The clinical investigation was performed regarding cutaneous manifestations in 495 patients with thyroid disorders who had visited Pusan National University Hospital from January, 1979 to April, 1984. The results of this study were as follows: I. Of the 495 patients with thyroid disorders, 417 patients(84. 2%) showed various cutaneous manifestations. Among the cutaneous manifestations presented in the 176 patients with hyperthyroidism, hyperhidrosis was the most common(24. 2%), followed by pruritus (42. O%), chronic urticaria(29, 5%), bronze appearance(21. 6%), sparsity of hair (20. 5%), soft and friable nail(17. 6%). 3. Among the cutaneous manifestations presented in the 57 patients with hypothyroidism, pruritus was the most common(26. 3%), followed by sparsity of hair (21. 1%,), chronic urticaria(19. 3%), soft and friable nail(14. 0%). 4. In patients with Graves disease, cutaneous manifestations were more frequently observed than those of other thyroid disorders. 5, Autoimmune thyroid disorders such as Graves' di ease and Hashimotos thyroiditis were rarely associated with vitiligo(only 2 cases) and alopecia areata(only 1 case).
Alopecia ; Busan ; Graves Disease ; Hair ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis ; Hyperthyroidism ; Hypothyroidism ; Pruritus ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroiditis

Partial lipodystrophy is an uncommon disorder primarily affecting women, with onset usually in childhood, characterized by slowly progressive, symrnetrical loss of aubcutaneous fat from the upper half of the body. We present a case of partial lipodystrophy in a 43-year-old woman with multiple depressed lesion on the face and reticulated atrophic lesions on the upper trunk and u]pper extremities. Typically, her face was the first part of the body so affected, giving it a characteristic cadeverous appearance, and gradu ally spreaded to the upper half of t2e body. Sirnultaneously, there was an accumulation of fat over the lower part of the body. She was generally otherwise well, although there had been an association with hyperpigmentation, hirsutism, arthralgia, thyroid disoraer, and low serum CR(45mg/dl), Riopsy specimens of iace and back showed lack of subcutaneous fat, but in the other section of the face showed hydropic degeneration of basal cells and inflammatory infiltrate in the dermis.
Adult ; Arthralgia ; Dermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Hirsutism ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Lipodystrophy* ; Subcutaneous Fat ; Thyroid Gland

Progressive idiopathic atrophoderma of Pasini and Pierini is an asymptomatic atrophic disorder of the skin characterized by sharply demarcated, slightly depressed and slate-gray to brownish patches. The affected skin may be thin but of normal consistency. We herein described a 32-year-old female who showed on the trunk and extremities well-defined, brownish and atrophic areas without induration, but the central portion of the abdominal lesion was slightly thickened. Histopathologic findings showed slight thinning of the epidermis and dermis with mild perivascular infiltrate, however, the central portion of the abdominal lesion showed a focal, slightly sclerotic change of the collagen fibers.
Adult ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Skin

Background and objectives: Mugwort pollen is one of the major causative allergens in this country. There have been a few reports suggesting a significant association between mugwort pollen and food allergens. The aim of this study was to evaluate the allergenic relationship between mugwort pollen and food allergens based upon skin prick tests. Material and method: Of 2,909 allergy patients who had been skin tested to identify causative allergens at the Allergy Clinic of Ajou University Hospital, 471 patients sensitized to mugwort, ragweed, or Hop Japanese pollens on skin prick test (2+ of A/H ratio) were enrolled for this study. Positive rates to common inhalant or food allergens and their allergenic relationships with other pollens or food allergens were analyzed based upon skin prick test results. RESULTS: The positive rates (2+ of A/H) to nettle, rye grass, Bermuda grass, birch, and alder pollens were significantly higher in those sensitized to mugwort pollen than in those of negative responders (p<0.05, respectively). In regard to food allergens, positive rates to celery (15.3%) and carrot (14.5%) were significantly higher in patients sensitized to mugwort pollen (p<0.05, respectively). Significant association was noted between mugwort pollen and celery allergen (p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Positive response to mugwort pollen can be associated with celery and carrot sensitivity on skin prick tests.
Allergens* ; Alnus ; Ambrosia ; Apium graveolens* ; Artemisia* ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Betula ; Cynodon ; Daucus carota* ; Humans ; Humulus ; Hypersensitivity* ; Lolium ; Pollen* ; Skin Tests ; Skin*

The present study was undertaken to investigate the infection status of Cryptosporidium parvum in the villagers and the reservoir hosts in several rural areas in Korea. A total 5, 262 fecal samples were collected from the inhabitants residing at Gangwon-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do between the dates of September, 2001 to June, 2002. In addition, 1, 453 fecal samples were collected from livestock reared in Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do and Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. All the fecal smears were prepared by formalin-ether sedimentation, and examined by light microscopy after modified acid-fast staining. The overall positive rate of human cryptosporidiosis was 3.3%. Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do showed a 8.2% positive rate and appeared as the highest endemic area among the surveyed areas. Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do showed a 0.4% positive rate and was the lowest endemic area. The positive rate of livestock infection in Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do was 94%, which was more than ten times higher than that of Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (9.3%). From these results, it was revealed that cryptosporidiosis was an endemic disease in some rural areas of Korea, and the livestock could be an important source of human infection.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Animals ; Animals, Domestic/*parasitology ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/*epidemiology/parasitology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cryptosporidiosis/*epidemiology/parasitology/veterinary ; Cryptosporidium parvum/*isolation & purification ; Feces/parasitology ; Female ; Human ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Parasite Egg Count ; Prevalence ; *Rural Population ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Swine ; Swine Diseases/*epidemiology/parasitology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In patients with aspirin-sensitive asthma, anti-inflammatory treatment is a common problem in clinical practice. Nimesulide has been chosen due to weak inhibitory action on cyclooxygenase in ASA-sensitive asthma patients. In this study, we evaluated the safety of nimesulide in patients with ASA-sensitive asthma. METHODS: We performed lysine-aspirin bronchoprovocation test to confirm ASA-sensitive asthma, and nimesulide oral provocation test (up to 200 mg) to screen nimesulide sensitivity in 17 cases of bronchial asthma patients. RESULTS: Fifteen (88.2%) of 17 subjects showed positive responses to lysine-aspirin bronchoprovocation test. Six (35.3%) patients reacted to nimesulide oral provocation test. Of the six patients who reacted to nimesulide, three experienced bronchospasm, two urticaria, and one anaphylaxis. All positive reactions occurred within the 200 mg dose. One of 6 subjects showed a positive response to nimesulide oral provocation test without ASA-sensitivity. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of nimesulide sensitivity among aspirin-sensitive asthma was 33.3%, which was higher than in the previous reports. Screening oral provocation test is essential before prescribing relative COX-2 inhibitors for ASA-sensitive asthmatic patients. A case of nimesulide-sensitive asthma without ASA-sensitivity was also noted.
Anaphylaxis ; Asthma* ; Bronchial Spasm ; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence* ; Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases ; Urticaria

BACKGROUND: An appreciable number of patients with toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-induced asthma have high serum levels of specific IgE (sIgE) antibody to TDI-human serum albumin conjugate (HSA). A recent investigation suggested a role of specific IgG (sIgG) in the development of TDI asthma. METHODS: We observed the changes in the levels of specific IgE and IgG antibodies to TDIHSA conjugate in TDI-induced asthmatic patients during seven years avoidance. RESULTS: Six subjects with high sIgE and five with high sIgG were enrolled. All of them had taken anti-asthmatic medications with complete avoidance. Serum levels of sIgE and sIgG to TDI-HSA conjugate were detected by ELISA. The level of sIgE continued to decline up to 7 years and the mean half-life was 3.9 years. The mean half-life of sIgG was 4.5 yrs. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that both sIgE and sIgG to TDI-HSA conjugate may persist for several years after the last exposure to TDI.
Adult ; Asthma/*chemically induced/immunology ; Biological Markers/blood ; Human ; Immunoglobulin E/blood/*immunology ; Immunoglobulin G/blood/*immunology ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Serum Albumin/*immunology ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate/adverse effects/*immunology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclass deficiency has been reported in patients with bronchial asthma and is associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections. Aspirin-sensitive asthma (ASA) which affects 10% of adult asthmatics, asthma runs a chronic course with frequent asthma exacerbations, often related to respiratory infections. We performed this study to identify the prevalence of IgG subclass deficiency and evaluate the association between recurrent asthma exacerbations and IgG subclass deficiency in ASA. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured serum levels of IgG and IgG subclass in 26 aspirin- sensitive asthmatic patients (15 steroid used and 11 steroid not used) and 55 healthy controls using nephelometry. Reference values of each IgG subclass was defined as cumulative percentile between 2.5% to 97.5% of controls. RESULTS: Total IgG, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 of aspirin-sensitvie asthmatics, were significantly lower than for those of controls (p<0.05, respectively). However, there were no significant differences in total IgG and IgG subclass concentrations, between steroid-not-used asthma group and controls (p>0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Lowered levels of IgG, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 were noted in ASA sensitive asthma patients, which might be associated with use of steroid. Further studies will be needed to evaluate their clinical significance.
Adult ; Asthma* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Prevalence ; Reference Values ; Respiratory Tract Infections

This investigation was designed to confirm IL-8 production from human bronchial epithelial cells with toluene diisocyanate (TDI) exposure and to examine the effects of pro-inflammatory cytokine and dexamethasone. We cultured Beas-2B, a bronchial epithelial cell line with TDI-HSA conjugate and compared with those without conjugate. IL-8 in the supernatant was measured by ELISA. To evaluate the effect of proinflammatory cytokines, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were collected from TDI- and non-TDI asthma patients, and were added to the epithelial cell culture. Dexamethasone or antibodies to TNF-alpha and IL-1beta were pre-incubated with PBMC supernatant. There was a significant production of IL-8 from bronchial epithelial cells with addition of TDI-HSA conjugate in a dose-dependent manner, which was significantly augmented with addition of PBMC supernatant. Higher production of IL-8 was noted with addition of PBMC supernatant from TDI-asthma patients than in those from non-TDI asthma patients. IL-1beta and IL-1beta/TFNalpha antibodies were able to suppress the IL-8 productions. Pre-treatment of dexamethasone induced dose-dependent inhibition of the IL-8 production. These results suggest that the IL-8 production from bronchial epithelial cells contribute to neutrophil recruitment occurring in TDIinduced airway inflammation. IL-1beta released from PBMC of TDI-induced asthma patients may be one of the pro-inflammatory cytokines to enhance IL-8 production.
Asthma/immunology ; Bronchi/*cytology/metabolism ; Cell Line ; Dexamethasone/pharmacology ; Epithelial Cells/cytology/*drug effects/*metabolism ; Glucocorticoids/pharmacology ; Human ; Interleukin-8/*metabolism ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology/metabolism ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Toluene 2,4-Diisocyanate/*toxicity

Arthroscopy has become an attractive modality in the diagnosis and treatment of joint diseases in toy breed dogs. However, the application of arthroscopy is limited by small joint space. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of a stifle lever for joint distraction during stifle arthroscopy in toy breed dogs. Paired stifles (n = 32 each) collected from 16 cadavers of toy breed dogs were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the stifle lever group or the external manipulation group. All stifles underwent arthroscopic cranial cruciate ligament transection, and the visualization of the medial meniscus was evaluated. Medial meniscal release (MMR) was then performed. Following arthroscopic examination, the success rates of MMR and damages of tibial and femoral cartilages were evaluated. Visualization of the medial meniscus was significantly better, and meniscal probing was significantly easier, in the stifle lever group than in the external manipulation group (p = 0.001). There were no significant differences between groups for MMR success or articular cartilage damage. Using the stifle lever on arthroscopic examination improved visualization and probing on the medial meniscus in toy breed dogs. The stifle lever can be used as a good modality in assessing medial meniscal pathology in toy breed dogs.
Animals ; Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Arthroscopy ; Cadaver ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Diagnosis ; Dogs ; Joint Diseases ; Joints ; Menisci, Tibial ; Pathology ; Play and Playthings ; Stifle