No abstract available.
Lithium*

With conventional radiological approaches, diagnosis of perinephric abscess is difficult in many occasions. CTand ultrasound enable accurate detection of lesions and precise determination of their extent. We review our casesand discuss the usefulness of these new modalities for the diagnosis and follow up of the lesions.
Abscess ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Ultrasonography

This retrospective study was performed to assess CT scan findings of pancratic cancer and its ability todetermine resectability. CT scans of 41 patients, who were diagnosed to have pancreatic cancer on histological orclinical base, were reviewed. Most common findings were; focal pancreatic enlargement, diffuse pancreaticenlargement, loss of distinct contour, peripancretic fat obliteration, bile duct or pancreatic duct dilatation,vascular invasion, lymph node involvement, direct invasion of adjacent organs and distant metastasis.Resectability was assessed according to generally accepted CT findings such as small pancreatic mass lesion havingnormal lobulated contour of pancreas, no evidence of vascular invasion, no evidence lymph node involvement andfree of distant metastasis. With the criteria, 5 cases among 41 cases deemed to be resectable. However onoperation all cases were found unresectable indicating prediction of tumor resectability is difficult even withhelp of CT. Nonetheless CT would be very helpful in management of patients having pancreatic cancer since CT wouldshorten the diagnostic procedures of pancreatic cancer.
Bile Ducts ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pancreas ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatic Neoplasms ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Contrast Media* ; Glass* ; Syringes*

BACKGROUND: The need for using sunscreen is increasing today, but we know little about the effect of sunscreens on the skin of Korean people. OBJECTIVE: We tried to estimate and compare the SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion, which was recommended as the control in SPF experiments by the FDA, USA, in Koreans according to different light sources. METHODS: After application of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion to the back, 33 men of the third decade were irradiated by xenon arc solar simulator or by fluorescent sunlamp, We estimated the SPF of them 24 hours later. RESULTS: The SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion was 4.8+/-0.8 with the solar simulator, 2.7+/-0.6 with the fluorescent sunlamp. CONCLUSION: We confimed that the SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion with xenon arc solar simulator can be used as a control value in Koreans, and found out that the SPF with the fluorescent sunlamp was significantly lower than that with the xenon arc lamp. So it should be taken into consideration that differences of SPF according to light sources exists in studying sunscreens.
Humans ; Male ; Skin ; Solar System* ; Sun Protection Factor* ; Sunscreening Agents ; Xenon

BACKGROUND: The need for using sunscreen is increasing today, but we know little about the effect of sunscreens on the skin of Korean people. OBJECTIVE: We tried to estimate and compare the SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion, which was recommended as the control in SPF experiments by the FDA, USA, in Koreans according to different light sources. METHODS: After application of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion to the back, 33 men of the third decade were irradiated by xenon arc solar simulator or by fluorescent sunlamp, We estimated the SPF of them 24 hours later. RESULTS: The SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion was 4.8+/-0.8 with the solar simulator, 2.7+/-0.6 with the fluorescent sunlamp. CONCLUSION: We confimed that the SPF of 8% homomenthyl salicylate lotion with xenon arc solar simulator can be used as a control value in Koreans, and found out that the SPF with the fluorescent sunlamp was significantly lower than that with the xenon arc lamp. So it should be taken into consideration that differences of SPF according to light sources exists in studying sunscreens.
Humans ; Male ; Skin ; Solar System* ; Sun Protection Factor* ; Sunscreening Agents ; Xenon

Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody that targets B-lymphocytes, and it is widely used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, its use has been implicated in HBV reactivation that's related with the immunosuppressive effects of rituximab. Although the majority of reactivations occur in hepatitis B carriers, a few cases of reactivation have been reported in HBsAg negative patients. However, reactivation in an HBsAg negative/ HBsAb positive patient after rituximab treatment has never been reported in Korea. We present here an HBsAg-negative/HBsAb-positive 66-year-old female who displayed reactivation following rituximab plus CHOP chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. While she was negative for HBsAg at diagnosis, her viral status was changed at the time of relapse as follows: HBsAg positive, HBsAb negative, HBeAg positive, HBeAb negative and an HBV DNA level of 1165 pg/ml. Our observation suggests that we should monitor for HBV reactivation during rituximab treatment when prior HBV infection or occult infection is suspected, and even in the HBsAg negative/HBsAb positive cases.
Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; B-Lymphocytes ; DNA ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Recurrence ; Rituximab

