No effective therapy has yet developed for liver fibrosis/cirrhosis by directly inhibiting the accumulation of extracellular matrix. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of tetrandrine in rat model of liver fibrosis induced by carborn tetrachloride (CCl4) administration intraorally. Tetrandrine, a calcium channel blocker, is anti-inflammatory constituent of the families Menispermaceae and Ranunculaceae, which have been used as folk remedies in China. Repeated administration of CCl4 for 14 weeks to rats induced liver fibrosis with steatosis. Rats were killed after 4, 8 or 14 weeks of treatment with CCl4, CCl4 tetrandrine (30 mg/kg) or CCl4 tetrandrine (50 mg/kg). The histopathological findings of liver were observed semi-quantitatively by light microscopy and volume percentage of the collagen deposition was determined by image analyzer. Tetrandrine inhibited collagen deposition induced by CCl4 administration, as shown by less severe steatosis and fibrosis and significantly decreased volume percentage of collagen fibers in CCl4 tetrandrine treated animals compared with CCl4 only group. Thus, the administration of tetrandrine holds great promise for treating subjects with liver fibrosis/cirrhosis as a result of chronic hepatic injury.
Animals ; Calcium Channels ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; China ; Collagen ; Extracellular Matrix* ; Fibrosis* ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Medicine, Traditional ; Menispermaceae ; Microscopy ; Models, Animal ; Ranunculaceae ; Rats*

Ectopic pregnancy refers to gestation in which the fertilized ovum implants on any other tissure than tbe mucus membrane lining the uterine cavity. Cornual (intertitial) pegnancy is a relatively uncommon but potentially catastrophic form of ectopic pregnancy, defined as implantation in the intramural portion of a fallopian tube. A hydatidiform mole usually occupies the uterine cavity but it's occurrence in the uterine tube is extremely rare. Only a few cases of primary hydatidifm mole of the tube have been reported. We experienced a case of ectopic hydatidiform mole in the uterine cornua and so present it with brief review of literatures.
Fallopian Tubes ; Female ; Hydatidiform Mole* ; Membranes ; Mucus ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Zygote

Although a variety of agents have been introduced for the treatment of hypertension, the ideal drug has not yet been discovered. However, among the agents available, prazosin hydrochloride (Minipress(R)) appears to be accepted by the majority of physicians as it lowers blood pressure effectively with relatively low incidence of side effects. It has been considered that the hypotensive effect of prazosin is a result of peripheral vasodilation due to direct relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and blockade of alpha-adrenergic receptors in the arteriolar smooth muscle. Following the development of prazosin. many trials have been designed to potentiate its hypotensive effect by the combination with other agent, especially thiazide or beta blocker. Minizide(R), a preparation that thiazide is added to prazosin, is an example. The antihypertensive effect of Minizide(R) was evaluated in 30 hypertensive subjecs. The results were as follows; 1. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure were effectively lowered in both supine and standing position with the overall response rate of 86.7% as judged to be responsive in one that lost systolic pressure more than 15 mmHg and distolic pressure 10 mmhg. Among 30 cases 18 cases could be maintained with their diastolic pressure below 90 mmHg and 24 cases with their diastolic pressure below 100 mmHg by the end of 8th week of treatment with the daily dose of minizide(R) from a half tablet to two tablets. 2. During the period of 8 weeks, troublesome postural hypotension was not observed in any case. The pulse rate was not accelerated significantly by Minizide(R) treatment. 3. Minimal side effects were recorded in 5 cases; two of mild nausea, one of slight dizziness, one of minimal gastrointestinal irritation symptom and one of mild glucosuria. neither of them hindered the authors from finding the study.
Blood Pressure ; Dizziness ; Heart Rate ; Hypertension ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; Incidence ; Muscle, Smooth ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Nausea ; Prazosin ; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha ; Relaxation ; Tablets ; Vasodilation

Although a variety of agents have been introduced for the treatment of hypertension, the ideal drug has not yet been discovered. However, among the agents available, prazosin hydrochloride (Minipress(R)) appears to be accepted by the majority of physicians as it lowers blood pressure effectively with relatively low incidence of side effects. It has been considered that the hypotensive effect of prazosin is a result of peripheral vasodilation due to direct relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and blockade of alpha-adrenergic receptors in the arteriolar smooth muscle. Following the development of prazosin. many trials have been designed to potentiate its hypotensive effect by the combination with other agent, especially thiazide or beta blocker. Minizide(R), a preparation that thiazide is added to prazosin, is an example. The antihypertensive effect of Minizide(R) was evaluated in 30 hypertensive subjecs. The results were as follows; 1. The systolic and diastolic blood pressure were effectively lowered in both supine and standing position with the overall response rate of 86.7% as judged to be responsive in one that lost systolic pressure more than 15 mmHg and distolic pressure 10 mmhg. Among 30 cases 18 cases could be maintained with their diastolic pressure below 90 mmHg and 24 cases with their diastolic pressure below 100 mmHg by the end of 8th week of treatment with the daily dose of minizide(R) from a half tablet to two tablets. 2. During the period of 8 weeks, troublesome postural hypotension was not observed in any case. The pulse rate was not accelerated significantly by Minizide(R) treatment. 3. Minimal side effects were recorded in 5 cases; two of mild nausea, one of slight dizziness, one of minimal gastrointestinal irritation symptom and one of mild glucosuria. neither of them hindered the authors from finding the study.
Blood Pressure ; Dizziness ; Heart Rate ; Hypertension ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; Incidence ; Muscle, Smooth ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Nausea ; Prazosin ; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha ; Relaxation ; Tablets ; Vasodilation

The investigation of systolic time intervals and hemodynamics was performed in 42 patients with liver cirrhosis by noninvascive methods. The patients were divided into four groups according to the presence or absence of anemia and/or ascites: i.e. group I; cirrhosis without anemia and ascites, group II; cirrhosis with ascites only, group III; cirrhosis with anemia only, and group IV; cirrhosis with ascites and anemia. In the resting state of the patients, the systolic time intervals and hemodynamic data were measured by the high speed simultaneous recordings of electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, carotid and femoral arterial pulse tracings, and compared with those obtained from 155 normal adult subjects. 1. The pulse were increased considerably in group IV, and diastolic blood pressure was elevated in group II with significance. 2. The stroke volume and cardiac output were increased significantly in group III. 3. The peripheral resistance was reduced particularly in group III, and the volume elasticit coefficient was decreased in group IV. 4. The QS1 interval was prolonged significantly in group II and IV, but QS1 interval corrected by multiple regression equation proposed by our laboratory (illustrated in the text) did not show significant difference compared with that of normal subjects. 5. The left ventricular ejection time(LVET) and total electromechanical systole(QS 2) appeared to be shortened in group II and IV, but the corrected LVET and QS 2 were not different significantly from those of the normal subjects
Adult ; Anemia ; Ascites ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Output ; Electrocardiography ; Fibrosis ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Stroke Volume ; Systole ; Vascular Resistance

The investigation of systolic time intervals and hemodynamics was performed in 42 patients with liver cirrhosis by noninvascive methods. The patients were divided into four groups according to the presence or absence of anemia and/or ascites: i.e. group I; cirrhosis without anemia and ascites, group II; cirrhosis with ascites only, group III; cirrhosis with anemia only, and group IV; cirrhosis with ascites and anemia. In the resting state of the patients, the systolic time intervals and hemodynamic data were measured by the high speed simultaneous recordings of electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, carotid and femoral arterial pulse tracings, and compared with those obtained from 155 normal adult subjects. 1. The pulse were increased considerably in group IV, and diastolic blood pressure was elevated in group II with significance. 2. The stroke volume and cardiac output were increased significantly in group III. 3. The peripheral resistance was reduced particularly in group III, and the volume elasticit coefficient was decreased in group IV. 4. The QS1 interval was prolonged significantly in group II and IV, but QS1 interval corrected by multiple regression equation proposed by our laboratory (illustrated in the text) did not show significant difference compared with that of normal subjects. 5. The left ventricular ejection time(LVET) and total electromechanical systole(QS 2) appeared to be shortened in group II and IV, but the corrected LVET and QS 2 were not different significantly from those of the normal subjects
Adult ; Anemia ; Ascites ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiac Output ; Electrocardiography ; Fibrosis ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Stroke Volume ; Systole ; Vascular Resistance

No abstract available.
Alloxan* ; Animals ; Rats*

OBJECTIVE: Atypical antipsychotics have been reported to induce the elevation of serum transaminase frequently in Korea, although most of them don't cause severe liver injury. Some hepatoprotectants are commonly prescribed in order to reduce the serum level of transaminase in patients with schizophrenia. We performed the chart review retrospectively for investigating the effect of two hepatoprotectants, biphenyl dimethyl dicarboxylate+garlic oil combination (BDD), and silymarin+silybin combination (SMR14) on the serum transaminase (AST/ALT) elevated by atypical antipsychotics. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical records of 54 schizophrenic patients who experienced the elevation of serum AST/ALT after the treatment with atypical antipsychotics. Patients with preexisting liver disease or elevated AST/ALT above in-house normal limitation at admission were excluded. We obtained the level of serum AST/ALT at the time of hepatoprotectants administration, 1 week, 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the administration. Repeated Analyses of variance were conducted in order to identify sequential change of serum AST/ALT level, and Fisher's exact test were performed to compare the number of patients whose AST/ALT levels were normalized after 4 weeks between two groups. RESULTS: 33 males and 21 females were included in this study and the mean age of those subjects was 36.28+/-10.92. Among all the patients, 35 were treated with BDD and 19 were treated with SMR14. After administration of hapatoprotectants, both serum AST and ALT level were significantly reduced during 4 weeks (F=10.56, p<0.001;F=17.92, p<0.001). BDD was superior to SMR14 in the number of patients whose ALT level reduced below in-house upper limitation after 4 weeks of treatment with hepatoprotectants (p=0.012), but there was no difference between BDD and SMR14 in aspect to AST level. CONCLUSION: Both hepatoprotectants, BDD and SMR14 were effective in reducing serum AST/ALT level which had been elevated by atypical antipsychotics. BDD was superior to SMR14 in normalizing serum ALT level within 4 weeks. Increased liver enzyme is prevalent in patients during the treatment with atypical antipsychotics. More research will be needed in this field.
Antipsychotic Agents* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Diseases ; Liver* ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Schizophrenia

No abstract available.
Cryptococcosis* ; Humans

PURPOSE: A heterotopic pancreas is defined as one for which pancreatic tissue is present outside its usual or habitual location and without an anatomic relation either of continuity or of vascularization with the pancreas proper. Most heterotopic pancreases are incidentally encountered during surgery, and on rare occasions, epigastric pain, weight loss, hemorrhage, gastric outlet obstruction, and intussusception have been directly attributable to the presence of a heterotopic pancreas. The purpose of this article is to report the clinical characteristics of the heterotopic pancreas. METHOD: We retrospectively observed 24 patients, who had been pathologically proven to have a heterotopic pancreas, at the Department of Surgery, Korea University Hospital, from Jan. 1990 to Dec. 1998. RESULTS: 16 of the 24 cases were found incidentally during operations due to by other primary diseases; 8 cases were symptomatic. The ratio of males to females was 1.18:1 and most common sites were the stomach and the duodenum (71%). The mean size of the lesion was 1.26 cm, and the sizes in symptomatic cases were larger (mean 1.89 cm) than those in cases where the lesions were found incidentally (mean 0.94 cm). We experienced a case of a ductal adenocarcinoma originating from the heterotopic pancreas in the jejunum of a 73 year old man. CONCLUSION: A heterotopic pancreas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of submucosal tumors, polyps, ulceration, and intestinal tumors, When suspected, an intraoperative frozen section is recommended, and the range and the method of the operation should be decided based on the results of the frozen section.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Duodenum ; Female ; Frozen Sections ; Gastric Outlet Obstruction ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intussusception ; Jejunum ; Korea ; Male ; Pancreas* ; Polyps ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach ; Ulcer ; Weight Loss