Epidemiological studies are important in both the prevention and treatment of mycobacterial infections. This study was initiated to establish the pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) method, which are not yet extensively studied. The most apprpriate restriction endonucleases included Dral, AsnI, and XbaI. The optimal PFGE condition was different according to the enzymes used. Two stage PFGE was performed, in case of DraI first stage was performed with 10 seconds of initial pulse and 15 seconds of findA pulse, while the second stage was performed with 60 seconds of initial pulse and 70 seconds of final pu',se. The electrophoresis time for DraI-PFGE was 14 hours for each stage. Electrophoresis was performed for 22 hours, in case of XbaI, with 3 seconds of initial pulse and 12 seconds of final pulse. Electrophoresis was performed for 22 hours, in case of AsnI, with 5 seconds of initial pulse and 25 seconds of final pulse. In all cases the voltage of the electrophoresis was maintained constantly at 200 voltage. Standard mycobacterial strains, which included Mycobacterium bovis BCG, M. tuberculosis, and M. fortuitum, could not be differentiated by PFGE analysis. PFGE analysis was performed to differentiate 9 clinically isolated M. fortuitum strains using AsnI. All M. fortuitum strains showed different genotypes except 2 strains. Cluster analysis divided M. fortuitum strains into 2 large groups. PFGE analysis was performed to further differentiate M. fortuitum isolates using XbaI. The undifferentiated 2 M. fortuitum strains showed different PFGE patterns with Xba I. Cluster analysis of the XbaI-PFGE patterns showed more complex grouping than AsnI-PFGE patterns, which showed that XbaI-PFGE analysis was better than AsnI-PFGE in M. fortuitum genotyping. The top dissimilarity values of AsnI-PFGE and XbaI-PFGE were 0.74 and 0.75, respectively. This value was higher than that of arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) analysis and lower than that of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. This suggested that PFGE can be used as a supportive or alternative genotyping method to RFLP analysis.
DNA Restriction Enzymes ; Electrophoresis* ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Genotype ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Tuberculosis

Bone resorption around femoral stem as an effect of stress shielding and a subsequent adaptive remodeling process is a disturbing phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to analysis the degree, the location and the time of appearance of femoral bone resorption after cementless total hip replacement and to evaluate the factors affecting the degree, the location and the time of appearance of bone resorption. The authors analysed total 48 cases of standard radiographies which underwent operation between September, 1983 to May, 1994 at Korea University, Guro Hospital and the mean duration of follow up was average 16 months(range 7 months to 5 years). The results were as follows; 1. Bone resorption could be observed mostly in proximal portion of femur and the extent was limited to the first and the second degree according to Engh’s classification in most cases. 2. The degree of bone resorption was significantly correlated with the diameter of femoral stem. 3. The time of appearance of bone resorption after THR was not statistically correlated with the diameter of femoral stem. 4. The degree of bone resorption was not related with sex, age, preoperative diagnosis, type of femoral stem and degree of press-fitting. In conclusion bone resorption as an adaptive bone remodeling process after cementless total hip replacement could be observed in the proximal femur, and the factors affecting the degree of bone resorption were closely related with the size of femoral stem, but not related with sex, preoperative diagnosis, press-fitting and type of femoral stem. From the mechanical point of view, we could conclude that the bending stiffness of a prosthesis was the most important factor affecting the degree of bone resorption.
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Bone Remodeling ; Bone Resorption ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Korea ; Prostheses and Implants

It would seem logical that a left to right shunt may be localized to that chamber in which an increase in oxygen content beyond the normal variation is first seen, while this is generally true, there are certain limitations to such direct diagnostic interpretation. The interpretation of an observed difference in oxygen content is influenced by the result of extremely poor mixing or of a change in respiratory, circulatory or metabolic steady states. This is one of the major challenges to proper interpretation. The purpose of this study was to analyze the blood oxygen content in various chambers of the right side of the heart in patients without shunt and to study the difference in oxygen content between the various chambers. The right heart catheterization was performed in 19 cardiac patients without shunt in Cardiac Laboratory in Hospital. 1. The blood oxygen content was 12.36+/-2.23 volume per cent (mean+/-standard error) in superior vena vava, 12.59+/-2.23 volume per cent in inferior vena cava, 12.59+/-2.23 volume per cent in mid-right atrium, 12.92+/-1.90 volume per cent in mid-right ventricle and 12.26+/-2.13 volume per cent in main pulmonary artery. 2. The mean difference of oxygen content was 0.16 volume per cent between superior vena cava and right atrium, 0.08 volume per cent between right atrium and right ventricle, and 0.06 volume per cent between right ventricle and main pulmonary artery.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the placenta and umbilical cord of preeclamptic placenta with that of the normotensive placenta. METHOD: We compared placental endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in preeclamptic (n=5) with in normal (n=5) pregnancies. Frozen sections of umbilical cords, chorionic plate vessels, and terminal villi were immunostained with a monoclonal endothelial nitric oxide synthase antibody. RESULTS: The age revaled no difference between control (28.1+4.2 years). and study group (26.1+4.7 years). The gestational age was statistically different between control (38.9+1.7 weeks) and study group (34.9+3.5 weeks). The neonatal body weight and placental weight were also statistically different between control (3060+528 g) and study group (2160 417 g). No difference in endothelial nitric oxide synthase immunostaining in the endothelium of the umbilical vessels and stem villous vessels was found between preeclamptic and normotensive pregnancies. In contrast, in the preeclamptic placental endothelial nitric oxide synthase immunostaining was seen in the terminal villous vessels. In the syncytiotrophoblast endothelial niric oxide synthase immunostaining appeared primary basal in location and diffuse in distribution in the preeclamptic placentas but primary apical in the normotensive placentas. CONCLUSION: Differences in endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression in terminal villous vessels and syncytiotrophblast may be a result of vascular alterations or damage that take place in the placenta in preeclampsia.
Body Weight ; Chorion ; Endothelium ; Frozen Sections ; Gestational Age ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; Nitric Oxide Synthase* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Placenta ; Pre-Eclampsia* ; Pregnancy* ; Trophoblasts ; Umbilical Cord

No abstract available.
Hemorrhage* ; Pregnancy* ; Round Ligament of Uterus*

Recently the syndrome of mitral valve prolapse with associated auscultatory and other clinical findings has generated considerable interest. Although this syndrome was originally described as benign, more recent observations have demonstrated that the patients are subject to sudden death, life threatening arrhythmias, bacterial endocarditis or hemodynamically significant mitral regurgitation. It is therefore important to identify such patients so that appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis and antiarrhythmic therapy may be instituted. Since earlier reports of this syndrome by Barlow et al. in 1963, various names or descriptions have been applied to the condition based upon pathologic findings, on cinical investigators has stressed different aspects of the entity. Now it is well known that the syndrome is no longer a benign condition. We have recently had the opportunity to study 15 cases of mitral valve prolapse, which was confirmed by left ventricular cineangiography. Among them 9 cases had associated other cardiac anomalies, most frequently secundum type of atrial septal defect. Among 15 cases 8 were female and the ages ranged from 20 to 52. Selective cine-coronary arteriography was also performed in 2 cases who complained of severe chest pain. We discussed generally the clinical features including hemodynamic and angiocardiographic findings, and pertinent literature published until recently were reviewed.
Female ; Humans

The author measured the value of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol and phospholipid in normal Korean adults and patients with complicated hypertension. Sera obtained from 295 cases of normal Korean male and female, and also 109 cases of patients with hypertension were analysed for triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid. The patterns of serum lipoprotein fraction in 171 normal Korean and 109 patients with complicated hypertension including cerebrovascular diseases and ischemic heart disease were studied by agarose gelelectrophoresis. The results are summarized as follows; 1. The mean value of serum triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid in normal Korean were 85.4+/-20.5mg%, 187.9+/-16.7mg%, and 193.4+/-34.6mg% respectively. 2. Sex and age difference showed no statistical significance in the mean values of serum triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid in hypertensive patients. 3. The mean values of serum triglyceride in the patients with complicated hypertension such as cerebral thrombosis gave higher value than in the patients with other cerebral complications. 4. The mean value of alpha-lipoprotein, pre-beta-lipoprotein and beta-lipoprotein in normal Korean were 29.6+/-5.0% (142.6+/-30.1mg%), 13.0+/-4.3% (62.7+/-24.8mg%), and 57.4+/-30.1% (276.1+/-56.6mg%) respectively. 5. The alpha-lipoprotein fraction in normal Korean demonstrated the tendency of decreasing as age is progressing in both sex, but pre-beta and beta-lipoprotein fraction gave a tendency of increasing by progressing age in both sex, but was not confirmatory in nature. 6. The alpha-lipoprotein fraction in patients with hypertension gave lower value than in the normal subjects, but the value of pre-beta and beta-poprotein were elevated significantly among patients with complicated hypertension than in normal person. 7. The incidence of hyperlipidemia in normal Korean and patients with hypertension were 31.9% and 66.5% respectively. 8. The relative incidences of hyperlipidemic probable phenotypes in normal Korean were as follows: 7% of normal person had Type II (IIa 3.3%, IIb 3.7%), 3.5% had Type III, and 21.4% had Type IV.
Adult* ; Cholesterol ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension* ; Incidence ; Intracranial Thrombosis ; Lipoproteins* ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Phenotype ; Sepharose ; Triglycerides

Electrocardiography has been long an important tool in cardiac diagnosis and, with advances in electrocardiography, the accuracy of the electrocardiographic diagnosis has been greatly increased. Though the most accurate methods for quantitative diagnosis of mitral valvular disease are cardiac catheterization and ventriculography, these procedures are time consuming, expensive, and not without risk, thus, it would be helpful if routine catheterization of the heart could be avoided in patients who are potential condidates for mitral valvulotomy. This could be done if reliable electrocardiographic criteria could be found for estimating the amount of obstrcution and leak at the mitral valve. As mitral valvular dysfunction progress, changes (hypertrophy and/or dilation) in the left atrium and both ventricles are inevitable. Many authors attempted to characterize the electrocardiographic findings of such changes according to the specific lesion of the mitral valve. In addition to atrial fibrillation, characteristic P wave changes and their diagnostic significance have been reported (Macruz et al., 1958; Arevalo et al., 1963: Morris et al., 1964). The diagnostic importance of QRS voltage difference in precordial leads has been stressed in the differential diagnosis of specific lesions of mitral valvular disease (Janton et al., 1954: Bateman and January, 1955: Wierum and Glenn, 1957: Bentivoglio et al., 1958: Imperial et al., 1960). Semle and Pruitt(1960) reported that a mean QRS electrical axis of +91degrees or more degrees was the most frequent positive single index of increased total pulmonary resistance in mitral stenosis, and Fowler et al. (1955) stated that precordial lead V1 was very helpful in evaluating the degree of pulmonary hypertension. In Korea there are only a few reports on the electrocardiographic changes in mitral valvular disease and the correlation of electrocardiographic findings and hemodynamics (Oh et al., 1961: Kim, 1970: Kim, 1971). It would be evident that the various electrocardiographic findings noted in western races can't be applied to Koreans. The main objectives of this study are: 1. To determine the electrocardiographic characteristics of pure mitral valvular disease and the differentiation between the specific lesions of pure mitral stenosis, pure mitral insufficiency and combined lesions of mitral stenosis and insufficiency. 2. To know whether the characteristic electrocardiographic changes of mitral stenosis are directly related to the narrowed valve area or to the hemodynamic abnormalities secondary to obstruction. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 139 cases of isolated mitral valvular disease were reviewed: of these 93 were cases of pure mitral stenosis, 18 were pure mitral insufficiency, and 28 were combined mitral stenosis and insufficiency. Of the total patients, 68 were male and 71 were female. The ages ranged from 10 to 54 years with an average of 35.6 years. Diagnosis was based on cardiac catheterization and supplemented by cienangiocardiography. The conventional 12 lead electrocardiogram was taken at normal sensitivity and at a paper speed of 25mm/sec. The mitral valve area was estimated according to the Gorlin's formula and cardiac output was determined by the direct Fick's principle. The electrocardiograms were analyzed with respect to: 1. Rhythm (atrial fibrillation and sinus rhythm) 2. Presence or absence of P-mitrale 3. Terminal P force in lead V1 (by the method of Morris et. al., 1964) 4. Mean QRS electrical axis in frontal plane 5. QRS voltage in percordial leads(V1S, V5R, V6R & V1S+V(5-6)R) 6. R/S ratio in lead V1 7. Conduction disturbance of right bundle branch block In patients with pure mitral stenosis the electrocardiographic findings of atrial fibrillation P-mitrale, terminal P force in lead V1 were correlated with the hemodynamic data of mean pulmonary artery pressure, mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure and mitral valve area. An attempt was made to ascertain whether or not a quantitative correlation could be found. A patient showing electrocardiographic pattern of right bundle branch block was excluded in the evaluation of QRS voltage in lead V1 and mean QRS electrical axis in frontal plane. RESULTS AND SUMMARY: 1. P wave abnormality, which was noted in most (131/139) cases, is apparently a characteristic and most frequent electrocardiographic finding in mitral valvular disease. Of the P weve abnormalities the development of atrial fibrillation and P-mitrale were thought to be related to the duration of the illness rather than to the types of lesion or hemodynamic abnormalities secondary to valvular dysfunction. However, the terminal P force in lead V1 was thought to be related to the mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure rather than to narrowing of the valve. 2. 15 patients showed the electrocardiographic pattern of right bundle branch block. In patients with mitral stenosis this electrocardiographic pattern was noted at almost all levels of mean pulmonary artery pressure, mean pulmonary arterial wedge pressure, mitral gradient and mitral valve area. 3. Mean QRS electrical axis and QRS voltage in precordial leads; There was no case which deviated leftward more than +30degrees even among cases with a predominant or pure mitral insufficiency. Although the difference of mean value in mean QRS electrical axis and QRS voltage in precordial leads according to the types of the lesion was significant, this difference was generally not helpful in the differential diagnosis in individual patients because of much overlapping among cases. 4. There was no definite electrocardiographic criteria to differentiate clearly the types of mitral valvular disease. However, the following aspects of electrocardiogram may be useful in differential diagnosis. a. Difference of QRS voltage in precordial leads: The volage of V1S and V1S+V(5-6)R in all patients with pure mitral insufficiency was over 1mm and 11mm respectively. That of V1S+V(5-6)R in all patients with pure mitral stenosis was below 39mm. b. R/S ratio in lead V1: There was no case showing "R wave only" in lead V1 among patients with pure or predominant mitral insufficiency. c. Mean QRS electrical axis in frontal plane: The mean QRS electrical axis of all patients with pure mitral stenosis deviated rightward more than +60degrees in all except one case. None of the patients with pure mitral insufficiency deviated rightward more than +110degrees. 5. Relationship between hemodynamics and electrocardiography in paitents with mitral stenosis: Among the hemodynamic abnormalities, mean pulmonary artery pressure showed a close relationship with the following aspects of the electrocardiogram. a. R/S ratio in lead V1:The mean value of mean pulmonary artery pressure (45.9+/-3.8mmHg) in groups showing R/S>1 was significantly elevated as compared with that (34.8+/-1.5mmHg) of groups showing R/Sdegrees1. b. Mean QRS electrical axis in frontal plane: There was a weak positive correlation (r=+0.53) between mean pulmonary artery prersure and QRS electrical axis in the frontal plane. The QRS axis of all patients with a mean pulmonary artery pressure of 41mmHg or more was +91degrees or more except for one case. c. Terminal P force in lead V1: The difference of mean value in mean pulmonary artery pressure according to the size of terminal P force in lead V1 was significant in all cases.
Atrial Fibrillation ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Bundle-Branch Block ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Cardiac Output ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Continental Population Groups ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electrocardiography* ; Female ; Heart ; Heart Atria ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Korea ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Mitral Valve Stenosis ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure

No abstract available.
Hyperparathyroidism, Primary* ; Parathyroid Neoplasms*

The epidural injection of corticosteroid reduces the inflammatory process of the neural structure and its neighbor structures. Morphine, also injected epidurally, has been reported to alleviate severe pain with the short-acting property. In attempt to prolong the effectiveness of pain relief, we have studied the effect of the epidural injection of the morphine and steroid frorg May 1987 to Oct. 1987, and compared with the effect of the epidural injection of the steroid and local anesthetics from Jan. 1986 to Oct. 1987. In this study, we obtained following results; 1. The major causative diseases were herniated necleus pulposus in 34 cases(48.5%), spinal stenosis in 16 cases(22.9%) and spondylolisthesis in 9 cases(12.9%). 2. In morphine-injected group, 100% of acute group and 92.3% of chronic group was improved. In non-morphine injected group, there was no significant difference between the acute and chroinc groups. 3. The effect of epidural morphine and steroid was as follows; Complete relief 14 cases (63.6%), marked improvement 5 cases(22.7%), moderate improvement 2 cases(9.2%) and no relief 1 case(4.6%). The overall improvement was resulted in 21 cases(95.4%). 4. The effect of epidural steroid and local anesthetics was as follows; Complete relief 10 cases(20.8%), marked improvement 14 cases(29.2%), moderate improvement 12 cases(25%~ and no relief 12 cases(25%). The overall improvement was resulted in 36 cases(75%). 5. The average duration of pain relief was 2.5 months in morphine injected group and 1.3 months in non-morphine injected group. 6. The side effects associated with opiate, such as generalized pruritus, nausea, vomiting and urinary retention were reported in 16 cases(72.7%), but responded readily to Naloxone injection and subsided within 24 hours. It is considered that epidural injection of morphine and steroid prolong the effect and duration of pain relief for low back pain and sciatica when compared with the epidural injection of steroid and local anesthetics.
Anesthetics, Local ; Injections, Epidural ; Low Back Pain ; Morphine ; Naloxone ; Nausea ; Pruritus ; Sciatica ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spondylolisthesis ; Urinary Retention ; Vomiting