Coloring Agents ; Cytomegalovirus ; Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Intranuclear Inclusion Bodies ; Male ; Methenamine ; Mouth ; Oral Manifestations ; Stomatitis ; Tongue ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Chronic liver disease leads to liver fibrosis, and although the liver does have a certain regenerative capacity, this disease is associated with dysfunction of the liver vessels. C-reactive protein (CRP) is produced in the liver and circulated from there for metabolism. CRP was recently shown to inhibit angiogenesis by inducing endothelial cell dysfunction. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of CRP levels on angiogenesis in a rat model of liver dysfunction induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). METHODS: The diameter of the hepatic vein was analyzed in rat liver tissues using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The expression levels of angiogenic factors, albumin, and CRP were analyzed by real-time PCR and Western blotting. A tube formation assay was performed to confirm the effect of CRP on angiogenesis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) treated with lithocholic acid (LCA) and siRNA-CRP. RESULTS: The diameter of the hepatic portal vein increased significantly with the progression of cirrhosis. The expression levels of angiogenic factors were increased in the cirrhotic liver. In contrast, the expression levels of albumin and CRP were significantly lower in the liver tissue obtained from the BDL rat model than in the normal liver. The CRP level was correlated with the expression of albumin in hepatocytes treated with LCA and siRNA-CRP. Tube formation was significantly decreased in HUVECs when they were treated with LCA or a combination of LCA and siRNA-CRP. CONCLUSION: CRP seems to be involved in the abnormal formation of vessels in hepatic disease, and so it could be a useful diagnostic marker for hepatic disease.
Angiogenic Proteins/genetics/metabolism ; Animals ; Bile Ducts/surgery ; C-Reactive Protein/*analysis/genetics/metabolism ; Cells, Cultured ; Disease Models, Animal ; Hepatic Veins/abnormalities ; Hepatocytes/cytology/metabolism ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans ; Lithocholic Acid/pharmacology ; Liver/metabolism/pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis/etiology ; Liver Diseases/metabolism/*pathology ; Male ; Microscopy, Fluorescence ; Mitochondria/drug effects/metabolism ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Small Interfering/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serum Albumin/genetics/metabolism

This experiment involved 12 rabbits of both sexes, weighing 2.1 kg. After anesthesia, the kidneys were exposed, isolated and cannulated in the renal artery, ureter and sometimes in the vein as well. The kidney were perfused through the renal artery with Krebs-Henseleit solution, which were then filtered to be free of particles, gased with 95% O2-5% CO2, and kept at 37 degrees C. We measured RBCs concentrations by means of Coulter Counter in the venous outflow collected, and plotted them against the volume perfused. Using 2 different flow rates, 9 ml/min (group I) and 19 ml/min (group II), we found that the RBCs decreased in a multiexponential decay fashion and a biophysical model for each flow rate was constructed. These models indicated that there were more cell stores (2.20 x 10(10)) in the fast compartment of group II than in group I (1.72 x 10(10)). This difference is not statistically significant, but certainly coincides with urine flow collected from ureter cannula during perfusion. Our present data clearly suggest that in order to clear 99% blood cells out of 10-12 gm rabbit kidneys, at least 3-6 ml of cell free perfusate is required while clearing the whole blood cells out of human kidneys (200-240 gm) may need 600 ml or more. Thus, we recommend that at least 600 ml of perfusate should be used to clear most of the blood cells in the renal vasculature before renal transplantation is performed.
Animal ; Erythrocyte Count ; Erythrocytes/*physiology ; Female ; In Vitro ; Kinetics ; Male ; Models, Biological ; Perfusion ; Rabbits ; *Renal Circulation ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't