Morphological effects of degranulation upon me-senteric mast cells of albino rats (SPrague-Dawley strain) by means of lipid administration were studied. An evident degranulation of metachromatic granules from mesenteric tissue mast cells was observed in more than half of experimental rats which were intraperitoneally given 10cc of stearic monoglyceride suspension in warm Tyrode solution (5Omg. of stearic monoglyceride in 10cc of Tyrode solution). A fairly light degranulation of metachro-matic granules from mesenteric mast cells was also displayed by the rats fed ad libitum with butter for 6 hours after being deprived of food for 24 hours.
Animals ; Cytoplasmic Granules/*drug effects ; Lipids/*pharmacology ; Mast Cells/*drug effects ; Mesentery/cytology ; Rats

No abstract available.
Child* ; Heart Diseases* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Mass Screening*

Numerous open operations on the thoracic sympathetic ganglia for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis have been advocated, but have also produced several complications. A new therapeutic technique for this disorder has been introduced by combining a thoracoscope and video system. We performed thoracoscopic transthoracic sympathecomy safely and effectively in thirtyfour cases with palmar hyperhidrosis. Althought the follow up period was short, all hands of patients were dry immediately after the operation & there was no recurrence of palmar sweating. Based on our experience, this method is considered a relatively minor and safe procedure without producing significant postoperative complication, causing minimal discomfort and almost invisible scar.
Cicatrix ; Follow-Up Studies ; Ganglia, Sympathetic ; Hand ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis* ; Postoperative Complications ; Recurrence ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Sympathectomy* ; Thoracoscopes

No abstract available.
Child* ; Heart Defects, Congenital* ; Humans ; Plasma* ; Renal Veins* ; Renin* ; Veins*

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to compare the working memory span between mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the Korean elderly population and to evaluate the effectiveness of the working memory span tests. METHODS: 32 normal controls (NC), 26 patients with MCI and 28 AD patients at a mild stage were participated in this study. We used newly devised working memory span tests (Word span test and Dot matrix) according to the components of working memory ;central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad. And the results were compared with the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K). To evaluate the effectiveness of the working memory tests and CERAD-K to screen MCI and AD, receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted. RESULTS: All subsets of the two working memory span tests showed significant decline in verbal and visuospatial working memory in AD. But there was no significant difference between NC and MCI. Compared to CERAD-K, the two working memory tests showed good effectiveness to discriminate AD. CONCLUSION: This study showed that working memory span tests could be effective diagnosing tools for detecting AD. But for the MCI, the working memory impairment was not prominent than episodic memory impairment. This is supposed to result from the various kinds of working memory components, especially the episodic buffer.
Aged ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Humans ; Memory, Episodic ; Memory, Short-Term* ; Mild Cognitive Impairment* ; ROC Curve

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: IgG subclass deficiency has been reported in patients with bronchial asthma and is associated with recurrent respiratory tract infections. This study was done to identify prevalence of IgG subclass deficiency and to evaluate the possible difference between atopic and non-atopic asthmatics. Subjects and METHODS: We measured serum levels of IgG and IgG subclass in 35 asthmatic patients and 50 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 and IgG2 of asthmatics were significantly lower than for those of controls(p<0.05, respectively). In atopic asthmatics, compared with non-atopic asthmatics, IgG4 level was significantly higher (p<0.05). The frequency of IgG subclass levels below the reference value was eight (22.9%) of 35 asthmatics. CONCLUSION: IgG, IgG1 and IgG2 were significantly lower in asthmatic patients. Some patients had IgG subclass levels below reference value. Further studies will be needed to evaluate their clinical significance.
Asthma* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Prevalence ; Reference Values ; Respiratory Tract Infections

