Autogenous costal cartilage graft has been commonly used for reconstruction of auricular deformity. However, the risk of complication and discomfort at the donor site, as well as distortion of the graft due to morphological change in the cartilage have been serious drawbacks to this procedure. Previous studies examining the chondrogenic potential of perichondrium have suggested that perichondrium may be used as graft for cartilage reconstruction. When a perichondrial flap or a free perichondrium was used as graft, new cartilage formed appositional to the grafted perichondrium. However, the neocartilage was often irregular in shape and varied considerably in quantity. In this study, the feasibility of controlling the shape and the mass of neocartilage was investigated using coral, a porous biomaterial, as a template. A coral a template was wrapped with perichondrial flap from the ears of New Zealand white rabbits and placed into a subcutaneous pocket in the rabbits and placed into a subcutaneous pocket in the rabbit's back by incision. A total of 12 animals were used. Formation of new cartilage was later evaluated by gross and histological examination of the perichondrial flap and the coral template. New cartilage was formed in 11 animals. Immature chondrocytes were visible by 3 weeks after the surgery, and by 8 weeks the immature chondrocytes had formed a cartilage. New cartilage was formed only on the surface of the coral template. These results indicated that the shape and the mass of new cartilage may be controlled by using coral template. Therefore, the desired shape of cartilage may be achieved using a coral template of corresponding shape, and this may help in correcting subtle auricular contour defect and in correcting other structural defects that also require new cartilage formation.
Animals ; Anthozoa* ; Cartilage ; Chondrocytes ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Ear ; Humans ; Rabbits ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Protein kinase C (PKC) has been known to play a central role in mediating ischemic preconditioning. The isoform of the PKC changes during the development of the heart in rats. Therefore, the protective effects of PKC activation may vary between neonatal and adult hearts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To test this hypothesis, primary cultures of neonatal and adult rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM and ARVM, respectively) were subjected to ischemic condition, which consisted of a deoxygenated air supply and glucose deprivation in the media. The survival was evaluated by counting trypan blue excluding cells. The effect of PKC activation was analyzed by the addition of a PKC agonist (12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, TPA), or an antagonist (staurosporin) to cultured myocytes. RESULTS: Under ischemic condition, ARVMs were more susceptible than NRVM. The survival of the ARVMs were 63.1+/-8.3%, 42.8+/-6.1%, 10.1+/-5.8% after 3, 6, 12 hours of ischemia, respectively, while those of the NRVMs were 68.9+/-6.4%, 60.3+/-7.3%, 34.3+/-7.5%, and 8.2+/-6.6% after 6, 12, 24, 36 hours of ischemia, respectively (p=0.031). However, the activation of the PKC following the addition of 100 nM TPA to the media significantly enhanced the survival of the ARVM, from 38.5+/-8.3% to 62.1+/-7.3%, after 6 hours of ischemia, which was similar to that of the controls (65.4+/-6.2%). In contrast, the activation of the PKC by the addition of TPA did not change the survival of the NRVM, from 31.8+/-5.8% to 28.5+/-7.3%, after less than 24 hours of ischemia. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that the protective effect of PKC activation in adult hearts differs from that in neonatal hearts, indicating that PKC isoform variance between two tissues may affect the biologic consequence of its activation.
Adult* ; Animals ; Glucose ; Heart* ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Ischemic Preconditioning ; Muscle Cells ; Myocardium ; Myocytes, Cardiac* ; Negotiating ; Protein Kinase C ; Rats* ; Trypan Blue

PURPOSE: Nocturnal Enuresis, an involuntary discharge of urine after bladder control, is frequent in children. It brings patients and family many psychogenic problems. So we investigated its clinical characteristics and drug effects. METHODS: The study subjects enrolled were 36 children with nocturnal enuresis. We evaluated family history, accompanying urinary symptoms and clinical characteristics through questionnaries. We evaluated the effect of imipramine and desmopressin in 26 children among the 36 cases. RESULTS: The ratio of boys to girls was 1.6 to 1. The age range in 15 cases(41.7%) was 4-5 years, in 14 cases(38.9%) 6-7 years, in 4 cases(11.1%) 8-9 years, and in 3 cases(9.3%) it was above 10 years. Twenty four(67%) were primary enuresis and 12(33%) were secondary enuresis. In eighteen cases(50%), these was a family history of enuresis. Seven of these cases had a parental enuresis history. The accompanying urinary symptoms were urgency(47.2%), frequency (38.9%), and dysuria(13.9%). The responses to imipramine were as follows : an excellent response in 2 cases(20%), a good response in 4(40%), a transient response in 2(20%), and no response in 2(20%). The responses to desmopressin were as follows : an excellent response in 7(43.8%), a good response in 4(25%), a transient response in 3(18.7%), and no response in 2(12.5%). CONCLUSION: Enuresis is more frequent in boys and primary type. Half of 36 enuresis children had a family history of enuresis. We recommend continuous drug medication to control nocturnal enuresis along with encouragement.
Child* ; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin ; Enuresis ; Female ; Humans ; Imipramine ; Nocturnal Enuresis ; Parents ; Urinary Bladder

PURPOSE: Nocturnal Enuresis, an involuntary discharge of urine after bladder control, is frequent in children. It brings patients and family many psychogenic problems. So we investigated its clinical characteristics and drug effects. METHODS: The study subjects enrolled were 36 children with nocturnal enuresis. We evaluated family history, accompanying urinary symptoms and clinical characteristics through questionnaries. We evaluated the effect of imipramine and desmopressin in 26 children among the 36 cases. RESULTS: The ratio of boys to girls was 1.6 to 1. The age range in 15 cases(41.7%) was 4-5 years, in 14 cases(38.9%) 6-7 years, in 4 cases(11.1%) 8-9 years, and in 3 cases(9.3%) it was above 10 years. Twenty four(67%) were primary enuresis and 12(33%) were secondary enuresis. In eighteen cases(50%), these was a family history of enuresis. Seven of these cases had a parental enuresis history. The accompanying urinary symptoms were urgency(47.2%), frequency (38.9%), and dysuria(13.9%). The responses to imipramine were as follows : an excellent response in 2 cases(20%), a good response in 4(40%), a transient response in 2(20%), and no response in 2(20%). The responses to desmopressin were as follows : an excellent response in 7(43.8%), a good response in 4(25%), a transient response in 3(18.7%), and no response in 2(12.5%). CONCLUSION: Enuresis is more frequent in boys and primary type. Half of 36 enuresis children had a family history of enuresis. We recommend continuous drug medication to control nocturnal enuresis along with encouragement.
Child* ; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin ; Enuresis ; Female ; Humans ; Imipramine ; Nocturnal Enuresis ; Parents ; Urinary Bladder

No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

Damage of temporomandibular joints in infancy may result in ankylosis and alteration of the mandibular growth. In case of unilateral ankylosis occurring in early childhood, a mandibular hypoplasia of the affected side usually follows. The patients have limitation of mouth opening, poor oral hygiene, facial and mandibular growth disturbances, and rarely, upper airway obstruction in the form of either night snoring or obstruction sleep apnea. The objective of this study is to show the use of distraction osteogenesis in mandibular hypoplasia associated with ankylosis and to present our technique for the treatment of mandibular hypoplasia with unilateral ankylosis in infancy consisting of simultaneous arthroplasty which treats the ankylosis and mandibular distraction and enables to correct the facial asymmetry in the same procedure. Between November 1999 and May 2000, three girl patients (42, 44, and 48 months old) who had mandibular hypoplasia associated with ankylosis were treated with simulatneous arthroplasty and distraction osteogenesis. Two kinds of arthroplasties, consisting of gap arthroplasty for one patient and interpositional arthroplasty using a temporal fascia turn-over flap for the other two patients, were executed and mandibular distraction in all three patients. Mouth-opening exercises began on the first day following the operation. Mandibular distraction began on the fifth day after the operation at a rate of 1 mm per day (0.5 mm twice a day) and continued to achieve a slight overcorrection of deviated chin. From the first day after the operation, an increase in the mouth opening was achieved. The average duration of distraction was 20 days. Average duration of consolidation was 6 weeks. Oral opening increased from 2 to 20 mm in case of the first patient, from 4 to 28 mm in the second patient, and from 5 to 24 mm in the third patient. The follow-up period was from 5 to 12 months (mean 8 months). At the time of final evaluation, oral opening and a more normal facial contour persist. It is believed that mandibular distraction combined with arthroplasty offers a new therapeutic option for the treatment of mandibular hypoplasia associated ankylosis, with minimal morbidity and complications.
Airway Obstruction ; Ankylosis* ; Arthroplasty* ; Chin ; Exercise ; Facial Asymmetry ; Fascia ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mouth ; Oral Hygiene ; Osteogenesis, Distraction ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Snoring ; Temporomandibular Joint*

Central venous catheterization via an internal jugular vein or subclavian vein has become a common procedure in monitoring CVP and managing severely ill patients. However, there have beennumerous reports of complications associated with central venous catheterization. These include vessel injury, pneumothorax, hemothorax, nerve injury, arrhythmias, arteriovenous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and infection at the insertion site. We report a case of hemothorax after subclavian vein catheterization failure, along with successful treatment.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Catheterization ; Catheterization, Central Venous ; Catheters ; Central Venous Catheters ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Jugular Veins ; Pneumothorax ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Subclavian Vein ; Thrombosis

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) has been established as an important genetic mechanism giving rise to malignant neoplasia. The mechanism of LOH has been shown to cause basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma as well as other types of skin cancer. A few studies on LOH in sporadic keratoacanthomas have been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of LOH in the pathogenesis of sporadic keratoacanthomas developed in 10 Korean patients. The presents of LOH at 7 microsatellite markers (D2S286, D3S1317, D5S346, D9S160, D9S171, D10S185, and D17S261) were evaluated in sporadic keratoacanthomas. LOH was found in only 1 of 10 cases at D10S185. The low frequency of LOH detected in this study suggests that LOH may not be significant in the induction of sporadic keratoacanthomas.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Keratoacanthoma/*genetics ; *Loss of Heterozygosity ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

No abstract available.
Animals ; Neurons* ; Rats*

No abstract available.