Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Sep 2013
Case Reports Comparative StudyEarly experience of pre- and post-contrast 7.0T MRI in brain tumors.
We investigated the safety and clinical applicability of 7.0 Tesla (T) brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with brain tumors. Twenty-four patients with intraaxial or extraaxial brain tumors were enrolled in this study. 7.0T MRIs of T2*-weighted axial and T1-weighted coronal or sagittal images were obtained and compared with 1.5T brain MRIs. The T2*-weighted images from 7.0T brain MRI revealed detailed microvasculature and the internal contents of supratentorial brain tumors better than that of 1.5T brain MRI. ⋯ For brain tumors adjacent to the skull base, susceptibility artifacts in the interfacing areas of the paranasal sinus and skull base hampered the aquisition of detailed images and information on brain tumors in the 7.0T brain MRIs. This study shows that 7.0T brain MRI can provide detailed information on the intratumoral components and margins in supratentorial brain tumors. Further studies are needed to develop refined MRI protocols for better images of brain tumors located in the skull base, parasellar, and adjacent major cerebrovascular structures.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Sep 2013
Association of the catechol-o-methyltransferase gene polymorphisms with Korean autism spectrum disorders.
This study evaluated the family-based genetic association between autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and 5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the catechol-o-methyltransferase gene (COMT), which was found among 151 Korean ASDs family trios (dominant model Z = 2.598, P = 0.009, P FDR = 0.045). We found a statistically significant allele transmission or association in terms of the rs6269 SNP in the ASDs trios. Moreover, in the haplotype analysis, the haplotypes with rs6269 demonstrated significant evidence of an association with ASDs (additive model rs6269-rs4818-rs4680-rs769224 haplotype P = 0.004, P FDR = 0.040). Thus, an association may exist between the variants of the COMT gene and the occurrence of ASDs in Koreans.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Sep 2013
Case ReportsAn infant with prenatally diagnosed congenital anaplastic astrocytoma who remains disease-free after proton therapy.
The authors present a rare of prenatally diagnosed congenital anaplastic astrocytoma. A 9-month-old boy had three recurrences despite two surgical resections and various chemotherapeutic regimens. He underwent the 3rd gross tumor removal at 11 months of age, followed by proton therapy, and now he remains disease-free for 3 yr without a significant neurocognitive dysfunction. This is the 1st case of a pediatric tumor treated by proton therapy in Korea, and proton therapy may be a treatment of choice for a congenital anaplastic astrocytoma in infants and young children, considering limitation of radiation therapy.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Sep 2013
Hemoglobin concentration and risk of cardiovascular disease in Korean men and women - the Korean heart study.
This study investigated the relationship between hemoglobin concentration and the incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A total of 407,858 subjects (256,851 men, aged 30-94 yr), who underwent physical examination at 17 Korean nationwide health examination centers, was included in this study. ⋯ Women with higher hemoglobin level showed higher HR with total CVD (HR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-1.31 for pre-menopausal women; HR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.01-1.16 for post-menopausal women). We found an independent U-shaped association between hemoglobin level and CVD incidence in Korean population.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Sep 2013
Influence of body mass index on the growth hormone response to provocative testing in short children without growth hormone deficiency.
Obesity and its related factors are known to suppress the secretion of growth hormone (GH). We aimed to evaluate the influence of body mass index (BMI) on the peak GH response to provocative testing in short children without GH deficiency. We conducted a retrospective review of medical records of 88 children (2-15 yr old) whose height was less than 3 percentile for one's age and sex, with normal results (peak GH level > 10 ng/mL) of GH provocative testing with clonidine and dopamine. ⋯ In stepwise multivariate regression analysis, BMI SDS was the only significant predictor of ln peak GH level in the combination of tests and the clonidine test, but not in the dopamine test. In children without GH deficiency, BMI SDS correlates negatively with the peak GH level. BMI SDS should be included in the analysis of the results of GH provocation tests, especially tests with clonidine.