A granular cell tumor (GCT) is a relatively rare benign tumor that has been seldom reported since Abrikossoff first described it as a granular cell myoblastoma in 1926. While GCTs can occur anywhere in the human body, they are very rarely observed in the gastrointestinal tract and are especially rare in the large intestine. Most GCTs are small and asymptomatic and are often found by endoscopy, upper gastrointestinal series, and autopsy. We report two cases in which a submucosal tumor in the cecum was accidentally discovered by colonoscopy and was subsequently removed by colon polypectomy and endoscopic mucosal resection. Immunohistochemical analysis of the samples confirmed both cases as GCT. The literature review and reports of other growths in the gastrointestinal tracts support the necessity for proper identification of GCTs within the body to differentiate them from more malignant tumors.

A granular cell tumor (GCT) is a relatively rare benign tumor that has been seldom reported since Abrikossoff first described it as a granular cell myoblastoma in 1926. While GCTs can occur anywhere in the human body, they are very rarely observed in the gastrointestinal tract and are especially rare in the large intestine. Most GCTs are small and asymptomatic and are often found by endoscopy, upper gastrointestinal series, and autopsy. We report two cases in which a submucosal tumor in the cecum was accidentally discovered by colonoscopy and was subsequently removed by colon polypectomy and endoscopic mucosal resection. Immunohistochemical analysis of the samples confirmed both cases as GCT. The literature review and reports of other growths in the gastrointestinal tracts support the necessity for proper identification of GCTs within the body to differentiate them from more malignant tumors.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the pregnancy outcomes of nulliparous women aged 40 years and older with those of nulliparous women under 35 years of age. METHODS: From January 1989 to December 1998 total 57,563 deliveries were seen in Gachon Gil Medical Center. Among them we experienced 59 cases of nulliparas at 40 years and older. These women were compared with 188 young nulliparas under 35 years of age as the control group. The statistical analysis was performed using Chi-square tests, and statistical significance was defined as p<0.05. RESULTS: The incidence rate of elderly nulliparas aged 40 years and older was increased from 0.04% in 1989 to 0.30% in 1998. The age distribution was from 40 years to 45 years. The gravidity of eldery nulliparas was 2.2 in comparison with 1.6 in control group. The incidence of uterine myoma, gestational DM, IUGR and oligohydramnios was significantly high rate in elderly nulliparas. There was significantly high rate of cesarean section in elderly nulliparas(88.1%) in comparison with control group(40.4%). The reasons of cesarean section were her demand(39.0%), CPD(15.3%) and breech presentation(13.6%) in decreasing order. The preterm delivery rate was 10.2% in elderly nulliparas in comparison with 4.3% in the control group. Placenta accreta and uterine atony were significantly high in elderly nulliparas and mean estimated blood loss was also high. There was no difference in 5-minute Apgar score between both group, but there were more cases of neonatal intensive care unit admission in neonates of elderly nulliparas(6.8% vs 0%). CONCLUSION: The incidence of elderly nulliparas is continuously increasing. The elderly nulliparas and their babies are at greater risk than young women. Therefore all elderly nulliparas aged 40 years and older can be regarded as high risk patients and they must be managed with careful attention.
Age Distribution ; Aged ; Apgar Score ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gravidity ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Leiomyoma ; Oligohydramnios ; Placenta Accreta ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Uterine Inertia

OBJECTIVE: The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) is designed to measure the current level of depressive symptomatology in the general population. However, no review has examined whether the scale is reliable and valid among children and adolescents in Korea. The purpose of this study was to test whether the Korean form of the CES-D is valid in adolescents. METHODS: Data were obtained from 1,884 adolescents attending grades 1–3 in Korean middle schools. Reliability was evaluated by internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha). Concurrent validity was evaluated by a correlation analysis between the CES-D and other scales. Construct validity was evaluated by exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses. RESULTS: The internal consistency coefficient for the entire group was 0.88. The CES-D was positively correlated with scales that measure negative psychological constructs, such as the State Anxiety Inventory for Children, the Korean Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents, and the Reynold Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, but it was negatively correlated with scales that measure positive psychological constructs, such as the Korean version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-2. The CES-D was examined by three-dimensional exploratory factor analysis, and the three-factor structure of the scale explained 53.165% of the total variance. The variance explained by factor I was 24.836%, that explained by factor II was 15.988%, and that explained by factor III was 12.341%. The construct validity of the CES-D was tested by confirmatory factor analysis, and we applied the entire group’s data using a three-factor hierarchical model. The fit index showed a level similar to those of other countries’ adolescent samples. CONCLUSION: The CES-D has high internal consistency and addresses psychological constructs similar to those addressed by other scales. The CES-D showed a three-factor structure in an exploratory factor analysis. The present findings suggest that the CES-D is a useful and reliable tool for measuring depression in Korean adolescents.
Adolescent Psychiatry ; Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Child ; Depression ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Korea ; Prothrombin ; Psychometrics ; Suicidal Ideation ; Thromboplastin ; Weights and Measures

While many treatments have been performed to repair the chondral defects during last two decades, most of the repaired tissue has shown fibrocartilage or hyaline-like cartilage. Therefore, the clinical outcomes of conventional treatments are unrealiable and unpredictable. Cell-based treatments have recently emerged to regenerate the cartilage with better biomechanical properties and histological quality so that it resembles nature hyaline cartilage. This review discusses the current methodology of the cell-based treatments and their clinical outcomes.
Cartilage ; Fibrocartilage ; Humans ; Hyaline Cartilage ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis

A patient with encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease (EAATD), which is one of the most important differential diagnoses of treatable dementia, presents with various neurological symptoms, such as repetitive epileptic seizures, altered mental status, and cognitive dysfunction. Steroid treatment is effective for EAATD. The incidence of EAATD increases considerably with age, particularly in female patients. Most patients with EAATD have normal thyroid function test results or mild hypothyroidism. Patients with EAATD with Graves' disease are very rarely reported. Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old woman who complained of declining cognitive ability and ataxia. She was diagnosed with EAATD accompanied by Graves' disease. Her neurological symptoms improved after intravenous steroid administration.
Ataxia ; Brain Diseases ; Dementia ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Graves Disease* ; Humans ; Hypothyroidism ; Incidence ; Middle Aged ; Thyroid Diseases* ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyroid Gland*

OBJECTIVE: Comprehensive poststroke rehabilitation includes continuum of care after discharge from hospital. Day hospital is a milieu-oriented outpatient rehabilitation program that offers continuous rehabilitation service to promote psychosocial adaptation and quality of life. This study is to evaluate long-term effects of day hospital program in stroke patients. METHOD: Forty-eight stroke patients who received day hospital program for 2 or more months after inpatient rehabilitation program and 42 control stroke patients, who received only inpatient rehabilitation program, responded telephone interview for the study. Outcome measurement included the Korean Activities of Daily Living (K-ADL), the Korean Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (K- IADL) and the Medical Outcome Study 8-item Short Form Survey (SF-8). RESULTS: There was no difference in many item scores of K-ADL between day hospital group and control group, but the item scores of dressing, washing face and hands were significantly higher in control group. Among the item scores of K-IADL, except managing money, most item scores of K-IADL were no significant difference between day hospital group and control group. All item scores of SF-8 were significantly higher in day hospital group than control group. CONCLUSION: Day hospital is an effective rehabilitation program to enhance health-related quality of life for stroke patients.
Activities of Daily Living ; Bandages ; Continuity of Patient Care ; Hand ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Interviews as Topic ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Rehabilitation* ; Stroke*

Background: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive and metastatic skin cancers. Although overexpression of Dock180 and Elmo1 has been identified in various cancers, including glioma, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer, their expression and functions in melanoma remain unknown. Objective: This study aims to confirm the expression of Dock180 and Elmo1, their underlying mechanisms, and roles in melanoma. Methods: Both immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting were used to confirm expression of Dock180 and Elmo1 in human melanoma. To identify roles of Dock180 and Elmo1 in cell survival, apoptosis and migration, downregulation of Dock180 or Elmo1 in melanoma cells with small interfering RNA (siRNA) was performed. Results: We identified overexpression of Dock180 and Elmo1 in human melanoma compared to normal skin ex vivo. Inhibition of Dock180 or Elmo1 following siRNA in melanoma cells reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis as supported by increased proportion of cells with Annexin V-PE (+) staining and sub-G0/G1 peak in cell cycle analysis. Moreover, inhibition of Dock180 or Elmo1 regulated apoptosis-related proteins, showing downregulation of Bcl-2, caspase-3, and PARP and upregulation of Bax, PUMA, cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved PARP. Furthermore, knockdown of Dock180 and Elmo1 in melanoma cells reduced cell migration and changed cellular signaling pathways including ERK and AKT. Vemurafenib decreased cell viability in concentration-dependent manner, while transfection with Dock180- or Elmo1-specific siRNA in melanoma cells significantly reduced cell viability. Conclusion Our results suggest that both Dock180 and Elmo1 may be associated with cancer progression, and can be potential targets for treatment of melanoma.

OBJECTIVE: Pain is very common in the elderly, so there is a high prevalence of analgesic use among this population. The purpose of this study was to assess patterns of analgesic use and evaluate factors associated with analgesic use in elderly patients. METHOD: The subjects of this study were patients over 65 years old hospitalized in a teaching hospital located in Chuncheon-si, Korea between January 1, 2014 and March 31, 2014. Data collection regarding analgesic prescriptions and baseline characteristics was conducted using computerized hospital database by medical information team. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors related to analgesic use. RESULTS: A total of 2,394 patients were finally included. Among these patients, 700 (29.2%) took analgesics; 521 (74.4%) out of these 700 patients were received opioid analgesics and 179 (25.6%) were received only non-opioid analgesics. The most frequently prescribed opioid analgesic was pethidine (45.7%), and the most frequently prescribed non-opioid analgesic was acetaminophen (44.1%). Fracture was associated with increased odds of opioid analgesic prescriptions (OR = 2.766, 95% CI = 2.019-3.790, p < 0.001) and any analgesic prescriptions (OR = 2.394, 95% CI = 1.766-3.244, p < 0.001). Stroke or cerebral infarction was associated with decreased odds of opioid analgesic prescriptions (OR = 0.636, 95% CI = 0.471-0.858, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of hospitalized elderly patients use analgesics. Health care professionals should consider factors associated with analgesic use in this population to improve pain management.
Acetaminophen ; Aged* ; Analgesics ; Analgesics, Opioid ; Cerebral Infarction ; Data Collection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Gangwon-do ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Meperidine ; Pain Management ; Prescriptions ; Prevalence ; Stroke

Myoblast fusion depends on mitochondrial integrity and intracellular Ca²⁺ signaling regulated by various ion channels. In this study, we investigated the ionic currents associated with [Ca²⁺]i regulation in normal and mitochondrial DNA-depleted (ρ0) L6 myoblasts. The ρ0 myoblasts showed impaired myotube formation. The inwardly rectifying K⁺ current (I(Kir)) was largely decreased with reduced expression of KIR2.1, whereas the voltage-operated Ca²⁺ channel and Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ channel currents were intact. Sustained inhibition of mitochondrial electron transport by antimycin A treatment (24 h) also decreased the I(Kir). The ρ0 myoblasts showed depolarized resting membrane potential and higher basal [Ca²⁺]ᵢ. Our results demonstrated the specific downregulation of I(Kir) by dysfunctional mitochondria. The resultant depolarization and altered Ca²⁺ signaling might be associated with impaired myoblast fusion in ρ0 myoblasts.
Antimycin A ; Down-Regulation ; Electron Transport ; Ion Channels ; Membrane Potentials ; Mitochondria ; Muscle Development ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal ; Myoblasts* ; Oxidative Phosphorylation*