No abstract available.
Biliary Tract* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Edema* ; Hydrops Fetalis*

No abstract available.
Pulmonary Edema*

A case of congenital malaria infection has been studied in a 46-day old female Korean infant. Her mother suffered from malaria infection during pregnancy in Uppervolta, Africa, and returned to Korea at the 9th month of gestation for delivery. At 39 days of age, the clinical features characterized by fever, irritability, pallor, jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly were developed. The laboratory data revealed a hemolytic anemia with thrombocytopenia, hyperbilirubinemia and increased hepatic enzyme values. A peripheral blood smear demonstrated intraerythrocytic malarial parasites snd gametocytes of Plasmodium falcifarum. She was successfully treated with quinine sulfate (25 mg/kg/day in three doses for 5 days) and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (8 mg/kg/day in two doses for 5 days) orally, and repeated blood smear had been negative for malaria. This report also signifies the frst description of congenital malaria in Korea imported from Uppervolta in Africa. A brief review of related literature was made.
parasitology-protozoa ; malaria-congenital ; Plasmodium falciparum ; quinine ; trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It is known that both hypercholesterolemia and aging cause endothelial dysfunction, but which has the greater effect is less well known. A useful, non-invasive method for the evaluation of endothelial function is flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery (BA) employing high-resolution ultrasound. This study was performed to evaluate the effect of serum cholesterol and age on endothelial function in women utilising the above method. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 21 of the 37 women in this study (mean age 46+/-15 years, range 24-72), had hypercholesterolemia (>or=200 mg/dL) and 16 had normocholesterolemia (<200 mg/dL). None of the subjects suffered classic risk factors associated with atherosclerosis other than hypercholesterolemia. The inner diameter of the right BA was measured at the peak of ECG R wave, from a longitudinal section taken by an 8.0-MHz B-mode linear-array ultrasonic transducer. Scans were taken at rest, during reactive hyperaemia (endothelium-dependent dilation;EDD), again at rest, and following sublingual nitroglycerin (endothelium-independent dilation;EID). RESULTS: From simple linear regression analyses, the serum cholesterol levels were found to be negatively related to the EDD of the BA at an age <50 years (r=-0.63, p<0.01), and also >or=50 years (r=-0.54, p<0.05). Serum cholesterol levels were not significantly related to the EID, regardless of age. In contrast, age was not related to EDD or EID in either normocholesterolemic or hypercholesterolemic subjects. CONCLUSION: These results suggest hypercholesterolemia has a greater effect than age in impairing the endothelial function in women.
Age Factors ; Aging ; Atherosclerosis ; Brachial Artery ; Cholesterol ; Electrocardiography ; Endothelium ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Linear Models ; Nitroglycerin ; Risk Factors ; Transducers ; Ultrasonics ; Ultrasonography ; Vasodilation

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Histones, a set of highly cationic proteins essentially involved in the binding and packing of DNA in the cell nucleus chromatin, have five subclasses (H1, H2a, H2b, H3, H4) in mammalian animals. These components play the most important role in producing autoantibody in SLE and etc. Some studies proposed that there were a relationship between the activity of the disease and the titer of these autoantibody. Recently, histones were revealed to be involved in the immune deposit on GBM in MRL/lpr mice, and cause immune-mediated glomerulonephritis in normal animals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined IgG deposition on the basement membrane of strial capillaries and recorded the endocochlear potential from the basal turn by an electrode inserted though the round window in guinea pigs which was injected by histone(H2a) and anti-histone antisera. RESULTS: IgG depositions were seen on the basement membrane of stria capillaries. IgG was also found to be accumulated on the extravascular side of the basement membrane. However, C3 was almost never observed in the stria vascularis of histone and the anti-histone antisera injected group. In these animals, intracellular edema was evident in the stria vascularis especially at the second and more apical turns but no inflammatory cell infiltration was present. The signifcant decrease in EP was observed just after the injection of anti-histone antisera in the animals receiving an intra-arterial injection of histones. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that cationic antigen could be trapped on the negatively charged basement membrane of strial capillaries, leading to the in situ immune complex formation, and eventually causing immune-mediated hearing loss.
Animals ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Basement Membrane ; Capillaries ; Cell Nucleus ; Chromatin ; DNA ; Ear, Inner* ; Edema ; Electrodes ; Glomerulonephritis ; Guinea Pigs ; Hearing Loss ; Histones* ; Immune Sera ; Immunoglobulin G ; Injections, Intra-Arterial ; Mice ; Plants* ; Stria Vascularis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The mechanism of the noise damage to the cochlea is not fully understood in spite of many studies. The morphological changes in a noise stimulated model show various features relating to the duration of the exposure and sound intensity. Until now there had been a lot of the morphological studies on noise induced hearing loss models, but only a few reports of single blast injury of more than 150 dB. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We observed with a transmission electron microscope by using the microslicing technique for minimizing the tissue injury and successful hair cell counting in resin embedded cochlea of the guinea pig, stimulated by a 178 dB single blast wave. RESULTS: The area of hair cell damage in L.M. showed stereocilia bending at 24 hours, proliferation of Hensen's body, subsurface cistern in outer hair cell and mitochondria proliferation in inner hair cell within 2wks. The area of no hair cell damage in L.M. showed minimal changes in E.M., as well. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the 178 dB single blast wave injury may not cause severe distortion of the organ of Corti in the guinea pig and thus the compensation process can be advanced gradually.
Animals ; Blast Injuries ; Cell Count ; Cochlea* ; Compensation and Redress ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Hair ; Hearing Loss ; Microscopy, Electron ; Mitochondria ; Noise ; Organ of Corti ; Stereocilia