To study the relationship between the bone mineral density measured by DEXA and QCT methods and to study the factors influencing on the value, bone mineral density in 208 patients with low back pain were measured by the two methods and compared statistically. Ages were varied between 17 to 79(Av. 46.7) years and male and female were 86 and 122. The results of this are as follows; 1. The values of DEXA and QCT showed statistically significant relationship(γ=0.58) as a whole. And bone mineral density in L2, L3 and L4 showed no difference in both groups. 2. Bone loss by aging(per year) in male and female was 0.99% and 1.06% by DEXA, 0,99% and 1.41% by QCT. 3. Body height and weight showed no significant influence of the value in two methods. 4. In body mass index over 27.5, the value measured by QCT was influenced to be diminished while that of DEXA was not influenced. 5. The value by QCT was influenced to be diminished by the increase of age especially over 50 years old in both sex. While the value by DEXA was influenced to be lowered than expected in female over 50 years old. It is concluded that the methods of measurement of bone mineral density have their limitation depend on the age, sex and mass index.
Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Bone Density ; Female ; Humans ; Low Back Pain ; Male ; Spine

BACKGROUND: Narrow-band UVB phototherapy using 311+-2nm wavelength is in widespread use due to its greater efficacy and, possibly, safety compared with broad-band UVB sources. OBJECTIVE: We performed emollient narrow-band UVB(NBUVB) phototherapy to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety in Korean psoriasis patients. METHODS: Fifteen psoriasis patients received narrow-band UVB phototherapy. We categorized each patient into clearing, improvement, or failure groups based on the therapeutic efficacy, and measured the PASI score every two weeks. RESULTS: 1. Among patients who received narrow-band UVB phototherapy, clearing was shown in 40.0% and improvement in 27.7%, and failure in 33.3%. 2. The total number, duration, final and cumulative doses to achieve grade IV were 16.3, 39 days, 1,050mJ/cm2 and 12,125mJ/cm2 respectively. 3. There were some side effects of NBUVB phototherapy such as pruritus(53.3%) and mild burning(13.3%). CONCLUSION: Narrow-band UVB phototherapy is a effective treatment modality which is convenient and less erythemogenic in psoriasis. It will be used more and more and play an important role in the treatment of psoriasis.
Humans ; Phototherapy* ; Psoriasis*

There is increasing evidence that inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes can promote tumor growth. Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is the product of the retinoblastoma gene located on chromosome 13q14. pRb negatively regulates cell growth when functioning normally. Mutational inactivation of the Rb gene has been observed in retinoblastomas, osteosarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas. Recently, several other human cancers have also been shown to carry abnormalities of the Rb gene. The potential role of the Rb gene in cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and basal cell caicinomas (BCCs), has not been determined and was the focus of this study. Immunohistochemical expression of pRb in 16 cutaneous SCCs and 17 BCCs was examined. The expression of PCNA was studied in parallel to assess the cellular proliferation rate in these lesions. The pRb and PCNA immunoreactivity were localized to the nuclei of tumor cells. A few pRb and PCNA positive cells were seen in normal squamous epithelium, sebaceous glands, sweat glands and hair follicles. The loss of expression of pRb was seen in 3 of 16 SCCs(18.8%) and 6 of 17 BCCs (35.3%). PCNA immunoreactivity was slightly high in pRb-negative or lower-positive cases. PCNA immunoreactivity was similar to that produced by pRb in some cases. These results suggest that mutational inactivation of the Rb gene may be related to the carcinogenesis of cutaneous SCC and BCC, though the frequency is relatively low.
Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cell Proliferation ; Epithelium ; Genes, Retinoblastoma ; Hair Follicle ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Retinoblastoma Protein* ; Retinoblastoma* ; Sarcoma ; Sebaceous Glands ; Sweat Glands

Acute dystonic reactions (ADRs) are movement abnormalities characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that typically manifest after exposure to a triggering agent, such as a medication. The specific muscle groups affected determine the type of reaction. For instance, an oculogyric crisis primarily affects the ocular muscles, while oromandibular dystonia involves jaw opening and tongue protrusion. We present the rare case of a 68-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who was successfully treated for an ADR. The patient was admitted with loss of consciousness due to respiratory failure. Tracheostomy was promptly performed under sedation with multiple general anesthetic agents. Immediately after tracheostomy, the patient communicated via eye-blinking without any notable abnormalities, just as before the procedure. However, the following day, he became unresponsive to verbal cues and exhibited a decreased level of consciousness, accompanied by tongue dyskinesia, deviation of both eyes to the left, and loss of visual tracking. The patient’s vital signs remained stable. Brain imaging and an electroencephalogram revealed no abnormalities. Treatment with midazolam produced initial improvement; however, due to a significant side effect of hypotension, the treatment was switched to oral diazepam. The patient’s condition gradually improved, and the medication was eventually discontinued without further ADR episodes.

Acute dystonic reactions (ADRs) are movement abnormalities characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that typically manifest after exposure to a triggering agent, such as a medication. The specific muscle groups affected determine the type of reaction. For instance, an oculogyric crisis primarily affects the ocular muscles, while oromandibular dystonia involves jaw opening and tongue protrusion. We present the rare case of a 68-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who was successfully treated for an ADR. The patient was admitted with loss of consciousness due to respiratory failure. Tracheostomy was promptly performed under sedation with multiple general anesthetic agents. Immediately after tracheostomy, the patient communicated via eye-blinking without any notable abnormalities, just as before the procedure. However, the following day, he became unresponsive to verbal cues and exhibited a decreased level of consciousness, accompanied by tongue dyskinesia, deviation of both eyes to the left, and loss of visual tracking. The patient’s vital signs remained stable. Brain imaging and an electroencephalogram revealed no abnormalities. Treatment with midazolam produced initial improvement; however, due to a significant side effect of hypotension, the treatment was switched to oral diazepam. The patient’s condition gradually improved, and the medication was eventually discontinued without further ADR episodes.

