Bleeding from esophageal or gastric varix is the most critical and life-threatening complication of portal hypertension and the most common cause of deaths in the patients with cirrhosis. In the management of variceal bleeding, the various therapeutic interventions including operation and nonoperative procedure were tried, but neither of management was successfully achieved. Between February 1992 and November 1994, we performed endoscopic injection sclerotherapy(EIS) in 35 cirrhotic patients who had recently bled from esophageal varices and had a past history of esophageal variceal bleeding in Chonbuk National Univesity Hospital. Among 35 patients, 32 were male and 3 were female. The underlying severity of liver disease was graded A, B or C according to modification of Child-Pugh classification. EIS was repeated every 1 week until the esophageal varices had been complete obliterated and removed. To investigate the effects of esophageal varix eradication by EIS on combined peri- cardial varix, endoscopic examinations were performed both before procedure and after complete EIS sessions and this study was performed to examine a changes of combined pericardial varices after EIS procedure for the treatment of esophageal varices bleeding secondary to portal hypertesion. We reviewed medical records and compared changes or sizes of pericardial varices before and after EIS procedure. Mean follow up peiod was 61 days. Total number of 162 EIS for variceal eradication were performed. Mean session for eradication of esophageal varices was 4.6 per person, mean amount of injected sclerosant was 8.3cc(1-18cc), mean duration of EIS was 39 days, and mean follow up was 62 days after complete EIS procedure. In total 162 EIS procedure, complications associated with EIS including substernal discomfort 53.7%(n=87), substernal chest pain 45.7%(n=74), fever 4.9%(n=8), dysphagia 14.2%(n=23) and pleural effusion 3.1%(n=5), were transient and not required specific management. During the follow-up period, complete disapperance of pericardial varix or reduction of size was appeared in l8 cases(51.4%) among total 35 patients. No significant changes of variceal size before and after procedure were l6 cases(45.7%) and only 1 case(2.9%) was more aggravated. So, these results suggest that EIS procedure of esophageal varix on pericardial varix seems either to improve or to maintain the severity of the pericardial gastric varix without aggravation.
Cause of Death ; Chest Pain ; Classification ; Deglutition Disorders ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices* ; Ethanolamine* ; Female ; Fever ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; Jeollabuk-do ; Liver Diseases ; Male ; Medical Records ; Oleic Acid* ; Pleural Effusion ; Sclerotherapy* ; Varicose Veins

Bleeding from esophageal or gastric varix is the most critical and life-threatening complication of portal hypertension and the most common cause of deaths in the patients with cirrhosis. In the management of variceal bleeding, the various therapeutic interventions including operation and nonoperative procedure were tried, but neither of management was successfully achieved. Between February 1992 and November 1994, we performed endoscopic injection sclerotherapy(EIS) in 35 cirrhotic patients who had recently bled from esophageal varices and had a past history of esophageal variceal bleeding in Chonbuk National Univesity Hospital. Among 35 patients, 32 were male and 3 were female. The underlying severity of liver disease was graded A, B or C according to modification of Child-Pugh classification. EIS was repeated every 1 week until the esophageal varices had been complete obliterated and removed. To investigate the effects of esophageal varix eradication by EIS on combined peri- cardial varix, endoscopic examinations were performed both before procedure and after complete EIS sessions and this study was performed to examine a changes of combined pericardial varices after EIS procedure for the treatment of esophageal varices bleeding secondary to portal hypertesion. We reviewed medical records and compared changes or sizes of pericardial varices before and after EIS procedure. Mean follow up peiod was 61 days. Total number of 162 EIS for variceal eradication were performed. Mean session for eradication of esophageal varices was 4.6 per person, mean amount of injected sclerosant was 8.3cc(1-18cc), mean duration of EIS was 39 days, and mean follow up was 62 days after complete EIS procedure. In total 162 EIS procedure, complications associated with EIS including substernal discomfort 53.7%(n=87), substernal chest pain 45.7%(n=74), fever 4.9%(n=8), dysphagia 14.2%(n=23) and pleural effusion 3.1%(n=5), were transient and not required specific management. During the follow-up period, complete disapperance of pericardial varix or reduction of size was appeared in l8 cases(51.4%) among total 35 patients. No significant changes of variceal size before and after procedure were l6 cases(45.7%) and only 1 case(2.9%) was more aggravated. So, these results suggest that EIS procedure of esophageal varix on pericardial varix seems either to improve or to maintain the severity of the pericardial gastric varix without aggravation.
Cause of Death ; Chest Pain ; Classification ; Deglutition Disorders ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices* ; Ethanolamine* ; Female ; Fever ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; Jeollabuk-do ; Liver Diseases ; Male ; Medical Records ; Oleic Acid* ; Pleural Effusion ; Sclerotherapy* ; Varicose Veins

The 38 kDa protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which was known previously as antigen 5, has been extensively used in the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis. In an attempt to develop and evaluate a serodiagnostic test using the antigen, we expressed the 38 kDa protein in BCG and its seroreactivity was compared to that expressed in Escherichia coli. The coding region of the 38 kDa protein was amplified by PCR, and the gene was cloned into a Mycobacterium-E. coli shuttle expression vector pYMC-his and pQE30 expression vector and expressed in BCG and E. coli, respectively. Both recombinant 38 kDa proteins showed strong seroreactivity against pooled serum from tuberculosis patients. There was no significant difference in seroreactivity between the two recombinant antigens in sera from the far advanced tuberculosis patients. However, of 25 tuberculosis patients graded as ""minimal"" by chest X-ray, 5 (20.0%) were seropositive by r38 kDa expressed in E. coli, while 8 (32.0%) by that expressed in BCG. Likewise, higher seroreactivity by r38 kDa expressed in BCG was found in sera from the moderately advanced tuberculosis. This study thus indicates that the recombinant 38 kDa expressed in BCG is more effective than that expressed in E. coli in detecting antibodies to the native 38 kDa protein of M. tuberculosis in sera from minimally affected tuberculosis patients.
Antibodies ; Clinical Coding ; Clone Cells ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Mycobacterium bovis* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serologic Tests* ; Thorax ; Tuberculosis*

The ability to introduce recombinant DNA molecules back into mycobacteria would greatly increase the potential of molecular genetic approaches for the study of mycobacteria as well as for the use in clinical purposes. We have initiated the construction of vectors that facilitates the introduction of recombinant DNA into mycobacteria. The vector was designed to contain replicons for multiplication in mycobacteria and Escherichia coli, a promoter for gene expression, a drug resistant gene for selecting transformants, and a few restriction enzyme sites for convenient cloning. Constructed Mycobacterium-E. coli shuttle vector named p YMC (hsp60) was shown to transform M. smegmatis at high efficiency and maintain plasmid at stable level. The ability of the vector to express cloned foreign gene was also monitored by measuring the expressed level of luciferase gene which was used as a reporter. High level of luciferase activity in M. smegmatis with pYMC (hsp60:luc) was detected confirming successful construction of Mycobacterium-E. coli shuttle vector.
Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; DNA, Recombinant ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors* ; Luciferases ; Molecular Biology ; Mycobacterium* ; Plasmids ; Replicon

No abstract available.
Nipples*

No abstract available.
Antigen-Antibody Complex* ; Humans ; Interleukin-2* ; Ovarian Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Coxiella burnetii* ; Coxiella* ; Korea* ; Prevalence*

BACKGROUND: Some patients present transient swelling on lower lateral neck during swallowing; this condition is known as "omohyoid syndrome" or "omohyoid sling syndrome". The purpose of this case report is to evaluate the proper mechanism as well as to give the reader an appreciation for the proper diagnosis and treatment to this not-uncommon condition. METHODS: There were three cases between May, 2000 and January, 2001. The photography, real-time sonography, and computed tomography (CT) were used. RESULTS: There was a brief report on omohyoid syndrome. The sternocleidomastoid muscle is passively tented up by an underlying omohyoid muscle, and the omohyoid muscle is paradoxically thickened during swallowing. The former appears to have lost its restriction to bowstring by the retaining deep cervical fascia. And the latter seems to result from lack of its relaxation during laryngeal elevation. CONCLUSION: The described approaches allow for precise diagnosis and definite proof of the pathogenetic mechanism.
Deglutition ; Diagnosis ; Fascia ; Humans ; Neck ; Photography ; Relaxation

OBJECTIVE: 6-Gingerol, one component of ginger (Zingiber officinale) compound, has been known to possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-emetic, and anti-cancer effects. In this study, the apoptotic ability of 6-gingerol was investigated in human prostate cancer cells. METHODS: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)- 2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, flow cytometry, and western blot analysis were done in LNCaP human prostate cancer cell lines treated with the various doses of 6-gingerol for the different durations of drug exposure. RESULTS: 6-Gingerol in doses ranging from 100 to 300 microM induced dose- and time-dependent inhibition of cell viability in prostate cancer cells by using MTT assay. Maximal inhibition of cell viability was observed at 300 microM of 6-gingerol for 48 hours treatment in LNCaP cells. 6-Gingerol at the dose of 100 microM did not produce any significant change in apoptotic cells in flow cytometry analysis. However, significant increase in sub-G0/G1 phase was observed in cells treated with 200 and 300 microM of 6-gingerol. Any significant cell cycle arrest was not induced by 6-gingerol. In western blotting analysis, expression of caspase-3 was not evident in cells treated with 6-gingerol for 24 hours. However, 48 hours treatment with 6-gingerol altered the expression of caspase-3 in LNCaP cells. Expression of cleaved poly showed the dose-dependent fashion in both 24 hours and 48 hours treatment of 6-gingerol. CONCLUSION: These observations suggest that 6-gingerol may induce apoptosis in LNCaP human prostate cancer cells.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Catechols ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; Fatty Alcohols ; Flow Cytometry ; Ginger ; Humans ; Poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerases ; Prostate ; Prostatic Neoplasms

No abstract available.