No abstract available.
Myocarditis* ; Stomach*

BACKGROUND: Using c-fos expression one of the immediate early gene, as a marker of altered neuronal response, we investigated the effect of superior cervical ganglion block (SCGB) exhibiting the same effect of SGB of human on the activity of several brain regions which are considered as located on autonomic neural pathway and neuroendocrine axis in rat. METHOD: The 48 Sprague-Dawley strain rats were divided into 4 groups, as saline/stress (control) group, SCGB/stress (tested) group, saline group, SCGB group. Superior cervical ganglion block was conducted in the SCGB/stress group and SCGB group while saline/stress and saline group were sham operated. After then restraint stress was imposed on the animals of SCGB/stress group and saline/stress group. And 2 hour after injection (saline, SCGB group) or restraint stress (saline/stress, SCGB/stress group), c-fos protein (Fos) was localized by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: Much stronger Fos immunoreactivity was induced in the several brain region of control group rats compared to other three groups and the numbers of Fos positive cell count of tested group were significantly decreased in paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (p<0.01), A5 (p<0.01), raphe pallidus (p<0.05), nucleus tractus solitaius (p<0.01) compared to control group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrate that superior cervical ganglion block attenuates stress induced neuronal activities of paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, A5, raphe pallidus, nucleus tractus solitarius.
Animals ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain* ; Cell Count ; Genes, vif ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neural Pathways ; Neurons ; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Solitary Nucleus ; Superior Cervical Ganglion*

I kappa B kinase beta (IKK beta) subunit of IKK complex is essential for the activation of NF-kappa B in response to various proinflammatory signals. Cys-179 in the activation loop of IKK beta is known to be the target site for IKK inhibitors such as cyclopentenone prostaglandins, arsenite, and antirheumatic gold compounds. Here we show that a mutant IKK beta in which Cys-179 is substituted with alanine had decreased activity when it was expressed in HEK-293 cells, and TNF stimulation did not restore the activity. Phosphorylation of activation loop serines (Ser-177 and Ser-181) which is required for IKK beta activation was reduced in the IKK beta (C179A) mutant. The activity of IKK beta (C179A) was partially recovered when its phosphorylation was enforced by coexpression with mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK) such as NF-kappa B inducing kinase (NIK) and MAPK/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 1(MEKK1) or when the serine residues were replaced with phospho-mimetic glutamate. The IKK beta (C179A) mutant was normal in dimer formation, while its activity abnormally responded to the change in the concentration of substrate ATP in reaction mixture. Our results suggest that Cys-179 of IKK beta plays a critical role in enzyme activation by promoting phosphorylation of activation-loop serines and interaction with ATP.
Transfection ; Serine/*metabolism ; Protein Binding ; Phosphorylation ; Mutant Proteins/chemistry ; MAP Kinase Kinase Kinases/metabolism ; I-kappa B Kinase/*chemistry ; Humans ; Hela Cells ; Enzyme Activation/*physiology ; Cysteine/*physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Catalytic Domain ; Amino Acid Substitution/physiology ; Adenosine Triphosphate/metabolism

Deep infection of Achilles tendon is one of the serious complications that occur after open repair of the tendon. It sometimes leads to a very large tendon defect during the course of treatment. We report on a case of massive defect in Achilles tendon, which was successfully treated with Achilles tendon allograft and flexor hallucis longus tendon transfer.
Achilles Tendon* ; Allografts* ; Tendon Transfer ; Tendons*

