No abstract available.
Cell Line* ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide* ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins* ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Carbon Monoxide* ; Carbon*

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. CMV can cause pneumonia, retinitis, gastrointestinal ulcers, and widely disseminated disease, but cutaneous CMV is rare. We report two cases of cutaneous CMV infection presenting as perianal ulcers. A 54 year-old male who had liver transplantation and a 72-year-old male, who was treated with chemotherapy for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, presented with perianal ulcers and had systemic symptoms of CMV infection with CMV antigenemia. They had multiple ulcerations with erythematous bases on the perianal area, and histopathologic examinations showed large atypical cytomegalic cells in the dermis, and immunohistochemical stains, with the anti-CMV antibody showed positive reactions.
Aged ; Coloring Agents ; Cytomegalovirus Infections* ; Cytomegalovirus* ; Dermis ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host* ; Liver Transplantation ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; Male ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Retinitis ; Ulcer

Chymopapain and collagenase are well known chemonucleolytic agents for lumbar disc herniation. However, these enzymes have serious problems occasionally, such as severe neurotoxicity or anaphylaxis even fatal to patients. Chondroitinase ABC, a metabolic product of Proteus vulgaris, has a specific action on the proteoglycans of the nucleus pulposus, but rarely no effect on the intrathecal nerve tissues of vessels. Seventy eight rabbit lumbar discs were evaluated radiographically and histologically after injection of chondroitinase ABC 40U/ml per disc and compared with buffer injected group and nonigected control group. There was considerable disc space narrowing of the chondroitinase ABC injected group which was verified radiographically and histologically(p < 0.01). A zone of Safranin 0 depletion was present in the ventral anulus fibrosus adjacent to the nucleus pulposus in all treated discs, indicating proteoglycan loss. On electron microscopic findings there were collapse of chondrocytes and notochordal cells. All of these findings are corresponding to the evidence that chondroitinase ABC may be another chemonucleolytic agent by decreasing disc volume and thereby decompressing spinal cord or nerve roots. All histologic effects of chondroitinase ABC were confined to intervertebral disc tissues. Chondroitinase ABC deserves to be a study object for the alternative of chemonucleolysis.
Anaphylaxis ; Chondrocytes ; Chondroitin ABC Lyase ; Chymopapain ; Collagenases ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Intervertebral Disc Chemolysis ; Nerve Tissue ; Notochord ; Proteoglycans ; Proteus vulgaris ; Spinal Cord

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the serum levels of IL-10 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are different from those of normal controls and SLE patients and to find out any correlation with disease activity parameters of rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS: Sera from 20 healthy normal persons, 16 rheumatoid arthritis patients and 16 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were collected and measured for IL-10 and IL-6. Various disease activity parameters were measured in RA patients. RESULTS: The serum level of IL-10 in RA patients was significantly elevated compared to normal controls but lower than those of SLE patients. In RA patients there was no definite correlation between the disease activity parameters and serum IL-10 levels. Despite significant improvements in terms of various disease activity parameters, there was no significant change of serum IL-10 levels after treatment in RA patients. In seropositive RA patients, positive correlation was found between serun IL-10 and rheumatoid factor levels. CONCLUSION: Our findings show that the serum IL-10 levels in patietns with RA are elevated compared to normal controls but lower than those of SLE patients. There was no correlation between serum IL-10 levels and disease acivity parameters of RA.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Humans ; Interleukin-10* ; Interleukin-6 ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Rheumatoid Factor

No abstract available.
Compliance ; Humans ; Immunization* ; Seoul* ; Vaccination

No abstract available.
Epidemiologic Studies* ; Humans ; Measles*

We report two cases of malignant lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue arising in the conjunctiva. Case 1, an 18-year-old girl, showed her left lower conjunctival swelling for four months and Case 2, a 29-year-old man, showed similar lesions on both his eyes for one year. Histologically, both cases revealed monomorphous dense lymphoid infiltrates invading the overlying conjunctival epithelium with diffuse patterns. The infiltrates were composed of small lymphocytes admixed with centrocyte-like cells within the conjunctival epithelium and stroma in association with B-cell lineage. No relapse was noted during the period of about 1½ years follow-up in case 1 treated by local excision only and in the follow-up period of 2 months in case 2 treated by local excision and subsequent chemotherapy.
Adolescent ; Adult ; B-Lymphocytes ; Conjunctiva* ; Drug Therapy ; Epithelium ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymphocytes ; Lymphoid Tissue* ; Lymphoma* ; Recurrence

No abstract available.

Members of the genus Acinetobacter are recognized as newer pathogens of the nosocomial infection with an increasing frequency in recent years. Strains that belonged to A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex (genomic species 1, 2, 3, and 13TU) were major groups associated with nosocomial infection. Phenotypic identification was unreliable and laborious method to classify Acinetobacter strains into 19 genomic species. Rapid and reliable identification of clinical isolates is essential to diagnosis and epidemiology of Acinetobacter. We investigated the suitability of amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) to identify genomic species of 131 Acinetobacter isolates. The 16S rRNA genes (ribosomal DNA) were enzymatically amplified and the amplified PCR products were restricted independently with the enzymes, AluI, CfoI, and MboI. Genomic species of Acinetobacter was classified by the combinations of restriction patterns. The analysis was showed that restriction profiles were characteristic for each genomic species. One hundred fourteen isolates were identified as A. baumannii, twelve were identified as genomic species 13TU, and one was identified as genomic species 3. Four isolates were found to be unknown organisms. All of the isolates which were identified to A. baumannii by phenotypic tests were completely discriminated into A. baumannii and genomic species 13TU by ARDRA. This study demonstrates that ARDRA is a rapid and simple techniques for the identification of Acinetobacter species according to the genomic species.
Acinetobacter baumannii* ; Acinetobacter calcoaceticus* ; Acinetobacter* ; Cross Infection ; Diagnosis ; DNA, Ribosomal* ; Epidemiology ; Genes, rRNA ; Polymerase Chain Reaction