Acute Shunt Malfunction Caused by Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy without Shunt Infection.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement is often performed in patients with a ventriculoperitoneal shunt and it has been accepted as a safe procedure. The authors report a case of a 50-year-old male who developed acute exacerbation of the hydrocephalus immediately after the percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement without any signs of shunt infection, which has not been reported until now. After revision of the intraperitoneal shunt catheter, the sizes of the intracranial ventricles were normalized.

Chitooligosaccharides decreases plasma lipid levels in healthy men.

Chitosan, which is derived from chitin, has drawn much attention due to its low toxicity and potential use in medical and pharmaceutical applications. The biological activities of chitosan have been shown to depend on its molecular weight (MW) and degree of deacetylation. In this study, we investigated whether oral chitooligosaccharides, which are easily absorbed into the body, can reduce the plasma level of lipid in smokers and non-smokers because smoking is a high-risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

High prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Korea.

This study assessed the association of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a highly HBV-endemic area. The prevalence of either HBV or HCV infection in 235 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was compared with that of an age- and sex-matched hospital control group of 235 patients. The prevalence of HBV infection was higher in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (15.

Prognostic value of immunohistochemical staining of p53, bcl-2, and Ki-67 in small cell lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is one of the most fatal cancers in humans and many factors are known to be related to its poor prognosis. Immunohistochemical (IHC) stainings were done on SCLC specimens in order to investigate the prognostic value of the apoptosis-related gene expression and the tumor proliferative maker, and the relationships among these IHC results and patients clinical characteristics, chemoresponsiveness, and survival were analyzed. The medical records of 107 patients were reviewed retrospectively.

Use of complementary and alternative medicine among Korean cancer patients.

Background: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is now being increasingly used among cancer patients. The objectives of our study were to assess the prevalence, types, cost, subjective effects, and side effects of CAM use, reasons for CAM use, characteristics of CAM users compared to those of nonusers, and patients' expectations of doctors regarding their CAM use among Korean cancer patients at a single cancer center.

Methods: From April to August, 2003, we interviewed 186 cancer patients hospitalized in the Korea Cancer Center Hospital using a structured questionnaire, and analyzed the data.

[Positron emission tomography with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose is useful for predicting the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma].

Background/aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is heterogenous in terms of its glucose metabolism. Positron emission tomography with fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG-PET) shows various levels of FDG uptake for patients with HCC. This study was designed to assess the usefulness of FDG-PET for predicting the outcome of the patients with HCC.

A case of neurotoxicity following 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic agent. However, its neurotoxicity is rare and not well recognized. We report a case of 5-FU neurotoxicity with organic brain syndrome and progression to multifocal leukoencephalopathy in a 44-year-old male patient having malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor.