BACKGROUND: Th2-like cells are thought to play a crucial role in the recruitment and activation of eosinophil in bronchial asthma. In contrast to Th2 cytokine, Thl cytokine IFN-y decreases eosinophil recruitment. Previous studies have shown that IL-12 promotes differentiation of Th0 into Thl and enhances production of Thl cytokine. IL-12 also prevents differentiation of Th0 into Th2 during primary immune response. Its effect on established Th2 cell, however, is well known. OBJECTIVE: The objective of aur study was focused on whether IL-12 prevents recruitment of eosinophil and expression of Th2 cytokine in murine model for bronchial asthma, and whether its effect differs according to timing of dosage. METHOD: Administration of IL-12 was tested in the 3 different time-frames; 1) allergic sensitization (early dosage) 2) allergic challenge (late doaage) or 3) both. The number of eosinophil in the bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) fluid and tissue was examined for change of airway inflammation. The effect on cytokine expression was assessed by measuring cytokine in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (ELISA) and mRNA in peribronchial lymph node (RT-PCR) RESULTS: Early dosage of IL-12, and the combination of early and late dosages, strikingly decreased the numbers of eosinophil in both BAL fluid and tissue(p<0.05). Late dosage of IL-12 decreased tissue eosinophilia, while the number of eosinophil in BAL fluid remained unchanged. IL-12 increased IL-4 and IL-5 levels, and decreased IL-2 and I~FN-r levels. There were no differences in Thl/Th2 cytokine regulation among the three dosage times. Early dosage of IL-12, and the combination of early and late dosages, increased IL-10 level, but late dosage had no effect on IL-10. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that depending upon whether IL-12 is administered during sensitization or during subsequent allergen exposure, Thl/Th2 cytokine regulation by IL -12 shows no difference because it seems that difference of inhibition of eosinophil recruitment by IL-12 might be related with the other factors, such as IL-10.
Animals ; Asthma* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Inflammation* ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-12* ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Lymph Nodes ; Mice* ; RNA, Messenger ; Th2 Cells

The vitreous changes in 183 eyes of 148 patients with vitreous floaters were evaluated biomicroscopically using the Goldmann fundus contact lenses. The cases with retinal detachment were excluded from this study. Vitreous degeneration was responsible in all eyes with vitreous floater, and posterior vitreous detachment(PVD) was found in 87% of the eyes. In those eyes the most common cause of opacity were prepapillary ring(139 eyes). There were no significant difference in prevalence rate between male and female or between right and left eye with PVD. However the incidence was increased at the age of 50 or more. A strong statistical relationship was present between early onset and male or myopic eyes with minus 3 diopters or more. The eyes with sudden onset of floaters were frequently associated with retinal breaks. The study revealed that the complications of PVD may be encountered: retinal breaks, vitreous hemorrhage, photopsia, and cystoid macular edema. The complications were common in male.
Contact Lenses ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Macular Edema ; Male ; Prevalence ; Retinal Detachment ; Retinal Perforations ; Vitreous Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to administer conservative treatment in 30 patients diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder, following the suggested frozen shoulder rehabilitation program and to assess the clinical outcome using a prospective study. METHODS: Thirty patients diagnosed with idiopathic frozen shoulder, treated with steroid hormone injection on the articular joint with an intra-articular steroid (triamcinolone 40 mg + lidocaine 4 ml) injection and started on stepwise shoulder extension exercise were chosen. The subjects were divided into two groups of 15 people each with one group undergoing rehabilitation with continuous passive motion (CPM) and the other group without it. Follow-ups were done before rehabilitation and at 4-week intervals with the 24th being the final week. At every follow-up, passive range of motion (ROM) was measured and surveys on pain and clinical score were administered. RESULTS: In the last follow-up, both groups showed statistically significant improvements in all evaluation criteria. However, no statistical difference in all values of the ROM and Constant score evaluation criteria was observed between the groups. Only in the last follow-up, group 1 had a visual analog scale (VAS) score of 2.4 +/- 2.1 points, which was lower, with statistical significance, than the VAS score of group 2, which was 4.4 +/- 3.1 points (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Study using CPM in treatment of frozen shoulder has been inadequate, meaning that there is still room for improvement and need for more study on setting a more specific protocol and guidelines for this procedure.
Bursitis* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Joints ; Lidocaine ; Motion Therapy, Continuous Passive ; Prospective Studies ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Rehabilitation ; Shoulder ; Visual Analog Scale

No abstract available.
Axilla*

No abstract available.
Axilla*

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect that three resin indexing materials had on the distortion of split cast in the procedures of solder indexing and block fabrication. The specimen had two cylinders and connecting bar. Two cylinders were a reference cylinder and a test cylinder that were machined precisely and placed on metal base. The total of specimens wee 30 and they were divided into 3 groups according to the resin indexing materials : Acrylic solder , G-C Pattern resin , Z-100 . The relative coordinates (X, Y, Z) of centroids of both cylinders were measured by using 3-D coor dinates measuring machine. The value of indexing distortion was obtained after application of indexing material, and the value of the block distortion was obtained after fabrication of soldering block, and the value of total distortion was a value sum of indexing distortion and block distortion. Intercentroidal linear distortion({{{{ SQRT {X'^2 + Y'^2 +Z'^2 }- SQRT {X^2 + Y^2 +Z^2} }} }}) and global distortion {{{{rm SQRT {(X'-X)^2 +(Y'-Y^)2 +(Z'-Z^)2} }} }} were calculated from data of coordinates of centroids at each mea s u r ing stages. The results of this study were as belows ; 1. The intercentroidal distance between the split casts was reduced by indexing distortion and increased by block distortion. 2. The indexing global distortion between the split casts was smaller than block global distortion. 3. The intercentoidal linear distortion and the global distortion were no significant difference between indexing materials.
Abstracting and Indexing as Topic

Apoptosis plays a role in the pathophysiology of many kinds of diseases and in the response of treatment. Compared to the necrosis, the apoptosis is a genetically controlled and energy-dependent process which removes the unwanted cells from the body; programmed cell death or cell suicide. During the apoptosis, phosphatidylserine is expressed in the cytoplasmic outer membrane in the early phase. Annexin V, an endogenous human protein (MW=35 kD), has an affinity of about 10 (-9) M for the phosphatidylserine exposed on the outer membrane of apoptotic cells. Annexin V can be radiolabeled with 99mTc by HYNIC or EC chelators, which can be used as an radiotracer for the in vivo imaging of apoptosis. In this article, we reviewed the apoptosis, radiolabeling of annexin V, and the experimental and clinical data using annexin V imaging.
Annexin A5 ; Apoptosis* ; Cell Death ; Chelating Agents ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Membranes ; Necrosis ; Suicide

No abstract available.
Glycogen Storage Disease Type I*

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: N-acetylcysteine(ACE) is used both orally and intravenously in a variety of experimental pathologies resembling human disease states which exhibit endothelial toxicity as a result of oxidative stress, including acute pulmonary oxygen toxicity, septicemia and endotoxin shock. Despite these observations in vivo, it is not certain how this thiol drug produces its protective effects. ACE is a cysteine derivative which is able to directly react with oxygen radicals and may also act as a cysteine and glutathione(GSH) precursor following deacetylation. In this paper, we tried to know whether the therapeutic doses of ACE can modify the inflammatory function of the neutrophils and can increase the glutathione level of plasma in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) patients. In addition, the effect of ACE to the purified neutrophil in terms of superoxide release and glutathione synthesis were observed. METHOD: Firstly, we gave 600mg of ACE for seven days and compare the release of superoxide, luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence from the neutrophils, neutrophil chemotaxis, and plasma GSH levels before and after ACE treatment in COPD patients. Secondly, we observed the dose dependent effect of ACE to the purified neutrophil's superoxide release and GSH levels in vitro. RESULTS: 1) Usual oral therapeutic doses(600mg per day) of ACE for seven days did affect neither on the neutrophils superoxide release, chemiluminescence, chemotaxis, nor on the plasma GSH concentration in the COPD patients. 2) ACE decreases the purified neutrophil's superoxide release and increase the GSH production in dose dependent fashion in vitro. CONCLUSION: Despite the fact that oral ACE treatment did not affect on the neutrophil's inflammatory function and plasma GSH concentration in COPD patients in usual therapeutic doses, it decreases the superoxide release and increases the GSH production from the isolated neutrophils in high molar concentrations. These findings suggest that to obtain an antioxidative effects of ACE, it might be needed to increase the daily dosage of ACE or therapeutic duration or change the route of adminisration in COPD patients.
Acetylcysteine* ; Chemotaxis* ; Cysteine ; Glutathione* ; Humans ; Luminescence ; Molar ; Neutrophils* ; Oxidative Stress ; Oxygen ; Pathology ; Plasma* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Sepsis ; Shock ; Superoxides*