Glomus tumor is well recognized and documented lesion which usually presents as painful dermal nodules in fingers. The tumor results from hypertrophy of a glomus, which is a normal structure of the skin, a coiled arterioyenous shunt regulating body temperature. Glomus tumor may occur at any age but is most frequent in the middle age of life. Pain, tenderness and cold sensitivity are the classic triad of symptoms. Complete surgical exision is the treatment of choice for glomus tumors. Successful removal of tumor leads to complete relief of pain and return to normal function. We report 4 cases of subungual glomus tumor successfully treated by complete exision with review of literatures.
Body Temperature ; Fingers ; Glomus Tumor ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Middle Aged ; Skin

PURPOSE: Neonatal seizures are the most frequent major manifestation of neonatal neurologic disorders. The goal of this study is to help understanding neonatal seizure by analysis of etiology, clinical manifestation, method of diagnosis and prognosis. METHODS: Retrospective reviews were made on 73 cases of neonatal seizure who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, Dongkang General Hospital for 4 years from March 1994 to February 1998. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:1) Male to female ratio were 2.5 : 1.2) According to the gestational period, preterm babies were 11.0%, postterm babies were 2.7%, and term babies were 86.3%3) The causes of neonatal seizures were hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (32.9%), hypocalcemia (20.5%), hypoglycemia (9.6%), sepsis (96%), benign idiopathic neonatal seizure (6.8%), intracerebral hemorrhage(5.5%), hyponatremia(1.4%), hypernatremia(1.4%), kernicterus, hyperammonemia, in order of frequency 4) The onset of neonatal seizures were within 24 hours of postnatal age in 21 cases (28.8%), on second and third days in 34.2%, and between fourth and seventh days in 13.7%. 5) The types of neonatal seizures were subtle (39.7%), generalized tonic (27.4%), focal clonic (16.4%), multifocal clonic (13.7%), focal tonic (4.1%), and myoclonic (2.8%), in order of frequency.6) The electroencephalographies were performed in 29 cases and showed abnormal findings in 16 cases (55.2%).7) The ultrasonograms were performed in 12 cases. Abnormal findings were detected in 50% of the patients, and the findings were periventrcular leukomalacias in 4 cases, intraventricular hemorrhage in 1 case, intracerebral hemorrhage in 1 case. The brain computed tomographies were done in 23 cases, and 8 patients showed abnormal findings; diffuse cerebral ischemia in 5 cases, focal cerebral ischemia in 2 cases, subdural hemorrhage in 1 case. The brain magnetic resonance imagings were done in 6 cases, and 3 patients showed abnormal findings; diffuse cerebral ischemia in 2 cases, corpus callosal agenesis in 1 case.8) Fifty six patients (76.7%) were discharged in improved state, 3 patients (4.1%) were discharged against medical advice, 2 patients (2.7%) were transfered other hospital, and 12 patients (16.5%) were expired.9) The follow-up examination were made on 44 cases (78.6%) during the period from 5 days to 30 months of age, and 10 cases showed neurologic sequalae; recurrent seizures in 5 cases, cerebral palsy in 5 cases, and other conbined eurologic sequalae in 4 cases.
Brain ; Brain Ischemia ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Palsy ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hyperammonemia ; Hypocalcemia ; Hypoglycemia ; Hypoxia-Ischemia, Brain ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Kernicterus ; Male ; Nervous System Diseases ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures* ; Sepsis ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Heart* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Cellular senescence is a tumor-suppressive process instigated by proliferation in the absence of telomere replication, by cellular stresses such as oncogene activation, or by activation of the tumor suppressor proteins, such as Rb or p53. This process is characterized by an irreversible cell cycle exit, a unique morphology, and expression of senescence-associated-beta-galactosidase (SA-beta-gal). Despite the potential biological importance of cellular senescence, little is known of the mechanisms leading to the senescent phenotype. p41-Arc has been known to be a putative regulatory component of the mammalian Arp2/3 complex, which is required for the formation of branched networks of actin filaments at the cell cortex. In this study, we demonstrate that p41-Arc can induce senescent phenotypes when it is overexpressed in human tumor cell line, SaOs-2, which is deficient in p53 and Rb tumor suppressor genes, implying that p41 can induce senescence in a p53-independent way. p41-Arc overexpression causes a change in actin filaments, accumulating actin filaments in nuclei. Therefore, these results imply that a change in actin filament can trigger an intrinsic senescence program in the absence of p53 and Rb tumor suppressor genes.
Actin Cytoskeleton/metabolism ; Actin-Related Protein 2-3 Complex/*metabolism ; *Cell Aging ; Cell Cycle Proteins/metabolism ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism ; Fibroblasts/physiology ; Humans ; Recombinant Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; Retinoblastoma Protein/*deficiency/genetics ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53/*deficiency/genetics

PURPOSE: Recent studies have suggested that p53 regulates the G2 checkpoint in the cell cycle and this function is required for the maintenance of genomic integrity. In this study, we addressed a role of p53 in escaping from cell cycle G2 arrest following DNA damage. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell cycle checkpoint arrest in the human colon cancer cell line HCT116 and its derivatives carry p53 or p21 deletions, were examined by FACS analysis, immunoprecipitation, Western blot and IP-kinase assay. RESULTS: While the cells with functional p53 were arrested at both the G1 and G2 checkpoints, the p53-deficient cells failed to arrest at G1, but they were arrested at G2. However, the p53-deficient cells failed to sustain G2 checkpoint arrest and they entered mitosis earlier than did the p53-positive cells and so this resulted in extensive cell death. Cdc2 kinase becomes reactivated in p53-deficient cells in association with entry into mitosis, but not in the p53-positive cells. Upon DNA damage, the p21-deficient cells, like the p53-negative cells, not only failed to repress cdk2- dependent NF-Y phosphorylation, but they also failed to repress the expression of such cell cycle G2-regulatory genes as cdc2, cyclin B, RNR-R2 and cdc25C, which have all been previously reported as targets of NF-Y transcription factor. CONCLUSION: p53 is essential to prevent immature escaping from cell cycle G2 checkpoint arrest through p21-mediated cdk2 inactivation, and this leads to inhibition of cdk2-dependent NF-Y phosphorylation and NF-Y dependent transcription of the cell cycle G2-rgulatory genes, including cdc2 and cyclin B.
Blotting, Western ; CCAAT-Binding Factor ; CDC2 Protein Kinase ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Cycle* ; Cell Death ; Cell Line ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Cyclin B ; DNA Damage ; G2 Phase ; Humans ; Immunoprecipitation ; Mitosis ; Phosphorylation* ; Phosphotransferases ; Transcription Factors ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; United Nations*

Precise allergy diagnosis and effective allergen specific immunotherapy are largely dependent on the quality of allergen extract. A new extract of Dermatophagoides farinae was commercially developed by Prolagen. The allergenic properties of the new extract were compared with those of other commercial products. The allergenic properties of the new extract were compared according to protein concentration, protein profiles, major allergen (Der f 1) contents, and allergenic potency to those for three commercially available extracts imported in Korea (Jubilant HollisterStier Allergy, Lofarma S.p.A., and Stallergenes Greer). Protein concentrations varied up to 2.62-fold (0.404 to 1.057 mg/mL), and Der f 1 contents varied up to 11.3-fold (3.597 to 40.688 μg/mL). Protein profiles of the extracts showed no major discrepancies, although there were some differences in SDS-PAGE band intensities, reflecting protein concentrations. Allergen potency ranged from 37038 to 60491 PAU/mL. The Prolagen product was highest in terms of protein concentration and allergen potency. The Lofarma product displayed Der f 1 content similar to that in Prolagen (19.4 μg/mg vs. 19.3 μg/mg). Endotoxin levels varied 8.9-fold (1020 to 8985 EU/mL). The newly developed house dust mite extract showed equal or better allergenic properties than available commercial extracts. This new product may be useful for better diagnostics and allergen-specific immunotherapeutics.