A endodermal sinus tumer (Teilum) is a highly malignant germ cell tumor showing a selective overgrowth of yalk sac endoderm intimately associated with the extraembryonic mesoblast. Several cases of the tumor originating from the ovaries have been reported in the literature. We present a case of the tumor with a rare origin from the sacrococcygeal region.
Endoderm ; Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Female ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal ; Ovary ; Sacrococcygeal Region

To clarify the exact role of endomyocardial biopsy in the diagnosis and monitoring of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity and to observe the actual relationship between pathologic changes and cardiac dysfunction, a cross-sectional clinical study was conducted. Echocardiography was used to evaluate cardiac dysfunction in 18 patients who had received chemotherapy including adriamycin(mean dose : 410mg/m2 of B.S.A.) without clinical evidence of congestive heart failure, and in 19 normal controls. Six patients receiving adriamycin underwent 7 transfemoral endomyocardial biopsy procedures, and the specimens were evaluated by light and electron microscopy for evidence of drug-related cardiotoxicity. Indexes of cardiac systolic function obtained by M-mode echocardiography(left ventricular dimension, excursion of interventricular septum and left ventricular posterior wall, shortening fraction and ejection fracton) did not show any statistically significant difference between patients who received adriamycin and normal controls. In transmitral flow-velocity curves recorded by Doppler echocardiography with a 2.25MHz probe, the patients showed less E peak velocity and decreased E/A ratio compared with normal controls, which suggests left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in the patients who received adriamycin. All the specimens of the endomyocardial biopsy showed significant pathologic changes of adriamycin indnced cardiotoxicity which was characterized by myofibrillar loss and vacuolization of the cytoplasm. In 2 specimens, pathologic grade was II, while 5 specimens showed pathologic changes of grade III and further chemotherapy with adriamycine was not done in thse 5 cases. From these results it is suggested that pathologic changes precede the clinical onset of congestive cardiomyopathy in the patients receiving adriamycin and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction occurrs before ejection fraction falls to subnormal levels. We conclude that sequential endomyocardial biopsy is absolutely indicated for exact diagnosis and monitoring of adrinamycin-induced cardiotoxicity to prevent the development of irreversible and often fatal cardiomyopathy.
Biopsy ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Doxorubicin* ; Drug Therapy ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron

Cryopreservation is able to store the surplus pre-embryos for freezing and furthermore thawing and transfer in a subsequent cycle. Cryopreserving cells which are maintaining their viability are the very complex process. This study has been carried out in order to find the effects of cryopreservation steps, freezing media and embryonic stages on the rates of viability and development of cryopreserved mouse embryos. Female ICR mice (6~8 weeks old) were induced to superovulate by sequential intraperitoneal injection of 5 IU PMSG and 5 IU hGC 48h apart. Mouse embryos were collected according to its developmental stage after the injection of hCG. Embryos were cryopreserved not only by cryoprotectant step (1 step~ 4 step) but also in a variety of media (HTF, IVF medium, D-PBS) and cell stage. The results were as follows: There is no clear advantage in these freezing media of rapid method, but 4 cell and 8 cell of slow method (2, 3, 4 step) have advantage in D-PBS. The development of embryos according to cell stage become greater in 8 cell stage. In the treatment steps of cryopreservation, the development of embryo to blastocyst was similar among rapid method, but the development of 4 cell and 8 cell embryos to blastocyst according to slow method was better than rapid method.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Cryopreservation* ; Culture Media* ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Freezing ; Humans ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Mice* ; Mice, Inbred ICR

BACKGROUND: Recently, missense mutation of the B3-adrenergic receptor gene has been shown to be associated with early onset of type 2 diabetes, abdominal obesity and an increased capacity to gain weight. This study was performed to investigate the effects of Trp64Arg mutation in the B3-adrenergic receptor gene on body fat distribution and weight loss in obese subjects. METHODS: Determination of the B3-adrenergic receptor gene mutation with restriction enzyme digestion method, anthropometry, various biochemical studies, including oral glucose tolerance test were performed in 99 obese and 35 control subjects. Body fat distributions were also evaluated by computerized tomography before and after weight-reduction program. RESULTS: I) There were no differences in the frequencies of Trp64Arg mutation in the B3-adrenergic receptor gene between obese and control subjects (15.2 vs 12.9 %). 2) The obese subjects with Trp64Arg mutation had higher waist to hip circumference ratio(WHR) (0.93 +/- 0.05 vs 0.87 +/- 0.04, p<0.001), visceral fat area (115.0 +/- 25.9 vs 86.4 +/- 41.4 cm, p=0.01), but decreased plasma free fatty acid (618.0 +/- 163.1 vs 817.5 +/- 248.2 pEq/L, p=0.001), and triglyceride level (118.7 +/- 36.2 vs 158.4 +/- 105.8 mg/dL, p=0.015) than those without mutation. 3) The obese subjects with Trp64Arg mutation had smaller decreases in weight (-3.4 vs -5.1 kg, p<0.001), body fat content (-2.1 vs -3.8 %, p<0.001), WHR (-0.01 vs -0.03, p=0.025), and abdominal fat masses (total, subcutaneous, and visceral fat) after weight-reduction program than those without mutation. CONCLUSION: Trp64Arg mutation in the B3-adrenergic receptor gene might be one of genetic loci contributing to central obesity and a predictor of difficulty in losing weight in obese subjects.
Abdominal Fat ; Adipose Tissue* ; Anthropometry ; Body Fat Distribution* ; Digestion ; Genetic Loci ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Hip ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mutation, Missense ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Plasma ; Triglycerides ; Weight Loss*

Nevus sebaceous, a cutaneous harmatoma histopathologically presenting epidermal and adnexal hyperplasia, is a congenital lesion that occurs primarily on the face, scalp, and neck area. It is rarely found on the trunk or extremities. We report a case of 34-year-old female with nevus sebaceous on the left forearm, which is considered to be a rare predilection.
Adult ; Extremities ; Female ; Forearm* ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Neck ; Nevus* ; Scalp

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an autosomal dominant hereditary disorder caused by a germline mutation of the VHL gene. It is a multi-systemic disorder that is predisposed to benign or malignant tumors of visceral organs such as hemangioblastoma of the central nervous system, renal cell carcinoma, retinal angioma and pheochromocytoma. We report herein a case of VHL disease that initially manifested with aortic valve insufficiency.
Aortic Valve Insufficiency* ; Aortic Valve* ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Central Nervous System ; Germ-Line Mutation ; Hemangioblastoma ; Hemangioma ; Pheochromocytoma ; Retinaldehyde ; von Hippel-Lindau Disease*

Fibrous dysplasia of bone is a relatively rare condition characterized by fibrous tissue replacement of skeleton, usually not disabling, of slow progress, and showing a tendency to become arrested. It may be monostotic (confined to one bone) or Polyostotic (situated in many bones). The etiology of fibrous dysplasia is unkown but it is now believed to be a developmental error in which primitive fibrous tissue proliferates within the bony medulla and encroaches upon the cortex from within. This paper reports the one case of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia. The diagnosis was made by clinical, radiological and histological findings. The review of literatures was made briefly.
Diagnosis ; Fibrous Dysplasia of Bone ; Fibrous Dysplasia, Polyostotic ; Skeleton

BACKGROUND: Left atrial thrombi(LAT) and spontaneous echo contrast(SEC) are known as major risk factors for thromboembolic complication in patients with mitral valvular heartdisease. Recent clinical introduction of transesophageal echocardiography(TEE) makes it possible to improve the diagnostic accuracy of these risk facors compared to conventional transthoracic echocardiography(TTE). The aims of the present study were to evaluate diagnostic accuracy of TEE for detection of LAT and to determine if clinical and echocardiographic variables can predict the presence of LAT and/or SEC at TEE. METHODS: From July 1991 to April 1993, both TTE and TEE were performed in 84 patients with mitral valvular heart disease before open heart surgery. The incidence and diagnostic accuracy of TTE and TEE for LAT detection were confirmed at surgery for mitral valve replacement in all cases. Biplane with 5.0 MHz transducer was used in TEE. The following clinical and transthoracic echocardiographic variables were analyzed:age, totoal or recent embolism, atrial fibrillation, left atrial dimension, ejection fraction, mitral valve area, and mitral regurgitation. RESULT: 1) THe sensitivity of TEE for detection of LAT was 100%, which was significantly higher than that of TTE(60.8%). There was no statistical difference in specificity of both techniques(98.3% vs 93.4%). In eleven patients (11/24,45.8%), LAT was confined to the left atrial appendage and TEE was far superior to TTE(sensitivity : 100% vs 27.2%) in detection of appendegeal thrombi. 2) SEC was found in 43 patients(51.2%). Patients with SEC had higher rates of LAT(p<0.001) and embolic episodes (p=0.001) than patients without SEC. There was no association between the severity of SEC and the embolic episodes. 3) Patients with SEC or LAT were characterized by more frequently associated with recent embolic episodes, smaller mitral valve orifice, abscence of mitral regurgitation than those without SEC and LAT. CONCLUSION: TEE is superior to TTE in detection of LAT and appendegeal thrombi. SEC is frequently noted in TEE and also strongly associated with left atrial blood stasis and left atrial thrombi in mitral valve disease.
Atrial Appendage ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal* ; Embolism ; Heart Valve Diseases* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thoracic Surgery ; Thrombosis* ; Transducers

Most thymomas are found in the superior and anterior mediastinum and malignant thymomas are exceedingly rare in the first 20 years of life. A child of malignant thymoma with invasion into the thoracic vertebra and spinal canal is reported. The tumor was originated from posterior mediastinum and involved posteriorly the D8, D9 vertebra resulting in paraparesis was improved. Computed tomography is mandatory in detecting the metastasis and evaluation of treatment.
Child ; Humans ; Mediastinum ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Paraparesis ; Spinal Canal* ; Spine ; Thymoma*

No abstract available.
Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute*