Plasma-cell cheilitis, a benign, inflammatory condition, is chacterized by polyclonal plasma cell infiltration in the dermis. It presents as circumscribed flat or elevated patches of erythema, usually on the lower lip in an elderly person. Plasma-cell cheilitis is the counterpart of Zoon's plasma-cell balanitis. A 63-year-old Korean man had an erythematous, erosive patch on his lower lip. By skin biopsy and immunoperoxidase staining to anti-kappa and lamda light chain, he was diagnosed as plasma cell cheilitis. He showed positive result in photopatch test to 6-methyl coumarine. His skin lesion improved after avoiding sun exposure, chewing gum and candy, and by intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide.
Aged ; Balanitis ; Biopsy ; Candy ; Cheilitis* ; Chewing Gum ; Dermis ; Erythema ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Lip ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasma Cells* ; Plasma* ; Skin ; Solar System ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

Ascorbic acid (AA) and dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) are known to have protective effects in experimental central nerve system disorder models such as stroke, ischemia, and epileptic seizures. The present study was conducted to examine the protective effect of AA and DHA on kainic acid (KA) neurotoxicity using organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSC). Protective effects of AA and DHA on KA-induced cell death were evaluated by analyzing caspase-3. In addition, to determine if the prooxidant effect of AA is related to iron, the effect of AA on cell death was examined using desferrioxamine (DFO), an iron chelator. After 12h-KA treatment, significant delayed neuronal death was detected in CA3 region, but not in CA1. The AA (500 micrometer) and DHA (100 and 500 micrometer) pretreatments significantly prevented cell death by inhibiting caspase-3 activation in CA3 region. In the concentration of 1,000 micrometer, however, AA pretreatment might have prooxidant effect, but AA-induced oxidative reaction is mainly not related to transition metal ions. These data showed that the pretreatments of intermediate-dose AA and DHA protected KA-induced neuronal damage in OHSCs and co-pretreatment of AA and DFO did not affect cell death except for a few cases. These data suggest that both AA and DHA pretreatment have antioxidant or prooxidant effect depending on doses treated on KA-induced neuronal injury and the possible prooxidant effect of AA may not depend on the Fenton reaction.
Ascorbic Acid ; Caspase 3 ; Cell Death ; Deferoxamine ; Dehydroascorbic Acid ; Epilepsy ; Ions ; Iron ; Ischemia ; Kainic Acid ; Neurons ; Stroke

Methylprednisolone (MP), a glucocorticoid steroid, has an anti-inflammatory action and seems to inhibit the formation of oxygen free radicals produced during lipid peroxidation in a spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the effects of MP on the functional recovery after a SCI is controversial. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of MP on the recovery of neural conduction following a SCI. A SCI was produced using the NYU spinal cord impactor. A behavioral test was conducted to measure neurological disorders, and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded. According to the behavioral test, using BBB locomotor scaling, MP-treated animals showed improved functional recoveries when compared to salinetreated animals. MEP latencies in the MP-treated group were shortened when compared to those in the control group. Peak amplitudes of MEPs were larger in the MP-treated group than those in the control group. The thresholds of MEPs tended to be lower in the MP-treated group than those in the control group. These results suggest that MP may improve functional recovery after a SCI.
Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electrophysiology ; Evoked Potentials, Motor/*drug effects ; Free Radicals ; Glucocorticoids/metabolism ; Male ; Methylprednisolone/*pharmacology ; Neurons/*drug effects ; Oxygen/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Glucocorticoid/metabolism ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Sodium Chloride/pharmacology ; Spinal Cord/pathology ; Spinal Cord Injuries/*drug therapy ; Time Factors

The spontaneous axon regeneration of damaged neurons is limited after spinal cord injury (SCI). Recently, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation was proposed as a potential approach for enhancing nerve regeneration that avoids the ethical issues associated with embryonic stem cell transplantation. As SCI is a complex pathological entity, the treatment of SCI requires a multipronged approach. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the functional recovery and therapeutic potential of human MSCs (hMSCs) and polymer in a spinal cord hemisection injury model. Rats were subjected to hemisection injuries and then divided into three groups. Two groups of rats underwent partial thoracic hemisection injury followed by implantation of either polymer only or polymer with hMSCs. Another hemisection-only group was used as a control. Behavioral, electrophysiological and immunohistochemical studies were performed on all rats. The functional recovery was significantly improved in the polymer with hMSC-transplanted group as compared with control at five weeks after transplantation. The results of electrophysiologic study demonstrated that the latency of somatosensory-evoked potentials (SSEPs) in the polymer with hMSC-transplanted group was significantly shorter than in the hemisection-only control group. In the results of immunohistochemical study, beta-gal-positive cells were observed in the injured and adjacent sites after hMSC transplantation. Surviving hMSCs differentiated into various cell types such as neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. These data suggest that hMSC transplantation with polymer may play an important role in functional recovery and axonal regeneration after SCI, and may be a potential therapeutic strategy for SCI.
Animals ; Astrocytes ; Axons ; Electrophysiology ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Nerve Regeneration ; Neurons ; Oligodendroglia ; Polymers ; Rats ; Regeneration ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Transplants