The authors experienced a case of congenital dermoid cyst. It originated from the orbit, bulbar conjuntiva of both eyes and upper-lid of the left eye. This 6 years-old boy has a history of a progressively enlarging mass on both lateral canthus, bulbar conjunctiva and upper-lid of the left eye without pain and discomfort since birth. At the time of his first visit to our hospital, the lesion was 3 X 3 X 1.5cm (left eye) and 1.5 X 1.5 X 1cm (right eye) in size, yellowish-brown in color, firm and breast-like in shape. The vision was peor (right 0.1, left H.M.), the extraocular muscle motion was slightly limited. The roentgenographic and laboratory studies were in the normal limits. The surgical removal of the lesion was successfully performed under general anesthesia. The histopathological study revealed a dermoid cyst. After discharge, the patient was followed-up for 30 days. On lhe 15th postoperative day, epithelization was found. We found no evidence of further new growth.
Anesthesia, General ; Child ; Conjunctiva* ; Dermoid Cyst* ; Humans ; Male ; Orbit* ; Parturition

Two Patients having endgphthalmitis associated with filtering blebs were diagnosed clinically when they developed ocular inflammation with hypopyon after Scheie's operation for glaucoma. They had a good response to treatment outlined below with no loss of visual acuity.
Blister* ; Endophthalmitis* ; Glaucoma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Visual Acuity

Accurate estimation of the exposure-response relationship between ambient urban particulate matters (PM) and public health is important for regulatory perspective of ambient urban particulate matters (PM). Ambient PM contains various transition metals and organic compounds. PM10 (aerodynamic diameter less than 10 microgram) is known to induce diverse diseases such as chronic cough, bronchitis, chest illness, etc. However, recent evaluation of PM2.5 (aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microgram) against health outcomes has suggested that the fine particles may be more closely associated with adverse respiratory health effects than particles of larger size. This study was performed to evaluate PM2.5-induced oxidative stress in rat lung epithelial cell in order to provide basic data for the risk assessment of PM2.5. PM2.5 showed higher cytotoxicity than PM10. Also, PM 2.5 induced more malondialdehyde (MDA) formation than PM10. In Hoechst 33258 dye staining and DNA fragmentation assay, apopotic changes were clearly detected in PM2.5 treated cells in compared to PM10. Expression of catalase mRNA was increased by PM2.5 rather than PM10. PM2.5 induced higher Mth1 mRNA than PM10. In pBR322 DNA treated with PM2.5, production of single strand breakage of DNA was higher than that of PM10. In Western blot analysis, PM2.5 induced more Nrf-2 protein, associated with diverse transcriptional and anti-oxidative stress enzymes, compared to PM10. Our data suggest that PM2.5 rather than PM10 may be responsible for PM-induced toxicity. Additional efforts are needed to establish the environmental standard of PM2.5.
Air Pollutants/chemistry/*toxicity ; Animals ; Apoptosis/physiology ; Benzimidazoles/metabolism ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival/physiology ; DNA Fragmentation/physiology ; DNA Repair Enzymes/genetics/metabolism ; DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism ; Epithelial Cells/drug effects/enzymology/pathology ; Formazans/metabolism ; GA-Binding Protein Transcription Factor ; Lipid Peroxides/metabolism ; Lung Diseases/*chemically induced/enzymology/pathology ; Oxidative Stress/*physiology ; RNA, Messenger/chemistry/genetics ; Rats ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tetrazolium Salts/metabolism ; Transcription Factors/metabolism

Pyoderma gangrenosum is a rare chronic cutaneous disease with distinctive clinical characteristics. A painful nodule or pustule breaks down to form a progressively enlarging ulcer. The diagnosis is confirmed by exclusion of other diseases that may cause cutaneous ulcers. Associated conditions are common. The most common associated conditions are inflammatory bowel diseases, arthritis, hematologic disorders. Pyoderma gangrenosum develops in approximately 3~5% of patients with ulcerative colitis and 1% of patients with Crohn's disease. Until now, only one case of pyoderma gangrenosum associated with Crohn's disease has been reported in Korea. Recently, we experienced a case of pyoderma gangrenosum developed in a patient with Crohn's disease.
Arthritis ; Colitis, Ulcerative ; Crohn Disease* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Korea ; Pyoderma Gangrenosum* ; Pyoderma* ; Ulcer

Biliary complications after liver transplantation occur in 13~35% of patients. Biliary cast syndrome, cast formation of biliary sludge along the bile duct, can develop in 4~18% of liver transplant recipients, although the incidence rate is significantly decreasing due to the improvement of graft harvesting and preservation. It is very important that early diagnosis and effective management of biliary cast syndrome be performed when there is a bile duct stricture or dilatation associated with jaundice and cholangitis in the recipient after liver transplantation, due to the possibility of retransplantation and death of the patient from graft loss. We report a case of a biliary cast formed with suppurative cholangitis and extracted incidentally with a plastic biliary stent during an endoscopic procedure after cadaveric liver transplantation, in which the ERCP findings revealed a stricture at the anastomosis site of the common bile duct and cholangitis.
Bile ; Bile Ducts ; Cadaver ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; Cholangitis* ; Common Bile Duct ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Dilatation ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Jaundice ; Liver Transplantation* ; Liver* ; Plastics ; Stents ; Superior Mesenteric Artery Syndrome* ; Transplantation ; Transplants

Interferon (IFN) has therapeutic potential for a wide range of infectious and proliferative disorders. However, the half-life of IFN is too short to have a stable therapeutic effect. To overcome this problem, serum immunoglobulin has been fused to IFN. In this study, the efficacy of serum immunoglobulin fused INFs (si-IFN1 and si-IFN2) was evaluated on athymic mice bearing colon 26 adenocarcinoma cells. Seven days after the implantation of tumor cells, each group of mice was injected once a week with si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 at two different concentrations (10 x : 30 microgram/kg and 50 x : 150 microgram/kg). A slight anti-tumoral effect was observed in all 10 x groups compared to the control. In the 50 x groups, however, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 showed significant anti- tumoral effects compared to the control. To gain more information on the mechanisms associated with the decrease of tumor size, a Western blot assay of apoptosis-related molecules was performed. The protein expression of cytochrome c, caspase 9, 6, and 3 were increased by si-IFN1 and si-IFN2. These 2 IFNs also increased the expressions of p53, p21, Bax and Bad. Interestingly, si-IFN1 and si-IFN2 decreased the expression of VEGF-beta. Taken together, serum immunoglobulin fused IFNs increased therapeutic efficacy under current experimental condition.
Adenocarcinoma/*drug therapy ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry/pharmacology ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Immunoglobulins/*chemistry/*pharmacology ; Interferon Alfa-2a/chemistry/pharmacology ; Interferon-alpha/*chemistry/*pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasms, Experimental/*drug therapy ; Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry/pharmacology ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins/chemistry/pharmacology

Tetrandrine (TET), a bis-benzylisoquinoline alkaloid from the root of Stephania tetrandra, is known to have anti-tumor activity in various malignant neoplasms. However, the precise mechanism by which TET inhibits tumor cell growth remains to be elucidated. The present studies were performed to characterize the potential effects of TET on phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways since these signaling pathways are known to be responsible for cell growth and survival. TET suppressed cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in A549 human lung carcinoma cells. TET treatment resulted in a down-regulation of Akt and ERK phosphorylation in both time-/concentration-dependent manners. The inhibition of ERK using PD98059 synergistically enhanced the TET-induced apoptosis of A549 cells whereas the inhibition of Akt using LY294002 had a less significant effect. Taken together, our results suggest that TET: i) selectively inhibits the proliferation of lung cancer cells by blocking Akt activation and ii) increases apoptosis by inhibiting ERK. The treatment of lung cancers with TET may enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and increase the apoptotic potential of lung cancer cells.
Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/*pharmacology ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Benzylisoquinolines/*pharmacology ; Carcinoma/*drug therapy ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases/*antagonists & inhibitors ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/*drug therapy

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) plays a critical role in diverse cellular functions, and regulating the Pi balance is accomplished by sodium-dependent Pi co-transporter (NPT). Pulmonary NPT has recently been identified in mammalian lungs. However, to date, many of the studies that have involved Pi have mainly focused on its effect on bone and kidney. Therefore, current study was performed to discover the potential effects of low Pi on the lung of developing transgenic mice expressing the renilla/firefly luciferase dual reporter gene. Two-weeks old male mice divided into 2 groups and these groups were fed either a low PI diet or a normal control diet (normal: 0.5% Pi, low: 0.1% Pi) for 4 weeks. After 4 weeks of the diet, all the mice were sacrificed. Their lungs were harvested and analyzed by performing luciferase assay, Western blotting, kinase assay and immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that low Pi affects the lungs of developing mice by disturbing protein translation, the cell cycle and the expression of fibroblast growth factor-2. These results suggest that optimally regulating Pi consumption may be important to maintain health.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Carrier Proteins/metabolism ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung/drug effects/enzymology/*growth & development/metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Phosphoproteins/metabolism ; Phosphorus, Dietary/*administration & dosage ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor)/metabolism ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism ; Sodium-Phosphate Cotransporter Proteins, Type IIa/*metabolism

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of risperidone in the treatment of Korean schizophrenic patients. METHOD: This multicenter open study included 377 schizophrenic patients drawn from 39 university hospitals. After a wash-out period of 1 week, the schizophrenic patients were treated with risperidone for 8 weeks and evaluated at 5 points: at baseline, and 1,2,4 and 8 weeks of treatment. The dose was increased from 2mg/day(1mg twice daily) to 6mg/day(3mg twice daily) during the first week and adjusted to a maximum of 16mg/day over the next 7 weeks according to the patient's clinical response. Medication to control extrapyramidal symptoms was permitted. The psychiatric and neurological status of the patients was assessed by PANSS, CGI, and ESRS scales. RESULTS: 343(91%) of 377 patients completed the 8-week trial period. Clinical improvement, as defined by a 20% or more reduction in total PANSS score at end point, was shown by 81.3% of patients. The predictors of response to risperidone were associated older age, shorter duration of illness, fewer previous hospitalization. Risperidone had rapid onset of action: a significant decrease of the total PANSS and three PANSS factor(positive, negative, general), and CGI was already noticed at the end of first week. For the ESRS, parkinsonism rating scores were significantly increased until week 4 comparing with baseline. Dystonia rating scores were significantly increased until week 1, and dyskinesia rating scores were not significantly changed during the study. Laboratory parameters including vital sign, EKG, hematological, and biochemical values showed no significant changes during the trial. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that risperidone is generally safe and effective against both the positive and negative symptoms in our group of patients.
Dyskinesias ; Dystonia ; Electrocardiography ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Risperidone* ; Schizophrenia* ; Vital Signs ; Weights and Measures