Recurrent Gastric Cancer at the Duodenal Stump after Billroth II Subtotal Gastrectomy / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Many studies have shown that gastric stump cancer develops after distal gastrectomy, particularly after Billroth II reconstruction. But, recurrent cancer at the duodenal stump following Billroth II type distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer is extremely rare. We report a case of duodenal stump cancer in a 64-year-old man underwent Billroth II distal gastrectomy.

A Case of Non-islet Cell Tumor Hypoglycemia / 대한내분비학회지

Mesenchymal tumors including hemangiopericytomas, hepatocellular tumors, adrenal carcinomas, and a variety of other large tumors have been reported to produce excessive amounts of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) type II precursor, which binds weakly to insulin receptors and strongly to IGF-I receptors, leading to insulin like actions. In addition to increased IGF-II production, IGF-II bioavailability is increased due to complex alterations in circulating binding proteins. The authors of this article diagnosed non-islet cell tumor hypoglycemia from an 81-year-old male patient suffering from repetitive fasting hypoglycemia while he has not received any treatment for pulmonary hemangiopericytoma diagnosed in the past. Moreover, this topic is getting reported as the authors have experienced a significant improvement of catamnesis by a treatment with glucocorticoid.

Role of Thigh Muscle in the Carotid artery Intima-Media Thickness and Insulin resistance / 대한내분비학회지

BACKGROUND: There have been recent reports that the fat distribution within skeletal muscle and the amount of muscle mass are associated with insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study evaluated the impacts of visceral fat and thigh muscle from patients with T2DM and healthy subjects on atherosclerosis and insulin resistance. METHODS: Forty-two patients with newly-developed T2DM and 11 healthy subjects were selected for the study. The diabetic patients were subdivided into two groups, those under 40 years of age, as the young T2DM (n=21) group, and 40 years-old or greater, as the old T2DM (n=21) group. CT scans were obtained for all patients at the L4-L5 level and at the mid-portion between the greater trochanter and upper margin patella. The carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was also measured using high resolution B-mode ultrasonography. RESULTS: The mean visceral fat area (VFA) in the old T2DM group was 169.4+/-13.2cm2, which was significantly greater than that found in the healthy subjects (67.9+/-7.92cm2, P<0.001) and young T2DM group (127.1+/-10.4cm2, P<0.05). The mean visceral fat to normal density muscle area ratio (VMNR) in the old T2DM group was 1.50+/-0.19, which was greater than in the healthy subjects (0.46+/-0.52, P<0.001) and young T2DM group (1.01+/-0.10, P<0.05). The total thigh muscle areas in the young and old T2DM groups were smaller than that in the healthy subjects, but without statistical significance. VMNR showed a positive correlation with the IMT and HOMA-IR. However, the total thigh muscle area was negatively correlated with the IMT. The normal density muscle area also showed significant negative correlations with the IMT and HOMA-IR. In a multiple regression analysis, age and VMNR were the most important independent risk factors of an increased carotid IMT. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the role of thigh muscle, as well as that of visceral fat, played a very important role in the occurrence of atherosclerosis. VMNR was found to be an especially important independent factor for an increased carotid IMT.

Insulin resistance and apolipoprotein B as a metabolic syndrome risk factor in normal glucose tolerance / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance is associated with greatly increased risk of coronary artery disease. Serum apolipoprotein B and the ratio of apo A-1/Apo B are important markers of the coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to assess the association of serum apolipoprotein B and the ratio of apo A-1/Apo B with insulin resistance in normal glucose tolerance. METHODS: From individual, who participated in medical screening at health promotion center in Kangbuk Samsung Hospital from Jan. to Dec. 2002, total 7427 participants (4356 men, 3071 women) were enrolled in this study. All participants was no personal history of diabetes and normal fasting glucose. We assess the clinical characteristics and biochemical parameters of subjects. RESULTS: Apolipoprotein B, total cholesterol/HDL-C and LDL-C/HDL-C show an positive correlation with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance (p<0.001). Apo A-I, Apo A-I/Apo B, LDL/Apo B and HDL/Apo A-I show an negative correlation with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that insulin resistance are associated with serum apolipoprotein B and the ratio of apo A-1/Apo B in normal glucose tolerance. And early diagnosis and tight control of insulin resistance in normal glucose tolerance should be administered for the prevention of coronary artery disease.

