Correlations between developmental trajectories of brain functional connectivity, neurocognitive functions, and clinical symptoms in patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Several studies on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have suggested a developmental sequence of brain changes: subcortico-subcortical connectivity in children, evolving to subcortico-cortical in adolescence, and culminating in cortico-cortical connectivity in young adulthood. This study hypothesized that children with ADHD would exhibit decreased functional connectivity (FC) between the cortex and striatum compared to adults with ADHD, who may show increased FC in these regions. Seventy-six patients with ADHD (26 children, 26 adolescents, and 24 adults) and 74 healthy controls (25 children, 24 adolescents, and 25 adults) participated in the study. Resting state magnetic resonance images were acquired using a 3.0 T Philips Achieva scanner. The results indicated a gradual decrease in the number of subcategories representing intelligence quotient deficits in the ADHD group with age. In adulthood, the ADHD group exhibited lower working memory compared to the healthy control group. The number of regions showing decreased FC from the cortex to striatum between the ADHD and control groups reduced with age, while regions with increased FC from the default mode network and attention network in the ADHD group increased with age. In adolescents and adults, working memory was positively associated with brain activity in the postcentral gyrus and negatively correlated with ADHD clinical symptoms. In conclusion, the findings suggest that intelligence deficits in certain IQ subcategories may diminish as individuals with ADHD age. Additionally, the study indicates an increasing anticorrelation between cortical and subcortical regions with age in individuals with ADHD.

Resting-State fMRI Study of ADHD and Internet Gaming Disorder.

Objective: We aimed to understand whether Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) share similar brain functional connectivity (FC) between the frontal and subcortices. Method: We compared changes in clinical symptoms and brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 26 patients with ADHD but without IGD, 29 patients with ADHD and IGD, and 20 patients with IGD but without ADHD. Results: The functional connectivity (FC) from the cortex to subcortex in both groups was decreased relative to that in age-matched healthy participants. One-year treatment for ADHD and IGD symptoms increased the FC between the cortex and subcortex in all ADHD participants and all IGD participants with good prognoses compared with those in all ADHD participants and all IGD participants with poor prognoses. Conclusion: Patients with ADHD and IGD shared similar brain FC at baseline and FC changes in response to treatment.

The correlation between family relationships and brain activity within the reward circuit in adolescents with Internet gaming disorder.

Disrupted reward circuits and diminished behavioural control have been suggested as the pathophysiologies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Family functioning is thought to play an important role in reward-related control. We hypothesized that adolescents with IGD show disrupted patterns of family relationships, which are associated with brain activity within the reward circuit. 42 adolescents with IGD without comorbidities and 41 healthy controls were assessed for family function and psychological states using the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (K-WISC), Korean version of DuPaul's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale (K-ARS), Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS), Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the relationship domain of the Family Environmental Scale (FES-R). Brain activity was assessed via resting-state fMRI. Adolescents with IGD showed increased K-ARS, BAI, and YIAS scores, but decreased FES-R and FES-cohesion subscale scores; YIAS scores were negatively correlated with FES-R scores. Brain connectivity from the cingulate to the striatum was decreased, positively correlated with FES-R scores, and negatively correlated with IGD severity. Adolescents with IGD showed disrupted family relationships, which was associated with the severity of the disorder, and dis-connectivity within the reward circuit.

Differences between the clinical and histopathological tumor stages in breast cancer diagnosed using vacuum-assisted breast biopsy.

