OBJECTIVES: lschemic acute renal failure(ARF) is characterized by an abrupt and sustained decline in GFR within minutes to days after renal ischemia and not immediately reversed on restoration of renal blood flow. The typical delay of a few days to a few weeks suggests reversible parenchymal damage awaiting cell regeneration for functional recovery. Many potentially cell damaging factors, such as ATP depletion, plasma membrane phospholipid degradatian and superoxide-induced membrane damage, play a central part in ischemic injury. More recently, much attention has been focused on the role of calcium, especially ischemic cell injury and the possible therapeutic role of calcium channel blockers emerged from studies conducted several years ago. In the past, it was thought that activation of renin-angiotensin system plays a role in the pathogenesis of ARF. Now the role of angiotensin in human renal ischemia also appears to be controversial. The following study was done in order to investigate the effect of a calcium channel blocker, nifedipine, on gene expression of renin during acute ischemic renal injury. METHODS: The Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups, group I(n=3) as the control, group II (n=3) as the sham operation group, group III(n=15) as the ischemic renal injury group without nifedipine pretreatment, and group IV(n=15) as the ischemic renal injury model by right nephrectomy and left renal artery clamping for 40 minutes with systemic nifedipine pretreatment(10mg/kg), 1n ischemic renal injury model(group III and IV), rats were further divided into three subgroups according to reperfusion time of 1,24,72 hours. The non-ischemic right kidney removed at the time of initial procedure served as paired control. Total renal RNA was extracted by Chomczynskis method and electrophoresis was done in a 1% agarose gel containing 2,2M formaldehyde. Northern was performed at 42degrees C with isotope labeled renin probe for 18 hours, Autoradiographs were obtained and quantitated by a densitometer measured at 530nm. RESULTS: 1) The expression of renin gene was markedly decreased after renal ischemia and slowly recovered to one half of the control level after 72 hours of reperfusion. 2) Renin gene expression pattern of ischemic renal injury with prior nifedipine treatment was similar to the ischemic group without nifedipine pretreatment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the renin gene expression was markedly decreased after renal ischemia and slowly recovered. Systemic nifedipine pretreatment does not have a significant effect on gene expression pattern of renin in ischemic renal injury.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Angiotensins ; Animals ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; Calcium Channels* ; Calcium* ; Cell Membrane ; Constriction ; Electrophoresis ; Formaldehyde ; Gene Expression* ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Kidney ; Membranes ; Nephrectomy ; Nifedipine ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Regeneration ; Renal Artery ; Renal Circulation ; Renin* ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; Reperfusion ; RNA ; Sepharose

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Lymphoma*

The development of intestine can be characterized by the following two traits. First, at the beginning of its development, the intestine is temporarily herniated into the umbilical cord, then reduced into the abdominal cavity, and finally reaches its adult location, rotating along the way. Nevertheless, no time table is yet available as to show, in a precise manner, when the intestine is herniated, when it is reduced, or to what extent the rotation occurs. Secondly, it is known that in the course of intestinal development, the lumen is temporarily obstructed by epithelial proliferation and then undergoes the recanalization. However, it is not yet certain whether there is practically a complete luminal obstruction, even by supposing that there is a complete obstruction, no theory has yet been established to determine the time, location, or the extent of the obstruction, and the time of the recanalization. In this study, 2 ~12 week old human embryos and fetuses have been used which were microdissected under a surgical microscope and were subsequently observed in an ordinary tissue slide. We have obtained the following results. 1. The intestine was first formed at Carnegie stage 5. Together with the folds of the embryos, three parts of the primitive gut were observed for the first time at stage 10. At stage 12, the primitive gut was located on the midline. 2. At stage 15, the intestine rotated to 90 counterclockwise, and at the next stage, it started herniation. There was another 90 counterclockwise rotation at stage 20, and at the beginning of the 9th week, with the rapid reduction into the abdominal cavity, the cecum was located in the proper adult position, and the rotation completed. 3. Although epithelial proliferation was recognizable in the esophagus, duodenum and other parts of the intestine of the developing embryo, we could not find any cases in which the lumen was completely obstructed.
Abdominal Cavity ; Adult ; Cecum ; Duodenum ; Embryonic Structures* ; Esophagus ; Fetus* ; Gastrula ; Humans* ; Intestines ; Phenobarbital* ; Umbilical Cord

No abstract available.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Nifedipine* ; Plasma* ; Renin*

The management of fractures of os calcis remains highly controversial. The fractures involving subtalar joint may cause serious and persistent disabilities. Recently, the computed tomography (CT) scan has been shown to he superior in evaluating the intraarticular fractures of calcaneus and the most widely used classification is based on the number of fragments especially seen on. Although the classification of calcaneal fractures hy CT, tongue type and joint depression type fractures hy plain radiographic views have been commonly used. Generally, closed reduction and axial fixation with metallic pin for tongue type fractures and open reduction and internal fixation for joint depression type fractures have been performed. The authors did so. The 13 fractures were tongue types and 17 fractures were joint depression types. The intraarticular calcaneal fractures of 30 feet in 26 patients who were treated at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital were analyzed in clinical and radiological aspects from Mar.1991 to Apr.1996. The results were as follows: 1. Of 30 cases, 16 fractures were treated with closed reduction and pinning, and 14 fractures were treated with open reduction and internal fixation. 2. The preoperative, postoperative and the last follow-up average Bohlers angle were 6.0, 21.0 and 20.5 respectively. 3. The preoperative, postoperative and the last follow-up average Gissanes angle was 106, 129 and 126 respectively. 4. Based on assessment of the criteria of Salama et al 19), excellent results were 5, good results were 14, fair results were 6 and poor results were 5. 5. All the five cases of poor results were tongue type fractures and they were treated with closed reduction and axial pinning. 6. Of 7 fractures using autogenous iliac bone graft, 6 fractures were good, I fracture was fair and there was no poor results. Therefore, open reduction and internal fixation for joint depression type calcaneal fractures was thought to be a good method of treatment. But we must consider whether axial fixation with metallic pin for tongue type calcaneal fractures will be a good method of treatment.
Calcaneus ; Classification ; Depression ; Follow-Up Studies ; Foot ; Humans ; Intra-Articular Fractures ; Joints ; Subtalar Joint ; Tongue ; Transplants

No abstract available.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Rhabdomyolysis* ; Tetanus*

Fetal thymus may be the organ for NK cell maturation, but the in vivo evidences are few, Here, by analyzing NK cell receptor, we present that NK cells develop in fetal thymus and fetal liver and that NK cell receptor appears earlier than the expression CD16 or CD56. Moreover, the finding that the repertoire of NK cell receptor is different between fetal thymus and fetal liver lymphocytes suggests that the environmental factors may influence the NK cell receptor repertoire during NK cell maturation.
Killer Cells, Natural* ; Liver* ; Lymphocytes* ; Thymocytes* ; Thymus Gland

BACKGROUND: Although an increase of candiduria among hospitalized patients has been reported, the significance of the presence of Candida spp. in the urine of patients is not clearly understood. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Candida spp. in patients with hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (HAUTI) and their risk factors. METHODS: Retrospective studies of patients with urinary tract infection were conducted during the period from January 2003 to December 2005. Medical records of patients were reviewed and 185 patients were diagnosed with HAUTI by Candida spp. RESULTS: The predominant species were C. tropicalis (46.5%), followed by C. albicans (29.2%) and C. glabrata (17.3%). The commonest coexisting risk factors in patients with HAUTI by Candida spp. were antibiotic therapy (96.2%) and indwelling urinary catheters (92.4%). Female gender, long hospital day, antifungal therapy and leukocytosis were specifically associated with C. glabrata but not with C. albicans HAUTI. On the other hand, operation history was associated with C. tropicalis but not with C. albicans HAUTI. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that the risk factors for HAUTI differ according to Candida species. There is an need for continuous surveillance of HAUTI by Candida spp. and proper control of the risk factors for the development of HAUTI.
Candida* ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Leukocytosis ; Medical Records ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

Congenital factor Vll deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder with an estimated incidence of 1 in 500,000. It is inherited as an autosomal recessive pattern with variable expression and high penetrance. In severely affected patients, repeated hemarthroses, chronic crippling hemarthropathy, and dangerous hematomas can occur. Other types of hemorrhage include epistaxis, menorrhagia, hematuria, gastrointestinal and gingival bleeding. Fetal cerebral hemorrhage has been reported, although less frequently than in severe hemophilia A or B. It is characterized by normal partial thromboplastin time and prolonged prothrombin time. Definitive diagnosis rests on a specific assay for factor Vll clotting activity. Replacement therapy is necessary to control the hemorrhage. Conventional prophylaxis and therapy in this disorder have consisted of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) or prothrombin complex concentrate. We experienced a case of intraventricular hemorrhage and hydrocephalus in a 4-year-old girl who had been diagnosed with congenital factor Vll deficiency during her neonatal period. She presented with episodes of frontal headache, frequent vomiting and malnutrition. We report this case with a brief review and related literatures.
Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Child, Preschool ; Diagnosis ; Epistaxis ; Factor VII Deficiency* ; Factor VII* ; Female ; Headache ; Hemarthrosis ; Hematoma ; Hematuria ; Hemophilia A ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus* ; Incidence ; Malnutrition ; Menorrhagia ; Partial Thromboplastin Time ; Penetrance ; Plasma ; Prothrombin ; Prothrombin Time ; Vomiting