The purpose of this study was to findout the characteristics of helminthic infection, especially. those of Ascaris lumbricoides infection in the slum, population residing in suburban Seoul. This study was conducted on 301 slum residents in Machun-Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul on August, 1977. The results of this study could be summarized, as follows: 1) The prevalence rate of Ascaris lumbricoides among 194 subjected residents was 59.8 percent. The highest prevalence was observed in the age group of 0~9 years (prevalence rate: 65 per cent). 2) The average. E.P.G. of A. lumbricoides were found to be 3,100 in 111 infected cases and this fingure was also the highest in the age group, 0~9 years. 3) After chemotherapy with pyrantal pamoate in dose of 10mg/kg disregarding the results of stool examination, satisfactory follow-up stool collection for worm detection could be performed in I54 cases, among 301 subjected cases. Out of the 154 cases, 97 (63per cent) passed out Ascaris worm(s) and the average worm burden was 4.7 per infected cases. The analysis of collected data revealed that the prevalence rate was higher in female, although, the worm burden per infected case was higher in male residents. The children aged 0-9 years harbored the worms as much as adults. 4) By observing the collected worms an4 discriminating the reinfected young Ascaris aged less than 2-months, it was found that the reinfection occurred in 14 per cent of residents in a month and average amount of reinfection was 0.205 per month per person. These two reinfection, indices were also the highest in children. From the above results, it was concluded that the reinfection of Ascaris lumbricoides was . actively occurred in the residents of the slum area and the children in this area were the most seriously affected by the infection.
Adult ; Ascaris lumbricoides* ; Ascaris* ; Child ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Helminths ; Humans ; Male ; Poverty Areas* ; Prevalence ; Seoul*

Ten cases infected with Taenia saginata were treated with Bithionol, 2, 2' thiobis (4,6-dichlorophenol) which is well known as an excellent anthelminthhic against paragonimiasis and their follow-up studies were carried on within 3 to 12 months after treatment. Bithionol, 50 mg dose per kg of body weight was divided into two equal dose and administered orally in 30 minutes intervals. Three hours later, this was followed with a sodium sulfate or magnesium sulfate purge. The strobilas without scolices were found in the stools after the medication and the follow-up studies have shown the complete deworming in all cases. It is well tolerated, toxic effects being uncommon and when present, limited to mild gastro-intestinal disturbances.
parasitology ; helminth ; cestoda ; Taenia saginata ; chemotherapy ; bithionol

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence of capsular retraction in malignant hepatic tumors and the factorsinvolved. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1994 and December 1996, we retrospectively reviewed the CT scansof 152 patients with pathologically-proven, peripherally-located, malignant hepatic tumors. We evaluated size,site, portal and hepatic venous obstruction, bile duct dilatation, and liver atrophy in 18 cases involvingcapsular retraction. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of capsular retraction among malignant hepatic tumors was18/152(12%) ; the prevalence was 9/129(7%) in hepatocellular carcinoma, 6/14(43%) in cholangiocarcinoma and3/9(33%) in metastatic cancer ; among cases of cholangiocarcinoma and metastatic cancer, the prevalence washigh(p <0.05). Portal venous obstruction was seen in six patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (a high incidence ;p=0.041) and one with cholangiocarcinoma. Hepatic venous obstruction was demonstrated in one patient withhepatocellular carcinoma and one with cholangiocarcinoma. Among cholangiocarcinoma patients, bile duct obstructionwas seen in four and liver atrophy in three, but among metastatic cancer cases there were no similar findings. CONCLUSION: The main factors causing capsular retraction were portal venous obstruction in hepatocellularcarcinoma and bile duct obstruction and liver atrophy in cholangiocarcinoma.
Atrophy ; Bile Ducts ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Cholestasis ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies

The National Teacher Training Center for Health Personnel (NTTC) / Korea, administrated jointly by Seoul National University College of Medicine, is a resource to conduct programs on fundamental and applied problems in Korean medical education, to assist faculty of health professions to gain increased knowledge of the methods of teaching, educational evaluation and curriculum planning. Of varieties of educational services given for health profession faculty since its establishment in 1975, faculty development program has been one of the major activities to provide educational experiences to the faculty members to improve their teaching effectiveness by conducting workshops, seminars and conferences. A total of 30 short-term educational workshop programs, designed for newly appointed medical school faculty members were implemented during a period from 1981 to 1989, and their postworkshop questionnaires were analysed together with summary reports from convertors in view of evaluating immediate effectiveness. The number of participants was 655 from 27 out of 31 medical schools. They attended a 3-day promotional workshop under the same workshop objectives and format with a class size of no more than 30/workshop. The selection procedure was mostly relied on the recommendation through the dean's office. The workshop format was generally well accepted among the participants as a necessary mechanism for reclarification of the faculty roles in teaching-learning process, especially in professional educational programs. Teaching strategies including small group discussions and various group dynamics techniques were the integral parts of the workshop format aiming for the active participation throughout the educational activities in development of lecturing and test-item construction skills. Impeding and enhancing factors identified during the workshop were listed and recommendations to NTTC, medical schools and related organizations were made with regard to further improvement in faculty development programs.
Congresses as Topic ; Curriculum ; Education* ; Education, Medical ; Health Occupations ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Research Report ; Schools, Medical* ; Seoul ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Mesenteric panniculitis (MP) is non-specific inflammation of the adipose tissue that primarily involves the small bowel mesentery. Omental involvement has been rarely reported but we report a case of 25 years old woman with isolated lesser omental panniculitis. This patient was diagnosed by CT findings and recovered completely with conservative treatment. Invasive diagnostic methods or surgical exploration has been used to diagnose MP. However, all six reported cases of omental panniculitis including the current case showed a benign course; therefore, awareness of the CT findings is essential for the best diagnosis and management of omental panniculitis.
Adipose Tissue ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Mesentery ; Omentum ; Panniculitis ; Panniculitis, Peritoneal* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Mesothelioma is a rare aggressive tumor arising from the mesothelial cell and regarded as universally fatal disease with average survival around 1 year. The incidence rate is varied from one to forty per million in different countries and increasing by the year. The most common site of tumor origin is the pleura and only 20% to 33% of mesothelioma arise from the peritoneum. There are increasing reports of malignant mesothelioma with forty to fifty fatal cases per year in Korea. Histological studies with immunohistochemical stain is helpful for the diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma and imaging modality alone is not sufficient for diagnosis, so it is difficult to confirm diagnosis. A 64-year-old male patient was admitted to the hospital with a palpable mass on abdomen. The 6x6 cm sized huge mass was seen on the body of stomach adjacent to the peritoneum. We report a case of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma without evident exposure to asbestos, of which direct invasion to the gastric mucosa was confirmed by endoscopic biopsy and immunohistochemical stain.
Gastric Mucosa/*pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Mesothelioma/*diagnosis/pathology ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Peritoneal Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms/*pathology/secondary ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Malignant glioma is the most frequent type in brain tumors. The prognosis of this tumor has not been significantly improved for the past decades and the average survival of patients is less than one year. Thus, an effective novel therapy is urgently needed. TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), known to have tumor cell-specific killing activity, has been investigated as a novel therapeutic for cancers. We have developed Ad-stTRAIL, an adenovirus delivering secretable trimeric TRAIL for gene therapy and demonstrated the potential to treat malignant gliomas. Currently, this Ad-stTRAIL gene therapy is under phase I clinical trial for malignant gliomas. Here, we report preclinical studies for Ad-stTRAIL carried out using rats. We delivered Ad-stTRAIL intracranially and determined its pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. Most Ad-stTRAIL remained in the delivered site and the relatively low number of viral genomes was detected in the opposite site of brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Similarly, only small portion of the viral particles injected was found in the blood plasma and major organs and tissues, probably due to the brain-blood barrier. Multiple administrations did not lead to accumulation of Ad-stTRAIL at the injection site and organs. Repeated delivery of Ad-stTRAIL did not show any serious side effects. Our data indicate that intracranially delivered Ad-stTRAIL is a safe approach, demonstrating the potential as a novel therapy for treating gliomas.
Adenoviridae/genetics ; Animals ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain/drug effects/*metabolism/pathology ; Brain Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic ; DNA, Viral/metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; *Gene Therapy ; Glioma/genetics/metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Humans ; Liver/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; Protein Multimerization/genetics ; Rats ; Spleen/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand/genetics/*pharmacokinetics

