PURPOSE: We report a case of unilateral, focal, pigmented paravenous retinochoroidal atrophy (PPRCA). CASE SUMMARY: A 46-year-old female visited our clinic in complaint of a vague problem with her right eye identified during a general medical examination. The visual acuity (without correction) of both eyes was 1.0. Slit-lamp examination of both eyes revealed no specific signs. Fundus examination of the right eye revealed focal, bony-spicule-shaped retinochoroidal atrophy with pigmentation along the course of the superior retinal vein. A fundus autofluorescence examination revealed principally hypofluorescence with some hyperfluorescence at the margin of the atrophic retinochoroidal lesion. Optical coherence tomography revealed mixed clumping and atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer and thinning of the choriocapillaris layer. Fluorescence angiography revealed a window defect and blockage at the site of the lesion (the fluorescent material did not enter the lesion). The site of the window defect was in correlation with the atrophic RPE region. The site of the blockage at lesion also matched with the site of the regional pigment clumping. No definite leakage was observed. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of unilateral focal PPRCA reported from Korea.
Atrophy ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Pigmentation ; Retinal Pigment Epithelium ; Retinal Vein ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity

No abstract available.
Anemia, Aplastic*

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Fingers*

No abstract available.
Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune*

Purpose: To develop a self-reported communication competency scale for patients with schizophrenia. Methods: Twenty-nine preliminary items were selected from 42 candidate items derived from literature review and qualitative interviews using content validity analysis of expert opinions to evaluate 637 patients’ schizophrenia communication competence. Data from 383 individuals were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using data of 280 individuals. The final dataset included data from 254 participants. Data were subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using SPSS and AMOS 24.0. Results: After evaluating the model fit index for the last 24 items, the following results were obtained: x2=633.95 (p<.001), x2/df (degree of freedom)=2.26, SRMR=0.04, RMSEA=0.06, TLI=0.93, CFI=0.94, NFI=0.96. Therefore, this tool’s suitability was evaluated as acceptable. The final scale comprised 24 items and 3 subscales that could measure basic, interpersonal, and communicative expression of patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion A self-reported communication competency scale was developed for patients with schizophrenia. It is expected to help measure the effectiveness of intervention programs to improve communication among patients with schizophrenia.

PURPOSE: We wanted to review the clinical results of staged reimplantation in patients who had candidal infection after total knee arthroplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed five patients who had a candidal prosthetic knee infection, as was assessed by synovial fluid culture. Amphotericin B was intravenously administrated to all five patients during the postoperative period for six weeks and followed for at least twelve months. We carried out two-stage re-implantations with using antifungal agent-impregnated bone cement. Whether or not infection recurred was evaluated according to the symptoms and radiologic and hematologic studies. The clinical results were analyzed on the basis of the range of motion and hospital for special surgery (HSS) score. RESULTS: The final review showed that all of the symptoms disappeared. We could not find any loosening on the radiologic studies and all five patients had normal C-reactive protein values on serological exams. The mean postoperative range of motion was 1degrees (range: 0~5)~99degrees (range: 70~130) and the mean HSS score improved from 49.4 (range: 44~64) points to 73 (range: 65~90) after the re-implantation. CONCLUSION: We successfully controlled five candidal prosthetic knee infections by removing the components in conjunction with using an antifungal- impregnated bone cement and staged re-implantation after a 6 week course of intravenous antifungal drugs.
Amphotericin B ; Arthroplasty ; C-Reactive Protein ; Candida ; Humans ; Knee ; Postoperative Period ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Replantation ; Synovial Fluid

Abscess ; Branchial Region ; Branchioma ; Clavicle ; Diagnostic Errors ; Drainage ; Epithelium ; Female ; Fistula ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Lymphoid Tissue ; Male ; Neck ; Pregnancy ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy and safety of oral propranolol as a first-line treatment for superficially located infantile hemangioma (IH) and propose an assessment tool to measure treatment response. METHODS: Patients with superficial IH under 1 year of age were prospectively recruited between May 2012 and December 2013 at the Department of Pediatrics of Chungbuk National University Hospital. Propranolol was administered to 12 infants (median age, 3.8 months) while monitoring cardiovascular and adverse metabolic effects. If a patient showed no adverse events, the dosage was gradually increased up to 3 mg/kg/day and maintained for 1 year. We used our own scoring system to assess treatment response using parameters like change in color, and longest diameter, and thickness of the IH. RESULTS: Eleven out of 12 patients completed the protocol with consistent improvement of hemangiomas during therapy. Patients on propranolol showed a more than 50% involution in the first 3 months, with additional steady involution until 1 year. Patients with the highest scores at 1 month maintained their score and showed better responses until treatment termination. The patient with the lowest score at 1 month did not show any further regression and stopped propranolol treatment 4 months after initiation. In two children with recurrences after successful therapeutic regression, propranolol was effective after being reintroduced. Propranolol treatment was not interrupted in any patient due to adverse events. CONCLUSION: Oral propranolol at 3 mg/kg/day showed a consistent, rapid, and therapeutic effect on superficial IHs without significant adverse events.
Child ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Hemangioma* ; Humans ; Infant ; Pediatrics ; Propranolol* ; Prospective Studies* ; Recurrence

Two distinct hantaviruses have been isolated from Apodemus agrarius in 1976 and Rattus norvegicus in 1980 in Korea. Since our serosurveys conducted in 1994, a genetically distinct hantavirus from Apodemus peninsulae has been investigated. To isolate hantavirus from A. peninsulae captured in Korea, the lung homogenate of seropositive A. peninsulae inoculted Vero E6 cells. Viral antigen was detected in a progressively higher percentage of cells with subsequent passage after 80 days postinoculation. The new isolate from seropositive Apodemus peninsulae was designated Suchong virus after Suchong valley located in northeastern region of South Korea. Comparing with hantaan virus 76-118 strain, Suchong virus-1, 2, 3 and 4 showed the similarity of 71.0~91.8% at nucleotide and 90.9~94.8% at amino acid sequences in 231 nucleotides region of M segment, and the similarity of 75.1~81.0% at nucleotide and 97.5~100% at amino acid sequences in 237 nucleotides of S segment.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Hantaan virus ; Hantavirus* ; Korea ; Lung ; Murinae* ; Nucleotides ; Population Characteristics* ; Rats

Glutamate is a representative excitatory neurotransmitter. However, excessive glutamate exposure causes neuronal cell damage by generating neuronal excitotoxicity. Excitotoxicity in neonates caused by glutamate treatment induces neurological deficits in adults. The 14–3-3 family proteins are conserved proteins that are expressed ubiquitously in a variety of tissues. These proteins contribute to cellular processes, including signal transduction, protein synthesis, and cell cycle control. We proposed that glutamate induces neuronal cell damage by regulating 14–3-3 protein expression in newborn animals. In this study, we investigated the histopathological changes and 14–3-3 proteins expressions as a result of glutamate exposure in the neonatal cerebral cortex. Rat pups at post-natal day 7 were intraperitoneally administrated with vehicle or glutamate (10 mg/kg). Animals were sacrificed 4 h after treatment, and brain tissues were fixed for histological study. Cerebral cortices were isolated and frozen for proteomic study. We observed serious histopathological damages including shrunken dendrites and atypical neurons in glutamate-treated cerebral cortices. In addition, we identified that 14–3-3 family proteins decreased in glutamate-exposed cerebral cortices using a proteomic approach. Moreover, Western blot analysis provided results that glutamate treatment in neonates decreased 14–3-3 family proteins expressions, including the β/α, ζ/δ, γ, ε, τ, and η isoforms. 14–3-3 proteins are involved in signal transduction, metabolism, and anti-apoptotic functions. Thus, our findings suggest that glutamate induces neonatal neuronal cell damage by modulating 14–3-3 protein expression.