Thirty-eight patients with a musculoskeletal chest wall syndrome were evaluated for the musculoskeletal findings of chest wall. All patients had the chest wall tenderness and the typical chest pain could be reproduced by the palpation. There was no significant difference in the diagnostic features of the pain for the onset, location, characteristics, duration, radiation, and area of references for chest pain among the different groups of the patients. However, a reproduction of pain by palpation and the pressure threshold difference between the lesion and control points by using pressure algometry was a reliable and specific diagnostic tool. Pressure threshold difference was correlated with numerical rating scale by the correlation coefficient 0.96. The common causes of the chest wall syndrome were the myofascial pain syndrome, chostochondritis, sternalis syndrome, rib-tip syndrome, xiphodynia in order. Six patients had chest wall disorders in conjunction with other associated intrathoracic condition. Thirty-two patients had an isolated chest wall syndrome. Chest wall syndrome should be considered in all patients with the chest pain, as its recognition could help the patient management.
Chest Pain ; Humans ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes ; Palpation ; Reproduction ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax*

To investigate recovery, growth, and activity of hepatocyte in primary culture after cell separation, the authors followed up the marker enzyme activities of golgi complex, mitochondria and biologic membrane. Thiamine pyrophosphatase, the marker enzyme of golgi complex, activity approached the level of long term culture at 4th day. Succinate dehydrogenase, the marker enzyme of mitochondria, activity decreased with time, then it maintained constant level after 4th day. Alkaline phosphatase, the marker enzyme of biological membrane, activity increased from 3rd day, and after 5th day it showed strong reaction. These data suggested that hepatocytes were stabilized and recovered normal activity 4 day after cell separation. But the main secretory function was speculated to be reduced in culture.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Animals ; Cell Separation ; Golgi Apparatus ; Hepatocytes* ; Membranes ; Mitochondria ; Organelles* ; Rats* ; Succinate Dehydrogenase ; Thiamine Pyrophosphatase

No abstract available.
Osteoblastoma* ; Spine*

PURPOSE: To study a refractive change after suture removal and to evaluate some factors for this change in penetrating keratoplasty. METHODS: We studied 53 eyes of 47 patients who had undergone penetrating keratoplasty. Subjective refraction and best corrected visual acuity were measured in all eyes before and after the removal of sutures. We also classified the subject eyes based on suture removal time, degree of astigmatism before suture removal, recipient trephine size and compared the change of astigmatism within the groups. RESULTS: Suture removal decreased the astigmatism by an average of 0.81 diopter (D) (p=0.02) and increased the best corrected visual acuity by an average of 0.17 (p=0.005). These results show that corneal astigmatism tends to decrease more with early suture removal (p=0.010), higher degree of astigmatism before suture removal (p<0.05) and smaller size of recipient trephine (p=0.014). CONCLUSIONS: The removal of entire suture after penetrating keratoplasty decreases corneal astigmatism. Furthermore, the outcome is influenced by suture removal time, degree of astigmatism before suture removal, and recipient trephine size.
Astigmatism* ; Humans ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating* ; Sutures* ; Visual Acuity

In transmembrane and intracellular sites of neurom, calcium ion(Ca(++)) has been known to have an important role of signalling process. It is naw well accepted that calcium binding proteins, calbindin D-28K (calbindin) and parvalbumin, modulate and mediate above aclcium ionss action as a second messenger. Although it has been reported that calbindinergic and parvalbuminergic neurons comprise different subpopulations in the cat and rat spinal cords, the studies of their morphology, topographical distribution and ultrastructural features have not been done extensively in the mammalian spinal cords until now. This study was conducted to localize calbidinergic and parvalbuminergic neurons and to define their morphology, topographical distribution and ultrastructural features in the rabbit cervical cord by the preembedding immunocytochemical method using anti-calbindin and anti-parvalbumin antisera. In the rabbit cervical cord, calbindin immunoreactive neurons were mainly distributed in the dorsal horn, especially in lamina II, and a smaI1 number of labelled neurons were observed in the intermediate gray matter (IGS), but calbindin immunoreactivities were not observed in the intermediate gray substance(IGS), but calbindin immunoreactiveties were not observed in thr ventral horn. The somata of calbindin immunoreactive neurons received synaptic inputs from non-immunoreactive axon terminals in the dorsal horn and in the IGS. Parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons were mainly observed in the IGS and in the ventral horn, but only a few of parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons were distributed in the dorsal horn. In the ventral horn, two types of parvalbumin immunoreactive neurons were identified according to the sizes of the somata and labelled motor cells received synaptic inputs from labelled and unlabelled axon terminals. These results demonstrate that calbindinergic neurons are a number of neurons located in lamina II of dorsal horn and a few of neurons located in the intermediate gray and parvalbuminergic ne.urons are laocated in the intermediate gray substance and in the ventral horn, and these neurons comprise different subpopulations of neurons. It was suggest that calbindinergic neurons might play an important role in the process of pain modulation and parvalbumiergic neurons in the control of motor activity with their specific synaptic circuitry in the spinal cord.
Animals ; Calbindins ; Calcium ; Calcium-Binding Proteins ; Cats ; Horns ; Immune Sera ; Motor Activity ; Neurons* ; Presynaptic Terminals ; Rats ; Second Messenger Systems ; Spinal Cord

No abstract available.
Eosinophilic Granuloma* ; Eosinophils*

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

BACKGROUND: Vascular lesions can be diagnosed by biopsy, simple x-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, venography and MR angiography. These diagnostic tools can identify the detailed structure and abnormalities in the peri-lesional area of vascular lesions. Color Doppler ultrasound (CDU) can demonstrate the hemodynamic features, distribution of veins and arteries, shunts and structures of vascular lesions. Authors have tried to categorize vascular lesions with CDU and also applied this to the selection of treatment methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven vascular lesions were evaluated by means of CDU. All patients underwent a complete clinical evaluation as well as peak systolic velocity (PSV), peak diastolic velocity (PDV), resistive index (RI) of feeding arteries. In particular, we evaluated the hemodynamic features and structures of vascular lesions. We categorized the vascular lesions and then treated them with systemic steroid, compression, SPTL1 Dye laser, steroid intralesional injection and sclerotherapy. We evaluated the clinical improvement and objective effects of treatments by CDU. RESULTS: There were 37 hemangiomas and 10 vascular malformations. Vascular lesions were classified by the hemodynamic features and structures: category Ia (infantile hemangioma, regressed infantile hemangioma), Ib (RICH), Ic (deep hemangioma, mixed hemangioma), II (arteriovenous malformation), III (venous malformation, verrucous hemangioma). The clinical improvement after treatment was associated with the decrease of PSV and RI values. The clinical improvement above 50% resolution of the lesion showed 70.9% in category Ia, 50% in Ib, 66.6% in Ic, 83.3% in II and 50% in III. CONCLUSIONS: The analysis of hemodynamic feature and structures by CDU can be helpful in the study of vascular lesions. These processes suggest CDU be a useful modality in differential diagnosis of vascular lesions and a more advantageous tool in the decision of treatment policy than the conventional modalities. And it is also useful for the evaluation of treatment effects.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hemangioma ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Lasers, Dye ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Phlebography ; Sclerotherapy ; Ultrasonography* ; Vascular Malformations ; Veins

PURPOSE: To report two cases that showed clinical findings of recurrent keratoconus following penetrating keratoplasty. METHODS: A 39 year-old male and a 34 year-old female developed clinical signs of recurrent keratoconus in his left and her right eye 3 and 8 years after keratoplasty, respectively, and he underwent successful corneal regrafting. RESULTS: We confirmed recurrence of keratoconus histopathologically through the examination of the cornea of the recipient who underwent corneal regrafting and chromosomal study showed mosaicism, 47,XXY/46,XY. CONCLUSION: We report the histopathologic feature of one case of recurrent keratoconus for the first time in Korea.
Adult ; Cornea ; Corneal Transplantation ; Female ; Humans ; Keratoconus* ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating ; Korea ; Male ; Mosaicism ; Recurrence

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