• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.434-441
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• 2007

Objectives : Peripheral neurodegeneration occurs in diabetes mellitus (DM), both sensory and motor nerve. but we don't know exactly if DM affects central nerve pathway for all studies. Electrophysiologic study is one of the most important diagnostic tools for diabetic neuropathy. Electroneurography and electromyography are usually used. but evoked potentials (EP) is more sensitive to small nerve fiber damages and useful for central nerve evaluation in addition to peripheral nerves. Most diabetic neuropathy studies by EP have been performed with somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEP). In contrast, the objective of this study is to investigate if DM targets central motor neurons by assessing the relation between fasting blood sugar (FBS) and motor evoked potentials (MEP) latency. Methods : We inspected the medical records of 34 patients who had MEP tests during admitting days. The latency from cervical portion to abductor pollicis brevis was used as peripheral motor conduction time (PMCT). and the latency from vertex to cervical portion was used as central motor conduction time (CMCT). Then, they were correlated to FBS using correlation analysis. Results : There was a significant linear relation between FBS and PMCT (Pearson's correlation coefficient r=0.487, p<0.01), but a poor linear relation between FBS and CMCT (Pearson's correlation coefficient r=-0.l97. p>0.05). Conclusions : This study suggests that prolonged latencies of MEP in DM may be due to peripheral neuropathy rather than dysfunction of central motor pathway. therefore the clinical use of MEP to diabetic neuropathy has to be divided segmentally.

• Journal of The Korean Ophthalmological Society
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• v.59 no.11
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• pp.1097-1102
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• 2018

Purpose: To report a case of toxic optic neuropathy caused by chlorfenapyr ingestion accompanied by central nervous system involvement. Case summary: A 44-year-old female visited our clinic complaining of reduced visual acuity in both eyes for 7 days. She had ingested a mouthful of chlorfenapyr for a suicide attempt 2 weeks prior to the visit. Gastric lavage was performed immediately after ingestion at the other hospital. Her best-corrected visual acuity was finger count 30 cm in the right eye and hand motion in the left eye. Both pupils were dilated by 5.0 mm and the response to light was sluggish in both eyes. A relative afferent pupillary defect was detected in her left eye. Funduscopy revealed optic disc swelling in both eyes. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain showed a symmetric hyper-intense signal in the white matter tract including the internal capsule, corpus callosum, middle cerebellar peduncle, and brainstem. The patient was diagnosed with toxic optic neuropathy induced by chlorfenapyr ingestion, and underwent high-dose intravenous corticosteroid pulse therapy. Three days later, the best-corrected visual acuity was no light perception in both eyes. Three months later, optic atrophy was observed in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography revealed a reduction in the thicknesses of the retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer in the macular area. Conclusions: Ingestion of even a small amount of chlorfenapyr can cause severe optic nerve damage through the latent period, despite prompt lavage and high-dose steroid treatment.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.427-436
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• 2021

Background: Pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies have been used to treat patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). However, the effect of therapies in cancer patients has yet to be investigated comprehensively. We hypothesized that cyclic thermal therapy would improve blood flow and microcirculation and improve the symptoms driven by CIPN. Methods: The criteria of assessment were blood volume in region of interest (ROI) in the images, and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 questionnaire scores. The blood volume was quantified by using red blood cell (RBC) scintigraphy. All patients were treated 10 times during 10 days. The thermal stimulations, between 15° and 41°, were repeatedly delivered to the patient's hands. Results: The total score of the questionnaires, the score of questions related to the upper limbs, the score of questions closely related to the upper limbs, and the score excluding the upper limbs questions was decreased. The blood volume was decreased, and the variance of blood volume was decreased. During cooling stimulation, the blood volume was decreased, and its variance was decreased. During warming stimulation, the blood volume was decreased, and its variance was decreased. Conclusions: We suggest that cyclic thermal therapy is useful to alleviate CIPN symptoms by blood circulation improvement. RBC scintigraphy can provide the quantitative information on blood volume under certain conditions such as stress, as well as rest, in peripheral tissue.