Male genital tract inflammatory conditions may be associated with unexplained infertility. The presence of cytokine such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) was reported in the semen of infertile men. However, the effect of these cytokines on human sperm function is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the in-vitro effects of TNF-alpha on human sperm motility with computer assisted sperm analysis. Washed sperm from 16 normal men were incubated without and with TNF-alpha(0.1, 10, 1000 ng/ml). The changes of parameters of sperm motility were recorded at different time intervals (0, 5, 24 hour). There was no significant change of parameters of sperm motility in the incubation with TNF-alpha. It is suggested that TNF-alpha alone does not interfere with the sperm motility and more studies are needed.
Cytokines ; Humans ; Infertility ; Male ; Semen ; Sperm Motility* ; Spermatozoa* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

Paraganglioma is a benign tumor arising in the paraganglion system scattered throughout the body, but its cytopathologic findings arenot well known. We experienced a case of paraganglioma of carotid body diagnosed by fine needle aspiration. The patient was a 30 year-old female who suffered from the left neck mass for 3 years. The mass was 3x3crn in size without pulsation or bruit. Cytologically, the smear revealed aggregated and singly scattered tumor cells having abundant pale cytoplasm and indistinct cell borders. Their nuclei were round to oval, but enlarged nuclei were occasionally observed. The nuclear membrane was smooth with fine clumping of chromatin. Differentiation from metastatic follicular carcinoma of the thyroid gland was difficult.
Adult ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carotid Body ; Chromatin ; Cytoplasm ; Female ; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental* ; Humans ; Neck ; Nephrotic Syndrome* ; Nuclear Envelope ; Paraganglioma ; Thyroid Gland

OBJECTIVE: To know the ratio of hysterectomies and cones for the treatment of CIN 3 in Incheon and Bucheon area, and to know the trend of changes of treatments according to the year operated and age of patients. METHODS: From Jan. of 1996 to Mar. of 2005, clinical information was reviewed for the patients with CIN3 at 5 hospitals, which were members of Gynecologic Oncology Study Group in Incheon and Bucheon area. RESULTS: Among 1428 patients with CIN 3, 808 patients underwent hysterectomies and 620 underwent cone (57% vs. 43%). Before 2000, almost 10-30% of patients selected cones for themselves. After 2003, however, 70% have selected cones. And younger patients prefer cones and older patients prefer hysterectomies. 60% of patients of their 5th decades have selected hysterectomies and remainders have selected cones for their CIN3 treatments. CONCLUSION: In Incheon and Bucheon area, hysterectomies have been performed slightly more than conization of cervix for the patients with CIN3. After 2003, however, about 70% of patients with CIN3 have been treated by cone. As patients get old, they get to prefer hysterectomy.
Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia* ; Cervix Uteri ; Conization ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Incheon*

The four tetrameric STRs loci(HUMvWA31, HUMTHO1, HUMF13A1, HUMFES/FPS) were studied to confirm the allele frequency distribution and to see whether these results can be used for identity and paternity testing in a population o Koreans using multiplex PCR and laser-fluorescence detection method. In the Korean population (n=227), 8 alleles with their relative frequency range of 0.002-0.249 are detected in the HUMvWA31 locus, 6 alleles with those of 0.007-0.500 in 6 alleles with those of 0.004-0.434 in the HUMFES/FPS locus. The highest observed heterozygosity is found at the locus HUMvWA31(0.8077), with those of the lociively. All loci meet Hardy-Weinberg expectations ; there are good agreements between observed and expected heterozygosity, number of observed genotypes. Pairwise comparisons between loci show allelic independence for all the 4 loci. The power of discrimination (PD) determined for the locus HUMvWA31 is 0.933, that for the HUMTHO1 is 0.836, 0.798 for HUMF13A1, and 0.844 for the HUMFES/FPS ; the combined power of discrimination for the quadruplex is 0.9997. Thus, these allelic frequency distribution can be used to construct the database of the multiplex PCR-based DNA profile in the Korean population. The calculated parameter, "combined power of discrimination(PD)" show the informativeness of these loci for the determination of identity and relatedness of individuals.
Alleles ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; DNA ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Microsatellite Repeats* ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Paternity

Malignant germ cell tumors of the ovary are uncommon neoplasms. Although 20-25% of all ovarian tumors are derived from germ cells, only about 3% of germ cell tumors are malignant. Mixed germ cell tumors contain at least two malignant germ cell elements. These lesions should be managed with combination chemotherapy, preferably BEP. Recently we experienced a case of mixed germ cell tumor with 6 components of germ cell and sarcomatous change in a 11 year old girl. Preoperative CA-125, B-hCG, aFP, LDH, a-1-antitrypsin were elevated and the final pathologic report was mixed germ cell tumor composed of endodermal sinus tumor, embryonal carcinoma, mature and immature teratoma, choriocarcinoma, dysgerminoma and sarcomatous change, Postoperative chemotherapy with 6 courses of BEP regimen was performed and all tumor markers became normal after 4 courses of chemotherapy. What we interested in this case was several components of germ cells and sarcomatous change and the sarcomatous change might be derived from the mature cystic teratoma component, so we present this case with a brief review of the literatures here.
Carcinoma, Embryonal ; Child ; Choriocarcinoma ; Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Dysgerminoma ; Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Female ; Germ Cells* ; Humans ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal* ; Ovary ; Pregnancy ; Teratoma ; Biomarkers, Tumor

