BACKGROUND: DNA content analysis of human solid tumor is now widely performed by flow cytometric study. One of the most interesting and potentially observation in this field is that proliferative activity(S-Phase fraction of cell cycle) may profoundly affect the prognosis. METHOD: S-Phase fraction(SPF) have been measured by flow cytometric method using tumor cells isolated from paraffin embedded tissue. To evaluate the prognostic significance, SPF of small lung cancer cell was assessed in 42 patients who died after receiving anticancer chemotherapy. RESULTS: 1) Mean survival time of patients with small cell lung cancer was 190(± 156) days, Survival time were shortened, when TNM stage and PS scale were advanced. 2) Mean value of SPF of patients with small cell lung cancer was 27.4(±8.5)%. SPF had nothing to do with advance of TNM stage and PS scale. 3) In each identical TNM stage, there were not statistic significance between SPF and survival times. 4) There was a tendency like that higher SPF, better chemotherapeutic CONCLUSION: We could not find statistic significance between SPF and survival times, but SPF was a good predictive factor for chemotherapeutic response.
DNA ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma ; Survival Rate

Nitric oxide (NO) induces apoptotic cell death in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages. To elucidate the roles of SEK1/MKK4, a upstream kinase for both c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK/SAPK) and p38 kinase, on NO-induced apoptosis, we generated clones of RAW 264.7 cells which stably overexpressd kinase inactive SEK1 (RAW/SEK1-Kl) or wild type SEK1 (RAW/SEK1-WT). Treatment of kinase inactive SEK1 transfected RAW 264.7 cells (RAW/SEK1-Kl) with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO generating agent, significantly decreased the cell viability up to 20% of RAW control cells which were treated with the same amount of SNP. However, RAW/SEK1-WT cells were less susceptible to NO induced apoptosis. For a while, caspase-3 like activity in NO treated RAW/SEK1-Kl cells was significantly increased with parallell to apoptotic death rate. However, caspase1 like activity was not affected by NO in any transfectants. The NO induced apoptosis in RAW/SEK1-Kl cells was significantly prevented by the addition of caspase-3 like inhibitor (N-Ac- DEVD-CHO). In addition, the phosphotransferase activity of JNK1 in NO-treated RAW/SEK1-WT is significantly increased, but not in RAW/SEK1-Kl cells. These results suggest that SEK1 may play anti-apoptotic role in RAW cells from NO-induced apoptosis.
Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Clone Cells ; Macrophages ; Mortality ; Nitric Oxide* ; Nitroprusside ; Phosphotransferases ; Protein Kinases

BACKGROUND: To study the prognosis of patients with lung cancer, many investigators have reported the methods to detect cell proliferation in tissues including PCNA, thymidine autoradiography, flow cytometry and Ki-67. PCNA, also known as cyclin, is a cell related nuclear protein with 36KD intranuclear polypeptide that is maximally elevated in S phase of proliferating cells. In this study, PCNA was identified by paraffin-embedding tissue using immunohistochemistry which has an advantage of simplicity and maintenance of tissue architecture. The variation of PCNA expression is known to be related with proliferating fraction, histologic type, anatomic(TNM) stage, degree of cell differentiation, S-phase fraction and survival rate. We analyzed the correlation between PCNA expression and S-phase fraction, survival. METHODS: To investigate expression of PCNA in primary lung cancer, we used immunohistochemical stain to paraffin-embedded sections of 57 resected primary non-small cell lung cancer specimen and the results were analyzed according to the cell type, cell differentiation, TNM stage, S-phase fraction and survival. RESULTS: PCNA expression was dMded into five group according to degree of staging(-, +, ++, +++,++++). Squamous cell type showed high positivity than in adenocarcinoma. Nonsignificant difference related to TNM stage was noticed. Nonsignificant difference related to degree of cell differentiation was noticed. S-phase fraction was increased wit advance of PCNA positivity, but t could not reach the statistic significance. The 2 year survival rate and median survival time were -50% 13 months, +75% 41.3 months, ++73% 33.6 months, +++67% 29.0 months, ++++25% 9 months with statistic significance (P<0.05, Kaplan-Meier, generalized Wilcox). CONCLUSION: From this study. PCNA expression was high positive n squamous cell cancer. And, there was no relationship between PCNA positivity and TNM stage, cellular differentiation or S-phase fraction. But, the patients with high positive PCNA staining showed poor survival rate than the patients with lower positive PCNA. It was concluded that PCNA immunostaining is a simple and useful method for survival prediction in paraffin embedded tissue of non-small cell lung cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Autoradiography ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclins ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasms, Squamous Cell ; Nuclear Proteins ; Paraffin ; Prognosis ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen* ; Research Personnel ; S Phase ; Survival Rate* ; Thymidine

Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) was introduced into the treatment of refractory or relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia and showed a striking effectiveness in China and United States multicenter study. However, the mechanistic basis for the carcinogenic or therapeutic effects of arsenics is still poorly understood. So, this study is performed to determine whether As2O3 induces apoptosis through intrinsic caspase cascades in acute promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HL-60 cells were treated with As2O3 to investigate apoptosis through signaling of caspase cascades and mitochondrial dysfunction. RESULTS: As2O3 (>0.5 uM) decreased the viability of HL-60 cells in a dose-dependent manner, which was revealed as apoptosis shown chromatin condensation and ladder pattern DNA fragmentation. As2O3 increased the catalytic activity of caspase family cysteine proteases including caspase-3 and -9 proteases. Consistently, PARP, an intracellular biosubstrate of caspase-3 protease, was cleaved from 116 kDa to 85 kDa fragments. It also induced the change of mitochondrial membrane potential. Morever, As2O3 resulted in the increase of Bak. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that As2O3 induces apoptosis of HL-60 cells through activation of intrinsic caspase protease with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Apoptosis* ; Arsenic* ; Caspase 3 ; China ; Chromatin ; Cysteine Proteases ; DNA Fragmentation ; HL-60 Cells* ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Strikes, Employee ; United States

No abstract available.

The authors studied on anxiety, using Zung's self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), on the subjects of 329 men and 522 women of 60 years old and older. This study was carried out for 8 months from November 1983 to June 1984 in the area of Seoul, Taegu and Kyungsan Gun, Kungpook province. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the means of total anxiety scores between the two groups of men and women. The anxiety scores in items of sweating, apprehension, dyspnea, restlessness and insomnia were relatively high in both groups. The scores of faintness, panic, fear, tremor and facial flushing were low in both groups. Among 329 men, 48 (14.6%) showed rather serious anxiety level of score 50 or higher, while 153 of 522 women (29.4%) showed the same score. Among these psychosocial factors, supporter, living, place, religion and security system are significantly related with anxiety scores in both groups (p<0.01).
Anxiety* ; Daegu ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Flushing ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health* ; Panic ; Psychology ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Seoul ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Tremor

Bacterial, fungal, and viral infections of the skin with extended skin involvement can occur during the early phase of human immunodeficiency virus infection. A significant reduction in circulating CD4+ lymphocytes in the late stage of the disease may cause tumors of the skin such as Kaposi's sarcoma. A 40-year male patient, a former sailor who had multiple sexual contact with native African women, presented with multiple tender follicular pustules and fibrotic brown patches on both his legs. these had been present for 6 months. The skin lesions were healed leaving brown pigmentation. Laboratory examinations revealed the presence of leukopenia, thromocytopenia and a reversed T4/T8 ratio. The ELISA and Western blot analysis to human immunodeficiency virus were positive. A skin biopsy from a brown patch showed early stages of scar tissue and perivascular hemosiderin deposition. We herein report a case of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patient with atypical dark brown scarring atrophic patches on the lower legs following purulent bacterial folliculitis. This may have been an early manifestation of Kaposi's sarcoma from a preceding skin lesion.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; Biopsy ; Blotting, Western ; Cicatrix* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Folliculitis* ; Hemosiderin ; HIV ; Humans ; Leg ; Leukopenia ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Pigmentation ; Sarcoma, Kaposi ; Skin

No abstract available.
Lung Injury* ; Lung* ; Paraquat*

No abstract available.
Hemoptysis*

PURPOSE: Convulsive status epilepticus(SE) is a serious, life-threatening neurological condition that requires immediate treatment to avoid significant morbidity and mortality. Despite improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of SE in the last two decades, SE in young infancy is still associated with high morbidity and mortality. Thus, understanding the varied etiology and clinical presentation and prognosis of SE is very important for improving the methods of evaluation and treatment of this major neurological condition. METHODS: Eighty-eight cases with 53 who have been admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Fatima Hospital during the period of July, 1992 to June, 1997 were included. We described age distribution, etiologic classification according to age, seizure type, neurologic outcome, recurrence of SE and epileptic seizure. RESULTS: SE was frequent in young infant less than 3 years of age. Major etiology of SE was acute symptomatic(34.1%) and febrile(31.8%). In the seizure type, the majority(92.1%) was generalized convulsive, many cases(69.3%) of SE were first seizures. The neurologic sequelae were found in 15.9% and mortality rate in 5.7%. The neurologic sequelae and mortality were higher in acute symptomatic. In sixty-three follow-up cases, eleven cases were epileptic seizure, eight cases were recurred SE and two cases were recurred febrile SE. CONCLUSION: SE is a life-threatening neurological condition and occurrs mostly in young infants less than 3 years of age. It requires immediate detection of etiology in SE and aggressive treatment for reducing mortality and morbidity rates.
Age Distribution ; Child* ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Epilepsy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infant ; Mortality ; Pediatrics ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Seizures ; Status Epilepticus*