The SPECT radiopharmaceuticals labeled with I-123 for dopamine transporter imaging have been used to measure dopamine transporters in patients with movement disorders. However, a cyclotron produced I-123 limits its availiability and ease of use as a radioisotope to be labeled with pharmaceuticals in routine clinical diagnostic procedures. Recently, new radiopharmaceuticals for Tc-99m which has optimal characteristic for SPECT imaging have been developed to overcome the limits of using I-123. The purpose of this study was to compare the quality of [Tc-99m]TRODAT-1 with [I-123]IPT SPECT data and then to evaluate the usefulness of [Tc-99m]TRODAT-I SPECT by using three noninvasive simplified quantitative methods. TRODAT-1 labeled with Tc-99m(15.93+/-0.82 mCi) and IPT labeled with I-123(6.60+/-0.11 mCi) were injected into five normal controls. Dynamic [Tc-99m] TRODAT-I SPECT scans of brain were performed for 10 minutes each over 180 minnutes, and for 20 minutes at 4 hrs and 5 hrs. [I-123IPT SPECT scans were performed for 5 minutes each over 120 minutes. Time activity curves were generated for the left basal ganglia(LBG), right basal ganglia(RBG), and occipital cortex(OCC). Dopamine transporter parameters were obtained using (BG-OCC)/OCC, graphical method(Rv), and area ratio method(RA). TRODAT-1 and IPT SPECT imaging showed high uptake at the level of the basal ganglia. (BG-OCC)/OCC ratios for TRODAT-1 and IPT were 0.80+/-0.14, and 3.22+/-0.81, Rvs were 0.62+/-0.12, and 2.30+/-0.35, and RAs were 0.37+/-0.08 and 1.73+/-0.31, respectively. In conclusion, further improvement of [Tc-99m]TRODAT-I imaging characteris- tics may be required to estimate the dopamine transporter concentrations in human brains although it shows clear BG localization.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain ; Cyclotrons ; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins* ; Dopamine* ; Humans ; Movement Disorders ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Tics ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Dynamic strategy(DS) is a fast threshold algorithm for the Octopus 101 perimeter. To analyze the efficiency of DS, we compared the results of visual field measurements using DS and conventional normal strategy(NS). Subjects comprised 60 eyes of 30 normal individuals in the 3rd decade who has not experienced perimetry before. Program G2 was performed on all subjects at random and enough intervals between the two tests(more than 1 hour). Mean testing time was 1047.63+/-219.38 seconds in NS and 684.98+/-130.95 seconds in DS. Testing time reduction rate was 32.69+/-14.35% on average. Mean defect(MD) was 2.80+/-1.02dB, 2.15+/-0.94dB in the two strategies, respectively. Corrected loss variance(CLV) was 1.31+/-0.50dB2 and 1.03+/-0.61dB2 in each test. There was significant difference in MD and CLV statistically(P<0.01). Mean short term fluctuation(SF) was 1.38+/-0.49dB and 1.45+/-0.50 dB; mean reliability factor(RF) was 2.05+/-2.73% and 1.98+/-2.80% in the two strategies, respectively. There was no significant difference in SF and RF statistically(P>0.01). It took less time with DS than NS in Octopus 101 perimeter, but further study will be needed for clinical application of DS.
Octopodiformes* ; Visual Field Tests ; Visual Fields

We induced apoptosis in normal rats by intramuscular injection of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and immunohistochemically evaluated the thymus for the TdT-mediated dUTP biotin nick end labelling on the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, 15th and 21st days following the bolus intramuscular injection. The injections of 5-FU induced a greater extent of apoptosis in the thymus. In the thymus, a mild increase in apoptosis was observed 24 hours after injection. The greatest number of apoptotic cells were seen at 72 hours. The size of the thymus decreased and the cortex thinned with hypocellularity. The injection of 5-FU caused massive cell loss in the thymus. Most apoptotic cells were scattered in the cortex and lower levels of apoptosis were also observed in the medulla. After 72 hours, the level of apoptosis returned to the control level. Considering the above results, we think that 5-FU induced toxicity may be related to 5-FU induced apoptosis in normal tissue, especially the thymus.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Biotin ; Fluorouracil* ; Injections, Intramuscular* ; Rats* ; Thymus Gland*

