This study was undertaken to observe the difference of patch test and prick test positive reactions in three groups, 20 atopic dermatitis patients, 20 chronic urticaria patients, and 20 normal controls, Twenty commercial antigens (ToriiCo.) and twenty three frozen and boiled antigens of fishes and shellfishes were used as test materials. The results were as follows: 1. No positive reaction was observed in all sixty subjects in patch test. 2 In prick test, difference in reactivity was observed among atopic dermatitis (14. 7%), chronic urticaria (8.7%), and normal control(1. 5%) 3. There was significant difference in reactivity between Torii and frozen antigens in atopic dermatitis group, but no significance in chronic urticaria and control groups. 4. Boiling altered the reactivity in tested materials in all three groups of subjects singificantly. 5. Patients with past or family history of allergic diseases showed double fold higher reactivity tban patients without any history.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Fishes ; Humans ; Patch Tests ; Shellfish* ; Urticaria*

Aplasia cutis congenita is a rare disease presenting in the newborn infant as localized areas of skin defect. Its association with a number of congenital malformations is well documented. I observed a newborn infant with typical aplasia cutis congenita. The skin defect of my case was found on the posterior fontanelle without any congenital malformation. Diagnosis was made by history, clinical and histopathological findings.
Cranial Fontanelles ; Diagnosis ; Ectodermal Dysplasia ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Leprosy* ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphocytes* ; Rare Diseases ; Skin

Recently, people living in a rapidly industrializing country such as Korea seems to have less opportunity to be exposed to Rhus and Ginkgo trees than before, which may cause a lower prevalence of sensitivity to such allergens than those reported in the past. To prove the prevalence of sensitivity in Koreans, we have tested 0. 002g and 0.0l%, Urushiols and 10% Ginkgo leaves produced by Torii company to 72 atients with or suggesting contact dermatitis. The results were as follows: 1) Twelve of 72 patients(13, 9%) showed positive reactions and two patients(2. 8 %) showed active sensitization to both 0. 002% and 0. 0l% Urushiols. Only one patient(]. 4%) reacted to 10g Ginkgo leaves, and she was also reacted to the Urushiols. 2) Age and sex distribution of the positive reactors were none under thirty, 2 in thirties, 3 in forties, 4 in fifties, one over sixty, and seven female patients outnumber three male patients. 3) Out of 5 patients having past history cf contact dermatitis to Rhus tree, only patients showed positive reactions. Out of 67 patients without past history of allergy to Rhus, 8(ll, 9%) showed positive reactions and 59(88. 1%) showed negative reactions.
Allergens ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Female ; Ginkgo biloba* ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence* ; Rhus* ; Sex Distribution ; Trees

OBJECTIVES: To determine the level of mRNA expression of various members of the matrix metalloproteinase and tissue inhibitors in uterine leiomyoma compared with unaffected myometrium. Materials & Method: 30 cases of portions of leiomyoma and myometrium were collected immediately followimg hysterectomy. Thirteen cases were from proliferative phase and seventeen were from secretory phase of menstrual cycle. The mean age was 43.7years old. The level of expression of mRNAs of interstitial collagenase, gelatinase, stromelysin, TIMP-1,-2,-3 was determined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and normalized to GAPDH(glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) mRNA. RESULTS: Myometrium and leiomyoma expressed all the members of above mentioned matrix metalloproteinase family and tissue inhibitors. Leiomyoma expressed a significantly higher level of stromelysin-3 during secretory phase, an extremely lower level of 92kDa gelatinase and a significantly lower level of TIMP-3. The immunohistochemical localization of TIMP-3 was smooth muscle cell and arteriole wall of myometrium and leiomyoma. CONCLUSIONS: The increased expression of stromelysin-3 in uterine leiomyoma compared with myometrium suggests that this MMP may be involved in the formation of a more fibrous extracellular matrix in leiomyoma. The extremely lower expression of 92kDa gelatinase of leiomyoma means that leiomyoma do not invade myometrium and forms a separated mass. Decreased expression of TIMP-3 of leiomyoma suggests that TIMP-3 is required for differentiation and homeostasis of extracellular matrix of normal myometrium and function as a suppressive role of tumor development
Animals ; Arterioles ; Extracellular Matrix ; Female ; Gelatinases ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Leiomyoma* ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 1 ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 ; Menstrual Cycle ; Mice ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Myometrium* ; RNA, Messenger ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-3