Effects of Diabetes Education on Diabetic Management in Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetics Mellitus Patients

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of diabetes education on diabetic management by determining the changes of the knowledge and practice for diet therapy and blood glucose level pre-training and post-training. Statistical data analyses were completed using the SPSS 11.0 program. The results can be summarized as follows : The average age of the subjects was 52.8 years old, the period of suffering from diabetes was 7.9 years and 31% of the patients had a history of diabetes in their family members. In life style for self-management, they showed lower levels in drinking post-training, and significantly higher exercise levels post-training (P<0.05). Regarding the level of knowledge for diet, they showed significantly higher levels post-training in eight items such as importance of diet therapy for diabetes (p<0.005), principle of diet therapy (p<0.005), nutrient composition of foods (p<0.005), carbohydrate composition of foods (p<0.005), calorie prescribed to themselves (p<0.001), exchange units prescribed to themselves (p<0.005), exchange food items and exchanges units of cereal & grains (p<0.005) and exchange food items and exchanges units of fruit & juices (p<0.005). Regarding the practices of diet, they showed significantly higher levels of practice in keeping permitted meal size (p<0.005), using food exchange list (p<0.005), keeping exact meal times (p<0.001) and restricting most foods to eat (P<0.01) post-training. When measuring their bodies, average weight was lower post-training. Obesity was significantly lower post-training (p<0.01), and blood pressure both in systolic and diastolic was lower. Postcardinal-2hour blood glucose level decreased significantly from 268.4+/-98.9 pre-training to 180.9+/-48.4 post-training (p<0.001).

A Case of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Diagnosed in Puerperium

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a condition characterized by sustained elevations of pulmonary artery pressure without demonstrable cause. It is incurable and progressive clinical entity. The incidence has been estimated at approximately 1 to 2 cases per million people in the general population. The maternal mortality of primary pulonary hypertension in pregnancy was said to be 30% and the first month after delivery represents the period of highest risk. We experienced a 27-year-old women with primary pulmonary hypertension diagnosed in postpartum period. She was transferred from the department of obstetrics to internal medicine due to dyspnea on the first day of postpartum. She was diagnosed by perfusion lung scan, chest CT and confirmed by echocardiography. This diagnosis were supported by findings of pulmonary angiogram and cardiac catheterization. Initially she was treated with diuretics, aspirin and anticoagulant therapy, and as a result of the treatment, her symptoms improved. However after 8months has elapsed, exertional dyspnea was worsening. Thus she was treated with calcium channel blocker, aspirin and diuretics and was followed at 1 month interval on the outpatient clinics.

A Case of Transient Granulocytopenia during Treatment of a Patient with Graves' Disease and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - Differential Diagnosis from Agranulocytosis by a Single Injection of G-CSF / 대한내분비학회지

Granulocytopenia, which can be seen in patients with Graves' disease during treatment with antithyroid agents, could be a self resolving transient episode or can imply the beginning of life threatening agranulocytosis requiring a change in treatment modality. Transient granulocytopenia could be a manifestation of hyperthyroidism itself, or a mild side effect of antithyroid drugs. Aganulocytosis is a rare, but major complications of the termination drug, propylthiouracil (PTU), requiring prompt termination of the medication, and intensive care. Therefore, differentiation of agranulocytosis and transient granulocytopenia, is important, but is not practically easy. We introduce a case of transient granulocytopenia, which was detected in a patient with Graves'Disease, accompanied by underlying type 1 diabetes mellitus, during treatment with PTU. Diagnosis of transient granulocytopenia was made by a normal granulocyte count following a single injection of G-SCF, and the patient was treated with conservative therapy. This case confirms a diagnostic tool for differentiating transient granulocytopenia and PTU-induced agranulocytosis.

Two Cases with Adrenal Myelolipoma Treated by Surgical Resection / 대한내분비학회지

An increasing number of incidental adrenal masses are found during the evaluation for unrelated problems, which is the result of the development of sensitive noninvasive methods for the imaging of abdominal lesions, such as ultrasonography, computed tomographic scanning, and MRI. When there is no evidence of adrenocortical or medullary dysfunction for such adrenal masses, they are commonly referred to as "incidentalomas". Among these incidentalomas, adrenal myelolipoma is a rare, benign, endocrinologically inactive tumor, the histological structure of which consists of mature adipose tissue cells and normal hemopoietic tissues resembling bone marrow. Even though most eventually prove to be nonhyperfunctioning adrenocortical adenomas, we must not exclude a more serious pathology. Because of the rarity of adrenal myelolipoma, its natural history, proper prognostic considerations and treatment recommendations still need to be investigated. We experienced 46 year-old man with abdominal discomfort, and a 26 year-old man with no specific symptoms, have large incidentalomas (>5 cm) in adrenal sites, detected by abdominal sonography for routine health work-up. The ACTH, cortisol, renin, aldosterenone, metanephrine, VMA and tumor marker levels were normal, which was suggestive of nonfunctional adrenal tumors. Surgical treatments were performed for rule out malignant adrenal tumors due to the tumor size (>5 cm) and hemorrhage within the tumors. The surgical pathology was that of adrenal myelolipomas. An adrenal myelolipoma is a rare, benign, nonfunctional adrenal tumor, but only three cases have been reported in Korea. We report two cases of adrenal myelolipoma found incidentally by surgical treatment for a large tumor size (>5 cm).

Impairment of diastolic function in newly diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is one of the major cause of premature mortality and morbidity in diabetes mellitus. It has been well recognized that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction caused by autonomic neuropathy, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia might be a preceding underlying mechanism of heart failure in diabetes. Also, an impairment of diastolic function in early diabetic patients has been reported in some literature. So, we evaluated the diastolic function in newly diagnosed diabetics with echocardiography. METHODS: All patients with newly diagnosed NIDDM in Pundang Cha general hospital from December 1996 to June 1998 were enrolled (n=20). The 20 healthy volunteers comparable for age, sex, body surface area were enrolled as a control group. The echocardiography was performed in all patients before any treatment. Blood pressure, pulse rate, fasting and postprandial sugar and insulin level, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol were also checked in all patients. RESULTS: There were no significant difference in blood pressure, pulse rate, total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol level between both groups. E and A ratio of mitral inflow and peak diastolic velocity of pulmonary vein flow were significantly decreased in NIDDM group compared with control group (p<0.01). But there were no significant difference in left ventricular mass index, isovolumic relaxation time, deceleration time and peak atrial reversal velocity. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that an impairment of left ventricular diastolic function occurs early in the NIDDM and investigation of diastolic function should be performed in the clinical evaluation of early diabetic patients.

Correlation of Helicobacter pylori Serology Titer with Endoscopic and Histologic Findings / 대한소화기내시경학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In clinical practice, among the technique to detected Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection, IgG serological test is noninvasive, safe, quick, widely available, and inexpensive. We studied that whether the titers of anti-H. pylori IgG antibody were correlated with endoscopic finding, and the degree of microscopic gastric damage and H. pylori density in dyspeptic patients. METHODS: Gastric biopsy specimens were obtained in 109 patients with H. pylori infection undergoing upper gastric endoscopy. The titers of serum IgG antibodies to H. pylori were measured by enzyme immunoassay. Macroscopic gastric damages and histologic grades were scored by the Sydney system. RESULTS: Endoscopic findings showed no significant association with H. pylori antibody titers (p=0.111). There was significant correlation between H. pylori antibody titers and lymphocyte infiltration (p=0.002), neutrophil infiltration (p=0.002), H. pylori density (p=0.0001), respectively. There was no significant correlation between H. pylori antibody titers and atropy (p=0.142), intestinal metaplasia (p=0.368), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori antibody titer has significant association with the H. pylori density, neutrophil and lymphocyte infiltration. The serological test using EIA method is a useful in detecting H. pylori infection and it may be used as a predictor for the H. pylori density and degree of inflammation.

A Case of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy in Lupas Nephritis / 대한신장학회잡지

Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) is a multisys-temic disease. Peripheral neuropathy occurs in about 10% of patients with SLE. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneurpathy has been reported rarely in SLE. We experienced a case of chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy in lupus nephritis. 32-year-old housewife presented to chronic progressive muscle weakness and heavy proteinuria. Kidney biopsy showed compatible with lupus nephritis (WHO Class V, membranous nephropathy). Nerve conduction studies showed reduction in conduction velocity and sural nerve biopsy revealed demyeli-nating polyneuropathy. Steroid therapy led to improvement in clinical symptoms and proteinuria.

