Kimura's Disease of the Trunk / 대한정형외과학회잡지

Kimura's disease is a very rare, benign, lymphoproliferative inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology. A 48 year-old man had multiple soft tissue masses in his trunk, which was diagnosed as Kimura's disease by histopathologic evaluation. Here, we report the case with a review of the literature.

Glucocorticoid Mechanism of Inhibition of the Inflammatory Cells in Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Cells Stimulated by TNF-alpha Production of Nuclear Factor-kappaB / 대한정형외과연구학회지

PURPOSE: To analyze the action mechanism of NF-kappaB, IkappaB-alpha and effect of the Dexamethasone (DEXA) in mediating this inflammation, after stimulating cultured herniated intervertebral disc cells with TNF-alpha. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After cultured human intervertebral disc cells passaged three times, they were divided into four groups: A control group (A), DEXA treatment group (B), TNF-alpha treated group (C), TNF-alpha and DEXA were treated at the same time (D). IL-6 and IL-1beta gene expression were measured with semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Western blot analysis was performed to measure protein expression of IkappaB-alpha in the above groups for 10 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours. In addition, in order to explain the mechanism of NF-kappaB nuclear binding for each group, the nuclear amount of NF-kappaB binding in the nucleus is measured by EMSA. RESULTS: In RT-PCR, expression of IL-6 and IL-1beta was greatest in group C, followed by group D, group A. IkappaB-alpha expression of the group treated with DEXA was not detected in Western blot results within 10 minutes. However, if stimulated by TNF-alpha, the DEXA was not inhibited of IkappaB-alpha concentration. After 1 hour and 2 hours, IkappaB-alpha levels were expressed by cells autonomously (autoregulatory induction). EMSA results expression levels in nuclear protein was maintained in accordance with protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows that DEXA inhibits the production of mediators such as inflammatory IL-6 and IL-1beta, however, may not inhibit the transcription of NF-kappaB stimulated by TNF-alpha.

Osteochondroma of the 5th and 6th Cervical Vertebral Body: One Case Report / 대한척추외과학회지

Here, the case of an osteochondroma, which developed on the cervical spine of an 18-year old boy, is presented. Generally, an osteochondroma is very difficult to diagnose, due to their rarity and non-specific or lack of symptoms, and because they show radiolucency on plain X-ray. Due to the neurological symptoms of this patient, including radiating pain and a palpable protruding hard mass, the CT and MRI images were checked for a more accurate radiological evaluation. These images showed evidence of spinal cord compression or obliteration of the neural foramen. An en bloc excisional biopsy of the bony mass and cartilage cap, and a decompressive laminectomy were performed.