• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.125-135
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• 2002

In most of the medical literature that discusses the common problem of movement in patients with cerebral lesions. This critical problem is ascribed to a mechanism involving uninhibited neural activity. The goals of neurological physical therapy are focus on reduce of muscle hypertonicity, facilitates muscle activities, and improve of performance in living environment. A variety of studies suggest that spasticity is a distinct problem and separate from the muscle weakness. It has become increasingly recognized that the major functional deficits following brain damage are largely due to negative features such as muscle weakness and loss of performance rather than spasticity. Adequate recruitment of prime mover, not release was able to carry out the movement tasks well. The strengthening exercise of spastic limbs on changes in muscle properties and performance skill, the repeated motor practice has been identified as crucial for motor recovery. This article support the concept that strengthening is an appropriate intervention to improve the quality of physical function in patients with central nervous system lesions. Further studies and therapeutic approaches should be efforts at improving motor neuron recruitment in agonist rather than reducing activity in antagonists while retraining muscle strengthening.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.215-218
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• 2015

Occasionally, unexpected neurological deficits occur after lumbar spinal surgery. We report a case of monoparesis after lumbar decompressive surgery. A 63-year-old man, who had undergone decompression of L4-5 for spinal stenosis 4 days previously in the other hospital, visted the emergency department with progressive weakness in the left leg and hypoesthesia below sensory level T7 on the right side. He had been cured of lung cancer with chemotherapy and radiation therapy 10 years previously, but detailed information of radiotherapy was not available. Whole spine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed fatty marrow change from T1 to T8, most likely due to previous irradiation. The T2-weighted MR image showed a high-signal T4-5 spinal cord lesion surrounded by a low signal rim, and the T1-weighted MR image showed focal high signal intensity with focal enhancement. The radiological diagnosis was vascular disorders with suspicious bleeding. Surgical removal was refused by the patient. With rehabilitation, the patient could walk independently without assistance 2 months later. Considering radiation induced change at thoracic vertebrae, vascular disorders may be induced by irradiation. If the spinal cord was previously irradiated, radiation induced vascular disorders needs to be considered.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.39 no.10
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• pp.750-755
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• 2016

Although innate color preference of motile organisms may provide clues to behavioral biases, it has remained a longstanding question. In this study, we investigated innate color preference of zebrafish larvae. A cross maze with different color sleeves around each arm was used for the color preference test (R; red, G; green, B; blue, Y; yellow). The findings showed that 5 dpf zebrafish larvae preferred blue over other colors (B > R > G > Y). To study innate color recognition further, tyrosinase mutants were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 system. As a model for oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) and color vision impairment, tyrosinase mutants demonstrated diminished color sensation, indicated mainly by hypopigmentation of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Due to its relative simplicity and ease, color preference screening using zebrafish larvae is suitable for high-throughput screening applications. This system may potentially be applied to the analysis of drug effects on larval behavior or the detection of sensory deficits in neurological disorder models, such as autism-related disorders, using mutant larvae generated by the CRISPR/Cas9 technique.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.147-151
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• 2010

Giant congenital melanocytic nevi are very rare, with an estimated incidence of 1 in 20,000 live births. They have a high risk of malignant melanoma transformation and neurological deficits such as neurocutaneous melanocytosis and epilepsy. Early evaluation, surgical intervention and careful long term follow up are recommended to monitor for malignant transformation. We report one case of giant congenital melanocytic nevi diagnosed at birth with the related literatures.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2016

Although discal cysts are a rare cause of low back pain and radiculopathy. Currently, surgical excision is usually the first-line treatment for discal cysts. However, alternative treatment methods have been suggested, as in some cases symptoms have improved with interventional therapies. A 27-year-old man presented with an acute onset of severe pain, and was found to have a discal cyst after an open discectomy. The patient underwent cyst aspiration and steroid injection through the facet joint under C-arm guidance. After the procedure, the patient's pain improved to NRS 0-1. On outpatient physical examination 1 week, and 1 and 3 months later, no abnormal neurological symptoms were present, and pain did not persist; thus, follow-up observation was terminated. When a discal cyst is diagnosed, it is more appropriate to consider interventional management instead of surgery as a first-line treatment, while planning for surgical resection if the symptoms do not improve or accompanying neurologic deficits progress.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.252-256
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• 2009

Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare congenital tumor that occurs mostly in 5-15 year old children. There have been only 5 cases previously reported that described the cystic nature within these tumors. We present a case of a MA accompanied by a separate macrocyst. A normally developed 2 year-old female patient presented with partial and generalized seizures. The brain computerized tomogram and magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of a calcified mass accompanied by a cyst in the right parietal area, surrounded by low density and high attenuation edema and hemorrhage. Upon right parietal craniotomy, a $1.6cm{\times}1.2cm{\times}0.5cm$ sized plate-like, gray-white, slightly hard mass was seen and it was completely excised. Approximately 1 cm from the mass in the anterior lateral direction, a cyst was found and subsequent biopsy of the cyst wall revealed no tumor tissue, and therefore the cyst was not removed. Pathologic report demonstrated the meningioangiomatosis. Follow up examination 2 years later showed no recurrence of the tumor, and there was no evidence of neurological deficits. Authors suggest that cysts that arise in the surrounding tissues of tumors may not be tumor cysts, and do not require surgical removal.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.645-652
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• 2016

Objectives: To compare the effects of Eastern-Western integrative medical care (EWIM) and Western single rehabilitation therapy (WSRT) on the functional recovery of stroke patients.Methods: Seventy-six stroke patients were recruited retrospectively. The participants were divided into two groups: EWIM and WSRT. Data on age, sex, stroke-related risk factors, stroke type, neurological deficits according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), elapsed time to the initiation of rehabilitation, duration from the onset to follow up, initial functional status, and function after therapy for 3 mon were obtained from a review of the patients’ medical records. Between-group differences in functional outcomes were analyzed before and after treatment using the functional ambulation category (FAC), Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA), modified Barthel Index-Korean version (K-MBI), and Euro-Quality of Life-5 Dimension (EQ-5D).Results: At 3-mon poststroke, all the functional outcome measures had improved in both groups (P<0.05). However, the improvements were greater in the EWIM group, and the improvement was statistically significant in the K-MBI (P=0.048) and EQ-5D (P=0.042).Conclusions: With respect to activities of daily living and health-related quality of life, EWIM is a more effective stroke therapy than WSRT.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.105-108
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• 2008

Cystic glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a rare disease. Its exact prevalence has not yet been reported. Also, the mechanism of cyst formation remains to be elucidated. We report a case of GBM with a large peripheral cyst. A 43-year-old woman visited our clinic with a 3-month history of severe headache, memory impairment and general weakness. T1-weighted gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) image revealed a midline enhanced solid mass and bilateral symmetric banana-shaped peripheral cysts. A centrally enhanced mass was measured $2{\times}4$ cm in size and both mass and cysts as $7{\times}7$ cm. Both the frontal lobe and the frontal horn were severely compressed inferiorly and posteriorly. We resected a midline solid tumor and cysts via the bilateral interhemispheric transcortical approach. Histopathologic examination revealed GBM. The patient was subsequently treated with fractionated conventional brain radiation therapy, followed by temozolomide chemotherapy. Eighteen months later, there was no tumor recurrence and no neurological deficits were noted. Our patient showed no tumor recurrence and a long survival at a long follow-up.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.360-363
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• 2013

We recently experienced self-detachment of the Solitaire stent during mechanical thrombectomy of acute ischemic stroke. Then, we tried to remove the detached stent and to recanalize the occlusion, but failed with endovascular means. The following diffusion weighted image MRI revealed no significant increase in infarction size, therefore, we performed surgical removal of the stent to rescue the patient and to elucidate the reason why the self-detachment occurred. Based upon the operative findings, the stent grabbed the main thrombi but inadvertently detached at a severely tortuous, acutely angled, and circumferentially calcified segment of the internal carotid artery. Postoperative angiography demonstrated complete recanalization of the internal carotid artery. The patient's neurological deficits gradually improved, and the modified Rankin scale score was 2 at three months after surgery. In the retrospective case review, bone window images of the baseline computed tomography (CT) scan corresponded to the operative findings. According to this finding, we hypothesized that bone window images of a baseline CT scan can play a role in terms of anticipating difficult stent retrieval before the procedure.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.391-396
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• 2017

Objective : To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Ginkgolide B (GB) against ischemic stroke-induced injury in vivo and in vitro, and further explore the possible mechanisms concerned. Methods : Transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) mice and oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-treated N2a cells were used to explore the neuroprotective effects of GB. The expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was detected via Western blot and qRT-PCR. Results : GB treatment (4 mg/kg, i. p., bid) significantly reduced neurological deficits, water content, and cerebral infarct volume in tMCAO mice. GB also significantly increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio, reduced the expression of caspase-3, and protected against OGD/R-induced neuronal apoptosis. Meanwhile, GB caused the up-regulation of BDNF protein in vivo and in vitro. Conclusion : Our data suggest that GB might protect the brain against ischemic insult partly via modulating BDNF expression.