No abstract available.
Vibration*

MELAS (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) is one of the mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, A rare disease caused by a disturbance of the mitochondrial chain of respiration. MELAS is confirmed by typical light and electron microscopic findings : "ragged red fibers" by modified Gomori trichrome stain on light microscope and numerous abormal mitochondria on electron microscope. We experienced a boy with the characteristic clinical and pathologic findings of MELAS. Our patient demonstrated bilateral basal ganglia calcifications and infarction at right parieto-occipital and thalamic areas on CT and MR We found that MRI was more sensitive and represented the infarcted lesions better than CT. Detection of cerebral insults of MELAS by MRI is important in making decision on patient treatment and also in predicion of the patient prognosis.
Acidosis, Lactic ; Basal Ganglia ; Brain Diseases ; Child* ; Humans ; Infarction ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; MELAS Syndrome* ; Mitochondria ; Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies ; Muscular Diseases ; Rare Diseases ; Respiration

Nuclear DNA content of 32 cases of prostate adenocarcinoma diagnosed 1986-1991 was determined by flow cytometry, with the use of paraffin-embedded archival tissue. The present study was done to define the relationship between clinical stage, histopathological grade, and DNA ploidy. Aneuploidy was found in 10(31.3%) cases including 7 cases of near-tetraploidy. Among diploid tumors, 36.4% were localized disease(stage A and B), 13.6% were characterized by invasion outside the prostate(stage C), and 50.0% showed distant metastasis(stage D). Among aneuploid tumors, 10.0% were stage B, 50.0% stage C, and 40.0% stage D. The degree of glandular differentiation was characterized by the Gleason score and the percentage of sampled tissue involved by carcinoma was graded by Dhom's method. Apparent correlation was found between Gleason grade and Dhom grade(P<0.05). All 13 tumors with a Gleason grade I(score of 2 to 5) were diploid. Four of 9 tumors with a Gleason grade II(score of 6 to 7) were aneuploid(near-tetraploidy 33.3%, aneuploidy 11.1%) and 60.0%, of tumors with a Gleason grade III(score of 8 to 10) were aneuploid(near-tetraploidy 40.0%, aneuploidy 20%). The percentage of aneuploid cases increased with advanced clinical stage, but the relationship between aneuploidy versus clinical stage was not significant. However, it can be concluded that DNA ploidy correlates well with Gleason grade(p<0.05), which may have predictive prognostic value for prostate adeno-carcinomas.
Adenocarcinoma

No abstract available.
Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to find out whether there are relationships among anatomic characteristics of inferior oblique muscle insertion, corneal diameter, axial length and inferior oblique recession landmark. METHODS: Thirty-one Korean cadaver orbits were dissected to expose the full length of extraocular muscles and sclera, and then we measured the length from the recession landmark of inferior oblique to the lateral edge of insertion of inferior rectus and to the inferior edge of insertion of lateral rectus. RESULTS: The mean of angles between the inferior oblique muscle insertion and lateral rectus direction is 27.9+/-9.0degrees and the range is from 15 degrees to 50 degrees . There is a statistically significant correlation between cord length of 8 mm recession landmark of inferior oblique and angles of inferior oblique insertion with lateral rectus direction. We divided the shapes of inferior oblique insertion into straight and convexed curves. Twelve insertions are straight and thirteen insertions are curved. There is no statistically significant correlation between shape of inferior oblique insertion and cord length from recession landmark. In corneal diameter and axial length, we found correlations with cord length of 8 mm and 10 mm recession landmark of inferior oblique. CONCLUSIONS: We conclud that there are some correlations among anatomic characteristics, axial length and corneal diameter with recession landmark of inferior oblique.
Cadaver ; Muscles ; Orbit ; Sclera

OBJECTIVES: The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of acquired clonal hematopoietic disorders characterized by peripheral cytopenias and a hypercellular or normocellular dysplastic bone marrow. The mechanisms responsible for development of MDS are not known. We performed this study to evaluate the hematopoietic abnormalities and apoptosis in MDS. METHODS: Long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) was performed for colony assays, cobblestone area assay, stromal morphologic changes from 7 patients with MDS and 7 normal controls. In situ nick end labeling (ISNEL) method was performed for detection of apoptosis from LTBMC in 7 patients with MDS and 7 normal controls. ISNEL method also performed in bone marrow cell bloc samples in 36 patients with MI3S. RESULTS: Viability of nonadherent cells from LTBMC of patients with MDS was not decreased compared with normal controls at 1 week, but significantly decreased at 2 and 3 weeks compared with normal controls (P<0.0001). Formation of the cobblestone areas from patients with MDS was slightly decreased compared with normal controls at 1st week, but significantly decreased at 2nd and 3rd weeks compared with normal controls (P<0.0001). Slightly decreased compared with normal controls at 1 week, but significantly decreased at 2 and 3 weeks compared with normal controls (P<0.0001). Stromal layers produced in LTBMC of normal controls and 1 patient with MDS were detected at 1 week and were formed confluent stroma from 3 weeks, but another patients with MDS who did not form a confluent stroma. Patients with MDS had significantly lower colony forming unit granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) compared with normal controls at 1 (P<0.01) and 2 weeks (P<0.001) of LTBMC. Two weeks of LTBMC resulted more profound inhibition of CFU-GM formation than 1 week (P<0.0001). Apoptotic cell death was absent in adherent and non adherent cells from normal controls at 1 and 2 weeks, but massive apoptotic cell death was found in adherent and non adherent cells from patients with MDS at 1 and 2 weeks and the degree of apoptosis was profound at 2 weeks compared with 1 week. Among the 36 patients, fifteen patients demonstrated varying degrees of apoptosis positive cells, 4 having low, 8 intermediates, and 3 high scores. Remaining 21 patients showed absent apoptosis or only occasional positive cells. CONCLUSION: Hematopoietic abnormalities such as a failure of differentiation are caused by the stromal defects and the biologic basis of the apparent paradox of peripheral cytopenias in the face of hypercellular (or normocellular) marrow is related by intramedullary apoptotic cell death of the stromal and hematopoietic cells.
Apoptosis* ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Bone Marrow* ; Cell Death ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Progenitor Cells ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling* ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes* ; Stem Cells

No abstract available.
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency* ; Erythropoietin* ; Iron* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

No abstract available.
Vincristine*

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: The increasing implementation of organ transplantation requires an unequivocal diagnosis of brain death for moral and legal reasons. Among instrumental investigations, angiographic demonstration of absent intracranial blood flow is considered to be the most reliable test in diagnosing brain death. This test should be easily accessible since most brain dead patients are vitally unstable and have various life-supporting equipments besides their beds. To investigate the usefulness of an intracranial CT angiography (CTA) for the diagnosis of brain death, we performed CTA in comatose patients who were either clinically brain dead or not. METHODS: Fourteen comatose patients (11 male and 3 female, aged from 17 to 63 years) with various brain insults were included in this study. Eleven patients were clinically brain dead. Among the remaining three patients, one showed subtle withdrawal movements in one extremity to noxious stimuli with absent brainstem reflexes, and the other two showed multifocal myoclonic seizures. CT scanning was performed with a table speed of 2 mm/sec, twenty seconds after beginning an injection of contrast media. The data were reformatted by maximum intensity projection (MIP) and shaded surface display (SSD) after the reconstruction of a 1 mm interval. A portable electroencephalography (EEG) was also taken serially in clinically brain dead patients except one. RESULTS: Intracranial arterial blood flow was preserved in those who showed either a seizure, abnormal posture or intact brainstem reflexes. On the other hand, intracranial arteries were not visualized in all brain dead patients with electrocerebral silence (ECS) on their EEG with the exception of one patient whose EEG was difficult to determine a ECS due to excessive mechanical artifacts. However, in the clinically brain dead patients, the intracranial arterial flow was preserved in those who suffered from widespread brainstem and cerebellar infarction or whose EEG demonstrated periodic lateralizing epileptiform discharges or a burst suppression pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial CTA seems to be a safe and noninvasive procedure for the determination of brain death that produces fast, reliable, and easy-to-interpret results. It can be used as an alternative method to the EEG when the EEG is not possible or difficult to interpret due to artifacts.
Angiography* ; Arteries ; Artifacts ; Brain Death* ; Brain Stem ; Brain* ; Coma ; Contrast Media ; Diagnosis ; Electroencephalography ; Extremities ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Infarction ; Male ; Organ Transplantation ; Posture ; Reflex ; Seizures ; Tomography, Spiral Computed* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Transplants