OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether endometrial proteins with molecular weight(MW) of 92 kilodalton(kDa) may be a specific antigen involved in autoimmunity in endometriosis and to evaluate the efficacy of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) in determining antiendometrial antibodies, compared with Western blot. METHODS: Sera of forty-eight patients with endometriosis, 21 patients with normal control patients, 7 patients with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kustner-Hauser(MRKH) syndrome and cord sera of 22 male neonates(experimental controls) were tested for the presence of antibodies against endometrial proteins by Western blot and ELISA. All statistics were performed by Fishers exact teast and Student's t-test. RESULTS: Fourteen(29.1%), 18.8%, and 33.3% of sera from patients with endometriosis had immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies that were reactive against endometrial proteins of MW of 71, 92, 103 kDa while any sera from experimental controls did not show any reactivity against these antigens. Overall, threr were specific IgG antiendometrial antibodies detectable by Western blot in 56.3% of patients with endometriosis and in a normal eontrol patient. The binding activities of serum IgG to endometrial proteins were higher in patients with endometriosis than other groups. Circulating IgG antiendometrial antibodies were detected by ELISA in 54.3% of 35 patients with endometriosis and in 2 normal control patients. The concordance rate between ELISA and Western blot in determining the presence of antiendometrial antibodies was 78.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Ninety-two kDa endometrial protein is a specific antigen eliciting IgG responses in endometriosis. ELISA may be an useful method in screening autoimmune endometriosis.
Antibodies* ; Autoimmunity ; Blotting, Western* ; Endometriosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulins ; Male ; Mass Screening

No abstract available.
Animals ; Female ; In Situ Hybridization ; Mice* ; Ovary*

Myotonic dystrophy is the most common autosomal dominant myopathy in adults. Our patient, a 41 year-old female suffering from myotonic muscular dystrophy, developed upper thoracic myelopathy due to hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum and the posterior longitudinal ligament. She had a typical hatchet face and ptosis with "head hanging forward" appearance caused by neck weakness. Motor weakness, sensory changes and severe pain below T4 level, along with urinary incontinence began 3 months ago. Genetic and electrodiagnostic studies revealed myotonic dystrophy type 1. Magnetic resonance imaging of the spine showed loss of cervical lordosis and spinal cord compression due to hypertrophied ligamentum flavum and posterior longitudinal ligament at T1 to T3 level. We concluded that her upper thoracic myelopathy was likely related to the thickness of the ligamentum flavum and posterior longitudinal ligament due to repetitive mechanical stress on her neck caused by neck muscle weakness with myotonic dystrophy.
Adult ; Animals ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Ligamentum Flavum ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; Lordosis ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Muscular Diseases ; Muscular Dystrophies ; Myotonic Dystrophy ; Neck ; Neck Muscles ; Spinal Cord Compression ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spine ; Stress, Mechanical ; Stress, Psychological ; Urinary Incontinence

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate how educational status influences cardiovascular risk factors and care of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. METHODS: From Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey IV, we obtained survey results of 6,835 men and 9,067 women more than 30 years old. We performed multivariate logistic regression to compare cardiovascular risk factors and care of hypertension and diabetes respective to educational status. RESULTS: There were disparities in cardiovascular risk factors by educational status. In men, impaired fasting glucose, high triglyceride, and smoking were less frequently found in the highest educated group than in the middle educated group. In women, the prevalence of abdominal obesity, impaired fasting glucose, high blood pressure, high triglyceride, and metabolic syndrome among the highest educated group were significantly lower. The proportion of those with proper physical activity in the highest educated group was found to be less than that of the middle educated group, regardless of gender. For care of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, disease recognition and treatment were lower among the lowest educated group in men, while these disparities were not shown in women. Instead, the lowest educated group in diabetic women received screening exams for eye and kidney complications less than the middle education group. In both genders, the high education group had a higher chance of receiving education about diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: There were educational disparities in cardiovascular risk factors and care of hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The disparities were found to be different by gender.
Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Educational Status ; Eye ; Fasting ; Female ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Motor Activity ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prevalence ; Quality of Health Care ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a common condition, and the majority of patients have one or more cutaneous complications. Among them, xerosis is well known to be closely related to diabetics. The xerosis is inversely reflected upon skin surface hydration, the state of which can be exactly assessed with various investigating instruments, such as a hydrometer and corneometer. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the hydration state of diabetics with normal persons by the use of a corneometer and hydrometer. METHODS: A total of 267 diabetics were asked whether they felt xerosis or pruritus. In a subgroup of 31 patients, the water content was evaluated and compared by the parameters of diabetic severity. Forty-one non-diabetics were selected for the normal control.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Pruritus ; Skin* ; Water

