BACKGROUND: In this study, we used high-resolution DNA typing to investigate the distribution of HLA alleles and haplotypes in Koreans. METHODS: HLA-A, -B, -C, and -DRB1 alleles were genotyped at the allelic (4-digit) level in 474 healthy Koreans. HLA genotyping was performed in two steps. Initially, serologic typing or generic-level DNA typing was performed using the PCR-sequence-specific oligonucleotide method, and then allelic DNA typing (exons 2 and 3 for class I, and exon 2 for DRB1) was carried out using the PCR-single-strand conformation polymorphism method or sequence-based typing. HLA allele and haplotype frequencies and linkage disequilibrium values were calculated by the maximum likelihood method using a computer program developed for the 11th International Histocompatibility Workshop. RESULTS: A total of 21 HLA-A, 40 HLA-B, 22 HLA-C, and 29 HLA-DRB1 alleles were found in Koreans. The most frequent alleles in each locus with frequencies of > or =10% were, in decreasing order of frequency, as follows: A*24:02, A*02:01, A*33:03; B*51:01; C*01:02, C*03:03; and DRB1*09:01. The numbers of two- and three-locus haplotypes with frequencies of >0.5% were as follows: 44 A-C, 42 B-C, 51 A-B, 52 B-DRB1, 42 A-C-B, and 34 A-B-DRB1. Thirteen A-B-DRB1 haplotypes with frequencies of > or =1.0% comprised 26.0% of the total haplotypes. The six most common haplotypes were as follows: A*33:03-B*44:03-DRB1*13:02 (3.7%), A*33:03-B*44:03-DRB1*07:01 (3.0%), A*33:03-B*58:01-DRB1*13:02 (3.0%), A*24:02-B*07:02-DRB1*01:01 (2.8%), A*30:01-B*13:02-DRB1*07:01 (2.3%), and A*11:01-B*15:01-DRB1*04:06 (2.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The information obtained in this study can be used as basic data for Koreans in the fields of organ transplantation, disease association, and anthropologic studies.
Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics ; DNA Fingerprinting/methods ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; HLA-A Antigens/*genetics ; HLA-B Antigens/*genetics ; HLA-C Antigens/*genetics ; HLA-DR Antigens/*genetics ; Haplotypes ; Humans ; Republic of Korea

Primary chondrosarcoma of the heart and its metastasis to the brain is extremely rare. We describe the case ofa patient who underwent resection of cardiac chon-drosarcoma only to relapse with brain metastasis two yearslater. MR images showed that these metastatic tumors were slightly hypointense relative to the brain onT1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. The masses were highly enhanced. Peritumoraledema appeared less extens ive and the focal cystic portion was seen within the mass, corresponding to myxoid degeneration.
Brain Neoplasms* ; Brain* ; Chondrosarcoma* ; Heart ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: In recent years, DNA typing has been increasingly used in HLA-A and B typing, and commercial kits based on the PCR-SSO method are most commonly used in Korea. However, SSO typing kits show ambiguities to some extent in the generic level typing of HLA-B alleles. We analyzed the ambiguities in the Dynal RELI(TM) SSO HLA-B test (Dynal B test) with confirmatory typing results, and developed and evaluated the accuracy and efficacy of an `Interpretation Program for Koreans'. METHODS: A total of 2, 169 Korean marrow donor registry samples were typed for HLA-B alleles using the Dynal B test (56 probes) and all of the 222 cases showing ambiguities were subjected to confirmatory typing. We have developed an `Interpretation Program for Koreans' for the Dynal B test on the basis of the allele frequencies of Korean, Japanese and Asian populations. The samples showing ambiguities in the Dynal B test were interpreted using the `Interpretation Program for Koreans' and the results were compared with confirmatory typing results. RESULTS: The Dynal B test showed 10.2% (222/2, 169) of ambiguities and these ambiguities were classified into 47 different band patterns. These ambiguity patterns were interpreted using the `Interpretation Program for Koreans', which showed ambiguities in 14 band patterns and 3.4% (73/2, 169) of the total samples. Among these ambiguities, 4 band patterns (55 samples) arose from those alleles which are not found in Koreans and rarely found in Japanese or Asians (B*1522, *3521, *7802). Thus, excluding these rarities, only less than 1% (18/2, 169) of samples resulted in ambiguities, and most (16/18) of these were B55 vs. B56 ambiguities. The results from the `Interpretation Program for Koreans' were fully concordant with the confirmatory typing results. CONCLUSIONS: The Dynal B test showed around 10% ambiguities and the `Interpretation Program for Koreans' showed 3.4% of ambiguities. Excluding the ambiguities with extremely low probabilities arising from rare alleles in Japanese or Asians, actually >S99% of the samples could be typed accurately using the program without additional confirmatory tests.
Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bone Marrow ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Gene Frequency ; HLA-A Antigens ; HLA-B Antigens* ; Humans ; Korea ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: HLA allele and haplotype distribution varies widely among different ethnic groups. For organ transplantation, anthropology and disease association studies, reliable data on the HLA distribution in each ethnic group is needed. In recent years, more accurate DNA typing methods are increasingly used in place of the serologic typing method. METHODS: We examined HLA-A, -B, and -DR alleles at the generic (serologic) level in 1, 600 Koreans registered for the Korea Marrow Donor Program (KMDP) using the PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotide (SSO) method (Dynal RELI(TM) kit). Allele and haplotype frequencies were estimated by the maximum likelihood method using the computer program developed for the 11th International Histocompatibility Workshop. RESULTS: HLA alleles found in Koreans were 13 in A, 31 in B, and 13 in DR locus. Most frequent alleles with frequencies > or =10% were: A2, A24, A33, A11; B62, B44, B51; DR4, DR15, DR13, and DR8 in each locus in decreasing order of frequency. Subtype frequencies of B61 and B75 serologic specificities were identified: B*4002 (51.1%), *4003 (7.6%) and *4006 (41.3%) for B61, and B*1502 (9.5%) and *1511 (90.5%) for B75. Two-locus haplotypes with frequencies> or =0.1% were presented (99 A-B, 115 B-DR), among which those with frequencies> or =1.0% showing significant positive linkage disequilibrium (P< or=0.001) were 19 A-B and 18 B-DR haplotypes. A total of 185 A-B-DR haplotypes with frequencies> or =0.1% were identified in Koreans, among which 38 haplotypes showed frequencies> or =0.5%. We compared the results of this study with those of our previous study of serologically typed HLA-A, -B and DNA typed HLA-DR in 2, 000 Koreans. Results from the two studies were similar, but blank frequencies were decreased to 0% for HLA-A, -B, and -DR locus compared with the frequencies of 0.3-0.8% in the previous study (A, 0.3%; B, 0.8%; DR, 0.3%) and all of the serologic splits could be assigned in this study. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we provided the allele and haplotype frequencies of HLA-A, -B, and -DR in Koreans defined by a DNA typing method, which can be used as basic data on Koreans for organ transplantation and disease association studies.
Alleles ; Anthropology ; Bone Marrow ; DNA ; DNA Fingerprinting* ; Education ; Ethnic Groups ; Gene Frequency* ; Haplotypes ; Histocompatibility ; HLA-A Antigens* ; HLA-B Antigens ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Humans ; Korea ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Organ Transplantation ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Majority of immune-mediated platelet refractoriness is caused by HLA alloimmunization and can be effectively managed by HLA-matched platelet transfusions. However, HLA class I-typed large-sized donor registry has not been well established in Korea. We evaluated the effectiveness of platelet transfusion using HLA crossmatch-compatible donors without HLA typing. METHODS: Sixteen patients showing platelet refractoriness to random donor platelets (1 hr corrected count increment [CCI] <7,500/microliter/m2) and HLA alloimmunization (class I panel reactive antibody >60%) were crossmatched with 78 platelet apheresis-eligible donors using National Institute of Health (NIH) and anti-human globulin (AHG) lymphocytotoxicity methods. NIH negative/AHG negative and NIH negative/AHG positive donors were selected as best and second choice donors, respectively. RESULTS: Eleven patients (11/16, 69%) could find NIH-crossmatch negative donors and 27 donors (27/78, 35%) belonged to the best donors. To 8 patients, 32 apheresis platelet products from 19 donors were transfused. The mean 1 hr and 24 hr CCI values from the best donors were significantly higher than those from random donors (17,893 vs 2,358, P=0.003; 8,292 vs -614, P<0.001), whereas such differences were not observed for those from the second choice donors. Platelet storage time was inversely correlated with CCI values and platelets stored < or =10 hr after collection gave significantly higher CCI values. Neither ABO match nor donor status (related vs unrelated) affected the transfusion effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: Effective post-transfusion platelet increment using HLA crossmatch-compatible donors was attained in patients with platelet refractoriness due to HLA antibodies, and this method can be used effectively where HLA-typed platelet donor registry is not available.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Grouping and Crossmatching/*methods ; Child ; Female ; HLA Antigens/*immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Transfusion/*methods ; Thrombocytopenia/therapy ; Time Factors ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: In unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the accuracy of HLA registry typing (RT) of donors is important for timely search and coordination of HLA-matched donors. We analyzed discrepancies between HLA RT and confirmatory typing (CT) results of stem cell donors in Korean and foreign registries. METHODS: We analyzed the HLA typing results of 834 donors for whom CT was performed at Seoul National University Hospital between April 1997 and March 2010. For CT, DNA typing was used in majority of the cases and HLA-A and HLA-B serological typing was used in some early cases. The discrepancies between the typing results were analyzed at the serological/generic level. RESULTS: The overall discrepancy rate (RT error rate) was 3.2%, and the rate was similar in the Korean and foreign registries. The discrepancy rates in the Korean and foreign registries were more than 10% in the 1997-2001 searches, but decreased to less than 3% in the 2002-2010 searches. Analysis of 19 cases of RT errors in the Korean registry revealed 3 cases of sample switchover errors and 16 cases of typing errors in one of the HLA-A, HLA-B, or HLA-DR loci. The RT error rate in Japan Marrow Donor Program was lower than those in other foreign registries. CONCLUSIONS: The error rate of HLA RT results of unrelated stem cell donors in the Korean registry was similar to those in the foreign registries, and has decreased in the recent searches following the change in the typing method from serological to DNA typing.
Diagnostic Errors/statistics & numerical data ; HLA Antigens/*genetics ; *Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells/metabolism ; Histocompatibility Testing/*methods ; Humans ; *Registries ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: EUS can detect bile duct stones (BDS) that are undetectable on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). BDS associated with acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) are small and tend to be excreted spontaneously. This study evaluated the usefulness of early EUS in patients with ABP and undetectable BDS on MDCT. METHODS: Forty-one patients with ABP and undetectable BDS on MDCT underwent EUS within 24 hours of admission and were diagnosed with BDS, sludge, dilated common bile duct (CBD), or normal CBD. ERCP was performed in patients with BDS, sludge, or clinical deterioration. The diagnostic yield and the effects of early EUS on morbidity, mortality, and the length of hospitalization were evaluated. RESULTS: EUS detected BDS or sludge in 48.8% of patients examined. BDS was the diagnosis in 13 patients, sludge in seven, and neither for 21 patients. ERCP was performed in 20 patients with BDS or sludge, in two patients with coexisting cholangitis, and in one patient with worsening liver function tests. ERCP identified BDS in 12 patients and sludge in seven. No lesions were diagnosed in four patients by ERCP. All patients improved, and the length of hospitalization in patients with ERCP was 9.0 days, without ERCP 7.1 days. Two patients with major complications by ERCP were hospitalized for a prolonged time. CONCLUSIONS: Early EUS may be useful to select patients for therapeutic ERCP in cases of suspected ABP with undetectable BDS on MDCT.
Bile Ducts ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholangitis ; Choledocholithiasis* ; Common Bile Duct ; Diagnosis ; Endosonography* ; Gallstones ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Mortality ; Multidetector Computed Tomography* ; Pancreatitis* ; Sewage

Gastric hamartoma is usually an asymptomatic, small, sessile polyp, located in the body and fundus of the stomach. A case was experienced involving a solitary large hamartomatous polyp prolapsing through the pylorus in a 63-year old female presented with melena. A gastroendoscopy determined a pedunculated gastric polyp prolapsing through the pylorus with fresh blood oozing and congestion. A UGI series revealed that a 5 cm sized lobulated mass with a long stalk attached at the greater curvature side of the fundus. The polyp was removed by an endoscopic snare polypectomy and diagnosed as a gastric hamartoma.
Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Female ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Melena ; Middle Aged ; Polyps ; Pylorus* ; SNARE Proteins ; Stomach

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We aimed to determine the clinical features of patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones with high serum levels of AST or ALT. METHODS: A retrospective review of 93 patients with CBD stones was done. Clinical characteristics, diameters of CBD, and prior diagnosis before endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) were assessed between two groups (group 1 with serum AST or ALT levels 400 IU/L and group 2 with AST and ALT < or = l00 IU/L). RESULTS: Nineteen patients in group 1 and 17 patients in group 2 were enrolled. The most common presenting symptom was abdominal pain in both groups. Patients in group 1 was about 14 years younger than group 2 (p=0.003). The duration of symptoms in group 1 and group 2 were 4.1 and 36.8 days, respectively (p=0.005). The diameter of CBD was smaller in group 1 (11.4 mm) than in group 2 (16.3 mm) (p=0.001). Most patients were diagnosed as CBD stones by abdominal ultrasound or computed tomography before ERCP, except two patients in group 1 who were diagnosed as hepatitis initially. All of the patients were recovered by stone removal through ERCP and antibiotics treatment. There were inverse correlations between the diameter of CBD and AST or ALT levels (r=-0.517, p=0.002 and r=-0.504, p=0.002, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: CBD stones with high levels of AST or ALT are frequently observed in younger patients with shorter duration of symptoms and a smaller diameter of CBD. ERCP seems to be a valuable method in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients.
Aged ; Alanine Transaminase/*blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/*blood ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Choledocholithiasis/*diagnosis/enzymology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

PURPOSE: Tropisetron (Nabovan (R)) is a new specific 5-HT3 receptor antagonist with a long terminal half life in plasma and high bioavailability after oral intake. We compared the antiemetic effectiveness and tolerability of tropisetron with ondansetron in the highly emetogenic chemotherapy (including cisplatin > or =50 mg/m2). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine patients were administered in a randomized, multicenter, open, cross-over study and received either tropisetron plus dexamethasone (n=31) or ondansetron plus dexamethasone (n=34) during six days of two successive cycles of chemotherapy. RESULTS: Total control of vomiting with either Ondansetron or tropisetron was 94.2 % vs 93.5 % in D1 (P=0.157); 90.6 % vs 93.1 % in D2 (P=0.18); 90.3 % vs 93.1 % in D3 (P=0.655); 96.4% vs 96.4 % in D4 (P=0.157); 96.4 % vs 100 % in D5 (P=0.317); 96.4 % vs 100% in D6, respectively. The duration of nausea showed significant decreasements in tropisetron at D5 and D6 (P=0.025, P=0.03, respectively), but the severity of nausea and performance status showed no significance. Headache and constipation were the most common side effects in both groups. CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference in efficacy and tolerability between tropisetron and ondansetron in the cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Antiemetics ; Biological Availability ; Cisplatin ; Constipation ; Cross-Over Studies ; Dexamethasone ; Drug Therapy ; Half-Life ; Headache ; Humans ; Nausea* ; Ondansetron* ; Plasma ; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3 ; Vomiting*