The Congenital Ulnar Drift of the fingers is a relatively uncommon and has symmetrical malformations of hand, face and foot characterized by MP joint flexion contracture and ulnarward deviation of the fingers and microstomia, In tarsal deformity, there are clubfoot and congenital vertical talus with rocker bottom deformity. In treatment, the report of the surgical treatment was rare. We experienced congenital ulnar drift of fingers in 2 patients in one family, which were treated by dome resection corrective osteotomy of the metacarpals. Therefore remarkable symptomatic improvement was obtained.
Clubfoot ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Contracture ; Fingers ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Joints ; Metacarpal Bones ; Microstomia ; Osteotomy ; Talus

A 25 year old patient who had low back pain and sciatica was diagnosed as having a lumbar intraspinal extradural synovial cyst adjacent to a facet joint between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae. The extradural defects defined with positive contrast myelography and postmyelographic computed tomographic scanning were posterolateral to the dural sac. Biopsy revealed the findings compatible with synovial cyst. Treatment consisted of laminectomy and surgical excision of the cyst.
Biopsy ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Low Back Pain ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Myelography ; Sciatica ; Synovial Cyst ; Zygapophyseal Joint

No abstract available.
Arachnoid* ; Arachnoiditis* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
Arachnoid* ; Arachnoiditis* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Tuberculosis*

Menetrier's disease is a rare, characterized by the presence of large rugal folds involving part or all of the stomach. Patients with hypertrophic gastropathy often have distressing abdominal symptoms, weight loss, and edema due to gastric protem loss. A 64 year old male patient was admitted with the chief complaint of epigastric discomfort. Endoscopic, radiologic and histologic examination, revealed characteristic findings of Menetrier's disease. A case of Menetrier's disease is reported with a brief review of literature.
Edema ; Gastritis, Hypertrophic* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stomach ; Weight Loss

No abstract available.
Humans ; Quality of Life*

STUDY DESIGN: We have analyzed the laparoscopic lateral retroperitoneal approach of the L4-5 interspace to the miniopen retroperitoneal approach for lateral lumbar interbody fusion. OBJECTIVES: To prospectively compare the laparoscopic lateral retroperitoneal approach of the L4-5 interspace to the miniopen retroperitoneal approach for lateral lumbar interbody fusion Summary of Background Data : The introduction of laparoscopic techniques in 1993 has stimulated a great deal of discussion regarding the risks and benefits of such minimally invasive approaches. In many centers the anterior endoscopic approach to L5-S1 has become routine. However exposure at L4-5 can be much more difficult. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 1997 to 1999 thirty eight patients were entered into a prospective study. These patients were all undergoing anterior interbody fusion at the L4-5 level. The patients were divided into two groups for analysis. Group I patients underwent anterior interbody fusion utilizing threaded interbody devices placed via laparoscopic lateral retroperitoneal approach. Group II patients underwent anterior lumbar interbody fusion using threaded interbody devices placed via a miniopen retroperitoneal approach. RESULTS: In Group I, Operation time was 48 minutes longer than Group II (p=0.035) but there were no significant statistical differences in bleeding amount and hospitalization period. Parethesia and tingling sensation of thigh were developed in two cases of Group I patients, one case of Group II patients but they were gradually diminished. In Group I, only one cage was inserted in five cases of patients (28%) who had an inadequate exposure of L4-5 area. However, all of the patients in Group II (100%) had an adequate exposure of L4-5 area. CONCLUSION: The surgical results of laparoscopic technique was not superior to miniopen technique.
Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Prospective Studies* ; Risk Assessment ; Sensation ; Thigh

Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) has a critical role in regulation of intracellular pH (pHi) in the renal proximal tubular cells. It has recently been shown that dopamine inhibits NHE in the renal proximal tubules. Nevertheless, there is a dearth of information on the effects of long-term (chronic) dopamine treatment on NHE activities. This study was performed to elucidate the pHi regulatory mechanisms during the chronic dopamine treatments in renal proximal tubular OK cells. The resting pHi was greatly decreased by chronic dopamine treatments. The initial rate and the amplitude of intracellular acidification by isosmotical Na+ removal from the bath medium in chronically dopamine-treated cells were much smaller than those in control. Although it seemed to be attenuated in Na+-dependent pH regulation system, Na+-dependent pHi recovery by NHE after intracelluar acid loading in the dopamine-treated groups was not significantly different from the control. The result is interpreted to be due to the balance between the stimulation effects of lower pHi on the NHE activity and counterbalance by dopamine. Our data strongly suggested that chronic dopamine treatment increased intrinsic intracellular buffer capacity, since higher buffer capacity was induced by lower resting pHi and this effect could attenuate pHi changes under extracellular Na+-free conditions in chronically dopamine-treated cells. Our study also demonstrated that intracellular acidification induced by chronic dopamine treatments was not mediated by changes in NHE activity.
Baths ; Dopamine* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration* ; Kidney* ; Opossums*

In order to investigate the anti-proliferative effect of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme. A reductase inhibitor, we evaluated the effects of lovastatin on DNA replication and the proliferation of rat mesangial and aortic smooth muscle cells, both of which were mesenchymal origin cells. Proliferations were determined by measuring [3H]thymidine uptake, and counting the number of cells. Growth-arrested mesangial and aortic smooth muscle cells were exposed to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), endothelin (ET) and angiotensin II (Ang II) to stimulate mitogenesis. All agents exhibited dose-dependent stimulation of [3H] thymidine uptake. PDGF was more potent than the others. Ang II increased [3H] thymidine uptake without demonstrable mitogenic activity. Lovastatin inhibited PDGF (10 ng/ml in mesangial cell, 25 ng/ml in smooth muscle cell)-, ET (10(-7)M)- and Ang II (10(-7)M)-induced [3H] thymidine uptake significantly in a dose-dependent manner in both cells. The increase of cell number in response to PDGF and ET treatment were also inhibited at 10 microM of lovastatin. The inhibitory effect of lovastatin was largely overcome in the presence of exogenous mevalonate at 200 microM, with 75.5% restoration from lovastatin-induced inhibition on PDGF-induced [3H] thymidine uptake in mesangial cells (77.8% in aortic smooth muscle cells). However, the addition of cholesterol did not prevent inhibition by lovastatin. In conclusion, lovastatin had an inhibitory effect on mesangial and aortic smooth muscle cell proliferation, and mevalonate was essential for DNA replication in both types of cells. Lovastatin may reduce glomerular and atherosclerotic injury through an anti-proliferative effect on mesangial and vascular smooth muscle cells, in addition to lowering circulating lipids.
Angiotensin II/pharmacology ; Animal ; Aorta/cytology/drug effects ; Cell Division/drug effects ; Cells, Cultured ; Endothelins/pharmacology ; Glomerular Mesangium/cytology/*drug effects ; Lovastatin/*pharmacology ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology/*drug effects ; Platelet-Derived Growth Factor/pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Thymidine/metabolism

Facial Asymmetry ; Humans ; Incisor ; Mandible ; Osteotomy, Sagittal Split Ramus ; Prognathism ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies