A case of Castleman disease that improved after kidney transplantation / 대한이식학회지

This is a case of a 56-year-old man with Castleman disease (CD) who improved after kidney transplantation (KTP). CD is an uncommon lymphoproliferative disorder that was found incidentally on biopsy during dialysis in the current patient and was followed up without further treatment. However, the lesion showed improvement after KTP. Therefore, active KTP can be considered even if CD is one of the lymphoproliferative disorders that can occur as a complication after KTP.

De Novo AL Amyloidosis in a Renal Allograft / 대한내과학회지

Amyloidosis is characterized by the extracellular deposition of amyloid in various tissues and organs, particularly the kidney and heart. The estimated incidence of systemic amyloidosis is at least 8 per million population per year. However, few cases of systemic amyloidosis in renal allografts have been reported. A stable renal transplant recipient was admitted with proteinuria and dyspnea on exertion. The M-peak was found on serum and urine protein electrophoresis, and lambda (λ) dominance was confirmed by serum and urine free-light-chain test. The patient was diagnosed with systemic amyloidosis of a renal allograft, by allograft biopsy, at 22 years after renal transplantation. We report a case of AL amyloidosis in a stable renal allograft and review the medical literature.

Dry eye in patients with fibromyalgia / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Dry eye is a disorder of the tear film caused by reduced tear production or excessive tear evaporation. A high incidence of sicca symptoms has been noted in fibromyalgia (FM) patients resulting in serious complications. This study was conducted to evaluate the incidence of dry eye by pathogenic mechanisms and to investigate the relationship between dry eye and symptom severity in FM patients. METHODS: Fifty patients that visited Maryknoll Hospital between March 2006 and December 2006 were included in the study. Enrolled patients underwent a Korean fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (KFIQ), ocular surface disease index (OSDI), Schirmer test and tear break up test (TBUT). The KFIQ and OSDI are used to assess the severity of fibromyalgia symptoms and dry eye symptoms, respectively. The Schirmer test and TBUT are used to assess reduced tear production and excessive tear evaporation, respectively. We assessed the OSDI, Schirmer test, TBUT, age and disease duration in terms of the KFIQ. RESULTS: The incidence of dry eye was high in FM patients (12.0% by the Schirmer test and 92.0% by the TBUT test). The OSDI positively correlated with the KFIQ (p=0.006). A positive correlation was observed between the Schirmer test and the KFIQ (p=0.024), but not between the TBUT and the KFIQ. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, dry eye was found to be common in FM patients. Excessive tear evaporation was a more common cause of dry eye than reduced tear production. The patients with more severe dry eye symptoms tend to have more severe FM symptoms.