• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2015

Purpose: Diencephalic syndrome is an uncommon cause of failure to thrive in early childhood that is associated with central nervous system neoplasms in the hypothalamic-optic chiasmatic region. It is characterized by complex signs and symptoms related to hypothalamic dysfunction; such nonspecific clinical features may delay diagnosis of the brain tumor. In this study, we analyzed a series of cases in order to define characteristic features of diencephalic syndrome. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 8 patients with diencephalic syndrome (age, 5-38 months). All cases had presented to Seoul National University Children's Hospital between 1995 and 2013, with the chief complaint of poor weight gain. Results: Diencephalic syndrome with central nervous system (CNS) neoplasm was identified in 8 patients. The mean age at which symptoms were noted was $18{\pm}10.5$ months, and diagnosis after symptom onset was made at the mean age of $11{\pm}9.7$ months. The mean z score was $-3.15{\pm}1.14$ for weight, $-0.12{\pm}1.05$ for height, $1.01{\pm}1.58$ for head circumference, and $-1.76{\pm}1.97$ for weight-for-height. Clinical features included failure to thrive (n=8), hydrocephalus (n=5), recurrent vomiting (n=5), strabismus (n=2), developmental delay (n=2), hyperactivity (n=1), nystagmus (n=1), and diarrhea (n=1). On follow-up evaluation, 3 patients showed improvement and remained in stable remission, 2 patients were still receiving chemotherapy, and 3 patients were discharged for palliative care. Conclusion: Diencephalic syndrome is a rare cause of failure to thrive, and diagnosis is frequently delayed. Thus, it is important to consider the possibility of a CNS neoplasm as a cause of failure to thrive and to ensure early diagnosis.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.610-616
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• 1994

Myasthenia gravis is a rare condition, affecting only 1/75000. It is characterized by weakness and fatigue of the voluntary muscles due to impaired neuromuscular transmission at the acetylcholine receptor site. It is probably caused by an autoimmune mechanism leading to reduction of the available nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. A relationship between the thymus and myasthenia gravis was suggested by Weigert in 1901, and Blalock was the first to report the efficiency of thymectomy in the treatment of myasthnia gravis in 1939. Since that time, thymectomy has become increasingly important in managing patients with myasthenia gravis. Fourteen patients with myasthenia gravis underwent thymectomy between September 1987 and March 1994 and got the following results; 1. The sex distribution was 10 females and 4 males with ages ranging from 15 to 51 years[mean, 34.8 years]. 2. Clinical manifestation of ocular symptoms were seen in all cases, dysphagia in 12[85.7%], extremity weakness in 11 [78.6 %], and dyspnea in 3 [21.4 %]. 3. According to the modified Osserman`s classification, 8 patients were in group IIb, 3 in IIa, 2 in I and 1 in IIc, respectively. 4. Histopathologic examination of the resected thymuses revealed hyperplasia in 8 patients, benign thymoma in 3, and malignant thymoma in 3. 5. There were no perioperative or immediate postoperative deaths but one patient died about two months after the thymectomy due to respiratory failure. 6. During the follow-up period, 11 patients [78.6 %] showed clinical improvement. Among them, 4 cases [28.6 %] showed complete remission, 3 [21.4 %] showed marked improvement, and 4 [28.6 %] showed subjective improvement. 7. Among the 8 patients with thymic hyperplasia, clinical improvement was noticed in 7 patients 5 %]. Among the 6 patients with thymoma, 4 patients [66.7 %] showed improvement.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.235-245
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• 1989

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a highly malignant soft tissue sarcoma that can arise in any site of the body containing striated muscle or its mesenchymal analgae. It is the most common childhood sarcoma with two peak age frequencies, one at ages 2 to 6, and one in the adolescence. The site, stage and extent of disease, and pathologic characteristics of the tumor contribute to prognostic factors that influence therapeutic decisions. The results of treatment of 52 patients with rhabdomyosarcoma, who were treated at Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yosei Cancer Center from 1976 to 1987 were retrospectively analyzed. The most frequent clinical group and primary sites were IRS group III (57.7%) and head and neck (42.3%) including orbit (11.5%) and parameningeal region(13.5%). The overall and disease free 5 year survival rate of eligible 41 patients were 31.7%, 29.3%, respectively. The complete remission (CR) rate was 50% in clinical group III and 0% in IV. Primary tumors of the orbit, clinical group 1 and embryonal subtype had the best prognosis. The Survival rate was improved by additiion of chemotherapy to operation and radiation therapy.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.143-149
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• 2018