We evaluated the clinical characteristics of acute myocarditis children, especially chief complaints on first visit at a hospital and prognosis. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted to identify patients with myocarditis who presented over a 10-year span at a regional tertiary hospital. Patients were identified based on the international classification of diseases 10, diagnostic codes. Total 18 patients were enrolled in the study. The patients had a median age of 16 months and 61% of them were male. Common chief complaints were shortness of breath, lethargy, cough or palpitation. Of the patients, 5 patients showed gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain and loose stool as initial symptoms. Eighty nine percent of patients had cardiomegaly on chest x-ray, and 72% of patients had an abnormal electrocardiogram results. On first admission, 4 patients were died and 3 of them showed vomiting and abdominal pain as first chief complaints. These data suggest that abdominal pain and vomiting may be chief complaints of acute myocarditis. And myocarditis patients who showed gastrointestinal symptoms initially had poor prognosis. In addition, to distinguish an acute myocarditis, cardiomegaly on chest x-ray and an abnormal electrocardiogram may be useful.
Abdominal Pain ; Cardiomegaly ; Child* ; Cough ; Dyspnea ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; International Classification of Diseases ; Lethargy ; Male ; Myocarditis* ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Thorax ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of subconjunctival retention of perfluoropropane gas on the success rates in trabeculectomized rabbits. METHODS: Fifthteen white rabbits were trabeculectomized by fornix-base conjunctival flap, full thickness sclerotomy and iridectomy. The right eye was control and the left eye was injected with 0.2 ml perfluoropropane gas(C3F8) into subconjunctival space through the 30 guage long needle. Each rabbit was examined for bleb morphology under slit-lamp microscope and measured for intraocular pressure by tonopen at preoperative, postoperative 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks. The results were analyzed by Wilcoxon rank sum test in SAS release 6.12 program. RESULTS: Mean gas retention time was 15+/-2 days. Intraocular pressure measured at postoerpative 2 weeks was statistically significantly lower in gas injected group than control group. At postoperative 2 weeks, fibrovascularization was more prominent in control group than gas injected group. Fibroblast proliferation and collagen tissue formation were more prominent in control group than gas injected group at postoperative 6 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Subconjunctival perfluoropropane gas(C3F8) bubbles, via "spacer" effect, aid the maintenance of filtering blebs in the early postoperative period. This technique may be useful in augmenting or salvaging blebs at high risk of failure.
Blister ; Collagen ; Fibroblasts ; Intraocular Pressure ; Iridectomy ; Needles ; Postoperative Period ; Rabbits* ; Trabeculectomy*

Recently, [I-123]IPT SPECT has been used for early diagnosis of Parkinson's patients(PP) by imaging dopamine transporters. The dynamic time activity curves in basal ganglia(BG) and occipital cortex(OCC) without blood samples were obtained for 2 hours. These data were then used to measure dopamine transporters by operationally defined ratio methods of (BG-OCC)/OCC at 2 hrs, binding potential Rv=k3/k4 using graphic method or RA= (ABBG-ABOCC)/ABOCC for 2 hrs, where ABBG represents accumulated binding activity in basal ganglia(integral 0 120minBG(t)dt) and ABOCC represents accumulated binding activity in occipital cortex(integral 0 120minBG(t)dt). The purpose of this study was to examine the IPT pharmacokinetics and investigate the usefulness of simplified methods of (BG-OCC)/OCC, RA, and RA which are often assumed that these values reflect the true values of k3/k4. The rate constants K1, k2, k3 and k4 to be used for simulations were derived using [I-123]IPT SPECT and aterialized blood data with a standard three compartmental model. The sensitivities and time activity curves in BG and OCC were computed by changing K1 and k3(only BG) for every 5min over 2 hours. The values (BG-OCC)/OCC, RA, and Rv were then computed from the time activity curves and the linear regression analysis was used to measure the accuracies of these methods. The rate constants K1, k2, k3, k4 at BG and OCC were 1.26+/-5.41%, 0.044+/-19.58%, 0.031+/-24.36%, 0.008+/-22.78% and 1.36+/-4.76%, 0.170+/-6.89%, 0.007+/-23.89%, 0.007+/-45.09%, respectively. The Sensitivities for ((delta S/S)/(delta k3/k3)) and ((delta S/delta S)/(delta K1/K1)) at 30min and 120min were measured as (0.19, 0.50) and (0.61, 0.23), respectively. The correlation coefficients and slopes of ((BG-OCC)/OCC, RA, and Rv) with k3/k4 were (0.98, 1.00, 0.99) and (1.76, 0.47, 1.25), respectively. These simulation results indicate that a late [1-123]IPT SPECT image may represent the distribution of the dopamine transporters. Good correlations were shown between (BG-OCC)/OCC, RA or Rv and true k3/k4,, although the slopes between them were not unity. Pharmacokinetic computer simulations may be very useful technique in studying dopamine transpoter systems.
Computer Simulation* ; Dopamine* ; Early Diagnosis ; Linear Models ; Pharmacokinetics ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon

PURPOSE: Phyllodes tumor is a rare fibroepithelial tumor of the breast, first described by Johannes Muller in 1838. Much has been written about phyllodes tumor, but very few widely accepted conclusions about its clinical behavior, treatment modality, and prognosis have been reached. This study aims to analyze the clinical, radiological, and pathological characteristics of phyllodes tumor of the breast. METHODS: The medical records of 41 patients with phyllodes tumor who had been treated between February 1982 and August 1998 at the Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Hospital, were retrospectively reviewed for clinical, radiological and pathological findings, treatment modalities, and follow-up results. RESULTS: Of these 41 cases, there were 28 cases (68.3%) of benign tumors and 13 cases (31.7%) of malignanat tumors. All patients were females, and the mean ages of onset were 33.2 years for benign tumors and 40.8 years for malignant tumors. Most patients, 100% of benign and 92.3% of malignant, presented with a papable mass in the breast. The median duration of illness was 2 months for malignant tumors and 8 months for benign tumors. The tumor size was greater than 10 cm in diameter in 5 cases (38.5%) of malignant tumors and in 3 cases (10.7%) of benign tumors. Only 4 cases were preoperatively diagnosed as having a phyllodes tumor by using radiological and fine needle aspiration cytology. Out of the 10 malignant cases reviewed, 5 cases were confirmed as malignant, and 5 cases were confirmed as borderline phyllodes tumors. Cellularity was moderate or above in all 5 malignant and 5 borderline cases. Atypism above moderate degree was found in 4 of 5 (80%) malignant tumors, in 3 of 5 (60%) borderline tumors, and in 4 of 24 (16.7%) benign tumors. Mitotic counts in all 5 malignant cases were 5 or more per 10 high power field while those in the 5 borderline tumors were 2-5 mitoses per 10 high power field. The most commonly performed operative procedures were a simple mastectomy (50%) for malignant tumors and a simple excision (64.3%) for benign tumors. Post-operative adjuvant therapy was done for 4 cases; out of these, 1 case had been initially diagnosed as a malignant phyllodes tumor, but the diagnosis was changed to a benign phyllodes tumor upon review. Of the 27 follow-up cases, recurrences developed in 3 cases (16.7%) of benign tumors. CONCLUSION: From the above results, there were no specific clinical features for differentiating benign from malignant phyllodes tumor preoperatively; therefore, we cannot help depending on the pathologic findings. Pathologic reviews showed that among several criteria, atypism, cellularity, and mitotic count were the most definite pathologic characteristics in differentiating benign from malignant phyllodes tumor. But much more experience and long-term follow-up may be needed to define optimal treatments and to analyze the prognosis for phyllodes tumors of the breast.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Breast* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mastectomy, Simple ; Medical Records ; Mitosis ; Phyllodes Tumor* ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Surgical Procedures, Operative

No abstract available.
Erythema*

Most insects including the honeybee cause erythema and edema at the site of a sting in non-allergic individuals. This reaction usually resolves within a few days. However, in certain cases, the persistence of inciting materials in the cutaneous tissue may promote a local inflammatory foreign body reaction. Localized nodular lesions were seen in our two patients and erythemstous patches were present in one patient due to rarely encountered complications induced by retained sting materials. In these cases histopathology showed multiple foci of foreign body granuloma containing yellow refraetile material in the center surrounded by histiocytes and foreign body giant cells. The granulomatous skin lesions in these patients were treated with intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide and partial excisions of the nodular masses were performed.
Bites and Stings ; Edema ; Erythema ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Giant Cells, Foreign-Body ; Granuloma* ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Insects ; Skin ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

No abstract available.
Child* ; Granular Cell Tumor* ; Humans