BACKGROUND: To evaluate depressure effect and safety of delapril, a new ACE inhibitor, in Korea. METHOD: Thirty three patients, aged 37-69, with mild to moderate essential hypertension were first observed for 2 weeks with placebo followed by administration of 15mg of delapril twice daily for 2 weeks, then doubled dosage to 30mg b.i.d. and combined with 25mg of dihydrochlorothiazide if optimal BP were not obtained at the end of 4th week, continued the same dose until the end of 10 week's trial period. RESULT: BP dropped 15/9mmHg inaverage at the end of 10th week rewarding 70% of cumulative effectiveness. Most frequent side reaction was dry cough, occurred in 9% of patients followed by chest tightness, headache, constipation and transient elevation of GPT. CONCLUSION: Delapril 15-30mg twice daily as monotheraphy or combined with diuretics is well tolerated and effective in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension.
Constipation ; Cough ; Diuretics ; Headache ; Humans ; Hydrochlorothiazide ; Hypertension* ; Korea ; Reward ; Thorax

Few studies have assessed the neural mechanisms of the effects of emotion on cognition in generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) patients. In this functional MRI (fMRI), we investigated the effects of emotional interference on working memory (WM) maintenance in GAD patients. Fifteen patients with GAD participated in this study. Event-related fMRI data were obtained while the participants performed a WM task (face recognition) with neutral and anxiety-provoking distracters. The GAD patients showed impaired performance in WM task during emotional distracters and showed greater activation on brain regions such as DLPFC, VLPFC, amygdala, hippocampus which are responsible for the active maintenance of goal relevant information in WM and emotional processing. Although our results are not conclusive, our finding cautiously suggests the cognitive-affective interaction in GAD patients which shown interfering effect of emotional distracters on WM maintenance.
Amygdala ; Anxiety Disorders* ; Anxiety* ; Brain* ; Cognition ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Memory, Short-Term*

To systematically review relevant literature on efficacy and safety of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced and metastatic urothelial cell cancer (UCC), renal cell cancer (RCC), and prostate cancer. In platinum pretreated UCC, efficacy of pembrolizumab was superior to chemotherapy, with longer median overall survival (OS; 10.3 months vs. 7.4 months), a higher objective response rate (ORR; 21.1% vs. 11.4%, p=0.001), and a lower adverse event rate (60.9% vs. 90.2%). Three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessed the safety and efficacy of nivolumab in advanced RCC. The median OS (25.0 months vs. 19.6 months) and the ORR (25% vs. 5%) were higher in patients treated with nivolumab compared with second-line everolimus. In patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, 2 RCTs were identified, which did not show significant benefits for ipilimumab over placebo. In UCC and RCC, there was no conclusive association between programmed cell death receptor ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumor tissue and clinical outcome during pembrolizumab and nivolumab treatment, respectively. Therefore, in metastatic UCC and RCC, pembrolizumab and nivolumab have superior efficacy and safety to second-line chemotherapy and everolimus, respectively. No beneficial effect of ipilimumab was observed in prostate cancer patients. PD-L1 expression status is currently not suitable as a predictive marker for treatment outcome.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Cell Death ; Drug Therapy ; Everolimus ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Platinum ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Treatment Outcome ; Urologic Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Basal cell carcinoma(BCC) is the most common primary cutaneous neoplasm in Korea. Since the majority of BCCs occur on the head and neck and the goal of the BCC treatment is the complete removal of tumor, Mohs micrographic surgery is ideally suited for maximizing cure rate with minimizing tissue loss. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the depth of excision as well as the lateral margins of BCC and to correlate these with the clinicopathologic aspects of the tumors. METHODS: Twenty patients with 21 BCCs (10 primary, 11 recurrent) diagnosed in the Department of Dermatology of Dong-A University Hospital from March, 1992 through December, 1993 were studied prospectively. RESULTS: 1. Sixty percent of tumors in primary BCCs in our series had a 2-mm maximal margin and 81.8% of recurrent BCC were eradicated with 4-mm or more lateral margin. 2. All the recurrent basal cell carcinomas (8 cases) measuring greater than 15-mm required more than 4-mm margin for the total removal. 3. More than 90% of BCC on the nose in our series required the removal of periosteum/perichondrium or the excision of whole layer. CONCLUSION: Mohs micrographic surgery is an appropriate tool to use in proposing guidelines for the treatment of skin cancer because the most accurate method of determining the actual extent of skin cancer can be achieved.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Dermatology ; Head ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Mohs Surgery* ; Neck ; Nose ; Prospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms

Sjogren's syndrome is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the lacrimal and salivary glands, leading to dryness of eyes (kerato-conjunctivitis sicca) and mouth (xerostomia). The skin lesions in Sjogren's syndrome are usually manifested as xeroderma, but sometimes appear as annular erythema or vasculitis. Central nervous system symptoms may be presented as one of extraglandular manifestations, though rare in incidence, and need differential diagnosis from multiple sclerosis. We report a case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed as multiple sclerosis at first but later as neurologic manifestation of primary Sjogren's syndrome, showing signs of multiple sclerosis and cutaneous erythematous lesions.
Case Report ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Erythema/pathology ; Erythema/diagnosis* ; Female ; Human ; Middle Age ; Multiple Sclerosis/pathology ; Multiple Sclerosis/diagnosis* ; Sjogren's Syndrome/pathology ; Sjogren's Syndrome/diagnosis*

PURPOSE: We undertook this study to evaluate the significance of p53 immunoreactivity in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, treated with radiotherapy alone. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining of p53 proteins were performed in eighty patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, and who completed curative radiotherapy between Jan. 1996 and Apr. 1998 at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Chonnam National University Hospital. External- beam radiotherapy was combined with intracavitary brachytherapy. Results were analyzed for the end points of pelvic tumor control and distant failure rates. The follow-up time ranged from 7 to 58 months with a median of 40 months. RESULTS: p53 positive and negative groups involved 45 and 35 patients, respectively, and the positive p53 immunoreactivity rate was 56% (45/80). p53 immunoreactivity showed no significant correlation with age, tumor size, serum tumor marker (SCC), or HPV18 expression, while there was a statistically marginally significant correlation with HPV16 expression. The pelvic tumor control rate of the p53 positive group was 87% and that of p53 negative group was 83% (0.05). The other parameters influencing negatively to the pelvic tumor control and with statistical significance were tumor ulceration and barrel type. Multivariate analysis also showed that p53 immunoreactivity had no prognostic value for pelvic tumor control of the disease, and that the statistically significant factor was tumor ulceration. The treatment failure rate of the p53 positive group was 23% and that of the negative group was 26% (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: p53 immunoreactivity in the cervix cancer stage IB, II patients seems to have no value as a predictor of tumor behavior after curative radiotherapy.
Brachytherapy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cervix Uteri* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Multivariate Analysis ; Radiation Oncology ; Radiotherapy* ; Treatment Failure ; Ulcer ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

Clear cell chondrosarcoma is a very rare malignant bone tumor that shows a strong predilection for the epiphysis or metaphysis of long bones. Many studies have reported that the proximal end of the femur is the most commonly affected site, followed by the proximal end of the humerus. Histopathologically, tumor cells of this type have centrally located round nucleoli with clear cytoplasm and a distinct cytoplasmic membrane. Generally, clear cell chondrosarcomas is not confused with conventional chondrosarcomas. However, when it involves the diaphysis in long bones, diagnosis can be hindered, as only three reports of this exist in the literature. We report herein an unusual case of clear cell chondrosarcoma of the tibial diaphysis in a 42-year-old male.
Adult ; Cell Membrane ; Chondrosarcoma* ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Diaphyses* ; Epiphyses ; Femur ; Humans ; Humerus ; Male ; Tibia*

Transverse vaginal septum, especially completely imperforate condition, is a rare congenital anomaly of female genital tract. The patient was 26 years old and visited for primary amenorrhea and low abdominal pain. Secondary sexual characteristics were all normal, but the depth of the vagina was only about 1cm. Hematometra was suspected and two large cystic structures were detected in the pelvis on ultrasonography. Intravenous pyelography and other laboratory results were normal. Vaginoplasty was needed to drain out the hematometra. We tried a new surgical technique using radial incisions of the closed vaginal end. To prevent postoperative contracture, we used a sterile pen case. and educated the patient to dilatate the vagina with that, daily. Here, we report a case of complete imperforate transverse septum with reviews of literatures.
Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Amenorrhea ; Contracture ; Female ; Hematometra ; Humans ; Pelvis ; Ultrasonography ; Urography ; Vagina

Purpose: Although Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the most widely used bladder cancer immunotherapy, innate immune responses involving antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) cause BCG failure. Here, we developed genetically modified recombinant BCG (rBCG) strains which escape AMPs and evaluate the efficacy and effects of rBCG. Materials and Methods: We constructed rBCG strains expressing Streptococcal inhibitor of complement (Sic), which confers resistance to human α-defensin-1 and cathelicidin, and d-alanyl carrier protein ligase (dltA), which confers resistance to cationic AMPs. Sic and dltA were separately cloned into the pMV306 plasmid and introduced into BCG via electroporation. The efficacy of the Sic and dltA gene electroporation into BCG was evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The internalization rates and anticancer effects of the rBCG strains containing Sic (rBCG-Sic) and dltA (rBCG-dltA) was evaluated by the orthotopic bladder cancer mouse model. Results: The cycle quantification (Cq) values of rBCG-Sic (y=-4.8823x+13.645, R2=0.9996) and rBCG-dltA (y=-5.438x+11.641, R2=0.9995) were inverse correlations to the amount of Sic and dltA genes dose dependently. The mean introduction proportions of Sic and dltA genes into BCG by electroporation were 22.2%, 27.5% and showed constant efficacy. In the orthotopic bladder cancer mouse model, the relative internalization number of rBCG-Sic, and rBCG-dltA into bladder cell in mouse bladder were higher than that of BCG and the tumor volume at rBCG-Sic were lower than at BCG and rBCG-dltA at 11, 14 and 18 days. Conclusions Our results showed that constructed rBCG-Sic and rBCG-dltA by electroporation and the rBCG-Sic and rBCG-dltA can effectively escape BCG-stimulated AMPs, and significantly improved immunotherapeutic tools to treat bladder cancer in orthotopic bladder cancer mouse model.

Although intravesical instillation of Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the most successful cancer immunotherapy for superficial bladder cancer, the serious side effects are frequently arisen by using live mycobacteria. To allow less toxic and more potent immunotherapeutic agents following intravesical BCG treatment for superficial bladder cancer, noninfectious immunotherapeutic drug instead of live BCG would be highly desirable. Recently, immune-enhancing adjuvants are considered an effective vaccine immunotherapy for cancer, providing enhanced antitumor effects and boosted immunity. The BCG-cell wall skeleton (BCG-CWS), the main immune active center of BCG, is a potent candidate as a noninfectious immunotherapeutic drug instead of live BCG against bladder cancer. However, the most limited application for anticancer therapy, it is difficult to formulate a water-soluble BCG-CWS due to the aggregation of BCG-CWS in both aqueous and nonaqueous solvents. To overcome the insolubility and improve the internalization of BCG-CWS into bladder cancer cells, it should be developed the lipid nanoparticulation of BCG-CWS, resulting in improved dispensability, stability, and small size. In addition, powerful technology of delivery systems should be applied to enhance the internalization of BCG-CWS, such as encapsulated into lipid nanoparticles using novel packaging methods. Here, we describe the progress in research on effects of BCG-CWS for cancer immunotherapy, development of lipid-based solvent, and packaging method using nanoparticles with drug delivery system.
Administration, Intravesical ; Bacillus ; Cell Wall Skeleton ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Immunotherapy ; Methods ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Nanoparticles ; Product Packaging ; Skeleton ; Solvents ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder