No abstract available.
Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Interferons* ; Melanoma* ; Ulcer*

No abstract available.
Choledochal Cyst* ; Cholestasis*

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To determine correlations among ambulatory renin activity, ambulatory blood pressure and microalbumin excretion rate, 66 Korean essential hypertensives were studied after 4 week wash-out period. The ambulatory blood pressure was monitored every 30 minutes and mean BP were calculated automatically. Urinary microalbumin excretion rate(UAER) and ambulatory plasma renin activity(aPRA) collected at mid-day were measured by radioimmunoassays. Subjectives were divided into 2 groups by aPRA value(2ng/ml/hr). RESULT: 14 cases were high renin group and 52 cases low renin group. The mean BP were 148.83/94.69mmHg in low renin group, and 146.57/98.07mmHg in high-renin group without difference. UAER were not different also between both groups. 23.07%(4/14) of non-dippers were included in high renin group and 25.58%(12/52) in low renin group without statistical difference. The aPRA was significantly related to UAER and systolic and diastolic mean blood pressure. Also UAER was related significantly to day mean blood pressures. CONCLUSION: Thus aPRA is thought to be a meaningful indicator to predict hypertensive renal target organ damage as well as blood pressure measured with 24-hr ABPM.
Blood Pressure* ; Hypertension* ; Plasma* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Renin*

PURPOSE: To determine the efficacy of CarnitilR (acetylcarnitine, Hanmi, Korea) therapy in idiopathic oligoasthenospermic men. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-four subfertile men with abnormal semen parameters were treated between March, 2003 and March, 2004 with 3 g of CarnitilR daily for 3 months. Changes in semen parameters were evaluated 3 months after this therapy. RESULTS: The mean age was 34.2 years and the mean follow-up duration was 3.7 months. In asthenospemic patients (n=28), semen analysis before and after CarnitilR treatment showed an increase in volume (2.64+/-1.65 ml vs. 3.10+/-1.60 ml), motility (35.1+/-17.7% vs. 45.9+/-20.4%) and viability (51.4+/-20.3% vs. 59.3+/-13.6%) respectively. In oligoasthenospermic patients (n=16), semen analysis before and after CarnitilR treatment showed an increase in sperm count (10.7+/-54.4 million/ml vs. 38.4+/-32.5 million/ml) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that in idiopathic oligoasthenospermic men the empirical medical therapy with acetylcarnitine may be considered as primary treatment.
Acetylcarnitine* ; Carnitine ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Count

No abstract available.
Nuchal Cord* ; Ultrasonography*

BACKGROUND: Superoxide dismutase(SOD) is an essential enzyme of protective defense mechanism in cellular compartments against the potential cytotoxicity of superoxide anion. It seems SOD activity is increased in psoriasis because of an increase in oxygen intermediates due to hyperoxia. However SOD activity is decreased paradoxically. OBJECTIVE: In order to understand the pathophysiology of psoriasis and to elucidate the significance of SOD activity in keratinocyte proliferation, we measured the SOD activities in psoriatic and in normal skin. METHODS: Authors assayed the level of SOD activities in 16 psoriatic and 16 and skin specimens, which were obtained from face/neck(1 and 4 specimens), forearm(5 and 4 specimens), trunk(6 and 3 specimens), and lower extremity( 4 and 5 specimens). We also investigated changes of SOD activity by age and regional differences of SOD activities in the psoriatic and normal skins. RESULT: First, activities of total SOD, Mn-SOD and Cu, Zn-SOD were 12.75+/-8.15, 4.28+/-3.62, 8.48+/-6.37 units/mg protein respectively in the psoriatic skin. Activities of total SOD, Mn-SOD and Cu, Zn-SoD were 17.63+/-9.10, 3.38+/-14.25+/-8.16 units/mg protein respectively in the normal skin. There as a significant difference between psoriatic and normal skins in Cu, Zn-SOD and Cu, Zn-SOD activities showed no significant differences between the age groups. Third, in sun exposed area and unexposed area, there were no significant differences between the psoriatic and normal skins in SOD activities. But it the normal skin, there were significant differences between sun exposed area and unexposed area in total SOD and Cu, Zn-SOD activities. CONCLUSION: There is a significant difference between psoriatic and normal skins in Cu, Zn-SOD activity. Namely, the Cu, Zn-SOD activity is significantly decreased in psoriasis.
Humans ; Hyperoxia ; Keratinocytes ; Oxygen ; Psoriasis ; Skin* ; Solar System ; Superoxide Dismutase* ; Superoxides*