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the position of mesiodens and its complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects for this study consisted of 172 patients with mesiodens. Panoramic radiographs and cross-sectional tomography were taken of all of the subjects. Their clinical records and radiographs were analyzed in order to study the direction and vertical and sagittal position of mesiodens, as well as complications caused by mesiodens. RESULTS: The number of mesiodens was one in 112 cases (65.1%) and two in 60 cases (34.9%). Complications were found in 121 mesiodentes (52.2%), with being median diastema the most frequent. The incidence of complications was high in erupted mesiodens (75.0%), in horizontal mesiodens (89.8%) and in mesiodens located within the arch (75.7%), but was low in mesiodens impacted above apex (29.8%), in normal position (34.4%) and in palatally positioned mesiodens (46.5%). CONCLUSION: It was suggested that the frequency of complications was different according to the vertical position, the direction of the crown and the sagittal position.
Crowns ; Diastema ; Humans ; Incidence ; Tooth, Supernumerary

A 70-year-old female who was diagnosed as myxoid chondrosarcoma by fine needle aspiration of a pleural mass is described. She presented with left chest discomfort of 4 months' duration and aggravating dyspnea and chest pain for 2 months. Chest X-ray and CT scan revealed a large lobulated low density mass invading chest wall at the left pleural cavity and massive pleural fluid. Fine needle aspiration was done under the impression of mesothelioma or metastatic cancer. The aspirates from the mass were very cellular and composed of isolated or clustered forms of large plump cells. Abundant cytoplasm was bluish opaque and the margin was rounded in the isolated cells, whereas clustered cells show ill-defined cell borders and aggregating tendency. The nuclei were eccentric, round to ovoid, and had fine chromatin pattern and multiple small nucleoli. Cellular pleomorphism or mitotic figure was not definite. These findings were consistent with cytologic features of chondrosarcoma. Final diagnosis was confirmed as myxoid chondrosarcoma by mediastinoscopic biopsy and the tumor showed strong positivity for S-100 protein.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Chest Pain ; Chondrosarcoma ; Chromatin ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Eosinophils* ; Female ; Humans ; Mesothelioma ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis* ; Pleural Cavity ; S100 Proteins ; Thoracic Wall ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: We evaluated the fractal dimension changes on bovine rib radiographs according to the decalcification degree and the exposure time in the bovine rib. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty 5 mm thick cross-sectional blocks from bovine rib bone were progressively decalcified in 30 mL 0.1 N hydrochloric acid for 5, 30, and 90 minutes. They were radiographed at three exposure time settings (0.22, 0.36, 0.43 mAs) before and after each decalcification stage. We selected 100 x 100 pixel-sized regions of interests (ROIs) on trabecular bone and calculated fractal dimensions by box-counting method. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA showed that fractal dimensions gradually decreased after acid-induced demineralization and with more exposure (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The fact that fractal dimensions decrease after decalcification might support the hypothesis that patients with osteoporosis have decreased radiographic fractal dimension in trabecular bone in comparison to normal subjects.
Bone and Bones ; Fractals* ; Humans ; Hydrochloric Acid ; Osteoporosis ; Radiography ; Ribs*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the inferior expansion of the maxillary sinus floor following maxillary molar extraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cone beam computed tomographic images of 59 subjects were used to evaluate the height difference of the maxillary sinus floor between extraction sites and contralateral dentate sites. The height of the maxillary sinus floor was defined as the vertical distance to the Frankfort plane from the level of the anterior nasal spine to the most inferior point of the sinus floor. We examined the difference in sinus pneumatization according to the number of missing teeth and the vertical relationship of the molar roots to the sinus floor. RESULTS: The inferior expansion of the maxillary sinus floor was 1.20+/-1.86 mm on the maxillary first molar and 1.90+/-2.42 mm on the maxillary second molar. Increased expansion was observed in cases where two proximate molars were extracted. There was no significant difference in sinus pneumatization following extraction according to the vertical relationship of the molar roots to the sinus floor. CONCLUSION: The results of this study confirm that sinus pneumatization occurs following maxillary molar extraction. In situations where pneumatization can affect treatment after molar extraction, three-dimensional radiography should be considered.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography ; Floors and Floorcoverings ; Maxillary Sinus ; Molar ; Spine ; Tooth ; Tooth Extraction