The diagnosis of early pneumoconiosis in dust-exposed workers: comparison of chest radiography and computed tomography.

Background: Chest radiography (CR) is employed as the evaluation of pneumoconiosis; however, we sometimes encounter cases in which computed tomography (CT) is more effective in detecting subtle pathological changes or cases in which CR yields false-positive results.

Purpose: To compare CR to CT in the diagnosis of early-stage pneumoconiosis.

Material And Methods: CR and CT were performed for 132 workers with an occupational history of mining.

Associations among the plasma amino acid profile, obesity, and glucose metabolism in Japanese adults with normal glucose tolerance.

Background: Amino acids (AAs) are emerging as a new class of effective molecules in the etiology of obesity and diabetes mellitus. However, most investigations have focused on subjects with obesity and/or impaired glucose regulation; the possible involvement of AAs in the initial phase of glucose dysregulation remains poorly understood. Furthermore, little attention has been given to possible associations between the pattern/degree of fat deposition and the plasma AA profile.

Post-traumatic chylous knee effusion.

Chylous joint effusion is a rare condition in which synovial fluids containing large amounts of lipids take on a milky appearance as a result. We report on a 19-year-old male patient with posttraumatic chylous knee effusion. Several days after striking his knee against the ground because of a traffic accident, his left knee showed obvious swelling.

Primary peripheral adenoid cystic carcinoma of the lung and literature comparison of features.

Adenoid cystic carcinoma arising from the peripheral lung is rare. Here, we describe adenoid cystic carcinoma that developed in the peripherally in S(9) of the right lower lobe of an 84-year-old woman. Cell blocks prepared from the bronchial wash specimens exhibited the cribriform formation.

Preoperative MRI analysis of patients with idiopathic scoliosis: a prospective study.

Study Design: A prospective trial of preoperative MRI study in patients with "idiopathic" scoliosis.

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of neural axis malformations and the clinical relevance of MRI in the evaluation of patients with idiopathic scoliosis undergoing surgical intervention.

Summary Of Background Data: With the development of MRI, neural axis abnormalities such as syringomyelia or Chiari malformations are increasingly being found in patients with "idiopathic" scoliosis.

Diagnostic usefulness of bronchoalveolar lavage in Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome: a case with double lung cancers.

A 65-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of dyspnea on exertion. He had oculocutaneous albinism innately and his parents were consanguineous. His chest roentgenogram on admission showed reticulo-nodular infiltrates and cystic changes throughout both lung fields, and 7 cm mass in the left middle field.

Prediction of curve progression in idiopathic scoliosis from gene polymorphic analysis.

Three hundred and four girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis were investigated to determine if DNA polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR), estrogen receptor (BR), and CYP17 gene were related to curve progression of idiopathic scoliosis. The results suggested that XbaJ site polymorphism in the ER gene was associated with curve progression. The Cobb's curve angle with genotype XX and Xx was statistically greater than that with genotype xx.

Idiopathic scoliosis as a presenting sign of familial neurologic abnormalities.

Study Design: Familial cases of "idiopathic" scoliosis associated with neurologic abnormalities are reported with a review of the literature.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of neurologic abnormalities such as syringomyelia, Chiari 1 malformation, and tonsillar ectopia in patients with genetically determined "idiopathic" scoliosis.

Summary Of Background Data: Idiopathic scoliosis is widely considered to be a genetic disorder of unknown etiology.

Association between estrogen receptor gene polymorphisms and curve severity of idiopathic scoliosis.

Study Design: Analysis of the estrogen receptor gene of girls with idiopathic scoliosis.

Objectives: To determine whether estrogen receptor gene polymorphisms correlate with curve severity of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Summary Of Background Data: Studies suggest that idiopathic scoliosis is a familial condition and that curve progression is related to genetically determined factors, such as skeletal and sexual growth.