OBJECTIVES: Leptin is a 16-kD protein encoded by the ob/ob gene and represent the amount of body fat. In pregnancy, it is thought to act in intrauterine fetal growth and energy metabolism. In this study, we investigated the effect of gestational age, fetal sex, maternal body mass index (BMI), and fetal weight estimated by ultrasound on amniotic fluid and maternal serum leptin levels at mid-trimester, respectively. METHODS: Amniotic fluid and maternal blood sampling were collected from women who was performed for genetic amniocentesis at mid-trimester (n = 26). Leptin concentrations were measured by a specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) employing human recombinant leptin. Mean gestational age was 18.19+/-1.77 weeks. Mean maternal BMI was 23.83 +/-5.12kg/m2. Male fetus was 10, and female 16. Mean fetal weight estimated by ultrasound was 254.42+/-83.80gm. RESULTS: Mean maternal leptin level( 12.49+/-4.46 ng/mL) was significantly higher than mean amniotic leptin level(5.06+/-3.20 ng/mL)( p = 0.0001) at mid-trimester. But there was no significant correlationship between maternal and amniotic leptin levels( p = 0.1376). Maternal leptin concentrations at mid-trimester were correlated positively with maternal BMI(y = 2.24 + 0.43 x, R2 = 0.494, p = 0.0103). In contrast, leptin levels in amniotic fluid did not correlate with maternal leptin levels, gestational age, fetal sex, maternal BMI, and fetal weight estimated by ultrasound respectively. CONCLUSION: Maternal leptin level was higher than amniotic leptin level and could represent maternal fat mass. It was suggested that amniotic leptin level was not associated with several factors such as maternal, fetal, and amniotic factors.
Adipose Tissue ; Amniocentesis ; Amniotic Fluid* ; Body Mass Index ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Fetal Weight* ; Fetus ; Gestational Age* ; Humans ; Leptin* ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Radioimmunoassay ; Ultrasonography*

A considerable number of adult Korean women avoid a Pap smear due to fear and discomfort of the pelvic examination. A reliable but noninvasive and comfortable screening method would considerably increase the participation rate. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of urine-based human papillomavirus (HPV) detection by oligonucleotide microarray, the results of HPV test from matched cervical swab specimens were compared. HPV DNA was detected in 70 of 100 cervical samples. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type (38/70), followed by types 18, 58, 52, 33, 35, 31, and 51. HPV DNA was identified in 47 of 90 urine samples. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type (30/45), followed by types 18, 52, 35, 51, 58, 33, and 56. The HPV detection rates of the cervical swabs increased in accordance with the severity of the cytologic and histologic diagnosis. The type specific agreement of HPV DNA tests between cervical swabs and urine was good in HPV 16 (kappa index=0.64 [95% CI: 0.50-0.79]), 18, 52, and 58 and fair in HPV 33 and 35. We propose that a urine HPV test is a valuable adjunctive method for a conventional Pap smear and can be used in population screening for cervical cancer in countries where it is difficult to obtain colposcopic specimens for cultural or religious reasons.
Vaginal Smears ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/*diagnosis ; Papillomaviridae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Middle Aged ; Humans ; Female ; DNA, Viral/*urine ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia/diagnosis ; Aged ; Adult

BACKGROUND: Midkine (MK) is a member of the heparin-binding growth factor family. Overexpression of MK is observed not only in cancerous tissue but also in precancerous lesions of the colon and the prostate. Using immunohistochemical methods, we investigated MK expression in preinvasive and invasive neoplasia of the uterine cervix. METHODS: We performed immunohistochemical analysis of archived cone biopsy and hysterectomy specimens from 161 squamous cell lesions of the uterine cervix (29 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1 (CIN1), 35 CIN2, 49 CIN3, 30 microinvasive squamous cell carcinomas (MIC), and 18 invasive squamous cell carcinoma). In addition, we examined if there is a correlation between MK expression and status of human papilloma virus infection determined by a commercially available DNA chip. RESULTS: None of the normal cervical mucosa showed MK immunostaining. The level of MK expression gradually increased according to the histologic grade. Moderate and strong expressions were most frequently observed in cervical tissue with CIN3 and MIC. MK immunostaining was more accentuated in the invasive border of MIC. CONCLUSION: MK may play a functional role in the disease progression of cervical squamous cell neoplasia.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia ; Cervix Uteri* ; Colon ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mucous Membrane ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Papilloma ; Prostate

OBJECTIVE: To know whether leiomyomas come from increased proliferation or from decreased apoptosis of uterine muscular cells, and compare the results with the menstrual cycles and expression of ER/PR. METHODS: Between Mar. 2003 to Jun. 2003, the authors got 15 leiomyomatous and normal myometrial tissues from the patients who had undergone hysterectomy transabdominally or laparoscopically. As soon as they were excised, these tissues had been sent to the pathologic department to be stained by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) to determine apoptotic index (A.I.), and immunohistochemistry of Ki-67 to do Ki-67 immunoreactivity index (K.I), and ER/PR. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference of A.I. between leiomyoma and normal myometrial tissues But there was a significantly higher Ki-67 immunoreactivity index in leiomyoma rather than normal myometrial tissue. The increase of K.I. in leiomyomas has the reverse correlation with age, but was not statistically correlated with the menstrual cycles. There was no significant different pattern of expressions of ER/PR between in leiomyoma and in normal uterus. CONCLUSION: The main reason the leiomyomas come from may be increased proliferation instead of decreased apoptosis of leiomyoma cells. Although leiomyomas were known to be influenced by sex hormone, there was no solid evidence of increase of K. I. correlated with menstrual cycle or expression status of ER/PR in leiomyomas. Maybe there are another factors such as age that control the pathogenesis of leiomyoma rather than hormones or their receptors.
Apoptosis* ; Cell Proliferation* ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Immunohistochemistry ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Leiomyoma* ; Menstrual Cycle* ; Uterus

No abstract available.
Diagnosis*