Liver abscess in children is rare in developed countries; the incidence is 25 per 100,000 admissions in USA. Common complications are pleural effusion, empyema, pneumonitis, hepatopleural or hepatobronchial fistula, intraperitoneal or intrapericardiac rupture, septic shock, cerebral amebiasis, etc. These complications may lead to death if the management is delayed. However, recent management results in a mortality of less than 15%. We report a case of liver abscess in a child. He manifested with fever and abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. On computerized tomography scans, multiple cystic lesions were seen in both lobes of the liver and were 5 to 55 mm in size. In laboratory findings, neutrophilic leukocytosis, peripheral eosinophila, elevated values of ESR, C-reactive protein, and elevated serum AST, ALT, ALP and GGT were detected. Furthermore, we determined the organisms in the blood culture and serum. Blood culture was positive for Streptococcus spp., and amebic indirect hemagglutination antibody titer was increased to 1:512.
Abdominal Pain ; Abscess ; Amebiasis ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child ; Empyema ; Fever ; Fistula ; Hemagglutination ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukocytosis ; Liver ; Liver Abscess ; Neutrophils ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia ; Rupture ; Shock, Septic ; Streptococcus

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death attributable to cancer in women. In view of the limitations of conventional predictable factors of the breast cancer, additional second-generation parameters would be valuable in selecting the patients who would be most likely to be beneficial from adjuvant therapy and breast reconstruction. The author investigated the HER2/neu gene amplification and the number of chromosome 17 in 39 cases of paraffin embedded breast cancer tissues, 20 cases without lymph node metastasis and 19 cases with lymph node metastasis, using fluorescent in situ hybridization(FISH) and compared the results with HER2/neu and p 53 protein expression detected by immunohistochemical method. Eleven cases fibroadenoma were used as benign tumor control. Numerical aberrations of chromosome 17 were found in 17 out 39 breast cancer cases (44%)(monosomy in 10 cases, 26%; trisomy in 3 cases, 8%; tetrasomy in 3 cases, 8%; polysomy in 1 case ,3%), and the frequency of each type aberration was not significantly different between the negative and positive groups in lymph node metastasis. Monosomy of chromosome 17 was found in 2 out of 11(12%) fibroadenoma cases. HER2/neu gene amplification was found in 8 out of 39 cases (19%) and other 2 cases revealed HER2/neu gene amplification in lymph node metastatic tumor only, not in original tumor. Fourteen out of 19 cases of breast cancer with lymph metastasis showed HER2/neu protein expression both in original and metastatic tumors. All of the six cases showing HER2/neu gene amplification in original and/or metastatic tumor revealed HER2/neu protein expression. The frequency of HER2/neu gene amplification in the 39 breast cancer cases was not different between metastatic and non-metastatic groups(p= 0.284). However, HER2/neu protein expression was increased significantly in the metastatic group(p=0.028). None of the 11 fibroadenoma cases revealed HER2/neu gene amplification or HER2/ neu protein expression. Nine out of 19 cases of breast cancer with lymph node metastasis showed p 53 protein accumulation in original tumor(47%), but 3 of them revealed p 53 protein accumulation only in original tumor. The frequency of p 53 protein accumulation was not significantly different between metastatic and non-metastatic groups. None of the 11 fibroadenoma cases revealed p 53 protein accumulation. In conclusion, there are no differences between the lymph node metastatic group and non-metastatic groups in numerical aberrations of the chromosome 17 , amplification of the HER2/neu gene expression and accumulation of the p 53 protein in breast cancer. However, the HER2/neu protein expression was increased significantly in lymph node metastatic group, so it could be one of the predictors of the metastasis in breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cause of Death ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17* ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Gene Amplification* ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mammaplasty ; Monosomy ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Paraffin ; Tetrasomy ; Trisomy

In several pathologic conditions of the joints, it is rather frequent to find a swollen joint. The authors performed an analysis of the joint fluid proteins from 20 cases of rheumatoid arthrit is and 20 normal Kore an adults with the object of evaluating the significance of it s clinical application. The study was done with Beckman Model R System, Durrum type cell, and scanned with Model RB Analytrol. Scheicher and Schuell 2043-A paper was used with diethyl barbituric acid-sodium diethyl barbituratebuffer, pH 8.6, ionic strenght 0.075 and stianed with 0.1% bromphenol blue. The results obtained were as follows: 1) The amount of total protein was significantly increased with average of 4.80 + 1.249gm% in comparison with 2.34 + 0.553gm% in normal group. 2) Albumin fraction showed the average of 41.86 + 6.219% in comparison with 64.85 + 5.288% in normal group. 3) Alpha 2 globulin fraction disclosed the average of 10.19 + 3.379% in comparison with 4.24 + 1.158% in normal group, which was significantly increased one. 4) Gammaglobulin fraction was also significantly elevated with the average of 21.51 + 8.942% in comparison with 11.70 + 1.923% in normal group. 5) There was noted a decreased A/G ratio, the average of 0.74 + 0.196, in comparison with 1.911 + 0.430 in normal group.
Adult ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Bromphenol Blue ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Joints

Fibroblast growth factor-4 (FGF-4) has various functions, affecting many signaling pathways, and leading to cellular proliferation and differentiation and to the regulation of cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis. However, there are few reports of the relationship between TS cells and FGF-4 even if FGF-4 is located in inner cell mass of embryo and Fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) is located in TS cells. Therefore the physiologic effects of FGF-4 on TS cells were investigated for identifying the effects of FGF-4 on TS ell differentiation. FGF-4 was involved in early stage development of the trophoblast via upregulation of eomesodermin mRNA expression. In addition, FGF-4 suppressed the differentiation of TS cells through activation of extracellular-signal regulated kinase (Erk) and suppression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) activation, which in TS cells is an important indicator of early trophoblast cell differentiation, migration and invasion. FGF-4 was involved in angiogenesis in the trophoblast through the activation of p38 and the induction of Dlx-3 mRNA expression in TS cells. In addition, TS cells cultured with FGF-4 for 4 days in a thrombinfibrinogen gel culture system, a specific culture system for endothelial cells, showed a healthy appearance, while TS cells cultured without FGF-4 were severely damaged. Taken together, these data suggest that FGF-4 is closely involved in differentiation of TS cells for development of placenta.
Cell Differentiation ; Cell Movement ; Cell Proliferation ; Embryonic Structures ; Endothelial Cells ; Fibroblasts ; Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Phosphotransferases ; Placenta ; Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor ; RNA, Messenger ; Trophoblasts* ; Up-Regulation

Eosinophilic folliculitis (EF) is regarded as a variant of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF), because it has a few distinctive clinical features different from those of EPF. EF is generally associated with systemic disorders, such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and hematologic malignancies. We have recently experienced a case of EF occurring in a 40 year-old male patient treated with allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for acute myelogenous leukemia(AML) and achieved a good clinical outcome after a short course of systemic corticosteroid therapy. The immunologic aberration resulting from systemic diseases may play a role in the development of EF.
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Bone Marrow* ; Eosinophils* ; Folliculitis* ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* ; Male

No abstract available.

A 38-year-old woman was presented with a dark brown plaque on the abdomen. Clinically, the tumor was simulating the appearance of dysplastic nevus. Microscopically, the cells of the stratum malphighii lay in a disordered pattern. Many cells in the epidermis were atypical and melanin pigment was mainly in the basal layer of the epidermis and the upper dermis. Diagnosis of pigmented Bowen's disease was made. Pigmented Bowen's disease is rarely found at body sites other than the anogenital area.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Bowen's Disease* ; Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Melanins

PURPOSE: In order to elucidate the neurotoxic mechanism of oxygen radicals which are pathological factor of ischemia, we evaluated the oxidant-induced neurotoxicity and the neuroprotective effect of antioxidant on cultured cerebral neurons derived from neonatal mouse. METHODS: Neurotoxic effect was investigated after cultured mouse neuronal cells were exposed to oxygen radicals which were generated enzymatically by reaction of xanthine oxidase (XO) and hypoxanthine (HX). And also the neuroprotective effect of antioxidant was assessed with catalase. Both effects determined by cell viability were assessesd by MTT assay and neurofilament enzymeimmuno assay (EIA). In order to see the histologic change microscopic exam also done on the cerebral neuronal cells. RESULTS: 1) Oxygen radicals were toxic on cultured mouse cerebral neurons in dose- and time-dependent manner. 2) The value of lethal concentration50 (LC50) of oxygen radicals was estimated at a concentration of 25mU/ml xanthine oxidase (XO) and 0.2mM hypoxanthine (HX) in these culture. 3) Catalase was effective in blocking the neurotoxicity induced by oxygen radicals at a concentration of 50ug/ml. 4) Oxygen radicals induced the decrease of cell number and the loss of neurites in cultured mouse cerebral neurons. CONCLUSION: It is suggest that oxygen radicals cause the neurotoxicity and the selective antioxidants such as catalase are very effective in blocking oxidant-mediated neurotoxicity on cultured cerebral neurons of neonatal mouse.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Catalase ; Cell Count ; Cell Survival ; Hypoxanthine ; Ischemia ; Mice* ; Neurites ; Neurons* ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Oxygen* ; Reactive Oxygen Species* ; Xanthine Oxidase

Adenosquamous cell carcinoma (Ad-SCC) of the colon is rare. The pathogenesis of Ad-SCC is unclear, however, several hypotheses have been suggested. The clinical presentation and gross findings of Ad-SCC of the colon are similar to those of adenocarcinoma of the colon, but Ad-SCC has a more aggressive clinical course and a poorer prognosis. We report on two cases of Ad-SCC of the colon with obstruction; a collision-type Ad-SCC that has not only obstruction but also numerous hepatic metastases, and a composite-type Ad-SCC treated with left hemicolectomy followed by an adjuvant chemotherapy.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis

No abstract available.
Hyperplasia*