The present report describes a case of VATER syndrome with situs inversus viscerum totalis in a newborn Korean male infant who died immediately after his birth. The disposition of all the organs in thoracic and abdominal cavities formed a complete mirror picture of normal disposition. In addition, the following abnormalities were also present : 1) Unsegmented bar of the 12th thoracic vertebra fused with 11th thoracic vertebra at left side and 1st lumbar vertebra at right side, 2) Imperforated anus (Type 3 of Ladd and Grorss classification), 3) Tracheoesophageal fistula with upper esophageal atresia, 4) Patent ductus arteriosus connected to the descending aorta, 5) Atrial septal defect, septum primum type, 6) Slightly enlarged ureter, 7) Translocation of cecum with appendix beneath the liver, 8) Coiled appendix, 9) Incomplete oblique fissure of the right lung.
Abdominal Cavity ; Anal Canal ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Appendix ; Cecum ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Esophageal Atresia ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Liver ; Lung ; Male* ; Parturition ; Situs Inversus* ; Spine ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula ; Ureter

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of exercise in the early phase of reinnervation after sciatic nerve injuries in the rat. METHOD: Thirty six rats, Sprague-Dawley (weight, 200 to 220 g), were divided into the normal control and experimental groups. Using a haemostatic forceps, crushing injuries to the bilateral sciatic nerves were induced in the experimental group. The experimental group was further divided into exercise groups by the duration of daily swimming and initiation (duration since injury) of exercise after nerve injury (A, 2 hours/day and day 1; B, 30 minutes/day and day 1; C, 2 hours/day and week 2; D, 30 minutes/day and week 2) and non-exercise group (E). After completion of 5-week program the test results were evaluated by 1) sciatic nerve motor conduction study recorded at the gastro-soleus muscles, 2) measurement of soleus muscle tension, and 3) hematoxylin-eosin stain & alkaline ATPase stain (pH 9.4) of the soleus muscles. RESULTS: Nerve conduction study revealed significantly prolonged latency in group C and decreased amplitude in the group C, D. Peak twich tension decreased significantly in group C, D & E. Maximal tetanic tension was increased significantly in the group A compared to C. Both type I and II muscle fibers atrophied significantly in all the experimental groups compared to the normal control group with no changes of the composition of two muscle fibers. CONCLUSION: Swimming applied from the early phase after sciatic nerve injury may be beneficial in early recovery of muscle tension. Overexercise in the early stage of reinnervation, however, may hamper the functional return of the damaged muscle by nerve injury.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Animals ; Muscle Tonus ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Muscles ; Neural Conduction ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve* ; Surgical Instruments ; Swimming

No abstract available.
Animals ; Ischemia* ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Reperfusion*

Bile canaliculi is closely related to the cytoskeleton; actin filament web, microtubules and cytokeratin intermediate filaments. To understand how cytoskeletal alteration affects bile canalicular structure, the investigators injected cytochalasin B and colchicine into mice intraperitoneally to inhibit the polymerization of actin filaments and microtubules respectively, and observed the structural changes of bile canaliculi and hepatocytes with transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Bile canaliculi were dilatated and microvilli were decreased in number and length after injection of cytochalasin B and colchicine. Some bile canaliculi branched irregularly after colchicine treatment. Actin filament web in the canalicular ectoplasm was disrupted leaving granular zone after cytochalasin B treatment, but was intact after colchicine treatment. Intermediate filament bundles located at angles to the canalicular membrane appeared after colchicine treatment. Intercellular junctions delimiting bile canaliculi were intact after colchicine treatment, however were disrupted after cytochalsin B treatment. Focal junctions resembling desmosome were formed between microvilli after colchicine treatment. In both cytochalasin B and colchicine treated groups, lumen of rough endoplasmic reticulum were dilated, Golgi apparatus became prominent, and lipid droplets were appeared in the cytoplasm. These results suggest that both intact actin filaments and microtubules are necessary to keep the structural integrity of bile canaliculi.
Actin Cytoskeleton ; Animals ; Bile Canaliculi* ; Bile* ; Colchicine* ; Cytochalasin B* ; Cytoplasm ; Cytoskeleton ; Desmosomes ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Golgi Apparatus ; Hepatocytes* ; Humans ; Intercellular Junctions ; Intermediate Filaments ; Keratins ; Liver* ; Membranes ; Mice* ; Microtubules ; Microvilli ; Polymerization ; Polymers ; Research Personnel

