Over-expression of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase (Nox) isoform enzymes was recently reported in various cancers including Burkitt’s lymphoma (BL). However, the functions of Nox isoform enzymes in BL remain poorly understood. In this study, Nox isoform expression and the effects of a Nox-specific inhibitor were evaluated in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive Raji BL cells in comparison with EBV-negative Ramos BL cells. To evaluate Nox enzyme expression in Raji and Ramos BL cells, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blot analysis were performed. To verify the intracellular signaling mechanism of the Nox inhibitor-induced apoptosis of Raji cells, WST-1 assay, trypan blue exclusion method, flow cytometry, PCR, western blotting, and bromodeoxyuridine staining were conducted. Experiments using the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD, reactive oxygen species scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), and Bim inhibitor 1 were performed. PCR and western blot results showed that Nox isoform enzymes were highly expressed in EBV-positive BL Raji cells compared with EBV-negative BL Ramos cells. The Nox2 inhibitor induced apoptosis of Raji cells in time- and dosedependent manners. The Nox2 inhibitor also caused up-regulation of Bim and Noxa, down-regulation of Mcl-1, translocation of Bax, release of cytochrome c, and caspase cascade activation, resulting in apoptosis. Furthermore, z-VAD, NAC, and BI-1 effectively blocked the Nox2 inhibitor-induced apoptosis of Raji cells. Taken together, these results provide a novel insight into the mechanism of Nox inhibitor-induced apoptosis and evidence for Nox as a therapeutic target to treat EBV-positive malignancies.

The vectorcardiography was performed on 34 cases with PRWP of precordial leads. We have studied the vectorcardiographic finding for the differential diagnosis of disease entities were obtrained; 1) Poor R-Wave progression of precordial leads has simply considered as suggestion of anterior myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease and normal variant. 2) The sensitivity and specificity of myocardial infarction criteria were 85.8% and 63.0% respectively in left sagittal plane and 85.8% and 66.7% respectively in horizontal plane. 3) The seneitively and specificity of more than 90 QRS-T vector angle in left sagittal plane were 100.0% and 62.5% respectively in ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction. 4) The sensitively and specificity of chronic lung disease criteria were 85.7% and 51.9% respectively. 5) Vectorcardiographic study was considered as effective differentiating method for patients with PRWP in EKG.
Diagnosis, Differential* ; Electrocardiography* ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Vectorcardiography*

Fourteen healthy persons and 43 hypertensives were subjected to treadmill exercise testing to see responses of variable influenced by various degrees of hypertension. The hypertensive were subclassified into 3 groups, mild hypertension(diast. BP<104mmHg), moderate hypertension(diast. BP<129mmHg). 1) The attainability of maximal heart rate was inversely related with levels of basal blood pressure;92.8% of normal control group attained the maximal heart rate, 87.5% of mild hypertension, 69.2% of moderate hypertension and 66.7% of moderately severe hypertension. 2) As the exercise was geaded up, the rate of increase of heart rate was lower in higher blood perssure groups than in lower blood pressuer groups. 3) The rate and extent of rise in systolic pressure was inversely related with basal systolic pressure, the systolic pressure response being least in the group with highest pressure, that is, moderately severe hypertension group. The diastolic pressure seemed to decrease somewhat in early phase of exercise only to return back to basal level at the late phase of exercise. 4) Seven of 43 hypertensive showed significant ST depression during exercise, which may be due to imbalance between oxygen demand and supply caused sither by left ventricular hypertrophy or ischemic heart disease. 5) A case was characterized by very sluggish response in increase of heart rate despite progress in exercise grade and he fell into collase 12 minutes after the interruption of exercise. The tardy response in heart rate may be a hitherto unsuspected risk predictor in exercise test.
Blood Pressure ; Depression ; Exercise Test* ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Oxygen

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) occurs primarily in the extremities and trunk, however primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the alimentary tract, particularly of the jejunum, is uncommon. This case report presents a case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma as the primary lesion of the jejunum in a 42-year-old male patient with a 10-day history of melena. A small bowel tumor was resected without complication. The final diagnosis was based on the pathological report of the surgical specimen.
Adult ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous* ; Humans ; Jejunum* ; Male ; Melena

PURPOSE: We reviewed 604 cases of varicose veins managed in our hospital and the clinical feature and the results were analyzed between injection sclerotherapy and operative method. METHODS: Retrospective review of clinical records was done from January 1990 to June 1998. All of them were diagnosed as primary varicose veins of lower extremities. Sclerosing agents used were ethanolamine oleate, most commonly, hypertonic saline, sodium tetradecyl sulfate and sclerodex. Injections of the sclerosants were 1 to 5 times as the clinical courses. Then, elastic stocking was applied for 2 weeks. Operations were done under the spinal or general anesthesia and postoperatively remnant varicoses were managed by injection sclerotherapy. Student t-test was used in statistics. RESULTS: The distribution of age were 5th decade (36.8%), 6th decade (24.0%), 4th decade (22.2%) in order of frequency, and the mean age was 44.3 year and the male to female ratio was 1:4.0. The mean duration of illness was 12.6 year, and it was longer in female than male (13.2 vs. 8.7, p=0.02). The most common presumed predisposing factor was longstanding occupation (82% of all) and pregnancy was the 2nd in female (12.0%). Chief complaint was only cosmetic problem in 73% of patients and the others complained varicose induced symptoms and complications. Both lower extremities were involved in 41.9% and right leg was in 26.0%, left leg was in 32.1%. The locations of lesions were calf (41.4%), greater saphenous vein (34.6%), lesser saphenous vein (15.0%). Sclerotherapy was done in 48.0%, operation with sclerotherapy in 23.7%, operation only in 17.2%. The mean duration of illness in sclerotherapy group was significantly shorter than operation group (8.8 vs 14.7 year, p=0.0001). Operation methods were stab avulsion only (48.1%), greater saphenous vein stripping (37.3%) and perforator ligation (11.8%) and others. CONCLUSIONS: Injection sclerotherapy method is very effective and sufficient treatment modality in the management of lower extremity varicose vein with low recurrence and complication rate, especially in the early treated cases.
Anesthesia, General ; Causality ; Ethanolamine ; Female ; Humans ; Leg ; Ligation ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Occupations ; Oleic Acid ; Pregnancy ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Saphenous Vein ; Sclerosing Solutions ; Sclerotherapy ; Sodium Tetradecyl Sulfate ; Stockings, Compression ; Varicose Veins*

Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is an inflammatory disorder that's characterized by daily, spiking high fever, arthritis and an evanescent, salmon-pink rash. AOSD is diagnosed purely on the basis of the typical clinical features of the illness. The symptoms commonly include swelling of the lymph nodes, enlargement of the spleen and liver, and a sore throat. AOSD is difficult to differentiate from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) due to the similar clinical manifestations. We report here on a case of a 16-year-old female patient with autism and epilepsy and who complained of daily spiking fever for 20 days. The patient had maculopapular skin rashes on the face and whole body and lymphadenopathy. The liver function tests were elevated mildly. The initial rheumatoid factor (RF) and antinuclear antibody (ANA) tests were negative. We diagnosed her as having adult-onset Still's disease according to the criteria of Yamaguchi. We successfully treated her with oral prednisolone. But her antinuclear antibody test was changed to positive after discharge. So we finally diagnosed her as having SLE.
Adolescent ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Arthritis ; Autistic Disorder ; Epilepsy ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Function Tests ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Pharyngitis ; Prednisolone ; Rheumatoid Factor ; Spleen ; Still's Disease, Adult-Onset

OBJECTIVE: Maternal anemia is one of the most common hematologic disorders of the child-bearingmothers. However the role of maternal anemia in the etiology of preterm delivery and adverse pregnancyoutcomes remains a source of controversy. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of maternalanemia on the preterm birth and the adverse pregnancy outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 1,010 women aged 19~44 years, who admitted to our hospitalfor the delivery between December 1994 and October 1995, were recruited into a hospitalbaed case-control study design. 259 women complicated by maternal anemia(cases) werecompared with 751 women without maternal anemia(controls). Multiple logistic regressionanalyses were performed to control for the effects of other potentially confounding factors,including maternal age, body mass index, previous term delivery, previous preterm deliveryand previous abortion. In all logistic regression analyses odds ratio and 95% confidenceintervals were calculated. RESULTS: The prevalence of maternal anemia(hemoglobin<10g/dl) was 25.6%. Therewas a positive linear relationship between the prepartum hemoglobin concentration and thepostpartum concentration. There was no significant differences of the incidence of pretermbirth and the neonatal morbidity, such as poor Apgar scores, fetal distress, congenitalanomaly, birth trauma, admission to neonatal intensive care unit, resuscitation and sepsisbetween case and control groups. Small for gestational age and low birth weight were associatedwith an somewhat decreased risk of maternal anemia and large for gestational age, notmacrosomia, was associated with an 70% increased risk of maternal anemia at the time ofdelivery. Maternal anemia was associated with 6.5 fold increases in the risks of postpartumbleeding, 8.5 fold increases in the postpartum transfusion and 80% increases in the puerperalfever respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal anemia was not associated with increased risks of preterm birthand the neonatal morbidty. However there was a significant relationship between maternalanemia and postpartum maternal morbidity, such as postpartum bleeding, postpartum transfusionand puerperal fever.
Abortion, Induced ; Anemia* ; Body Mass Index ; Case-Control Studies* ; Female ; Fetal Distress ; Fever ; Gestational Age ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Odds Ratio ; Parturition ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome* ; Pregnancy* ; Premature Birth* ; Prevalence ; Resuscitation

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical efficacy between nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen in knee osteoarthritis according to ultrasonographic findings. METHODS: We administered 12 mg of NSAIDs (lornoxicam) plus misoprostol 300microgram or 1,950 mg of acetaminophen in 40 randomly selected patients who fulfilled the ACR criteria for knee osteoarthritis. The effectiveness of these drugs on osteoarthritis was assessed by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score. In addition, we performed ultrasonography of the knee joints and assessed length of capsular distension, length of medial and lateral osteophyte, amount of joint effusion, and the presence of synovial proliferation. RESULTS: There were significant correlations between WOMAC score and length of capsular distension and length of medial/lateral osteophyte. At 6 weeks, both lornoxicam and acetaminophen-treated patients had significant lower levels of WOMAC score compared to the entry into the trial (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). As compared the clinical efficacy between the two groups, the lornoxicam-treated patients showed a greater decrease in WOMAC score than patients treated with acetaminophen (p=0.026). When we further divided the patients into the subgroups according to the sonographic severity, the patients with severe capsular distension (> or =0.7 cm) or severe medial osteophyte (length of osteophytes > or =0.4 cm) showed better responses to lornoxicam than to acetaminophen in terms of the reduction of WOMAC score (p=0.008 for severe capsular distension, p=0.03 for severe medial osteophyte). However, in the subgroup with mild forms of capsular distension (<0.7 cm) or medial osteophytes (<0.4 cm), no difference was found in the reduction of WOMAC score 6 weeks after treatment with lornoxicam versus acetaminophen. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with osteoarthritis of the knee had significantly greater improvements in pain score over 6 weeks with lornoxicam than with acetaminophen, particularly in patients with severe forms of capsular distension and medial osteophyte on joint ultrasonography. Ultrasonography could be an useful tool to determine the usage of NSAIDs versus acetaminophen in knee osteoarthritis patients.
Acetaminophen* ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee* ; Misoprostol ; Ontario ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoarthritis, Knee* ; Osteophyte ; Ultrasonography

Peribiliary cysts, known as cystic dilatation, of the extramural peribiliary glands of the bile duct are rare, and are usually detectable under conditions of pre-existing hepatobiliary diseases such as liver cirrhosis. Preoperative diagnosis is often difficult, because they are usually asymptomatic. Distinction of peribiliary cysts from premalignant or malignant cystic lesions is mandatory. Herein, we report a case of peribiliary cyst, which was preoperatively assumed as unilobar Caroli's diseases in healthy young patients and briefly discuss the management of the condition.
Bile Ducts ; Caroli Disease ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Neoplasms

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant inherited tumor syndrome associated with mutations of the VHL tumor suppressor gene located on chromosome 3p25. The loss of functional VHL protein contributes to tumorigenesis. This condition is characterized by development of benign and malignant tumors in the central nervous system (CNS) and the internal organs, including kidney, adrenal gland, and pancreas. We herein describe the case of a 74-year-old man carrying the VHL gene mutation who was affected by simultaneous colorectal adenocarcinoma, renal clear cell carcinoma, and hemangioblastomas of CNS.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Adrenal Glands ; Aged ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Central Nervous System ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Hemangioblastoma* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Pancreas ; von Hippel-Lindau Disease*