• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.207-213
• /
• 1996

Herpes simplex virus(HSV) infections of the CNS are associated with significant morbidity and mortality even when appropriate antiviral therapy is administered. HSV infections of the brain can be subdivided into two categories : neonatal HSV infections, which usually are caused by HSV type 2, and herpes simplex encephalitis(HSE), which occur in patients over 3 months old and is nearly uniformly caused by HSV type 1. The clinical presentation of HSE is one of the focal encephalopathic process associated with altered levels of consciousness, fever, focal seizures and hemiparesis. But because of the lack of pathognomic clinical presentation and diagnostic procedure, the efforts to develop alternative diagnostic procedure have led to the use of new diagnostic technique such as polymerase chain reaction(PCR). We report a case of HSV type 1 encephalitis in 13 month old male infant who presented with altered level of consciousness, fever and focal seizures. With the use of the PCR, HSV-1 DNA was detected in cerebrospinal fluid from the patient. The symptoms and signs of encephalitis subsided by treatment with acyclovir in 14 days.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.152-156
• /
• 1999

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is a rare syndrome which causes postural headache associated with low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure, without preceding events such as lumbar puncture, back trauma, operative procedure or illness. The headche is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, neck stiffness, vertigo, photophobia and in rare cases diplopia, transient visual obscuration. Brain MRI may show subdural effusion, downward displacement of brain and diffuse and continuous meningeal enhancement when enhanced by gadolinium. Low opening pressure was shown through lumbar puncture. The value of protein and cell count of CSF may be slightly elevated. This syndrome usually resolves itself spontaneously or with strict bed rest. When the headache is persistent or incapacitating, more aggressive treatment may be necessary. We treated two cases of SIH in which epidural blood patch produced immediate and complete relief of the symptoms.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.149-154
• /
• 1999

In anatomical aspects, magnetic resonance image offers more accurate information than other medical images such as X ray, ultrasonic and CT images. This paper introduces a method that segments and detects lesion for 2 dimensional axial MR brain images automatically. Image segmentation process consists of 2 stages. First stage extracts cerebrum region using thresholding and morphology. In the second stage, white matter, gray matter and cerebrospinal fluid in the cerebrum are extracted using FCM, We could improve processing time as removing uninterested region. Finally symmetry measure and anatomical Knowledge are used to detect lesion.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
• /
• 2000.07a
• /
• pp.441-445
• /
• 2000

This study is to segment white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) on a brain MR image of coronal section and to calculate the volume of each. First, we segmented the whole region of a brain from a black colored background, a skull and a fat layer. Then, we calculated the partial volume of each component, which was present in scanning finite thickness, with the arithmetical analysis of gray value from the internal region of a brain showing the blurring effects on the basis of the MR image forming principle. Calculated partial volumes of white matter, gray matter and CSF were used to determine the threshold for the segmentation of each component on a brain MR image showing the blurring effects. Finally, the volumes of segmented white matter, gray matter, and CSF were calculated. The result of this study can be used as the objective diagnostic method to determine the degree of brain atrophy of patients who have neurodegenertive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and cerebral palsy.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.115-117
• /
• 2014

Variety of biomarkers that are related to the Alzheimer's disease and its diagnosis and progress have been found. However, research lacks in predicting the reaction of the treatment. In addition, there is no definite treatment reaction to the disease but rather it is varied. The purpose of this review article is to study the research of the biomarkers that are able to predict the treatment reaction. There was a research that illustrated a relationship between plasma amyloid ${\beta}$ peptide, cerebrospinal fluid tau, neuroanatomical biomarkers and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Polymorphisms in genes of the cholinergic markers AChE, BuChE, ChAT and PON-1 were found to be associated with better clinical response to acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Many pharmacogenetic studies have been conducted to evaluate the impact of the lipoprotein apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype on treatment response to acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. However, there is no significant influence of the APOE genotypes on treatment response. Further research is needed to find other predictors of treatment with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.120-122
• /
• 2016

Arachnoid cysts (AC) are intraarachnoidal cerebrospinal fluid collections, and account for 1% of all intracranial space-occupying lesions. Intracystic hemorrhage of the AC can occur spontaneously, but this is an extremely rare event. Herein, we present a case of hemorrhagic AC in a nontraumatic patient in the left middle cranial fossa. We also performed relevant literature review on this disease.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.391-395
• /
• 2002

Shunt valves used to treat patient with hydrocephalus were numerically simulated to investigate influence of pressure pulsation on their flow control characteristics. We modeled flow orifice through the shunt valve and imposed pulsating pressure and valve diaphragm movement to compute flow through the valve. The results of our study indicated that flow rates increased more than 40% by introducing pressure pulsation and diaphragm movement on the shunt valve. Our results demonstrate the pressure-flow control characteristics of shunt valves implanted above human brain may be quite different from those obtained by syringe pump test just after manufacture that induces uniform pressure.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.85-88
• /
• 2005

Encephalitis is known as a rare complication of varicella zoster virus (VZV) reactivation. It is usually regarded as a complication of a cutaneous infection in patients with impaired cellular immunity. The reported incidence of herpetic motor involvement range between 0.5 and 31%, but is possibly more frequent as the weakness is readily obscured by pain. A 53-years-old woman, who presented with severe shoulder pain, fever, headache and seizure, which developed the day after skin eruptions, also developed motor paresis 7 days after the seizure. Her cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was VZV-Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) negative, but VZV specific IgG antibody positive, and her brain MRI was found to be normal. With the early diagnosis and proper treatment, such as intravenous administration of acyclovir, stellate ganglion block and Yamamoto New Scalp Stimulation (YNSS), the patient completely recovered, without psychoneurological sequelae. Herein, we present this case, with a discussion of the relevant literature on the incidence, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of central nervous system VZV involvement.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.670-673
• /
• 2009

Purpose: Epidural abscesses and subdural empyemas after craniotomy are uncommon, potentially lethal, complications of neurosurgery. Patients with these complications may be difficult to manage and dural reconstruction in these patients are challenging. Methods: A 28 - year - old female patient showed recurrent intracranial infection after craniotomy for evacuation of a arachnoid cyst and subdural hematoma. Despite prolonged systemic antibiotic administration and a debridement of the subdural space, infection persisted, as evidenced by persistent fever, an elevated WBC count, CSF leakage, low CSF glucose level, and purulent wound discharge. The authors removed the previously applied lyophilized dura and transferred free omental flap to reconstruct the dura, obliterate the cyst and cover the cerebral hemisphere in the craniotomy defect. Microvascular anastomosis was between gastroepiploic and superficial temporal vessels. Results: The postoperative course was uneventful and flap survival was excellent. The infection - resistant omental tissue allowed sufficient blood circulation and dead space control. The patient was discharged 1 month after surgery and wound discharge or recurrence was absent during 13 months of follow up periods. Conclusion: The use of vascularized free omentum proved useful in cases of intractable cranial wound infection and cerebrospinal fluid leakages.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.290-294
• /
• 2016

A 13-month-old intact female poodle dog presented with an acute history of circling and seizure episodes. On the basis of the results of neurologic examination combined with magnetic resonance imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis (CSF), meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE) was suspected. Therapy with mycophenolate mofetil plus prednisolone was initiated, following which the clinical signs showed improvement for only one month before gradually worsening again. Acute progression of the clinical disease was observed, and the patient was euthanized 91 days after initial presentation. This case was definitively diagnosed as necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME) according to the results of post-mortem histopathological examination. This report describes the clinical findings, serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics, and histopathological changes in a case of acute NME.