No abstract available.
Colon* ; Rectum*

Choriocarcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract is rare. Among them, that of the stomach is the most common. Six cases of choriocarcinoma of the colon were found in the review of the literature. All of these previously reported cases had multiple metastatic foci in the liver, lung, lymph nodes and the prognosis seemed to be very poor. Therefore we think that choriocarcinoma of the colon should be distinguished from conventional adenocarcinoma. A 66-year old female patient, described in this case, was operated on under the impression she was suffering from acute appendicitis. The resected ascending colon revealed extensive hemorrhagic necrosis and perforation with fibrous adhesion in the cecum. On the cut section, the mural tumorous thickening was not definite. Histologically, the tumor showed a focus of typical adenocarcinoma arising from glandular epithelial cells, which were transformed into highly anaplastic tumor cells. There were frequent vascular invasions of tumor cells, similar to syncytiotrophoblasts. In the immunohistochemical stains, both glandular and highly anaplastic tumor cells reacted with cytokeratin. The glandular cells were also reactive for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and anaplastic tumor cells for human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). This is the first report of choriocarcinoma of the colon in Korea. We describe this case with a review of the literature.
Adenocarcinoma ; Aged ; Appendicitis ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Cecum ; Choriocarcinoma* ; Chorion ; Colon* ; Colon, Ascending ; Coloring Agents ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Keratins ; Korea ; Liver ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Necrosis ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis ; Stomach ; Trophoblasts

The T cell responses to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were analyzed in acute hepatitis patients, chronic active hepatitis (CAH) patients and asymptomatic carriers. Neither proliferative responses nor substantial cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in response to HBsAg was detected. For further studies, HBsAg- reactive T cell lines were prepared from PBMC of the hepatitis patients and asymptomatic carriers. No proliferative response of the T cell lines was observed. Interestingly, however, T cell lines obtained from acute hepatitis patients were found to produce IFN-r, but not IL- 4, in response to HBsAg stimulation, whereas T cell lines obtained from CAH patients and carriers were not. Results of this study suggest that HBsAg-reactive T cells producing Thl type cytokines may play an important role in the viral clearance during acute infections, while defects in those T cells may be responsible for the viral persistency.
Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; T-Lymphocytes*

To investigate the effect of diazepam on the contractility of the intestinal smooth muscle, longitudinal muscle strip isolated from rat ileum was prepared for myography in isolated organ bath. 1) Basal tone of ileal muscle was reduced by diazepam concentration-dependently. 2) Higher concentrations (30 and 100 microM) of diazepam inhibited (p<0.05, p<0.001) The carbachol-induced contraction in a concentration-dependent manner; but lower concentration of diazepam (10 microM) enhanced (p<0.05). 3) Histamine-induced contraction was inhibited by pretreatment with diazepam in a concentration-dependent manner. 4) Ca⁺⁺-induced tension recovery in calcium-free solution was inhibited in the presence of diazepam concentration-dependently. These results suggest diazepam reduces the contractility of the longitudinal muscle isolated from rat ileum via interference with influx of calcium into the muscle cells.
Animals ; Baths ; Calcium ; Carbachol* ; Diazepam* ; Ileum* ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myography ; Rats*

No abstract available.
Fetal Blood* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Insulin*

Branch retinal vein occlusion(BRVO), along with central retinal vein occlusion, is second only to diabetic retinopathy as a cause of retinal vascular disease. It has been suggested that eyes with shorter axial length have smaller lamina cribrosa and a narrower scleral canal through which the central retinal vein and artery could pass, causing physical blockage in the vein which predisposes to thrombus formation. The subsequent narrowing of the venous lumen will lead to trubulence. reduced flow, venous stasis and thrombus formation at the level of the arteriovenous crossing. This study was conducted to determine whether there was any difference between the axial lengths of eyes with BRVO and those of control eyes. The axial lengths of the eyes in the group of 37 patients with a unilateral BRVO was compared with those of eyes in the control group. The BRVO group consisted of 23 male and 14 female patients and their mean ages were 61.5+/-7.0 years(51~75years) in male and 63.7+/-7.0 years(52~76years) in female. The control group consisted of 46 male and 28 female patients and their mean ages were 62.5+/-6.5 years(50~73years) in male and 63.9+/-6.1 years(52~75years) in female. The mean axial length of eyes of the BRVO group was 23.08+/-0.57mm(21.92~24.19mm) in male and 22.71+/-0.65mm(21.08~24.00mm) in female. The mean axial length of control eyes was 23.74+/-0.73mm(22.46~25.24mm) in male and 23.18+/-0.81mm(21.62~24.76mm) in female. The difference between the mean axial length of eyes of the BRVO group and that of control eyes was statistically significant(p<0.05). In conclusion, the short axial length may play as a risk factor in the occurrence of a BRVO.
Arteries ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Retinal Vein Occlusion* ; Retinal Vein* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Risk Factors* ; Thrombosis ; Vascular Diseases ; Veins

We herein report a case of transient acrodermatitis enteropathica in a 3-month-old, breast-fed, full-term infant. The patient was presented with a 2-month history of diarrhea and crusted erythema- tous patches on the periorificial area. Similar lesions were seen in his siblings. His serum zinc level and the zinc level in his mother's breast milk were markedly reduced. Diarrhea and skin lesions disappeared promptly with oral zinc supplementation and did not recur when zinc was discontinued after three weeks. Our case indicates that even full-term infants, who feed excl-usively on mothers milk, run a risk of developing zinc deficiency, if the concentration of zinc in the breast milk is very low.
Acrodermatitis* ; Diarrhea ; Humans ; Infant* ; Milk ; Milk, Human ; Mothers ; Siblings ; Skin ; Zinc

No abstract available.
Hemoptysis*

No abstract available.
Lymphomatoid Papulosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
Lymphomatoid Papulosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Tuberculosis*