In order to study the possible vulnerability in the markers of schizophrenia, offsprings of the schizophrenic parents(n=28), offsprings of the alcohol dependent parents(n=18), and offsprings of the psychiatrically normal persons(n=41) were examined for their sustained attention and sensory register by means of Continuous performance test(CPT) and Span apprehension task(SPAN) respectively. The results were as follows: 1) The offsprings of the schizophrenic parents showed a significant deficit in the sustained attention as manifested in the data of CPT by significantly lower hit rate and sensitivity, compared with the offspring of the alcohol dependent parents and those of the psychiatrically normal persons. No difference was evident in the false alarm rate and response bias among three groups. There was no difference in all variables of the CPT between the offsprings of the alcohol dependent parents and those of the psychiatrically normal persons. 2) The deficit in the sustained attention as revealed by lower hit rate and sensitivity was not apparent in the first part of the CPT. However it emerged and aggravated itself as the test continued in the offsprings of the schizophrenic parents only. 3) Proportion of subjects falling in the extreme low sensitivity of lower 10% of the normal controls was significantly higher in the offsprings of the schizophrenic parent group as compared with the offsprings of the alcohol dependent parents and those of the psychiatrically normal persons with a rate of 29%, 17%, and 10% respectively. 4) No significant difference was noted in all variables of MMPI among normal controls, index group, and the extreme low CPT sensitivity subgroup of index group. 5) The offsprings of the schizophrenic parents showed a significantly delayed response in the time to correct and incorrect response in SPAN compared to offsprings of the alcohol dependent parents and those of the psychiatrically normal persons. No difference was evident in the number of correct response, number of incorrect response, and number of no response among three groups. There was no difference in all variables of the SPAN between the offsprings of the alcohol dependent parents and those of the psychiatrically normal persons. These results suggest that a subgroup of the offsprings of schizophrenic parents may suffer from the deficit in the sustained attention which may be a vulnerability marker of schizophrenia.
Automatic Data Processing ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Humans ; MMPI ; Parents* ; Schizophrenia

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare and challenging malignancy. In patients with residual MTC, the tumor detection rate is generally low for most of the currently available imaging techniques. Various imaging methods have already been used for the detection of residual tumor, but no modality has been shown to be superior to others. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has recently been proposed to identify residual MTC, but this procedure also has limitations as small masses are rarely detected. So, a multimodality imaging approach is recommended for detecting residual MTC. We report here on a case of residual MTC that was detected by 18F-FDG PET/CT in a patient with persistent hypercalcitoninemia after total thyroidectomy and bilateral lymph node dissection.
Calcitonin ; Electrons ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study is to evaluate characteristic features of 4th ventricular tumors in CT and MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pathologically proved 9 patients with 4th ventricular tumor were examined by CT and/or MRI. 4th ventricular tumors were epedymoma(4 cases), medulloblastoma(2 cases), choroid plexus papilIoma(2 cases), and oligodendroglioma(1 case). Included in our study were only those mass lesions that were located at surgery predominently within 4th ventricle with or without ventricular expansion. RESULTS: The origin of 4th ventricular tumor was the roof (epedymoma 3 cases, medulloblastoma 2 cases), the floor (epedymoma 1 case), and the undetermined(remaining 3 cases). On MRI, all tumors were hypointense exept ependymoma(3 cases) showing isointensity on T1WI. All tumors were hyperintense on PDWI and T2WI. On Gd-DTPA enhanced T1WI, strong enhancement was seen in all but epedymoma(1 case) which showed mild enhancement. On CT, as compared with MR images, various density on precontrast and postcontrast images were seen. Calcification was seen in choroid plexus papilloma(1 case) and oligodendroglioma(1 case). Hydrocephalus is seen in all cases exept ependymoma(2 cases) and oligodendroglioma(1 case). Hemorrhage within tumor was present only in epedymoma(2 cases). Cystic change or necrosis of tumor was seen in ependymomma(3 cases), choroid plexus papilloma(1 case), and oligodendroglioma(1 case). Peritumoral edema was seen in medulloblastoma(1 case). Extension through the foramen Luschka and the Magendie was seen in ependymoma(2 cases), choroid plexus papilloma(2 cases), and medulloblastoma(1 case). Seeding along the CSF pathway was seen only in ependymoma(2 cases). CONCLUSION: The results of our study may suggest that specific diagnosis of 4th ventricular tumor can be suggested preoperatively by analysing the origin in 4th ventricle, difference of CT density or MRI signal inten. sity, presence of extension or seeding through cerebrospinal fluid of the lesion.
Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Choroid Plexus ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Gadolinium DTPA ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Medulloblastoma ; Necrosis

