From January 1981 to December 1989, total 42 patients with atelectasis from lung cancer were treated with radiation therapy at the Department of Therapeutic Radiology in Kyung Hee University Hospital. The reexpansion of atelectasis after radiotherapy of the lung was evaluated retrospectively, utilizing treatment records and follow-up chest radiographs. Of the patients with non-small cell carcinoma of the lung, the response rate was 62% (21/34). Patient with small cell carcinoma showed a 75% (6/8) response rate. There appears to be some evidence of a relationship of total tumor dose versus response of atelectasis; radiation dose over 40 gy (1337 ret), had a favorable effect on the rate of response compared with that below 40 gy (1297 ret), 70% (21/30) and 50% (6/12), respectively (p<0.01). Total response rate (partial and complete responses) of all patients was 64% (27/42). Franction size was not contributed to the difference of response rates between small fraction (180~200 cgy) and large fraction (300 cgy), 53% (14/22) and 65% (13/20), respectively. The results of this study suggest that radiation therapy has a definite positive role in management of atelectasis caused by lung cancer, especially in inoperable non-small cell carcinoma.
Carcinoma, Small Cell ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Pulmonary Atelectasis* ; Radiation Oncology ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Radiotherapy ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Animals ; Rats* ; Vitamin A* ; Vitamins* ; Wounds and Injuries*

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is a common, scaly erythematous disease of unknown etiology, marked by remissions and exacerbations of unpredictable onset and duration. Among many etiologic factors, psoriatic keratinocyte is found to play the most important role. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that the mechanism(s) responsible for the abnormal proliferation of psoriatic keratinocytes may be located within the cell themselves. METHODS: Human epidermal keratinocytes were isolated from lesion(PL) and from uninvolved skin (PN) with chronic plaque-like psoriasis and from the normal skin(NN). Keratinocytes were passaged onto culture vessels without the feeder layer and maintained with serum free medium. Growth rates were measured in secondary cultures by MTT assay and ultrastructural findings of cell differentiation were evaluated with a transmission electron microscope. Results : 1 Keratinocytes from PL reached 50% confluency in one week compared to two weeks of PN and NN in primary cultures. 2. By the MTT assay, keratinocyte proliferation from PL showed a significantly faster rate than those from PN and NN(p<0.01). But there was no significant difference of keratinocyte proliferation rate between PN and NN(p>0.05). 3. All of the three cell populations(PL, PN, NN) showed variable degrees of cell differentiation during secondary culturing in a serum-free medium. In the PL, however, small, compact basal cells were more prevalent than PN and NN. 4. When keratinocytes underwent differentiation by culturing in DMEM with serum, keratinocytes from PL formed more cell layers with incomplete formation of cornified envelopes suggests the presence of some unknown factors that induce or promote psoriasis. While keratinocytes from PN and NN were characterized by a complete codified layer as in normal skin. Conclusion : These results indicated that the characteristic hyperproliferation and the defective terminal differentiation of keratinocytes of PL were maintained throughout the culture period.
Cell Differentiation ; Feeder Cells ; Humans ; Keratinocytes* ; Psoriasis ; Skin

Multicentric reticulohistiocytosis (MRH) is a rare multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown cause, characterized by severe debilitating polyarthritis and papular to nodular mucocutaneous lesions. This disease usually manifests as a progressive, destructive polyarthritis with mucocutaneous eruptions consisting of erythematous to brownish-colored papules and nodules. MRH is important, not only because of its disfiguring and disabling manifestations and systemic involvements, but also due to its association with internal malignancy. The histological features of skin and synovial lesions are infiltration of multinucleated giant cells, and histiocytes which contain abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and have a ground glass appearance. Without the accompanying skin nodules, the patients can be misdiagnosed as having rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis, and this inaccurate diagnosis will affect treatment. We report a case of MRH which was misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis.
Arthritis ; Arthritis, Psoriatic ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Giant Cells ; Glass ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Skin

SAPHO syndrome is characterized by sternocostoclavicular osteoarthritis and hyperostosis in the anterior chest wall, and skin changes such as palmoplantar pustulosis and acne. Despite the higher frequency of psoriasis in this syndrome, its inclusion in the psoriatic arthropathy spectrum is not yet clearly established to date. According to a familial series of the SAPHO syndrome, both sacroiliac and sternoclavicular joints could be involved. We report a case of SAPHO Syndrome in a palmoplantar pustulosis patient who had on associated osteoarticular manifestation. A 47-year-old woman had been treated for palmoplantar pustulosis for 15 months. Pain and tenderness then developed abruptly on the chest and neck, and multiple erythematous papules and pustules broke our over the whole body. Laboratory tests were negative for serum RA factor and ANA, and positive for HLA-B27. An X-ray showed a hyperostosis, osteolytic and osteosclerotic lesions in the costo-sterno-clavicular junction. 99mTc isotope scan showed the typical "Bull's head sign" in the anterior chest wall due to increased uptake in the manubrium and both sternoclavicular joints.
Acne Vulgaris ; Acquired Hyperostosis Syndrome* ; Arthritis, Psoriatic ; Female ; Head ; HLA-B27 Antigen ; Humans ; Hyperostosis ; Manubrium ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Osteoarthritis ; Psoriasis ; Skin ; Sternoclavicular Joint ; Thoracic Wall ; Thorax

Clear cell acanthoma is a rare, benign, epidermal tumor. These tumors usually present as solitary lesions, often localized on the lower legs of middle aged or elderly individuals. Pigmented clear cell acanthoma, a variant of clear cell acanthoma, presents as macroscopically visible brown to black-colored, flat or dome-shaped, sharply-dermacated papules or nodules. Histopathologic findings in these tumors reveal markedly epidermal hyperplasia, with exception of the cells in the basal layer. Also, most of the epithelium showed pallor and slight enlargement. With these pigmented type tumors, dermal melanophages are often noticeable on low-power magnification, plus increased melanocytes with melanin granules in the epidermis. A 41-year-old man presented with a 7-year history of a 1.2x0.8cm sized, black plaque on the right inner thigh. The histologic findings revealed the typical features of pigmented clear cell acanthoma.
Acanthoma* ; Adult ; Aged ; Epidermis ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Leg ; Melanins ; Melanocytes ; Middle Aged ; Pallor ; Thigh

PURPOSE: Varicose veins occur commonly in the general population, however the etiology is not well established. Varicosities are frequently associated with a reflux of blood in the leg veins due to valvular incompetence. Our aim was to determine which risk factors are related to reflux in the general population, and thus could be implicated in the etiology of varicose veins. METHOD: One hundred and eighty nine patients were assessed and their clinical records from March 2001 to June 2004 were reviewed. They were all diagnosed as having primary varicose veins of the lower extremities using duplex ultrasonography. We analyzed the sex, age, symptoms, signs, duration, location and CEAP classification. Patients also completed a self-administered questionnaire, asking about their objectives of the visit, cigarette consumption, familial history, previous pregnancies, use of drugs such as oral contraceptives, hormones, and anticoagulant agents, and other associated diseases. We carried out duplex scans to measure the reflux in venous segments in each leg. RESULTS: The mean age was 46.0 years, and there were 3.3 times more females than males. The most common CEAP classification was C2sEpAsPr, followed by C2aEpAsPr and C1sEpAsPr. Venous reflux was significantly associated with females (p=0.0067), duration (p=0.0027), pregnancy (p=0.0034), smoking (p=0.0360), family history of mother (p=0.0082) and brother (p=0.0360), heaviness (p=0.0120) and stasis dermatitis or ulcer (p=0.0219). CONCLUSION: This study identified relatively strong and consistent risk factors of venous reflux that are associated with females, pregnancy, smoking, duration, family history of the mother or brother, heaviness, and stasis dermatitis or ulcers.
Anticoagulants ; Classification ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Dermatitis ; Female ; Humans ; Leg ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mothers ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors* ; Siblings ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tobacco Products ; Ulcer ; Ultrasonography ; Varicose Veins* ; Veins ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The role of amino acids in culture media for IVF-ET was examined in a total of 76 cycles. Patients received clomiphene citrate (CC) followed by hMG or GnRH-a combined with gonadotropins (FSH/hMG) for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Severe male (<4 x10(6) motile sperm) or age factor (>39 y) patients were excluded in this study. Pregnancy was classified as clinical if a gestational sac or fetal cardiac activity was seen on ultrasound. No significant differences were found in age, duration of infertility, follicle size, the level of E2 on the day of hCG injection, the mean number of oocytes retrieved, total motile sperm count, fertilization rate and the mean number of embryos transferred between bHTF (without amino acids) and mHTF (with amino acids) groups. However, total ampules of gonadotropins were higher (p<0.01) in mHTF group than bHTF group. Significantly (p<0.05) more clinical pregnancies were recorded in mHTF group (13/30) compared with bHTF group (9/46). The multiple pregnancy rates were 11.1% in bHTF group and 77% in mHTF group. There were one ectopic pregnancy in mHTF group and one heterotopic pregnancy in bHTF group. Abortion rates were 22.2% in bHTF group and 7.7% in mHTF, respectively The ongoing pregnancy or livebirth .ate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in mHTF group (12/30) than bHTF group (7/46). These results suggest that the addition of amino acids in culture media is essential for culture of zygotes in vitro and adjustment of energy substrates in phosphate-free culture media appears to be beneficial for human IVF-ET procedure.
Abortion, Induced ; Age Factors ; Amino Acids* ; Clomiphene ; Culture Media ; Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Gestational Sac ; Gonadotropins ; Humans* ; Infertility ; Male ; Oocytes ; Pregnancy Rate* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic ; Pregnancy, Heterotopic ; Pregnancy, Multiple ; Sperm Count ; Ultrasonography ; Zygote

