BACKGROUND: Elecsys 2010 immunoassay system is based on the electrochemiluminescence immunoassay using a ruthenium (II) tris (bipyridyl) label. Since it was the first time to use the system in our laboratory, we would like to evaluate the analytical performances (precision, linearity and recovery rate) and correlation with radioimmunoassay (RIA) and microparticle enzyme immunoassay (MEIA) methods. METHODS: We used precicontrol tumor marker (TM1, TM2) for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), prostatic specific antigen (PSA) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), Precicontrol universal (Ul, U2) for triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), Precicontrol-TSH for thyrotropin (TSH) and pooled serum for the evaluation of precision and recovery rate. Patients' sera were used for the linearity and comparison study. RESULTS: The coefficients of variatron of Imprecision study were below; 4.0%, 8.7% and 10.2%, respectively in the within-run, within-day and between-day analysis. The recovery rates were 100.5%, 96.1% and 102.5%, respectively in T4, TSH, and AFP. The linearity were y=1.02x-0.182(r=0.99) for T4, y=1.01x+0.12 (r=0.99) for TSH and y=1.01x+0.54(r=1.00) for AFP. T3, T4, TSH, CEA and PSA results showed good correlation with RIA (r>0.90), but AFP showed r=0.88. Also, AFP, CEA and PSA results showed excellent correlation with AxSYM (r>0.99). CONCLUSION: Elecsys 2010 immunoassay system showed excellent precision, recovery rate, clinically acceptable linearity and good correlation with the results obtained by RIA and MEIA methods.
alpha-Fetoproteins ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Immunoassay* ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Radioimmunoassay ; Ruthenium ; Thyrotropin ; Thyroxine ; Triiodothyronine

Female urethral adenocarcinoma is one of the rare tumors. It has been thought to arise in the paraurethral Skene's gland, the transitional epithelium of proximal urethra or the urethral diverticulum. This is to report a urethral adenocarcinoma developed in a 51 year-old patient who had a past history of suburethral abscess 7 years ago, and to discuss its possible histogenetic origin. The tumor was located in the urethral wall and revealed a centrifugal growth pattern toward the anterior wall of uterus and vagina and an upward extension to the bladder neck. The tumor was composed mostly of well differentiated adenocarcinoma and partly of signet ring cell carcinoma. The urethral and bladder epithelia were well preserved without cancerous or precancerous changes, and there was no urethritis glandularis nor cystitis glandularis. The secretary material of the neoplastic glands was weakly positive for prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific acid phosphatase (PSAP). Although the tumor cells themselves were not reactive to PSA and PSAP, the histologic findings suggest that the urethral adenocarcinoma arises in the paraurethral Skene's gland which had probably been the site of abscess in this patient.
Female ; Humans ; Adenocarcinoma

Female urethral adenocarcinoma is one of the rare tumors. It has been thought to arise in the paraurethral Skene's gland, the transitional epithelium of proximal urethra or the urethral diverticulum. This is to report a urethral adenocarcinoma developed in a 51 year-old patient who had a past history of suburethral abscess 7 years ago, and to discuss its possible histogenetic origin. The tumor was located in the urethral wall and revealed a centrifugal growth pattern toward the anterior wall of uterus and vagina and an upward extension to the bladder neck. The tumor was composed mostly of well differentiated adenocarcinoma and partly of signet ring cell carcinoma. The urethral and bladder epithelia were well preserved without cancerous or precancerous changes, and there was no urethritis glandularis nor cystitis glandularis. The secretary material of the neoplastic glands was weakly positive for prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate specific acid phosphatase (PSAP). Although the tumor cells themselves were not reactive to PSA and PSAP, the histologic findings suggest that the urethral adenocarcinoma arises in the paraurethral Skene's gland which had probably been the site of abscess in this patient.
Female ; Humans ; Adenocarcinoma

No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Kidney*

BACKGROUND: The use of autologous transfusion is gradually increasing since it eliminates transfusion-transmitted viral diseases, and avoids the risk of alloimmunization of red blood cells and posttransfusion graft-versus-host disease. The majority of premature neonates born at less than 1500 g need one or more red blood cell transfusion during the hospitalization and cord blood is considered as the most ideal blood for neonate autologous transfusion. In order to evaluate the adequacy of stored cord blood for autologous transfusion for neonates, the levels of plasma free hemoglobin, red blood cell adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG) were measured at the time of collection, and then a week interval by 4 weeks. METHODS: The cord blood was collected in a single donor bag with CPDA-1 by aseptic technique from 28 newborns, stored for 28 days at 4degrees C, and changes in the levels of plasma free hemoglobin, red blood cell ATP and 2,3-DPG were measured at the time of collection, and then a week interval by 4 weeks for 26 cord bloods which were not presented with any bacterial growth during the storage. RESULTS: At the time of sampling, hemolysis was 0.11+/-0.16%, and intracellular ATP and 2,3-DPG were 3.74+/-0.99 mumol/g Hb and 11.67+/-1.21 mumol/g Hb, respectively. During the storage, hemolysis gradually increased to 0.61+/-1.09% on 28 days (p<0.05). ATP gradually decreased to 2.98+/-0.92 mumol/g Hb (80% of initial level) on 28 days(p<0.05). The levels of 2,3-DPG were 4.20+/-0.87 mumol/g Hb (about 35% of initial level) on 7 days(p<0.05) and 1.16+/-0.74 mumol/g Hb (less than 10% of initial level) on 28 days (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, ATP and 2,3-DPG levels of cord blood that are related to the viability of red blood cells during the storage were similar to those of adults. Thus the cord blood appeared to be an appropriate source for neonate autologous transfusion, however, more intensive studies on the effects of 2,3-DPG and metabolic products in vivo are necessary since physical conditions and physiology of the red blood cells in the neonates are different in many aspects from those of adults and children.
2,3-Diphosphoglycerate* ; Adenosine Triphosphate* ; Adenosine* ; Adult ; Child ; Erythrocyte Transfusion ; Erythrocytes ; Fetal Blood* ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hemolysis ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Physiology ; Plasma* ; Tissue Donors ; Virus Diseases

PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic efficacy of macular and peripapillary retinal thickness measurements for the staging of diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the prediction of disease progression. METHODS: In this prospective study, 149 diabetic patients (149 eyes) and 50 non-diabetic control subjects were included. Baseline optical coherence tomography was employed to measure retinal thickness in the macula (horizontal, vertical, and central) and the peripapillary zone (superior, inferior, nasal, and concentric to the optic disc). Seven baseline parameters were correlated with the DR stages identified by fluorescein angiography. Baseline retinal thickness was compared between groups of patients requiring panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) within 6 months (PRP group) and patients not requiring PRP (No-PRP group). RESULTS: Macular and peripapillary retinal thicknesses in diabetic subjects were significantly greater than that in normal controls (p<0.05). All retinal thickness parameters, and particularly peripapillary circular scans, tended to increase with increasing DR severity (p<0.05). The baseline thicknesses of the peripapillary circular scans were greater in the PRP group than in the no-PRP group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Peripapillary retinal thickness may prove to be a useful criterion for DR severity and may also serve as an indicator of disease progression.
Aged ; Diabetic Retinopathy/*diagnosis/surgery ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Light Coagulation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Optic Disk ; Prospective Studies ; Retina/*pathology/surgery ; *Severity of Illness Index ; *Tomography, Optical Coherence

Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) plays a major role in coordinating stress responses. We aimed to test whether blocking endogenous CRF activity can prevent the stress-induced dilation of intercellular spaces in esophageal mucosa. Eighteen adult male rats were divided into 3 groups: 1) a non-stressed group (the non-stressed group), 2) a saline-pretreated stressed group (the stressed group), 3) and an astressin-pretreated stressed group (the astressin group). Immediately after completing the experiments according to the protocol, distal esophageal segments were obtained. Intercellular space diameters of esophageal mucosa were measured by transmission electron microscopy. Blood was sampled for the measurement of plasma cortisol levels. Mucosal intercellular spaces were significantly greater in the stressed group than in the non-stressed group. Mucosal intercellular spaces of the astressin group were significantly smaller than those of the stressed group. Plasma cortisol levels in the stressed group were significantly higher than in the non-stressed group. Pretreatment with astressin tended to decrease plasma cortisol levels. Acute stress in rats enlarges esophageal intercellular spaces, and this stress-induced alteration appears to be mediated by CRF. Our results suggest that CRF may play a role in the pathophysiology of reflux-induced symptoms or mucosal damage.
Animals ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone/*antagonists & inhibitors/metabolism/pharmacology ; Esophagus/anatomy & histology/*drug effects ; Extracellular Space/*drug effects ; Hydrocortisone/blood ; Male ; Mucous Membrane/anatomy & histology/*drug effects ; Neuroprotective Agents/pharmacology ; Peptide Fragments/*pharmacology ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; *Stress, Psychological/blood/physiopathology

PURPOSE: To report the three-year outcomes of macular laser photocoagulation following intravitreal injection of triamcinolone acetonide (IVTA) for diffuse diabetic macular edema (DME). METHODS: A prospective, randomized controlled study was completed. Eighty-six eyes of 74 patients with diffuse DME were randomized into two groups. Eyes assigned to the combination group (n = 48) were subjected to macular laser photocoagulation three weeks after IVTA. Eyes in the IVTA group (n = 38) underwent IVTA alone. Central macular thickness was measured by optical coherence tomography, and the number of additional treatments and mean time to recurrence were assessed. RESULTS: Thirty-seven eyes in the combination group and 26 eyes in the IVTA group completed the three-year follow-up. Recurrence of DME after initial treatment was not observed for nine of the 37 (24.3%) eyes in the combination group or for one of the 26 (3.9$) eyes in the IVTA group (p = 0.028). DME was absent for 19.9 months after treatment in the combination group compared to 10.3 months in the IVTA group (p = 0.027). The mean number of additional treatments was 0.92 in the combination group and 1.88 in the IVTA group (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Results in the subset of subjects who completed the three-year follow-up demonstrated that laser photocoagulation following IVTA is more effective than IVTA monotherapy for diffuse DME. Combination therapy required fewer additional treatments and resulted in a lower recurrence rate than IVTA monotherapy.
Combined Modality Therapy ; Diabetic Retinopathy/*therapy ; Female ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucocorticoids/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Intravitreal Injections ; Laser Coagulation/*methods ; Macular Edema/*therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Treatment Outcome ; Triamcinolone Acetonide/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Visual Acuity

Lymphangioma of the stomach is known to be extremely rare, benign tumor, reported only 13 cases now, worldwidely, The lesions are soft, sponge like, and pinkish colored and filled with watery fluid exudates. The histologic examination reveals that lymphangiomas are composed of endothelium-lined spaces that contain a eosinophilic protein-rich fluid. They usually present as polypoid lesions because they are originated from submucosal layer. By endoscopy, they appear as smooth, soft, polypoid submucosal mass. The endoscopic ultrasonographic findings of gastric lyrnphangioma were cystic mass with multi-septation originated from submucosal layer of the stomach. Recently, We experienced a case of lymphangioma associated with early gastric cancer of the stomach. So we report this case with brief review of world literature.
Endoscopy ; Eosinophils ; Exudates and Transudates ; Lymphangioma* ; Porifera ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms

Plasmacytomas are tumors composed of plasma cells of variable maturity, which are histologically identical to those seen in multiple myeloma. Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease, probably resulting from the interaction of a genetic predisposition involving HLA-B27 with an environmental event such as enteric bacterial infection. Multiple myeloma has been intermittently reported in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. It has been proposed that the protracted stimulation of immunocytes by inflammatory lesions on the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal, respiratory tracts may be implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma in some patients. We observed a 23 year old male patient with a history of plasmacytoma who subsequently developed ankylosing spondylitis. He was diagnosed as plasmacytoma 4 years ago and took a radiation therapy. There was no previous report of ankylosing spondylitis following plasmacytoma. The relationship between two diseases is uncertain until now and further study should be needed.
Bacterial Infections ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; HLA-B27 Antigen ; Humans ; Male ; Multiple Myeloma ; Plasma Cells ; Plasmacytoma* ; Respiratory System ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Young Adult