No abstract available.
Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Prevalence*

BACKGROUNDS: Pain can occur following acute noxious stimuli and tissue damage. The duration of such pain may outlast the stimulus and its amplitude may be exaggerated (hyperalgesia). This response comes from a sensitization of the peripheral nociceptor. Traditional thought has associated the antinociceptive effects of opiates with the activation of opioid receptors located in the central nervous system. Recently, however, opiate receptors in the peripheral nervous system have led to the hypothesis that analgesic action might, in part, result from a reduction in the response of peripheral nerve fibers thought to be concerned with signaling pain. METHODS: Twenty units were recorded from the strands of the hypogastric nerve innervating the urinary bladder of the cat. Nerve activity and intravesical pressure were monitored before and after the onset of an acute inflammation induced by the intravesical instillation of 2% mustard oil. The responses of afferent units to chemical stimuli by intra-arterially injected bradykinin (10 microgram/0.2 ml., i.a.) and potassium chloride (0.3 M/0.2 ml, i.a.) were compared each time at control, after inflammation, and after administration of morphine (2.5 mg/kg) and naloxone (5 microgram/kg) respectively. RESULTS: Polymodal receptors in the urinary bladder showed excitatory response to algesic substances such as bradykinin, potassium chloride and the urinary bladder contracted simultaneously, both the responses of the nerve impulse and bladder contraction to bradykinin and potassium chloride increased significantly after bladder inflammation induced by 2% mustard oil and the sensitization of the sensory receptors attenuated by morphine and naloxone reversed the effect of morphine. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that morphine might have a peripheral effect.
Action Potentials ; Administration, Intravesical ; Animals ; Bradykinin ; Cats ; Central Nervous System ; Inflammation ; Morphine* ; Mustard Plant ; Naloxone ; Nociceptors ; Peripheral Nerves ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Potassium Chloride ; Receptors, Opioid ; Sensory Receptor Cells* ; Urinary Bladder*

BACKGROUND: UVB is responsible for most of the carcinogenic effects of sun exposure. OBJECTIVE: Aim of this study was to investigate the regulation and intracellular redistribution of p53 protein after UVB irradiation. METHODS: Cultured normal human melanocytes and G361 melanoma cells were used for west-ern blotting and confocal microscopic examination for determining expression and distribution of p53. RESULTS: UVB irradiation increased p53 expression in cultured normal human melanocytes and G361 malignant melanoma cells according to increasing doses of UVB. Furthermore, p53 moved from cytosol to nucleus after UVB irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: UVB irradiation induced overexpression and redistribution of p53 in cultured normal human melanocytes and G361 malignant melanoma cells.
Cytosol ; Humans ; Melanocytes* ; Melanoma* ; Solar System

BACKGROUND: Cyclosporin A (CsA), a potent immunosuppressant, has been reported to be effective in the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis (AD). OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and side-effects of CsA in Korean patients with severe AD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 16 patients with recalcitrant AD took CsA for at least 6 weeks. Among them, 11 patients were followed up for more than 16 weeks. Initial dose was 5mg/kg/day (maximum 300 mg/day) and the dose was reduced according to their therapeutic responses. SCORAD (Scoring AD) was used to evaluate clinical efficacy of CsA. During the 1st month of therapy, the therapeutic efficacy and side-effects were evaluated every 2weeks and after 1 month, every month. We checked blood pressure and laboratory abnormalities including liver function test, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and urinalysis at each visit in addition to observing clinical adverse effects. RESULTS: Significant reduction of SCORAD was noted in 15 patients after 6 weeks of CsA therapy. Only one patient stopped CsA therapy because of the elevation of blood pressure. Three patients showed albuminuria, which disappeared after CsA dose reduction. CONCLUSION: CsA can be used effectively and safely in severe Korean AD patients. Albuminuria seems to be a peculiar side-effect in Korean patients.
Albuminuria ; Blood Pressure ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Creatinine ; Cyclosporine* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Urinalysis

No abstract available.
Doxorubicin* ; Membrane Potentials* ; Membranes* ; Papillary Muscles*

No abstract available.
Endometrial Neoplasms* ; Female

In view of the possible role of portal circulation in hematogenous spread of Candida species, a case of hepatic candidiasis occurred in an eight-year-old child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treated by chemotherapy is presented. Symptoms and signs referable to the hepatic disease in this patient included hepatomegaly, icteric sclera and abdominal pain. There were no particular manifestations suggestive of deep mycotic involvement of any sepcific organs or tissues other than the liver. Culture of the blood was negative for one month. On the 24th hospital day the patient died with the presumptive diagnosis of ALL, disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal failure, pulmonary edema, cholecystitis and oral thrush. A needle necropsy was performed and revealed fungal aggregates replacing the large foci of hepatic cell loss. It is suggested that, when the gastrointestinal tract serves as the portal of entry, the liver could be the visceral organ involved first in the course of disseminated candidiasis.
Child ; Male ; Female ; Humans

The authors report a case of hepatic anthracosis, which was found incidentally during cholecystectomy in a 73 year-old woman with acute cholecystitis. Hepatic anthracosis is a very rare condition among pigmentary lesions of the liver. Light microscopic examination revealed black granular pigments within Kupffer cells, particularly adjacent to the terminal hepatic venules, and macrophages at the portal tracts. The pigments did not show birefringence under the polarizing microscope and did fade out following pretreatment with alcoholic picric acid, confirming themselves anthracotic pigments.
Female ; Humans

To evaluate the tissue expression rate and pattenr of HBsAg and HBcAg in tumors and peritumoral livers, an immunohistochemical study was undertaken on 47 surgically resected hepatocellular carcinomas(HCCs). The results are as follows. 1. Patient's sera were positive for HBsAg in 40 cases(85.1%). In the remaining 7 cases, the tumor and peritumoral liver expressed neither HBcAg nor HbSaG, suggesting that they were caused by other etiologies than hepatitis B virus. 2. The peritumoral liver had HBsAg and HBcAg in 95.0% and 27.5% among the 40 cases, respectively. But the tumor expressed HBsAg in 50.0% and HBcAg in none. 3. The expression of HBsAg within the tumor and both HBsAg and HBcAg in the peritumoral liver tended to be more frequent in the pretreated cases before surgery. 4. Edmondson-Steiner grade IV tumors revealed a lower expression rate of HBsAg than the low grade tumors(p<0.05). Incases with cirrhosis at peritumoral tissues, HBcAg was less frequently found than in those without cirrhosis. The majority of tissue HBsAg and HBcAg was represented as groups of positive cells. These results suggest that, during the development and progression of HCCs, the HBcAg containing cells are repeatedly removed and the HBcAg negative cells are selected, because cellular expression of HBcAg is the target of host immune response.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

BACKGROUNDS: In man, adding clonidine to local anesthetics results in an increased duration of spinal, epidural and peripheral nerve blocks such as femoral nerve block. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of intramuscular or adding clonidine to mepivacaine on the duration of analgesia after brachial plexus block. METHODS: After informed consent, 30 ASA 1 or 2 adults patients scheduled for elective upper limb surgery under brachial plexus anesthesia were included in this study. Brachial plexus block with Supraclavicular approach was performed following paresthesia. 40ml of 1.5% mepivacaine was injected in the brachial plexus sheath in all patients. In group 2, 150 ug of clonidine IM, 30 min before the procedure. In group 3, 150 ug of clonidine added to mepivacaine in brachial plexus sheath. Onset of anestheasia and duration of anesthesia and analgesia were assessed. Blood pressure and sedation score was monitored. Statistical analysis was done with ANOVA. RESULTS: Duration of anesthesia were significantly increased in group 3 (217.0 +/- 56.2 min by pinprick) compared to group 1 (176.0 +/-26.3 min). Duration of analgesia were significantly increased (p<0.05) in group 3. (229.0 +/- 43.3 min) compared to group 1 (186.0 +/- 20.0 min). Blood pressure was not significantly different in the three groups. A sedation was observed in group 3, especially from 20 min to 180 min after injection of drug. CONCLUSION: 150 ug of clonidine added to mepivacaine for brachial plexus block increases duration of anesthesia and analgesia without any significant side effects.
Adult ; Analgesia ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia and Analgesia ; Anesthetics, Local ; Blood Pressure ; Brachial Plexus* ; Clonidine* ; Femoral Nerve ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Mepivacaine* ; Paresthesia ; Peripheral Nerves ; Upper Extremity