Thrombocytopenia between Decompensated Alcoholic and Viral Liver Cirrhosis / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Thrombocytopenia is frequently found among patients with chronic liver disease, and its mechanism, especially among patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis had not been established. Therefore to elucidate the mechanism of thrombocytopenia, the relationship between thrombocytopenia and severity of hepatic dysfunction, splenomegaly was measured. We measured the peripheral blood components with splenic volume obtained from a computerized tomography of decompensated liver cirrhosis patients. METHODS: We studied 103 patients who had been diagnosed with decompensated liver cirrhosis with esophageal varices and ascites from January 1982 to August 1999. We checked their counts of platelets, albumin, bilirubin, splenic volume, degree of esophageal varices, hepatic encephalopathy and ascites by retrograde methods. RESULTS: In viral liver cirrhosis, thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly correlated well with disease severity but they didn't in alcoholic cirrhosis. Of special note, the platelet count was significantly lower and the splenic volume was larger in the Child C of viral cirrhosis patients group than in the alcoholic group(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: When we compared decompensated alcoholic with viral liver cirrhosis patients, the degrees of thrombocytopenia and splenomegaly were much less in the former group. The factors for this phenomena are Splenic Pooling theory, Platelet-associated IgG, Thrombopoietin and Toxic Marrow. We suggest that splenomegaly is an important factor among these, but the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of this hematologic phenomena are not completely understood. Especially in alcoholic liver cirrhosis, many other factors may be involved, including the direct effect of alcohol to bone marrow, so further studies will be needed to establish whether a causal relationship exists.

A case of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with diffuse small bowel edema and ascites / 대한내과학회지

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon disorder of stomach, small bowel and colon characterized by peripheral blood eosinophilia, eosinophilic infiltration of the gut wall, and variable clinical symptoms. This disease was first described by Kaijser in 1937, and its cause was poorly understood. It may be related to allergy, which combines allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy and elevated IgE. The clinical symptoms and signs are variable according to the extents and depths of the eosinophilic infiltration. Endoscopic findings may show normal, nodular, ulcerative, or hemorrhagic mucosal changes, and biopsy findings reveal eosinophilic infiltration of mucosal and muscular layer. We diagnosed and treated a case of diffuse serosal eosinophilic gastroenteritis associated with ascites in a patient with allergic asthma who had severe abdominal pain, distention and watery diarrhea, and she dramatically responded to corticosteroid therapy.

Usefulness of Resistive Index and Pulsatility Index in Patient with Diabetic Nephropathy as Early Markers / 대한신장학회잡지

BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy has long been known as most common culprit of ESRD. In NIDDM, histopathologically intrarenal hemodynamic changes are nonspecific, frequently with global glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy and severe arterosclerosis. Duplex renal Doppler sonography is useful in the noninvasive assessment of intrarenal hemodynamic change and Doppler indices reflect increased renal vascular resistance. So we compared the values of R.I. and P.I., in NIDDM patients, with several clinical parameters to identify that R.I. and P.I. values can reflect increased renal vascular resistance and predict diabetic nephropathy as early markers. METHODS: Renal Doppler US scan was performed on 40 patients with NIDDM to obtain Doppler signals from arcuate artery or interlobar artery and thereby calculate the R.I. and P.I. From every each individual, clinical and laboratory data including age, sex, morbidity period, BMI, mean blood pressure, total cholesterol, serum creatinine, BUN, HbA1c, 24 hr urine protein and creatinine clearance were analyzed. We analyzed the correlation between values of R.I. and P.I. with clinical parameters by using univariate and multiple linear regression analysis. The patients were classified as three groups on the basis of the amount of 24 hour urine protein and value of serum creatinine : Group 1(n=15) was defined as patients with 24 hr urine protein less than 150mg/day and serum creatinine less than 1.5mg/ dL, group 2(n=12) as between 150mg/day and 500mg/ day and serum creatinine less than 1.5mg/dL and group 3(n=13) as more than 500mg/day or serum creatinine above 1.5mg/dL. RESULTS: 1) R.I. values showed correlation with age, morbidity period, mean blood pressure, HbA1c, serum creatinine, BUN, creatinine clearance and 24 hour urine total protein. P.I. values showed correlation with age, morbidity period, mean blood pressure, serum creatinine, BUN, creatinine clearance and 24 hour urine total protein. 2) R.I. and P.I. values were significantly affected by creatinine clearance and age in multiple regression analysis. 3) There were statistically positive correlation between 24 hour urine protein and R.I. and P.I.. But when we divided into three groups based on their amount of 24 hour urine protein. R.I. didn't show statistical correlation but P.I. showed significant correlation in the group of patients with proteinuria over 500mg/day(p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Renal doppler indices reflect increased renal vascular resistance in NIDDM patients and correlate with clinical parameters of diabetic nephropathy. We suggest that the R.I. and P.I. are useful marker for indicating diabetic vascular complication in NIDDM patients. However, further comparative studies should be carried out to elucidate the usefulness of R.I. and P.I. as early markers or advantaging parameters in predicting diabetic nephropathy.

Diagnostic usefulness of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase ( GGT ) activity in fatty liver and relationship with other factors / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Gamma-glutamyl transferase(GGT) has found wide application as a diagnostic test in hepatobiliary disease, and has been used as the best single marker of alcohol intake. In spite of the wide use of GGT in clinical practice, knowledge concerning the distribution and the determinants of this risk factor in the normal population is spared in Korea. We tried to obtain a better evaluation of specificity of serum GGT by analysis of a large population of health examination. METHODS: GGT was measured in 17,140 males aged 17-86 years and 12,125 females aged 18-90 years screened in a health survey program. RESULTS: In multiple regression analyses, serum GGT level showed strong positive association with fatty liver, body mass index, serum levels of AST, ALT triglyceride, uric acid, alkaline phosphatase, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, and weakly positive association with serum levels of creatinine, total cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar. In females, menopause were positively associated with GGT. CONCLUSIONS: An elevated serum GGT levels is a strong indicator of hepatobiliary dysfunction or fatty liver. However, proper interpretation of a serum GGT elevation should be carefully considered in correlation with clinical data and laboratory findings.

Three Cases of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy(PPCM) is a rare form of cardiomyopathy of unclear cause that can have life-threatening consequences. Cardiac dilatation and congestive heart failure of unexplained cause may develop during the last month of pregnancy or within the first few months after delivery. It is rare, but it varies among geographic regions. Recent estimates of incidence range from 1: 15,000 in the United States, 1: 6000 in Japan, and 1: 1000 in South Africa. The cause of this disorder is unknown but in some patients endomyocardial biopsy has shown evidence of myocarditis, Necropsy shows cardiac enlargement, often with mural thrombi, endocardial thickening and pericardial effusion, along with histologic evidence of myocardial degeneration, fibrosis and lymphocyte infiltration. However, based on recent data, it seems that endocardial biopsies are currently of minor diagnostic and therapeutic benifit in patients with PPCM. The symptoms, signs, and treatment are similar to those in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, but thromboembolic complications are particularly common. The mortality rate is quite variable but may be as high as 25 to 50 percent. We experienced three case of peripartum cardiomyopathy after delivery. The patients were treated with digitalis, vasodilator and diuretic, which induced improvement of the clinical and echocardiographic finding.

Macrovascular dysfunction detected by comparison of serum FDP detected by simplified venous occlusion test in patients with NIDDM and CVA / 대한내과학회지

OBJECTIVES: In diabetic patients, the incidence of atherosclerotic disease are increased, which may be due to decreased fibrinolytic activity. The aim of study is to elucidate the relationship between angiopathies and vascular function evaluated by simplified venous occlusion test in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and cerebrovascular accident (CVA). METHODS: The study was conducted on 63 patients who were hospitalized during the period from March 1, 1994 to May 30, 1997. The serum concentration of fibrinogen degradation products (FDP) was measured before and 5 min after venous occlusion in 31 NIDDM patients, 16 CVA patients and 16 age-matched control subjects. FDP was measured with the anti-fibrinogen- coated latex particle agglutinin assay system. RESULTS: 1) The basal serum FDP level was higher in diabetic patients with macroangiopathy (12.3+/-5.8 ug/ml) and patients with CVA (11.2+/-5.1 ug/ml) than in control subjects (5.7+/-1.8 ug/ml) (p<0.05). 2) The increment of serum FDP level after venous occlusion in diabetic patients with microangiopathy (6.6+/-2.2 to 10.3+/-4.1 ug/ml) and control subjects (5.7+/-1.8 to 11.4+/-4.3 ug/ml) was significantly higher than basal serum FDP level (p<0.05). But the increment of serum FDP level after venous occlusion in diabetic patients with macroangiopathy (12.3+/-5.8 to 15.2+/-5.1 ug/ml) and patients with CVA (11.2+/-5.1 to 13.7+/-4.8 ug/ml) wasn't significantly higher than basal serum FDP level. 3) The increment rate of serum FDP after venous occlusion in diabetic patients with macroangiopathy (24.4+/-29.3%) and patients with CVA (29.4+/-34.5%) was significantly lower than diabetic patients with microangiopathy (66.3+/-71.7%) and control subjects (84.1+/-69.3%) (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The responsiveness of fibrinolytic activity to venous occlusion was significantly lower in diabetic patients with macroangiopathy, as in patients with CVA, compared with that in control subjects. We conclude that measurement of the increase in serum FDP concentration 5 min after venous occlusion may be useful to detect vascular dysfunction in patients with macrovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis.

