Cerebral venous thrombosis is commonly related to infectious processes, trauma, neoplasm, puerperium, and the use of oral contraceptives, etc., but this case was associated with a very rare condition, "polycythemia". This case was confirmed by hematologic study, brain C-T, conventional angiography, and digital subtraction angiography(DSA). The patient was treated by venesection, the use of urokinase and dicumarol, and lumbo-peritoneal shunt(L-P shunt), etc. Post-treatment DSA showed the complete recanalization of all dural sinuses except the left transverse sinus, suggesting normal variant.
Angiography ; Brain ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Dicumarol ; Humans ; Phlebotomy ; Polycythemia* ; Postpartum Period ; Sinus Thrombosis, Intracranial* ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; Venous Thrombosis

Prostate-specific antigen(PSA) in serum exists in several molecular forms that can be measured by immunodetectable assays; free PSA, PSA complexed to alpha1-antichymotripsin and total PSA, which represents the sum of the free and complexed forms. We have determined the amount and ratio of these forms may be seful for increasing the ability of PSA to be used in distinguishing prostate cancer(PCa) from benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH). We evaluated 117 asymptomatic healthy male controls(mean age 55.8, range 50-71) with no clinical evidence of PCa, 125 men with symptomatic BPH(mean age 67.6, range 52-89) who underwent prostatic surgery(open prostatectomy or TLRP) and 14 men with biopsy-proven, untreated PCa(mean age 71.3 range 54-86). Using ACS-PSA2 assay(Ciba-Corning). we measured the free PSA(F), total PSA(T) and free/total(F/T) ratio. The method utilized was monoclonal-polyclonal immunometric, chemiluminescent assay, using a standardized calibrator 90:10. We also performed total PSA measurement with Tandem-R PSA assay(Hybritech). Correlation between ACS-PSA2 assay and Tandem-RPSA assay was excellent (r2=0.93). Receivr operating characteristics(ROC) analyses between them showed very similar performances. ROC analysis of free to total PSA ratio was more superior than that of free form PSA only. When all subjects were included, the ratio of free to total PSA in controls, BPH and PCa were 0.27, 0.24 and 0.07, respectively. which significantly differentiated between PCa and benign conditions(p<0.01). When the cut-off value (Fr) was set into 0.12, its diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 86% and 84%, respectively. These findings suggest that free to total PSA ratio may enhance the ability to distinguish benign histologic conditions from cancer.
Humans ; Luminescent Measurements ; Male ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen* ; Prostatectomy ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Recently developed International Prostate Symptom Score(I-PSS) is highly recommended for the evaluation of urinary symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia(BPH) and many linguistic translations have been made. English version of I-PSS was translated into Korean. Three groups of urologists and ordinary people participated for the translation and back-translation of I-PSS. A Korean version was finalized and translation validity was assessed by a survey with 48 English speaking Korean aged men. Test-retest reliability was confirmed by an another questionnaire survey with 76 aged men. Translation of I-PSS into Korean was valid. The I-PSS Korean version was internally consistent and sensitive as well as specific for the discrimination of symptomatic groups. Also test-retest reliability was acceptable.
Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Linguistics ; Male ; Prostate ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Translations

We demonstrated previously that Coptidis rhizoma extract (CRE) prevented S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine-induced apoptotic cell death via the inhibition of mitochondrial membrane potential disruption and cytochrome c release in RINm5F (RIN) rat insulinoma cells. In this study, the preventive effects of CRE against cytokine-induced beta-cell death was assessed. Cytokines generated by immune cells infiltrating pancreatic islets are crucial mediators of beta-cell destruction in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The treatment of RIN cells with IL-1beta and IFN-gamma resulted in a reduction of cell viability. CRE completely protected IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-mediated cell death in a concentration-dependent manner. Incubation with CRE induced a significant suppression of IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-induced nitric oxide (NO) production, a finding which correlated well with reduced levels of the iNOS mRNA and protein. The molecular mechanism by which CRE inhibited iNOS gene expression appeared to involve the inhibition of NF-kappa B activation. The IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-stimulated RIN cells showed increases in NF-kappa B binding activity and p65 subunit levels in nucleus, and IkappaBalpha degradation in cytosol compared to unstimulated cells. Furthermore, the protective effects of CRE were verified via the observation of reduced NO generation and iNOS expression, and normal insulin-secretion responses to glucose in IL-1beta and IFN-gamma-treated islets.
Animals ; Cell Death/drug effects ; Cell Line ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism ; Cell Survival/drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/*pharmacology ; Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic/drug effects ; Glucose/pharmacology ; I-kappa B Proteins/metabolism ; Insulin/secretion ; Insulin-Secreting Cells/*cytology/*drug effects/enzymology ; Interferon-gamma/*pharmacology ; Interleukin-1beta/*pharmacology ; Male ; NF-kappa B/*metabolism ; Nitric Oxide/biosynthesis ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/genetics/metabolism ; Protein Transport/drug effects ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley