No abstract available.
Education, Medical* ; Family Practice* ; Humans

Pharmacologic therapy is still the primary management for epilpsy; however, surgical treatment is a reasonable therapeutic option for patients suffering from medically intractable seizures, especially temporal lobe epilepsy having a documented unilateral epileptogenic area. Thirty nine patients with pharmaco-resistant complex partial seizures underwent anterior temporal lobectomy and hippocampectomy in 38 cases and frontal cortisectomy in one case. On pathological examination, hippocampal sclerosis was a predominent pathologic finding and was identified in 18 cases. Other non-neoplastic lesions consisted of 5 cases of vascular lesions(2 cavernous angiomas, 2 arteriovenous malformations and 1 angiomatosis), 3 cases of fibrous nodule, 2 cases of cicatrical changes of cerebral cortex, and 1 case of parasitic infection. Neoplasms including two cases of oligodendroglioma and one case of anaplastic astrocytoma were also noted. In seven cases, there was no detectable lesion on gross and microscopic examination. On post-operative follow-up, seizures were completely terminated in most cases(31 cases, 79%). The rest of the patients also displayed marked alleviation of symptoms. The seizures tended to recur more aften among the patients with neoplasm or no pathologically detectable lesion. In order to detect any minute pathological lesion, thorough gross and microcsopic examinations are considered to be essential.

BACKGROUND: Many of the major life events that appear to affect biologic system and health occur within the context of the family and can have a profound psychosocial and biologic impact on family memebers. So, the present study attempted to examine the relations of family function with stressful life events, depression, and physical and psychological symptoms reported by patients. METHODS: Design : Cross sectional, observational study. Participants : 41 healthy adult males from a family medicine ambulatory care unit in a tertiary hospital located in Guro completed a series of psychometric instruments that include the Family APGAR(Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, and Resolve), FACESIII(Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale), Modified 46-item Stressful Life Events Scale, Lee's 98 items Stressful Life Event Scale, Korean version of BEPSI(Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument) and BDI(Beck's Depression Inventory Scale). RESULTS: Family APGAR was negatively correlated with stress related life events(both in total and negative events, -0.30, -0.37, respectively; p<0.05) and BEPSI(-0.56; p<0.0001). No significant correlation could be found between family function and positive life events. Family APGAR also revealed significant negative correlation with BDI(-0.61; p<0.0001). Among the three family types, severe dysfunctional family demonstrated highest level of stressful life events score, perceived stress, and depression(p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The higher the assessment of the family function(Family APGAR), the lower the level of stressful life events, perceived stress and depression. There, knowledge of the family function, stress, and coping could be useful to family physicians in the whole person approach of their patients.
Adult* ; Ambulatory Care ; Depression* ; Humans ; Male* ; Observational Study ; Physicians, Family ; Psychometrics ; Tertiary Care Centers

Although there have been many reports about the importance of the spleen's role in hepatic fibrogenesis, the exact mechanism is still uncertain. The author designed this study to evaluate splenic function on hepatic fibrogenesis. The degree of hepatic fibrosis and the population of splenocyte subsets were studied in the experimental animal model with fibrosis produced by injecting normal swine serum intra-peritoneally into Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into three groups; group A was subjected to injection of swine serum only, group B swine serum and complete Freund's adjuvant and group C swine serum and cyclosporin A. The experimental hepatic fibrogenesis by swine serum was augumented by coinjection with the adjuvant and inhibited by cyclosporin A. The study of the splenocyte subset revealed increased percentages of spienic B cell and CD4+ cell and a decreased percentage of CD8+ cell, and these changes of splenocyte subset were also augumented by the adjuvant and inhibited by cyclosporin A. The percent of monocytes was not significantly altered, although a tendancy of early decrease by the adjuvant was noted.
Rats ; Animals

The epithelioid angiosarcoma is recently described ns a variant of ang-osarcoma based on its pathological feature, which is characterized by the epithelioid or histiocytoid morphology af the malignant tumor cells. The existence of vascular endothelial tumor with an epithelioid feature has been accepted for many years, most notablyn the forms of epithelioid hemangioma and epithelioid hemangioendo thelioma. In recent years, cutaneous angiosarcoma with epitheloid morphology have been reported as a cutaneos epithelioid angiosarcoma in the literatures. A 60-year-old man presente with a mild tender erythematous 2 x 2 x 2.5cm sized soft fluctuating single nodule with dark hemorrhagic crust on the left forehead for 3 months. He had had an abrasion wound on the lesion site of the forehead by an accidental trauma 5 month before the lesion appeared. Histopathological findings revealed that the tumor mass was chiefly composed of solid sheets of poorly differentiated malignant cells with an epithelioid feature. The characteristics of classical angiosarcoma such as primitive vascular spaces and clefts with malignat cells, and proliferating vessels were also found in some areas. The immunohistochemical stain wi.h the factor VIII related antigen ivas focally reactive in the tumor cells. Unfortunately he refused further treatment and expired 7 months after discharge at home without knowing the direct cause of his health. We report herein an interesting and rare case of the cutaneous epitheioid angiosarcoma which had typical clinical and histopathological findings and suggested as a case with a very aggressive course.
Forehead ; Hemangioma ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; von Willebrand Factor ; Wounds and Injuries

E-cadherin (ECD) is a Ca++ -dependent adhesion molecule which plays a major role in the maintenance of intercellular adhesion in epithelial tissues. The expression pattern of ECD in 77 surgically resected gastric adenocarcinomas was examined by immunohistochemistry, using a rat monoclonal antibody raised against murine E-cadherin (DECAM-1). ECD was strongly expressed uniformly at cell to cell borders in normal gastric epithelium without exception. But, various staining patterns were observed in the cancer tissues. The frequency of tumors with preserved ECD expression (Pre-type) and reduced ECD expression (Rd-type) was 44% and 56%, respectively. Using Lauren's classification, the high frequency of the Pre-type expression in adenocarcinoma of the intestinal type was significantly higher than that in adenocarcinoma of the diffuse type (p<0.05). But, no significant correlation between the ECD expression and the gross type, invasion depth, growth pattern or metastasis was observed. These results suggest that ECD might play a key role in the morphogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Animals ; Cadherins* ; Classification ; Epithelium ; Immunohistochemistry ; Morphogenesis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Rats

With the aging process, the senile lids are manifested by the excessive skin, decreased height of palpebral fissures with interference of the vision. Sometimes these patients often complained the blepharitis on the lateral canthal area and phtophobia. But there are many diseases to differentiate from senile lids such as dermatochalasia, blepharochalasia, hypertrophy of orbicularis oculi, herniation of orbital fat, myasthenia gravis, and blepharoptosis. Blepharospasm must also be differentiated because of sysmptoms similar to the above described senile lids. Essential blepharospam is an idiopathic progressively debilitating desease which involve bilateral spasm of the orbicularis oculi. So just only an conventional blepharoplasty could not get an improvement of symptoms and some times it makes the symptoms worsen. This case report is about blepharospasm patients visiting for blepharoplasty. And the patients got relatively the satisfied results with the injection of botulinum A toxin, aided by neurologist, instead of blepharoplasty. In conslutions, The blepharospasm in required to detect in preoperative evaluation for blepharoplasty. Once the blepharospasm is diagnosed, it is better to cooperate with neurologist and to do the blepharoplasty.
Aging ; Blepharitis ; Blepharoplasty* ; Blepharoptosis ; Blepharospasm* ; Botulinum Toxins ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Orbit ; Skin ; Spasm

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the effects of foot reflexology on depression and anxiety in coal workers' pneumoconiosis. METHOD: The research design used was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest design. The foot reflexology was performed for 60 minutes twice a week through five weeks in the experimental group, not in the control group. The subjects of this study consisted of both the experimental group of twenty-nine and the control group of thirty coal workers' pneumoconiosis. The data were collected from December 10, 2002 to February 15, 2003. To evaluate the effects of foot reflexology the scores of depression and anxiety were measured before and after the experiment in both groups. Data of this experiment were analyzed by Chi-square test, t-test, unpaired t-test, ANCOVA and Repeated Measures ANOVA with the SAS Program. RESULTS: The score of depression decreased in the experimental group, not in the control group. There was a significant difference of depression between the two groups. The score of anxiety decreased in the experimental group, not in the control group. There was a significant difference of anxiety between the two groups. CONCLUSION: As a summary of the study results, foot reflexology was regarded that it attributed to the emotional promotion of coal workers' pneumoconiosis. Therefore the foot reflexology is considered that might be used as an effective skill of nursing intervention program for coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
Anxiety* ; Coal* ; Depression* ; Foot* ; Massage* ; Nursing ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Research Design

We report 4 cases of malignant thymoma which were composed of 2 cases of invasive thymoma and 2 cases of thymic carcinoma. The cytologic findings of invasive thymoma were similar to those of benign thymoma. The distinctive cytologic features of thymic carcinoma were necrotic background, irregular clusters and individually scattered arrangement of anaplastic epithelial cells, and some scattered mature small lymphocytes. These findings may be found in the Hodgkin'slymphoma, seminoma, and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma of the. lung. But, the feature of irregular clustering of anaplastic epithelial cell having scanty cytoplasm was different from Hodgkin'slymphoma and seminoma. Clinical and radiologic findings as well as cytologic finding were helpful in differential diagnosis of thymic carcinoma from metastatic carcinoma.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Carcinoma ; Carcinoma, Large Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epithelial Cells ; Lung ; Lymphocytes ; Seminoma ; Thymoma*

We report a rare case of carcinosarcoma arising in the stomach. The tumor is presented in the posterior wall of the gastric lower body and antrum of a 56-year-old man. Grossly the tumor has polypoid appearance with diffuse surface ulceration and measures 5.5 cm in diameter. The tumor is accompanied with three separate well differentiated early gastric adenocarcinomas (two EGC type IIc & IIa). Microscopically, the tumor consists of moderately well differentiated adenocarcinoma in the periphery, and lobulated sarcomatous areas in the center, which shows chondroid differentiation. Transitional areas between adenocarcinoma and chondrosarcoma are evident. Immunohistochemical studies show positivity for cytokeratin and carcinoembryonic antigen in the epithelial component, and for vimentin and S-100 in the sarcomatous component. The transitional areas are positive in carcinoembryonic antigen, vimentin, S-100, and cytokeratin. The tumor extended to the subserosa and showed metastasis of only adenocarcinomatous component in six out of 47 dissected perigastric lymph nodes.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Carcinosarcoma* ; Chondrosarcoma ; Humans ; Keratins ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Stomach* ; Ulcer ; Vimentin