We herein report a 4-year-old boy with infantile digital fibrornatosis developing on the distal & middle phalanx portion of the right index & ring fingers, and the middle phalanx portion of the right middle finger, which started at the age of 5 months after birth. Biopsy specimen taken from the right middle finger showed the proliferating collagen bundles and fibroblasts in the dermis and eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions within the fibroblasts. Although we attempted to treat tbe patient with intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide suspension and cryotherapy 5 times biweekly, there was no signifit effect.
Biopsy ; Child, Preschool ; Collagen ; Cryotherapy ; Dermis ; Eosinophils ; Fibroblasts ; Fibroma* ; Fingers ; Humans ; Inclusion Bodies ; Injections, Intralesional ; Male ; Parturition ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

BACKGROUND: Sunscreens have been used widely to prevent the photosensitive skin diseases, skin cancer, and skin aging. However, no sunscreen blocks all kinds of effects caused by ultraviolet light(UVL), and the effect of sunscreens on the impairment of immune function by UVL irradiation is controversial. OBJECTIVE: We try to evaluate the efficiency of sunscreens for blocking the depletion of LC induced by UVB irradiation. METHOD: The ATPase positive LCs were observed in the skin of hairless mice(Hr+/Kud) irradiated by UVB with or without topical application of sunscreens. Two commercially available sunscreens with respective SPF 8 and SPF 30 were applied to the dorsal trunk skin. The mice were irradiated with different increasing doses of UVB at a single time. RESULTS: The ATPase positive LCs in the irradiated dorsal and ear skin were significantly de-creased in densities according to the dosage, and apparently revealed a loss of their dendrites, granulation, and clumping from a UVB dose of more than 60mJ/Cm2. With both sun-screen treatment on the dorsal trunk before irradiation, the densities of LCs on the dorsal skin were significantly higher compared to the un-treated groups at all ranges of UVB doses in spite of a dose dependent decrease in their density. However there was no significant difference on their preventive effect between both sunscreens(SPF 8 and SPF 30) except at high UVB dos-es of more than 240mJ/Cm². CONCLUSION: The LC depletion induced by UVB can be partially protected through the topical application of a sunscreen at a UVB dose dependent fashion. However SPF(sun protective factor) dose not appear to be a good indicator for evaluating sunscreens immunologically.
Adenosine Triphosphatases ; Animals ; Dendrites ; Ear ; Langerhans Cells* ; Methods ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless* ; Skin ; Skin Aging ; Skin Diseases ; Skin Neoplasms ; Sunscreening Agents*

Leiomyosarcoma arising in the skin is rare tumor, and diagnosis usually is made microscopically. After local excision, these lesions recur in large proportion of pat ients. The authors herein report a 53-year-old male with leiomyosarcoma appeared in the skin of the right forearm and presenting as a dark reddish colored, 5*6cm in diameter, superficial ulcerated single firm nodule with intermittent pain. Histopathological examination showed poorly circumscribed tumor consisting of interlacing bundles of spindle shaped smooth muscle cells in the middle and lower parts of the dermis. The nuclei were hyperchromatic, large, vacuolated, and irregular in shape. Electron microscopic findings revealed cytoplasmic organelles such as rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria of malignant smooth muscle cells in the paranuclear area, Characteristic subsarcoelmmal caveolae and dense plaque were noted and myofilaments were distributed in the peripheral cytoplasm. The tumor did not recur in 10 months' follow-up.
Caveolae ; Cytoplasm ; Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Endoplasmic Reticulum, Rough ; Follow-Up Studies ; Forearm ; Humans ; Leiomyosarcoma* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mitochondria ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Myofibrils ; Organelles ; Skin* ; Ulcer

In this study, the feasibility of identification and genotypic differentiation of enteroviruses was investigated by using nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (nested RT-PCR), single-stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP), and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) techniques. Two hundred seventy-four clinical samples were assayed by both nested RT-PCR and tube culture method using MRC-5 and MK cells; 58 (86.6%) out of 67 enterovirus culture-positive samples contained enteroviral RNA. In addition, 114 (55.1%) of 207 samples from patients with suspected enteroviral CNS disease with negative viral cultures were positive by the nested RT-PCR. The nested RT-PCR products were genotyped by the SSCP method and the results were compared with serotypes. We could differentiate 6 subtypes, 3 of which are similar to coxsackievirus B3, B5, echovirus 11, plus 3 other subtypes. RFLP cleaved with Sty I, Bgl I, and Xmn I yielded characteristic patterns for each laboratory strains. This study demonstrates the usefulness of the RT-PCR for the rapid diagnosis of enterovirus infection and the potentials of the SSCP method for differentiation of enterovirus strains.
Central Nervous System Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Enterovirus B, Human ; Enterovirus Infections ; Enterovirus* ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; RNA

No abstract available.
Animals ; Cell Adhesion* ; Female ; Leiomyoma* ; Mice ; Myometrium* ; Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules*

No abstract available.
Bone Density* ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Humans