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Background@#Alcohol consumption has been considered as a modifiable risk factor for dementia development and alcohol-related brain damage may further impair cognitive abilities in dementia patients. This study aimed to find out the differences in cognitive function according to current alcohol drinking in patients with self-perceived memory decline, including subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and early Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD). @*Methods@#From May 2018 to December 2019, retrospective chart review was performed in patients who visited CHA Bundang Medical Center for cognitive decline. A two-way analysis of variance with interaction test were used to analyze the impact of alcohol consumption on cognitive function between groups. @*Results@#A total of 147 patients was classified into three groups of SCD (n=30), MCI (n=53), and ATD (n=64), and each group was divided into two subgroups of alcohol users and alcohol non-users, according to the current status of alcohol consumption. Between SCD, MCI and ATD groups, scores of clock drawing test and Go/No-go test were significantly lower in current alcohol users of ATD groups compared to the SCD and MCI groups (p<0.05). @*Conclusions@#These results suggest that current alcohol consumption has detrimental effects especially on the frontal/executive function in early ATD patients. Considering the association between frontal/executive function and ADL, our finding suggests that cessation of alcohol intake may be a therapeutic strategy to prevent ADL deterioration in patients with ATD.
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Background@#Traumatic events are thought to be a cause of acral melanoma. However, little is known about the role of mechanical trauma or physical stress in the development of acral melanoma. @*Objective@#In our study, we evaluated the frequency of trauma, physical stress, and occupation in patients with acral melanoma and aimed to identify any pathological correlates of these factors. @*Methods@#We conducted a retrospective study of 313 acral melanoma patients from Chonnam National University Hospital. We mapped melanoma-developed anatomical sites of acral areas and assessed patients’ history of trauma, physical stress, and occupation. @*Results@#Among the 313 acral melanoma patients, many reported a traumatic event (84 of 313; 26.8%) or physical stress (91 of 313; 29.1%) before the melanoma developed. The most common anatomical sites in these patients were on the borders of the foot (136 of 313; 43.5%). Trauma was more commonly associated with the fingernails and toenails than other sites. The frequency of each type of physical stress depended on the site of the lesion. Farmer and fisherman were the most common occupations (130 of 313; 41.5%) of the ac-ral melanoma patients. @*Conclusion@#Our results demonstrate that traumatic events, physical stress, and certain occupations are common in acral melanomas. Further studies are needed to establish whether these are risk factors for acral melanomas.
ABSTRACT
Background@#Traumatic events are thought to be a cause of acral melanoma. However, little is known about the role of mechanical trauma or physical stress in the development of acral melanoma. @*Objective@#In our study, we evaluated the frequency of trauma, physical stress, and occupation in patients with acral melanoma and aimed to identify any pathological correlates of these factors. @*Methods@#We conducted a retrospective study of 313 acral melanoma patients from Chonnam National University Hospital. We mapped melanoma-developed anatomical sites of acral areas and assessed patients’ history of trauma, physical stress, and occupation. @*Results@#Among the 313 acral melanoma patients, many reported a traumatic event (84 of 313; 26.8%) or physical stress (91 of 313; 29.1%) before the melanoma developed. The most common anatomical sites in these patients were on the borders of the foot (136 of 313; 43.5%). Trauma was more commonly associated with the fingernails and toenails than other sites. The frequency of each type of physical stress depended on the site of the lesion. Farmer and fisherman were the most common occupations (130 of 313; 41.5%) of the ac-ral melanoma patients. @*Conclusion@#Our results demonstrate that traumatic events, physical stress, and certain occupations are common in acral melanomas. Further studies are needed to establish whether these are risk factors for acral melanomas.
ABSTRACT
Thymoma-associated multiorgan autoimmunity (TAMA) is a rare paraneoplastic disease defined as thymomas with liver, intestine, or skin manifestations, resembling graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) histopathologically in the absence of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A 76-year-old woman who had been diagnosed with invasive thymoma presented for evaluation of erythematous scaly papules across the trunk and extremities. Histopathological findings revealed parakeratosis, many apoptotic cells in the epidermal layer, and perivascular and interface dermatitis with lymphocytic infiltration. These pathologic alterations were similar to those observed in GVHD. Interestingly, she had never undergone allogenic stem cell or solid-organ transplantation. Based on her medical history and the presence of GVHD-like skin symptoms, we suspected that the cutaneous lesions may have been related to aggravation of the thymoma. We report this rare and interesting case for educational purposes because such a case has never been reported in Korea before.
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Background@#Methotrexate (MTX) has been prescribed to suppress atopic dermatitis (AD) symptoms and flares in moderate-to-severe cases. @*Objective@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of MTX as well as the suppressive activity of MTX to reduce flares in moderate-to-severe AD patients. @*Methods@#Patients with moderate-to-severe AD who were treated with MTX at the Chonnam National University Hospital were retrospectively studied. @*Results@#Total 102 patients (79 males, 23 females) with a median age of 22.0±10.3 years were studied. The median initial dose of MTX was 10.3±2.6 mg/week, and the MTX-weekly dose was increased by 2.5 to 5 mg at an interval of 2 to 4 weeks to a maximum dose of 17.5±2.7 mg/week. The median maintenance dose was 11.7±2.1 mg/week; the median duration of treatment with MTX was 34.0±38.8 weeks. The initial response was noted after 5.8±3.7 weeks.Of the 102 patients, 60.8% (62/102) showed successful treatment response and 39.2% (40/102) showed mild or no improvement. MTX therapy effectively suppressed the frequency of AD flares by more than 50% in 71.1% (32/45) of the patients who responded among the MTX responders group. The most common adverse events were transient liver abnormality (5.9%, 6/102) and gastrointestinal discomfort (3.9%, 4/102), but no serious adverse events occurred. @*Conclusion@#Our results reveal that MTX is a relatively safe drug to control moderate-to-severe AD with satisfactory therapeutic efficacy and inhibitory activity against AD flares.
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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to measure and compare the removal torques of different cements applied in attachments of zirconia restorations on titanium (Ti) abutments fitted with retrievable cement-type slot (RCS) on the lingual side for the better retrievablity by use of a slot driver. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three types of cements were used in the experiment: two permanent cements in RelyX™ U200 (RU) (3M ESPE) which is a resin cement and FujiCem™ (FC) (GC) which is a resin-modified glass ionomer cement, and a temporary cement in Freegenol™ temporary cement (TC) (GC). Measurements of removal torques were conducted as follows; an attached sample was fixed on the equipment customized for the experiment; a slot driver was connected to a MGT12 (Mark-10 Corp.), a torque measurement instrument; the sample had the driver fitted to its RCS and then was rotated until the it was removed; and finally, the maximum torque value was recorded. RESULT: As for the removal torque measurement results, the average values were 47.9±2.6 Ncm for RU, 43.4±1.5 Ncm for FC, and 20.9±1.0 Ncm for TC. The statistical analysis using Kruskal-Wallis test yielded the significance probability of P < 0.05 (P=0.002), which confirmed the presence of significant differences between the three groups. CONCLUSION: All three cements exhibit clinically acceptable levels of removal torque when applied to an upper zirconia implant restoration fitted with a lingual slot, with RU and FC, the two permanent cements, having the significantly higher values than that of TC, the temporary cement.