A Case of Chromium Contact Dermatitis due to Exposure from a Golf Glove.

Chromium is a transition metal and has been shown to elicit contact dermatitis. Although leather products have been known to be the most significant source of chromium exposure these days, the majority of reports have been related to exposure from shoe products. We herein report a professional golfer who became allergic to golf gloves made of chromium-tanned leather.

A case of focal acral hyperkeratosis.

Focal acral hyperkeratosis (FAH) is a rare genodermatosis with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance; however, it may also be sporadic. FAH is characterized by late-onset crateriform keratotic papules, some coalescing into plaques, along the borders of the hands and feet. We herein report a case of FAH in a 47-year-old male with a family history of similar lesions in three generations.

Cyclosporine treatment in a patient with concurrent autoimmune urticaria and autoimmune hepatitis.

Patients with autoimmune urticaria show a higher rate of seropositivity for other autoantibodies and often have a history of autoimmune conditions. They also tend to have more severe symptoms and to have a poor response to conventional antihistamine treatment. Autoimmune hepatitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder in which progressive liver injury is thought to be the result of a T-cell-mediated immunologic attack against liver cells in genetically predisposed individuals.

A Case of Post-zoster Eosinophilic Dermatosis.

Post-zoster eosinophilic dermatosis is a rare disease that occurs as an isotopic response in the region of previously healed herpes zoster. We report here on a case of post-zoster eosinophilic dermatosis that occurred 13 years after an episode of herpes zoster. A 48-year-old woman presented with several pruritic, brown papules and plaques in the same dermatome where her previous episode of herpes zoster had healed.

The impact of chronic idiopathic urticaria on quality of life in korean patients.

Background: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a relatively common disease, and yet not much is known about the causative factors or its pathophysiology, which makes it difficult to cure. Due to its chronic nature, many patients have significantly reduced quality of life (QOL).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of CIU on QOL of Korean patients, and to determine whether a relationship exists between QOL and the severity of disease.

Progression from Acral Lentiginous Melanoma in situ to Invasive Acral Lentiginous Melanoma.

Acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) is the most common type of cutaneous melanoma in Asians. The very early stage of ALM demonstrates only a proliferation of a few atypical melanocytes within the epidermis, and has been termed ALM in situ. A 74-year-old male patient presented with a pigmented lesion on the left great toe for 12 years, which had initially showed only a few scattered hyperplastic atypical melanocytes without dermal invasion upon biopsy 5 years ago.

Vitiligo-like Depigmentation Associated with Metastatic Melanoma of an Unknown Origin.

Although malignant melanoma usually occurs after the diagnosis of vitiligo-like depigmentation, the latter is rarely followed by the former. We herein report on such a case in which recognition of the vitiligo-like depigmentation preceded diagnosing the metastatic melanoma by several months. A 56-year-old woman had first developed vitiligo-like depigmentation on the forehead, eyelids, neck and back 18 months previously and thereafter she detected a hard mass in the left axilla 2 months previously.

Cutaneous sarcoidosis presenting as multiple erythematous macules and patches.

Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic multisystemic disorder with variable cutaneous presentations that are classified as specific or non-specific according to the presence of non-caseating granulomas on histologic examination. Specific manifestations can include papules, scar sarcoidosis, ulcers, or even alopecia. Herein, we present a case of cutaneous sarcoidosis that presented as multiple erythematous macules and patches on the trunk and extremities of a 32-year-old man.

Recent trend in the incidence of premalignant and malignant skin lesions in Korea between 1991 and 2006.

We evaluated the recent trend in the incidence of premalignant and malignant skin lesions between 1991 and 2006. Among 571,057 newly registered dermatology out-patients from our 8 affiliated university hospitals, 2,598 were diagnosed with a premalignant (899, 0.16%) or malignant skin lesions (1,699, 0.

A case of hepatocellular carcinoma with pulmonary metastases treated successfully with a combination of repeated hepatic arterial infusion epirubicin and Cisplatin chemotherapy and systemic low-dose infusion of 5-Fluorouracil.

We report a case of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with pulmonary metastases treated with repeated hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) comprising epirubicin and cisplatin, and systemic infusion of 5-fluorouracil (a modified EC/F protocol), which led to complete remission. A 49-year-old man with compensated liver cirrhosis experienced intrahepatic recurrence of HCC with extensive lung metastases. The modified EC/F therapeutic protocol, which was applied at the tenth cycle every 4-5 weeks, resulted in disappearance of the pulmonary metastases and normalization of serum alpha-fetoprotein levels.

Prevalence of idiopathic and secondary restless legs syndrome in Korean Women.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of idiopathic and secondary restless legs syndrome (RLS) and to compare them among Korean women.

Methods: A total of 1000 women aged 40-69 years from the general population were included in the study. The questionnaire used to gather data included modified International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) criteria, and questions related to RLS.

Resolution of pregabalin and mirtazapine associated restless legs syndrome by bupropion in a patient with major depressive disorder.

Bupropion is a selective norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor with no serotonergic activity, and is therefore an antidepressant with unique pharmacological properties. There are some reports that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or mirtazapine can induce adverse effects including restless legs syndrome (RLS) and that bupropion can reverse these adverse effects. Here, we report about a patient with a major depressive disorder who exhibited RLS after being treated with pregabalin and mirtazapine.

Association between Antipsychotics-Induced Restless Legs Syndrome and Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Polymorphism.

Objective: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) has been reported to be more prevalent in schizophrenic patients who take antipsychotics. The cause of RLS is unknown but associated with dopaminergic deficiency. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the conversion of L-tyrosine to DOPA.

No Evidence for Association between Tyrosine Hydroxylase Gene Val81Met Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Tardive Dyskinesia in Schizophrenia.

Objective: Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine biosynthesis. Because the TH Val81Met polymorphism is located in the amino-terminal regulatory domain of the tetrameric enzyme, it is a candidate marker for susceptibility to dopamine-related traits. We investigated the hypothesis that TH Val81Met polymorphism can influence susceptibility to tardive dyskinesia (TD) in schizophrenia.

G-protein beta3 Subunit Gene 825C/T Polymorphism Is Not Associated with Olanzapine-Induced Weight Gain in Korean Schizophrenic Patients.

Objective: Weight gain is a possible adverse effect of the use of antipsychotics, and is an important factor for long-term health and treatment compliance. Olanzapine is an atypical antipsychotic known to cause considerable weight gain. A relationship between weight gain and the G protein beta3 subunit gene (GNB3) 825C/T polymorphism has been reported.

Global synchronization index as a biological correlate of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: The recently developed global synchronization index (GSI) quantifies synchronization between neuronal signals at multiple sites. This study explored the clinical significance of the GSI in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Methods: Electroencephalograms were recorded from 25 AD patients and 22 age-matched healthy normal controls (NC).

The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and healthy controls.

Background: Serotonergic dysfunction in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and healthy controls was evaluated by measuring the activity of the loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP).

Methods: The 357 subjects who were evaluated comprised 55 normal controls, 123 patients with major depressive disorder, 37 with bipolar disorder, 46 with schizophrenia, 37 with panic disorder (PD), 31 with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and 28 with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Results: LDAEP was significantly stronger in healthy controls than in patients with either bipolar disorder (p=0.