Background: To evaluate the chemosensitivity to doxorubicin (DOX) in two primary cells derived from a tumor of FVB/N-Trp53tm1Hw1 knockout (KO) mice with TALEN-mediated Trp53 mutant gene, we evaluated the cell survivability, cell cycle distribution, apoptotic cell numbers and apoptotic protein expression in solid tumor cells and ascetic tumor cells treated with DOX. Results: The primary tumor cells showed a significant (P < 0.05) defect for UV-induced upregulation of the Trp53 pro-tein, and consisted of different ratios of leukocytes, fibroblasts, epithelial cells and mesenchymal cells. The ­ IC50 level to DOX was lower in both primary cells ­(IC50 = 0.12 μM and 0.20 μM) as compared to the CT26 cells ­(IC50 = 0.32  μM), although the solid tumor was more sensitive. Also, the number of cells arrested at the G0/G1 stage was significantly decreased (24.7–23.1% in primary tumor cells treated with DOX, P < 0.05) while arrest at the G2 stage was enhanced to 296.8–254.3% in DOX-treated primary tumor cells compared with DOX-treated CT26 cells. Furthermore, apoptotic cells of early and late stage were greatly increased in the two primary cell-lines treated with DOX when compared to same conditions for CT26 cells. However, the Bax/Bcl-2 expression level was maintained constant in the primary tumor and CT26 cells. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, these results are the first to successfully detect an alteration in chemosensitivity to DOX in solid tumor cells and ascetic tumor cells derived from tumor of FVB/N-Trp53tm1Hw1 mice TALENmediated Trp53 mutant gene.

Objective: To evaluate the construction reproducibility of a composite tooth model (CTM) composed of an intraoral-scanned crown and a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-scanned root. Methods: The study assessed 240 teeth (30 central incisors, 30 canines, 30 second premolars, and 30 first molars in the maxillary and mandibular arches) from 15 young adult patients whose pre-treatment intraoral scan and CBCT were available. Examiner-Reference (3 years’ experience in CTM construction) and Examiners-A and Examiner-B (no experience) constructed the individual CTMs independently by performing the following steps: image acquisition and processing into a three-dimensional model, integration of intraoral-scanned crowns and CBCT-scanned teeth, and replacement of the CBCT-scanned crown with the intraoral-scanned crown. The tooth axis angle in terms of mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination of the CTMs constructed by the three examiners were measured. To assess the construction reproducibility of CTMs, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) assessments were performed. Results: The ICC values of mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination among the 3 examiners showed excellent agreement (0.950–0.992 and 0.965–0.993; 0.976–0.994 and 0.973–0.995 in the maxillary and mandibular arches, respectively). Conclusions The CTM showed excellent construction reproducibility in mesiodistal angulation and buccolingual inclination regardless of the construction skill and experience levels of the examiners.

Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection caused by Coccidioides immitis. The endemic area is mostly south-western United States. As increasing in overseas travel to endemic areas, the incidence rate has been recently increased in non-endemic areas. The diagnosis may be delayed in non-endemic area. It is important to elicit traveling histories and to differentiate lung consolidation with eosinophilia, for timely diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis. Recently, we experienced a case with pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in a Korean American who visited Korea showed consolidation in right lower lobe on chest X-ray and prolonged eosinophilia. In the case, a confirmatory diagnostic method was percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy of lung. We report acute pulomonary coccidioidomycosis case and review previous published reports with pulmonary manifestation in Korea.
Asian Americans ; Biopsy, Needle ; Coccidioides ; Coccidioidomycosis* ; Diagnosis ; Endemic Diseases ; Eosinophilia ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lung Diseases, Fungal ; Lung* ; Thorax ; United States

Aneurysms arising from non-branching sites of the supraclinoid internal carotid artery (ICA) are considered rare, accounting for only 0.9-6.5% of all ICA aneurysms. They are thin-walled, broad-based, can easily rupture during surgery, and are referred to as dorsal, superior, anterior, or ventral wall ICA aneurysms, as well as blister-like aneurysms. Various treatment modalities are available for blister-like aneurysms, but with varying success. Here, we report on two cases of saccular shaped dorsal wall aneurysms. Both patients were transferred to the emergency department with subarachnoid hemorrhage because of an aneurysmal rupture. Computed tomography angiography and transfemoral cerebral angiography (TFCA) showed a dorsal wall aneurysm in the distal ICA. We performed clipping on the wrapping material (Lyodura(R), temporal fascia). Follow-up TFCA showed rapid configuration changes of the right distal ICA. Coil embolization was also performed as a booster treatment to prevent aneurysm regrowth. Both patients were discharged without neurologic deficit. No evidence of aneurysm regrowth was observed on follow-up TFCA at two years. Dorsal wall ICA aneurysms can change in size over a short period; therefore, follow-up angiography should be performed within the short-term. In cases of regrowth, coil embolization should be considered as a booster treatment.
Aneurysm* ; Angiography ; Carotid Artery, Internal* ; Cerebral Angiography ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Rupture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

PURPOSE: To construct new Korean reference curves for birth weight by sex and gestational age using contemporary Korean birth weight data and to compare them with the Lubchenco and the 2010 United States (US) intrauterine growth curves. METHODS: Data of 2,336,727 newborns by the Korean Statistical Information Service (2008-2012) were used. Smoothed percentile curves were created by the Lambda Mu Sigma method using subsample of singleton. The new Korean reference curves were compared with the Lubchenco and the 2010 US intrauterine growth curves. RESULTS: Reference of the 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 97th percentiles birth weight by gestational age were made using 2,249,804 (male, 1,159,070) singleton newborns with gestational age 23-43 weeks. Separate birth weight curves were constructed for male and female. The Korean reference curves are similar to the 2010 US intrauterine growth curves. However, the cutoff values for small for gestational age (<10th percentile) of the new Korean curves differed from those of the Lubchenco curves for each gestational age. The Lubchenco curves underestimated the percentage of infants who were born small for gestational age. CONCLUSION: The new Korean reference curves for birth weight show a different pattern from the Lubchenco curves, which were made from white neonates more than 60 years ago. Further research on short-term and long-term health outcomes of small for gestational age babies based on the new Korean reference data is needed.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Birth Weight* ; Female ; Gestational Age* ; Growth Charts ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Information Services* ; Male ; United States

OBJECTIVES: Patients with cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) are susceptible to cord injury, which often develops into myelopathic symptoms. However, little is known regarding the prognostic factors that are involved in minor trauma. We evaluated the relationship between minor trauma and neurological outcome of OPLL and investigated the prognostic factors with a focus on compressive factors and intramedullary signal intensity (SI). METHODS: A total of 74 patients with cervical myelopathy caused by OPLL at more than three-levels were treated with posterior decompression surgeries. We surveyed the space available for spinal cord (SAC), the severity of SI change on T2-weighted image, and diabetes mellitus (DM). The neurological outcome using Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scale was assessed at admission and at 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Among the variables tested, preoperative JOA score, severity of intramedullary SI, SAC, and DM were significantly related to neurological outcome. The mean preoperative JOA were 11.3+/-1.9 for the 41 patients who did not have histories of trauma and 8.0+/-3.1 for the 33 patients who had suffered minor traumas (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the recovery ratios between those two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Initial neurological status and high intramedullary SI in the preoperative phase were related to poorer postoperative outcomes. Moreover, the patients with no histories of DM and larger SACs exhibited better improvement than did the patients with DM and smaller SACs. Although the initial JOA scores were worse for the minor trauma patients than did those who had no trauma prior to surgery, minor trauma exerted no direct effects on the surgical outcomes.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Decompression ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Orthopedics ; Ossification of Posterior Longitudinal Ligament* ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Surgical Procedures, Minor

Spontaneous cervical epidural hematoma (SCEDH) is a rare disease, but can cause severe neurologic impairment. We report a case of a 68-year-old female who presented with sudden onset, posterior neck pain, right shoulder pain, and progressive right hemiparesis mimicking stroke with no trauma history. Initial brain CT and diffusion MRI performed to rule out brain lesion did not show any positive findings. Laboratory examination presented only severe thrombocytopenia (45,000/mm3). Subsequent cervical MRI revealed a cervical epidural mass lesion. We confirmed that it was pure hematoma through C5 unilateral total laminectomy and C6 partial hemilaminectomy. She achieved complete neurologic recovery with active rehabilitation. Early surgical decompression for SCEDH with neurologic impairment should be recommended for better outcome.
Aged ; Brain ; Decompression, Surgical ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Neck Pain ; Paresis ; Rare Diseases ; Shoulder Pain ; Stroke* ; Thrombocytopenia

OBJECTIVE: We conducted a retrospective study examining the outcomes of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) to identify parameters associated with prognosis. METHODS: From January 2001 to June 2008, we treated 32 ICH patients (21 men, 11 women; mean age, 62 years) with CKD. We surveyed patients age, sex, underlying disease, neurological status using Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), ICH volume, hematoma location, accompanying intraventricular hemorrhage, anti-platelet agents, initial and 3rd day systolic blood pressure (SBP), clinical outcome using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and complications. The severity of renal functions was categorized using a modified glomerular filtration rate (mGFR). Multifactorial effects were identified by regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean GCS score on admission was 9.4+/-4.4 and the mean mRS was 4.3+/-1.8. The overall clinical outcomes showed a significant relationship on initial neurological status, hematoma volume, and mGFR. Also, the outcomes of patients with a severe renal dysfunction were significantly different from those with mild/moderate renal dysfunction (p<0.05). Particularly, initial hematoma volume and sBP on the 3rd day after ICH onset were related with mortality (p<0.05). However, the other factors showed no correlation with clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: Neurological outcome was based on initial neurological status, renal function and the volume of the hematoma. In addition, hematoma volume and uncontrolled blood pressure were significantly related to mortality. Hence, the severity of renal function, initial neurological status, hematoma volume, and uncontrolled blood pressure emerged as significant prognostic factors in ICH patients with CKD.
Blood Pressure ; Cerebral Hemorrhage* ; Female ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Renal Insufficiency ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic* ; Retrospective Studies

Since laparoscopic liver resection was first introduced in 2001, Korean surgeons have chosen a laparoscopic procedure as one of the treatment options for benign or malignant liver disease. We distributed and analyzed a nationwide questionnaire to members of the Korean Laparoscopic Liver Surgery Study Group (KLLSG) in order to evaluate the current status of laparoscopic liver resection in Korea. Questionnaires were sent to 24 centers of KLLSG. The questionnaire consisted of operative procedure, histological diagnosis of liver lesions, indications for resection, causes of conversion to open surgery, and postoperative outcomes. A laparoscopic liver resection was performed in 416 patients from 2001 to 2008. Of 416 patients, 59.6% had malignant tumors, and 40.4% had benign diseases. A total laparoscopic approach was performed in 88.7%. Anatomical laparoscopic liver resection was more commonly performed than non-anatomical resection (59.9% vs 40.1%). The anatomical laparoscopic liver resection procedures consisted of a left lateral sectionectomy (29.3%), left hemihepatectomy (19.2%), right hemihepatectomy (6%), right posterior sectionectomy (4.3%), central bisectionectomy (0.5%), and caudate lobectomy (0.5%). Laparoscopy-related serious complications occurred in 12 (2.8%) patients. The present study findings provide data in terms of indication, type and method of liver resection, and current status of laparoscopic liver resection in Korea.
*Hepatectomy/statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; *Laparoscopy/statistics & numerical data ; Liver/*surgery ; Liver Diseases/pathology/surgery ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology/surgery ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea