No abstract available.
Pancreaticoduodenectomy*

Cerebellar degeneration is a group of diseases that manifests as progressive ataxia, that finally led to death without specific treatment. We report here two patients with cerebellar degeneration, who had shown an improvement and less progressive course, which is associated with panax ginseng intake. Patient 1 was a 60-year-old woman with multisystem atrophy (MSA) type C with 5 year history of ginseng ingestion. Patient 2 was a 54-year-old woman with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) type 6, who had a history of ginseng intake for 30 months. Both the patients showed atrophic change in the cerebellum by brain magnetic resonance imaging. Cerebellar functions had been semi-quantified by International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and monitored before and after the ginseng ingestion every 6 to 12 months. In Patient 1 with MSA type C, ICARS had improved from 21 to 17.5 ± 1.8 in the following 5 years. In Patient 2 with SCA, ICARS also showed an improvement from 22 to 6.0 ± 1.0 over 30 months. However, when she stopped taking ginseng, it progressed up to 13 points in two years. These observations provide a potential disease-modifying effect of ginseng on patients with cerebellar degeneration.
Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cerebellar Diseases

No abstract available.
Animals ; Jaundice, Obstructive* ; Liver Regeneration* ; Liver* ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Horns* ; Pregnancy*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: Purified major allergens of house dust mite are essential for evaluation of the allergic mechanism in molecular basis and development of new modalities of immunemodulation. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to purif group 1 and group 2 allergens from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp). In addition, cDNAs corresponding to Der pI and II in Korean Dp were isolated and recombinant Der p1 and Der pII were synthesized. MATERIALS AND and METHOD: Der pI allergen was purified by ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion -exchange column chromatography, and gel filtrat,ion chromatography. Der pII allergen was purified by anion exchange chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and a preparative isoelectric focusing method. RESULTS: Eight hundred ug of Der pI and 50 ug of Der pII were obtained from 100 g of culture medium and 1 g of mite bodies, respectively. The purities of these allergens were confirmed by SDS PAGE and the strong reactivity to the patient sera was identified. In order to produce a recombinant allergens, poly(A) RNA from house dust mites were isolated and used for cDNA synthesis by RT PCR. The cDNA was inserted into prokaryotic expression vector and the vectors were transformed into E. coli. A little amount of recombinant Der pI protein was produced due to the low solubility, and 1.2 mg of recombinant Der pII was produced from 1 L of E. coli culture medium. The antigenicity of Der pI was relatively weak, however, Der pII showed a strong antigenicity. Amino acid sequence of the amplified cDNA deduced from DNA sequences of Der pII showed 6 different variants. The variation of amino acid sequences suggests the possibility of high incidence of mutation of Der pII protein. CONCLUSION: A simplified method for the purification of Der pI and Der pII was developed. Recombinant allergens will be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of allergy with lower costs.
Allergens* ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Ammonium Sulfate ; Base Sequence ; Chromatography ; Chromatography, Gel ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus* ; Diagnosis ; DNA, Complementary ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Incidence ; Isoelectric Focusing ; Mites ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pyroglyphidae* ; RNA, Messenger ; Solubility

No abstract available.
Leukemia, Eosinophilic, Acute* ; Trisomy*

PURPOSE: The objective of augmentation mammoplasty includes reconstruction and cosmesis after breast surgery Increasing frequency of the procedure has been related with increased complications. Authors evaluated the value of breast MRI in the diagnosis of complications after augmentation mammoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Authors studied 42 breasts of 24 patients, who had undertaken augmentation mammoplasty. We evaluated findings of mammography, ultrasonography, and breast MRI in all patients. We used variable MRI sequences for better evaluation of implant status. The results were compared with the findings in surgical field. RESULTS: In all imaging studies, nodule or mass was indentifiable in the cases of interstitial paraffine injection(8 breasts), interstitial silicon injection(7 breasts), and herb medication(2 breasts). However, the differentitation between malignant and benign nodule was only possible at dynamic breast MRI. Mammogram was not helpful in the evaluation of extracapsular rupture in the cases of silastic bag insertion. In sonogram, identification of echogenic material was possible, although, false negative and false positive rate were high. MRI was able to visualize contour of entire implant and it was able to easily recognize low signal internal structure. CONCLUSION: MRI was the most accurate diagnostic tool in the evaluation of the character of the palpable mass after augmentation mammoplasty and early detection of breast implant rupture.
Breast ; Breast Implants ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mammaplasty* ; Mammography ; Paraffin ; Rupture ; Silicones ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: The objective of augmentation mammoplasty includes reconstruction and cosmesis after breast surgery Increasing frequency of the procedure has been related with increased complications. Authors evaluated the value of breast MRI in the diagnosis of complications after augmentation mammoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Authors studied 42 breasts of 24 patients, who had undertaken augmentation mammoplasty. We evaluated findings of mammography, ultrasonography, and breast MRI in all patients. We used variable MRI sequences for better evaluation of implant status. The results were compared with the findings in surgical field. RESULTS: In all imaging studies, nodule or mass was indentifiable in the cases of interstitial paraffine injection(8 breasts), interstitial silicon injection(7 breasts), and herb medication(2 breasts). However, the differentitation between malignant and benign nodule was only possible at dynamic breast MRI. Mammogram was not helpful in the evaluation of extracapsular rupture in the cases of silastic bag insertion. In sonogram, identification of echogenic material was possible, although, false negative and false positive rate were high. MRI was able to visualize contour of entire implant and it was able to easily recognize low signal internal structure. CONCLUSION: MRI was the most accurate diagnostic tool in the evaluation of the character of the palpable mass after augmentation mammoplasty and early detection of breast implant rupture.
Breast ; Breast Implants ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mammaplasty* ; Mammography ; Paraffin ; Rupture ; Silicones ; Ultrasonography