Two cases with persistent falcine sinus as congenital variation.

The falcine sinus is an abnormal anatomic structure located in the falx cerebri that is closed after birth and is rarely observed. We describe two cases of persistent falcine sinus. A 60-year-old woman presented with headache.

Predictors of kidney volume change and delayed kidney function recovery after donor nephrectomy.

Purpose: To our knowledge the effects of preoperative kidney volume in living donors on the post-donation change in size and function of the remaining kidney have not been investigated. We studied the association between preoperative kidney volume, and volume change and delayed kidney function recovery in donors.

Materials And Methods: From 2007 to 2008 we investigated 222 living donors.

Predictors of mortality in patients returning to dialysis after allograft loss.

Background: Although patients requiring dialysis after graft loss are increasing, data regarding the outcomes of patients on dialysis after graft loss are limited. We investigated the characteristics and risk factors for mortality in patients reinitiating dialysis after graft loss.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was done for 292 patients who reinitiated dialysis after graft loss between 1985 and 2006.

Improved yield and functional parameters of rat pancreas islets isolated under intramuscular anesthesia.

Intraperitoneal (IP) anesthesia is commonly used for laboratory animal experiments including rat islet isolation. However, the direct effects of anesthetics on pancreatic islets have been neglected. This study compared the islet function and recovery yield from rats that were anesthetized using IP and intramuscular (IM) injection.

Quantification of superparamagnetic iron oxide-mediated signal intensity change in patients with liver cirrhosis using T2 and T2* mapping: a preliminary report.

Purpose: To quantify the accumulation of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) in patients with and without liver cirrhosis using T2 and T2* mapping.

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 10 patients without liver cirrhosis and 30 patients with liver cirrhosis (Child-Pugh class A, n = 18; and B/C, n = 12). T2 and T2* mapping were performed before and after SPIO administration.

The incidence and clinical implications of congenital defects of atlantal arch.

Objective: Atlantal arch defects are rare. Few cadaveric and imaging studies have been reported on the variations of such anomalies. Our goal in this study was to examine the incidence and review the clinical implications of this anomaly.

Options for successful renal transplantation in recipients with incompatible living donors: Severance Hospital experience.

Exchange donor programs and desensitization protocols are available options for ABO-incompatible and positive cross-match living donor kidney transplantations. Patient and donor blood types, the degree of sensitization, and DSA titers should be considered to achieve successful kidney transplantation in recipients with incompatible living donors. Highly sensitized blood type O patients with ABO-incompatible living donors, or highly sensitized patients with a positive cross-match (with low DSA titer) to their AB donors should be considered for a desensitization protocol as a first priority.

[Role of self-leadership in the relationship between organizational culture and informatics competency].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the moderating and mediating effects of self-leadership in the relationship between organizational culture and nurses' informatics competency.

Methods: Participants in this study were 297 nurses from the cities of Busan and Ulsan. The scales of organizational culture, self-leadership and informatics competency for nurses were used in this study.

Effects of pioglitazone on subclinical atherosclerosis and insulin resistance in nondiabetic renal allograft recipients.

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pioglitazone treatment on the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis and insulin resistance in renal allograft recipients with no preoperative history of diabetes.

Methods: Eighty-three patients without diabetes were randomly assigned to either the pioglitazone group or the control group. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), serum adiponectin level and lipid profile were assessed before transplantation and at 12 months after transplantation.

Association of common type 2 diabetes risk gene variants and posttransplantation diabetes mellitus in renal allograft recipients in Korea.

Background: Posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a major metabolic complication in renal transplant recipients. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified several genes associated with type 2 diabetes. Here, we examined the association between PTDM and 17 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located within 15 genes in a cohort of renal allograft recipients in Korea.

[Effectiveness of public health center smoking cessation counseling program using the transtheoretical model].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of public health center smoking cessation counseling program using the transtheoretical model on the process of change, smoking temptation, decisional balance and stage change transition.

Methods: A nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design was used for this study. The study population was 115 adult smokers.

Measurement of donor kidney functional renal volume and glomerular filtration rate to predict allograft function during the post-transplantation period.

Background: We measured donor kidney weight (D-KW), functional renal volume (D-FRV), and single-kidney glomerular filtration rate (D-SKGFR), and then evaluated the impact of the indices to recipient body weight (R-BW) on graft function.

Methods: This study included 44 recipients of live donor transplants without delayed graft function or acute rejection within 2 years of transplantation.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in serum creatinine between recipients with a D-KW/R-BW ratio of View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The angiographic feature and clinical implication of accessory middle cerebral artery.

Objective: Although there are several descriptions of this vessel, there is no detailed angiographic study of the accessory middle cerebral artery (AMCA) in Korea. We describe the angiographic characteristics of the cortical territory and origin of AMCA and discuss the clinical significance of this anomaly.

Methods: We searched for patients with AMCAs from a retrospective review of 1,250 conventional cerebral angiograms.

Chronologically different incidences of post-transplant malignancies in renal transplant recipients: single center experience.

The incidence of malignancy in transplant recipients is known to be higher than the same in the general population. However, the types of malignancies vary geographically, and the relative risks (RR) for malignancy in transplant recipients, compared with that of the general population, also differ country-by-country. In this study, we investigated the incidence and characteristics of malignancies after renal transplantation in a single center.

Linezolid Treatment for Osteomyelitis due to Staphylococcus Epidermidis with Reduced Vancomycin Susceptibility.

Limited therapeutic options are available for vancomycin intermediate-resistant Staphylococcus Epidermidis (VISE) infections and no optimum therapy has been established. We report a case of VISE skull osteomyelitis that was successfully treated with linezolid. The patient was a 53-year-old man who presented with headache, nausea and dysphasia.

Persistent trigeminal artery variant detected by conventional angiography and magnetic resonance angiography-incidence and clinical significance-.

Objective: Persistent trigeminal artery variant (PTAV) is an anastomosis between the internal carotid artery (ICA) and the cerebellar artery without any interposing basilar artery segment. We discuss its probable embryological origin and emphasize clinical implications.

Methods: Retrospectively 1250 conventional cerebral angiograms and 2947 cranial magnetic resonance angiographies (MRAs) were evaluated for the patients with PTAV.

Mycophenolic acid inhibits oleic acid-induced mesangial cell activation through both cellular reactive oxygen species and inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 pathways.

The synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) in mesangial cells (MCs) plays important roles in the development and progression of renal diseases, including chronic allograft nephropathy. Mycophenolic acid (MPA), an inhibitor of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase 2 (IMPDH2), suppresses MC proliferation and ECM synthesis. However, the exact inhibitory mechanism of MPA on MCs has not been clearly elucidated.

Efficacy of a negative conversion trial and subsequent living donor kidney transplant outcome in recipients with a positive lymphocyte crossmatch.

Background: Patients with a positive lymphocyte crossmatch (LCX) do not undergo kidney transplantation. In such patients, a negative conversion protocol consisting of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), plasmapheresis, and potent immunosuppressant is one of the options for transplantation.

Methods: 14 patients who showed a positive LCX with living donors underwent a trial of negative conversion between January 2002 and July 2007.

The RhoGDI-alpha/JNK signaling pathway plays a significant role in mycophenolic acid-induced apoptosis in an insulin-secreting cell line.

Mycophenolic acid (MPA)-induced beta-cell toxicity is an important factor for islet graft function. The signal transduction mechanisms underlying this process have not been fully explored. Using a proteomics approach, we examined protein expression patterns in MPA-treated RIN-5 cells and found that RhoGDI-alpha expression is altered by MPA-treatment.

Exchange living-donor kidney transplantation: merits and limitations.

Background: The shortage of donor organs is one of the major barriers to transplantation worldwide. After the success of the direct exchange donor (swap) program in Korea since 1991, we have developed a swap-around program. However, reports on the long-term outcomes of exchange donor programs are scarce.

Progression of renal allograft histology after renal transplantation in recurrent and nonrecurrent immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

Little information is available regarding renal histology in cases of chronic allograft dysfunction and graft failure in patients with recurrent immunoglobulin A nephropathy. We compared 57 renal allograft biopsies of 44 patients with recurrent immunoglobulin A nephropathy to 43 biopsies of 33 patients without immunoglobulin A nephropathy recurrence. Clinical parameters such as patient demography and biopsy indications did not differ between the 2 groups, with the exception of time to biopsy.

15-Deoxy-delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2 induces apoptosis via JNK-mediated mitochondrial pathway in osteoblastic cells.

The cyclopentenone prostaglandin 15-deoxy-delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) induces apoptosis in various cell types. However, the underlying mechanism of 15d-PGJ2-induced apoptosis is not fully understood. The present study was undertaken to determine the molecular mechanism by which 15d-PGJ2 induces apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 mouse osteoblastic cells.

Immunologic control for polyomavirus infection after kidney transplantation.

Aims: We compared the relative efficacy of urine decoy cell (UDC) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify polyomavirus (PV) infection, and investigate the efficacy of reduction of immunosuppression for earlier-stage PV infection before irreversible graft injury.

Methods: A total of 222 de novo renal transplant recipients from March 2003 to September 2005 were enrolled. Prospective UDC monitoring with supplementary PV-PCR was performed.

[Predictors of coronary heart disease risk in healthy men and women].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify predictors of coronary heart disease risk factors in healthy men and women.

Method: The subjects of this study were 346 people (173 men and women aged 20 years and over) who received health screenings. Data was collected from December 1, 2005 to February 28, 2006.