The present study aimed to determine the difference between the clinical tumor stage (T stage) based on pre-operative ultrasound and the histopathological T stage subsequent to surgery in vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB)-diagnosed breast cancer. Tumor sizes measured ultrasonography (USG) and histologically were retrospectively calculated and analyzed using paired t-tests in 209 patients diagnosed with breast cancer using VABB. The patients were classified into two groups, consisting of breast imaging reporting and data system (BI-RADS) category 4a or below, who underwent complete resection by VABB, and BI-RADS category 4b or above, who underwent incisional biopsy by VABB. The histopathological tumor size was found to be smaller compared with the USG-determined size in 92.3% of pT1a, 75.5% of pT1b, 44.2% of pT1c, 47.7% of pT2 and 0% of pT3 cases. Furthermore, the histopathological tumor size was smaller compared with the USG-determined size in 62.8% of cases classified as BI-RADS category 3-4a and in 53.7% of cases classified as BI-RADS category 4b-5. The smaller the primary tumor at the time of diagnosis by VABB, the higher the likelihood of pathological underestimation on post-operative histopathological assessment compared to pre-operative USG.

Five-year results of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in Korean patients with lower body mass index (30-35 kg/m²).

BACKGROUND: In Asia, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is the leading weight loss procedure for treating morbid obesity. However, long-term results of isolated LSG performed in patients with lower body mass index (BMI) (30-35 kg/m(2)) are scarce. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 75 patients with BMI of 30-35 kg/m(2) who underwent LSG from January 2003 to January 2013. Seventy-one of these patients who had more than 6 months of follow-up were included in this report. LSG was performed laparoscopically using a linear stapler over a 48-French bougie from 2003 to 2006. Since 2007, 36-French bougie was used for resection, and a continuous seromuscular suture at the resection margin was added. RESULTS: Mean age at the time of surgery was 33.7 ± 10.3 years in our patients. Mean weight was 85.7 ± 9.0 kg and mean BMI was 32.4 ± 1.6 kg/m(2) preoperatively. The percentage of excess BMI loss (%EBL) in the postoperative first, third, and fifth year was 84.1 ± 25.5, 79.8 ± 31.0, and 78.5 ± 28.5%, respectively. Follow-up rate at the first, third, and fifth year was 90.0, 71.9, and 42.9%. There were no 30-day perioperative mortality and major complications including bleeding and leakage. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that LSG is a safe and effective weight loss option for Korean patients with lower BMI. Randomized prospective control studies between gastric banding, or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and LSG are needed to confirm long-term weight loss effect and safety of LSG in this group of patients.

Vacuum-assisted breast biopsy for breast cancer.

Sonographic examination of the breast with state-of-the-art equipment has become an essential part of the clinical work-up of breast lesions and a valuable adjunct to mammographic screening and physical examination. Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and core-needle biopsy (CNB) are well-established, valuable techniques that are still used in most cases, whereas vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (VABB) is a more recent technique. VABB has proven clinical value and can be used under sonographic, mammographic, and magnetic resonance imaging guidance. The main indication for the use of VABB is for biopsies of clustered microcalcifications, which are usually performed under stereotactic guidance. This method has been proven reliable and should replace surgical biopsies. The ultrasound-guided procedure is still more a matter of discussion, but it should also replace surgical biopsies for nodular lesions, and it should even replace surgery for the complete removal of benign lesions. This viewpoint is gradually gaining acceptance. Different authors have shown increased diagnostic accuracy of VABB compared to FNA and CNB. VABB particularly leads to less histological underestimation. The other indications for VABB are palpable or nonpalpable nodular lesions or American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System 3 and 4A lesions. For masses that are likely benign or indeterminate, we attempt to completely remove the lesion to eliminate uncertainty on later follow-up images. VABB offers the best possible histological sampling and aids avoidance of unnecessary operations. VABB complications include bleeding or pain during the procedure, as well as postoperative pain, hemorrhaging, and hematomas. But, these hemorrhaging could be controlled by the post-procedural compression and bed resting. Overall, VABB is a reliable sampling technique with few complications, is relatively easy to use, and is well-tolerated by patients. The larger amount of extracted tissue reduces sampling error.

Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery: report of a case.

The etiology of cystic adventitial disease is unknown and the optimal treatment modality remains to be elucidated. We report a 58-year-old man diagnosed to have cystic adventitial disease in the popliteal artery, who was treated by a resection of the diseased segment of the arteries and then underwent reconstruction with a reversed saphenous vein graft interposition.