Malignant glioma is the most frequent type in brain tumors. The prognosis of this tumor has not been significantly improved for the past decades and the average survival of patients is less than one year. Thus, an effective novel therapy is urgently needed. TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), known to have tumor cell-specific killing activity, has been investigated as a novel therapeutic for cancers. We have developed Ad-stTRAIL, an adenovirus delivering secretable trimeric TRAIL for gene therapy and demonstrated the potential to treat malignant gliomas. Currently, this Ad-stTRAIL gene therapy is under phase I clinical trial for malignant gliomas. Here, we report preclinical studies for Ad-stTRAIL carried out using rats. We delivered Ad-stTRAIL intracranially and determined its pharmacokinetics and biodistribution. Most Ad-stTRAIL remained in the delivered site and the relatively low number of viral genomes was detected in the opposite site of brain and cerebrospinal fluid. Similarly, only small portion of the viral particles injected was found in the blood plasma and major organs and tissues, probably due to the brain-blood barrier. Multiple administrations did not lead to accumulation of Ad-stTRAIL at the injection site and organs. Repeated delivery of Ad-stTRAIL did not show any serious side effects. Our data indicate that intracranially delivered Ad-stTRAIL is a safe approach, demonstrating the potential as a novel therapy for treating gliomas.
Adenoviridae/genetics ; Animals ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain/drug effects/*metabolism/pathology ; Brain Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic ; DNA, Viral/metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; *Gene Therapy ; Glioma/genetics/metabolism/pathology/*therapy ; Humans ; Liver/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; Protein Multimerization/genetics ; Rats ; Spleen/drug effects/metabolism/pathology ; TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand/genetics/*pharmacokinetics

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in South Korea. To decrease its mortality rate, its early detection is very important. Screening for HCC detection has been accepted as the management modality for patients with chronic liver disease. Reported herein is a case involving the marked rapid growth of HCC detected at an advanced stage in a screening test with a 3 months interval. A 49-year-old male patient with chronic hepatitis B was admitted to the hospital due to a liver mass detected on CT scan. The patient underwent a first CT scan 3 months earlier, and no tumor was detected. Follow-up CT scan was performed and showed a 9.1 cm HCC with portal vein thrombosis. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed, and the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was confirmed. In the pertinent guidelines, the recommended screening interval for HCC is 6-12 months, but the screening interval and additional diagnostic methods should be considered due to the variation in the HCC growth rate according to the patient's clinical characteristics.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Middle Aged ; Portal Vein ; Republic of Korea ; Thrombosis

C-terminal farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methylation has been known to be the last step in the post-translational modification processes of several important signal transduction proteins in eukaryotes including ras related GTP binding proteins and the gamma-subunit of heterotrimeric G proteins. Protein farnesyl cysteine carboxyl methyltransferase (PFCCMT; EC, 2.1.1.100) catalyzing the reaction is well characterized as being stimulated by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) and suppressed by N-acetyl-S-farnesyl-L-cysteine (AFC). As an initial step to understand the physiological significance of the process, we attempted to purify the enzyme, which was partially purified 130-fold (specific activity, 143 pmol of methyl group transferred/min/mg of protein) with yield of 1.8% after purification by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) on a Superdex 75 column. The enzyme was further purified with non denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (ND-PAGE) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The molecular weight of PFCCMT was determined to be about 30 kDa based on Superdex 75 FPLC as well as photoaffinity labelling with S-adenosyl-L-[methyl-3H] methionine ([methyl-3H]SAM). The partially purified enzyme (Superdex 75 eluate) was found to be characteristically affected by GTP gamma S, being activated about 40-fold in 2 mM, in contrast to ATP which did not show any effect on enzyme activity. Meanwhile, the enzyme was found to be markedly inhibited by AFC, reaching 0 activity in 2 mM. These observations strongly suggested that the partially purified enzyme was PFCCMT.
Acetylcysteine/pharmacology ; Acetylcysteine/analogs & derivatives ; Animal ; Brain/enzymology* ; Cattle ; Chromatography, Liquid ; Guanosine 5'-O-(3-Thiotriphosphate)/pharmacology ; Molecular Weight ; Protein Methyltransferases/isolation & purification* ; Protein Methyltransferases/chemistry ; Protein Processing, Post-Translational