OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to get help in order to diagnose orthopaedic disease, measure its activity and determine treatment plan by measuring the beta-glucuronidase activity in urine, serum and joint fluid. METHODS: The beta-glucuronidase activity was determined in the serum, urine and joint fluid of the patients with degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteomyelitis and osteogenic sarcoma, and some other disease to study the change of the enzyme activity. These values of each specimen were calculated by standard curve and treated by statistical analysis. RESULTS: The results obtained were summarized as follows. 1. The beta-glucuronidase activity in the serum, urine and joint fluid was increased in patients with degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteomyelitis and osteogenic sarcoma etc. 2. The increased beta-glucuronidase activity in the serum and joint fluid of each disease does not show a specific finding about respective disease, but the increased beta-glucuronidase activity was statistically significant in the urine of all disease groups(male:p=0. 0041, female:p=0. 0001). CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these results, it was suggested that beta-glucuronidase activity was affected by the orthopaedic disease and differed according to each specimen.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Glucuronidase* ; Humans ; Joints ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteomyelitis ; Osteosarcoma

No abstract available in English.
Pseudarthrosis ; Tibia

No abstract available.
Poland Syndrome* ; Poland*

Two cases of malignant melanoma which are located in the bulbar conjunctiva are presented. A case of 56 years old male revealed melanosis in his medial palpebral conjunctiva and wedge shaped resection was performed. The other case of 76 years old male had dark brownish strawberry like pedunclated mass in his lateral bulbar conjunctiva and limbal area with history of progressive enlargement. This tumor mass was excised radically. Above two cases were confirmed as malignant melanoma histopathologically.
Aged ; Conjunctiva* ; Fragaria ; Humans ; Male ; Melanoma* ; Melanosis ; Middle Aged

PURPOSE: To evaluate the early clinical results of lumbar microdiscectomy using minimally invasive tubular retractor (METRx-MD system, Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Memphis, TN), and to validate the merits of minimally invasive spinal surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From April, 2003 to April 2004 we retrospectively studied a consecutive series of 45 patients who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy using minimally invasive tubular retractor. In all cases, minimally invasive approach using the tubular retractor were performed with a 2 cm sized paramedian incision. The following data were collected: clinical outcomes, operative time, intraoperative blood loss, need for blood replacement, time needed before ambulation, length of hospital stay, and complications. The clinical outcomes were assessed by the modified MacNab criteria. RESULTS: Minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy was performed in 45 patients over a 12-month period with an average follow-up of approximately 8 months. The clinical outcomes assessed by MacNab criteria were excellent in 33 patients (73%), good in 10 patients (22%). The average operative time was 63 minutes (range, 35 to 95 minutes). The average blood loss was 62 mL (range, 50 to 110 mL). None of the patients needed blood replacement. With the exception of 2 patients, all patients could walk at the day of surgery. The average hospital stay was 2.3 days. None of the patients had dural tear, wound problem, or other complications. CONCLUSION: Lumbar microdiscectomy using tubular retractor can offer a useful modality for the treatment of lumbar herniated disc with the merits of minimally invasive spinal surgery. Further long-term, randomized, prospective investigations are needed to fully evaluate the impact of this technique.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Anemia* ; Hypothyroidism*

PURPOSE: Neopterin is a degradation product derived from guanosin triphosphate (GTP) during biosynthesis of tetrahydrobiopterin. It is produced by human monocytes/macrophages upon stimulation with interferon-gamma from activated T lymphocytes. Therefore, increased neopterin concentration suggests the activation of cell-mediated immune response during viral infections, autoimmune diseases, allograft rejection, immunodeficiencies and certain types of malignancy. In these diseases, increased neopterin concentrations in serum and urine correlate to the stage of disease and predict worse prognosis. It has been proved that in various malignant disorders, higher neopterin concentrations are associated with more rapid disease progression and are a valuable predictor of stage and extension of the tumor. METHODS: Serum neopterin concentrations were measured by ELISA test in 20 patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) at diagnosis and at complete remission after induction chemotherapy, and in 20 normal children that served as the control group. RESULTS: Serum neopterin levels were significantly (P=0.021) increased in the ALL group at diagnosis (9.48 nmol/L) compared to the control group (4.49 nmol/L). In the ALL group, serum neopterin levels were significantly (P=0.015) decreased at complete remission state (6.84 nmol/L) compared to the time of diagnosis (11.96 nmol/L). CONCLUSION: Neopterin was shown to be a valuable indicator of disease activity in childhood ALL and will contribute to predicting the treatment response.
Allografts ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Disease Progression ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Induction Chemotherapy ; Interferon-gamma ; Neopterin* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Prognosis ; T-Lymphocytes

Background: Rixubis (recombinant factor IX, nonacog gamma) is indicated for the control and prevention of bleeding episodes, perioperative management, and routine prophylaxis in hemophilia B patients. This real-world, postmarketing surveillance study aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Rixubis in adult and pediatric hemophilia B patients in South Korea. Methods: This prospective, observational, multicenter study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT029 22231) was conducted in hemophilia B patients between April 2015 and April 2019, who were observed for up to 6 months after the initiation of Rixubis treatment. Safety was evaluated based on the number and severity of adverse events (AEs) and serious AEs (SAEs). Hemostatic effectiveness was assessed by physicians and patients by using a four-point scale and rated as excellent, good, fair, or no response based on treatment type. Results: In all, 58 patients were enrolled from four centers by seven physicians during the study period. The safety and effectiveness analysis sets included 57 and 54 patients, respectively. Overall, 11 AEs were reported in eight patients (14.0%), of which three were SAEs and occurred in three patients (5.3%). All 11 AEs were reported as unexpected and mild in severity, with no anaphylactic reaction, and 10 AEs (90.9%) resolved. The majority of AEs (10) were unrelated to Rixubis. Of the 142 hemostatic effectiveness assessments, 123 (86.6%) were reported as good or excellent. Conclusion Rixubis demonstrated an acceptable safety and effectiveness profile in the treatment of bleeding, perioperative management, and prophylaxis in hemophilia B patients in a real-world setting in South Korea.

Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) plays an etiological role in benign and malignant epithelial tumors. A critical event in HPV transformation of human cells is the inactivation of retinoblastoma protein (pRB) by the E7 protein. The metabolic half-life of pRB is decreased in cells that express high-risk HPV E7 proteins. The present study investigated the frequency of HPV-16 E7 variants in Korean women and compared the pRB degradation activity of E7 variant proteins. Of the 40 HPV-positive specimens from a total of 91 tissue specimens, 21 HPV-16 positive specimens were studied by sequencing analysis to determine the variation of E7 gene. The most frequent E7 variant was N29S (57%). The HPV-16 E7 variant was more prevalent in invasive cervical cancer tissue specimens than in those from low grade clinical stage. The degradation of pRB in HaCaT cells by HPV-16 E7 variant proteins was investigated by western blot analysis. There was no significant difference in pRB degradation activity between the HPV-16 E7 prototype protein and E7 variant proteins. The pRB degradation activity did not differ among HPV-16 E7 variants. These results suggest that the E7-induced degradation of pRB is important in cervical tumorigenesis; however, there was no relation between the pRB degradation activity and the variations in HPV-16 E7 protein among Korean women.
Blotting, Western ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma ; Female ; Half-Life ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; Humans* ; Retinoblastoma Protein ; Retinoblastoma* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia(AIHA) is characterized by the production of Coombs antibodies, which are responsible for the destruction of RBCs. The antibody specificity of warm A1HA(WAIHA) is very complex while all cells tested are usually reactive in routine test. Although some autoantibodies have broad specificity to the Rh system, apparent specificity for simple Rh antigen(D, C, E, c, e) is rare. A 63 year-old farmer was admitted at Inha University Hospital for evaluation of anemia. He had no history of blood transfusion. He presented overt anemia with decreased Hb (6.6g/dL) and increased reticulocyte count(18.5%, corrected reticulocyte count 8.4%). The direct antiglobulin test(DAT) was strongly positive for IgG and negative for C3d while indirect antiglobulin test(IAT) was weakly positive. Both two different antibody identification test kits identified this antibody as anti-e. His Rh phenotype was CDe. Although the eluted antibody from his own RBCs failed to show specificity against e but agglutinated all the reagent RBCs, we diagnosed this case as WAIHA induced by IgG anti-Rh(e) because his serum agglutinated all e-positive RBCs while it was non-reactive with e-negative RBC in the cross- matching test. Drugs(loxoprofen, cimetidine) couldn' t be ruled out as causative agent. (Korean J Blood Transfusion 10(1): 61-67, 1999)
Anemia ; Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune* ; Antibodies ; Antibody Specificity ; Autoantibodies ; Blood Transfusion ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Middle Aged ; Phenotype ; Reticulocyte Count ; Reticulocytes ; Sensitivity and Specificity