The cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A subfamily is estimated to participate in the biotransformation of 50% of the currently prescribed drugs. Four members of the CYP3A subfamily have been identified in humans: CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP3A7, and CYP3A43. Initial data suggested that CYP3A5 accounts for only a small proportion of the total hepatic CYP3A in about 20% of samples, but it was later revealed that CYP3A5 represents more than 50% of the total CYP3A amount in some individuals. Several genetic variants have been described for the CYP3A5 gene, of which the CYP3A5*3 allele (gA6986G), the most common form and leading to the loss of CYP3A5 activity, has been extensively investigated in the aspect of pharmacokinetics and disease risk. This review summarized the molecular characteristics of the CYP3A5 gene, and discusses the association of the CYP3A5*3 polymorphism with disease risks such as cancer and hypertension, along with its role in the pharmacokinetics of CYP3A substrates.
Alleles ; Biotransformation ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Pharmacogenetics ; Pharmacokinetics

BACKGROUND: Respiratory atopy (RA) is frequently associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) and the age of onset is usually later than that of the dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, the onset, and the duration of RA associated with AD in Korea. We also tried to correlate the existence of RA with the severity and prognosis of AD. METHODS: One hundred and eighty one patients with AD were studied. Information about the age at onset and the duration of RA were obtained from the medical history of patients or from the medical records. The severity of AD was graded. RESULTS: RA was found in 66 cases of AD (36.5%). The average age at onset of asthma was 6 years and the average duration of asthma was 6 years. The average age at onset of allergic rhinitis (AR) was 12.4 years and the average duration of AR was 6.8 years. The prevalence of asthma with AD was the most common in the age group between 8 and 11 years while the prevalence of AR was the most common in the age group between 20 and 23 years. The higher occurrence of RA in the older age group was considered to represent persistence of AD in-to adult life. We could not find any difference in the severity of AD between pure AD patients and AD patients with RA. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of RA in AD in Korea was considered to be similar to that of other reports. The average onset of asthma in Korea was a little later, whereas the average on-set of AR was a little earlier than that in the other reports. The duration of RA, which has hardly been mentioned in the literature, was considered to be about 6 years in Korea. It is likely that RA is a poor prognostic factor for AD, but does not affect severity of dermatitis.
Adult ; Age of Onset ; Asthma ; Dermatitis ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Rhinitis, Allergic

PURPOSE: To analyse complications and to review usefulness of large needle(18G) in percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage(PTBD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 46 patients underwent PTBD in 52 occassions using large needle. 44 of 46 patients had either definite or suspicious malignant biliary obstruction, and most patients were poor in general dondition. Complications were classified as acute type if developed within 30 days and as delayed type if developed after 30 days. Acute type was subdivided into severe and mild forms. RESULTS: Severe forms of complications were death(5.8%), septicemia(3.8%), and bile peritonitis(1.9%). There were not different from the rate of complication in PTBD using fine needle but the procedure was much more simple. CONCLUSION: We PTBD using large neddie is a simple and safe procedure for prompt bile decompression.
Bile ; Decompression ; Drainage* ; Humans ; Needles*

We report a case of malignant histiocytosis which began with intermittent fever and scaly skin lesions. A 3-year-old girl presented with erythematous scaly papules on the face and the trunk, and high fever for 3 months. The cutaneous lesions consisted of widespread coin-sized erythematous scaly papules with marginal brownish pigmentation. She was anemic and thrombocytopenic and had impairment of the liver function. Histopathologic study of the skin lesions showed non-specfic findings except for hyperkeratosis. However, bone marrow examination revealed an increased number of histiocytes, mostly immature with active phagocytosis of erythroid cells, myeloid cells, and platelets. She was diagnosed as having malignant histiocytosis and treated with cyclophosphamide and vincristine. She died the next day after the treatment had begun.
Bone Marrow Examination ; Child, Preschool ; Cyclophosphamide ; Erythroid Cells ; Female ; Fever* ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytic Sarcoma* ; Humans ; Liver ; Myeloid Cells ; Phagocytosis ; Pigmentation ; Skin* ; Vincristine

