In the present study, normal guinea pigs were used to investigate the possible pathogenic role of cell-mediated immunity in Sjogren's syndrome. The effects of anti-salivary gland antibodies on circulating lymphocytes, various organs including salivary glands, thymus and the reticuloendothelial system, and on delayed hypersensitivity were studied. Our study demonstrated that anti-salivary gland antibodies directly affected circulating lymphocytes. There was a 60-80% decrease in the lymphocyte count from the original level with a maximum effect at 5 hours after the introduction of the antibodies. When antibodies were injected repeatedly, the recovery to the pre-injection level of lymphocytes was delayed. We also found that antisalivary g1and antibodies were not organ-specific and were cross-reactive with various organs that are often involved in Sjogren's syndrome. Direct immunofluorescent study showed antibody deposits in the thymus-dependent areas of lymph nodes. These results suggest that antisalivary gland antibodies are lymphocytotoxic and have an anti-T cell property. The anti-salivary gland antibodies prepared in this experiment did not produce any pathological lesions such as those found in Sjogren's syndrome. The amount of antiserum or the period of administration might not have been long enough to produce pathological changes. Another possibility is that the anti-salivary gland antibodies might be species-specific. On the basis of these results, it appears that impaired cell-mediated immunity is not the primary pathogenic factor responsible for Sjogern's syndrome but rather that deranged immunity is secondary to the development of anti-salivary gland antibodies which occur in Sjogern's syndrome.
Animal ; Antibodies* ; Guinea Pigs ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphocytes/immunology* ; Rabbits ; Reticuloendothelial System/immunology ; Salivary Glands/immunology* ; Sjogren's Syndrome/immunology ; T-Lymphocytes/immunology

To elucidate the funcion of arachidonic acid as a secondary brain edema facotr, the infusion edema model was constucted using adult cats with studies of somatosensory evoked potentials, regional cerebral blood flow of white matters, brain water contents, magentic resonance images and histological findings. Among 50 cats, 6 cats were used as sham poerated group without infustion and in 45 cats solutions of various concentrations of arachidonic acid and physiologic saline were infused into the left and right frontal white maters respectively. According to the different concentrations of arachidonic acid, three groups were named as group A(0.1mg/ml), group B(1mg/ml), group C(10mg/ml). During 4 hours of slow infusion of the infusates(average 0.5ml in each side totally) central conduction time(CCT) was measured every an hour with contralateral median nerve stimulation bilaterally and cerebral blood flow(CBF) of white matter was measured by hydrogen clearance method every 2 hours. Finally the cats were sacrificed and specimens of edematous white matter obtained bilaterally at the coresponding points. Water contents were measured with vacuum freeze drying method. T2-weighted magnectic resonance images(MRI) and light microscopic studies were performed in a cat of each groups. The results were as followed ; 1) MRI and histologic findings showed that the infusion brain edema technique was efective in inducing interstitial edema, but the differences in the degree of edema formation between the right and the left sides were not siginificant in all groups. 2) There were no statistically significant difference between the water contents of the right and that of left in all groups. 3) Either infusion of arachidonic acid or physiologic saline in the white matter did not change regional white matter CBF in all groups. 4) The I-N1 interpeak latency was labelled as central conduction time(CT), and the baseline CCT was 5.83+/-0.52msec. 5) The differences of CCT between infusion group and noninfusion group were statistically significant in group C at 2, 3, 4hours(p>0.01) and the differerences of cct between arachidonic acid and physiologic saline infustion sites were statistically significant in group B at 4 hors, group C at 1 hour(p>0.05) and group C at 2, 3, 4hours(p>0.01) after eginning of infusion and the differences increased with time in group C(p>0.01). The results indicate that arachidonic acid does not have edemogenic properties during 4 hours infusion but may induce neurologic dysfunction as to increase the CCT in somatosensory evoked potential studies if it exists in the edema fluid of brain white matter.
Adult ; Animals ; Arachidonic Acid* ; Brain Edema ; Brain* ; Cats ; Edema ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory* ; Freeze Drying ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Median Nerve ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Vacuum

During the period from January to December 1976, 12,489 VDRL (Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) and 2,965 FTA-ABS (Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody Absorption) tests were made. The reactive VDRL tests represented 3.6% of the total tested and the reactive rate of the FTA-ABS was 17.4%. The reactive VDRL and FTA-ABS tests represented 422 patients with clinically known diseases. The purpose of this study was to correlate the serologic findings with clinical problems. We divided the patients into three groups: 1. those with clinically diagnosed syphilis, 2. those with a history or physical findings compatible with syphilis, 3. those with no clinical evidence of syphilis. In groups 1 and 2, which represented 27% and 36.7%, respectively, a close correlation occurred between the two tests, both being reactive in 93-98% of the patients. However the VDRL was more informative than the FTA-ABS in determining clinical stages. In group 3, representing 36.3% of the reactive tests, the agreement between the two tests dropped to 77%; the FTA-ABS test was reactive in an additional 32 cases, 21% more than the VDRL. These discrepancies may well be due to the greater sensitivity of the FTA-ABS test in very early or late syphilis when there are no clinically recognizable manifestations. However the possibility of false positive FTA-ABS reactions could not be ruled out.
Adult ; Comparative Study ; Evaluation Studies ; Female ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique* ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Age ; Syphilis Serodiagnosis*

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a proliferation of B-cells associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection as a complication of immunosuppression, especially by FK506. We investigated four cases of PTLD which developed either in allografts or in other organs. Case 1 was a 38-year-old woman, who developed monomorphic PTLD in a kidney 7 years and 7 months after renal transplantation. Case 2 was a 37-year-old man, who developed monomorphic PTLD in the right submandibular lymph node 4 months after liver transplantation. Case 3 was a 60-year-old man, who developed monomorphic PTLD in the liver 8 months after liver transplantation. Case 4 was a 2-year-old female child, who developed polymorphic PTLD in the colon, liver, and mesenteric lymph node 10 months after liver transplantation. FK506 was administered to case 4. EBV was identified in the tissues of all cases by immunohistochemistry and/or in situ hybridization.
Adult ; Allografts ; B-Lymphocytes ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Colon ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Immunosuppression ; In Situ Hybridization ; Kidney ; Kidney Transplantation ; Liver ; Liver Transplantation ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders* ; Middle Aged ; Tacrolimus

BACKGROUND: The Apt test is used for differentiating neonatal blood from the maternal blood in the meconium. The test requires a sufficient amount of blood to be detectable to the naked eyes. But many of the specimens in the hospital laboratory contain only a small amount of blood and is not detectable to the naked eyes and usually the results are reported 'impossible to determine' due to the small amount of blood. We developed a latex agglutination test to solve this problem and to differentiate the neonatal blood from the maternal blood in a small amount that was not detectable with the naked eyes. METHODS: Latex reagents for hemoglobin A (Hb A) and hemoglobin F (Hb F) were made. Ten milligrams of meconium were dissolved in 1mL of deionized water (DW). Ten milligrams of meconium that had shown negative results for both of the above reagents were mixed, each with 10microL of whole blood (WB) from 10 pregnant women and 10 neonates who had various hemoglobin concentrations (10-17 g/dL). Each of the 20 mixtures was dissolved in 1 mL of DW (WB 10microL/mL). Then, serial dilutions were made at a ratio of 1:10 until the final concentration of 10 pL/mL. Each of the six dilutes were tested with the two latex reagents. RESULTS: The dilutes of WB 10microL/mL looked red, WB 1microL/mL looked pink and all other dilutes showed no colors to the naked eyes. The reagent for Hb A showed agglutination in dilutes from WB 1microL to 1 nL/mL DW from all of the 20 persons. The reagent for Hb F reacted with dilutes from WB 1microL to 1 nL/mL DW from the ten neonates but did not react with those from any pregnant women. CONCLUSIONS: The latex agglutination test can be applied to the specimen with no color detectable to the naked eyes after dilution. The specimen reacted with both the Hb A and Hb F reagents could be determined as fetal blood and the one that reacted with the reagent only for Hb A could be determined as maternal blood.
Agglutination ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Fetal Hemoglobin ; Hemoglobin A ; Humans ; Indicators and Reagents ; Infant, Newborn ; Laboratories, Hospital ; Latex Fixation Tests* ; Latex* ; Meconium* ; Pregnant Women ; Water

The authors report three cases of ossification of ligamentum flavum causing thoracic myelopathy. The symptoms of all cases were numbness in the legs and feet and motor weakness. Preoperative diagnosis were simple spine X-ray, metrizamide CT and magnetic resonance imaging. There was satisfactory improvement in all cases after total laminectomy and medial facetectomy.
Diagnosis ; Foot ; Hypesthesia ; Laminectomy ; Leg ; Ligamentum Flavum* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Metrizamide ; Spinal Cord Diseases* ; Spine

PURPOSE: In this study, nosocomial bloodstream infection rate and fatality rate for 774 and 386 patients, who whose blood cultivation were obtained after 48 hours of hospitalization between March 1999 and February 2000 in two university hospitals, were sought. A distribution of etiologic agent and risk factors of the nosocoial bloodstream infection were also investigated. METHODS: This study was carried out through medical record review and a structural questionnaire. Besides registers of microbe cultivation in the department of clinical pathology and medical records of patients were checked. The nosocomial bloodstream infection was also checked through medical records of patients using the standard of CDC. Statistical analysis were performed using SAS 6.12. RESULTS: The nosocomial bloodstream infection rate in hospital K and hospital A were 3.9 and 3.5 per 1,000 discharged patients, respectively. Although the rates were increased accoding to patients' age, they were different by medical departments, showing the highest level in the ICU. The fatality rate from nosocomial bloodstream infection in hospital K and hospital A were 12.5% and 21.8%, respectively. A distribution of etiologic agent of the nosocomial bloodstream infection in hospital K was 17 cases(21.8%) of Coagulase negative staphylococcus(CNS), 12 cases(15.0%) of Staphylococcus aureus and 8 cases(10.0%) of Enterococcus spp. For hospital A, it was 14 cases925.4%) of Coagulase negative taphylococcus(CNS), 9 cases(16.4%) of Staphylococcus aureus and 7 cases(12.7%) of Klebsiella pneumoniae. While risk factors of the nosocomial bloodstream infection edentified in hospital K were ICU, intracranial injury and hospitalization period, those for hospital A were a use of the central nenous tube, intracranial injury and hospitalization period. CONCLUSION: It is expected that nosocomial bloodstream infection increases as aged group increases by the change of the population structure, as the usage of invasive instrument increases by development of new medical instrument as well as large scale hospitals. For these reasons, further studies developing countermeasures against nosocomial bloodstream infection are recommended.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Coagulase ; Cross Infection ; Enterococcus ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Medical Records ; Pathology, Clinical ; Risk Factors ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Previously we reported that THI 52 inhibits tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA expression in mouse peritoneal macrophages exposed to LPS plus IFN-gamma. In the present study, the effects of THI 52 on vascular reactivity ex vivo, and iNOS protein expression (rat lung) were investigated in LPS-treated rats. Treatment of THI 52 concentration-dependently reduced not only serum nitrite production but also the expression of iNOS protein in rat lung tissues. Thoracic aorta taken from LPS injected rat for 8 h ex vivo resulted in suppression of vasoconstrictor effects to phenylephrine (PE), which was restored by THI 52 (20 mg/kg) 30 min prior to LPS. When measured iNOS activity, treatment of THI 52 concentration-dependently reduced the enzyme activity in RAW 264.7 cells activated with LPS plus IFN-gamma. Likewise, iNOS activity was significantly reduced in lung tissues taken those rats that were injected THI 52 prior to LPS injection compared with LPS injection alone. These results strongly suggest that THI 52 can suppress iNOS gene expression induced by LPS, and restore the vascular contractility to PE. Thus, THI 52, a new synthetic isoquinoline alkaloid, may be beneficial in inflammatory disorders where production of NO is excessed by iNOS expression.
Animals ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Gene Expression* ; Lung* ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II* ; Phenylephrine ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

It is important that the clinical anesthetist pay attention to the interaction of anesthetic induction agents and succinylcholine chloride(S,C,C) on the elctrolyte level especially the plasma potassium ion concentration. For instance succinylcholine chloride has a marked effect upon specific conditions such as severe burns, multiple injury, deabetes insipidus and myopathy. Also secondary plasma changes may bring about non synchronous depolarizing action on the muscle and cause cardiac arrhythmai and even cardiac arrest by the increase of potassium concentration in the plasma. With this in mind the author has randomly selected 30 patients who belong to class l physical status by the classification of the American Society of Anesthesiologist had no abnormal symptoms in respiration, circulation or endocrine and metabolism defects. This paper covers the period from the 10th of April 1979 to the 10th of May 1980 in the Department of Anesthesiology, Hanyang University Hospital. The 30 subjects were divided into 3 groups: a) propanidid with S.C.C. b) thiopental sodium with S.C.C. c) diazepam with S.C.C. The plasma concentration of potassium, sodium and calcium were observed and compared in the pre-induction (control group) and two minute post-induction(study group). The results are follows: 1) The plasma potassium ion concentration showed no any significant changes in the whole group. 2) The plasma sodium and calcium ion concentration also showed no any significant changes in the whole group.
Anesthesiology ; Burns ; Calcium* ; Classification ; Diazepam ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Metabolism ; Multiple Trauma ; Muscular Diseases ; Plasma ; Potassium ; Propanidid ; Respiration ; Sodium* ; Succinylcholine* ; Thiopental

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common fatal malignancies worldwide, especially in Korea. The recent advances in diagnostic techniques, such as serum tumor marker assay, ultrasonography, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and angiography, allow us to detect HCC at early stage. Even though, it remains difficult to distinguish malignant nodules from benign space-ccupying lesions of liver. Distinction of HCC from benign entities such as liver abscess is important because failure of prompt diagnosis could result in a missed opportunity for curative treatment. The differential diagnosis of HCC and liver abscess, especially HCC presenting as abscess, is sometimes very difficult. We report a case of HCC with liver abscess caused by secondary infection of CBD stone and cholangitis, that mimicked the dynamic CT findings of liver abscess, in an elderly patient with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
Abscess ; Aged ; Angiography ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Cholangitis* ; Coinfection ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; Humans ; Korea ; Liver Abscess* ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Ultrasonography