BACKGROUND/AIMS: HBcAg is the most immunogenic HBV component and anti-Bc usually persists irrespective of ongoing liver disease or clearance of the virus in human. Therefore anti-Bc is considered as the most sensitive and occasionally the only marker of the HBV infection. Nevertheless, there are a few HBsAg carrier with persistent negative anti-Bc. The epitope which responds to HBcAg is recently defined in HLA A2 from acute viral hepatitis patient due to HBV. So we studied the clinical and laboratory features and nucleotide sequence of HBcAg corresponding to HLA A2 in the HBsAg carrier with persistent negative anti-Bc. METHODS: The subject of these study consists of eight HBsAg chronic carriers with persistent negative anti-Bc. We followed up the clinical features and serological markers of HBV infection and determined the amount of humoral immunoglobulin, HBV DNA and HBcAg when we performed the HLA class I typing and sequencing analysis of core of HBV. Control cases were selected from 3 HLA A2 heterozygote cases with chronic HBsAg carriers with anti-Bc. RESULTS: All subjects had the HBsAg persistently and good health conditions with normal ranges of aminotransferase and humoral immunoglobulin. One of them was converted to anti-Bc-ositive during follow-p period. The level of HBV DNA in serum was higher than 1.2 pg/mL in 7 of 8 chronic HBV carriers. There was a trend of differences between chronic anti-Bc negative carriers and converted one case to anti-Bc positive in the serum of HBcAg and HBV DNA(p=0.06). But strong positive correlation was observed between the amount of HBcAg and HBV DNA in sera. The core portion of HBV was amplified in 4 of 6 HLA A2 heterozygotes by single PCR. When sequenced the PCR products of the above 4 chronic anti-Bc negative HBV carriers and 3 control cases directly, there were no significant difference in the nucleotide and amino acid sequence at the HBcAg epitope which corresopond to class 1 HLA A2. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that persistent anti-Bc negative chronic HBV carriers may be caused by large amounts of HBV DNA and HBcAg in their sera and not by variants of HBV. These suggested that active viral replication was going on, but are undetectable by the available commercial tests due to binding with excessive amount of HBcAg in the HBV carriers with persistent negative anti-Bc.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence* ; DNA ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Heterozygote* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Liver Diseases ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reference Values

OBJECTIVES: The cerebrovascular diseases including stroke have become prevalent in Korea, ranking first as the cause of death in the aged. The quality of life (QOL) in stroke patients has been studied with growing interest since every aspect of life after stroke is influenced by the sequelae of this illness. This study aimed at 1) describing QOL of stroke patients and 2) identifying predictors of two month QOL after the event in stroke survivors. METHOD: WHO QOL scale was used to evaluate two month QOL after the stroke in 69 ischemic stroke patients. Data on age at the stroke event, sex, education level, brain MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) findings, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and neurologic disabilities were collected. Analyses were performed to explore the predictors of two month QOL. RESULTS: Stroke survivors with higher number and volume of frontal cortex lesions had lower two month QOL. Also, patients with more severe subcortical gray matter lesions had significantly lower two month QOL. Stroke patients with depression at the event had lower two month QOL than patients without depression. CONCLUSION: Lesions in frontal cortex and subcortical gray matter hyperintensities on MRI T2 images and depression in acute phase were of paramount importance in predicting two month QOL. Accurate and prompt neurologic and psychiatric interventions are required to improve QOL after stroke.
Anxiety ; Brain ; Cause of Death ; Depression ; Education ; Frontal Lobe ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Quality of Life* ; Stroke* ; Survivors

Anti-thrombin III deficiency is known as a disease of autosomal dominant trait and relatively common, but in Korea, exact incidence and mortality is not known, In general, Anti-thrombin III deficiency is expressed to venous thromboembolism like deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. But, arterial embolism is very rare. We experienced a case of Antithrombin III deficiency expressed as myocardial infarction of inferior wall by huge thrombosis in the mid and distal right coronary artery.
Antithrombin III Deficiency ; Coronary Vessels ; Embolism ; Incidence ; Korea ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis

BACKGROUND: Uncomplicated myocardial infarction is often the harbinger of future cardiac events such as unstable angina pectoris,recurrent myocardial infarction or death. The feasibility and safety of exercise testing performed soon after myocardial infarction have been established but the prognostic value of exercise test after myocardial infarction remain inconclusive. The object of this study is to determine whether exercise test results can be utilized to predict of future cardiac events after uncomplicated myocardial infarction. METHODS: The study group comprised 149 patients with an uncomplicated myocradial infarction. A low level exercise test was performed before discharge from the hospital 8 to 10 days after myocardial infarction. The exercise thst results was considered positive if there was new > or =1mm horizontal or downsloping ST segment depression at 0.08 sec after the J point compared with baseline. The patients were followed for the development of new cardiac events. RESULTS: 1) The exercise test after acute myocardial infarction was performed in 149 patients without complication. The mean duration of exercise test was 14 min(range 1-20 min) and the mean work-load(Metabolic equivalents) was 3.7+/-1.1 METs. 2) 37 patients had ST-segment depression, 13 had ST-segment elevation and 27 had an inadequate blood pressure response to exercise. During the exercise, there were angina in 5 patients, dyspnea in 17 and no symptom in 127 patients. 3) During the follow-up period(1 to 75 month, mean 27.4 month), 29 patients experienced post-myocardial infarction angina, 1 had recurrent myocardial infarction, 4 had revascularization therapy(PTCA 2, CABG 2),5 had ischemic cardiomyopathy and 5 died a cardiac death. 4) The patients with cardiac events such as cardiac death, myocardial infarction and post MI angina had a significantly shorter exercise duration(13.1+/-4.0 and 14.6+/-2.7min, p<0.05), lower exercise tolerance(3.5+/-1.0 and 3.9+/-1.0 METs, p<0.05) and lower peak heart rate(117 +/- and 126+/-5, p<0.05). 5) The ST-segment depression, lower exercise tolerance(<3.0 METs) and history of hypertension were associated significantly with cardiac events(p<0.05) but ST-segment elevation, inadequate blood pressure response to exercise, the use of thrombolytic agents and non-Q wave infarction did not predict future cardiac events. Conclusions: The exercise test after acute myocardial infarction is safe and of limited value for predicting patients at risk of cardiac events in the follow-up period. The ST-segment depression and lower exercise tolerance(<3.0 METs) can predict cardiac events and the prognosis of the patients of this group can be improved with aggressive management and careful follow-up.
Angina, Unstable ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiomyopathies ; Death ; Depression ; Dyspnea ; Exercise Test* ; Fibrinolytic Agents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Prognosis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although the viral load is correlated with HBcAg, liver injury was not correlated to viral load in HBeAg positive patient. We aimed to study the inter-relationship of clinical parameters such as the level of HBV-DNA, the level of aminotransferase, intrahepatic expression of HBcAg and severity of histological liver damage in the young male chronic HBV carriers according to HBeAg status. METHODS: The study group included 85 young male patients (mean age: 19.8) with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis B (HBeAg-positive group: n=60, HBeAg-negative group: n=25). RESUTLS: Serum levels of HBV-DNA and the expression of intrahepatic HBcAg in the HBeAg-positive group were significantly higher than in the HBeAg-negative (p<0.001), but fibrosis score was lower (p<0.01). Serum levels of HBV-DNA positively correlated with lobular activity, portal/periportal activity, biochemical activities in the HBeAg-negative group but negatively correlated in the HBeAg-positive group. There were no significant differences in histological activity according to the pattern of expression of intrahepatic HBcAg in both groups. The lobular activity correlated positively with biochemical activity in both groups, and portal/periportal activity correlated with biochemical activity only in the HBeAg-positive group. CONCLUSIONS: There are close correlations among liver injury, intrahepatic expression of HBcAg, and detectable HBV-DNA in the young male chronic HBV carriers with HBeAg-negativity, but in the HBeAg-positive group, the correlations are diversified.
Adolescent ; Adult ; DNA, Viral/*analysis ; English Abstract ; Hepatitis B Core Antigens/*analysis ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/pathology/*virology ; Humans ; Liver/*pathology/virology ; Male ; Viral Load