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among perceived health status and social support to identify the influencing factors of health promotion behavior in government-funded research institute's employee. METHODS: The participants were 222 employees in three government-funded research institute. Questionnaires were used to measure the levels of the perceived health status, social support and health promotion behavior. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation, multiple regression, and the IBM SPSS/WIN 19.0 program. RESULTS: The predicting factors for health promotion behavior were age, smoking, perceived health status and social support. The variables explained the health promotion behavior by 34.3%. CONCLUSION: A survey of the various influencing factors of health promotion behavior will be required and social support system for government-funded research institute's employee is needed.
Academies and Institutes ; Health Promotion* ; Smoke ; Smoking

A death due to angle grinder injuries is reported. An angle grinder is a widely used electronic device at a working place or at home. A deceased old man and an angle grinder without a protective guard were found at the living room in his house where he had been renovating. The wound of the victim's head showed an oblique laceration, skull fractures and tearing on the brain, embedded with grinder disk fragments. A small intraparenchymal hematoma was in the midbrain, which could be the cause of the fall leading to the accident. Disreard of the cause of the accident, the absence of a protective guard and removal of one hilt might have contribute to the death of the victim.
Brain ; Electronics ; Electrons ; Head ; Hematoma ; Hypogonadism ; Lacerations ; Mesencephalon ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Skull Fractures

BACKGROUND: Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a genetic disorder of the melanin pigment system in which melanin synthesis is reduced or absent in the skin, hair, and eyes. OCA is classified into two major types, and tyrosinase-related OCA can be produced by mutations of the structural gene for tyrosinase enzyme (TYR gene). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the segregation of mutant alleles of the TYR gene in tyrosinase-negative and tyrosinase-positive Korean OCA patients and families. METHODS: We amplified exon I, II, and III of the TYR gene of Korean OCA patients and their families by polymerase chain reactions (PCR), and analyzed the mutations by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis in exon I and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses in exon II and exon III. RESULTS: Two tyrosinase-negative cases showed mutations in exon I. Four tyrosinase-nega-tive cases and one tyrosinase-positive case showed mutations in exon II, and one tyrosinase-neg- ative case showed mutations in exon III. In summary, we found three kinds of mutation in four tyrosinase-negative OCA patients and one tyrsinase-positive OCA patient. CONCLUSIONS: RFLP and SSCP analysis can provide a basis for a rapid and sensitive screening system to detect TYR gene mutations of Korean OCA patients and their families.
Albinism, Oculocutaneous* ; Alleles ; Exons ; Hair ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Melanins ; Monophenol Monooxygenase ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Skin

Perigraft seroma is uncommon complication of polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) grafts applied as an arteriovenous shunt for hemodialysis. It is a collection of clear, sterile fluid confined to nonsecretory fibrous pseudomembrane, most commonly localized around the middle and distal portion of graft. The possible etiologic factors of perigraft seroma include poor graft incorporation, mechanical graft damage caused by alcohol and povidone-iodine, intraoperative streching of the graft, variations in quality control at the time of manufacture and contributing factors such as anemia and coagulopathy in uremia. The best strategy for management of perigraft seroma is not clear. spiration or drainage alone is not effective, and some authors advocate graft removal. We report a case of perigraft seroma around arterial end of PTFE graft along with a brief review of the literatures.
Anemia ; Drainage ; Humans ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Povidone-Iodine ; Quality Control ; Renal Dialysis* ; Seroma* ; Transplants ; Uremia

No abstract available.
Erythema* ; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile*

PURPOSE: Neuron-specific enolase(NSE) has been established as a reliable marker of neuronal damage in various neurologic disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether febrile seizure cause brain damage, based on the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of NSE. METHODS: Twenty-one pateints were enrolled. The maximal seizure duration was 90 mins. Blood and CSF samples for the measurement of NSE were obtained immediately after the seizure. NSE was measured using an immunoradiometric assay(IRMA). RESULTS: The CSF NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 11.7+/-2.04 ng/mL and that of the control group was 11.3+/-5.7 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was higher than the serum NSE level of the control group, but there was no significant correlation. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was 19.0+/-7.5 ng/mL and that of the control group was 12.8+/-5.1 ng/mL. The serum NSE level of the febrile seizure group was significantly higher than the serum NSE level of the control group. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was 0.7+/-0.3 and that of the control group was 1.0+/-0.5. The CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the febrile seizure group was lower than the CSF/serum ratio of NSE in the control group and there was a significant correlation. There was no significant correlation between seizure duration, serum NSE, CSF NSE, and the ratio of the CSF to the serum level of NSE. CONCLUSION: Children with febrile seizure are at relatively low risk for neuronal damage following seizures.
Brain ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child* ; Humans ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neurons ; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile*