BACKGROUND: Antistreptolysin O (ASO) has been widely used to diagnose Streptococcus Pyogenes infections and their sequelae, rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis. Butt in some cases there is no elevation of ASO that it is necessary to add one or more tests detecting immune response to S. pyogenes.. The authors analyzed the distribution of antideoxyibonuclease (ADNase) B and antistreptolysin O (ASO) among the children of an elementary school in Seoul and calculated their upper limit of normal (ULN) value. METHODS: ADNase B concentrations were determined by nephelometry (Behring Nephelometer 100 Analyzer, Germany) on 236 sera of healthy elementary school children in Seoul. Throat cultures were taken at the same time to compare ADNase B lovels between S. pyogenes carriers and non-carriers. RESULTS: The distribution of ADNase B concentrations among school children ranged from 77 (detection limit) to 1616 IU/ml and the ULN was estimated to be 362 IU/mL. The carriers of S. pyogenes clad significantly higher ADNase B levels (mean 392 IU/ml) than carriers of non-group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (BHS, 236 IU/ml) oY non-carriers of BHS (234 IU/ml). The relationship between ADNase B (Y) and ASO (X) levels was Y=0.4X+173 (r2=0.209). CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of ADNase B levels showed no close correlation with that of ASO, and ADNase B test was considered to have additive value to ASO test for detecting S. pyogenes infection.
Antistreptolysin ; Child* ; Glomerulonephritis ; Humans ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Pharynx* ; Rheumatic Fever ; Seoul* ; Streptococcus pyogenes

No abstract available.
Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Pregnancy

Fetal bilateral renal agenesis is a lethal congenital anomaly. An early and reliable prenatal diagnosis is extremely important as it may offer options for pregnancy termination as early as possible. The criteria for the ultrasonographic diagnosis of bilateral renal agenesis are severe oligohydramnios, nonvisualization of the bladder, and the empty renal fossa. However, severe oligohydramnios makes it difficult to diagnose the disease because of poor sonographic resolution. We present two cases of bilateral renal agenesis, one is diagnosed by ultrasonography after amnioinfusion at 24 weeks gestation, the other is diagnosed postnatally after term delivery.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Oligohydramnios ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Ultrasonography ; Urinary Bladder

No abstract available.

Intramedullary myelitis due to bacterial meningitis associated with cervical epidural abscess is very rare. Its cause and clinical features are non-specific, therefore exact diagnosis is often missed or mistaken for other disease and immediate treatment may be delayed. We report a case of intramedullary myelitis due to epidural abscess presented with prominent symptoms of meningitis and manifestations of acute cerebrovacular accident. A 69 -year-old man was admitted due to right hemicranial headache with pain on right posterior neck and febrile sensation. At first, the patient's headache was improved by conservative therapy. Three weeks later, the patient showed abrupt right hemiparesis (MRC grade 2/5) with drowsy mentality. The CSF findings of the patient were compatible with acute bacterial meningitis. Cervical spine MRI showed cervical epidural abscess and extensive intramedullary myelitis from cervical to lumbar spinal cord. After antibiotic therapy, mentality of the patient became to be alert and right hemiparesis was improved to MRC grade 4/5. Follow up cervical spine MRI after several weeks represented that the lesions of cervical epidural abscess and intramedullary myelitis were significantly diminished.
Diagnosis ; Epidural Abscess* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial* ; Myelitis* ; Neck ; Paresis ; Sensation ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: c-Met is an attractive potential target for novel therapeutic inhibition of human cancer, and c-Met tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective growth inhibitors of various malignancies. However, their mechanisms in anticancer effects are not clear. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that blocking c-Met signaling induces p53-mediated growth inhibition in lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The growth inhibitory effects of c-Met TKI (SU11274) on lung cancer cells and a xenograft model were assessed using the MTT assay, flow cytometry, and terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase-mediated nick-end labeling staining. The role of p53 protein in the sensitivity of c-Met TKI (SU11274) was examined by Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: SU11274 significantly induced apoptosis in A549 cells with wild-type p53, compared with that in Calu-1 cells with null-type p53. SU11274 increased p53 protein by enhancing the stability of p53 protein. Increased p53 protein by SU11274 induced up-regulation of Bax and PUMA expression and down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression, subsequently activating caspase 3. In p53 knock-out and knock-in systems, we confirmed that SU11274 caused apoptosis through the p53-mediated apoptotic pathway. Likewise, in the A549 xenograft model, SU11274 effectively shrank tumor volume and induced apoptosis via increased p53 protein expression. Blocking c-Met signaling increased the level of p53 protein. CONCLUSION: Our finding suggested that p53 plays an important role in SU11274-induced apoptosis, and p53 status seems to be related to the sensitivity to SU11274 in lung cancer.
Apoptosis ; Blotting, Western ; Caspase 3 ; Down-Regulation ; Flow Cytometry ; Growth Inhibitors ; Humans ; Indoles ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Molecular Targeted Therapy ; Piperazines ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; Puma ; Sulfonamides ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Tumor Burden ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; Up-Regulation

BACKGROUND: Liver failure due to ischemia-reperfusion injury is a serious problem in liver transplantation and radical wide resection of the liver. This injury is believed to be closely related to the generation of oxygen free radicals. Gabexate mesilate, a synthetic protease inhibitor, has an effect on the suppression of extracellular release of oxygen free radicals in the microvascular endothelium, as well as on protease inhibition. In order to understand the effects of gabexate mesilate on ischemia-reperfusion injury to the liver, we performed animal experiment with rats. METHODS: We divided the rats into two ischemia-reperfusion groups:the experimental group which received a 30 minutes ischemic injury along with the infusion of gabexate mesilate and a control group which received only the injury. Each group was subdivided into 4 sub-groups:ischemic injury only and ischemic injury plus 60, 120 or 180 minutes reperfusion injury. The test parameters were TNF-a and IL-6 in the serum, and superoxide dismutase(SOD), catalase, and malondialdehyde(MDA) in liver and lung tissues. RESULTS: The group receiving gabexate mesilate had a significantly higher level of liver SOD and liver catalase and a significantly lower level of liver MDA and lung MDA than the control groups. The TNF-a levels in the gabexate mesilate groups were significantly lower in the early phase, and a comparison of the IL-6 levels between two main groups yielded no significant results. The levels of lung catalase and SOD showed no significant difference between the two main groups. CONCLUSIONS: Protease inhibitor has the beneficial effect of liver ischemia-reperfusion injury suppression due to an increase in antioxidants or oxygen-free-radical suppression. The roles of TNF-a and IL-6 in liver reperfusion injury was not clear in our investigation. However, TNF-a might have an effect in the early phase. The mechanism of reperfusion injury to the lung in liver ischemia-reperfusion injury might be different from that to the liver.
Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Catalase ; Endothelium ; Free Radicals ; Gabexate ; Interleukin-6 ; Liver Failure ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver* ; Lung ; Oxygen ; Protease Inhibitors* ; Rats* ; Reperfusion Injury* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Superoxides

Fifty nine patients who had been admitted to Seoul National University Hospital from April to October in 1986 were prospectively examined by a pulsed Doppler echocardiography on one day before cardiac catheterization. The sample volume was placed both just proximal and distal to pulmonic valve on 2-D echocardiogram. 1) Among the three morphologic patterns of the flow velocity, triangular and intermediate types indicate pulmonary hypertension (sensitivity 84%, specificity 86%), and round type indicates normal pulmonary arterial pressure (sensitivity 86%, specificity 84%). 2) In the group with pulmonary hypertension acceleration time and ejection time were measured shorter (P<0.01), and prejection period was measured longer than the group without pulmonary hypertension (P<0.05). 3) The best correlation was obtained between PEP/AT and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (r=0.77). Acceleration time alone also correlated well with mean arterial pulmonary pressure(r=-0.69). 4) In STI measurement and its correlation with pulmonary arterial pressure, no significant difference was observed when recorded in main pulmonary artery or right ventricular outflow tract. But in the latter position, late, systolic fluttering and variation in curve morphology occured less likely. 5) Our results indicate that the pulsed Doppler echocardiography is useful not only in the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension but also in the quantitative estimation of pulmonary arterial pressure in different heart diseases. Futhermore this method may be a good tool for follow-up evaluation after surgical or medical treatment of patients with pulmonary hypertension.
Acceleration ; Arterial Pressure* ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed* ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Prospective Studies ; Pulmonary Artery ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Seoul

PURPOSE: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a tool used to measure autonomic nervous function; however, there is no evidence that it can be used to define sympathetic hyperactivity in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). We suspected that LUTS would differ between sympathetic hyperactive and hypoactive patients. Therefore, we measured HRV and divided the LUTS patients into two groups, a sympathetic hyperactive group and a sympathetic hypoactive group according to the low frequency/high frequency (LF/HF) ratio and made clinical comparisons between the groups. METHODS: A total of 43 patients with symptomatic LUTS (International Prostate Symptom Score [IPSS] over 8) and 49 healthy volunteers were enrolled. No subjects had diseases that could affect the autonomic nervous system, such as diabetes or hypertension. Electrocardiographic signals were obtained from subjects in the resting state and HRV indexes were calculated with spectral analyses. We divided the LUTS patients into two groups by an LF/HF ratio of 1.9, which was the median value in the healthy volunteers, and compared the differences in clinical characteristics, IPSS, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) results. The parameters were compared by independent sample t-test by use of SPSS ver. 19. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in age, serum PSA, or volume of the prostate between the 2 LUTS groups. However, analyzing IPSS questionnaires between two groups showed that there were significant differences in mean of Q2 score (frequency) and storage symptom score ([Q2+Q4+Q7]/3) (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that an imbalance of autonomic nervous system activity may be a factor that evokes varieties of symptoms in men with LUTS. LUTS patients with hypoactive sympathetic tone may suffer from frequency and storage symptoms.
Autonomic Nervous System ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Prostate ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Hyperplasia