No abstract available.
Burns* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Burns* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Animals ; Mice* ; T-Lymphocytes*

Partial lipodystrophy(PLD) is a rare disorder characterized by frequent occurrence in women, usually onset in childhood, and slowly progressive symmetrical loss of subcutaneous fat on the upper half of the body. The etiology is unknown. However, many immunologic abnormalities were reported in PLD. Herein, we report a case of PLD in a 34-year-old man with familial occurrence of PLD in his brother.
Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Lipodystrophy, Familial Partial* ; Siblings ; Subcutaneous Fat

Chrome may have a corrosive, necrotizing effect on tissue, so repeated skin contact to chromate might induce perforations or ulcers on the skin. This condition is called a "chrome ulcer" or "chrome hole". It appears as a small, punched-out mark with a rolled-out border. It is rarely associated with pain, but a severe itching sensation is common. We report a case of a 33-year-old man who presented with a 3 month history of several ulcers on his abdomen. He was employed at a chromate alloying process. He had several hole-like atrophic scars and unbearable pruritus. After changing his occupation, plus treatment with oral corticosteroids and antihistamines, the lesions were healed and the itching sensation faded away. However, atrophic scarring remained.
Abdomen ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Cicatrix ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Occupations ; Pruritus ; Sensation ; Skin ; Ulcer*

Chronic exogenous steroid therapy can result in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction; this usually results from systemic steroid therapy, and is rarely associated with topical steroid therapy. We report a case of suspected iatrogenic Cushing syndrome that developed after the treatment of annular pustular psoriasis. The patient applied clobetasol-17-propionate cream (Betabate(R)) 15~30 g daily, for 4 months, without a dermatologist's prescription. After 4 months of application, the following symptoms developed; a moon face; facial flushing; hypertrichosis; central obesity; purple striae; and multiple erythematous scaly annular patches. The development of Cushing syndrome from exogenous corticosteroid treatment was supported by the typical clinical manifestations and the low basal state of the blood cortisol level, which was perhaps due to secondary suppression of the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal axis. Steroid-containing drugs, especially during childhood, should be used with caution and monitored carefully.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Cushing Syndrome* ; Flushing ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypertrichosis ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prescriptions ; Psoriasis

Vitiligo and morphea are two distinct entities of unknown etiology, although their existence implies that the immune system and/or the central or peripheral nervous system has been incriminated. Only a few reports of their simultaneous occurrence are on record. Here we report a case of a 39 year old woman affected with both vitiligo of the face, chest and hand and morphea of shoulder and trunk. Since the two diseases appeared after bone marrow transplantation, if could be deduced that there is a possible association between them. Two diseases observed simultaneously in this patient may be derived from the common pathomechanism. An autoimmune etiology is thought to play a part in both of these diseases.
Adult ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Immune System ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Scleroderma, Localized ; Shoulder ; Thorax ; Vitiligo

Mesenteric panniculitis is an extremely rare inflammatory condition of the adipose tissue of unknown etiology. It is characterized by extensive, progressive fibrosis of the mesenteric fat tissue, leading to tumor formation. Clinical manifestations vary according to the process involving the structures. Abdominal pain accompanied by nausea, malaise, pyrexia, and weight loss and a poorly defined mass are common presentations. Major pathologic changes include (1) degeneration of mesenteric fat, (2) an inflammatory reaction, and (3) fibrosis of the adipose tissue. We present four patients with an aggressive form of mesenteric pannicultis with characteristic histopathologic features. We discuss the relationship between the histopathologic features and the surgical intervention in these cases.
Abdominal Pain ; Adipose Tissue ; Fever ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Nausea ; Panniculitis, Peritoneal* ; Weight Loss

BACKGROUND: Resistance to cytotoxic drugs such as cisplatin is an important cause of treatment failure in lung cancer. The mechanisms are omplex and have yet to be clearly elucidated, but the acquisition of drug resistance possibly has resulted in poor survival. The purpose of the study is to evaluate whether the resistant tumor cells would gain more potential for metastasis. MATERIAL AND METHOD: we examined the metastatic potential of a cisplatin-reisistant cell line, H460/CIS, which was established from the human lung cancer cell line H460 by in vitro selection with gradually increased concentration of cisplatin. The parental cisplatin-sensitive cell line(H460) was used as the control and analysis on the expression of angiogenesis or growth-related factors, gelatin zymographic analysis and in vivo spontaneous metastatic experiment in nude mice were done. RESULT: Increased levels of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were found in H460/CIS. Gelatin zymographic analyses showed that proteinase A in the culture medium of H460/CIS was processed from latent to activated form. The in vivo experiment showed that H460/CIS cells spontaneously metastasized to the lungs but parental cells did not. CONCLUSION: resistance to the chemotherapeutic agents may render the tumor aggressi-veness and metastatic potential. Therefore, the risk, rather than benefit, from inadvertent application of adj uvant or neoadj uvant chemotherapy to early-staged lung cancer should be considered.
Animals ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cell Line* ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Resistance ; Drug Therapy ; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 ; Gelatin ; Humans* ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Parents ; Treatment Failure

OBJECT: A hangover is characterized by the constellation of unpleasant physical and mental symptoms that occur 8-16hr after alcohol drinking. We evaluated the effects of experimentally induced alcohol hangover on immune functions by the measurement of cytokine production. METHODS: A total of 13 normal adults males participated in this study. They did not have any previous histories of psychiatric or medical disorder. We defined the experimentally induced hangover condition by 13 hours after drinking high doses of alcohol(1.5g/kg of body weight). Venous blood was taken before the alcohol drinking & during the experimental hangover conditions. Monocyte was separated and stimulated with phytohemagglutinin. Cytokine production was measured by ELISA for IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, INF-gamma, TNF-alpha. RESULTS: The production of cytokines IL-10, IL-12 and INF-gamma were increased during hangover conditions. CONCLUSIONS: There is an changes in the production of cytokines IL-10, IL-12 and INF-gamma during hangover conditions. Thus, our results supported the hypothesis that acute alcohol treatment might affect Th1/Th2 immune balance by altering monocyte production of IL-12 and IL-10. These results suggested that elevated monocyte-derived IL-10 can contribute to the cellular immune abnormalities during hangover conditions.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking* ; Cytokines ; Drinking ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12 ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-6 ; Male ; Monocytes ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha