BACKGROUND: It takes long time to cultivate Mycobacterium tuberculosis on solid media from clinical specimens. Although there is progress in the detection of tuberculosis using liquid media, Ogawa media is broadly used in Korea. In the 1990s, the BACTEC 460 system (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) was used in some laboratories in Korea, but at present, it is not used because of the accumulation of radioactive waste and the risk of cross-contamination. The BACTEC MGIT 960 system (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD, USA) is one of the new systems using liquid media. MGIT system uses oxygen-quenching fluorescence sensor technology instead of radioactive material. We evaluated MGIT for the sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by comparison with Ogawa media. METHODS: A total of 232 sputum specimens were collected from patients admitted to the hospital. All specimens were processed by 4% NaOH and 0.5% NALC. After inoculation of MGIT with 0.5 mL and Ogawa with 0.3 mL of the processed specimen, the media were observed every 3 days until 6 weeks and 8 weeks, respectively. RESULTS: A total of 99 isolates of mycobacteria were recovered from 232 specimens. Ninety nine isolates were detected with MGIT, as contrasted with 64 detected with Ogawa media. The mean times to detection of the Mycobacterium species were 12.6 days for MGIT, 23.7 days for Ogawa media. Contamination rates were 5.1% for MGIT, 5.6% for Ogawa media. CONCLUSION: From our study, we conclude that MGIT is a superior method for recovery rate and time to detection of Mycobacteria to Ogawa media.
Diagnosis ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Korea ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Radioactive Waste ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis

Phentermine is a sympathomimetic amine, like amphetamine, which is one of the most often prescribed drugs for weight loss. Although exact mechanism of phentermine causing psychosis is still not clear, numerous reports already showed that phentermine can induce psychosis. Psychotic symptoms are generally resolved once the medications are stopped. In contrast, we present a case of a 25-years-old Asian female patient who developed psychotic symptoms repeatedly after phentermine administrations. This case suggests that phentermine can cause psychotic episodes repeatedly, resulting in chronic occupational and social impairment. Therefore, a precautious measure such as government regulations for physicians prescribing and an education for patients taking phentermine are urgently needed.
Amphetamine ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Education ; Female ; Government Regulation ; Humans ; Phentermine ; Psychotic Disorders ; Recurrence ; Weight Loss

Although the apoptosis of chondrocytes plays an important role in endochondral ossification, its mechanism has not been elucidated. In this study, we show that guanosine induces chondrocyte apoptosis based on the results of acridine orange/ ethidium bromide staining, caspase-3 activation, and sub-G1 fraction analysis. The potent inhibitory effect of dipyridamole, a nucleoside transporter blocker, indicates that extracellular guanosine must enter the chondrocytes to induce apoptosis. We found that guanosine promotes Fas-Fas ligand interaction which, in turn, leads to chondrocyte apoptosis. These findings indicate a novel mechanism for endochondral ossification via metabolic regulation.
Tumor Necrosis Factors/metabolism ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor/*metabolism ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Nucleoside Transport Proteins/metabolism ; Membrane Glycoproteins/metabolism ; Guanosine/*pharmacology/physiology ; Fas Ligand Protein ; Chondrocytes/*drug effects/metabolism ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Antigens, CD95 ; Animals