Hypereosinophilic syndrome represents a heterogenous group filisorders with the common features of idiopathic prolonged eosinophilia of undetectable cause and orgar, system dysfunction. We experienced a case af hypereosinophilic syndrome in a 58 year old man who has been suffered from fever, chilling, generelized exfoliative dermatitis, periorbital sngioedema and oral ulcer for 3 weeks duration. The blood eosinophil count was 7436/mm and skin, liver, bone marrow biopsy revealed marked infiltration of eosinophils. We treated him with co ticosteroid, but 5 months later, he died due to hepatoencephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, dissernimted intravascular coagulopathy and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Dermatitis, Exfoliative ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Fever ; Hepatorenal Syndrome ; Humans ; Hypereosinophilic Syndrome* ; Liver ; Middle Aged ; Oral Ulcer ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Skin

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia for control of postoperative pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. METHODS: Between May 2012 and August 2014, 60 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with acromioplasty and received patient-controlled analgesia were studied prospectively. Cases were divided into 2 groups: combined subacromial and intravenous infusion group (group A, 30 cases) and solitary intravenous infusion group (group B, 30 cases). The visual analogue scale was used to record the patient's level of pain every 12 hours during postoperative 72 hours and the following 48 hours after the suspension of patient-controlled analgesia. RESULTS: The mean preoperative visual analogue scale score was 7.8 in group A and 7.6 in group B, and the immediate postoperative visual analogue scale score was 7.9 and 8.1 for each group. At postoperative time (From 12 hours to 72 hours after operation), the scores of combined subacromial and intravenous infusion were significantly lower than those of solitary intravenous infusion. Significant difference in the frequency of supplemental analgesic injections was observed between group A and group B (p=0.008). However, no significant difference in complication rate was observed between the two groups (p=0.562). CONCLUSIONS: Combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is more effective than solitary intravenous infusion without significantly increasing complications. Therefore, combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia could be a effective pain control method.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Methods ; Pain, Postoperative ; Prospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff*

Juxtaductal coarctation is usually distal to the origin of the left subclavian artery, occasionally the orifice of the subclavian artery is involved in the coarctation and partially obstructed. An anomalous origin of the right subclavian artery from the descending aorta below the coarcted segment is also occasionally encountered. Reversed vertebral artery flow to a subclavian artery arising at or below a coarctation may produce the subclavian steal syndrome. Rarely both subclavian arteries arise beyond the coarctation. These abnormal subclavian arteries are important in clinical diagnosis and treatment. We report a case of Turner syndrome with coarctation, which present as juxtaductal type and the left subclavian artery from the descending aorta below the coarcted segment with reversed vertebral artery flow to a subclavian artery producing the subclavian steal syndrome. Resecton of coarctation segment and end-to-end anastomosis was successfully performed after transfer of left subclavian artery to distal segment of descending aorta.
Aorta, Thoracic* ; Aortic Coarctation ; Diagnosis ; Subclavian Artery* ; Subclavian Steal Syndrome* ; Turner Syndrome* ; Vertebral Artery

BACKGROUND: The cornified cell envelope (CE) is a unique structure found in the terminal differentiation of the skin. The precursor proteins of the CE are composed of many candidate structural proteins, among which invalucrin and filaggrin are important ones to participate in the complicated process of forming, the complex structure. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of expression of involucrin and filaggrin as markers of terminal differentiation in various skin disorders including tumors. METHODS: Immunohistochemical studies were performed in the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin samples of non-tumors (41 cases) and tumors (43 cases).
Skin*