• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.45 no.8
• /
• pp.1043-1047
• /
• 2002

Phlebectasia is an abnormal dilatation of an isolated vein and a rare venous anomaly and is usually asymptomatic. Clinically internal jugular phlebectasia is a self limited benign condition and usually no treatment is required after initial diagnosis. So suspection of this disease and appropriate diagnostic approaches are essential to avoid unnecessary surgical intervention. We present three cases of internal jugular phlebectasia of which diagnosis was made by neck sonography and CT.

• Science of Emotion and Sensibility
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.61-70
• /
• 2024

This study aimed to investigate the effects of voluntary intrathoracic pressure adjustment during the Valsalva maneuver (VM) on changes in prefrontal brain function and cerebral blood flow dynamics using diagnostic ultrasound and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Sixteen healthy adults performed VM by adjusting their expiratory pressure. Their regional oxygen saturation (rSO2) and oxidized hemoglobin (HbO) levels were measured to confirm changes in prefrontal lobe function. To confirm hemodynamic changes in cerebral blood vessels, this study measured peak systolic velocity (PSV), heart rate (HR), vascular stiffness (STIFF), and pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the common carotid artery before and after the VM. Results showed significant cerebrovascular physiological changes after 30mmHg VM. In particular, PSV increased significantly following VM, whereas PWV and STIFF significantly decreased. A similar trend was observed in 40mmHg VM to 30mmHg, but no significant change was observed except for HR, which showed a significant decrease. Furthermore, rSO2 tended to increase in the prefrontal region after preforming 30 and 40mmHg VM, but it did not show a significant difference. In contrast, HbO significantly decreased after performing 30 and 40mmHg VM. This trend did not show any difference depending on intrathoracic pressure. In conclusion, VM performance at both intrathoracic pressure levels has the same effect on brain function, but induces difference changes in cerebrovascular vessels' physiological function. Thus, at 40mmHg VM, it interferes with effective vascular relaxation due to high intrathoracic pressure. However, 30mmHg VM has an effective effect on cerebrovascular function by causing a significant increase in the elasticity of arterial blood vessels. Such VM performance can effectively improve cerebrovascular function.