OBJECTIVE: The effects on spermatogenesis by expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Testicular specimens were obtained from 40 infertile males due to primary testicular failure and from 10 fertile males with other urologic problems. The specimens of infertile males were devided into 4 groups according to histologic findings; Sertoli cell only syndrome (A), maturation arrest (B), hypospermatogenesis (C) and sloughing and disorganization (D). VEGF and ET-1 expression were detected with immunohistochemical stain. RESULTS: VEGF expression on Leydig cell was detected in all cases. But, VEGF expression rates on germ cell were significantly higher in infertile group B, C, D compared to that of the control group (p<0.05). ET-1 expression rates on Leydig cell was significantly lower in all infertile group compared to that of the control group (p<0.05). But, ET-1 expression rates on Sertoli cell was significantly higher in all infertile group compared to that of the control group (p>0.05). In germ cell of infertile group, LH, FSH and prolactin were significantly decreased, and estradiol is increased in positive stain group on ET-1 immunohistochemical stain (p<0.05). VEGF and ET-1 expression were not correlated mean seminiferous tubule diameter (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Abnormal spermatogenesis would be reflected in VEGF expression in germ cell.
Endothelin-1* ; Estradiol ; Germ Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Oligospermia ; Prolactin ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome ; Spermatogenesis ; Testis* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

Despite significant advances in obstetric and pediatric health care, Streptococcus agalactiae(Lancefield group B β-hemolytic Streptococcus, GBS) remains one 91 the most prevalent and devastating pathogens in peripartum women and their newborn infants. It may cause urinary tract infection, chorioamnionitis and endometritis, bacteremia, and cesarean wound infection in the peripartum period. It was Pasteur who first identified microbes in the blood and lorchia of septic women. After that, in 1938 the isolation of S. agalactiae from three mortally ill women was reported, thereby implicating it as another cause of puerperal sepsis. S. agalactiae is now one of the most common causes of neonatal sepsis and meningitis in the United States. However, in Korea there have been only twenty-three cases of neonatal meningitis and/or sepsis due to group B β-hemolytic streptococcus reported. Recent studies have noted other serious infections in adults, including bacteremia, pneumonia, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, and endocarditis. In Korean adults no case of pneumonia due to S. agalactiae has been reported till now. As minimal inhibitory concentration of penicillin was reported to be higher for S. agalactiae than for S. pyogenes, minimal inhibitory concentration of penicillin for S. agalactiae should be tested. Herein we describe the course of a case of S. agalactiae pneumonia and bacteremia in a 74-year-old diabetic man, and we review the literatures.
Adult* ; Aged ; Bacteremia ; Cellulitis ; Chorioamnionitis ; Delivery of Health Care ; Endocarditis ; Endometritis ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Meningitis ; Osteomyelitis ; Penicillins ; Peripartum Period ; Pneumonia* ; Pregnancy ; Sepsis ; Streptococcus agalactiae* ; Streptococcus* ; United States ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Wound Infection

As the arthroscopic surgery of the knee joint has taken rapid strides recently, the knowledge of the structure and deveIopment of the joint are getting needed more and more. An embryological study about the development of the human knee joint was carried out using a total of 23 knees of human embryos. Serial sections of 23 embryos aged 5-8 postovulatory weeks (12-31 mm C.R.) and 3-dimensional reconstruction were examined. The embryos have been staged according to Carnegie's 'developmental stages'. The femur, tibia and fibula had begun to undergo chondrification by stage 18. The patella had commenced chondrification at stages 23. As the mesenchymal model began to chondrify, concomitant changes occurred in the region of the presumptive knee joint to create the interzone (stage 19-20). The following structures became condensed successively: patellar tendon (18-19), lateral collateral ligament and popliteus tendon (19-20), cruciate ligaments (20-22), meniscus (21-22). In summary, the differentiation from a generalized cellular blastema to a joint resembling the adult in form and arrangement occurred in only a relatively few days. By the end of the embryonic period proper (stage 23, 8 postovulatory weeks), all the elements of the knee joint were present in a form and arrangement closely resembling those of the adult. It seems that the embryological studies are more required to clarify the structures having many variants such as synovial plica, meniscus, and the development of the joint cavity through this study.
Adult ; Arthroscopy ; Embryonic Structures ; Femur ; Fibula ; Humans* ; Joints ; Knee Joint* ; Knee* ; Lateral Ligament, Ankle ; Ligaments ; Patella ; Patellar Ligament ; Tendons ; Tibia

No abstract available.
Humans ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Urinary Bladder*

BACKGROUND: The growth of elderly population increased the need for oral health care. Elderly patients with poor teeth alignment needs more attention with orthodontic treatment METHODS: Elderly patients visiting department of orthodontics, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital between 2000-2004 were treated with fixed appliances in one or both dental arches. Treatment plans were different from than that of younger patients and included uncommon and strategic removals of teeth and prosthesis. RESULTS: There was decrease in orthodontic treatment forces with increasing age, and the observation made from this study was favorable in the patients' as well as in the orthodontist's, point of view. It was possible to move the remaining teeth considerably, and the retention was made with various fixed appliances. CONCLUSIONS: Orthodontic treatment is not limited by patient age. However, it is wise not to extend treatment goals too far beyond the patients' objective needs
Aged* ; Dental Arch ; Heart ; Humans ; Oral Health ; Orthodontics ; Prostheses and Implants ; Tooth

Congenital scoliosis is a structural deformity due to congenital anomaly of the spine. After Winter's report in 1973, congenital scoliosis is said to be progressive in 75% of cases, and 50% are rapidly progressive, serious and demand treatment. And thus, most of them need more aggressive and early treatment compared with idiopathic scoliosis. The prognosis depends on the type, angle and flexibility of the curvature, and the age of patient. The authors reviewed the results of operative treatment for the congenital scoliosis that had been treated from Jan. 1984 to Dec. 1993 at the orthopedic department of Yonsei University College of Medicine, and the results as follows. 1. The age distribution of the patients was from 2 years to 14 years, and the mean was 8.4 years. Five male patients and two female patients were operated. 2. The involved spinal segments of the primary curve were 2 cases of thoracolumbar, 3 cases of lumbar. There were two cases of double major curves. 3. According to MacEwen's classification, the types of vertebral anomaly were 4 cases of hemivertebra, 2 cases of miscellaneous and one case of wedge vertebra. 4. The levels of apical vertebra were each 1 case of T3, T9, Ll, L2, L4 respectively and each 2 cases of T12, L3 respectively. 5. The methods of operation included 1 case of resection of rib, 4 cases of posterior fusion, 1 case of combined anterior and posterior hemiepiphysiodesis and fusion, and 1 case of hemivertebra excision with spine fusion. 6. The curvature of spine on admission ranged form 10 degrees to 63 degrees, and the mean angle was 35.5 degrees. And, we followed up postoperatively from 1 year to 10 years, and the mean follow up period was 32 months. The final correction angles were from
Age Distribution ; Classification ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Orthopedics ; Pliability ; Prognosis ; Pseudarthrosis ; Ribs ; Scoliosis ; Spine

The current study evaluated DSM-IV psychiatric diagnoses and investigated the psychological characteristics of sexual offenders by using the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory(HBI), Sexual Addiction Screening Test (SAST), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Fifty male sexual offenders and 36 male healthy controls completed the psychiatric diagnosis and 30 of the 50 male sexual offenders completed the psychological tests listed above. Thirty-two of the 50 sexual offenders were patients with paraphilias, these sexual offenders had been admitted by the Ministry of Justice to the Institute for Forensic Psychiatry in Gongjui-si due to sexual violence. Participants displayed high lifetime rates of psychiatric disorders: 32 (64%) had paraphilias, 16 (32%) had depressive disorders, 10 (20%) had anxiety disorders, 9 (18%) had impulse control disorders, 6 (12%) had schizophrenia, 2 (4%) had bipolar disorders, and 16 (32%) had personality disorders or some other Axis II disorder. Scores for the sexual offenders were significantly higher both on the HBI and the SAST than the comparison group. Scores for the sexual offenders were also higher for the BDI and the BAI as compared to the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant. Results indicate that sexual offenders may have sexual addictions and be hypersexual. In addition to depressive and anxious psychopathologies, they also seem to have sexual psychopathologies. These results suggested that the psychopathology of sexual offenders may be different than that of a control group.
Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Bipolar Disorder ; Criminals ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Forensic Psychiatry ; Humans ; Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Mental Disorders ; Paraphilic Disorders ; Personality Disorders ; Psychological Tests ; Psychopathology ; Schizophrenia ; Sex Offenses ; Social Justice

No abstract available.
Genes, myc* ; Neuroblastoma* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No abstract available.
Fever*

Coronary artery fistula is an unusual anomaly that consists of a communication between one of the coronary arteries and a cardiac chamber or vein. It has hemodynamic significance, complicated by congestive heart failure, bacterial endocarditis, rupture or thrombosis of the fistula or an associated arterial aneurysm, myocardial ischemia, and arrhythmias. It occurs in congenital, traumatic, neoplastic, or artherosclerotic cardiac disorders. It is being diagnosed with increasing frequency with widespread use of selective coronary angiography. However, acquired coronary artery fistula after acute myocardial infarction is a rare clinical entity, and it has not been reported in Korea yet. We observed a 62-year-old male patient with intermittent chest pain at rest, in whom serial coronary angiography showed newly developed communications from the left anterior descending coronary artery to the left ventricular chamber several months after acute myocardial infarction of the anteroseptal wall. The area of communication corresponded to the site of infarction as established by contrast echocardiography.
Aneurysm ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels* ; Echocardiography ; Endocarditis, Bacterial ; Fistula* ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Infarction ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Rupture ; Thrombosis ; Veins