We report the case of a 16-year-old male patient who was involved in a traffic accident and transferred to the emergency department with mild chest pain. We initially did not find evidence of tracheal injury on computed tomography (CT). Within an hour after presentation, the patient developed severe dyspnea and newly developed subcutaneous emphysema and pneumoperitoneum were discovered. Abdominal CT showed no intra-abdominal injury. However, destruction of the right main bronchus was identified on coronal images of the initially performed CT scan. Emergency exploratory surgery was performed. The amputated right main bronchus was identified. End-to-end tracheobronchial anastomosis was performed, and the patient recovered without any complications.
Accidents, Traffic ; Adolescent ; Bronchi* ; Bronchial Diseases ; Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Male ; Pneumoperitoneum* ; Rupture* ; Subcutaneous Emphysema ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Purpose: Several studies have shown that zinc has a significant influence on erectile function. However, no studies evaluating the cellular distribution of free zinc in penile erectile tissue have been performed. Therefore, this study aimed to test whether free zinc is present in penile tissue and whether it may be involved in the electrical stimulation (ES)-induced penile erection. Materials and Methods: The subjects for this study were 26 young (8-week-old) male C57BL/6J mice. After the cavernous nerve was exposed through a midline stomach incision, 14 mice received ES of the cavernous nerve (ES group), whereas 12 mice did not (control group). Intracavernous pressure (ICP) (consisting of 10 V at a duration of 1 min, frequency of 12 Hz and a pulse width of 1 m/s) was recorded during ES. Immediately after ICP was recorded, penile tissues were harvested for histological and biochemical analysis, including analysis of zinc transporter 3 (ZnT3) and intracellular free zinc levels. Results: The expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and endothelial NOS (eNOS) in penile tissue was significantly greater in the ES group than in the control group (p=0.036 and 0.016, respectively). And then, ZnT3 and intracellular free zinc were present in the penile tissue of both groups. However, ZnT3 immunofluorescence in the ES group was more intense in the dorsal nerve bundle (22% increase, p=0.032). The ES group also showed higher intensity N-(6-methoxy-8-quinolyl)-para-toluenesulfonamide (TSQ) fluorescence signals indicative of intracellular free zinc level in the penile tissue compared to the control group (49% increase in dorsal nerve bundle, p=0.001; 50% increase in corpus cavernosum, p=0.001). Conclusions The results of the study supported the expression and distribution of free zinc in penile tissue and increased levels after penile erection. Therefore, this study provides anatomical evidence for the potential role of free zinc in penile erection.

BACKGROUND: The costimulatory molecule 4-1BB, a member of nerve growth factor receptor/tumor necrosis factor (NGFR/TNFR) super family, is involved in cell survival and death. METHODS: In this study, female C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice were used as a recipient, and DBA/2 (H-2(d)) as a donor to assess a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and CTL response in vitro, and skin graft survival. IL-2, IFN level was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) analysis showed that 4-1BB- deficient responder cells showed enhanced cellular proliferation over littermate controls. In contrast, IL-2 production was diminished only in 4-1BB knockout cultures. The IFN expression, on the other hand, was comparable between the groups. When female C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice were grafted with the trunk skin of DBA/2 (H-2d) mice, the in vivo tissue destruction of 4-1BB-deficient mice was not distinct from the normal littermates. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that 4-1BB is critical for the induction of alloreactive responses in vitro but 4-1BB alone could not change the course of skin rejection in vivo.
Allografts* ; Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Hand ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed ; Mice* ; Necrosis ; Nerve Growth Factor ; Skin* ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: The costimulatory molecule 4-1BB, a member of nerve growth factor receptor/tumor necrosis factor (NGFR/TNFR) super family, is involved in cell survival and death. METHODS: In this study, female C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice were used as a recipient, and DBA/2 (H-2(d)) as a donor to assess a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) and CTL response in vitro, and skin graft survival. IL-2, IFN level was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) analysis showed that 4-1BB- deficient responder cells showed enhanced cellular proliferation over littermate controls. In contrast, IL-2 production was diminished only in 4-1BB knockout cultures. The IFN expression, on the other hand, was comparable between the groups. When female C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice were grafted with the trunk skin of DBA/2 (H-2d) mice, the in vivo tissue destruction of 4-1BB-deficient mice was not distinct from the normal littermates. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that 4-1BB is critical for the induction of alloreactive responses in vitro but 4-1BB alone could not change the course of skin rejection in vivo.
Allografts* ; Animals ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Graft Survival ; Hand ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed ; Mice* ; Necrosis ; Nerve Growth Factor ; Skin* ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

Gastric carcinogenesis has been studied in various aspects. Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection and mutation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene have recently been argued to be important factors of gastric carcinogenesis. There have been many studies to determine the precise mechanism of how Hp is related to gastric cancer, but it is so far still unknown. We studied the relationship of Hp infection and p53 overexpression and tried to discover some significance in clinicopathologic factors such as age, sex, stage, site, differentiation and gross morphology. Ninety-six patients who were diagnosed with gastric cancer at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Medical College from November 1995 to March 1996, and 96 control patients of non-ulcer dyspepsia (NUD) were studied by endoscopic biopsy of normal gastric tissue and cancer tissue. They also underwent the CLO (Delta West, Melbourne, Western Australia) test for Hp positivity and p53 immunohistochemical stain for p53 positivity. These data were analyzed for comparison with the clinicopathologic characteristics of gastric cancers. In conclusion, the differentiated group cancer had a significantly high Hp positivity and p53 positivity. There is a possibility that Hp infection and p53 tumor suppressor gene mutation might be significantly related in the gastric carcinogenic process of well- and moderately-differentiated adenocarcinomas, but further study is necessary to determine more direct clues on the carcinogenic roles of these factors.
Adenocarcinoma/metabolism* ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Helicobacter Infections/metabolism* ; Helicobacter pylori* ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Protein p53/analysis* ; Stomach Neoplasms/metabolism*