To investigate the significance of precordial ST-segment depression in acute inferior myocardial infarction, electrocardiographic findings in 51 consecutive patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction were analysed with clinical findings and coronary artery angiography. Thirty patients(Group A) had no or <1.0mm ST depression, and twenty one patients(Group B) had > or =1.0mm ST depression in two or more precordial(VI-6) leads were included in this study. Patients in Group B thd greater summed ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, AVF(6.3+/-6.1 vs 2.4+/-2.3mm, p<0.05), higher plasma peak CK levels(1776.8+/-1503.3 vs 5666.6+/-587.7 IU/L, p<0.05), higher plasmal peak CK-MB levels(141.2+/-1553.3 vs 34.1+/-35.7 IU/L, p<0.05), more prevalence of proximal left anterior descending coronary artery disease (46.6% vs 16.6%, p<0.05) than patients in Group A. There was no significant difference between Group A and Group B in the LV ejection fraction, delta area decreasing rate, infarction related asynergy, complications during hospitalization and cardiac events during follow up period. In conclusion, patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction who have associated with precordial ST depression had more extensive myocardial damage probably due to concomitant left anterior descending coronary artery disease.
Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Depression* ; Electrocardiography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infarction ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction* ; Plasma ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND: In the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, measurement of CK-MB is widely used as an enzyme test, but it needs special instruments, lacks specificity in the presence of concomitant skeletal muscle injuries, and has narrow diagnostic time window. Cardiac specific troponin T-a new marker for the diagnosis of myocardial injury-is now available. Besides the quantitative assay, rapid qualitative asay is also possible with the development of rapid assay Kit. We studied about the efficacy of the Troponin T rapid assay Kit in early doagnosis of actue myocardial infarction in the emergency room. METHODS: Total Ck, Ck-MB, LDH and serum troponin T activities were determined when the patients arrived at the emergency room and at the same time Troponin T rapid assay kit test was done. Final diagnosis was made through the serial measurement of CK, CK-MB and LDH. Diagnostic efficacy of each rest was evaluated. RESULTS: Overall diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of Troponin T rapid assay kit were 0.97 and 0.91. When evaluated only with the initial results, Troponin T rapid assay kit showed sensitivity 0.87, specificity 0.97, serum troponin T 0.75, 0.92, and Ck-Mb 0.81,0.95. In one patient who was finally diagnosed as a septic shock, Ck-MB was elevated but serum troponin T was not and Troponin T rapid assay kit test showed negative result. CONCLUSION: Troponin T rapid assay kit test seems to show nearly the same sensitivity and specificity in diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction compared to CK-MB. This test can be done simply and easily in a short time. Thus, with the use of this test, morbidity, mortality and economic loss due to misdiagnosis and delay of diagnosis of myocardial infarction might be reduced.
Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Errors ; Early Diagnosis* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Mortality ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Shock, Septic ; Troponin T* ; Troponin*

To substantiate the hypothesis that patients with antecedent angina(> or =24hr before myocardial infarcton) are more likely to have a significant residual stenosis than are those without antedecent angina, the coronary angiogram of 27 patients with successful coronary thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction were reviewed. In comparison with the patients without antecedent angina the patient with antecedent angina had an increased mean stenosis (86.9% vs 69.3%) and had a more decreased ejection fraction(52.3% vs 65.6%). These findings suggest that angina pectoris before acute myocardial infarction would be regarded as one of high risk factors after acute myocardial infarction.
Angina Pectoris* ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Risk Factors

In this study, we prepared alcohol extracts of the larva, pupa, queen, and cocoon (clony) of B. ignitus, B. terrestris, and B. h. sapporoensis, and tested the anti-inflammatory activity of the extracts by using a rat model of adjuvant-induced edema. The extracts derived from the queen of B. ignitus, the queen of B. terrestris, and the cocoon of B. ignitus decreased hind paw edema after 1 day of i.p. administration. These extracts also induced vasorelaxation and NO production in calf pulmonary artery endothelial cells. These results suggest that bumblebee alcohol extracts has anti-inflammatory and vasorelaxant properties.
Animals ; Edema ; Endothelial Cells ; Larva ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pupa ; Rats ; Vasodilation

Certain angiographic patterns outlining the morphologic characteristics of vessels and defining the lesion-specific characteristics have recently been shown to greatly influence the likelihood of a successful dilation. In 1988, ACC/AHA Subcommitte on percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty proposed the lesion-specific classification as a guide for estimating the likelihood of a successful procedure as well as the the likelihood of developing abrupt vessel closure. To determine the lesion-specific predictors for successful dilation and complications after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, nine angiographic charateristics of 200 lesions in 164 patients who underwent coronary angiplasty between May, 1983 and September, 1989 were analyzed. 1) Successful dilation, defined as a reduction in stenosis diameter to less than 50% without acute myocardial infarction or emergency coronary artery bypass graft, occurred in 175 of 212 lesions(82.5%). 2) Successful dilation occurred in 13 of 15 type A lesions(86.6%), 148 of 178 type B lesions(83.1%) and 3 of 7 type C lesions(42.8%)(p<0.05 for A or B vs C). 3) Acute closure syndrome occurred in none of type A lesions, 6 of type B lesions(3.4%), 2 of type C lesions(28.5%)(p<0.005 for A or B vs C). 4) multivariate analysis showed that lesion-specific characteristic predictors for successful dilation were length of lesion(p<0.05) and accessibility(p<0.05) ; for ischemic events were major branch involvement(p<0.05) and eccentricity(p<0.05); for acute closure syndrome were accessibility(p<0.05) and eccentricity(p<0.05). 5) Procedural predictors for ischemic events were coronary artery dissection(p<0.01), post-PTCA diameter stenosis(p<0.05) and balloon/artery diameter ratio(p<0.01) ; For acute closure syndrome was coronary artery dissection(p<0.005). In this analysis, we found that angiographic lesion-specific characteristics related very importantly to procedural success and were able to define three major independent lesionspecific risk factors whose presence beforehand decreased the likelihood of successful dilation and increased the likelihood of acute closure. In the absence of any of these risk factors, the risk of acute closure is very small. Thus, identification of these factors and their associate risk should improve patients selection and better define the role of coronary angioplasty in the management fo patients with coronary artery disease.
Angioplasty ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Classification ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Infarction ; Risk Factors ; Transplants

To evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty in patients with prior surgical mitral commissurotomy, balloon valvuloplasty was performed in 9 patients with restenosis 14.1+/-9.3 years(5-30) after the operation. There were 6 women and 3 men with a mean age of 43+/-8 years. Two patients were in NYHA class II, 6 in classIII and 1 in class IV. Six were in atrial fibrillation. Percutaneous balloon mitral valvuoplasty in 9 patients resulted in increase of mitral valve area(1.03+/-0.13 to 1.81+/-0.49cm2, P<0.05) by Gorlin's formula, and decrease of mean diastoic mitral pressure gradient(13+/-5 to 6+/-2 mmHg, P<0.05), and mean left atrial pressure(17+/-7 to 10+/-4 mmHg, P<0.05). And also cardiac output increased(4.2+/-0.8 to 4.6+/-1.0L/min, P<0.05) and mean pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased(25+/-6 to 19+/-5 mmHg, P<0.05, 316+/-103 to 239+/-101 dyne.s.cm(-5), P<0.05). Mitral regurgitation develop or increased in severity in 2 patients. No other complications occured. These results suggst that percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty is safe and effective procedure in selected patients with restenosis after mitral commissurotomy and can postpone reoperation in many cases.
Atrial Fibrillation ; Balloon Valvuloplasty* ; Cardiac Output ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Pulmonary Artery ; Reoperation ; Vascular Resistance

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the gene expression profiles using GeneFishing(TM) DEG kit in Korean women with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: Cervical cancer biopsies were obtained from patients at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Mary's hodpital. In this study, we used a common reference that was mixed with an equal amount of RNA extracted from non-cervical cancer patients. The profiles of expression genes between cervical normal and squamous cell carcinoma tissue were identified using GeneFishing(TM) DEG Kit and screened by BLAST search. RESULTS: Almost 100 differential expressed genes were identified in universal control and cervical squamous cell carcinoma, 53 of differential expressed genes, up-regulated expression of 32 and 21 down-regulated expression was sequenced. Up-regulated genes were calcylin, calgranulin A, TRK oncogene, HLC5, fibrillarin, collagene type I alpha1 etc. and down-regulated genes were galectin 1, PRP8 pre-mRNA precessing factor 8 homology, clusterin etc. CONCLUSION: We identified gene expression profile in cervical squamous cell carcinoma using GeneFishing(TM) Kit in Korean women. The functional genomics of these genes should be further studied.
Biopsy ; Calgranulin A ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Clusterin ; Collagen ; Female ; Galectin 1 ; Gene Expression* ; Genomics ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Obstetrics ; Oncogenes ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; RNA ; RNA Precursors ; Transcriptome ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms