Apoptosis (or programmed cell death) is defined by morphologic changes induced by a spectrum of physical and chemical agents. resulting in non-pathologic cell loss, which is relevant to a range of biological processes, including differentiation, development, maturation, and injury of cells as well as immunologic function. In this study, we examined the frequency of apoptotic bodies and mitoses (apoptotic and mitotic indices) in the tissue samples of 35 patients of prostatic carcinoma, which were grouped according to the Gleason scores, and 5 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia. The indices were determined as the numbers of apoptotic and mitotic bodies per 100 tumor cells in hematoxylin eosin stained section. The apoptotic bodies were confirmed by the in situ nick end labelling method. The apoptotic and mitotic indices were observed more frequently in prostatic carcinoma than the benign hyperplastic prostatic tissues with a positive correlation between the frequency of apoptotic bodies and Gleason scores in prostatic cancer. In conclusion, an increased programmed cell death was correlated with the increasing malignant potential (higher Gleason scores) in prostatic cancer.
Apoptosis ; Biological Processes ; Cell Death ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Mitosis ; Mitotic Index ; Neoplasm Grading ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Prostatic Neoplasms*

Tailgut cyst of retrorectal space is uncommon and its classification and prognosis are unclear. The lesion usually consists of a multiloculated cyst lined by squamous, transitional, and glandular epithelium. Disorganized fascicles of smooth muscle may be seen in the wall. Glomus coccygeum, normally located at the tip of coccyx, is incidentally discovered in the presacral mass including tailgut cyst. We report a case of tailgut cyst in a 35 year old female who had internal hemorrhoid and intermittent anal pain for 3 years. Pelvic computerized tomography revealed a 3x2 cm sized mass in the presacral area. The mass was multicystic and lined by squamous, transitional, and peudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium with inflammatory cells and scattered smooth muscle in the wall. Dermal adnexal structures were not present, which excluded dermoid cyst. A glomus body was identified in the surrounding soft tissue.
Female ; Humans ; Cysts

Appendicitis is one of the most common condition causing an acute abdomen in young adult population. Two-hundreds and fifty-nine cases of acute appendicitis provened by surgery and pathology during recent 2 years in Han-ll Hospital were studied and analyzed by preoperative plain abdominal X-ray. One case of barium enema was also done. The results were as follows; 1. Male fo female sex ration was 1:1. 2. In age distribution, the most commonage group was from two to four decade. (75.3%) 3. The most common clinical symptom was classical abdominal pain as86.5%. 4. The positive radiographic findings were obtained 75.7% of all cases. 5. Common radiographic findings as follows; 1) Reflex ileus on RLQ (73.7%) 2) Obliteration of Rt. psoas line (41.3%) 3) Scoliosis of lumbar spine(21.2%) 6. The most common site of appendix was retrocecal in position. (84.2%) 7. One case of appendicolith and one case of appendiceal diverticulum were demonstrated.
Abdomen, Acute ; Abdominal Pain ; Age Distribution ; Appendicitis ; Appendix ; Barium ; Diverticulum ; Enema ; Female ; Humans ; Ileus ; Male ; Pathology ; Reflex ; Scoliosis ; Young Adult

Familial juvenile polyposis is a rare intestinal polyposis characterized by the occurrence of multiple juvenile polyps in the gastrointestinal tract. We report a case of familial juvenile polyposis in a 17-year-old man with a review of the literature. This patient underwent total colectomy due to a 6 years history of rectal bleeding. Grossly, the colon showed 36 variable sized pedunculated polyps, measuring 2.5cm x 2cm from the largest size and 0.2cm x 0.2cm to the smallest size. Histologically, the polyps consisted of cystically dilated glands, lined by normal colonic epithelial cells, scattered in loose, edematous stroma containing inflammatory cell infiltration. There were no areas of tubular adenoma or malignancy in any of the polyp.
Adenoma ; Adolescent ; Colectomy ; Colon ; Epithelial Cells ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestinal Polyposis ; Polyps

PURPOSE: This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of Tai chi exercise for improving balance and its tendency and helps to identify directions for future research. METHOD: 19 articles from Medline search of foreign journals(1981-2003) and 5 from Korean nursing journals (1981-2003) were surveyed. The contents analyses were focused on outcome measures and relative factors regarding balance. RESULT: Variable measures for balance were used in Tai Chi studies relating to balance. They included the functional measures such as 14 single-leg stance, 7 walking in physiological measures and 7 laboratory-based balance measures were done with platform stability test. The measure of effective Tai Chi exercise depended on the health status of subjects and the methods. Health status of subjects were only on physically inactive older adults in 17 articles and arthritis patients in 7 articles in the Tai Chi study. The significant effects of Tai Chi exercise on balance was revealed after 10weeks duration. CONCLUSION: Considering the results, Tai Chi exercise is more effective than any other studies for walking balance. But the reports on the outcome are inconsistent with wide variations in the choice of balance measures. It is suggested that future studies analyze systemic change through meta analysis and have a wide variety of subjects who need postural control and balance control. The methods of measures should be distinct from the balance state of subjects for the effectiveness of Tai chi exercise.
Adult ; Arthritis ; Humans ; Nursing ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Tai Ji* ; Walking

Systemic sclerosis as a connective tissue disease could affect all internal organs of the body and could also manifest as a cutaneous lesion. Cardiac involvement leading to cardiac manifestations in systemic sclerosis patients is not rare. However, cardiac amyloidosis combined with systemic sclerosis is extremely rare. Although there were no definite treatment options in this case, symptomatic treatment is the cornerstone of the management plan. In this case report, we described a correct diagnosis and symptomatic medical care of early reactive cardiac amyloidosis with systemic sclerosis and summarize the current state of the relevant literature.
Amyloidosis* ; Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive ; Connective Tissue Diseases ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Scleroderma, Systemic*

BACKGROUND: Neck and shoulder pain is fairly common among adolescents in Korea and results in significant health problem. The aims of this prospective study was to identify the effects of education, in terms of recognition of this issue and posture correction, on prevalence and severity of neck and shoulder pain in Korean adolescents. METHODS: A prospective, observational cohort design was used. The 912 students from two academic high schools in the city of Seoul were eligible for the current study and 887 completed this study. After a baseline cross-sectional survey, students listened to a lecture about cervical health, focusing on good posture, habits, and stretching exercises to protect the spine, and were encouraged by their teachers to keep the appropriate position. And follow-ups were conducted 3 months later, to evaluate the effect of education. RESULTS: The prevalence of neck and shoulder pain was decreased 19.5% (from 82.5 to 66.4%). The baseline mean usual and worst numeric rating scale were 19.9/100 (95% CI, 18.1-21.7) and 31.2/100 (95% CI, 28.7-33.2), respectively. On the follow-up survey, the mean usual and worst numeric rating scale were decreased significantly by 24.1 and 21.7%, respectively, compared with baseline (P < 0.01). Of the 570 students reporting neck and shoulder pain, 16.4% responded that they had experienced improvement during the 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Education; recognition of this issue and posture correction, for cervical health appeared to be effective in decreasing the prevalence and severity of neck and shoulder pain at a 3 month follow-up.
Adolescent* ; Cohort Studies ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education* ; Exercise ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Neck Pain ; Neck* ; Posture ; Prevalence* ; Prospective Studies ; Seoul ; Shoulder Pain* ; Spine

