OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer patients was associated with a decreased risk for second primary lung cancer in US veterans. METHODS: Prostate cancer diagnoses in the US Veterans Affairs Cancer Registry between 1999 and 2008 were identified. Use of hormonal therapy and diagnoses of second primary lung cancer were determined from the registry. Synchronous prostate and lung cancers, defined as 2 diagnoses made within 1 year, were excluded from the analysis. Cancer-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and hazard ratios were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Among the 63,141 identified patients with prostate cancer, 18,707 subjects were eligible for the study. Hormonal therapy was used in 38% of patients and the median follow-up period was 28 months. ADT use was associated with longer lung cancer-free survival in prostate cancer patients (log-rank p=0.01). After adjusting for age, race, smoking and prostate cancer stage, ADT use was associated with decreased lung cancer risk by 15, 21, and 24% after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS ADT in prostate cancer patients may be associated with decreased second primary lung cancer risk among US veterans.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer patients was associated with a decreased risk for second primary lung cancer in US veterans. METHODS: Prostate cancer diagnoses in the US Veterans Affairs Cancer Registry between 1999 and 2008 were identified. Use of hormonal therapy and diagnoses of second primary lung cancer were determined from the registry. Synchronous prostate and lung cancers, defined as 2 diagnoses made within 1 year, were excluded from the analysis. Cancer-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and hazard ratios were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Among the 63,141 identified patients with prostate cancer, 18,707 subjects were eligible for the study. Hormonal therapy was used in 38% of patients and the median follow-up period was 28 months. ADT use was associated with longer lung cancer-free survival in prostate cancer patients (log-rank p=0.01). After adjusting for age, race, smoking and prostate cancer stage, ADT use was associated with decreased lung cancer risk by 15, 21, and 24% after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ADT in prostate cancer patients may be associated with decreased second primary lung cancer risk among US veterans.
Androgen Antagonists ; Continental Population Groups ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Methods ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; United States* ; Veterans*

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in prostate cancer patients was associated with a decreased risk for second primary lung cancer in US veterans.METHODS: Prostate cancer diagnoses in the US Veterans Affairs Cancer Registry between 1999 and 2008 were identified. Use of hormonal therapy and diagnoses of second primary lung cancer were determined from the registry. Synchronous prostate and lung cancers, defined as 2 diagnoses made within 1 year, were excluded from the analysis. Cancer-free survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and hazard ratios were estimated using Cox proportional hazard models.RESULTS: Among the 63,141 identified patients with prostate cancer, 18,707 subjects were eligible for the study. Hormonal therapy was used in 38% of patients and the median follow-up period was 28 months. ADT use was associated with longer lung cancer-free survival in prostate cancer patients (log-rank p=0.01). After adjusting for age, race, smoking and prostate cancer stage, ADT use was associated with decreased lung cancer risk by 15, 21, and 24% after 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively.CONCLUSIONS: ADT in prostate cancer patients may be associated with decreased second primary lung cancer risk among US veterans.
Androgen Antagonists ; Continental Population Groups ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung ; Methods ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Smoke ; Smoking ; United States ; Veterans

Changes in the expression profiles of specific proteins leads to serious human diseases, including colitis. The proteomic changes related to colitis and the differential expression between tuberculous (TC) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in colon tissue from colitis patients has not been defined. We therefore performed a proteomic analysis of human TC and UC mucosal tissue. Total protein was obtained from the colon mucosal tissue of normal, TC, and UC patients, and resolved by 2-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). The results were analyzed with PDQuest using silver staining. We used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight spectrometry (MALDI TOF/TOF) to identify proteins differentially expressed in TC and UC. Of the over 1,000 proteins isolated, three in TC tissue and two in UC tissue displayed altered expression when compared to normal tissue. Moreover, two proteins were differentially expressed in a comparative analysis between TC and UC. These were identified as mutant beta-actin, alpha-enolase and Charcot-Leyden crystal protein. In particular, the expression of alpha-enolase was significantly greater in TC compared with normal tissue, but decreased in comparison to UC, implying that alpha-enolase may represent a biomarker for differential diagnosis of TC and UC. This study therefore provides a valuable resource for the molecular and diagnostic analysis of human colitis.
Actins ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Colon ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electrophoresis ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Lysophospholipase ; Mucous Membrane ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase ; Proteins ; Proteomics ; Silver Staining ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; Spectrum Analysis ; Ulcer

Evaluation of thyroid and parathyroid gland scan be performed using imaging techniques such as ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Each technique has advantages and disadvantages. However, ultrasonography is generally the first choice for diagnosis, preoperative evaluation, and postoperative follow up examination of thyroid and parathyroid diseases. Producing precise ultrasonography results requires knowledge of ultrasound operation and basic anatomy, as well as skills for correct interpretation of normal or abnormal ultrasound images. This article reviews the physics and technology of ultrasound imaging in its clinical application, especially in field of thyroid and parathyroid diseases.
Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Parathyroid Diseases ; Parathyroid Glands ; Thyroid Gland ; Ultrasonography*

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study compared the cognitive effects of 1 year of treatment with lamotrigine (LTG) and oxcarbazepine (OXC) in epilepsy patients. METHODS: This retrospective study investigated 60 epilepsy patients undergoing neuropsychological tests who were either newly diagnosed or untreated in the preceding 6 months. The cognitive function in 30 patients receiving LTG monotherapy and 30 age-matched patients receiving OXC monotherapy was compared after 1 year. The neuropsychological scores at baseline and all of the epilepsy-relevant variables except seizure type did not differ between the groups. The mean daily dosages of LTG and OXC at 1 year were 93 mg and 825 mg, respectively. RESULTS: The posttreatment list-learning performance was better in the LTG group than in the OXC group (p<0.05). The incidence of cognitive complaints did not differ between the two groups. The list-learning performance and Trail Making Test scores were better in each group after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: LTG and OXC monotherapies have similar, slightly beneficial effects on cognitive function, and are probably not harmful.
Cognition ; Epilepsy* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Trail Making Test

PURPOSE: To identify cognitive effects of lamotrigine (LTG) compared with valproate (VPA) in epilepsy patients after 1 year of treatment. METHODS: Cognitive tests and subjective complaints of 22 patients with LTG monotherapy (50-200 mg/day) were retrospectively compared with those of 22 patients with VPA monotherapy (500-1300 mg/day) at 1 year of medication. RESULTS: LTG group did not show any significant difference in the performance of cognitive tests compared with VPA group. The incidence of cognitive complaints between two drugs were also not different. Both groups showed a better performance of list learning and Trail Making Test type A after antiepileptic drug medication. CONCLUSION: The impact of LTG and VPA monotherapy on cognitive functioning is similar. Both drugs may not be harmful or rather slightly beneficial for cognitive functions.
Cognition ; Epilepsy* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Learning ; Retrospective Studies ; Trail Making Test ; Valproic Acid*

Recurrent hypersomnia is a disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of hypersomnia that typically occur weeks or months apart. We describe a 60-year-old woman with a four-year history of recurrent hypersomnia. Physical examinations, laboratory tests, and brain MRI showed no significant abnormality in the patient. Nocturnal polysomnographic study showed high sleep efficiency, absent sleep stage 3 and 4, and reduced sleep latency. The multiple sleep latency tests showed short sleep latency and five episodes of sleep-onset REM periods. This is the oldest known case of recurrent hypersomnia.
Brain ; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Physical Examination ; Sleep Stages

Various movement disorders associated with cerebral infarction have been introduced. However patients with anterior cerebral artery territory infarction presenting with hemichoreoballism have never been reported. We present a 64-year-old man with hemichoreoballism and frontal alien hand syndrome on his right hand. Diffusion weighted brain MRI revealed hyperintensities in anterior two third of corpus callosum and superior frontal gyrus. Hemichoreoballism was improved after one day treated by clonazepam. We report the case with hemichoreoballism after anterior cerebral artery territory infarction.
Alien Hand Syndrome ; Anterior Cerebral Artery* ; Brain ; Cerebral Infarction ; Clonazepam ; Corpus Callosum ; Diffusion ; Hand ; Humans ; Infarction* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Movement Disorders

BACKGROUND: Primary aldosteronism describes a group of disorders characterized by long-standing aldosterone excess, with suppressed renin activity, resulting in hypertension and hypokalemia. The protean clinical and biochemical characteristics of this syndrome have important implications regarding its pathophysiology and responsiveness to treatment. METHODS: The cases of 12 primary aldosteronisms, diagnosed at Hanyang University Hospital between 1996 and 1999, were reviewed. RESULTS: The 12 cases were composed of 9 aldosterone-producing adenoma, 2 adrenal hyperplasia and a case of idiopathic hyperaldosteronism. There were 9 women and 3 men. The mean age was 46 yrs (range, 23 to 64 yrs). At the initial visit, the mean blood pressure was 160+/-26/104+/-14 mmHg, and one case of idiopathic hyperplasia had normal blood pressure. The mean serum K+ level was 2.6+/-0.5 mEq/L (range, 1.5 to 3.5 mEq/L). The mean plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone concentration were 0.4+/-0.4 ng/ml/hr (range, 0.2 to 1.6 ng/ml/hr) and 407.5+/-199.8 pg/mL (range, 225 to 800 pg/mL), respectively. Different steps of diagnostic modalities were applied for the preoperative differential diagnosis. All patients, with the exception of the one with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism, were managed by a unilateral laparoscopic adrenalectomy, as they were all diagnosed under the impression of adrenal adenomas. Ultimately, 9 cases were proven to have adrenal adenomas. One hypertensive case, with hypokalemia, had adrenal hyperplasia, and the case with normotension was found to have adrenal nodular hyperplasia from the pathology. The size of the tumors ranged from 1.4 to 2.4 cm in diameter. Among the 11 cases that underwent an adrenalectomy, the blood pressures in 6 cases normalized after the operation, while the other 5, including the one with unilateral hyperplasia, were still in need of antihypertensives for the control of elevated blood pressures, even after the operation. The other case of idiopathic hyperaldosteronism was managed by the prescription of spironolactone. CONCLUSION: From these, it can be suggested that the clinical diversity of the syndrome, especially in the pathophysiology and response to operation, awaits the development of a better preoperative lateralization procedure
Adenoma ; Adrenalectomy ; Aldosterone ; Antihypertensive Agents ; Blood Pressure ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism* ; Hyperplasia ; Hypertension ; Hypokalemia ; Male ; Pathology ; Plasma ; Prescriptions ; Renin ; Spironolactone