Extraosseous tuberculosis of the extremities is relatively rare even in the wide spread incidence of bone and joint tuberculosis. And few reports about extraosseous tuberculosis of the extremities have been published in the literatures. Eight cases of the extraosseous tuberculosis of the extremities were experienced at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Medical Center, from 1975 to Sep. 1979. Five out of 8 extraosseous tuberculosis were tenosynovitis and the others were bursitis in location. All cases were surgically excised and combined with antituberculous chemotherapy, and primarily cured.
Bursitis ; Drug Therapy ; Extremities ; Incidence ; Tenosynovitis ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Osteoarticular

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of the occupational exposure to organic solvent on the olfactory function of shipyard painters; we measured the prevalence of olfactory function impairment between the exposure group and the controls by using the Korean Version of the Sniffin'Stick (KVSS) test through smell, and by analyzing factors related to olfactory alteration. METHODS: The olfactory function of 245 painters exposed to organic solvents was compared to that of 122 unexposed controls. A total of 367 shipyard subjects underwent questionnaire study and the olfactory function test was performed by KVSS test I from April to August 2007. Suspected subjects of abnormal findings were referred to an otorhinolaryngologist. In addition, the Biologic Exposure Index (BEI) and industrial hygiene laboratory data were collected as well as analyzed by job title in the exposure group. RESULTS: The difference in the result of KVSS test I was significantly different from the exposure group and the controls (P<0.05). For the exposure group, reduced olfaction and exposure group were correlated with statistical significance when compared to the controls (P<0.01). Adjusting for work duration, smoking, rhinitis or sinusitis history, exposure of the organic solvent (OR 1.76, 95% CI=1.05-2.96) had a statistically meaningful relationship with decreased olfaction. The data on BEI for the exposure group were collected; the difference in methylhippuric acid was significant between spray workers and others, but did not correlate well with decreased olfaction. CONCLUSION: Occupational exposure to organic solvents in shipyard painters may affect the olfactory function. Therefore, shipyard painters should be monitored on a periodic bases by the quantitative test such as KVSS test. There is no other quantitative testing method or standardized procedure that can objectively diagnose the neurotoxic effect, further enhanced quality research in this field is necessary.
Occupational Exposure ; Occupational Health ; Paintings ; Prevalence ; Questionnaires ; Rhinitis ; Sinusitis ; Smell ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solvents

Lymphedema is a common complication associated with cancer itself or with cancer treatment. Lymphedema infrequently occurs after drug therapy. Bee venom is one of the materials used in acupuncture, and it has been used in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory diseases including arthritis. We report a 74-year-old male patient with late-onset post-radiation lymphedema provoked by bee venom therapy. He was free of lymphedema for 5 years after the complete remission of prostate cancer which had been treated with transurethral resection and radiation therapy. The patient developed left leg swelling after undergoing bee venom therapy for left hip pain. Computed tomography and lymphoscintigraphy showed lymphedema without tumor recurrence or infection. The lymphatic system was suspected to be injured by bee venom therapy and lymphedema was provoked. Bee venom therapy should be used cautiously in patients prone to lymphedema.
Acupuncture ; Aged ; Arthritis ; Bee Venoms* ; Bees* ; Drug Therapy ; Hip ; Humans ; Leg ; Lymphatic System ; Lymphedema* ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Recurrence

Liver cirrhosis is one of the major complications of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but the mechanisms underlying HCV-related fibrogenesis are still not clear. Although the roles of HCV core protein remain poorly understood, it is supposed to play an important role in the regulation of cellular growth and hepatocarcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine the role of HCV core protein on the hepatic fibrogenesis. We established an in vitro co-culture system with primary hepatic stellate cell (HSC) isolated from rats, and a stable HepG2-HCV core cell line which had been transfected with HCV core gene. The expressions of fibrosis-related molecules transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), transforming growth factor b receptor II (TGF beta RII), alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) were analyzed via histological or molecular methods. In addition, the expression levels of matrix metaloprotinase-2 (MMP-2) and collagen type I (Col I) from the co-cultured media were measured by zymogram and ELISA, respectively. The expressions of alpha-SMA, TGF-beta1, Col I, TGF beta RII and MMP-2 were significantly increased in the co-culture of stable HepG2-HCV core with HSC. Moreover, the significant increases of CTGF and TGF-beta1 in the HCV core-expressing cells were observed by either Northern or Western blot analysis. These results suggest that HCV core protein may contribute to the hepatic fibrogenesis via up-regulation of CTGF and TGF-beta1.
Actins/metabolism ; Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cells, Cultured ; Coculture Techniques ; Collagen Type I/metabolism ; Gelatinase A/metabolism ; Immediate-Early Proteins/*biosynthesis ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/*biosynthesis ; Liver/metabolism/*pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis/*metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta/metabolism ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/*metabolism ; Up-Regulation ; Viral Core Proteins/genetics/*metabolism

A 57-year-old man who was diagnosed with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome showed severe impairment of cognitive function and a craving for alcohol, even after sufficient supplementation with thiamine. After completing 10 sessions of 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at 100% of the resting motor threshold over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dramatic improvement in cognitive function and a reduction in craving for alcohol were noted. This is the first case report of the efficacy of a high-frequency rTMS in the treatment of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.
Cognition ; Craving ; Humans ; Korsakoff Syndrome* ; Middle Aged ; Prefrontal Cortex ; Thiamine ; Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation*

Mutations of the tumor-suppressor gene p53 have been found in 30-50% cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, E1-negative adenoviral vector encoding wild-type p53 under the control of the human cytomegalovirus promoter (AdCMV-p53w) was constructed to evaluate its therapeutic efficacy against tumor nodules developing after injection of HuH7 cell lines in ten nude mice. When each nodule had reached 10 mm in perpendicular diameter, 1.5 x 10(8) pfu of AdCMV-p53w per session was injected intratumorally as follows: In group I (n=3), five sessions were injected every other day. In group II (n=3), only one session. Group III (n=4) as negative controls. The mice were sacrificed at 28 days post AdCMV-p53w injection. Tumor growth was significantly suppressed and delayed in group I and II compared to group III as compared by tumor volume at the end of observation. These results suggest that AdCMV-p53w may not only be effective in treating HCCs expressing mutant p53, but also useful as a local injectable gene therapy.
Adenoviruses, Human* ; Animal ; Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/therapy* ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology ; Gene Therapy/methods* ; Genetic Vectors* ; Human ; Liver Neoplasms/therapy* ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Transplantation ; Protein p53/genetics* ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

C4 glomerulopathy is a recently introduced entity that presents with bright C4d staining and minimal or absent immunoglobulin and C3 staining. We report a case of a 62-year-old man with C4 glomerulonephritis (GN) and uveitis. He presented to the nephrology department with proteinuria and hematuria. The patient also had intermediate uveitis along with proteinuria and hematuria. A kidney biopsy that was performed in light of continuing proteinuria and hematuria showed a focal proliferative, focal sclerotic glomerulopathy pattern on light microscopy, absent staining for immunoglobulin or C3 by immunofluorescence microscopy, with bright staining for C4d on immunohistochemistry, and electron-dense deposits on electron microscopy. Consequently, C4 GN was suggested as the pathologic diagnosis. Although laser microdissection and mass spectrometry for glomerular deposit and pathologic evaluation of the retinal tissue were not performed, this is the first report of C4 GN in Korea and the first case of coexisting C4 GN and uveitis in the English literature.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Glomerulonephritis* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; Korea ; Mass Spectrometry ; Microdissection ; Microscopy ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Middle Aged ; Nephrology ; Proteinuria ; Retinaldehyde ; Uveitis ; Uveitis, Intermediate*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Lamivudine is an antiviral nucleoside analogue effective for the treatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection via the inhibition of DNA polymerase activity. The mutations, however, in YMDD motif, such as YVDD and YIDD, have been found to interfere with the therapeutic efficacy of lamivudine. This study was performed to identify the role of such mutant-type HBV among Korean hepatitis B patients with chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis receiving lamivudine treatment. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from four groups of patients; patients with breakthrough (group I, n = 8); patients who showed no response after the treatment (group II, n = 6); patients who showed good response (group III, n = 6); patients with chronic hepatitis B without any treatment (group IV, n = 4). Mutations were detected by PCR-cloning and automated sequencing. RESULTS: Mutations in YMDD were found in only 4 (50%) in group I and were negative in group II. No mutations could be identified in the serum samples collected before treatment and from groups III and IV. YVDD mutation was found to be associated with two additional mutations, 'L-to-M' in 528th amino acid and 'L-to-V' in 577th amino acid. CONCLUSIONS: Lamivudine resistance appeared in three different patterns: (1) breakthrough related to the mutations in YMDD motif; (2) breakthrough not related to the YMDD mutations; and (3) primary non-responder not related to the YMDD mutations.
DNA ; Fibrosis* ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Lamivudine