OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of infrared thermography in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome by comparing with electrodiagnostic and ultrasonographic findings.METHOD: From January 2014 to October 2017, electrodiagnosis, ultrasound, and digital infrared thermal image (DITI) of unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed in a single hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The subjects with bilateral symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, thyroid disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatic disease, systemic infection, inflammation, malignant tumor, and other musculoskeletal disorders such as finger osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, cervical radiculopathy, and the previous history of surgery were excluded.RESULTS: Of 53 patients diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, 11 were male and 42 were female. The visual analogue scale was 4.9 ± 1.9, and the duration of symptom was 11.8 ± 12.5 months. There was no statistically significant difference in the body surface temperature between the unaffected and affected sides. The severity of symptoms, electrodiagnostic findings, and cross-sectional area of the median nerve significantly correlates to each other. The temperature difference between the second fingers of the affected and unaffected sides showed a weak correlation with the amplitude of sensory nerve action potential and onset latency of compound muscle action potential, when there was no significant correlation with the other parameters.CONCLUSION: The difference in temperature on the surface of the body, which can be confirmed by DITI, is little diagnostic value when DITI is performed in unilateral carpal tunnel syndrome patients, especially when compared with ultrasonography.
Action Potentials ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Electrodiagnosis ; Female ; Fibromyalgia ; Fingers ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Median Nerve ; Methods ; Osteoarthritis ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases ; Radiculopathy ; Retrospective Studies ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Thermography ; Thyroid Diseases ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: This study aimed to clarify the association between human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) status and the clinicopathologic factors of patients who underwent curative intent gastrectomy.METHODS: From June 2011 to May 2015, curative intent gastrectomy was performed in 441 patients at Konyang University Hospital. Among them, we evaluated the HER-2 status in 113 patients. Data on clinicopathologic parameters such as age, sex, histological subtype, endoscopic Lauren classification, tumor location, size, presence of lymphovascular invasion, invasion depth, pathologic stage, HER-2 overexpression, recurrence and survival were obtained. In this study, pathological HER-2 intensity scores of 0, 1+, and 2+ were assumed to be negative, 3+ only was to be positive for overexpression.RESULTS: In a total of 113 cases who underwent curative intent gastrectomy with HER-2 testing, 16 (14.2%) cases had positivity of HER-2 overexpression. HER-2 overexpression had significant associations with tumor stage (19.0% in I-IIIb vs. 2.9% in IIIc-IV, P=0.036). Survival analysis of HER2 overexpression has no significant difference.CONCLUSION: In this study, HER-2 overexpression rate was 14.2% and patient tumor stage had significant association with HER-2 overexpression.
Classification ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Recurrence ; Stomach Neoplasms

We describe two cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that occurred under dasatinib treatment and were resolved after dasatinib discontinuation. Two patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) were switched to dasatinib therapy because of hematological progress while receiving imatinib. These patients had New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class II dyspnea with elevated right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), which progressed under dasatinib treatment. After dasatinib treatment was discontinued, subjective symptoms were improved to NYHA functional class I and the follow-up transthoracic Doppler echocardiography showed improved RVSP. Treatment with an alternate tyrosine kinase inhibitor was initiated and had been continued without development of dyspnea or elevation of RVSP. This report suggests that dasatinib can cause the reversible PAH, therefore, routine cardiopulmonary evaluation before and during treatment with dasatinib may be needed in CML patients with clinical manifestations.
Blood Pressure ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive* ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases

In this study, ethanolic extracts from Hericium erinaceum cultivated with Artemisia capillaris (HEAC) were assessed for their ability to lower the cholesterol levels of male Sprague-Dawley rats fed a high-fat diet. Rats were randomly subdivided into seven test groups. Each group contained eight rats fed a high-fat diet during a growth period lasting 4 wk. Supplementation with the extracts was performed once a day for 2 wk after the high-fat diet. The control group (rats fed a high-fat diet) showed a high efficiency ratio (feed efficiency ratio) value compared to the normal group. Biochemical parameters, including total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), and triglyceride (TG) levels dramatically increased in the control group compared to the normal group. High-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c) content in the control group was also significantly lower relative to the normal group. Two positive control groups, treated with simvastatin and atorvastatin, had lowered TC, LDL-c, and TG levels, and increased HDL-c content compared to the control group. Treatment with the tested extracts, including HEAC, ethanolic extracts from Hericium erinaceum, and ethanolic extracts from Artemisia capillaris reduced TC, LDL-c, and TG levels and elevated HDL-c content in the hyperlipidemia rats. The atherogenic index and cardiac risk factor values for the HEAC-treated group were 0.95 and 1.95, respectively. Simvastatin- and atorvastatin-treated groups showed atherogenic index values of 1.56 and 1.69, respectively, and cardiac risk factor values of 2.56 and 2.69, respectively. These results show HEAC possesses an ability to cure hyperlipidemia in rats and may serve as an effective natural medicine for treating hyperlipidemia in humans.
Animals ; Artemisia ; Cholesterol ; Diet, High-Fat ; Ethanol ; Heptanoic Acids ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Male ; Pyrroles ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Risk Factors ; Simvastatin ; Atorvastatin Calcium

PURPOSE: To determine if routine otorhinolaryngologic referral prior to endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy (EN-DCR) is necessary. METHODS: Two hundred thirty-seven eyes of 178 patients who were supposed to undergo EN-DCR were prospectively analyzed. Nasal endoscopy was performed by an ophthalmologist and the patients who had severe abnormality were referred to an otorhinolaryngologist. The patients were classified into 3 groups after a preoperative examination by an ophthalmologist and an otorhinolaryngologist; the number and success rate of each group were then investigated. Group A consisted of patients who had no nasal cavity abnormality, Group B consisted of patients with a nasal cavity abnormality but who received no treatment, and Group C consisted of patients who had a nasal cavity abnormality and received otorhinolaryngologic treatment. RESULTS: The number of subjects in each group was 156 in Group A (87.7%), 12 in Group B (6.7%), and 10 in Group C (5.6%). The number of patients who were referred to the otorhinolaryngologist was 22 (12.3%). There was no statistical significance of success rate between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Routine nasal endoscopic examination should be performed by an ophthalmologist prior to EN-DCR. Only patients with severe abnormal findings should be referred to an otorhinolaryngologist as the results from the present study show the percentage of patients having significant nasal abnormalities was found to be low (12%) and the success rate of EN-DCR revealed no statistical significance between the groups. This could help patients by saving time and expense.
Dacryocystorhinostomy ; Endoscopy ; Eye ; Humans ; Nasal Cavity ; Prospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation

Mesenteric pseudocyst is rare. This term is used to describe the abdominal cystic mass, without the origin of abdominal organ. We presented a case of mesenteric pseudocyst of the small bowel in a 70-year-old man. Esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy showed a 3.5 cm sized excavated lesion on the posterior wall of angle. Endocopic biopsy confirmed a histologic diagnosis of the poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, which includes the signet ring cell component. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed a focal mucosal enhancement in the posterior wall of angle of the stomach, a 2.4 cm sized enhancing mass on the distal small bowel loop, without distant metastases or ascites in rectal shelf, and multiple gallbladder stones. The patient underwent subtotal gastrectomy with gastroduodenostomy, segmental resection of the small bowel, and cholecystectomy. The final pathological diagnosis was mesenteric pseudocyst. This is the first case report describing incidentally detected mesenteric pseudocyst of the small bowel in gastric cancer patients.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Ascites ; Biopsy ; Cellular Structures ; Cholecystectomy ; Gallbladder ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Mesenteric Cyst ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of blindness with retinal detachment due to oxygen toxicity in preterm infants. Recently advances in neonatal care had to led improved survival rates in premature infants and ROP re-emerged as a significant clinical problem. In the present study, we aimed to determine the protective abilities of minocycline in a animal model of ROP and a primary retinal cell cultures of neonatal rat via anti-apoptotic actions using Western blotting and real-time PCR with Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 antibodies and mRNAs. METHODS: In the in vivo oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR), the cyclic hyperoxia was performed that 80% O2 for 1 day and 21% O2 for 1 day from P1-14 of newborn rats. Minocycline was injected intravitreously for 7 days and sacrificed at P21. In the in vitro OIR, primary retinal cell culture was done using P0-P2 SD rats. Hyperoxia injury was done for 100% O2 exposure for 6 hours. Western blotting and real-time PCR using Bcl-2, Bax and caspase-3 antibody and primer were done in the rat model of ROP and the dispersed retinal cell culture. To identify photoreceptors of retinal cells the immunofluorescence assay photoreceptor marker, IRBP, was used. RESULTS: In the in vivo OIR, the expression of Bcl-2 antibody and mRNA was increased and those of Bax and caspase-3 were reduced in the minocycline-treated group. In the in vitro OIR, the result was the same as above. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, minocycline was suggested to have retinal protective effects for hyperoxic injury via anti-apoptotic mechanism.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Apoptosis ; Blindness ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Diterpenes ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Hyperoxia ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Minocycline ; Models, Animal ; Oxygen ; Rats ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinaldehyde ; Retinopathy of Prematurity ; RNA, Messenger ; Survival Rate

There are several cases of partial monosomy or partial trisomy derived from maternal balanced translocation, but partial monosomy 6q and partial trisomy 14q derived from maternal balanced translocation has not been reported around the world. The authors experienced a case of partial monosomy 6q and partial trisomy 14q derived from maternal reciprocal balanced translocation t (6;14) in a neonate with multiple anomalies including intrauterine growth retardation, facial and cardiac anomalies. We report the case with a brief review of associaed lieratures.
Chromosome Deletion ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Trisomy

PURPOSE: Erythropoietin (EPO) has neuroprotective effects in many animal models of brain injury, including hypoxic-ischemic (HI) encephalopathy, trauma, and excitotoxicity. Current studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effects of EPO, but limited data are available for the neonatal periods. Here in we investigated whether recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) can protect the developing rat brain from HI injury via modulation of NMDA receptors. METHODS: In an in vitro model, embryonic cortical neuronal cell cultures from Sprague- Dawley (SD) rats at 19-days gestation were established. The cultured cells were divided into five groups: normoxia (N), hypoxia (H), and 1, 10, and 100 IU/mL rHuEPO-treated (H+E1, H+ E10, and H+E100) groups. To estimate cell viability and growth, a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was done. In an in vivo model, left carotid artery ligation was performed on 7-day-old SD rat pups. The animals were divided into six groups; normoxia control (NC), normoxia Sham-operated (NS), hypoxia- ischemia only (H), hypoxia-ischemia+vehicle (HV), hypoxia-ischemia+rHuEPO before a HI injury (HE-B), and hypoxia-ischemia+rHuEPO after a HI injury (HE-A). The morphologic changes following brain injuries were noted using hematoxylin and eosin (H/E) staining. Real-time PCR using primers of subunits of NMDA receptors (NR1, NR2A, NR2B, NR2C and NR2D) mRNA were performed. RESULTS: Cell viability in the H group was decreased to less than 60% of that in the N group. In the H+E1 and H+E10 groups, cell viability was increased to >80% of the N group, but cell viability in the H+E100 group did not recover. The percentage of the left hemisphere area compared the to the right hemisphere area were 98.9% in the NC group, 99.1% in the NS group, 57.1% in the H group, 57.0% in the HV group, 87.6% in the HE-B group, and 91.6% in the HE-A group. Real-time PCR analysis of the expressions of subunits of NMDA receptors mRNAs in the in vitro and in vivo neonatal HI brain injuries generally revealed that the expression in the H group was decreased compared to the N group and the expressions in the rHuEPO-treated groups was increased compared to the H group. CONCLUSION: rHuEPO has neuroprotective property in perinatal HI brain injury via modulation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.
Animals ; Anoxia ; Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Carotid Arteries ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Survival ; Cells, Cultured ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Erythropoietin ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Ligation ; Models, Animal ; N-Methylaspartate ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate ; RNA, Messenger

PURPOSE: Taurine is a simple sulfur-containing amino acid and enriched in brain, retina, heart and skeletal muscles. In the central nervous system, taurine has been implicated in major phenomena. Current studies have demonstrated the neuroprotective effect of taurine in adult rat model, but limited data are available for those during the neonatal periods. The aim of this study was to determine whether taurine could reduce hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury in the developing brain via modulation of nitric oxide synthase. METHODS: In in vitro model, embryonic cortical neuronal cell culture procedure was done in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats at 18 days of gestation. The cells were divided into the hypoxia group, taurine-treated group before and after a hypoxic insult. The each groups compared with normoxia group. In in vivo model, left carotid artery ligation was done in 7-day-old SD rat pups. the pups were exposed to hypoxia, received an injection of 30 mg/kg of taurine, and sacrificed at day 1, day 3, day 7, day 14 and day 28. We assayed the expression of iNOS, eNOS and nNOS mRNA using real-time PCR and western-blotting. RESULTS: In in vitro model, brain cell damage of hypoxia group was more than in the normoxia group. Cell damage's recovery was more in the taurine-treated group before a hypoxic insult than in the taurine-treated group after a hypoxic insult. The expression of iNOS mRNA was less in the hypoxia group than in the normoxia group both in vitro and in vivo models. The expression of eNOS and nNOS was more in the hypoxia group. CONCLUSION: Taurine has neuroprotective property over perinatal HI brain injury due to modulation of NOS, as evidenced by causing a decrease in eNOS and nNOS and increase in iNOS expression. The neuroprotective effect of taurine administration was maximal at day 7 and day 14 after a hypoxic injury.
Adult ; Animals ; Anoxia ; Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Carotid Arteries ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Central Nervous System ; Heart ; Humans ; Ligation ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retina ; RNA, Messenger ; Taurine