This is a report of attempts to compare the growth yields of various species of fastidious mycobacterium inch1ding human pathogens and non-pathogens in the conventional Dubos liquid medium and two simple media formulated recently; one is a medium containing 0.1% hyaluronic acid and 6.0% bovine serum albumin and the other is a semisyntheic medium made of umbilical cord extract supplemented with 10% sheep serum as a final concentration. All mycobacterial strains employed in experiments gave the heaviest growth yields in the hyaluronic acid-bovine serum albumin medium (HAS medium), among the three media. Dubos liquid medium seemed to be inferior to a medium made of umbilical cord extract (UCE medium) in supporting mycobacterial growth. There were three-to seven-fold increases in dry weight of the bacteria grown in the HAS medium as compared with those in the Dubos liquid medium. We also looked for the possible effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA)in the HAS medium on mycobacterial growth. As a result, we found that the amount of BSA in the HAS medium, ranging from zero to 6.0% in the medium, showed no substantial effect on the mycobacteria1 growth.
Comparative Study ; Culture Media/standards* ; Female ; Human ; Hyaluronic Acid/isolation & purification ; Hyaluronic Acid/pharmacology* ; Mycobacterium/growth & development* ; Pregnancy ; Tissue Extracts* ; Umbilical Cord*

Spontaneous perirenal hematoma can occur during the course of a varied group of diseases. It is not a rare disease. The diagnosis is based on either the sudden or insidious onset of abdominal or flank pain, abdominal distention, the symptoms and signs of internal bleeding, and the appearance of a mass in either upper quadrant. The picture of the acute surgical condition of the abdomen is often seen. The treatment is surgery and prognosis depends upon the underlying disease, the degree of hemorrhage and the promptness of treatment. We experienced one case of spontaneous perirenal hematoma due to metastatic choriocarcinoma only to the perirenal fat, not renal parenchyme.
Abdomen ; Choriocarcinoma* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Flank Pain ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases

BACKGROUND: Elastic fibers are a major fibrillar component of the extracellular matrix of several organs, and their presence provides elastic properties to these tissues. Recent molecular biological studies also have revealed that accumulation of elastotic material in the skin reflects enhanced synthesis of not only elastin but also a fibrillin, an integral component of the elastic fibers, and steady-state levels of the elastin mRNA increased in photodamaged skin. Futhermore, a variety of cytokines, growth factors, and hormones have been shown to modulate elastin gene expression including transforming growth factor- beta, tumor necrosis factor-a, insulin-like growth factor-I, glucoreorticoids, cyclic AMP, and vitamin D3. Recently, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and IL-10 has been shown to up-regulatory function in elastin gene expression. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of IL-1 beta and IL-10 on elastin gene expression in cultured human fibroblasts. METHODS: Fibroblasts cultures were produced with DMEM medium. Cells were treated with IL-1 p (1U/ml, 10U/ml) and IL-10(0.1ng/ml, 1ng/ml, 10ng/ml) nuclear proteins were extracted. Effect of IL-1 beta and IL-10 on elastin gene expression were measured by Northern blot analysis, chloram- phenicol acetyltransferase(CAT) assay, and laser confocal microscopy. RESULTS: In Northern blot analysis, IL-1 beta and IL-10 showed an up-regulatory effect on elastin mRNA steady-state levels compared with controls incubated without IL-1 p and IL-10. In CAT assay, the percentage of acetylation were increased in cultured fibroblasts. The promoter activities were increased 1.5 and 2.2-fold in IL-1 beta (1U/ml, 10U/ml) and 2.2-fold in IL-10(lng/ml, 10ng/ml) treated fibroblasts compared to control groups. In laser confocal microscopy, the results indicated significant increase in the elastin epitopes associated with the cells in cultured with IL-1 beta and IL-10. CONCLUSION: These results show that IL-1 p and IL-10 increase elastin gene expression on transcriptional and protein levels of cultured fibroblasts. It suggests that they may effect on elastin synthesis by a stage up-regulater in human skin.
Acetylation ; Animals ; Blotting, Northern ; Cats ; Cholecalciferol ; Cyclic AMP ; Cytokines ; Elastic Tissue ; Elastin* ; Epitopes ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibroblasts ; Gene Expression ; Humans* ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-10* ; Interleukin-1beta* ; Microscopy, Confocal ; Necrosis ; Nuclear Proteins ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine the association between IQ and suicide in psychiatric patients. METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study using data obtained from psychiatric patients affiliated with a general hospital in Seoul, Korea. In a one-to-two ratio the psychiatric patients who died of suicide (Suicide Group; n=35) were matched to those who didn't (Non-suicide Group; n=70) by age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis and approximate time of first treatment. IQ was measured using the Korean version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in any type of IQ between suicide patients and non-suicide patients. Logistic regression showed no evidence of an association between IQ and suicide. CONCLUSION: These results do not support the existence of an association between IQ and suicide.
Adult ; Case-Control Studies* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mental Disorders ; Retrospective Studies* ; Seoul ; Suicide*

No abstract available.
Femur* ; Hip*

As an effort to develop a rapid and sensitive diagnostic test, we produced previously a monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific to the lipoarabinomannan (LAM) antigen and used in a sandwich ELISA for detection of mycobacterial antigens in sputum. In this study, we attempted to improve the antigen detection assay by combination of af5nity-purified antibodies against Mycobacterium tuberculosis soluble antigen and anti-LAM MAb. With the new assay, the LAM antigen was detectable as low as 2 ng/ml, and none of 10 gram-negative and gram-positive organisms gave significant absorbance, thus indicating the specific detection of mycobacterial antigens. Sputum samples from 62 patients who were suspected having tuberculosis and from 37 healthy controls were examined. The sensitivity of the antigen detection assay ranged from 0% in the 1+ culture group to 78.8% in the 3+ culture group. When the results were combined, 15 of 24 culture-positive samples were antigen-positive, thus giving an overall sensitivity of 62.5%. The overall specificity was 96.0%, when all the culture-negative samples were combined. The results thus demonstrate that the antigen detection assay can provide a rapid supplemental information for the diagnosis of pulmonary diagnosis.
Antibodies ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum* ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

Multiple large bowel polyps are the hallmark of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), and many progress to colorectal cancer. Desmoid tumors are more common in patients with FAP than in other people, occurring, particularly, in those who have previously undergone prophylatic total colectomy. In such patients, desmoid tumors are a common cause of death. In an FAP patient without extracolic manifestation, who has undergone prophylatic surgery, multifocal desmoid tumors occur periodically. We report the serial radiologic findings of progressive desmoid tumors in FAP, drawing attention to the related findings of previous research.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli ; Cause of Death ; Colectomy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Fibromatosis, Aggressive* ; Humans ; Polyps

No abstract available.
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy* ; Reflex*

No abstract available.
Blood Group Incompatibility*

PURPOSE: To compare the effectiveness of the in-phase(IP) sequence and the opposed-phase(OP) sequence in the detection of focal hepatic lesions in the single breath-hold hepatic MR imaging with fast gradient T1-weighted pulse sequences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: If and OP T1-weighted breath-hold imaging was performed using fast gradient echo sequences in 45 patients referred for known focal hepatic lesions, in which 78 lesions were detected. There blind readers independently reviewed the images for lesion detectability. The signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of the liver, the lesion-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratio(CNR) and the liver-to-spleen CNR were also compared. A consensus was reached by three readers to determine which sequence is better in image quality. RESULTS: On OP images, 61(78%), 61(78%), and 63(89%) lesions were correctly identified for reader 1, 2 and 3, respectively. On IP images, 66(85%), 65(83%), and 65(93%) lesions were detected for each reader, respectively. When two image sets were combined, 71(91%), 69(88%), and 76(97%) lesions respectively were detected for each reader. In cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, liver-to-lesion CNR was greater on the OP images(p<0.05), but in other lesions significant differences was not demonstrated. Liver-to-spleen CNR was higher in OP images(p<0.1), but the SNR of the liver was higher on the If images. CONCLUSION: Use of both If and OP imaging can be helpful to avoid erroneous missing of some focal hepatic lesions.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Consensus ; Humans ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging*