No abstract available.
Adult ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*adverse effects ; Appendicitis/diagnosis/*etiology/therapy ; Bacteremia/*etiology/therapy ; Consolidation Chemotherapy/adverse effects ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/diagnosis/*etiology/therapy ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Male ; Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/*drug therapy/immunology/therapy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To compare the frequency of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and magnitude of insulin resistance, measured by the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), between South Korean women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy subjects, and to evaluate risk factors for MetS and increased HOMA-IR in patients with RA. METHODS: In a cross-sectional setting, 84 female patients with RA and 109 age-matched healthy female subjects were consecutively recruited at a university-affiliated rheumatology center in South Korea. MetS was defined according to the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III) 2004 criteria. RESULTS: The frequency of MetS did not differ significantly between patients with RA (19%) and healthy subjects (15.6%, p = 0.566), although patients with RA had a higher HOMA-IR compared with healthy subjects (p < 0.001). Patients with RA met the NCEP-ATP III 2004 criteria for high blood pressure more often than healthy subjects (44% vs. 19.3%, p < 0.001), and low high density lipoprotein cholesterol was more prevalent in healthy subjects (33%) than in patients with RA (14.3%, p = 0.004). Although no obvious risk factors for the presence of MetS were identified in patients with RA, higher serum C-reactive protein and disease activity score assessed using the 28-joint count for swelling and tenderness-erythrocyte sedimentation rate significantly contributed to a higher HOMA-IR. CONCLUSIONS: Despite their increased insulin resistance, South Korean women with RA did not have a significantly higher frequency of MetS compared with that in healthy subjects.
Adult ; Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Biological Markers/blood ; Case-Control Studies ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Linear Models ; Logistic Models ; Metabolic Syndrome X/blood/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Young Adult

Treatments for patient with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) agents. However, owing to the well-known nephrotoxicity of NSAIDs and some DMARDs, the use of these drugs is limited in AS patients with renal insufficiency. As the pharmacokinetics and metabolism of anti-TNFalpha agents in patients of end stage renal disease, especially those receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD), have not been investigated well, little is known about treating them with anti-TNFalpha agents. We described the safety and efficacy of etanercept, a soluble fusion protein comprising the TNF receptor 2 in linkage with the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G, in a 40-year-old male AS patient receiving PD.
Adult ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Antirheumatic Agents ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Male ; Metabolism ; Necrosis ; Peritoneal Dialysis* ; Pharmacokinetics ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Renal Insufficiency ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Etanercept

OBJECTIVE: A higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) has been described in various rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, but no direct studies have investigated the prevalence of MetS in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients compared with the general population. We compared the frequency of MetS and insulin resistance, as measured by Homeostatic assessment model-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) between female SSc patients and healthy subjects. METHODS: In a cross-sectional setting, 35 female SSc patients and 84 age and sex-matched healthy subjects were consecutively recruited at a single center of a tertiary hospital between 2009 and 2010. MetS was defined according to the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel (NCEP-ATP III) 2004 criteria, using the Asian criteria for central obesity. RESULTS: The frequency of MetS was not significantly higher in SSc patients (20.0%) than in healthy subjects (14.3%, p=0.425), but SSc patients had an increased insulin resistance measured by HOMA-IR (p=0.001). Significantly more patients with SSc had increased triglyceride concentrations (p=0.004) and fewer SSc patients tended to meet the waist circumference criterion (p=0.051) according to the individual MetS features. Additionally, there were no significant differences in age, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, body mass index, HOMA-IR, disease duration, cumulative glucocorticoids dose, modified Rodnan skin score or the proportion of limited SSc cases according to the absence or presence of MetS in SSc patients. CONCLUSION: Unlike other rheumatic diseases, our preliminary report did not show a significant difference in the prevalence of MetS between female SSc patients and healthy subjects.
Adult ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cholesterol ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Prevalence ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Scleroderma, Systemic ; Skin ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Waist Circumference

Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is an unusual multifocal neoplasm of vascular endothelial cell origin. The trunk, arms, head, and neck are the most common sites. It is common in men and has four distinct variants: classic, Africa-endemic, immunosuppressive drug-associated, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated KS. KS appears to develop immunosuppressed patients, but is uncommon in patients on dialysis. A 79-year-old man on hemodialysis for 2 months presented with pruritus over the entire body and multiple, discrete, variable-sized, dark blue papulonodules (papuloplaques, maculopapules) on the left arm and shoulder. A biopsy specimen form the left arm showed spindle cells with slit-like spaces and extravasated red blood cells. The specimen was positive for CD 34 antigen, and human herpesvirus 8 was detected. We report a case of KS that occurred in a 79-year-old patient on hemodialysis.
Aged ; Arm ; Biopsy ; Dialysis ; Endothelial Cells ; Erythrocytes ; Head ; Herpesvirus 8, Human ; Humans ; Male ; Neck ; Pruritus ; Renal Dialysis ; Sarcoma, Kaposi ; Shoulder

The purpose of this paper is to provide reference data related to the body weight, food & water consumptions, urinalysis, hematology and serum biochemistry parameters and absolute & relative organ weights obtained from control Sprague-Dawley rats, used in the 4-week and 13-week repeated-dose toxicity studies conducted in our laboratory between 2005 and 2008. The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum range values for hematology and serum biochemistry parameters, data of absolute & relative organ weights, and the difference between sexes and study duration of week 4 versus 13 week are presented. The studies were conducted according to "the standards of Toxicity Study for Medicinal Products" (2005) and The KFDA Notification No. 2000-63 'Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)' (2000) issued by KFDA. These data could be used as reference material of Sprague-Dawley rats by conducting the studies to evaluate the toxicological profile of pre-clinical toxicity studies.
Biochemistry ; Body Weight ; Hematology ; Organ Size ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urinalysis ; Water

To discover genetic markers for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), we previously applied genome-wide BAC array comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) to 28 autistic patients and 62 normal controls in Korean population, and identified that chromosomal losses on 8p23.1 and on 17p11.2 are significantly associated with autism. In this study, we developed an 8.5K ASD-specific BAC array covering 27 previously reported ASD-associated CNV loci including ours and examined whether the associations would be replicated in 8 ASD patient cell lines of four different ethnic groups and 10 Korean normal controls. As a result, a CNV-loss on 8p23.1 was found to be significantly more frequent in patients regardless of ethnicity (p<0.0001). This CNV region contains two coding genes, DEFA1 and DEFA3, which are members of DEFENSIN gene family. Two other CNVs on 17p11.2 and Xp22.31 were also distributed differently between ASDs and controls, but not significant (p=0.069 and 0.092, respectively). All the other loci did not show significant association. When these evidences are considered, the association between ASD and CNV of DEFENSIN gene seems worthy of further exploration to elucidate the pathogenesis of ASD. Validation studies with a larger sample size will be required to verify its biological implication.
Autistic Disorder ; Cell Line ; Child ; Clinical Coding ; Coat Protein Complex I ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Ethnic Groups ; Genetic Markers ; Humans ; Sample Size ; Autism Spectrum Disorder

PURPOSE: Morel-Lavallee lesions is post-traumatic effusion at subcutaneous layer. Early management of Morel-Lavallee lesion is percutaneous drainage and compression. Surgical excision is recommended for cases that are chronic. METHODS: A 41-year old male patient had slow growing, painful mass on left thigh, which has been present for 3 years. He had a history of blunt trauma 3 years ago. Computed tomography presented 10 x 10 x 5 cm sized cystic mass on left thigh, between subcutaneous fat layer and muscle fascia layer. The mass was surgically removed and biopsy was performed. RESULTS: Histopathological examination shows chronic inflammation and fibrotic change. After 6 month follow-up period, postoperative course was uneventful. CONCLUSION: We performed surgical excision of Morel-Lavalle lesion in a patient who had trauma 3 years ago. We report a case of Morel-Lavallee lesion with the review of the literatures.
Biopsy ; Drainage ; Fascia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Male ; Muscles ; Postoperative Period ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Thigh

PURPOSE: An anatomical study concerning the location of the perforators to the posteromedial thigh perforator flap was done for the purpose of clinical application, and reconstruction using this flap was undergone for 3 patients with ischial sores. METHODS: The authors dissected 6 cadavers, measuring the distance between the perforator of the posteromedial thigh perforator flap and the extended line of the inguinal crease. The location of the perforator was studied using this data. In the 3 cases mentioned above, perforators were traced using Doppler ultrasonography and the sores were reconstructed with posteromedial thigh perforator flaps. Anatomical study results showed that posteromedial thigh perforators were found 77+/-18.9mm below the extended line of the inguinal crease. Application of the flap in the 3 patients was successful. CONCLUSION: The perforator to the posteromedial thigh perforator flap was found to be located in a relatively consistent position. Since this flap is also comparatively easy to elevate and mobilize, and shows low donor site morbidity, it is considered to be very useful in the treatment of ischial sores.
Cadaver ; Humans ; Perforator Flap ; Thigh ; Tissue Donors ; Ultrasonography, Doppler

PURPOSE: Autologous fat injection is ideal for patients who wish to add contour, projection and gross volumization of the aging, atrophic face and is claimed to be a safe procedure. However, there are several case reports in the literature where patients have suffered from acute visual loss and cerebral infarction after facial fat injection. This paper explores a rare case of vessel related complication, an arteriovenous fistula that occurs after fat injection on forehead. METHODS: A 28-year-old female who showed a non- tender, soft 1.0x2.5cm sized mass on forehead for 3 weeks. A thrill could be detected on the tortuous dilatated vessel-like structure around the mass. She had a fat injection on forehead for soft tissue augmentation 3 months prior to developing the mass. 3-dimensional brain CT angiography showed arteriovenous fistula. RESULTS: The fistula is totally excised with ligation of feeding vessels. Pathology report showed an atypical vessel which had intimal thickening, myxoid degeneration and thrombus formation. There were no evidences of recurrence at least for 2 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: An occurrence of arteriovenous fistula after autologous fat injection is very rare. After perforation of artery and vein by coincidence, blood extravasates with the formation of a hematoma capsule and a pseudocapsule around it. The hematoma capsule would expand and clot would reabsorb resulting in a cavity leading to fistula formation. Other vessel related complications like acute visual loss or cerebral infarction are very severe. Therefore, surgeons should be cautious during facial fat injection to avoid vessel injuries.
Adult ; Aging ; Angiography ; Arteries ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Brain ; Cerebral Infarction ; Female ; Fistula ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forehead ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Ligation ; Recurrence ; Thrombosis ; Veins