Acute dystonic reactions (ADRs) are movement abnormalities characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that typically manifest after exposure to a triggering agent, such as a medication. The specific muscle groups affected determine the type of reaction. For instance, an oculogyric crisis primarily affects the ocular muscles, while oromandibular dystonia involves jaw opening and tongue protrusion. We present the rare case of a 68-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who was successfully treated for an ADR. The patient was admitted with loss of consciousness due to respiratory failure. Tracheostomy was promptly performed under sedation with multiple general anesthetic agents. Immediately after tracheostomy, the patient communicated via eye-blinking without any notable abnormalities, just as before the procedure. However, the following day, he became unresponsive to verbal cues and exhibited a decreased level of consciousness, accompanied by tongue dyskinesia, deviation of both eyes to the left, and loss of visual tracking. The patient’s vital signs remained stable. Brain imaging and an electroencephalogram revealed no abnormalities. Treatment with midazolam produced initial improvement; however, due to a significant side effect of hypotension, the treatment was switched to oral diazepam. The patient’s condition gradually improved, and the medication was eventually discontinued without further ADR episodes.

Acute dystonic reactions (ADRs) are movement abnormalities characterized by involuntary muscle contractions that typically manifest after exposure to a triggering agent, such as a medication. The specific muscle groups affected determine the type of reaction. For instance, an oculogyric crisis primarily affects the ocular muscles, while oromandibular dystonia involves jaw opening and tongue protrusion. We present the rare case of a 68-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who was successfully treated for an ADR. The patient was admitted with loss of consciousness due to respiratory failure. Tracheostomy was promptly performed under sedation with multiple general anesthetic agents. Immediately after tracheostomy, the patient communicated via eye-blinking without any notable abnormalities, just as before the procedure. However, the following day, he became unresponsive to verbal cues and exhibited a decreased level of consciousness, accompanied by tongue dyskinesia, deviation of both eyes to the left, and loss of visual tracking. The patient’s vital signs remained stable. Brain imaging and an electroencephalogram revealed no abnormalities. Treatment with midazolam produced initial improvement; however, due to a significant side effect of hypotension, the treatment was switched to oral diazepam. The patient’s condition gradually improved, and the medication was eventually discontinued without further ADR episodes.

Pseudo-kaposi's sarcoma is a vasoproliferative disorder that may resemble Kaposi's sarcoma, clinically and histologically. In most cases, it has been associated with congenital or iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula and chronic venous insuffiency. We present a 36-year-old male patient with pseudo-Kaposi's sarcoma caused by a deed vein thrombosis in the absence of any detectable underlying etiologic factors.
Adult ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Humans ; Male ; Sarcoma ; Sarcoma, Kaposi* ; Thrombosis ; Veins ; Venous Thrombosis*

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is used for long-term nutritional support to the patients who cannot maintain the adequate oral intake and can be performed with relatively few complications. Among the complications, migration of the internal bumper into the abdominal wall, so called "buried bumper syndrome" has been described more recently. We decribed a case of buried bumper syndrome in stroke patient with percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. He experienced peritubular leakage, resistance of tubal feeding, and abdominal pain which were developed 4 weeks after percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. On endoscopic examination, the gastrostomy lumen coud not be found. The gastrostomy tube was replaced with careful manual traction and replaced to new one with endoscopic technique. No complication was occurred and the function of tube has been well preserved.
Abdominal Pain ; Abdominal Wall ; Gastrostomy ; Humans ; Nutritional Support ; Stroke ; Traction

OBJECTIVE: To observe histological changes of the intervertebral disc injected with intradiscal steroid and mollification of discogenic pain. METHOD: A study group of 25 Sprague-Dawely rats was divided into five subgroups. A control group of 10 Sprague-Dawely rats was divided into five subgroups. The rats' intervertebral discs were exposed by an anterior surgical approach. For study group, the rats were injected intradiscally methylprednisolone acetate 4 mg (Depomedrol, 40 mg/ml) to the L4-L5 intervertebral disc, methylprednisolone sodium succinate 4 mg (Solumedrol, 40 mg/ml) to the L5-L6 intervertebral disc, and triamcinolone acetonide 4 mg (Triamcinolone, 40 mg/ml) to the L6-S1 intervertebral disc. For control group, the rats were injected intradiscally 0.1 ml of saline to the L5-L6 intervertebral disc and a needle was inserted in the L6-S1 intervertebral disc. The intervertebral discs were extracted after 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, and 16 weeks. The extracted intervertebral discs were stained with Hematoxylin-Eosin and examined histomorphometrically. RESULTS: There is no significant histological change in either group until 4 weeks after the different types of steroid were injected. Focal fibrotic change was present in the Solumedrol and Triamcinolone injection subgroups after 16 weeks. CONCLUSION: We concluded that rapid mollification of discogenic pain following intradiscal steroid injection may not result from histological change of the disc. Further biochemical study will be neccessary to clarify mollification mechanism of discogenic pain by intradiscal steroid injection.
Animals ; Intervertebral Disc* ; Methylprednisolone ; Methylprednisolone Hemisuccinate ; Needles ; Rats ; Triamcinolone ; Triamcinolone Acetonide