No abstract available.
Child* ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Leukemia*

Hamartoma is a very rare congenital tumor. A few cases of hamartomatous pol yps in the stomach were reported. Most of harrurtomatous polyps in the stomach occur in patients of polyposis coli. We have experienced four cases of gastric hamartomatous polyps without polyposis coli. There are some differences between previously reported cases and ours. In our casee, the distribution of age is from fourth to ninth decade, men and women ratio is 1: 1. The number of polyps are one in three cases and two in one case. The size of polyps is from 5mm to 12 mm. The location of polyps are various, but most common in antrum. We have experienced four cases which were different from previously reported ones and report them with a brief review of literatures.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli* ; Female ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Male ; Polyps* ; Stomach

Hamartoma is a very rare congenital tumor. A few cases of hamartomatous pol yps in the stomach were reported. Most of harrurtomatous polyps in the stomach occur in patients of polyposis coli. We have experienced four cases of gastric hamartomatous polyps without polyposis coli. There are some differences between previously reported cases and ours. In our casee, the distribution of age is from fourth to ninth decade, men and women ratio is 1: 1. The number of polyps are one in three cases and two in one case. The size of polyps is from 5mm to 12 mm. The location of polyps are various, but most common in antrum. We have experienced four cases which were different from previously reported ones and report them with a brief review of literatures.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli* ; Female ; Hamartoma ; Humans ; Male ; Polyps* ; Stomach

Epidural blood patch (EBP) is one of the treatments for spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH), and its complications have rarely been reported. We report a patient with SIH and developed intracranial hypertension after EBP. The mechanism of rebound intracranial hypertension was uncertain. If the patient presented with a different type of headache or newly developed neurological symptoms after treatment of SIH, rebound intracranial hypertension should be considered and the proper treatment needed quickly.
Blood Patch, Epidural* ; Headache ; Humans ; Intracranial Hypertension* ; Intracranial Hypotension*

Acute cerebellitis is a rare inflammatory disorder that occurs most frequently in children. The typical clinical course of acute cerebellitis is benign. However, in some cases of acute cerebellitis, fulminant cerebellar swelling with obliteration of the fourth ventricle causes brain stem compression and acute obstructive hydrocephalus, which can be life-threatening and require emergent neurosurgical procedures. We describe the case of a 4-year-old girl whose acute cerebellitis caused brain stem compression, acute obstructive hydrocephalus, and death. The patient was admitted to the emergency department because of a severe headache that had persisted for 5 days. Neurological examinations revealed no specific abnormality. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated diffuse swelling and high signal intensity lesions in the cerebellar hemispheres and vermis, obliteration of the fourth ventricle, and brain stem compression on T2-weighted images in conjunction with mild hydrocephalus. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed white blood cell and red blood cell counts of 180/mm³ and 0/mm³, respectively; protein and glucose concentrations of 263.6 mg/dL and 37 mg/dL, respectively; and negative culture results. Despite aggressive treatment, the patient developed sudden cardiorespiratory arrest on day 2. Although emergency neurosurgery was performed after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, her condition progressed to brain death, and she died on day 29. This case suggests that timely and appropriate neurosurgery should be actively considered to relieve increased intracranial pressure in the early phases of acute cerebellitis.
Brain Death ; Brain Stem* ; Brain* ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Erythrocyte Count ; Female ; Fourth Ventricle ; Glucose ; Headache ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus* ; Intracranial Hypertension ; Intracranial Pressure ; Leukocytes ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Neurosurgery ; Neurosurgical Procedures

No abstract available.
Mediastinal Neoplasms ; Teratoma*

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis C virus(HCV), a family of Flaviviridae, has a host cell-derived envelope containing a positive-stranded RNA genome, and has been known as the maj or etiological agent for chronic hepatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. There remains a need to dissect a molecular mechanism of pathogenesis for the development of therapeutic and effective preventive measure for HCV. Identification of cellular receptor is of central importance not only to understand the viral pathogenesis, but also to exploit strategies for prevention of HCV. This study was aimed at identifying peptide mimotopes inhibiting the binding of E2 protein of HCV to MOLT-4 cell . METHODS: In this study, phage peptide library displaying a random peptides consisting of 7 or 12 random peptides was employed in order to pan against E2 protein. Free HCV particles were separated from the immune complex forms by immunoprecipitation using anti-human IgG antibody, and used for HCV-capture ELISA. To identify the peptides inhibiting E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells, E2 protein was subj ect to bind to MOLT-4 cells under the competition with phage peptides. RESULTS: Several phage peptides were selected for their specific binding to E2 protein, which showed the conserved sequence of SHFWRAP from 3 different peptide sequences. They were also able to recognize the HCV particles in the sera of HCV patient s captured by monoclonal antibody against E2 protein. Two of them, showing peptide sequence of HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, were revealed to inhibit the binding of E2 protein to MOLT-4 cell efficiently in dose dependent mode. However, few membrane-associated receptor candidates were seen using Fasta3 programe for homology search with these peptides. CONCLUSION: Phage peptides containing HLGPWMSHWFQR and WAPPLERSSLFY respectively, showed the inhibition of E2-binding to MOLT-4 cells. However, they did not reveal any homologues to cellular receptors from GenBank database. In further study, cellular receptor could be identified through the screening of cDNA library from MOLT-4 or hepatocytes using antibodies against these peptide mimotopes.
Antibodies ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Bacteriophages ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Conserved Sequence ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flaviviridae ; Gene Library ; Genome ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Hepatocytes ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoprecipitation ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Mass Screening ; Peptide Library* ; Peptides ; RNA

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) is a clinical syndrome of unknown etiology characterized by aching and stiffness in the shoulder girdle, pelvic girdle, and neck that occurs in people over the age of 50 years. New-onset proximal muscle pain and stiffness in subjects older than 50 are the most common symptoms of PMR, but polymyalgic pain can also be present in patients with malignant neoplasms. The musculoskeletal system may be involved in malignancy either directly or indirectly, particularly in cases involving hematological malignancies. Only a few cases of cancer-associated PMR have been reported worldwide, and this is the first in Korea. We report the case of a 58-year-old man diagnosed with PMR associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Musculoskeletal System ; Neck ; Paraneoplastic Syndromes ; Polymyalgia Rheumatica ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Shoulder

BACKGROUND: Extracellular K+ concentration ([K+]o) can be increased within several mM by the efflux of intracellular K+. To investigate the effect of an increase in [K+]o on vascular contractility, we attempted to examine whether extracellular K+ might modulate vascular contractility, endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR) and intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in endothelial cells (EC). MATERIAL AND METHOD: We observed isometric contractions in rabbit carotid, superior mesentery, basilar arteries and mouse aorta. [Ca2+]i was recorded by microfluorimeter using Fura-2/AM in EC. RESULT: No change in contractility was recorded by the increase in [K+]o from 6 to 12 mM in conduit artery such as rabbit carotid artery. whereas resistant vessels, such as basilar and branches of superior mesenteric arteries (SMA), were relaxed by the increase. In basilar artery, the relaxation by the increase in [K+]o from 1 to 3 mM was bigger than that by the increase from 6 to 12 mM. In contrast, in branches of SMA, the relaxation by the increase in [K+]o from 6 to 12 mM is bigger than that by the increase from 1 to 3 mM. Ba2 (30microM) did not inhibit the relaxation by the increase in [K+]o from 1 to 3 mM but did inhibit the relaxation by the increase from 6 to 12 mM. In the mouse aorta without the endothelium or treated with NG-nitro-L-arginine (30microM), nitric oxide synthesis blocker, the increase in [K+]o from 6 to 12 mM did not change the magnitude of contraction induced either norepinephrine or prostaglandin F2alpha. The increase in [K+]o up to 12 mM did not induce contraction of mouse aorta but the increase more than 12 mM induced contraction. In the mouse aorta, EDR was completely inhibited on increasing [K+]o from 6 to 12 mM. In cultured mouse aorta EC, [Ca2+]i was increased by acetylcholine or ATP application and the increased [Ca2+]i was reduced by the increase in [K+]o reversibly and concentration-dependently. In human umbilical vein EC, similar effect of extracellular K+ was observed. Ouabain, a Na+-K+ pump blocker, and Ni2 , a Na+-Ca2+ exchanger blocker, reversed the inhibitory effect of extracellular K+. CONCLUSION: In resistant arteries, the increase in [K+]o relaxes vascular smooth muscle and the underlying mechanisms differ according to the kinds of the arteries; Ba2 -insensitive mechanism in basilar artery and Ba2 -sensitive one in branches of SMA. It also inhibits [Ca2+]i increase in EC and thereby EDR. The initial mechanism of the inhibition may be due to the activation of Na+-K+ pump.
Acetylcholine ; Adenosine Triphosphate ; Animals ; Aorta ; Arteries ; Basilar Artery ; Calcium ; Carotid Arteries ; Dinoprost ; Endothelial Cells ; Endothelium ; Endothelium-Dependent Relaxing Factors ; Humans ; Isometric Contraction ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Mesentery ; Mice ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroarginine ; Norepinephrine ; Ouabain ; Potassium ; Relaxation* ; Umbilical Veins ; Vasodilation