Seasonal Variations of Serum Lipid Concentrations in Health Screened Population

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Significant seasonal variations have been found by several authors in serum lipids. The aim of this study was to determine whethere there were seasonal variations in serum lipid concentrations in Korean healthy population. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The subjects consisted of 20,819 men and 10,248 women screened between January in 1997 and December in 1997. We performed spectral analyses to confirm whether there is seasonal variation in serum lipid levels. RESULTS: The monthly serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the period from September to December with the peak in October (p<0.001, except, HDL cholesterol p<0.02), and by the seasonal analysis, these lipid levels in autumn were significantly higher than those in spring and summer (p<0.001). Those patterns of monthly and seasonal variations were similar in both men and women. Howevere triglycerides levels were slightly different by the sex. In men, significantly increased triglycerides levels were found in the period from August to December with the peak in September and those in autumn were the highest (p<0.025). In women, serum triglycerides levels were significantly higher in the period from July to February with the peak in December (p<0.04). Serum triglyceride levels in winter were higher compared with in spring and summer (p<0.001). Additionally, we analysed the seasonal variations of serum lipid levels according to the body mass index (BMI) and the age groups. In these analysis, there were also similar patterns of seasonal variations in serum lipid levels (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Above results show that there were prominent seasonal variations of serum lipid levels with higher in autumn and winter compared with those in spring and summer.

Endoscopic Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Rectal Cancer invasion and lymph node metastasis / 대한내과학회지

OBJECTIVES: Endoscopic Ultrasonography (EUS) is widely used to diagnose upper gastrointestinal tract disease. In recent, it is reported that EUS is also goood diagnostic method to assess depth of invasion through rectal wall and lymph node involvement of rectal cancer. We performed EUS in preoperative rectal cancer patients and compared to post operative histologic findings to evaluate EUS diagnostic accuracy for rectal cancer staging system METHODS: 51 patients with rectal cancer were performed with EUS. They were diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy from August 1994 to June 1996 at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Their ages were 28 to 78 (mean: 55 years) and the male to female ratio was 2 : 1 (34/17). Olympus GF-UM3, EU-M3 EUS and 7.5/12 MHz transducer were utilized. EUS was performed by the deaerated water filling method. We have analyzed between preoperative EUS findings and postoperative biopsy findings in order to evaluate the accuracy of EUS. The accuracy of EUS was signified by percentage. RESULTS: 1) Endoscopic ultrasonographic accuracy for assessment of wall invasion of rectal cancer was as follows ; The accuracy of mucosal cancer was 50% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic diagnosis: 2/4). Submucosal cancer was 100% (1/1). Muscularis propria cancer was 44% (4/9). The accuracy with penetration to subserosa (or perirectal fat tissue) was 97% (33/34). The accuracy with invasion to adjacent organ was 33% (1/3). The overall accuracy rate was 80% (41/51). 2) EUS accuracy of lymph node metastasis in rectal cancer was ; The sensitivity was 90% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic diagnosis: 28/31). The specificity was 60% (12/20). 3) EUS diagnosis of modified Duke classification was ; The accuracy of A stage was 80% (patient numbers of EUS diagnosis/patient numbers of histologic dagnosis: 4/5). B1 stage was 60% (4/8). B2 stage was 33% (1/3). C1 stage was 0% (0/3). C2 stage was 86%(25/28). D stage was 33% (1/3). The overall accuracy rate was 69% (35/51). CONCLUSION: EUS is useful method to assess rectal cancer invasion through rectal wall and lymph node involvement. However, further refinements in instruments and the techniques is required for more improving diagnostic accuracy.

A Case with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis / 대한내과학회지

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a chronic progressive disease, more often affecting women, characterised by progressive destruction of the small intrahepatic bile ducts with portal inflammation leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis. There is a close association between PBC and antibodies to antimitochondrial antibodies (AMA). The pathogenesis of PBC remains uncertain. The disease has been considered as an example of autoimmunity. Estimates of disease prevalence vary between 20 and 240 cases per milion per year. PBC is a extremely rare liver disease in Asia. There is no definitive drug treatment, liver transplantation is indicated for patients with intractable symptoms and for end-stage disease. The authors have experienced a case of PBC in 66 year-old female who suffered from lethargy, pruritus and dry mouth since 2 years ago. We report a case of PBC with a review of literatures.