Takayasu's Arteritis Presenting with Hypertension in Pulmonary Tuberculosis / 대한내과학회지

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is an inflammatory disease involving large arteries and their branches. The etiology of TA is unknown, but infectious agents and genetic factors play a significant role in its pathogenesis. A relationship between TA and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection has been suggested, since both diseases have similar chronic inflammatory lesions and the presence of occasional granulomas in arterial walls. Patients with TA have an increased immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens, suggesting a role for this organism in the immunopathogenesis of the disease. Herein, we present a case of TA with active pulmonary tuberculosis in a Korean patient. A 21-year-old male presented with hypertension and active pulmonary tuberculosis. TA invading the renal artery was diagnosed while evaluating hypertension. The patient was treated with prednisolone, methotrexate, anti-hypertensive medications, and anti-tuberculosis medications.

Solitary Primary Gastric Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a relatively rare subgroup of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that is characterized by an aggressive and severe disease course with frequent involvement of regional lymph nodes and/or early metastasis. Because most cases of MCL are diagnosed in the advanced stages, clinical data on extranodal or early stage MCL is lacking, and MCL that is both extranodal and diagnosed during the early stages is even more rare. There have been several case reports on primary gastric MCL, which comprise a type of extranodal MCLs. However, to our knowledge, there have been no reports on solitary primary gastric MCL without regional lymph node involvement or distant metastasis. Recently, the authors experienced an uncommon case of MCL with the aforementioned characteristics that was managed with chemotherapy followed by allogenic stem cell transplantation.

Two Cases of Incidentally Diagnosed Idiopathic Left Atrial Appendage Ostial Stenosis

We report here on 2 cases of idiopathic left atrial appendage ostial stenosis (LAA), and this rare finding was detected on transesophageal echocardiography. Its clinical implication is still unknown, given the small number of reported cases. Incompletely ligated LAA has characteristics similar to those observed in idiopathic LAA ostial stenosis, including the narrowed orifice, the small LAA cavity and the accelerated blood flow across the stenotic area. Since the incompletely ligated LAA has been reported to be complicated with thromboembolic events, we can assumed that the patients with idiopathic LAA ostial stenosis have a higher risk of thromboembolism than those with a normal LAA structure.

The clinical significance of interferon inducible protein-10 in patients having chronic hepatitis C with genotype I / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent studies have shown that serum interferon gamma-inducible protein-10 (IP-10) concentration decreased after pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy, and was associated with a sustained virologic response (SVR). The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of the pretreatment IP-10 level and change in serum IP-10 level between 1 month before and after treatment and its association with various virologic responses in patients having chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with genotype 1 undergoing pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy. METHODS: Thirty-six patients having CHC with genotype I undergoing pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy who had available stored sera 1 month before and after treatment were enrolled retrospectively. Serum IP-10 levels were measured by ELISA. Serum HCV RNA was measured by RT-PCR (detection limit0.05). The change in serum IP-10 between 1 month before and after treatment had no clinical meaning based on various virologic responses (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The level of pretreatment IP-10 and change in IP-10 level between 1 month before and after treatment were not predictive factors of a SVR. Additional large-scale studies to determine the SVR-predicting role of serum IP-10 levels in patients with CHC are needed.