To verify the correlations between the clinical outcomes and physical factors of short-course chemoradiotherapy (SCRT) and long-course chemoradiotherapy (LCRT) with delayed surgery in patients with rectal cancer. Seventy-two patients with rectal cancer were enrolled in this study. Nineteen patients were treated with SCRT (25 Gy, 5 fractions) by intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), and 53 patients were treated with LCRT (50.4 Gy, 28 fractions) by three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT). Various physical factors for the target and organs at risk (OARs) were calculated to compare the clinical outcomes. The organ equivalent dose (OED) and lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of bowels and bladders were similar between the SCRT and LCRT groups, whereas the values of femurs were higher in the LCRT group. The equivalent uniform dose and normal tissue complication probability were higher in the LCRT than the SCRT group for most organs. Treatment complications, including anastomotic leakage, bowel adhesion, and hematologic toxicity, were not significantly different between SCRT and LCRT groups. CIs were $0.84{\pm}0.2$ and $0.61{\pm}0.1$ for SCRT and LCRT, respectively. The CVIs were $1.07{\pm}0.0$ and $1.10{\pm}0.1$, and the HIs were $0.09{\pm}0.0$ and $0.11{\pm}0.1$ for SCRT and LCRT, respectively. The sphincter-saving rates were 89.5% and 94.3% for SCRT and LCRT, respectively. The complete pathologic remission rates were 21.1% and 13.2%, and the down-staging rates were 47.4% and 26.4% for SCRT and LCRT, respectively. SCRT with IMRT is comparable to conventional LCRT in both physical indexes and clinical outcome. The preoperative SCRT, compensated by IMRT, is an effective and safe modality.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.49-53
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• 2024

A two-year-old, spayed female, 22.5 kg Pungsan was referred with chronic crusts and erosion on the nose. A referring veterinarian prescribed an anti-inflammatory dose (0.5-1 mg/kg/day) of oral glucocorticoids for 5 months, but skin lesions showed no meaningful improvement. A dermatological evaluation revealed a crust, depigmentation, erosion, and erythematous lesion over the nasal planum with a loss of the normal cobblestone texture. Also, firm and multifocal plaques over the thigh, groin, axilla, and dorsum were detected. A cytology examination on the nose, thigh, groin, axilla, and dorsum revealed moderate neutrophilic inflammation and bacterial infection. Abdominal radiography and ultrasonography revealed subcutaneous calcified materials along the thigh, groin, axilla, and dorsum. Calcinosis cutis was suspected because of the adverse effect of previous prolonged corticosteroid therapy. A histopathology examination of the nose lesion revealed moderate to severe degenerative or apoptotic changes of the basal layer and lymphoplasmacytic interface dermatitis. Facial discoid lupus erythematosus (FDLE) was diagnosed based on the history and the clinical, cytological, and histopathological results. Minocycline (7 mg/kg PO q 12 h) and niacinamide (500 mg/dog PO q 12 h) were prescribed as initial treatment. Glucocorticoids were not administered due to the presence of calcinosis cutis induced by previous corticosteroid treatment. After 6 weeks of treatment, the clinical signs on the nose were mildly improved. At this time, topical 1% pimecrolimus cream (twice daily) was initiated, while minocycline and niacinamide were continued at the same dose. The nasal planum markedly improved after 6 weeks of additional treatment, hence minocycline and niacinamide were prescribed for an additional 2 weeks and stopped, and the patient was continued solely on topical pimecrolimus. The dog's skin lesion has been maintained in clinical remission with topical 1% pimecrolimus twice daily for more than 5 months.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.35-46
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• 2018

Objectives: The aim of this trial is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang) for the treatment of major depression in women by comparing the Yukwool-tang (Liuyu-tang)-treated group with the placebo-treated group and assessing the association of various biological factors related to depression through various outcome measures. Methods: This study is a single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-design clinical trial. The subjects to be selected are women between the ages of 19 and 65, and the registered subjects are to be randomly assigned to treatment with Yukwool-tang or the placebo control. The Yukwool-tang group will take 1 bottle of Yukwool-tang (30 mg) for 8 weeks, 3 times a day, before meals. The control group will take the placebo in the same way. The primary outcome to be examined will be the change between the total score after 8 weeks and the total score before the start of the study of the K-HDRS score. Secondary outcomes are assessed by the change in total score after 12 weeks of K-HDRS, K-HDRS remission rate, K-HDRS improvement rate, BDI-K, PITD, KSCL-95, ISI, STAI-K, EQ-5D, VAS, Emotional Stimulation Test, BDNF test, inflammatory cytokine and tumor necrosis factor test, intestinal microbiome test, dietary report and Beck's hopelessness scale. Results: This protocol has been approved by the IRB of Dunsan Korean Medicine Hospital of Daejeon University and is registered in the CRIS, and it is made public in advance to ensure transparency of the research process and conduct ethical clinical trials. Conclusions: Based on this protocol, when the trial is completed, its data can be used to access the validity and safety of Yukwool-tang for major depression in women, and it is also expected to be helpful in the study of the correlation between future treatment of Korean medicine for depression and related biological factors, and quality of life.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.110-117
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• 1998

Purpose : Henoch-$Sch{\ddot{o}}nlein$ purpura nephritis(HSPN) accompanied by nephrotic syndrome(NS) is known to have a poor prognosis and effective treatment is still controversial, even though both corticosteroids and immunosuppresant have been used for therapy. Cyclosporine A(CsA) is a well known immunosuppresant and widely used in renal transplantation and glomerular diseases especially steroid resistant. The aims of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of CsA and to compare CsA with previously reported our data of rifampin(RFP) and azathioprine(AZA) in children with HSPN accompanied by NS. Methods : 37 HSPN patients with NS confirmed by renal biopsy were selected. Of these, 17 patients were treated with CsA(5 mg/kg/day) fur 6-8 months, 7 children were treated with RFP(10-20 mg/kg/day) for 9-12 months and 13 patients were treated with AZA(2 mg/kg/day) fur 8 months. Along with these regimens, low dose oral prednisolone(0.5-1 mg/kg, qod) was also used. Sequential renal biopsy was done in all patients 1 month after termination of treatment. Results : Complete remission rate of nephrotic syndrome was $58.8\%$ in CsA, $57.1\%$ in RFP and $38.4\%$ in AZA group after 17, 22, 11 months of mean follow-up period. Overall remission rate including partial remission was $88.2\%$ in CsA, $85.7\%$ in RFP and $84.6\%$ in AZA group. Disappearance rate of hematuria was $58.8\%$ in CsA, $57.1\%$ in RFP and $46.2\%$ in AZA group. Improvement of grade of clinical status was observed in 17 out of 17 CsA, 7 out of 7 RFP and 10 out of 13 AZA group. Improvement of pathologic class on sequencial renal biopsy was shown in 5 CsA($29.4\%$), none RFP($0\%$) and 2 AZA group($12.4\%$). Improvement on histologic immune-deposition was seen in 15 CsA($88.2\%$), 6 RFP($85.9\%$) and 4 AZA group($30.8\%$). Conclusion : In conclusion, Both CsA and RFP treated groups showed better result in complete remission rate of nephrotic syndrome and significant improvement of histologic immune-deposition compared with AZA treated group(p=0.004). So, we recommend CsA and REP rather than AZA for immunosuppresant treatment in HSPN with nephrotic syndrome.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.386-398
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• 2020

Tissue fibrosis is an eventual pathologic change of numerous chronic illnesses, which is characterized by resident fibroblasts differentiation into myofibroblasts during inflammation, coupled with excessive extracellular matrix deposition in tissues, ultimately leading to failure of normal organ function. Now, there are many mechanistic insights into the pathogenesis of tissue fibrosis, which facilitate the discovery of effective antifibrotic drugs. Moreover, many chronic diseases remain a significant clinical unmet need. For the past five years, many research works have undoubtedly addressed the functional dependency of ginsenosides in different types of fibrosis and the successful remission in various animal models treated with ginsenosides. Caveolin-1, interleukin, thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), liver X receptors (LXRs), Nrf2, microRNA-27b, PPARδ-STAT3, liver kinase B1 (LKB1)-AMPK, and TGF-β1/Smads are potential therapy targeting using ginsenosides. Ginsenosides can play a targeting role and suppress chronic inflammatory response, collagen deposition, and epitheliale-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as well as myofibroblast activation to attenuate fibrosis. In this report, our aim was to focus on the therapeutic prospects of ginsenosides in fibrosis-related human diseases making use of results acquired from various animal models. These findings should provide important therapeutic clues and strategies for the exploration of new drugs for fibrosis treatment.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.31-38
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• 2013

Objectives This study is to report a case that has an effective result to oligoarticular type juvenile idiopathic arthritis patient with the oriental medicine treatment. Methods We treated the patient with an oriental medicine and tapered down with the DMARDs and NSAIDs. We followed up the laboratory blood tests every four or five months and throughout the experiment. Results The symptoms of oligoarticular type juvenile idiopathic arthritis were vanished and the patient maintained her good health condition with oriental medicine treatment after discontinued all Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) and NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). Her ESR, CRP levels were stable in normal and other blood test results were back to normal range. Her joint mobility and condition was back to normal. Now she is in clinical remission status. Conclusions According to the result, the oriental medicine treatment is considered to be effective on the oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis and further studies will be needed with more cases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.326-328
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• 2006

Chyluria is the passage of milky urine due to the leakage of lymph into the urinary tract. Chyluria occurs predominantly in adults and is rare in children. We present an unusual case in which a child with proteinuria, hematuria and milky urine was subsequently diagnosed with non-parasitic chyluria. Retrograde cystogram confirmed a lymphatico-calyceal communication. This case showed spontaneous remission. The etiology of this case was not exactly known; however, the prognosis of non-parasitic chyluria (or idiopathic chyluria) is usually very good and the treatment is mostly conservative.