The rapid progress of molecular genetic methods over the past two decades has necessitated the development of methods to detect and quantify genetic activity within living bodies. Reporter genes provide a rapid and convenient tool to monitor gene expression by yielding a readily measurable phenotype upon expression when introduced into a biological system. Conventional reporter systems, however, are limited in their usefulness for in vivo experiments or human gene therapy because of its invasive nature which requires cell damage before assays can be performed. This offers an unique opportunity for nuclear imaging techniques to develope a novel method for imaging both the location and amount of gene expression noninvasively. Current developments to achieve this goal rely on utilizing either reporter enzymes that accumulate radiolabeled substrates or reporter receptors that bind specific radioligands. This overview includes a brief introduction to the background for such research, a summary of publis hed results, and an outlook for future directions.
Gene Expression* ; Genes, Reporter ; Genetic Therapy ; Humans ; Molecular Biology ; Phenotype

No abstract available.
Genetic Therapy*

No abstract available.
Genetic Therapy*

To pursue a desirable format for the pathological diagnosis of liver cirrhosis, the authors attempted to classify 369 biopsy-proven cirrhosis on the basis of etiology and made effort to find out the morphological characteristics of each category. About 735 of total cases were HBsAg seropositive postnecrotic cirrhosis. Alcholic cirrhosis ws the second most frequent type, although accounted only 6.8%. In about 15%, the etiology was not known. Excluding the congenital biliary atresia, chronic biliary obstruction appeared to be a rare cause of cirrhosis among these biopsied cases. Of the HBsAg positive postnecrotic cirrhosis, the eAg seropositive cases tended to be micronodular and to show a higher necroinflammatory activity, in contrast to eAg seronegative cases and those complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), suggesting that the loss of eAg is followed by a decrease of the destructive activity, active regeneration of hepatocytes and finally the development of HCC. alcoholic cirrhosis was micronodular in 64% and revealed histologic evidences of alcoholic liver disease in most cases. The results indicate that etiological diagnosis can be made in most cases of cirrhosis by the morphological characteristics and the precise clinical informations, including those on the NANB virus and the inborn error of metabolism, and that the pathological diagnosis should be more comprehensive, implicating the etiology, the nodular size and the necroinflammatory activity.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular

No abstract available.
Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1* ; Prurigo*

Segmental vitiligo is considered to be characterized by unilateral depigmented patches along dermatomes, but we found two cases of segmental vitiligo in which the vitiligo lesions appeared bilaterally on the same or different dermatomes. The clinical course of bilateral segmental vitiligo seems to be the same as that of unilateral segmental vitiligo.
Vitiligo*

Therapeutic leukapheresis is a treatment modality which selectively remove abnormal leukocytes and relieve symptoms produced by abnormally high concentration of leukocytes in the blood stream. Authors report the experiences of therapeutic leukapheresis at Seoul National University Hospital during the past 7 years(1988 to 1995). A total of 48 procedures were done for 29 patients(24 males and 5 females). The age distribution was from 16 years to 60 years and mean age was 30 years. The most common diagnosis of patients were acute lymphoblastic leukemia(7/15, 46.7%) and major indications for therapeutic leukapheresis were dyspnea, headache, abdominal pain and mental alteration. The mean leukocyte count before and after leukapheresis were 277,300/micro liter and 220,700/micro liter, respectively(20% decrease, P<0.001). Hemoglobin concentration was also decreased from 7.7g/dL to 7.1g/dL after leukapheresis(P<0.01). The mean number of leukocytes removed per procedure was 3.1x1011. Adverse reactions such as abdominal pain and dizziness were observed in two cases. The leukocyte count was decreased in all patients and improvement of symptoms was observed in four patients. In conclusion, therapeutic leukapheresis is relatively safe and can be used to relieve leukostatic symptoms in leukemic patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Age Distribution ; Diagnosis ; Dizziness ; Dyspnea ; Headache ; Humans ; Leukapheresis* ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Rivers ; Seoul

Clinical study of 40 cases who have used steroid preparations was done during past 6 months from March 72 to September 72. 1. The youngest patient was twenty, the oldest seventy-four and the average fifty-two. Eighty percent was included between from 41 to 70 year of age. 2. And the sex ratio was 1:4.7. 3. Diagnostic incidence was 47.5% in degenerative arthritis and 40% in rheumatoid arthritis. 4. The causes of administration were multiple joint pain (35%), lumbago (27.5%) and pain on knee joint (25%) in order. 5. Prednisolone (60%), dexacortisil (25%) and dexamethasone (12.5%) were used in 97.5%. 6. The source of steroid was drung store (95%) or doctor (5%). 7. The time from first dose to last dose was less than 1month (20%), 1–3 month(10%), 4–6 month (7.5%) and more than 1 year (52.5%). And 3 cases have used for more than 5 years, 8. Eighteen cases (45%) used steroid continuously and 22 cases (55%) irregularly. 9. Transient effectiveness was experienced in 92.5% with steroid administration, that was one of the causes of steroid usage without doctor's prescription. 10. The side effects were as follows; moon face (62.5%), ulcer (20%), fat deposition (15%), osteoporosis (15%), peripheral edema (10%), elevation of blood pressure (7.5%), malar flush(7.5%), vertebral compression fracture (7.5%), obesity (5%), psychotic change (5%), pyogenic arthritis (5%), diabetes (2.5%), sepsis (2.5%), adrenal insufficiency (2.5%), avascular necrosis (2.5%) and stress fracture of femur neck (2.5%).
Adrenal Insufficiency ; Arthralgia ; Arthritis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Blood Pressure ; Clinical Study ; Dexamethasone ; Edema ; Femur Neck ; Fractures, Compression ; Fractures, Stress ; Humans ; Incidence ; Knee Joint ; Low Back Pain ; Moon ; Necrosis ; Obesity ; Orthopedics ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoporosis ; Prednisolone ; Prescriptions ; Sepsis ; Sex Ratio ; Ulcer

