Superior Sagittal Sinus ; Transverse Sinuses ; Veins

PURPOSE: To prospectively assess the utility of the three-dimensional T1 weighted magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) with Gd-EOB-DTPA (Primovist(R)) in patients suspected of having a mild common bile duct obstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 30 patients suspected of having a mild common bile duct obstruction were enrolled in this study. A T2 weighted MRC and a three-dimensional T1 weighted MRC with Gd-EOB-DTPA (Primovist(R)) were performed. Within 48 h of the MRC, we performed direct cholangiographies by way of an endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and a surgical cholangiography. Reviews of the data by two experienced radiologists were in consensus. RESULTS: Within 40-60 min of the injection of contrast fluid, the contrast showed the maximum intensity within a common bile duct in 26 of the 30 patients (87%). However, the contrast was poorly visible for as long as 2 hours after injection in 4 of the 30 patients (13%). The sensitivity, specificity, as well as the positive and negative predictive values of the three-dimensional T1 weighted MR cholangiography were 92%, 40%, 88%, and 50%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The three-dimensional, T1 weighted MRC with Gd-EOB-DTPA (Primovist(R)) may be a useful ancillary diagnostic modality for evaluating a patient with mild common bile duct obstruction.
Bile Ducts ; Cholangiography ; Cinnarizine ; Common Bile Duct ; Gadolinium DTPA ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been defined as a transitional state between normal aging and Alzheimer disease. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can estimate the microstructural integrity of white matter tracts in MCI. We evaluated the microstructural changes in the white matter of MCI patients with DTI. We recruited 11 patients with MCI who met the working criteria of MCI and 11 elderly normal controls. The mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured in 26 regions of the brain with the regions of interest (ROIs) method. In the MCI patients, FA values were significantly decreased in the hippocampus, the posterior limb of the internal capsule, the splenium of corpus callosum, and in the superior and inferior longitudinal fasciculus compared to the control group. MD values were significantly increased in the hippocampus, the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsules, the splenium of the corpus callosum, the right frontal lobe, and in the superior and the inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Microstructural changes of several corticocortical tracts associated with cognition were identified in patients with MCI. FA and MD values of DTI may be used as novel biomarkers for the evaluation of neurodegenerative disorders.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/*pathology ; Anisotropy ; Biological Markers ; Cerebral Cortex/*pathology ; Cognition Disorders/*pathology ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neural Pathways/*pathology ; Severity of Illness Index

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical and imaging findings of hepatocellular carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, which is an extremely rare variant of hepatocellular carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected five patients who had histopathologically proven hepatocellular carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation, and described morphologic feature, enhancement pattern of tumors, extrahepatic manifestation and clinical findings. RESULTS: At CT, the tumor size ranged from 8 to 17 cm (mean : 12 cm) in maximum diameter. The tumor margin was well-defined and smooth in four patients and all tumors were heterogeneously hypoattenuating. Four tumor showed rim enhancement on arterial and portal phases. Local invasion to the portal vein, intrahepatic duct and gallbladder were seen. Extrahepatic manifestations included hepatic metastases, lymph node metastasis. At ultrasonography, the tumor showed heterogeneously hyperechoic in all patients and hypoechoic rim was found in four patients. Of four patients who were followed up, one survived for 16 months after initial diagnosis, while the other three died within 3 months after initial diagnosis. CONCLUSION: As described above, clinical and imaging findings of hepatocellular carcinoma with neuroendocrine differentiation were not specific. However, this rare variant of hepatocellular carcinoma could be considered when hepatic tumor is found in an advanced stage and shows persistent rim enhancement at CT.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine ; Gallbladder ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Portal Vein

Totally implanted central venous access devices for chemotherapy (chemoport) are being used increasingly in lung cancer patients. Vascular catheters are associated with various complications including infection, thrombosis as well as spontaneous fractures and embolization of the catheter, which is known as 'pinch-off syndrome'. 'Pinch-off syndrome' refers to the compression of a subclavian central venous catheter between the clavicle and first rib resulting in an intermittent or permanent obstruction, which can lead to tears, transection, or embolization. We report two cases of fractured and embolized implanted subclavian venous catheters in which the fragments were removed percutaneously. A 62-year-old man presented with back pain with a duration of a few weeks. The chest radiograph revealed complete transsection and embolization of the catheter into the right atrium. In addition, a 47-year-old woman with a chemoport had a grade 3 pinch-off sign in a chest radiograph demonstrating complete transsection and embolization of the catheter into the pulmonary artery. Both cases were managed by retrieving the embolized distal fragment percutaneously and removing the proximal section of the catheter.
Back Pain ; Catheters ; Central Venous Catheters ; Clavicle ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Fractures, Spontaneous ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Artery ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Ribs ; Thrombosis ; Vascular Access Devices

Potential toxicological interactions of 4-(N-methyl-N-nitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and/or dibuthyl phthalate (DBP) on ozone were investigated after 32- and 52-wk exposures using hprt mutation assay. Male and female B6C3F1 mice exposed to ozone (0.5 ppm), NNK (1.0 mg/kg), DBP (5,000 ppm), and two or three combinations of these toxicants 6 h per day for 32- and 52-wk showed increases in the frequencies of TG rlymphocytes compared to the control groups. Additive interactions were noted from two combination groups compared to the ozone alone in both sexes of 32- and 52-wk studies. The most common specific mutation type in the hprt genes of test materials-treated male and female mice was transversion with very few transition. The results indicate that such dominant transversion may be responsible for toxicity and combined exposure to ozone, NNK, and DBP induces additive genotoxicities compared to ozone alone.
Animals ; Carcinogens/*toxicity ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Dibutyl Phthalate/*toxicity ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Hypoxanthine Phosphoribosyltransferase/*genetics ; Male ; Mice ; Mutagenicity Tests ; *Mutation/drug effects ; Nitrosamines/*toxicity ; Ozone/*toxicity ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; T-Lymphocytes/drug effects/enzymology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although cardiovascular (CV) risk factors are well established, some patients experience acute myocardial infarction (AMI) even without any risk factors. METHODS: We analyzed total 11,390 patients (63.6 ± 12.6 years old, 8,401 males) with AMI enrolled in Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institute of Health from November, 2011 to December, 2015. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence of any CV risk factors (group I, without risk factors, n = 1,420 [12.5%]; group II, with risk factors, n = 9,970 [87.5%]). In-hospital outcomes were defined as in-hospital mortality and complications. One-year clinical outcomes were defined as the composite of major adverse cardiac events (MACE). RESULTS: Group I was older (67.3 ± 11.6 years old vs. 63.0 ± 12.7 years old, p < 0.001) and had higher prevalence of female gender (36.2% vs. 24.8%, p < 0.001) than the group II. Group I experienced less previous history of angina pectoris (7.0% vs. 9.4%, p = 0.003) and the previous history of cerebrovascular accidents (3.4% vs. 6.9%, p < 0.001). In-hospital mortality (2.6% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.450) and complications (20.6% vs. 20.0%, p = 0.647) were no differences between the groups. And 1 year clinical outcomes (5.7% vs. 5.1%, p = 0.337) were no differences between the groups. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, serum creatinine level (hazard ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.75; p = 0.021) were independent predictors of 1 year MACE in patients without any CV risk factors. CONCLUSIONS Elderly female patients were prone to develop AMI even without any modifiable CV risk factors. We suggest that more intensive care is needed in AMI patients without any CV risk factors who have high serum creatinine levels.

Identifying genetic mutations in individuals with inherited cystic kidney disease is necessary for precise treatment. We aimed to elucidate the genetic characteristics of cystic kidney disease in the Korean population. Methods: We conducted a 3-year prospective, multicenter cohort study at eight hospitals from May 2019 to May 2022. Patients with more than three renal cysts were enrolled and classified into two categories, typical autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and atypical PKD. We identified the clinical characteristics and performed a genetic analysis using a targeted gene panel. Results: A total of 725 adult patients were included in the study, of which 560 (77.2%) were diagnosed with typical ADPKD and 165 (22.8%) had atypical PKD. Among the typical ADPKD cases, the Mayo imaging classification was as follows: 1A (55, 9.9%), 1B (149, 26.6%), 1C (198, 35.8%), 1D (90, 16.3%), and 1E (61, 11.0%). The atypical PKD cases were classified as bilateral cystic with bilateral atrophic (31, 37.3%), lopsided (27, 32.5%), unilateral (nine, 10.8%), segmental (eight, 9.6%), bilateral cystic with unilateral atrophic (seven, 8.4%), and asymmetric (one, 1.2%). Pathogenic variants were found in 64.3% of the patients using the ciliopathy-related targeted gene panel. The typical ADPKD group demonstrated a higher discovery rate (62.3%) than the atypical PKD group (41.8%). Conclusion: We present a nationwide genetic cohort’s baseline clinical and genetic characteristics for Korean cystic kidney disease.

Background: Intrarenal renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is known to play the major role in the development of hypertension and renal progression in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Urinary angiotensinogen to creatinine ratio (AGT/Cr) was suggested as a novel biomarker to reflect intrarenal RAS activity. This study was performed to evaluate urinary AGT/Cr as a predictive biomarker for renal function decline in addition to imaging classification in a prospective ADPKD cohort. Methods: From 2011 to 2016, a total of 364 ADPKD patients were enrolled in the prospective cohort called the KoreaN Cohort Study for Outcomes in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease (KNOW-CKD). Among them, a total of 207 subjects in chronic kidney disease stage 1–4 with baseline urinary AGT and total kidney volume and subsequent renal function follow-up data over more than 1 year were included in the analysis. Patients were defined as slow progressors (SP) if they are classified as 1A or 1B by imaging classification whereas rapid progressors (RP) if they are classified as 1C–1E. Patients were divided according to AGT/Cr quartiles and annual estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slope was compared among highest quartile (hAGT group) and the rest of quartiles (lAGT group). Patients were divided into 4 groups to evaluate the predictive value of urinary AGT/Cr in addition to imaging classification: SP/lAGT, SP/hAGT, RP/lAGT, and RP/hAGT. The Cox regression model was used to evaluate the hazard ratio (HR) between groups. Results: The mean age was 45.9 years and 88.9% had hypertension. Baseline eGFR was 79.0 ± 28.4 mL/min/1.73 m2 and median height-adjusted total kidney volume was 788.2 (471.2;1,205.2) mL/m. The patients in the hAGT group showed lower eGFR (72.4 ± 24.8 vs. 81.1 ± 29.2 mL/min/1.73 m2, P = 0.039), lower plasma hemoglobin (13.0 ± 1.4 vs. 13.7 ± 1.6 g/dL, P = 0.007), higher urinary protein to creatinine ratio (0.14 [0.09, 0.38] vs. 0.07 [0.04, 0.12] g/g, P = 0.007) compared to the lAGT group. The hAGT group was an independent risk factor for faster eGFR decline after adjusting for gender, RP, baseline eGFR, and other known risk factors. During median follow-up duration of 4.6 years, a total of 29 renal events (14.0%) occurred. The SP/hAGT group showed significantly higher risk of developing renal outcome compared to SP/lAGT group (HR, 13.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.282–139.324; P = 0.03). Conclusion Urinary AGT/Cr can be a useful predictive marker in the patients with relatively small ADPKD. Various biomarkers should be considered to define RP when implementing novel treatment in the patients with ADPKD.

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of protein expressions by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) in normal cervix and squamous cell carcinoma tissues in Korean women. METHODS: Normal cervix and squamous cell carcinoma tissues were solubilized with 2-DE buffer and the first dimension of PROTEAN IEF CELL, isoelectric focusing (IEF), was performed using pH3-10 linear IPG strips of 17 cm. And then running 12% sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and sliver stain. Scanned image was analyzed using PDQuest 2-D softwareTM. Protein spot spectrum was identified by assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of fighting (MALDI-TOF) and the protein mass spectrum identifications were performed by searching protein databases of Swiss-prot/TrEMBL, Mascot and MS-FIT. RESULTS: We found 9 up-regulation proteins (Alpha enolase, Keratin 19 type I, Keratin 20 type I, Keratin 13 type I, beta-actin, Aflatoxin B1 aldehyde reductase 1, Annexin A2, Squamous cell carcinoma antigen 2, unknown), 7 down-reguation proteins (Annexin 1, Myosin regulatory light chain 2, 14-3-3 protein epsilon, Heat shock 27 kDa protein, Hypothetical protein (DKFZP434C1715), Tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 13B, Smoth muscle protein 22-alpha) and 6 up and down-regulation proteins (Tropomyosin 1, Tropomyosin 2, Tropomyosin 3, Serine (or cysteine) proteinase inhibitor, Phosphatidylinositol transfer protein alpha isoform, Src homology 3 domain-containing protein HIP-55) between normal cervix and squamous cell carcinoma cell tissues. CONCLUSION: 2-DE offers total protein expressions between normal cervix and squamous cell carcinoma cell tissues, and searching of differently expressed protein for the diagnostic markers of squamous cell carcinoma tissue.
14-3-3 Proteins ; Actins ; Aflatoxin B1 ; Aldehyde Reductase ; Annexin A2 ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervix Uteri ; Databases, Protein ; Down-Regulation ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional* ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Female ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Isoelectric Focusing ; Keratin-13 ; Keratin-19 ; Keratin-20 ; Mass Spectrometry* ; Muscle Proteins ; Myosin Light Chains ; Phospholipid Transfer Proteins ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Running ; Serine ; Shock ; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate ; Tropomyosin ; Up-Regulation ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*