• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.18
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• pp.8079-8083
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• 2016

Metformin is an oral anti-hyperglycemic agent, which is the most commonly prescribed medication in the treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus. It is purportedly associated with a reduced risk for various cancers, mainly exerting anti-proliferation effects on various human cancer cell types, such as pancreas, prostate, breast, stomach and liver. This mini-review highlights the risk and benefit of metformin used for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) prevention and therapy. The results indicated metformin might be a quite promising strategy CCA prevention and treatment, one mechanism being inhibition of CCA tumor growth by cell cycle arrest in both in vitro and in vivo. The AMPK/mTORC1 pathway in intrahepatic CCA cells is targeted by metformin. Furthermore, metformin inhibited CCA tumor growth via the regulation of Drosha-mediated expression of multiple carcinogenic miRNAs. The use of metformin seems to be safe in patients with cirrhosis, and provides a survival benefit. Once hepatic malignancies are already established, metformin does not offer any therapeutic potential. Clinical trials and epidemiological studies of the benefit of metformin use for CCA should be conducted. To date, whether metformin as a prospective chemotherapeutic for CCA is still questionable and waits further atttention.

• The Journal of Korea Assosiation for Disability and Oral Health
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2007

Alagille syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder and occurs in approximately 1 in 100,000 live births. Diagnostic criteria was established by Alagille. It is mainly caused by a mutation in the Jagged1 gene. Major clinical features of this syndrome are paucity of intrahepatic bile duct with cholestasis, characteristic facies, cardiac murmur, defects of vertebrae, and embryotoxon. And minor clinical features are mental retardation, renal involvement, growth retardation, other skeletal abnormalities, a high-pitched voice. The surviving prognosis of Alagille syndrome patients depends on the severity of cardiovescular malformation in the early ages of infant. However, with the increasing years, it depends on the severity of the liver disease. Cholestasis causes congenital jaundice, malnutrition and growth retardation. Also, the increase of serum cholesterol level cause xanthoma and pruritus. Even though the severity of these problems are reduce with age, there is cases where there is no way but liver transplantation. For oral features of Alagille syndrome patients, green discoloration of entire dentition, induced by bilirubin infiltration into dentinal tubules, is especially. Also, xanthoma on gingiva and partial hypodontia have been reported. This report is on the oral features of an Alagille syndrome patient who visited to Kyung-Pook University Hospital.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.201-205
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• 2016

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is generally a rare primary liver tumor of the bile duct with extremely poor clinical outcomes due to late diagnosis. Osteopontin (OPN) is the most abundant expressed gene in intrahepatic CCA and its involvement in tumor aggressiveness suggests it could be a useful prognostic biomarker. However, the prognostic significance of OPN expression in CCA is still controversial. We therefore immunohistochemically studied OPN expression in 354 resected CCAs and correlated the results with patient clinicopathological parameters. OPN expression was separately scored according to the percentage of cancer cells or degree of stromal tissue staining and classified as low (score 0-1) and high (score 2-3). OPN expression in CCA cells was found in 177 out of 354 patients (56.5%), whereas stroma was positive in 185 out of 354 patients (52.3%). Univariate analysis with several of the aforementioned parameters revealed that stromal but not cancer cell OPN expression was significantly associated with tumor size, tumor direct invasion into normal liver parenchyma, regional lymph node metastasis and higher staging. The combination of cancer cell and stromal OPN expression demonstrated a positive trend for linkage with lymph node metastasis. Multivariate analysis identified gender, the presence of lymphatic permeation and lymph node metastasis, but not OPN expression, as independent prognostic factors. This study confirms the presence of stromal OPN expression in tumor aggressiveness but not survival in CCA patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.86-90
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• 2003

Alagille syndrome is a autosomal dominant disorder characterized by intrahepatic bile duct paucity and resultant chronic cholestasis in combination with cardiac(mainly peripheral pulmonary stenosis), skeletal, ocular, and facial abnormalities. In addition to the pulmonary stenosis, in large series, anecdotal reports of vascular lesions have concerned the renal artery, aorta, hepatic artery, carotid artery, celiac artery or subclavian artery. Theses diffuse vascular abnormalities, which appear to be a feature of Alagille syndrome, suggest Notch signaling pathway defects affect angiogenesis. The associations of Alagille syndrome with moyamoya disease, the chronic cerebrovascular occlusive disease, were reported and suggested as additional evidence of vasculopathy of Alagille syndrome. We report another 25 month-old Alagille syndrome girl who presented with acute left hemiparesis and was diagnosed with moyamoya disease through the cerebral angiographic study.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.391-394
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• 2012

The prevalence of liver and intestinal fluke infections was determined by surveying inhabitants of Hengxuan, Fusui, and Shanglin villages which were known to be endemic for liver flukes in Guangxi, China in May 2010. A total of 718 people were examined for helminth eggs by the Kato-Katz thick smear technique, ultrasonography, immunoaffinity chromatography, and DNA sequencing. The overall egg positive rate was found to be 59.6% (28.0-70.6%) that included mixed infections with liver and intestinal flukes. Cases showing higher than 20,000 eggs per gram of feces (EPG) were detected between 1.3% and 16.2%. Ultrasonographic findings exhibited overall 28.2% (72 of 255 cases) dilatation rate of the intrahepatic bile duct. Clonorchis sinensis infection was detected serologically in 88.3% (38 of 43 cases) among C. sinensis egg positive subjects by the immunoaffinity chromatography using a specific antigen for C. sinensis. For differential diagnosis of the liver and intestinal flukes, more precise PCR and nucleotide sequencing for copro-DNA were performed for 46 egg positive cases. Mixed infections with C. sinensis and Metagonimus yokogawai were detected in 8 of 46 egg positive cases, whereas 29 specimens were positive for Haplorchis taichui. Ultrasonographic findings and immunoaffinity chromatography results showed usefulness, even in a limited way, in figuring out of the liver fluke endemicity.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Pathology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.139-145
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• 1998

A total of 5 animals including 3 raccoons, 1 badger, and 1 fennec fox kept in outdoor exhibits at the Everland Zoological Gardens showed depression, anorexia, dyspnea, serous oculonasal discharge, diarrhea, and convulsions. All the affected animals died within 10 days after the onset of clinical signs. This outbreak lasted about 4 months. On necropsy, major gross lesions were confined to the lungs. Red to grey sublobular to lobular consolidations with various sized tan to reddish spots were observed in the lungs. Histopathologically, the pulmonary lesions were characterized by acute to subacute bronchointerstitial pneumonia with secondary bacterial or adenoviral infections. Intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies compatible with canine distemper virus (CDV) were found in the lung, urinary bladder, kidney, intrahepatic bile duct, stomach, small and large intestines. Multifocal areas of severe demyelination and accumulation of gitter cells or nonsuppurative inflammation were seen in the brains of 2 raccoons. CDV -specific antigens were demonstrated in the lung sections on immunofluorescent assay. The present report describes an outbreak of CDV infection in a zoo and indicates the range of susceptible zoo animal species.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 1994

Clonorchiasis is an important parasitic disease of humans in Korea. The present study intended to compare sonographic findings with histopathological changes in experimental clonorchiasis. Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were infected with metacercariae of Cknorchis sinensis, and examined 4, 10, and 22 weeks post-infection (PI). Four infected rabbits were treated with praziquantel 10 weeks PI and were examined 12 weeks after treatment. Sonography revealed mild to severe dilatation of the intrahepatic ducts (IHDD) and slightly increased periductal echoes in 12 out of 14 rabbits at 4 weeks PI, and all of the animals after 10 and 22 weeks PI and 12 weeks after treatment. The histopathological lesions were duct dilatation, mucosal hyperplasia, and periductal fibrosis, which progressed from 4 weeks to 22 weeks PI and even in treated rabbits. The dilated intrahepatic ducts over 1 mm diameter were detected by sonography. The present results indicate that sonographic findings are well correlated with histopathological lesions in rabbit clonorchiasis except for early phase of light burden of infection. The sonography has a limitation in discriminating residual sequelae of the ducts after praziquantel treatment.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2000

Purpose: Biliary atresia, one of the major causes of neonatal cholestais, is an idiopathic, serious disorder, affecting the newborn that results in complete obstruction of biliary tract. Successful reestablishment of bile flow is dependent on early surgical intervention, early diagnosis is imperative. The authors evaluate the utility of Tc-99m-labeled diisoprpyliminodiacetic acid (DISIDA) hepatobiliary scintigraphy in the diagnosis of biliary atresia. Methods: From January, 1995 to August, 1999, total 60 patients with neonatal cholestasis underwent Tc-99m DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy at Asan Medical Center. Results: The undelying causes of neonatal cholestasis were biliary atresia in 14, neonatal hepatitis in 33, intrahepatic bile duct paucity in 9, and total parenteral nutrition induced cholestasis in 4. All patient with biliary atresia were interpreted correctely in DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy, showing 100% sensitivity. Of the 46 patients with neonatal hepatitis and other causes, 37 patients had intestinal radioactivity showing 80% specificity. Conclusion: Visualization of DISIDA in the intestinal tract indicates patency of the biliary ducts and excludes the diagnosis of biliary atresia. But the absence of intestinal excretion on the DISIDA hepatobiliary scintigraphy dose not necessarily indicate biliary atresia.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.45-51
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• 2003

A nationwide survey on choledochal cyst was undertaken among 39 members of the Korean Association of Pediatric Surgeons. The members were required to complete a questionnaire and the case registration form for each patient during the five year period of 1997 to 2001. Three hundred and forty eight patients were registered from 32 institutions. The average number of patients per surgeon was one to two every year. The male to female ratio was 1:3.4. The age of patients on diagnosis was $49.0{\pm}44.4$ months. The geographic distribution was 34.8% in Seoul and Kyoungki-do, 33.3% in Kyoungsang-do, 17.9% in Cholla-do, and 8.5% in Choongchung-do, in order of frequency. The three common clinical presentations were abdominal pain (63.8%), vomiting (35.3%), and jaundice (29.1%). Only seven patients (2%) presented with classic triad, and 25 patients were diagnosed by antenatal ultrasonographic examination. According to the Todani Classification, 238 patients (7l.3%) were type 1, 3 (0.9%) type 11, and 93 (27.8%) type IV. At the time of the operation, three important associated conditions were choledocholithiasis in 45 patients (15.1%), liver fibrosis (Grade 1-4) in 35, and previous operative procedure for biliary diseases in 10. Associated anomalies were observed in 13 patients (3.8%). Three hundred thirty nine (98.8%) of 343 lesions were treated by Cyst excision and Roux-Y hepaticoiejunostomy. One hundred seventy-six patients had an anomalous arrangement of the pancreatobiliary ductal system (APBD): APBD was not in 92 patients, biliary duct joined to the pancreatic duct in 51, and pancreatic duct joined to the biliary duct in 26. There were 8.5% early, and 7.7% late phase operative complications. The major complications were bleeding, anastomotic leakage, and acute pancreatitis. The combination of acute abdomen and choledochal cyst may suggest spontaneous rupture. Because of the development of late intrahepatic bile duct stones, long term follow up after cyst excision and hepaticojejunostomy is required. The optimal time of surgical intervention should also be considered in the situation of routine use of antenatal ultrasonographic examination. This is the first review of the choledochal cyst in Korea and provides baseline data for future comparisons.

• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.218-232
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• 1985

Congenital hereditary disease is in devided into Infantile type and Adult type, Adult type is hidden for many years and keeps normal renal function till middle age. Cyst is stimultaneously made in both sides and becomes lowered in renal function in 30's to 40's. Infantile type is generally born with the big kidneys, renal failure, undergrowth of intrahepatic bile duct. Both infantile and childhood type have ureteral dilatation and portal hypertension In infantile type, it is mostly developed into renal failure, but generally faces death as a result of hepatic disease. The reason of death is that an abnormal condition of recessive autosome affects the liver and kidneys. While the incidence of infantile type is rare as $0.017{\sim}0.07%$ and it is autosomal recessive heredity, Adult type can rarely exist in infantile period. Though it exists in middle period, 50% of patients can live for 2-4 years after the first symptom incidence and 25% can less than 2 years. It is hard to cure completely in medicine and surgery. Three difficulties in familial incidence are comparative decrease of the donor who have no affection on renal transplantation. For another consideration it is to show the family history for several generations. We, the Med. Dept. of Dae Han Kyouk Life Insurance Co. Ltd., used the ultrasonic apparatus in diagnosing the one case of adult type bilateral polycystic kidney and then doubted the family history. As a result of inspecting the family we experienced bilateral polycystic kidney from 3 persons out of 4 who can be inspected. The results are as follows: 1) We could confirm the polycystic kidney from 3 persons out of 4(75%). 2) Then when they came for check up, chief complaint was the pain in all 3 cases(100%). 3) Accompanying disease was hypertension in 2 cases(67%). 4) In early disease incidence, we couldn't observe the specific change in pathological opinion. 5) All 3 cases are not accompanied with cystic lesion in liver, spleen, pancreas.