In order to evaluate whether Wisconsin Card Sorting Test(WCST) could be used to detect the vulnerability markers of schizophrenia, three groups such as offsprings of schizophrenic patients(n=28), offsprings of alcoholic patients(n=18), and offsprings of psychiatrically normal persons(n=41) were examined for their concept formation and abstract thinking by means of WCST.The results were as follows; 1) No significant differences were noted in all variables of the WCST such as number of totol administered trials, total correct response %,total error response $,perseverative response %,perseverative error response %,nonperseverative error response %,conceptual level response %,number of completed category,number of trials to complete 1st category,number of failure to maintain a set,and learning to learn among three groups. 2) There was no difference in the number of cases with extreme low WCST total correct % of lower 10% of the normal controls among three groups. These results suggest that Wcst could be an ineffective instrument for using to detect the vulnerability markers of schizophrenia.
Alcoholics ; Concept Formation ; Humans ; Learning ; Schizophrenia ; Thinking ; Wisconsin*

PURPOSE: To compare functional MR imaging of the motor cortex during active and passive movement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven healthy, right-handed volunteers (M:F=6:1; age:25-30 years) were included in this study. A 1.5-T whole body scanner and the multislice EPI BOLD method were used. The motor paradigm was flexion-extension of a thumb against rest. In the active motion task, the thumb was flexed voluntarily once a second, while in the passive task, it was tied with a thread and pulled to flex and extend passively at the same interval and with the same intensity as in the active task. For image postprocessing, an SPM 96 program was used. The sites, numbers, and signal intensity of the activated pixels were determined, and the threshold for significance was set at p<0.001 to p<0.01. RESULTS: In the active motion task, strong activation at the contralateral side of the primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor cortex occurred in all 14 examples in all seven volunteers. Additionally, the ipsilateral primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor area were activated in 12/14 and 11/14 such tasks, respectively. During passive motion tasks, on the other hand, weak activation occurred at the contralateral side of the primary sensorimotor cortex in all cases, but in the contralateral supplementary motor cortex in only three. In the ipsilateral primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary motor area, there was no activation. CONCLUSION: Compared with the active motion task, activation occurring in the contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex and supplementary cortex was weaker and less frequent during the passive task, and during this latter, the ipsilateral motor cortex remained inactive. These results may be useful for the clinical application of functional MR imaging in unconscious patients or in animal studies.
Animals ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Motor Cortex* ; Thumb ; Volunteers

Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is an uncommon condition which is characterized by congenital, localized or widespread absence of skin or scar formation. Lesions can be multiple and may occur on any body surface, although they are mostly seen on the scalp as a solitary lesion. ACC is most often a benign isolated defect; but it can be associated with other physical anomalies or malformation syndromes. Adams-Oliver syndrome is a distinct subtype in which distal limb reduction is found in association with a solitary scalp defect. There is no single underlying cause of ACC; it may reflect a disruption of intrauterine skin development. A 25 day-old boy was referred to our clinic with a thick hemorrhagic crust, and a surrounding hairless atrophic scar on the midline over the skull vertex. He also had hypoplasia of the left 2nd to 5th toes since birth. The rest of the physical examination as well as an ultrasound examination of the brain were normal. Herein we report a rare case of ACC of the scalp accompanied by distal limb hypoplasia, Adamson-Oliver syndrome.
Brain ; Cicatrix ; Ectodermal Dysplasia ; Extremities ; Limb Deformities, Congenital ; Parturition ; Physical Examination ; Scalp ; Scalp Dermatoses ; Skin ; Skull ; Toes