No abstract available.
Heart Diseases* ; Heart*

No abstract available.
Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart*

No abstract available.
Arteries* ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Mothers*

PURPOSE: Few reports have documented psychopathological abnormalities in patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP). We analyzed the results of a multiphasic personal inventory test to investigate the psychopathologic impact of PSP in young Korean males. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors reviewed the results of a Korean military multiphasic personal inventory (KMPI) administered to military conscripts in South Korea. A total of 234 young males participated in this study. The normal volunteer group (n=175) comprised individuals who did not have any lung disease. The PSP group (n=59) included individuals with PSP. None of the examinees had any psychological problems. The KMPI results of both groups were compared. RESULTS: There were more abnormal responses in the PSP group (17.0%) than the normal volunteer group (9.1%, p=0.002). The anxiety scale and depression scale scores of the neurosis category were greater for the PSP group than the normal group (p=0.039 and 0.014, respectively). The personality disorder and paranoia scale scores of the psychopathy category were greater for the PSP group than the normal group (p=0.007 and 0.018, respectively). CONCLUSION: Young males with PSP may have greater tendencies to suffer from anxiety, depression, personality disorders, and paranoia compared to normal individuals. Clinicians should be advised to evaluate the psychopathological aspects of patients with PSP.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung Diseases ; Male* ; Military Personnel ; Paranoid Disorders ; Personality Disorders ; Pneumothorax* ; Psychopathology

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to evaluate the volume of pre- and post operative masseter muscle and bite force in mandibular prognathic patients treated with SSRO with the use of the 3D CT imaging technique and occlusal force meter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 12 patients with mandibular prognathism (5 males and 7 females) who underwent mandibular setback surgery (BSSRO) in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Samsung medical center. Bite force was measured at pre op, post op 3, 6 and 12 months by occlusal force meter(GM10, Nagano Keiki, Japan) The preoperative CT examination of subjects was performed between one month prior to operation and one year after to operation. And muscle volume was measured. RESULT: As compared to preoperative measurements at 1 year postoperatively the masseter and internal pterygoid muscle volume were diminished (p<0.05) The bite force steadily recovered, so at postoperatively 6 months reached the preoperative level. And at 1 year after operation, the maximum bite force was significantly greater than preoperative levels. No significant correlation was presented between masseter muscle and bite force (p>0.05), internal pterygoid muscle and bite force (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, the results showed that volume and bite force of the masticatory muscles decresed significantly immediate after orthognathic surgery for mandibular set-back. However, reduction of maximum bite force disappears within 6 months after surgery.
Bite Force ; Bites and Stings ; Humans ; Male ; Masseter Muscle ; Masticatory Muscles ; Muscles ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Prognathism ; Pterygoid Muscles ; Surgery, Oral

PURPOSE: Aberrant methylation of CpG islands in gene promoters has been considered as a common mechanism for suppressing gene expression in cells. Hypermethylation of CpG islands in promoters is associated with silencing of transcription in various tumor suppressor genes and recent studies identified a CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) suggesting common methylation defect in cancer cells. For breast cancer, several genes were previously reported to be hypermethylated, but it is unclear whether the CIMP status is associated with any clinicopathological characteristics of breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the methylation patterns of several genes such as p16(INK4a), O(6)-methyguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), Death associated protein kinase (DAPK), E-cadherin, hMLH1, and four loci such as Methylation in tumor (MINT: MINT1, MINT2, MINT25, MINT31) and analyzed the correlation with clinical features. METHODS: 85 patients who underwent curative surgery for breast cancer were studied retrospectively using their paraffin-embedded tissues and medical records. Immunohistochemical staining were performed according to their hormone receptors. DNA extraction, sodium bisulfite modification and methylation specific PCR (MSP-PCR) were performed with some modifications. RESULTS: The rates of E-cadherin and MINT 31 methylation in cancer tissue were significantly higher than those of normal tissues (P<0.05). There was no statistical correlation between methylation status of each suppressor genes and hormone receptor except DAPK methylation with progesteron receptor. The rate of E-cadherin methylation was significantly high in stage II (P=0.010). For 5-year survival and disease-free survival rate, the group with methylated MINT1 and MINT25 had significantly better outcome than unmethylated group (P<0.05). There was no statistical significance between CIMP status and other prognostic factors such as hormone receptor and stage (P=0.885). But, CIMP-High group was significantly lower than CIMP-Low group in 5-year survival (P=0.001) and disease-free survival rate (P=0.024). CONCLUSION: The methylation of E-cadherin and some MINT loci seems closely related to tumorigenesis in breast cancer and CIMP status have some value as a prognostic indicator after surgery in breast cancer but more large scale study will be needed.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cadherins ; Carcinogenesis ; CpG Islands ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; Disease-Free Survival ; DNA ; Gene Expression ; Genes, Suppressor ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mentha ; Methylation* ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Protein Kinases ; Retrospective Studies ; Sodium

