A case-control study was conducted to investigate the effect of low-level blood lead on the blood pressure. The plasma renin activity (PRA) was measured also to investigate one of the possible mechanisms by which lead may play a role to influence on the blood pressure. Seventy-two hypertensive and sixty-nine control study subjects were selected from the workers who had no history of job-related lead exposure, in Ulsan city and it's vicinity, Korea. In addition to measuring blood lead levels and PRA, body mass index(BMI), hematocrit, serum sodium, potassium, creatinine, ionized calcium, and cholesterol were measured. Also, the habits of smoking, alcohol drinking and family history of hypertension were checked. The blood lead level of the hypertensive group was 19.8+/-5.5 microgram/dl, which was significantly higher than that of the control group, 12.5+/-4.7 microgram/dl (p<0.01). On multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio of blood lead level on the occurrence of high blood pressure was 1.38, also statistically significant (p<0.01). There was no significant differences between the hypertensive and the control group in the PRA or In(PRA), but there was a marginally significant linear relationship between blood lead and PRA in the hypertensive group (p<0.1). In conclusion, blood lead level which has been known to be within normal limits may be one of the possible risk factors of hypertension and PRA alteration by lead may act as one of the mechanisms.
Alcohol Drinking ; Blood Pressure* ; Calcium ; Case-Control Studies ; Cholesterol ; Creatinine ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Plasma* ; Potassium ; Renin* ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Sodium ; Ulsan

A myocardial beidge is an anatomic arrangement in which an epicardial coronary artery becomes engulfed for a limited segment by mycardial fibers. Myocardial bridges are not uncommon finding at coronary angiography and are identified by the systolic narrowing of the affected artery, mainly the left anterior descending coronary artery. The significance of myocardial beidges is controversial. These are frequently found at autopsy, and have been associated with episodic angina, tachcardia-induced ischemia amd sudden death during strenuous exercise. It has been suggested that clinical mamifestations of myocardial ischemia could be the result of severe reductions in the myocardial blood flow during the systole caused by the mylcardial bridge. We report two cases of myocardial damage occuring in a previous asymptimatic patients, hacing myocardial beidge in a left anterior descending coronary artery. This report strengthens the view that myocaridal bridges may, on occasion, cause ischemis
Arteries ; Autopsy ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Death, Sudden ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Systole

Proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD) in early infancy is characteristic by quite shortening of the tight segment, flexed, abducted and externally rotated position In assciation with a stable hip which Is freely mobile. Authors experienced a case with the congenital deficiency of the femoral head. The case showed the normal femoral segment and no any other bony anomalies which cannot be Included in Aitkens or Amstutz's classification.
Classification ; Head ; Hip

No abstract available.
Anemia, Aplastic* ; Hepatitis*

No abstract available.
Hepatitis B Vaccines* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Hot Temperature* ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability*

No abstract available.
Histiocytosis*

No abstract available.
Hepatitis B Vaccines* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Hot Temperature* ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability*

No abstract available.
Dysentery, Bacillary*

The congenital pulmonary artery branch stenosis (PABS) was described by Oppenheimer (1) as early as in 1938, but it had attracted very little attention until the last decade. This disease is characterized grossly by single or multiple stenosis of the pulmonary artery and branches and has been described in the literature occasionally under the various designations including supravalvular pulmonary stenosis, coarctation of pulmonary artery, multiple peripheral stenosis of the pulmonary artery and pulmonary artery branch stenosis (3~22). It is known that this defect is no longer a very rare disease and functional problem only. The clinical significance of this disease is to differentiate from other congenital heart diseases such as patent ductus arteriosus, ventricular septal defect and pulmonic stenosis and is a cause of pulmonary hypertension. Nine cases of PABS confirmed by pressure difference in pullback tracing, selective angiography and rate of rise of pulmonary artery pressure are presented. This defect occurred as an isolated cardiovascular anomaly in 3 of the 9 patients. This condition was detected usually in childhood due to exertional dyspnea, frequent upper respiratory infections and heart murmur. Clinically the most significant diagnostic feature was the wide distribution of ejection systolic or continuous murmur, which was seldom louder than grade 4/6. It is also characteristic that the upstroke of the pulmonary artery pressure tracing is similar to the right ventricular tracing with the descending limb of the curve steeper and the dicrotic notch deeper with a low diastolic plateau. This results in a wide pulse pressure. Data are presented which suggest that comparing the rate of rise prestenotic with poststenotic pressure pulse may differentiate organic from functional pressure gradient. The purpose of this paper is to present in detail the clinical features including electrocardioram, chest X-ray, cardiac catherization, angiography, rate of rise of pulmonary artery pressure and diagnostic criteria of PABS. Only two cases of PABS were repoted in Korean literature from our laboratory.
Child ; Male ; Female ; Humans

Caffeine has been known to induce the contraction of rabbit aortic ring resulting from Ca2+ release from the intracellular stores. But in contrast, contraction of aortic ring induced by depolarizing agents or agonist was reported to be suppressed by caffeine. The present study was intended to examine the effect of caffeine on Ca2+ movement across the plasma membrane and actomyosin ATPase activity of vascular smooth muscle to elucidate the modes of action of caffeine on the vascular smooth muscle. Aortic ring preparation were made from the rabbit thoracic aorta and the endothelial cells were removed from the ring by gentle rubbing. The contractilty of the aortic ring was measured under varying conditions, and Ca2+ influx across the membranes of the aortic ring was measured with Ca2+ sensitive electrode with and without caffeine and the effect of caffeine on actomyosin ATPase activity were measured by modified Hartshrone's method. 45Ca wash out curves with and without caffeine were studied by Richard's method. The results were summarized as follows: 1) Caffeine inhibited the contractilty induced by norepinephrine. high K+, and histamine. but caffeine alone induced a transient contraction of vascular smooth muscle. The caffeine induced contraction was demonstrable even in the absence of external Ca2+. 2) Caffeine increased 45Ca efflux from vascular smooth muscle. 3) In the presence of propranolol, the inhibitory effect of caffeine on epinephrine induced contraction still persisted. 4) Caffeine decreased norepinephrine induced Ca2+ influx through the plasma membranes of aortic ring. 5) Caffeine decreased the actomyosin ATPase activity of vascular smooth muscle. From the above results, it is suggested that caffeine induces the contraction of vascular smooth muscle by release of Ca2+ from intracellular Ca2+ stone, but inhibits drug-induced contraction by decrease of Ca2+ influx across the plasma membranes and a decreased Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile protein in vascular smooth muscle.
Actomyosin* ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Caffeine* ; Cell Membrane ; Electrodes ; Endothelial Cells ; Epinephrine ; Histamine ; Membranes ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Myosins* ; Norepinephrine ; Propranolol