Authors experienced a 59-year-old male patient with the lymphoma of the small iritestine which involved the adjoining mesenteric lymph nodes, the parietaI pleura, and the skin. The skin lesions, simulating necrotizing angiitis, were deep purple colored, asymptomatic, tense, hemorrhagic bullae with soft consistency on the both thighs and left infraorbital area. He had extranodal type, and diffuse, poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma by the Rappaport classification, and stage IV by the Ann Arbor staging classification. After about 50 days of clinical manifestations, he was died mainly due to massive intestinal bleeding.
Classification ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Intestine, Small* ; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphoma* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pleura ; Skin ; Thigh ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Vasculitis

No abstract available.
Adolescent* ; Humans

This study investigated difference of general eating habit and eating-out behavior between men and women of university students in Gyonggi area. The survey was conducted from 1 March to 1 April 2010, in Gyeonggi area. Self-administered questionnaires were collected from 250 students in Gyeonggi area. The research results show, first of all, that they eat twice a day, and they usually do not eat breakfast. The main reason why they do not eat breakfast is that they do not have enough time to eat. Between men and women, there is significant difference in eating amount and eating speed at 0.001 levels. Men's problems of eating behavior are irregular meal time and speed of eating time, and in case of women, they do not have a meal regularly and overeat at one time. Second, they usually eat out for a meal and gather with friends once to three times a week. Also, the lunch set-menu promotion is the most preferred one. Third, when men choose a restaurant, they consider in order of taste, convenience, amount, and service; women consider in order of atmosphere, taste, convenience, and service. Taste is the most important for men; atmosphere is the most important consideration for women. Taste (at 0.01 levels), sanitation (at 0.05 levels), and atmosphere (at 0.001 levels) are significantly different between men and women in choosing restaurant.
Atmosphere ; Breakfast ; Eating ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Friends ; Humans ; Lunch ; Male ; Meals ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Restaurants ; Sanitation

Since Kappis described percutaneous celiac plexus block in 1914, variations and refinements of his technic have been proposed. Recently, computed tomography (CT) guided nerve block has improved results of the block and made it safer, particularly when neurolytic drugs are injected for the relief of intractable abdominal pain caused by malignancy or chronic pancreatitis. We report a case of CT-guided alcohol block of the celiac plexus with the anterior approach in a patient with a common bile duct carcinoma.
Abdominal Pain ; Celiac Plexus* ; Common Bile Duct ; Humans ; Nerve Block ; Pancreatitis, Chronic

Since Kappis described percutaneous celiac plexus block in 1914, variations and refinements of his technic have been proposed. Recently, computed tomography (CT) guided nerve block has improved results of the block and made it safer, particularly when neurolytic drugs are injected for the relief of intractable abdominal pain caused by malignancy or chronic pancreatitis. We report a case of CT-guided alcohol block of the celiac plexus with the anterior approach in a patient with a common bile duct carcinoma.
Abdominal Pain ; Celiac Plexus* ; Common Bile Duct ; Humans ; Nerve Block ; Pancreatitis, Chronic

No abstract available.
Cardiac Output* ; Ductus Arteriosus* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn*

This study was performed to investigate the morphology of the enteric nervous system and interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in the murine ileum. The PGP9.5-like immunoreactive (PGP9.5-LI) neurons and the c-Kit-like immunoreactive (c-Kit-LI) ICCs were stained by indirect immunofluorescence method and were observed under the confocal laser scanning microscopy. According to three dimensional reconstruction study, it was found that the PGP9.5-LI neurons and the c-Kit-LI ICCs were widely distributed in the intestinal wall : (1) In circular muscle layer, PGP9.5-LI nerve fibers were paralell to circular muscle layer. (2) In the myenteric plexus, the PGP9.5-LI nerve were closely apposed to the adjacent PGP9.5-LI nerve, constituting the networks. (3) In double-labeling immunohistochemistry using anti-PGP9.5 and anti-c-Kit antibodies, the c-Kit-LI networks encircled around the neural strands. The characteristic arrangement of the PGP9.5-LI enteric nervous system and the ICC containing c-Kit-positive cells provide a morphological basis upon the mechanism regulating gastro-intestinal motility and the pathogenesis of gatro-intestinal disorders.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Enteric Nervous System* ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect ; Ileum* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Interstitial Cells of Cajal* ; Mice ; Microscopy, Confocal* ; Myenteric Plexus ; Nerve Fibers ; Neurons

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is the most common cause of acquired heart disease in paediatric patients, with infectious agents being the main cause. This study aimed to determine whether there are differences in the clinical manifestations of KD between patients with and without severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies. Methods: From January 1, 2021 to August 15, 2022, 82 patients with analysable echocardiographic data were diagnosed with KD. Twelve patients with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children were excluded. Serologic tests were performed by chemiluminescence immunoassay for both the nucleocapsid (N) and the spike (S) proteins in blood samples. Among the 70 patients diagnosed with KD at Jeonbuk University Children’s Hospital, the SARS-CoV-2 antibody test was performed in 41 patients. Results: The SARS-CoV-2 antibody test results for the N antigen were positive in 12 patients, while those for S protein were positive in 14 patients. N antigen SARS-CoV-2 antibodypositive KD was different from N antigen SARS-CoV-2 antibody-negative KD in terms of sex (male predominance in the positive group, 83.3% vs. female predominance in the negative group 62.1%, P = 0.008) and the incidence of refractory KD (41.7% vs. 10.3%, P = 0.034). The pro-B-type natriuretic peptide level was lower in the N-antigen SARS-CoV-2 antibody-positive KD group than that in the negative group (518.9 ± 382.6, 1,467.0 ± 2,417.6, P = 0.049). No significant differences in the echocardiographic findings between both groups were noted. In the multi-variable analysis, SARS-CoV-2 antibody (N antigen) was the only predictor of refractory KD (odds ratio, 13.70; 95% confidence interval, 1.63–115.44; P = 0.016). Conclusion High incidence of intravenous immunoglobulin-refractory KD may occur in up to 40% of the patients having recent history of coronavirus disease 2019. For patients having KD with N-type SARS-CoV-2 antibody positivity, adjunctive treatment, such as corticosteroids, can be considered as the first line of treatment.

BACKGROUND: Chronic pain is often associated with changes in the immune responses, which highlights the need for the aggressive pain control to obtain a better prognosis. This study examined splenic NK cell cytotoxicity in an attempt to assess the possible changes in the immune function under chronic neuropathic pain after a partial transsection of the sciatic nerve. METHODS: After confirming tactile allodynia in response to the von Frey filament, a modified lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay was used to determine the cytotoxic activity of splenic NK cells on the YAC-1 cell line in C3H/HeN (H-2k) mice (n = 6). NK cells as effector cells were mixed with YAC-1 cells as target cells (1 x 10(4)/100microliter), resulting in an effector-target ratio of 1 : 25, 1 : 50, 1 : 100 in the culture medium. RESULTS: At 1 and 2 weeks after the nerve injury, all the subjects showed significant mechanical sensitivity compared with those observed before surgery. The percentage of NK cell cytotoxicity of the neuropathic mice increased significantly 1 week after the nerve injury but decreased within 2 weeks compared with the normal mice. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of the altered NK cell cytotoxicity, neuropathic pain can cause changes in the normal performance of the immune function.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Chronic Pain ; Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic ; Hyperalgesia ; Immune System ; Killer Cells, Natural* ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Mice* ; Neuralgia ; Peripheral Nerve Injuries* ; Peripheral Nerves* ; Prognosis ; Sciatic Nerve

Astragalus membranaceus is used as a natural herbal medicine in East Asia for preventing carcinogenesis and reducing side effects induced by chemotherapy in cancer patients. Although the mechanism of anti-tumor activity is not known, the polysaccharides may potentiate the host defense mechanism through the activation of immune system. The objective of this study is to investigate the mechanism by which APS activates macrophages. To analyze macrophage activation and iNOS gene expression, we performed nitrite generation assay, immunohistochemistry, and RT-PCR. In the present study we show that a polysaccharide isolated from the Astragalus membranaceus (Astragalus Polysaccharide, APS) significantly induces nitric oxide (NO). Immunohistochemical staining of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) showed that the increase of NO was due to the induction of iNOS production. To further study the mechanism responsible for the induction of iNOS, we investigated the effect of APS on the iNOS mRNA expression. RT-PCR analysis showed that APS produced significant induction of iNOS gene expression. In conclusion, we demonstrate that a polysaccharide isolated from Astragalus membranaceus stimulates macrophages to generate NO through the activation of iNOS gene expression.
Astragalus membranaceus* ; Carcinogenesis ; Drug Therapy ; Far East ; Gene Expression ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Immune System ; Immunohistochemistry ; Macrophage Activation ; Macrophages ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Polysaccharides ; RNA, Messenger