• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SC
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• v.44 no.4 s.316
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• pp.15-20
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• 2007

Recently the prevalence rate of diabetes in Korea has been increasing rapidly due to high growth of economy and changes in dietary lifestyle. Vascular complication is one of diabetic complications which have frequently occurred by obesity, hyperglycemia and impaired glucose metabolism. Photoplethysmogram(PPG) measured from finger and toe is very useful for evaluation of vascular aging and sclerosis level since the PPG signal represents characteristics of peripheral vascular Several researchers have reported that second derivative of the finger PPG waveform was useful to evaluate vascular compliance and developed various analysis methods for vascular compliance. However, peripheral vascular compliance study for diabetic patient was never evaluated by using second derivative of PPG. Therefore, we aimed to objectively compare and to assess normal(n=850) and diabetic(n=50) groups vascular compliance using the second derivative of PPG waveform in this study. The evaluated factors of the second derivative of PPG are 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e' and b/a rapresents vascular compliance. This study found out that when vascular compliance is decreased, the absolute value of b/a is decreased. The average vascular compliance of 50 diabetic patients with neuropathy, $-1.09{\pm}0.14$ is statistically lower than the normal group, $-0.81{\pm}0.09$ (p<0.05). In conclusion, we suggest an objective evaluation of peripheral vascular compliance for diabetic patients and prevention of vascular complication.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2007

Background: The term "overlap syndromes" designates a group of diseases in which polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM) is associated with some other disorders of connective tissues. The aim of this study was to delineate the clinical features, laboratory findings, and outcome of treatment of "overlap syndromes" Methods: We analyzed the medical records of 16 patients (PM in 10, DM in 6) with well documented "overlap syndromes" between 1997 and 2004. The diagnosis was made when the criteria for two different disorders were fulfilled. Results: All patients were female. Age of onset ranged from 14 to 52 years (mean 29.8 years) with peak incidence in the third and fourth decades. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was associated in 10, systemic sclerosis in 7, and rheumatoid arthritis in 3 patients. Four of the patients had two different connective tissue diseases simultaneously. The characteristic clinical features were muscle weakness, arthralgia, Raynaud's phenomenon, and myalgia. In laboratory tests, creatine kinase (CK), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), and transaminases were usually abnormal. Positive antinuclear antibody (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), and cryoglobulin were found in 100%, 69%, and 67% of the patients, respectively. Needle electromyography (EMG) showed abnormal findings compatible with myopathy in 15 patients. The pathology of muscle biopsy from 14 patients revealed findings compatible with inflammatory myopathy. Glucocorticoids were administered to 15 patients. The muscle strength improved in all the treated patients, which was well correlated with repeat CK level and EMG findings. Conclusions: The presence of autoantibodies such as ANA, RF, and cryoglobulin in patients with PM or DM highly suggests the possibility of an overlap syndromes. These syndromes reveal a strong female predominance. The myositis associated with them usually shows a good response to glucocorticoids treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.64 no.3
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• pp.224-229
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• 2008

Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare disease that is characterized by multi-organ involvement of foamy histiocytes. It causes systemic inflammation, and also demonstrates various clinical manifestations and has a poor prognosis. We encountered a case of ECD in a patient that had been treated for underlying polycythemia vera. As far as we know, this is the first reported case worldwide where ECD developed in association with polycythemia vera. A 59-year-old man visited our hospital due to pleuric pain at the right side of the chest. Pleural tissue that was obtained following a thoracoscopic biopsy showed non-Langerhan's cell histiocytosis, suggesting the presence of ECD. The histiocytes stained positively for CD68, but were negative for S-100 and CD1a. The patient also complained of pain at both hips and the right shoulder area. An X-ray and magnetic resonance image demonstrated that the lesion showed sclerosis and osteolysis in both the proximal femur and right humerus. Treatment was started with predinisolone, and subsequently cyclophosphamide was added. ECD is a very rare multi-systemic disease, and its cause and therapeutic options have not yet been defined. ECD has a poor prognosis. Therefore, we believe that additional case studies are needed prior to the determination of a novel therapy for ECD.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.197-202
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• 1990