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a gene that, upon mutation, causes autosomal-dominant familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that Snapin, a SNAP-25 (synaptosomal-associated protein-25) interacting protein, interacts with LRRK2. An in vitro kinase assay exhibited that Snapin is phosphorylated by LRRK2. A glutathione-S-transferase (GST) pull-down assay showed that LRRK2 may interact with Snapin via its Ras-of-complex (ROC) and N-terminal domains, with no significant difference on interaction of Snapin with LRRK2 wild type (WT) or its pathogenic mutants. Further analysis by mutation study revealed that Threonine 117 of Snapin is one of the sites phosphorylated by LRRK2. Furthermore, a Snapin T117D phosphomimetic mutant decreased its interaction with SNAP-25 in the GST pull-down assay. SNAP-25 is a component of the SNARE (Soluble NSF Attachment protein REceptor) complex and is critical for the exocytosis of synaptic vesicles. Incubation of rat brain lysate with recombinant Snapin T117D, but not WT, protein caused decreased interaction of synaptotagmin with the SNARE complex based on a co-immunoprecipitation assay. We further found that LRRK2-dependent phosphorylation of Snapin in the hippocampal neurons resulted in a decrease in the number of readily releasable vesicles and the extent of exocytotic release. Combined, these data suggest that LRRK2 may regulate neurotransmitter release via control of Snapin function by inhibitory phosphorylation.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Exocytosis ; Female ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutant Proteins/metabolism ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphothreonine/metabolism ; Protein Binding ; Protein Interaction Mapping ; Protein Structure, Tertiary ; Protein-Serine-Threonine Kinases/*metabolism ; Qa-SNARE Proteins/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Synaptosomal-Associated Protein 25/*metabolism ; Synaptotagmins/metabolism ; Vesicle-Associated Membrane Protein 2/metabolism ; Vesicular Transport Proteins/chemistry/*metabolism

PURPOSE: Gynecomastia is a common male breast abnormality and primarily occurs in puberty and senescence. The obvious etiological role of hormonal changes in gynecomastia, plus the discovery of estrogen receptor in normal and neoplastic breast, has spurred several investigations of ER content in male gynecomastic tissues. The results have been inconsistent and the fraction of ER-positive specimens has varied from 0~90%. METHODS: Immunohistochemical hormonal receptor analysis using monoclonal estrogen receptor (ER) alpha, beta and progesteron receptor (PR) was performed on the breast tissues of 58 patients with gynecomastia between January 1995 and January 2000 in the Department of Surgery, Uijongbu St. Mary's Hospital. These results were statistically compared with clinical data. RESULTS: 48 cases (82.8%) were ERalpha positive and 55 cases (94.8%) were ERbeta positive and PR positivity was noted in 55 cases (94.8%). There was negative relationship between ERalpha and age, PR and location. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that intracellular steroid receptors are present in most gynecomastic tissues. Additionally, it supports the general assumption that estrogen and progesteron may be two of the hormones responsible for the development of gynecomastia.
Male ; Humans

BACKGROUND: There have been several studies showing that the angiotensin II and angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE) contributes to the apoptosis of alveolar epithelial cells in idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and the activation of fibroblasts during the process of pulmonary fibrosis. These results suggest that the pulmonary fibrosis can be inhibited by the angiotensin II receptor antagonist(AGIIRA). This study was performed to identify the therapeutic effect of AGIIRA in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF). METHOD: Thirteen patients with IPF, who were diagnosed with an open lung biopsy(6 patients) and furfilling the ATS criteria(7 patients) between March 1999 and October 2001 at the Gachon medical center, were enrolled in this study. Of these patients, eight patients were treated with a regimen including AGIIRA(AT group), and five were treated without AGIIRA(NT group). The pulmonary function tests and dyspnea(ATS scale) were measured at diagnosis and 1 year after treatment. All the data was collected to analyze the therapeutic effect of AGIIRA on the patients with IPF. RESULTS: The AT group contained 8 patients(M:F=4:4) and the NT group contained 5 patients (M:F=3:2). There was no significant difference in the serum angiotensin II level between the two groups(202.5+/-58.5 vs 163.7+/-47.3pg/ml, p>0.05). The AT group showed an upward trend in TLC(+3%), FVC(+4%), FEV1(+3%) and DLco(+2%) compared to the NT group(TLC(-14%), FVC(-3%), FEV1(-4%) except for DLco(+5%)). The dyspnea score in the AT group improved significantly but not in the NT group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the angiotensin II receptor antagonist may have an effect on stabilizing IPF.
Angiotensin II* ; Angiotensins* ; Apoptosis ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Epithelial Cells ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias ; Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis* ; Lung ; Pulmonary Fibrosis ; Receptors, Angiotensin* ; Respiratory Function Tests

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma, a type of sarcoma, is a malignant neoplasm with uncertain origin that arises in both the soft tissues and the bone. The occurrence of primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the pleura is extremely rare. We report a case of a 65-year-old Korean man who is being diagnosed with primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the pleura.
Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Pleura ; Sarcoma