BACKGROUND: The opioid sparing effect of low dose ketamine is influenced by bolus dose, infusion rate, duration of infusion, and differences in the intensity of postoperative pain. In this study, we investigated the opioid sparing effect of low dose ketamine in patients with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) using fentanyl after lumbar spinal fusion surgery, which can cause severe postoperative pain. METHODS: Sixty patients scheduled for elective lumbar spinal fusion surgery were randomly assigned to receive one of three study medications (K1 group: ketamine infusion of 1 microg/kg/min following bolus 0.5 mg/kg, K2 group: ketamine infusion of 2 microg/kg/min following bolus 0.5 mg/kg, Control group: saline infusion following bolus of saline). Continuous infusion of ketamine began before skin incision intraoperatively, and continued until 48 h postoperatively. For postoperative pain control, patients were administered fentanyl using IV-PCA (bolus dose 15 microg of fentanyl, lockout interval of 5 min, no basal infusion). For 48 h postoperatively, the total amount of fentanyl consumption, postoperative pain score, adverse effects and patients' satisfaction were evaluated. RESULTS: The total amount of fentanyl consumption was significantly lower in the K2 group (474 microg) compared to the control group (826 microg) and the K1 group (756 microg) during the 48 h after surgery. Pain scores at rest or with movement, the incidence of adverse events and patient satisfaction were not significantly different among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Low-dose ketamine at 2 microg/kg/min following bolus 0.5 mg/kg significantly reduced the total amount of fentanyl consumption during the 48 h after lumbar spinal fusion surgery without increasing adverse effects.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled ; Fentanyl ; Humans ; Incidence ; Ketamine ; Pain, Postoperative ; Patient Satisfaction ; Skin ; Spinal Fusion

Limited information from human studies indicates that dietary quercetin supplementation influences blood lipid profiles, glycemic response, and inflammatory status, collectively termed cardiometabolic risks. We tested the hypothesis that quercetin-rich supplementation, derived from onion peel extract, improves cardiometabolic risk components in healthy male smokers in a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled parallel design. Randomly assigned subjects were instructed to take either the placebo (n = 43) or 100 mg quercetin capsules each day (n = 49) for 10 weeks. Anthropometric parameters and blood pressure were measured, and blood lipids, glucose, interleukin-6, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) were determined at baseline and after 10 weeks of quercetin supplementation. Quercetin-rich supplementation significantly reduced serum concentrations of total cholesterol (P < 0.05) and LDL-cholesterol (P < 0.01), whereas these effects were not shown in the placebo group. Furthermore, significant increases were observed in serum concentrations of HDL-cholesterol both in the placebo (P < 0.005) and quercetin-rich supplementation group (P < 0.001); however, changes in HDL-cholesterol were significantly greater in subjects receiving quercetin-rich supplementation than the placebo. Both systolic (P < 0.05) and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.01) decreased significantly in the quercetin-rich supplementation group. Glucose concentrations decreased significantly after 10 weeks of quercetin-rich supplementation (P < 0.05). In contrast, no effects of quercetin-rich supplementation were observed for the inflammatory markers-IL-6 and sVCAM-1. Daily quercetin-rich supplementation from onion peel extract improved blood lipid profiles, glucose, and blood pressure, suggesting a beneficial role for quercetin as a preventive measure against cardiovascular risk.
Blood Pressure ; Capsules ; Cholesterol ; Dyslipidemias ; Glucose ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Male ; Onions ; Quercetin ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1

A 51 year-old woman underwent living related renal transplantation under cyclosporine A immunosuppression. After surgery, she did well initially, but the serum creatinine level subsequently rose to 3.6 mg/dL on postoperative day 95, she was admitted at Severance Hospital for further evaluation. On admission day 4, a renal biopsy was performed, and the microscopic findings revealed an interstitial mononuclear cell infiltrate, suggestive of severe allograft rejection. Because of persistently impaired renal function, the patient was began on twice weekly hemodialysis, and the progression of renal deterioration paralleled the onset of a thrombocytopenia. The platelet count dropped to 13x109/L despite daily platelet transfusion. On admission day 19, antiplatelet antibody against the glycoprotein Ib/IX (GP Ib/IX) and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GP IIb/IIIa) complex was detected in the presence of cyclosporine A (CsA) with modified antigen capture ELISA (MACE) assay, thereby implicating the drug. CsA was stopped immediately and immunosuppression drug was changed to FK506. After CsA was discontinued 7 day later, her platelet count returned to normal, up to 170x109/L without requirement of any platelet concentrates. This paper presents the first case of CsA induced thrombocytopenia in Korea which was confirmed by in vitro CsA dependent antiplatelet antibody detection test.
Allografts ; Biopsy ; Blood Platelets* ; Creatinine ; Cyclosporine ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Kidney Transplantation ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Membrane Glycoproteins* ; Platelet Transfusion ; Renal Dialysis ; Tacrolimus ; Thrombocytopenia*