Plasmacytomas are tumors composed of plasma cells of variable maturity, which are histologically identical to those seen in multiple myeloma. Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease, probably resulting from the interaction of a genetic predisposition involving HLA-B27 with an environmental event such as enteric bacterial infection. Multiple myeloma has been intermittently reported in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. It has been proposed that the protracted stimulation of immunocytes by inflammatory lesions on the mucosal surfaces of the gastrointestinal, respiratory tracts may be implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma in some patients. We observed a 23 year old male patient with a history of plasmacytoma who subsequently developed ankylosing spondylitis. He was diagnosed as plasmacytoma 4 years ago and took a radiation therapy. There was no previous report of ankylosing spondylitis following plasmacytoma. The relationship between two diseases is uncertain until now and further study should be needed.
Bacterial Infections ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; HLA-B27 Antigen ; Humans ; Male ; Multiple Myeloma ; Plasma Cells ; Plasmacytoma* ; Respiratory System ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital emergency laboratory introduced Cobas(R) 6000 (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) to improve the turnaround time of emergency chemistry tests at peak time period. METHODS: For the designated period, before and after introduction of Cobas(R) 6000 the numbers of tests and test time were compared and we analyzed the process of the tests using Workflow simulator (Roche Diagnostics). RESULTS: The numbers of tests of 8 days (every Monday and Thursday) in June, 2007 and 2008 were 22,902 and 27,384. The mean test time of the 8 days in June, 2007 and 2008 were 13 min 41 sec and 12 min 22 sec. In 2007, increased mean test time was due to prolongation of waiting times in rotor within equipment for tests at peak time period. CONCLUSIONS: Using Cobas(R) 6000, the numbers of tests were increased at peak time period but mean test time was reduced, which made physicians and laboratory all satisfied.
Emergencies ; Workflow

PURPOSE: Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) caused by adenovirus is a highly contagious disease, which has been reported as outbreaks involving adults in the community. However, there has been no report on EKC outbreak by adenovirus in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Korea. Aims of this study were to investigate the EKC outbreak by adenovirus type 8 in NICU and to confirm an effectiveness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis. METHODS: Conjunctival swab or nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens were taken from all patients and tested by viral culture and PCR. Adenovirus serotype was determined by sequencing of PCR product of selected region of hexon gene using the virus isolates or specimens. RESULTS: An outbreak of EKC occurred which was involving 12 preterm infants in the NICU of the Seoul National University Children's Hospital between July 12th and August 1st, 2005. Three hospital staffs and one family member of the neonate were also affected. Adenovirus was detected in 12/12 (100%), 6/11 (54.5%) by PCR and virus culture, respectively. Eleven PCR-positive neonates were identified as serotype 8 by sequencing. The first affected 4 babies have had routine ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) examinations one week ago. While previous outbreaks were sustained for a few months, the event in our unit was controlled without complications in 3 weeks. CONCLUSION: We analyzed the EKC outbreak by adenovirus type 8 in NICU. Adenovirus serotype was identified by PCR and sequencing with high sensitivity for the first time in Korea, so we suggest this method can be very useful for rapid diagnosis and infection control.
Adenoviridae ; Adult ; Disease Outbreaks ; Diterpenes ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Keratoconjunctivitis ; Korea ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viruses

Apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Apo-1/Fas gene is one of the mediators of apoptosis in stroke. MvaI polymorphism is the first polymorphic marker identified in the Apo-1/Fas gene promoter, which was typed by PCR and followed by MvaI digestion and gel electrophoresis. DNA isolated from peripheral blood collected from 91 stroke patients and 103 healthy blood donors was used for genotypes of GG, GA and AA by sequence specific primer PCR. MvaI polymorphism was examined based on Fas gene promotor region by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The Fas-GG genotype was the least frequent in patients with stroke and healthy controls (P = 0.57). In normal Korean controls the MvaI polymorphism GA, AA and GG were 48.6%, 34.9% and 16.5%. In stroke patients were 56.2%, 29.6% and 14.2% respectively. And the allelic frequencies of MvaI*2 (G) allele were less frequent than MvaI*1 (A) allele in patients with stroke and healthy controls (P = 0.76). In normal Korean controls MvaI*1 (A) and MvaI*2 (G) alleles were 59.2% and 40.8%. In stroke patients were 57.6% and 42.4%, respectively. Our results, pending confirmation in a larger study, indicate that the Fas genotype may not appear to be a risk factor for stroke in Korean stroke patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD95/*genetics ; Cerebral Infarction/*genetics ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Polymorphism (Genetics) ; *Promoter Regions (Genetics)

Apoptosis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease. Apo-1/Fas gene is one of the mediators of apoptosis in stroke. MvaI polymorphism is the first polymorphic marker identified in the Apo-1/Fas gene promoter, which was typed by PCR and followed by MvaI digestion and gel electrophoresis. DNA isolated from peripheral blood collected from 91 stroke patients and 103 healthy blood donors was used for genotypes of GG, GA and AA by sequence specific primer PCR. MvaI polymorphism was examined based on Fas gene promotor region by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). The Fas-GG genotype was the least frequent in patients with stroke and healthy controls (P = 0.57). In normal Korean controls the MvaI polymorphism GA, AA and GG were 48.6%, 34.9% and 16.5%. In stroke patients were 56.2%, 29.6% and 14.2% respectively. And the allelic frequencies of MvaI*2 (G) allele were less frequent than MvaI*1 (A) allele in patients with stroke and healthy controls (P = 0.76). In normal Korean controls MvaI*1 (A) and MvaI*2 (G) alleles were 59.2% and 40.8%. In stroke patients were 57.6% and 42.4%, respectively. Our results, pending confirmation in a larger study, indicate that the Fas genotype may not appear to be a risk factor for stroke in Korean stroke patients.
Adult ; Aged ; Antigens, CD95/*genetics ; Cerebral Infarction/*genetics ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Human ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Polymorphism (Genetics) ; *Promoter Regions (Genetics)