We investigated the effect of low dose radiation on diabetes induced suppression of neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of rat. After 0.01 Gy, 0.1 Gy, 1 Gy and 10 Gy radiation was delivered, the dentate gyrus of hippocampus of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats were evaluated using immunohistochemistry for 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU), caspase-3, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick end-labeling (TUNEL) staining. The number of BrdU positive cells in the non-diabetic rats, diabetic rats without radiation, diabetic rats with 0.01 Gy radiation, diabetic rats with 0.1 Gy radiation, diabetic rats with 1 Gy radiation and diabetic rats with 10 Gy radiation were 55.4+/-8.5/mm2, 33.3+/-6.4/mm2, 67.7+/-10.5/mm2, 66.6+/-10.0/mm2, 23.5+/-6.3/mm2 and 14.3+/-7.2/mm2, respectively. The number of caspase-3 positive cells was 132.6+/-37.4/mm2, 378.6+/-99.1/mm2, 15.0+/-2.8/mm2, 57.1+/-16.9/mm2, 191.8+/-44.8/mm2 and 450.4+/-58.3/mm2, respectively. The number of TUNEL-positive cells was 24.5+/-2.0/mm2, 21.7+/-4.0/mm2, 20.4+/-2.0/mm2, 18.96+/-2.1/mm2, 58.3+/-7.9/mm2, and 106.0+/-9.8/mm2, respectively. These results suggest low doses of radiation paradoxically improved diabetes induced neuronal cell suppression in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of rat.
Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rats ; Radiotherapy/methods ; Neurons/*metabolism ; Male ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Hippocampus/*cytology/metabolism/radiation effects ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental/radiotherapy ; Dentate Gyrus/drug effects/*radiation effects ; Cell Proliferation ; Caspase 3/metabolism ; Bromodeoxyuridine/pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; Animals

The aims of this study were to describe a reproducible method for the isolation, purification and primary culture of rat Kupffer cells, and were to develop in vitro system which could provide a tool for the study of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Kupffer cells were isolated following sequential collagenase digestion of the liver by perfusion and enrichment of a nonparenchymal cell fraction by a double-densities gradient centrifugation step using Percoll and were selected by allowing them to adhere to culture vessel for 2 h at 37 degrees C under 5% CO2. The purity of obtained Kupffer cell was about 90% assessed by the phagocytosis of 3 micrometer latex beads. This method for Kupffer cell isolation resulted in yields of 1~5 x10(7) Kupffer cells per liver and Kupffer cells were preserved in maintenance cultures for 10 days. The phagocytic capacity of cultured Kupffer cells was measured according to the amount of latex beads incorporated into the cytoplasm. Larger round Kupffer cells in the culture had higher phagocytic capacity compared with smaller round or irregular shaped Kupffer cells. The different phagocytic capacity of Kupffer cells which was dependent on size and shape in vivo was well preserved during culture. The experimental group of Kupffer cells in culture were sequentially treated with ischemia and reperfusion at 1h and 30 min. The ratio of Kupffer cells having latex beads in their cytoplasm was significantly increased compared with control (p<0.01). This result was able to explain the Kupffer cells' activation after ischemia-reperfusion injury in vivo. In conclusion, Kupffer cells in this culture well resembled the cells in vivo and this in vitro model could provide a valuable tool for the study of Kupffer cells with a key role in pathophysiology of ischemia-reperfusion injury.
Animals ; Cell Separation ; Centrifugation ; Collagenases ; Cytoplasm ; Digestion ; Ischemia ; Kupffer Cells* ; Liver ; Microspheres ; Perfusion ; Phagocytosis ; Rats ; Reperfusion ; Reperfusion Injury*