Soon Jin Lee

Most cholangiocarcinomas are ductal adenocarcinomas that arise from both intra- and extrahepatic bile duct epithelium, and their typical growth pattern can be classified as exophytic, infiltrative, polypoid, or a combination of these. Those of unusual histologic type (eg, mucin-hypersecreting cholangiocarcinoma, squamous adenocarcinoma, biliary cystadenocarcinoma, and mucinous carcinoma) show a growth pattern different from that of the typical ones (ie, ductal). Cholangiocarcinomas frequently de

Flexible covered metallic stent placement can be useful for palliation in patients with malignant obstruction of the gastric outlet or duodenum.

When patients with very localized lower abdominal pain and tenderness do not have associated symptoms or laboratory abnormalities, a high index of suspicion for PEA and early radiologic examinations are required.

T-cell populations were investigated in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with multiple sclerosis and other neurological diseases. Individual T cells were directly cloned from the cerebrospinal fluid and blood before in vitro expansion, and their clonotypes were compared by Southern blot analysis of the rearrangement patterns of their T-cell receptor beta chain and gamma chain genes. This allowed the determination of whether two T cell clones shared the same T-cell receptor and thus

PURPOSE: These studies examined regulation of the cytokines interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), a systemic autoimmune disease. METHODS: Serum levels of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha in sera collected from 35 patients with OCP, 29 normal persons and 17 patients with ocular inflammatory diseases were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: Levels of interleukin-6 were significantly decreased in sera of patien

Wedge-shaped TSPE is commonly observed along the biopsy needle path and is due to arterioportal shunt caused by biopsy.

For local staging of rectal cancer, 3-T MRI is more accurate than MDCT for determining the depth of tumor invasion and the extent of lymph node metastasis.

Substitution mapping was used to refine the localization of blood pressure (BP) quantitative trait loci (QTL) within the congenic region of S.R-Edn3 rats located at the q terminus of rat chromosome 3 (RNO3). An F2(SxS.R-Edn3) population (n=173) was screened to identify rats having crossovers within the congenic region of RNO3 and six congenic substrains were developed that carry shorter segments of R-rat-derived RNO3. Five of the six congenic substrains had significantly lower BP compared to the

Our previous work found DA rats superior for intrinsic aerobic running capacity (ARC) and several cardiac function indexes compared with Copenhagen (COP) rats, and identified ARC quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on rat chromosomes 16 (RNO16) and 3 (RNO3). The purpose of this study was to use these inbred rat strains as a genetic substrate for differential cardiac gene expression to identify candidate genes for the observed ARC QTLs. RNA expression was examined globally in left ventricles of 15-wk-

Hypertension is a leading contributor to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. Genetic and environmental factors contribute to the development of hypertension. Animal models have been developed to study the genetic contributions to blood pressure (BP) regulation and to identify chromosomal regions harboring candidate genes causative of differences in BP regulation (i.e., BP quantitative trait loci [QTL]). Advances in both mammalian genome projects and global gene expression an

Pneumatosis cystoides coli (PCC) is an uncommon condition in which multiple gas-filled cysts in the walls of the colon. Patients with PCC initially complain of various symptoms including abdominal discomfort, constipation, diarrhea, hematochezia, vomiting, and fever. We recently diagnosed PCC by computed tomography (CT) colonography in 2 patients. Two patients visited the outpatient clinic presenting with hematochezia, diarrhea, or abdominal pain. No underlying cause of PCC was found. Colonoscop