Mechanical obstruction of the common hepatic duct includes the following causes ; choledocholithiasis, sclerosis, cholangitis, pancreatic carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma, postoperative stricture, primary hepatic duct carcinoma, enlarged cystic duct lymph nodes, and metastatic nodal involvement of the porta hepatis. Partial mechanical obstruction of the common hepatic duct caused by impaction of stones and inflammation surrounding the vicinity of the neck of the gallbladder had been reported on the "syndrome del conducto hepatico" in 1948 by Mirizzi. Nowadays, this disease was named by Mirizzi syndrome. Mirizzi syndrome is a rare entity of common hepatic duct obstruction that results from an inflammatory response secondary to a gallstone impacted in the cystic duct or neck of the gallbladder. It results from an almost parallel course and low insertion of the cystic duct into the common hepatic duct. In a varient of Mirizzi's syndrome, the cause of the common hepatic duct obstruction was a primary cystic duct carcinoma rather than gallstone disease. A 71-year-old man was admitted with a four-day history of right upper quadrant abdominal pain. Past medical history was unremarkable. On physical examination, the patient had a temperature of $38^{\circ}C$, icteric sclera and right upper quadrant tenderness. Pertinent laboratory findings included WBC 18,000/$cm^2$;albumin 2.6g/dl(normal 3.9-5.1) ; SGOT 183u/L(normal 0-50) ; SGPT167u/L(normal 0-65) ; bilirubin, 8.2mg/dl(normal 0-1) with the direct bilirubin, 4.4mg/dl(normal 0-0.4). Ultrasonography revealed a dilated extrahepatic biliary tree. ERCP showed that the superior margin was angular and more consistent with a calculus causing partial CHD obstruction(Mirizzi syndrome). At surgery a diseased gallbladder containing calculi was found. In addition, there was two calculi partially eroding through the proximal portion of the cystic duct and compressing the common hepatic duct. A cholecystectomy and excision of common bile duct was performed, with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy. The postoperative course was uneventful.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.237-243
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• 2006

The aims of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiographic features of temporomandibular dysfunction in the patients with RA to elucidate whether the RA patients would be a risk group for TMD. The 35 patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction were included for this study, of which 15 had rheumatoid arthritis diagnosed by a rheumatologist, and other 20 was control group and they didn't have any history or clinical signs related to it. Clinical symptoms and signs of temporomandibular joint disorders, radiographic and MRI findings of temporomandibular joint were investigated. The results were compared between two groups. In RA group bilateral pain, morning stiffness, reduced opening range, and crepitations were more frequently reported than control group. Radiologic findings such as sclerosis and flattening of condylar head, marginal proliferation, and erosion of glenoid fossa were more frequently observed in RA group than control group. Disk destruction, cortical bone erosion, and intraarticular enhancement were more prominenet in RA group. From theses results, it can be concluded that many RA patients will develop TMD symptoms and the structural changes of TMJ is more extensive than the usual TMD cases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1991

To study the frequency of the underlying disease of the diffuse pulmonary infiltrates in korea, we ansalyzed retrospectively 982 patients who were seen at nine university hospitals and one general hospital in Seoul area. The results are folloing: 1) Among the total 982 patients, 490 patients were male and 492 patients were female. The mean age was 44.3 years. 2) The most common etiology was milliary tuberculosis (38%), which was followed by, idopathic pulmonary fibrosis (27%), pulmonary fibrosis associated with collagen-vascular disease (15%), and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates by malignancy (10%). 3) Amon the connective tissue disease which was accompanied by the interstitial lung disease, rheumatoid arthritis was the most common disease (43%), systemic lupus erythematosus was the 2nd (28%), and progressive systemic sclerosis was the 3re (16%). 4) Among 101 cases of malignant disease, lung was the most frequent primary site (31%), which was followed by stomach (28%), thyroid (16%), and breast (6%). 5) For the diagnosis of the underlying disease of pulmonary infiltrates, the transbronchial lung biopsy was performed in 21% of the patients and open lung biopsy was done in 7%.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.119-123
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• 2010

Bronchobiliary fistula is a rare disorder consisting of an abnormal communication between the bronchial tree and the biliary duct. In Western countries, trauma, postoperative biliary stenosis, and biliary lithiasis are the predominant causative factors of bronchobiliary fistula. Bilioptysis (bile stained sputum) is a pathognomic finding for bronchobiliary fistula. To date, there are just a few reported cases of bronchobiliary fistula after sclerosis of a liver cyst. We describe the case of a 74-year-old woman who developed bronchobiliary fistula after sclerosing therapy of a liver cyst. The diagnosis was confirmed by the presence of bilioptysis and the chest and dynamic liver CT findings. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics and percutaneous transhepatic catheter drainage.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.139-149
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• 2011

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) is an inflammatory disease in the murine central nervous system (CNS) and has long been used as an animal model for human multiple sclerosis. Development of EAE requires coordinated expression of a number of genes that are involved in the activation and effector functions of inflammatory cells. Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a member of the betagalactoside- binding lectin family and plays an important role in inflammatory responses through its functions on cell activation, cell migration or inhibition of apoptosis. We investigated the functional role of Gal-3 in EAE mice following immunization with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein $(MOG)_{35-55}$ peptide. During the peak stage of EAE, the localization of Gal-3 in inflammatory cells markedly increased in subarachnoid membranes and perivascular regions of CNS. In contrast, Gal-3 was weakly detected in cerebrum and spinal of the recovery stage of EAE. Consistent with this finding, western blot analysis revealed that Gal-3 expression was significantly increased at the peak stage while it was slightly decreased at the recovery stage in the CNS. In addition, the population of $CD11b^{+}$ macrophage expressing Gal- 3 in spleen of EAE mice was markedly increased compared with control mice. In fact, most of activated macrophages isolated from spleen of EAE mice expressed Gal-3. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the over-expression of Gal-3 in activated macrophages may play a key role in promoting inflammatory cells in the CNS during EAE.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2010

Purpose : Previous studies have suggested that Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand-2 (CCL-2; also known as MCP-1) and CCL-5 (also known as RANTES) are possibly associated with the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and non-inflammatory renal diseases. The present study was conducted to investigate association of polymorphisms of CCL-2 and CCL-5 genes with childhood IgA nephropathy (IgAN). Methods : The authors analyzed six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CCL-2 and CCL-5 in 196 pediatric IgAN patients and in 285 healthy controls. We compared variations in SNPs between two several sets of IgAN subgroups, allocated by presence of proteinuria (>4 mg/$m^2$/hour), podocyte foot process effacement, and pathologically advanced disease markers, such as interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, or global sclerosis. Results : Genotypic data of IgAN patients and controls showed no significant SNP frequency difference in both of of CCL-2 and CCL-5. Even though two linkage disequilibrium blocks were formed, there was no significance in the haplotype analysis. In the patient subgroup analysis, no SNP of CCL-2 and CCL-5 was found to be associated with the presence of proteinuria, podocyte foot process effacement, and pathologically advanced disease markers. Conclusion : Our data indicate that no association exists between CCL-2 and CCL-5 SNPs and childhood IgAN susceptibility, and presence of proteinuria, podocyte foot process effacement, and pathologic progression of IgAN.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.555-564
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• 2021

Thalamus is known to play an important role in the regulation of nerve function. Thalamus, located in the center of the brain, is involved in sleep, arousal, and emotional regulation, and has been reported to be associated with multiple sclerosis, essential tremors, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. In addition, it has been reported that iron deposits in the thalamus can cause depressive symptoms with age. Although there are discrepancies between studies, it can be deduced that the thalamus region has a clear effect on neurological disorders due to a strong relationship between the thalamus and neurological functions such as emotional control and processing. Through tractography analysis, the connectivity between the detailed areas of each subcortical region was investigated in the form of a matrix, showing strong connectivity and weak interhemispheric connectivity. In the 59> group, the WM connectivity of thalamus was found to be weaker than those of the two groups. Comparisons between the two groups showed that the young groups (10-39 and 40-59) had higher connection intensity than the 59> group and that statistically significant differences in 3 connection pathways were found in each hemisphere. A decrease in thalamus-related connection strength in aging has shown that it can affect emotional and neurological disorders such as anxiety and depression, and network measurements can help assess cognitive impairment across clinical conditions.