Comparison of Survival of Advanced Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma after Biliary Drainage Alone versus Photodynamic Therapy with External Drainage / 대한소화기학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has a promising effect on non-resectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to compare overall survival of PDT plus biliary drainage versus biliary stent alone in advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma. METHODS: Twenty patients who were treated with endoscopic biliary drainage alone (Group A) and 27 patients treated with PDT under percutaneous cholangioscopy and additional percutaneous biliary drainage (Group B) were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The mean bilirubin level declined effectively in both group after treatment. One-year survival was 28% in group A, 52% in group B (p<0.05). Median survival time was 288 days in group A, 558 days in group B (p=0.0143). CONCLUSIONS: PDT under percutaneous cholangioscopy seems to be more effective in extending survival than biliary drainage alone in advanced hilar tumor. To investigate whether PDT can increase survival rates, further prospective, randomized study is needed.

HLA, CTLA-4 and TNF-beta Gene Polymorphisms and Disease Susceptibility in Korean Children with Graves' Disease / 대한내분비학회지

BACKGROUND: Graves' disease(GD) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder that is inherited as a complex trait. At present three loci, namely the human leukocyte antigen(HLA), the cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4(CTLA-4) and a thyroid stimulating hormone receptor(TSHR) are the only well-known genetic determinants for GD. To understand the mechanisms underlying the development of GD, we investigated the relationship of HLA alleles, polymorphisms of CTLA-4 gene and the tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-beta gene, with the disease susceptibility. METHODS: Fifty-two Korean children with GD(45 girls and 7 boys), and 119 healthy children, were investigated in this study. The HLA alleles were determined by a standard lymphocyte microtoxicity technique, ARMS-PCR(Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polymerase Chain Reaction), PCR-SSP(Sequence Specific Primer) and PCR-SSOP(Sequence Specific Oliogonucleotide Probe) method. The CTLA-4 gene polymorphism was analyzed by PCR-SSCP(Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism), and the TNF-beta gene polymorphism by PCR-RFLP(Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism). RESULTS: (1) The frequencies of HLA-A2, B46, DRB1*08 and DPB1*0202 were significantly increased, and those of HLA-A24, DQA1*01 and DQB1*05 were significantly decreased, in the GD patients compared to the control subjects. (2) A significant difference in the distributions of the AA, AG, and GG genotypes of the CTLA-4 exon 1 were observed between the GD patients and the control subjects, and a significant increase in the frequency of the G (alanine) allele was seen in the GD patients compared with the control subjects(84.6% vs 63.4%; RR=3.2; p or =45% compared with GD patients having TSHRAb <45%(37.5% vs 3.6%; RR=14.8; p<0.01). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that HLA-A2, B46, Cw*0102, DRB1*08 and DPB1*0202 are markers for disease susceptibility, and that HLA-A24, DQA1*01 and DQB1*05 are markers for disease protection, in Korean children with GD. This study showed that the CTLA-4 gene polymorphism was an additional marker of susceptibility in the GD patients, and was associated with exophthalmos, and that the TNF-beta gene polymorphism was associated with the TSHRAb activity.

Spontaneous Intramural Hematoma of the Esophagus / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Spontaneous intramural hematoma of the esophagus is a rare condition in which an intramural hemorrhage leads to a varying degree of submucosal dissection of the esophageal wall. This disorder has been seen predominantly in women in the sixth or seventh decade and has occured with variable etiology. The pathogenesis of this disorder has yet to be clarified. The triad of symptoms of this disorder includes retrostemal pain, mild hematemesis and odynophagia. The diagnosis is usually made by endoscnpy or with an esophagogram, It is important to differentiate esophageal submucosal dissection from other disorders of similar appearance, such as Mallory-Weiss syndrome, esophageal perforation, or dissecting aneurysm, all of which require surgical treatment. The prognosis of spontaneous intramural hematoma of the esophagus (SIHE) is excellent with conservative therapy, but close follow-up care is necessary. A 62-year-old female was admitted to our hospital complaining of chest pain and hematemesis. Endoscopic features showed a large bluish hematoma which obliterated esophageal lumen from the proximal esophagus. We report a case of spontaneous intramural hematoma of the esophagus showing typical endoscopic findings with spontaneous improvement with a review of the literature.

The Efficacy of Percutaneous Transhepatic Choledochoscopic Removal of Intrahepatic Stones / 대한내과학회지

OBJECTIVE: Intrahepatic stones provide a quite different spectrum of problems faced by surgeons in the Eastern hemisphere. Although unilateral left intrahepatic stones have been treated by left hepatic lobectomy, bilateral or right intrahepatic stones can be even more troublesome because they frequently cannot be completely removed by conventional surgical stone extraction procedure. Recently, the use of a flexible fiberoptic choledochoscope, electrohydraulic lithotriptor(EHL) and dilators make it possible to completely remove intrahepatic stones by nonsurgical procedures in the majority of cases. METHODS: During the last 5 years, we treated intrahepatic stones in 114 patients with a fiberoptic choledochoscope, EHL and dilators via percutaneous transhepatic route. For construction of percutaneous transhepatic routes, we punctured intrahepatic ducts by ultrasonographic guidance and then dilated the tracts by PTBD set(Nipro Co., Japan) under fluoroscopic guidance. Choledochoscopy were performed at 4-6 weeks later, and Dormina basket, EHL, balloon or bougie dilators were used for removal of stones. RESULTS: Success rates according to the locations of stones were 87.5%(14/16) in unilateral right intrahepatic stones, 92.9%(39/42) in unilateral left intrahepatic stones, and 89.3%(50/56) bilateral intrahepatic stones. Overall success rate was 90.4%(103/114). Causes of incomplete removal of the stones in our patients included the failure of construction or maintenance of percutaneous transhepatic routes in 4 cases, intrahepatic bile duct stricture proximal to impacted stones in 3, acute ductal angulation in 2, and stones located at the very distal branches of intrahepatic ducts in 2 cases. Complications associated with the procedure were transient fever in 8 cases, severe hemobila in 2 cases and biliary perforation in 3 cases. CONCLUSON: These results suggest that percutaneous transhepatic choledochoscopic approach is a relatively safe and effective method for treatment of intrahepatic stones.

A Case of Early Esophageal Cancer Treated by Endoscopic Mucosal Resection Using a EEMR Tube / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Although esophageal cancer has been recognized as difficult to treat, its long-term survival statistics are significant lower than those of other gastrointestinal cancers, Postoperative 5-year survival of the early esophageal cancer which invasion is limited to the mucosa is close to 100%. So, early detection of esophageal cancer has been extremely significant. Progress in the endoscopic technique has enabled to make not only early detection but also curative endoscopic resection of the early esophageal cancers. The indication for curative endoscopic resection of esophageal cancer are as follows: mucosal cancer apart from gross invasion to the muscularis mucosae without nodal involvement and less than 2 cm * 2 cm in size of lesion. EEMR tube(endoscopic esophageal mucoaal resection tube), which was designed by Makuuchi in 1991, is widely used for resection of early esophageal cancers. We report a case of patient with early esophageal cancer, who was admitted due to complation of postprandial epigastric pain, diageosed by endoscopy, endoscopic ultra sonography and chest computerized tomography, and successfully resected by using EEMR tube.

The Cerebrospinal Fluid Levels of Leukotriene C4 in Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

We have checked levels of leukotriene(LT) C4, one of the arachidonic acid(AA) metabolites, in the lumbar, cisternal and ventricular cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) of 37 patients admitted with diagnosis of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH) and in lumbar CSF of 10 patients without aneurysmal SAH as the control group. We compared the levels of LTC4 in the CSF of the patients with aneurysmal SAH with those of the control group. We observed the changes of levels of LTC4 periodically after the onset of SAH. We devided the data of patients with aneurysmal SAH into 3 groups according to sampling days(respectively 1-4, 5-11, 12-24 days after SAH) and the clinical spasm group was compared with that of the non-spasm group. We also looked for the differences in the sampling sites and the correlation between the white blood cell counts and the levels of LTC4 in the CSF. The results of this study showed that the mean level of CSF LTC4(+/- standard deviation) of the SAH group was significantly higher than that of the control group(215.59+/-94.95 vs. 98.44+/-31.72pg/ml, respectively : P0.05) even though we expected the level in the cisternal CSF to be higher than the lumbar CSF. There was no correlation between the white blood cell counts and the levels of LTC4 in the CSF(correlation coefficient=0.1240). From this study it is concluded that : 1) the AA metabolism via the lipoxygenase pathway is enhanced after SAH ; 2) the LTC4 may play a role in the pathogenesis of cerebral vasospasm, especially in the early days after SAH ; 3) the extraction of CSF via the external ventricular or cisternal drainage may decrease substances such as LTC4 which was thought to be vasoconstrictor material ; and 4) the granulocyte production of the LTC4 accounts for only a small part.