Clinical characteristics and the diagnostic role of molecular tests in musculoskeletal infections caused by nontuberculous Mycobacterium: a single-center experience.

Purpose: We retrospectively investigated NTM musculoskeletal infections to understand the clinical characteristics as well as the diagnostic performance of molecular tests as a useful supplementary test.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted from January 2016 to December 2019. Intraoperative specimens for culture and pathological analysis were obtained during surgery under sterile conditions.

Localized Cutaneous Argyria Mimicking Blue Nevus after Wearing Earrings.

Localized cutaneous argyria is a rare condition in which the skin changes into blue-grey spots due to the absorption of silver. The lesions need to be differentiated from other pigmentary disorders and require radiographic and histological examination for more accurate diagnosis. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy can be a confirmatory tool in the evaluation of silver elements in biopsy tissue.

Nicotinamide N‑methyltransferase induces the proliferation and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common malignancy initiated by keratinocytes of the epidermis, which are able to invade the dermis and its periphery. Although most patients with cSCC present with curable localized tumors, recurrence, metastasis and mortality occasionally occur. In the present study, nicotinamide N‑methyltransferase (NNMT) was identified as an upregulated protein in the SCC12 cell line, which has high invasive potential compared with the SCC13 cell line.

Procyanidins from seeds induce apoptotic and autophagic cell death via generation of reactive oxygen species in squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Procyanidins can inhibit cell proliferation and tumorigenesis and induce apoptosis in human skin, breast and prostate carcinoma cell lines. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the skin is a common form of keratinocytic or non-melanoma skin cancer and is a deadly disease with a poor prognosis due to the ineffectiveness of therapy. The present study aimed to determine whether grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSP) may regulate different modes of cell death in the human SCC12 cell line.

Reconstruction of defects after excision of facial skin cancer using a venous free flap.

After extensive excision of skin cancer on the face, or when skin cancer is located on the 3-dimensional structures of the face, reconstruction with a local flap can be impossible, or clinicians are reluctant to reconstruct defects with a skin graft because of postoperative contraction, hyperpigmentation, or other complication. Instead, an arterialized venous free flap can be used as an alternative method of reconstruction to prevent distortion and recurrence. Eight patients underwent surgery with an arterialized venous-free flap.

Evaluation of the phototoxic potential of plants used in oriental medicine.

Aim Of The Study: Phototoxicity can be either harmful or beneficial. Yet the phototoxicity of oriental medicinal plants is an understudied area. The purpose of this study is to fill in this gap.

A case suggesting lymphocytic vasculitis as a presenting sign of early undifferentiated connective tissue disease.

A previously healthy 14-year-old Korean male presented with striking hemorrhagic acral livedo associated with anti-ribonucleoprotein antibodies. His skin biopsy revealed a striking lymphocytic vascular reaction with mild superficial perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates, perivascular extravasation of red blood cells, and leukocytoclastic debris. Lymphocytic vasculitis (LV) is defined in different ways by different authors.

Induction of Darier's disease by repeated irradiation by ultraviolet B; protection by sunscreen and topical ascorbic acid.

Darier's disease, keratosis follicularis, is frequently aggravated by sun exposure. Although there have been reports of Darier's disease reproduced by repeated exposure to ultraviolet B, little is known about its photo-protection. We artificially induced Darier's disease in a 47-year-old Korean man, and tested the protection afforded by sunscreen and topical ascorbic acid.

Segmentally distributed neurofibromatosis associated with adenocarcinoma of the colon.

Neurofibromatosis can be associated with various malignancies, but an association with adenocarcinoma is extremely rare. A 61-year-old man who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the hepatic flexure of the colon was referred for segmentally located, multiple café-au-lait spots and tumors on his back and axillary freckles for 40 years. Histopathologic examination of the tumor was consistent with the neurofibromatosis.