No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

BACKGROUND: In order to delineate the involvement of apoptotic death in post-ischemic cerebral infarction, the temporal expressions of some apoptosis-regulating genes (BCL-2, BAX and ICE) were studied in the parietofrontal cortex of a rat following focal cerebral ischemia using a Northern blot analysis and RT-PCR. METHODS: Animals were decapitated at 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 24 hours following a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). RESULTS: With the use of Northern blotting, the expression of proto-oncogene BCL-2, the apoptosis-repressor gene, increased up to 4 hours after a MCAO and then recovered to the control level. In a RT-PCR analysis, the expression of BCL-2 increased up to 8 hours after the MCAO and then recovered to the control level at 24 hours. The expression of BAX, the apoptosis-effec-tor gene, was not altered by a MCAO in a Northern blot analysis. The expression of ICE, an cysteine protease gene, markedly decreased at 1 and 2 hours after the MCAO and then recovered to the control level. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that ischemic insults by a MCAO alter the expression of the apoptosis-regulating genes and support the notion that the apoptosis may have occurred in the post-ischemic cerebral infarction.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Blotting, Northern ; Brain Ischemia ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cysteine Proteases ; Ice* ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Proto-Oncogenes ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger*

No abstract available.
Thanatophoric Dysplasia*

Lichen nitidus(LN) is an unaommon chronic eruption of numerou tiny, discrete, usually flesh colored, shiny papules most cornmonly located on the penis, arms, for arms, and abdomen. It was described by Pinkus, first in 1901. The distribution of LN is most often locaized, but in some cases it may become generalized. A 10-year-old healthy boy was seen by our department because of many flesh colored, discrete, shiny papules on the whole body. The papules are skin colored, pinhcad sized, round, and flat-topped. The lesions appeared first at the age of 9 on the forehead and then neased in the number and extended downward to the neck, trunk, abdornen and both extremities. This case was successfully treated with topical corticosteroid.
Abdomen ; Arm ; Child ; Extremities ; Forehead ; Humans ; Lichen Nitidus* ; Lichens* ; Male ; Neck ; Penis ; Skin

We report a case of focal dermal hypoplasia associated with ichthyosis in an 18-year-old Korean female. The patient showed a yellowish atrophic patch on the left side of her abdomen, abnormal skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy and ichthyosis since birth.We could also find skeletal and dental deformities. The biopsy specimen obtained from the yellowish atrophic patch showed marked attenuation of collagen fibers and ectopic fatty tissue nearly reaching up to the upper dermis.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Collagen ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dermis ; Female ; Focal Dermal Hypoplasia* ; Humans ; Ichthyosis* ; Skin Pigmentation

We report a case of focal dermal hypoplasia associated with ichthyosis in an 18-year-old Korean female. The patient showed a yellowish atrophic patch on the left side of her abdomen, abnormal skin pigmentation, nail dystrophy and ichthyosis since birth.We could also find skeletal and dental deformities. The biopsy specimen obtained from the yellowish atrophic patch showed marked attenuation of collagen fibers and ectopic fatty tissue nearly reaching up to the upper dermis.
Abdomen ; Adipose Tissue ; Adolescent ; Biopsy ; Collagen ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dermis ; Female ; Focal Dermal Hypoplasia* ; Humans ; Ichthyosis* ; Skin Pigmentation

No abstract available.
Alcoholics* ; Humans

No abstract available.

Variant angina is characterized by episodic angina due to spasm of an epicardial coronary artery at rest and concomitant transient ST elevation on electrocardiogram. While long-term survival of coronary spasm is usually excellent, but serious complications can be developed such as disabling pain, myocardial infarction, ventricular tachyarrhythmias, atrioventricular block and sudden cardiac death. We experienced 40 year-old man with intractable chest pain due to coronary artery spasm, who suffered from ventricular fibrillation and acute anterior myocardial infarction at the first admission. The patient underwent coronary angiogram, which revealed spontaneous focal spasm at the proximal left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD). He was treated by the combination of nitrate and calcium channel blocker. However, he complained of severe chest pain despite intensive medical therapy and visited emergency room 5 times during 8-month follow-up. We performed ergonovine coronary angiogram and intracoronary ultrasound, which revealed focal spasm at same site of proximal LAD with small amount of localized eccentric atheromatous plaque. Thus we placed coronary artery stent (3.0 x 24 mm GFX stent) at proximal LAD and his symptom was resolved after stenting. We performed follow-up coronary angiogram at 9 months after stenting and stent was patent without any stent recoil and in-stent restenosis.
Adult ; Atrioventricular Block ; Calcium Channels ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Vessels ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Electrocardiography ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Ergonovine ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Spasm* ; Stents* ; Tachycardia ; Ultrasonography ; Ventricular Fibrillation

BACKGROUND: Although the first coronary Wallstent implantation ushered in a new era in interventional cordiology with the purpose of circumventing the two major limitations of coronary balloon angioplasty, early acute occlusion and late restenosis, the previous investigators have reported a high rate of subacute occlusion after Wallstent implantation. However, recent studies have reported a low incidence rate of subacute closure and restenosis using the newly modified coronary Less Shortening in aortocoronary vein grafts. The present study reports the immediate results of the Less Shortening Wallstent Implantation for 21 diffuse native coronary lesions in 20 patients. METHODS: Twenty patients were enrolled at the Yonsei Univ. Cardiovasular Center of medical College, Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea from March 1996 through May 1996. The specific angiographic criteria for enrollment included at least 75% diameter stenosis, according to the estimate of two investigatior ; a lesion that was 20mm or more in lenght and a vessel diameter of at least 2.5mm. Bail-out procedure was performed in the case of abrupt closure or threatened closure, defined as a dissection and over 50% residual stenosis of the artery. RESULTS: The coronary Less Shortening Wallstents were successfully implanted in the 21 diffuse coronary lesions(more than 20mm in length) of the 20 patients(pts), including 7 pts of acute myocardial infarction, 11 pts of unstable angina, and 2 pts of stable angina. Angiographic results after Less Shortening Wallstent were 3.0+/-0.3mm in minimal luminal diameter(MLD), 6.7+/-10.8% diameter stenosis(DS) comparing with pre-stent implantation MLD and DS, respectively, 0.3+/-0.4mm and 89.9+/-8.4%. During the in-hospital phase, no major cardiac event occurred except 2 cases of transmural myocardial infarction, including one of stent thrombosis and one of side branch occlusion, despite of inclusion of 7 cases of threatened occlusion in the long lesion. The peristent spasms were observed in 11 among 21 lesions, although long term significance of peristent spasm is not defined. The relative risk for peristent spasm were 10 times higher when larger stents(expanded stent diameter/reference artery diameter>1.7) were implanted. There was no peristent spasm when stents of which expanded stent diameter 1.4 times smaller than reference artery size ware used. CONCLUSION: The results of this introductory study suggest that new Less Shortening Wallstent may reduce the requirement of multiple stent in the long lesion and a lower rate of thrombotic occusion in comparison to its prototype. Further large scale long term follow-up study is needed to evaluate the role of new Less Shortening Wallstent.
Angina, Stable ; Angina, Unstable ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Arteries ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Disease* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Myocardial Infarction ; Phenobarbital ; Research Personnel ; Seoul ; Spasm ; Stents ; Thrombosis ; Transplants ; Veins