A 36 year old infertile was diagnosed endometrial adenocarcinoma by endometrial biopy due to vaginal bleeding. She was characterized by obesity, hirsutism and infertility. Diagnosis was confirmed endometrial adenocarcinoma(Geade I) associated with polycystic ovarian disease postoperatively. We experienced this case and so report this case with a brief review of literatures.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Adult ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Hirsutism ; Humans ; Infertility ; Obesity ; Ovarian Diseases* ; Uterine Hemorrhage

No abstract available.

The effect of hyperbaric tetracaine spinal anesthesia was studied in 40 patients having genitourinary surgery in the horizontal lithotomy position. Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups, after spinal injection, patients in one group were placed immediately in the supine and horizontal lithotomy position, and patients in the second group were placed immediatley in the supine and horizontal position for 10 minutes and then placed into the horizontal 1thotomy position. There were no statistically significant differences in anesthesia sensory level and heart rate of patients placed immediately in the horizontal lithotomy position compared to the patients kept in the supine position for the first 10 minutes after receiving the spinal anesthetic. The ranges of systolic blood pressure were all within normal limits, although systolic blood pressure showed a difference at 5,10 and 60 minute intervals after anesthesia. We conclude that immediate application of the horizontal lithotomy position can be safely practiced in the anesthesia of genitourinary surgery.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Blood Pressure ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Injections, Spinal ; Supine Position ; Tetracaine*

It is ironic that John Gibbon's interest in the development of CPB was stimulated by his experience with a fatal case of pulmonary embolism. Massive pulmonary embolism is a siginificant cause of death in hospital, despite improvement in patient management in recent years. In Korea, none of the reports was detailed the anesthetic management of this group of physiologically compromised patients. So we describe an approach to the anesthetic management of a patients with chronic embolic occlusion of the pulmonary artery, who underwent successful pulmonary embolectomy.
Cause of Death ; Embolectomy* ; Humans ; Iron ; Korea ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Embolism

A 30-year-old female patient presented with a progressive gait disturbance, who had been previously diagnosed for cataract and ovarian failure. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a high signal intensity of white matter in fluid attenuated inversion recovery and low signal intensity in brain volume imaging, suggesting demyelinating leukodystrophy. Genetic analysis confirmed the pathogenic homozygous mutations c.245T>A in the EIF2B2 gene, which is associated with vanishing white matter disease.

Curcumin is a widely used flavoring agent in food, and it has been reported to inhibit cell growth, to induce apoptosis, and to have antitumor activity in many cancers. Cisplatin is one of the most potent known anticancer agents and shows significant clinical activity against a variety of solid tumors. This study was undertaken to investigate the synergistic apoptotic effects of co-treatment with curcumin and cisplatin on human tongue SCC25 cells. To investigate whether the co-treatment efficiently reduced the viability of the SCC25 cells compared with the two treatments separately, an MTT assay was conducted. The induction and the augmentation of apoptosis were confirmed by DNA electrophoresis, Hoechst staining, and an analysis of DNA hypoploidy. Western blot, MMP and immunofluorescence tests were also performed to evaluate the expression levels and the translocation of apoptosis-related proteins following the co-treatment. In this study, following the co-treatment with curcumin and cisplatin, the SCC25 cells showed several forms of apoptotic manifestation, such as nuclear condensation, DNA fragmentation, reduction of MMP, increased levels of Bax, decreased levels of Bcl-2, and decreased DNA content. In addition, they showed a release of cytochrome c into the cytosol, translocation of AIF and DFF40 (CAD) to the nuclei, and activation of caspase-7, caspase-3, PARP, and DFF45 (ICAD). In contrast, separate treatments of 5 microM of curcumin or 4 microg/ml of cisplatin, for 24 hours, did not induce apoptosis. Therefore, our data suggest that combination therapy with curcumin and cisplatin could be considered as a novel therapeutic strategy for human oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Caspase 3 ; Caspase 7 ; Cell Line* ; Cisplatin* ; Curcumin* ; Cytochromes c ; Cytosol ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Electrophoresis ; Flavoring Agents ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Tongue*

Chios gum mastic (CGM) is produced from Pistiacia lentiscus L var chia, which grows only on Chios Island in Greece. CGM is a kind of resin extracted from the stem and leaves, has been used for many centuries in many Mediterranean countries as a dietary supplement and folk medicine for stomach and duodenal ulcers. CGM is known to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in some cancer cells. This study was undertaken to investigate the alteration of the cell cycle and induction of apoptosis following CGM treatment of HL-60 cells. The viability of the HL-60 cells was assessed using the MTT assay. Hoechst staining and DNA electrophoresis were employed to detect HL-60 cells undergoing apoptosis. Western blotting, immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, FACScan flow cytometry, MMP activity and proteasome activity analyses were also employed. CGM treatment of HL-60 cells was found to result in a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability and apoptotic cell death. Tested HL-60 cells showed a variety of apoptotic manifestations and induced the downregulation of G1 cell cycle-related proteins. Taken collectively, our present findings demonstrate that CGM strongly induces G1 cell cycle arrest via the modulation of cell cycle-related proteins, and also apoptosis via proteasome, mitochondrial and caspase cascades in HL-60 cells. Hence, we provide evidence that a natural product, CGM could be considered as a novel therapeutic for human leukemia.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Death ; Cell Survival ; Dietary Supplements ; DNA ; Down-Regulation ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Electrophoresis ; Flow Cytometry ; G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Gingiva ; Greece ; HL-60 Cells ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Leukemia ; Medicine, Traditional ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex ; Proteins ; Resins, Plant ; Stomach

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in comparison with the specific antibody test. METHODS: Five hundred and ten patients with pneumonia, ranging from the ages of 8 months to 15 years who were admitted in Sung-Ae and Kwangmyung Sung-Ae general hospitals from Nov. 1996 to Oct. 1997, were enrolled in this study. Specific antibody test of the serum using Serodia Myco II kit and PCR of the sputum or throat swab were performed on admission simultaneously, and follow-up antibody test was done during the convalescent stage if they showed sero-negative at first. Among the PCR positive patients, 40 were treated with erythromycin initially, and were followed with PCR on the 7th day of treatment. RESULTS: The sensitivity of PCR to the specific antibody test was 82.5%, and the specificity, 98.4%. The false positive and negative rates of PCR to the specific antibody test were 1.6% and 17.5%, respectively. Fifty-six (91.8%) of the 61 patients who showed sero-negative and PCR positive on admission were determined as sero-positive at the convalescent stage. Negative conversion of PCR at the convalescent stage was noted for 32 (80%) of 40 patients who were treated with erythromycin. CONCLUSION: The PCR was considered to be valuable due to its high sensitivity and specificity as a diagnostic method of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. The effect of the method was more apparent than the specific antibody test in early diagnosis which is clinically important. In addition, it seems to be more useful in the appreciation of treatment and epidemiologic study than the culture method that shows low sensitivity and takes too much time.
Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Erythromycin ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum

Quercetin is a natural flavonoid phytochemical that is extracted from various plants. Having an advantages due to its varied biological properties, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-oxidant, and anti-cancer effects, quercetin is used to treat many diseases. Recently, it has been reported that autophagy inhibition may play a key role in anti-cancer therapy. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms and anti-cancer effects of quercetin in human osteosarcoma cells via autophagy inhibition. We ascertained that quercetin inhibited cell proliferation and induced cell death, these process is demonstrated that apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway and the caspase cascade. Quercetin also induced autophagy which was inhibited by 3-MA, autophagy inhibitor and the blockade of autophagy promoted the quercetin-induced apoptosis, confirming that autophagy is a pro-survival process. Thus, these findings demonstrate that quercetin is an effective anti-cancer agent, and the combination of quercetin and an autophagy inhibitor should enhance the effect of anti-cancer therapy.
Apoptosis* ; Autophagy* ; Cell Death ; Cell Proliferation ; Humans ; Osteosarcoma* ; Quercetin*

OSCC is currently the most common malignancy of the head and neck, affecting tens of thousands of patients per year worldwide. Natural flavonoids from plants are potential sources for novel anti-cancer drugs. Icariin is the active ingredient of flavonol glycoside, which is derived from the medical plant Herba Epimedii. A metabolite of icariin, icariside II exhibits a variety of pharmacological actions, including anti-rheumatic, anti-depressant, cardiovascular protective, and immunomodulatory functions. However, the exact mechanism causing the apoptosis-inducing effect of icariside II in OSCC is still not fully understood. In the present study, we assessed the anti-cancer effect of icariside II in OSCC cell lines by measuring its effect on cell viability, cell proliferation, and mitochondria membrane potential (MMP). Icariside II treatment of OSCC cells resulted in a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability. Hoechst staining indicated apoptosis in icariside II-treated HSC cells. Icariside II inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in HSC cells, with significant increases in all present parameters in HSC-4 cells. The results clearly suggested that icariside II induced apoptosis via activation of intrinsic pathways and caspase cascades in HSC-4 cell lines. The collective findings of the study suggested that Icariside II is a potential treatment for OSCC; in addition, the data could provide a basis for the development of a novel anti-cancer strategy.
Apoptosis ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Cell Survival ; Flavonoids ; Head ; Humans* ; Membrane Potentials ; Mitochondria ; Neck ; Plants ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation