No abstract available.
Hand* ; Neutrophils* ; Skin Diseases* ; Sweet Syndrome

PURPOSE: Serum alkaline phosphatase (sALP) levels show great variation with age and sex in children and adolescents. We aimed to study pediatric age- and sex-specific reference ranges for sALP and how the pattern changed according to age . METHODS: Cross-sectional results from 1366 healthy Korean children and adolescents (10-19.9 years) from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. We constructed age- and sex-specific reference data for sALP with a Hitachi Automatic Analyzer 7600 using Pureauto S ALP. We assessed its peak both in relation to age. RESULTS: Reference values for sALP according to age were constructed. Peak sALP levels were found at 12-13 years in boys (P < 0.001). Total sALP levels decreased to the adult level at the age of 17 in boys and 15 in girls, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study provides reference values for sALP by age for Korean children and adolescents. This normative data that includes upper and lower limits will provide a basis from which to better evaluate sALP levels, especially for bone disorders such as rickets and vitamin D deficiency. However, caution should be made in interpreting sALP levels because different buffers might lead to different values in the same serum.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Buffers ; Child ; Humans ; Nutrition Surveys ; Reference Values ; Rickets ; Sex Characteristics ; Vitamin D Deficiency

Cutaneous protothecosis is a rare skin infection, caused by the genus prototheca, especially Prototheca wickerhamii. A 73-year-old woman had a painful, ulcerative patch and oozing plaque on left wrist and dorsum of hand for 2 months. Biopsy specimen revealed thick walled morula-like sporangia in the dermis. P. wickerhamii was isolated in the culture. Oral itraconazole therapy for 8 weeks is not satisfactory. New skin lesion is formed. After oral fluconazole therapy, patient's skin lesion is improved.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Female ; Fluconazole ; Hand ; Humans ; Itraconazole ; Prototheca ; Skin ; Sporangia ; Ulcer ; Wrist

BACKGROUND: Atherosclerosis is the most important disease that may cause ischemic syndrome in many organs including heart. It is supposed that apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs) is closely related to the progression and rupture of atheromatous plaque. Recent studies have documented evidence for elevated level of nitric oxide(NO) within advanced human atheroma and evidence of regression of atheroma by NO. So this study is designed to evaluate whether exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs and which proapoptotic gene(s) is involved in this type of apoptosis. METHODS: Rat VSMCs were cultured and used for experiment at passage 5 through 7. For NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine(SNAP) of 0.5, 1, 2, 4mM were exposed to subconfluent VSMCs. The cells were harvested at 6, 12, 24, 48, 72hours after exposure of NO donors. Apoptosis was to be identified by 4, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole dihydrochloride(DAPI) staining of nuclei and in-situ nick end labeling(TUNEL). The amount of fragmented DNA was analyzed semiquantitatively by diphenylamine(DPA) assay. Immunocytochemical(ICC) staining and western bolt analyses were designed to detect apoptosisrelated gene products, such as Bax-a, Fas and Bcl-2. RESULTS: 1) Decreased mitotic activity was shown after 12 hours exposure of exogenous NO donors, and condensation and margination of chromatin was identified agter 24 hours exposure, by DAPI staining. 2) Percent DNA fragmentation assessed by DPA method was 0,2,9,48,45% at 0,6,12,24,48 hours after exposure of 2mM of NO donors respectively. 3) The expression of Bax-a and Bcl-2 proteins was demonstrated in apoptotic cells by ICC staining. 4) The expression of Bax-a protein in cells under 24 hours exposure of NO donors was elevated by more than 18% of control level on densitometric analysis of western blot. The level of Bcl-2 was suppressed by 26% of control. So, Bax-a/Bcl-2 ratio in cells under exposure of NO donors was elevated to 2.0 from 1.2 of control level. CONCLUSIONS: Exogenous NO from NO donors can induce apoptosis of cultured rat VSMCs, and it is considered that bax-a and bcl-2 genes are involved in this type of apoptosis.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Atherosclerosis ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatin ; DNA ; DNA Fragmentation ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Heart ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular* ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitroprusside ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Rats* ; Rupture ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus(CMV) disease is an important opportunistic infection and contributes to significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised hosts. To determine predisposing conditions to CMV disease and its prognosis, the authors reviewed the clinical courses of patients with CMV disease. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 23 patients with CMV disease diagnosed at Seoul National University Hospital from 1987 to 1997. RESULTS: CMV pneumonia was diagnosed in 8 patients. Underlying conditions of the patients were allogeneic bone marrow transplant(BMT) in 4 patients, lupus nephritis in 1, dermatomyositis in 1, and renal transplantation recipient in 1. The cumulative dose of corticosteroid given to the BMT recipients before the development of CMV pneumonia ranged between 1,000 and 4,700 mg, whereas that to the non-BMT patients ranged between 2,100 and 6,000 mg. Of the 8 patients with CMV pneumonia, five patients(75%) died. Of the 15 CMV gastroenteritis, two had CMV gastric ulcers. The gastric ulcers showed clinical and endoscopic improvement with systemic ganciclovir therapy. Among 13 patients with CMV enterocolitis, nine had preceding GI diseases, and nine had received systemic corticosteroids. Five patients died. The mortality was lower in patients with underlying bowel diseases than in those without ones(22% vs. 75%, respectively). CONCLUSION: The mortality of CMV disease was 62.5%, 0%, and 38% in patients with CMV pneumonia, gastric ulcer, and enterocolitis, respectively. GVHD, systemic corticosteroid and/or immunosuppressive therapy were major risk factors of CMV diseases.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Bone Marrow ; Cytomegalovirus* ; Dermatomyositis ; Enterocolitis ; Ganciclovir ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Kidney Transplantation ; Lupus Nephritis ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pneumonia ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Stomach Ulcer

BACKGROUND: The rising incidence of fungal infections and the increasingly frequent use of antifungal agents have intensified the need for practical and reliable antifungal susceptibility test methods. In the present study, the minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC) distribution of Candida species was investigated and the agar dilution method was compared with the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards(NCCLS) "reference" broth microdilution method for antifungal susceptibility testing. METHODS: A total of 116 clinical isolates of Candida species from patients at Hanyang University Kuri Hospital were studied from October 1997 to July 1999, and the MICs of Candida species were evaluated against amphotericin B and fluconazole by the NCCLS method and the agar dilution method. RESULTS: There were no differences in the MIC50 and MIC90 of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis against amphotericin B between the two methods, but the MIC50 of C. albicans against fluconazole was higher in the agar dilution method than in the broth microdilution method. The resistant rate of C. albicans against fluconazole was 20.8% in the broth microdilution method and 33.8% in the agar dilution method. For C. tropicalis, 31.3% were resistant to fluconazole in the broth microdilution method and 25.0% in the agar dilution method. The agreement of C. albicans and C. tropicalis between the agar dulution method and the broth microdilution method within one doubling dilution of the microdilution reference were 88.8% for amphotericin B and 34.4% for fluconazole. CONCLUSIONS: The MICs of amphotericin B showed good agreement between the agar dilution and the broth microdilution method. Therefore, resistant strains could easily be detected by screening with agar of 2 g/mL concentrations. However, in the case of fluconazole, the agreement between the two methods was low and the trailing effect could not be ruled out in agar dilution method with some strains, indicating the need for further studies in this area.
Agar* ; Amphotericin B* ; Antifungal Agents ; Candida albicans ; Candida tropicalis ; Candida* ; Fluconazole* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mass Screening

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Functional and anatomical abnormalities of mitochondria play an important role in developing steatohepatitis. Carnitine is essential for enhanced mitochondrial beta oxidation through the transfer of long-chain fatty acids into the mitochondria. We examined the impact of carnitine complex on liver function and peripheral blood mitochondria copy number in NAFLD patients. METHODS: Forty-five NAFLD patients were enrolled. Patients were categorized into the carnitine complex-administered group and control group. Before and 3 months after drug administration, a liver function test and peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA and 8-oxo-dG quantitive analysis were conducted. RESULTS: In carnitine treatment group, ALT, AST, and total bilirubin were reduced after medication. There was no difference in AST, ALT, and total bilirubin between before and after treatment in control group. In carnitine group, peripheral mitochondrial DNA copy number was significantly increased from 158.8+/-69.5 copy to 241.6+/-180.6 copy (p=0.025). While in control group the mitochondrial copy number was slightly reduced from 205.5+/-142.3 to 150.0+/-109.7. 8-oxo-dG level was also tended to decrease in carnitine group (p=0.23) and tended to increase in control group (p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS: In NAFLD, the carnitine improved liver profile and peripheral blood mitochondrial DNA copy number. This results suggest that carnitine activate the mitochondria, thereby contributing to the improvement of NAFLD.
Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood ; Bilirubin/blood ; Carnitine/*therapeutic use ; DNA Copy Number Variations/*drug effects ; DNA, Mitochondrial/*blood ; Deoxyguanosine/analogs &derivatives/analysis ; Fatty Liver/diagnosis/*drug therapy/genetics ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. Transplant recipients, patients with malignancies and those receiving immunosuppressive therapies are susceptible to CMV diseases. While the gastrointestinal infection of CMV is relatively common in AIDS, it is uncommon in other immunocompromised patients. We report a case of CMV gastric ulcer mimicking Borrmann typeIII gastric cancer on gastroscopy in a patient with immunosuppressive therapy.
Cytomegalovirus* ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Immunosuppression ; Kidney Transplantation ; Mortality ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Stomach Ulcer* ; Transplantation

Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of malignant tumor arising in the stomach, accounting for approximately 95% of malignant gastric neoplasms. The majority of remainder is lymphoma. Although H. pylori infection has been implicated as a common cause of both adenocarcinoma and lymphoma of the stomach, synchronous occurrence of both tumors is very rare. We present a case of a 23- year-old-female who presented with epigastric discomfort and was found to have synchronous low-grade B-cell MALT lymphoma and adenocarcinoma of the stomach in association with H. pylori infection.
Adenocarcinoma ; B-Lymphocytes ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone* ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis is a rare disease characterized by multiple, flask-shaped outpouchings in the esophageal wall. These pseudodiverticula represent abnormally dilated excretory ducts of esophageal submucosal gland, which cause is unknown. The most common symptom is dysphagia associated with esophageal stricture. Frequently associated diseases were gastroesophageal reflux disease, diabetes mellitus, candida esophagitis, and chronic alcoholism. We have experienced a patient with dysphagia and anemia, who was diagnosed as esophageal stricture with intramural pseudodiverticulosis and pancreatic pseudoaneurysm. He was treated with esophageal bougienage for the esophageal stricture and transcatheter embolization for pancreatic pseudoaneurysm. This may be the first case of esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis reported in Korea.
Alcoholism ; Anemia ; Aneurysm, False ; Candida ; Deglutition Disorders ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Esophageal Stenosis ; Esophagitis ; Gastroesophageal Reflux ; Humans ; Korea ; Rare Diseases