Failure of total joint replacement is often due to infection. Many efforts have been made to reduce the rate of infection. The use of antibiotic-acrylic bone cement composites for the preventlon and treatment of infection after joint replacement surgery has been advocated. Early reports of clinical success using bone cement containing antibiotics are encouraging, but different results of antibacterial effect of antibiotic-acrylic bone cement were reported in vitro and in vivo studies. The purpose of this experiment is to determine the effectiveness of bone cement itself on bacterial growth, stability of antibiotics in cured bone cement, and whether antibiotic acrylic bone cement composites produce an effective antimicrobial concentration in tissue fluid of hip joint and if so, the duration of it. 30 rabbits were used as test animal: 3 each for hemiarthroplasty and for hemiarthroplasty with the insertion of bone cement as control; 6 each for dicloxacillin, cephacetrile, gentamycin and amlkacin impregnated bone cements. Antibiotic activities were measured by disk diffusion method and tube dilution method using tissue fluid collected through tube inserted in the hip joint of the animals. The results were as follows: 1. Bone cement itself does not have antibacterial effec: on the growth of Staphyiococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Antibiotic impregnated acrylic bone cements showed antibacterial effects which were stable for 3 weeks in vitro test. 2. After the insertion of antibiotic-acrylic bone cement composites, maximal concentrations of antibiotics in tissue fluid were measured at 1 hour. The concentration of antibiotics remained in tissue fluid at relatively high level for 2 days, and decreased abruptly there after. Inhibition zones in disk diffusion method could be measured until 3rd day in dicloxacillin group and 4th day in cephacetrile, gentamycin and amikacin group. No antibacterial effect could be measured in control groups. 3. On first postoperative day the concentrations of antibiotics in tissue fluid were measured as 64 mcg/ml in dicloxacillin group and 128 mcg/ml in cephacetrille, gentamycin and amikacin group. The antiblotic activities in tissue fluid could be measured for 6 days in dicloxacillin group and 7 days in cephacetrile, gentamycin and amikacin group using tube dilution method. No antibiotic activities were measured in tissue fluid of control groups. As a result of this study, it is proved that the concentration of antibiotics in tissue fluid of hip joint can be maintained above the level of minimal inhibitory concentration for about a week when antibiotic-acrylic bone cement composite is used in joint replacement arthroplasty. The impregnation of antibiotics in crylic bone cement is proved to be effective in the prevention of exogenous infection, especially in the protection of damaged tissue prone to infection postoperatively.
Amikacin ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Arthroplasty, Replacement ; Bone Cements ; Cephacetrile ; Dicloxacillin ; Diffusion ; Escherichia coli ; Gentamicins ; Hemiarthroplasty ; Hip Joint ; In Vitro Techniques ; Joints ; Methods ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Rabbits

Congenial mitral stenosis may be defined as a develpment abnormality of the mitral valve leaflets,commissures, interchordal spaces, papillary muscle,s annulus or immediate supravalvular area producing obstructionto left ventricular filling. Authors had experience of nine cases of congenital mitral stenosis confirmed by twodimenstional echocardiography, angiocardiography and surgery in recent 5 years since 1979, and analyzed them withemphasis on the angiographic findings. The results are as follows; 1. Among 9 cases, 6 patients were male and 3 were female. Age distribution was from 4 months to 11 years. 2. The types of congenital mitral stenosis were 1typical congenital mitral stenosis, 5 cases of parachute mitral valve and 3 cases of supramitral ring. 3. Angiographically typical congenital mitral stenosis showed narrowing of mitral valvular opening, parachute mitralvalve displayed single large papillary muscle with narrowed valvular opening and supramitral ring disclosedsemilunar shaped filling defect between left atrium and ventricle. 4. Associated cardiac and extracardiacanomalies of congenital mitral stenosis, as frequency wise, were ventricular septal defect, patent ductusarteriosus, coarctation of aorta, supra and subvalvular aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation and double outletright ventricle. 5. Cardiac angiography is essential to diagnose congenital mitral stenosis, but the need of two dimensional echocardiography cannot be ignored.
Age Distribution ; Angiocardiography ; Angiography ; Aortic Coarctation ; Aortic Stenosis, Subvalvular ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Atria ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Humans ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Mitral Valve Stenosis ; Papillary Muscles