The vertebral pedicle is an important structure used as an implant site for spinal instrumentation surgery. Since precise anatomical knowledge of lumbar pedicles in vivo is essential for risk - free surgery, we analyzed Korean vertebrae with radiologic imaging techniques. The authors analayzed 500 pedicles from L1 to L5 vertebrae with computerized tomograms (CT) and simple radiograms taken from patient free of vertebral abnormality. Five morphometric parameters: transverse pedicle width, transverse pedicle angle, sagittal pedicle width, sagittal pedicle angle depth to anterior cortex were measured. The transverse diameter and angle of pedicle increased gradually from L1 to L5, while the sagittal diameter and angle decreased from L1 to L5. The depth to anterior cortex from posterior elements was longer along the pedicle axis than along axis parallel to midline.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae* ; Spine

To understand the early cellular differentiation of neurons, we studied the differentiation of ventral spinal cord (VSC) neurons in culture. Immunofluorescence techniques with myelin associated protein 2 (MAP2) and phosphorylated neurofilament heavy chain were used with phase contrast microscopy. VSC neurons were best grown and differentiated on the coverslips coated with polyethylenimine or poly-L-Lysine. During 3 days of culture, VSC neurons changed from a round cell with no neurites to multipolar neurons with an axon and dendrites. The differentiating VSC neurons could be classified into 4 types based on the shape and length of processes. The process with axonal character, that is MAP2 negative and phosphorylated neurofilament positive, was first identified at the tip of dendritic process when one or more processes grew out. Our results suggest that the formation of an axon in VSC neurons may follow the formation of dendrites.
Animals ; Axons* ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Dendrites ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microscopy, Phase-Contrast ; Myelin Sheath ; Neurites ; Neurons* ; Polyethyleneimine ; Rats* ; Spinal Cord*

Localized cutaneous leishmaniasis is a chronic ulcerative, usually self-limiting skin disease, and one of the major tropical diseases. This disease is caused by an infection of genus Leishmania, transmitted by a sandfly, and there are some cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Koreans after travelling abroad in endemic areas, such as the Middle East and Africa. We report a case of localized cutaneous leishmania in a 70-year-old native Korean man without history of a trip abroad.
Male ; Humans

For the regulation of energy balance in various internal organs including gut, pancreas and liver, visceral adipose tissue and brain perform important sensing and signaling roles via neural and endocrine pathway. Among these, adipose tissue has been known as a simple energy-storing organ, which stores excess energy in triglyceride. However, it became apparent that adipocytes have various receptors related to energy homeostasis, and secrete adipocytokines by endocrine, paracrine and autocrine mechanisms. In this review, basic roles of adipocytes in energy homeostasis and the correlation between adipocyte signals and digestive diseases are discussed.
Adipocytes/*metabolism ; Adipokines/*physiology ; Adiponectin/physiology ; Digestive System Diseases/*metabolism ; *Energy Metabolism ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Leptin/physiology ; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors/physiology ; Resistin/physiology ; Signal Transduction

PURPOSE: To observe dystrophin formation and histological improvement in dystrophic muscle of mdx mouse after normal myoblast injection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cultured myoblasts from genetically normal rats were injected into the right quadriceps femoris of a 6-week-old mdx mouse (n=9). dPBS was injected into the left quadriceps femoris as a control. One, 2, and 3 months after injection, The control and experimental group were compared histologically and by dystrophin immunostaining. RESULTS: When compared with controls 3 months postoperatively, quadriceps femoris in the experimental group exhibited greater cross-sectional area and total fiber number, and the experimental animals contained more normal-appearing and less abnormalappearing fibers than the control group. Most of the fibers in the experimental group showed positive results in dystrophin immunostaining, whereas immunostaining of mdx muscle fibers in the control group was completely negative. CONCLUSION: This study shows that normal myoblast injection improved the muscle architecture histologically and produced dystrophin protein in dystrophic muscle.
Animals ; Dystrophin ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred mdx ; Muscular Dystrophies ; Myoblasts* ; Quadriceps Muscle ; Rats