A 60-year-old man presented with pain on the left cheek and lateral nose. The patient had been diagnosed with facial herpes zoster in the left V2 area 6 months previously. Medical treatment was prescribed for 6 months but it had little effect. We blocked the left infraorbital nerve under ultrasound guidance, but pain relief was short term. Therefore, we performed pulsed radiofrequency treatment on the left infraorbital nerve under ultrasound guidance. Six months after the procedure, the reduction of pain was still maintained, and there was no need for further management.

A large-scale oligonucleotide (LSON) chip was developed for the detection of the plant viruses with known genetic information. The LSON chip contains two sets of 3,978 probes for 538 species of targets including plant viruses, satellite RNAs and viroids. A hundred forty thousand probes, consisting of isolate-, species- and genus-specific probes respectively, are designed from 20,000 of independent nucleotide sequence of plant viruses. Based on the economic importance, the amount of genome information, and the number of strains and/or isolates, one to fifty-one probes for each target virus are selected and spotted on the chip. The standard and field samples for the analysis of the LSON chip have been prepared and tested by RT-PCR. The probe’s specific and/or nonspecific reaction patterns by LSON chip allow us to diagnose the unidentified viruses. Thus, the LSON chip in this study could be highly useful for the detection of unexpected plant viruses, the monitoring of emerging viruses and the fluctuation of the population of major viruses in each plant.

Hemifacial spasm is defined as unilateral, involuntary, irregular twitching of all or parts of the muscles innervated by facial nerves. Here, we present a case of recurrent hemifacial spasm after microvascular decompression (MVD) treated with pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) treatment with good results. A 35-year-old woman suffered from recurrent hemifacial spasm after MVD that was refractory to medical treatment and botulinum toxin injections. We attempted a left facial nerve block twice. Then, we applied PRF at a maximum temperature of 42℃ for 120 sec. Some response was observed, so we applied PRF two additional times. The frequency of twitch decreased from 3-4 Hz to < 0.5 Hz, and subjective severity on a visual analogue scale also decreased from 10/10 to 2-3/10. PRF treatment might be an effective medical treatment for refractory hemifacial spasm and has fewer complications and is less invasive compared with those of surgery.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of continuous infusion of ondansetron on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients receiving intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IV-PCA) following laparoscopic gynecological surgery.Methods: Sixty ASA class I and II patients scheduled for gynecological laparoscopic surgery were randomly divided into the following 3 groups that received the specified dosages of ondansetron mixed with IV-PCA: placebo (group 1), ondansetron 8 mg (group 2), ondansetron 16 mg (group 3). The incidences of nausea, vomiting, visual analogue scale (VAS), and side effects were then recorded in the recovery room, 24 h, 48 h and 72 h postoperatively.Results: There were no significant differences in the occurrence of nausea between group 1 and 2. However, the incidence of nausea in group 3 was significantly lower than in group 1 at 24 h and 48 h after surgery. In addition, significant differences in the occurrence of vomiting were observed among the three groups. However, with the exception of pruritus, no side effects were observed in any of the groups.Conclusions: IV-PCA mixed with 16 mg of ondansetron effectively prevented nausea at 24 h and 48 h after gynecologic laparoscopic surgery.

BackgroundMilnacipran is a balanced serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor with minimal side effects and broad safety margin. It acts primarily on the descending inhibitory pain pathway in brain and spinal cord. In many animal studies, intrathecal administration of milnacipran is effective in neuropathic pain management. However, there is no study for the neurological safety of milnacipran when it is administered neuraxially. This study examined the neurotoxicity of epidural milnacipran by observing behavioral and sensory-motor changes with histopathological examinations of spinal cords in rats.MethodsSixty rats were divided into 3 groups, with each group receiving epidural administration of either 0.3 ml (3 mg) of milnacipran (group M, n = 20), 0.3 ml of 40% alcohol (group A, n = 20), or 0.3 ml of normal saline (group S, n = 20).ResultsThere were no abnormal changes in the behavioral, sensory-motor, or histopathological findings in all rats of groups M and S over a 3-week observation period, whereas all rats in group A had abnormal changes.ConclusionsBased on these findings, the direct epidural administration of milnacipran in rats did not present any evidence of neurotoxicity in behavioral, sensory-motor and histopathological evaluations.