No abstract available.
Follow-Up Studies* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Radiculopathy*

OBJECTIVE: The prescription rates of long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are very low around 1% in Korea. This study was aimed to explore the preference of LAIs in patients with schizophrenia, who are currently living in community, and their caregivers. METHODS: The patients, diagnosed with schizophrenia by DSM-IV TR and were registered in the 31 mental health centers of Gyeonggi province and their caregivers were inquired the knowledge of the LAIs. The questionnaires contained information such as demographic characteristics, history of psychiatric treatment, and so on. RESULTS: About 5,318 were registered in 31 community mental health centers of Gyeonggi province in February 2012. The questionnaires of 614 patients and 365 caregivers were gathered from 20 community mental health centers. The mean ages (+/-SD) of patients and caregivers were 41.9 (+/-10.2) and 62.2 (+/-13.4) years old, respectively. 272 patients (44.6%) had experienced the discontinuation of medications without doctor's consent. 217 patients (35.9%) and 97 caregivers (27.1%) knew about the LAIs. The preference rates for LAIs were 35.2% and 46.8% for the patients and caregivers, respectively. CONCLUSION: There is still huge discrepancy between the preference and the real prescriptions of LAIs in community-dwelling patients and their caregivers, much higher than in those of hospital settings. This study suggests that both patients and caregivers registered in the community mental health centers have a strong commitment to live in the community. The obstacles against the benefits of LAIs need to be resolved.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Caregivers ; Community Mental Health Centers ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Health ; Prescriptions ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia

Nevus lipomatosus cutaneus superficialis is a very rare skin disease which appears at birth or within the firat two decades of life. This uncommon condition is due to collections of ectopic fat cells within the upper and mid-dermis. There are two clinical forms. The first form is a lesion of zonal distribution, present from birth or childhood, usually on the buttocks or the lower back. The second form, a dome or sessile, papule, begins in adult life and is less restricted in distribution, and occurs also on the limbs Coalescence of soft, yellowish papules tends to form cerebriform plaques. The authors experienced two cases of typical nevus lipomatosus cutaneus superficialis. The first case was a 23-year male who had asymptomatic, soft, skin colored, and pea sized confluent nodules on the right lower back area since at birth. The second case was a 35-year female who had asymptomatic, multiple, soft, skin colored from rice to walnut sized confluent nodules on the coccygeal area which developed at the age of 27. Diagnosis was confirmed by clinical and histopathological findings.
Adipocytes ; Adult ; Buttocks ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Female ; Fluconazole ; Humans ; Juglans ; Male ; Nevus* ; Parturition ; Peas ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

Epidermolytic hyperkeratosis is a rare disease which is extremely variable in its severity. In some patients it may be so severe and generalized during the neonatal period as to be lifethreatening, in others, it is relatively inconspicuous. A bullous eruption is the characteristic finding of the epidermolytic hyperkeratosis The bullous episodes soon become less frequent and more localized and may eventually cesse, but continue into adult life after the age of 20 years in at least 20% of cases. A case of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis is represented. The patient was a 25-year-old male who had ichthyosiform erythroderma and the frequent episades of bullous eruption. The bullous eruption had been subsided under the treatment with oral penicillin administration. The histopathological features of the bullous lesion on his abdomen revealed the features of epidermolytic hyperkeratosis.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Blister ; Dermatitis, Exfoliative ; Humans ; Hyperkeratosis, Epidermolytic* ; Male ; Penicillins ; Rare Diseases

A 3-year-old boy with Wilms' tumor had unusual severe hypertension, polydipsia, polyuria, and hypokalemia. Physical examination on admission was unremarkable except for the presence of a smooth, firm mass in the right abdomen. Computerized tomography showed a tumor occupying upper two thirds of the right kidney. Plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration were markedly elevated, 37.7 mg/ml/hour (normal supine 0.15-2.33 mg/ml/hour) and 120.1 ng/dl (normal supine 1 to 16 ng/dl), respectively. His hypertension, varied from 150/90 mmHg as high as 240/180 mmHg, was not effectively controlled by antihyperensive drugs. Because of concern for the complications of hypertension, a right nephrectomy was performed on the sixth hospital day. At laparotomy, there was no evidence of mechanical compression of the renal artery by the tumor. The tumor, about 8 cm in diameter, was confined within the renal capsule without involvement of the renal blood vessels at the hilum. Histopathologically, it was characteristic Wilms' tumor of favorable histology. On electron microscopy, the tumor cells contained many electron dense secreting granules in the cytoplasm, suggesting that the tumor itself was the source of the renin and cause the clinical manifestations. Shortly after nephrectomy, signs and symptoms were relieved dramatically, and plasma renin activity and aldosterone concentration were also decreased to normal.
Abdomen ; Aldosterone ; Blood Vessels ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Hypokalemia* ; Kidney ; Laparotomy ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron ; Nephrectomy ; Physical Examination ; Plasma ; Polydipsia* ; Polyuria* ; Renal Artery ; Renin ; Wilms Tumor*

We observed three patients who showed widespread macular ashy-colored eruptions. They fit clinically and histopathologically with the typical erythema dyschromicum perstans (ashy dermatosis). Erythoma dyschromicum perstans is a peculiar pigmented condition of unknown etiology characterized by persistent ashy-gray colored macule, refractory to any modality. All of them have similar skin lesions which are multiple, variable sized oval-shaped, ash-colored macular eruption on the trunk and extremities. Histologic findings of 2 patients reveal the characteristic feature of focal hydropic degeneration of the basal cell layer of the epidermis, perivascular infiltrates of lymphocytes and histiocytes and melanin-laden macrophages in the corium, however, merely pigmentary incontinence into the corium in 1 patient. Literatures are briefly reviewed.
Dermis ; Epidermis ; Erythema* ; Extremities ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Macrophages ; Skin

Ultrasonography, computed tomography and excretory urography in 25 patients with renal cell carcinoma were reviewed to determine their accuracy in predicting tumor stage. Staging was correct with ultrasonography in 60% of the patients, with computed tomography in 68% and with excretory urography in 40%. There was one patient, in which tumor was not identified on excretory urography. From these results, ultrasonography appears to be a good procedure as computed tomography to evaluate the stage of renal cell carcinomas.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Humans ; Ultrasonography* ; Urography*

This paper describes the cloning and sequence analysis of the cDNAs encoding the canine homologues of interleukin-3 (IL-3) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). The coding sequences for canine IL-3 and IL-6 were obtained by using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with RNA harvested from canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Canine IL-3 cDNA includes a single open reading frame of 432 nucleotides, which encodes a 143 amino acid polypeptide and has 44.7, 42.4, 37 and 23.7% homology with the cow, sheep, human and rat IL-3 sequences, respectively. Canine IL-6 cDNA (GenBank accession number; AF275796) encodes a putative 20-amino acid signal peptide followed by a 187-amino acid mature protein. The predicted amino acid sequence of canine IL-6 shares 60.4, 77.2, 71.0, 55.8 and 42.0% sequence identity with those of human, feline, porcine, sheep and rat IL-6, respectively.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Cloning, Molecular ; Concanavalin A/pharmacology ; DNA, Complementary/*chemistry ; Dogs/blood/genetics/*immunology ; Interleukin-3/chemistry/*genetics ; Interleukin-6/chemistry/*genetics ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/chemistry/drug effects ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Open Reading Frames/genetics ; Protein Sorting Signals/genetics ; RNA/blood/genetics ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/veterinary ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

Mucormycosis is an infectious disease caused by fungi of the order Mucorales. Almost all patients have a serious uriderlying condition such as diabetes mallitus, imrnunosuppression, starvation, burn, but a few cais have been reported in previously heilthy subjects. In order to successfully treat this infection, diagnosis must be prompt and acior. panied by aggressive debridement and parenteral administration of amphotericin B. We report a case of primary cutaneous mucormycosis in 58-year-old man. The lesion was a well-circumscribed erythematous plaque with central necrcis Histopathologically, a biopsy revealed broad, nonsptate with branches occuring at right anghles.
Amphotericin B ; Biopsy ; Burns ; Communicable Diseases ; Debridement ; Diagnosis ; Fungi ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Mucorales ; Mucormycosis* ; Starvation

No abstract available.
Neuroendocrine Cells* ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia*