OBJECTIVES: The rate of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in women diagnosed as they age is one of the main concerns of health cares. Recently new strategies used to prevent progressions of MetS toward the diagnosis of diabetes have focused on plant flavonoids. This study was aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of flavonoids fraction of Mespilus germanica leaves (MGL) on MetS in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. METHODS: Twenty-four adult female Wistar rats, weighing 200 to 250 g, were divided into 3 groups: Sham surgery, OVX + Salin, or OVX + Flavonoid. Three weeks after ovariectomy, animals displayed MetS criteria received flavonoid injection (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for 21 days. Then the body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, visceral fat, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, lipid profiles and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured. RESULTS: Treatment with flavonoids fraction of MGL significantly decreased serum level of insulin (P = 0.011), glucose (P = 0.024), TNF-α (P = 0.010), also MetS Z score (P = 0.020) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P = 0.007). Lipid profiles and visceral fat showed insignificant reduction. CONCLUSIONS: Flavonoids of MGL attenuates some of the MetS components possibly via reduction in TNF-α inflammatory cytokine.
Adult ; Animals ; Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Body Weight ; Diagnosis ; Fasting ; Female ; Flavonoids ; Glucose ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Insulin ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Menopause ; Necrosis ; Ovariectomy ; Plants ; Polyphenols ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Waist Circumference

Inflammatory and reactive lesions of the breast are relatively uncommon among benign breast lesions and can be the source of an abnormality on imaging. Such lesions can simulate a malignant process, based on both clinical and radiographic findings, and core biopsy is often performed to rule out malignancy. Furthermore, some inflammatory processes can mimic carcinoma or other malignancy microscopically, and vice versa. Diagnostic difficulty may arise due to the small and fragmented sample of a core biopsy. This review will focus on the pertinent clinical, radiographic, and histopathologic features of the more commonly encountered inflammatory lesions of the breast that can be characterized in a core biopsy sample. These include fat necrosis, mammary duct ectasia, granulomatous lobular mastitis, diabetic mastopathy, and abscess. The microscopic differential diagnoses for these lesions when seen in a core biopsy sample will be discussed.
Abscess ; Biopsy* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Fat Necrosis ; Female ; Mastitis

Epipericardial fat necrosis (EPFN) is an uncommon benign condition of unknown etiology. It presents as an unexplained acute severe pleuritic chest pain that is associated with the presence of a well-defined juxtacardiac mass usually located in or near the cardiophrenic angle. Although its typical clinical manifestations and chest computed tomography findings might lead to successful diagnosis of this rare disease, an unusual mass location such as the anterosuperior mediastinum should be considered and biopsies should be performed. We herein report a case of thymic carcinoma that was suspected initially to be EPFN.
Biopsy ; Chest Pain ; Diagnosis ; Fat Necrosis* ; Mediastinum ; Pericardium ; Rare Diseases ; Thorax ; Thymoma* ; Thymus Gland

Dystrophic calcifications themselves in the breast are classified as typically benign according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. However, we experienced a patient with invasive ductal carcinoma surrounding large dystrophic calcifications that could be regarded as long-standing benign conditions such as fat necrosis or hematoma. A 61-year-old woman presented with two large dystrophic calcifications within an irregular mass in the right upper outer breast on mammography. Ultrasonography revealed an irregular mass with dense calcifications showing strong posterior acoustic shadowing. On contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging, an irregular mass showed a persistent enhancement pattern and high signal intensity on a diffusion weighted image with non-enhancing areas corresponding to the calcifications. No abnormal uptake was observed on Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate bone scan. Invasive ductal carcinoma was observed on ultrasonography-guided core needle biopsy. In this case, we conclude that typical dystrophic calcifications within a breast mass cannot guarantee a benign diagnosis if the imaging characteristics of the mass are suspicious.
Acoustics ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Diagnosis ; Diffusion ; Fat Necrosis ; Female ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mammography ; Middle Aged ; Shadowing (Histology) ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate ; Ultrasonography

Pericardial fat necrosis is an infrequent cause of acute chest pain and this can mimic acute myocardial infarction and acute pericarditis. We describe here a patient with the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of pericardial fat necrosis and this was correlated with the computed tomography (CT) findings. The MRI findings may be helpful for distinguishing pericardial fat necrosis from other causes of acute chest pain and from the fat-containing tumors in the cardiophrenic space of the anterior mediastinum.
Adult ; Contrast Media/diagnostic use ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fat Necrosis/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Pericardium/*pathology

Pancreas acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) accounts for only 1-2% of pancreatic exocrine malignant tumor. The symptoms of patients with ACC are usually non-specific, for example the anorexia and weight loss. Patients may develop Schmid's triad including subcutaneous fat necrosis, polyarthritis, and eosinophilia. We reported a case of ACC which was manifested by subcutaneous nodule as initial clinical symptom. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ACC presenting as subcutaneous fat necrosis in Korea.
Carcinoma, Acinar Cell/*diagnosis/surgery/ultrasonography ; Fat Necrosis/pathology ; Humans ; Keratins/metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*diagnosis/surgery/ultrasonography ; Subcutaneous Fat/*pathology ; Synaptophysin/metabolism ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a life-threatening soft tissue infection that manifests with a rapid course of inflammation and necrosis of the skin, subcutaneous fat, and fascia. NF commonly follows trauma to the skin, such as a laceration, scratch or insect bite. NF is a surgical emergency and requires both a high index of suspicion for diagnosis and prompt operative intervention. Early aggressive surgical intervention is important for improving survival rates. Mortality and morbidity can be decreased with early diagnosis, adequate and urgent surgical debridement, intensive supportive care, and wound resurfacing. Recently, we experienced a case of NF secondary to a third-degree contact burn on the dorsum of the right foot (1% body area). We report our therapeutic experience in this case, with a review of the literature.
Burns ; Debridement ; Early Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Fascia ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing ; Foot ; Inflammation ; Insect Bites and Stings ; Lacerations ; Necrosis ; Skin ; Soft Tissue Infections ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Since there are few studies involving acute pancreatitis in children, we reviewed our experience with this medical condition to describe the clinical features. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted by reviewing the medical records of 41 patients with AP who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Pusan National University Hospital between January 1996 and June 2007. RESULTS: Twenty males and 21 females (mean age, 8.7+/-4.5 years) were included. In 22 patients (53.7%), no definitive causes were found. The most common etiologies were choledochal cysts (22.0%). Necrotizing pancreatitis was diagnosed in 5 patients (12.2%), and recurrent acute pancreatitis in 4 patients (9.8%). CT findings included pancreatic swelling (43.9%), peripancreatic fluid collection (29.3%), ascites (24.4%), and peripancreatic fat necrosis (12.2%). Serum amylase and lipase levels at diagnosis were 535.3+/-553.2 and 766.2+/-723.6 U/L, respectively, and were normalized within 1 week in 22 and 14 patients, respectively. On the basis of the Balthazar scale, 2 patients were diagnosed with severe AP. In 4 patients (9.8%), a surgical procedure was indicated. Major complications included ascites (32.3%), sepsis (16.1%), and pseudocyst and renal impairments (12.9%). Two patients died from multi-organ failure. CONCLUSION: The etiologies of AP in children are varied. Most children have a single episode and a self-limited course. However, AP of childhood still carries significant morbidity and mortality. Early diagnosis, appropriate treatment according to disease severity, and management of complications are important.
Amylases ; Ascites ; Child ; Choledochal Cyst ; Early Diagnosis ; Fat Necrosis ; Female ; Humans ; Lipase ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pancreatitis ; Pediatrics ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship of plasma resistin levels with determinants of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and anthropometric parameters in healthy Korean subjects. Plasma resistin levels were determined in 276 subjects. In subjects with MetS, the plasma resistin levels were not significantly increased compared to those without MetS (8.3+/-4.3 ng/mL vs. 8.5+/-3.6 ng/mL, respectively, P=0.84). In addition, the plasma resistin levels were not correlated with the body mass index, the waist circumference, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fasting plasma glucose or insulin levels. However, the plasma resistin levels were positively correlated with the abdominal subcutaneous fat (r=0.18, P<0.01) in all subjects and correlated with TNF alpha(r=-0.16, P<0.05) and hsCRP (r=0.15, P<0.05) in subjects without MetS but not with MetS. With multiple linear regression analysis, these linear associations remained to be significant. The results of this study show that plasma resistin levels in humans were not associated with markers of insulin resistance, obesity or other determinants of the MetS.
Adult ; Aged ; Anthropometry ; Biological Markers/blood ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein/metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin/blood ; *Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/diagnosis/*metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/diagnosis/metabolism ; Resistin/*blood ; Subcutaneous Fat/*chemistry ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolism

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the CT findings of pulmonary fat embolism syndrome that was induced by triolein and oleic acid, along with its pathologic correlation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 16 rabbits were included in this study. The rabbits in group I (n=8) were embolized with 0.2 mL triolein and the rabbits of group II (n=8) were embolized with 0.2 mL oleic acid through ear veins. HRCT scans were done prior to embolization and at 0.5, 4, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-embolization. The pathologic correlations were determined at 0.5, 24, 48 and 72 hours. RESULTS: At 24 hours, one group I rabbit showed abnormal CT findings that were composed of several 2-3 mm nodules and multiple ill-defined peripheral ground glass opacities. The pathologic finding of this rabbit at 48 hours was mainly intraarveolar edema. All the group II rabbits (n=8/8) showed ill-defined bilateral and peripheral ground glass opacities with (n=6/8) or without consolidations (n=2/8) on the 0.5 hour CT. All the rabbits (n=7/7) showed that the new ground glass opacities and ground glass opacities noted on the 0.5 hour CT were changed into consolidation. The margins of the ground glass opacities and consolidations were more sharpened on the 24 hours CT. All 6 rabbits (n=6/6) showed consolidations without ground glass opacities and the margins of the consolidations were more sharpened on the 48 hours CT. There was no significant interval change on the 72 hours CT. The pathologic findings of ground glass opacities were interstitial edema or mild intraalveolar edema. The pathologic findings of consolidation were intraalveolar edema, hemorrhage and coagulation necrosis. CONCLUSION: The CT findings after fat embolization using triolein and oleic acid were ill-defined peripheral ground glass opacities with/without consolidations. These findings occurred in only one triolein group with the time lag, but these findings were immediately and extensively seen in all group II rabbits. These CT findings may be important for making a diagnosis of pulmonary fat embolism syndrome.
Diagnosis ; Ear ; Edema ; Embolism, Fat* ; Glass ; Hemorrhage ; Necrosis ; Oleic Acid* ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Rabbits* ; Triolein* ; Veins