Fibronectin(FN) is a physiologic glycoprotein presenton cell surface and in connective tissue, extracellular matrix and plasma. Increased plasma FN levels have been reported in the patients with psoriasis, connective tissue disease, internal malignancy, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. The author investigated the plasma FN levels in 30 patients (males 13, female 17) with psoriasis and 23 healthy subjects (male 13, female 10) by gelatin sepharose 4B affinity chromatography and Laurells rocket immunoelectrophoresis method. The results were as follows : Plasrna JN levels were 450.4+/-80.3pg/ml in the patients with psoriasis and 334.0-51.3pg/ml in healthy subjects. There was no relationship between age graups and sex. Plasrna FN levels in the patients with psoriasis were higher than those of healthy subjects(p<0.001). There was no relationship between the levels of plasma FN and clinical severity of psoriasis.
Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chromatography, Affinity ; Connective Tissue ; Connective Tissue Diseases ; Extracellular Matrix ; Female ; Fibronectins* ; Gelatin ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Immunoelectrophoresis ; Plasma* ; Psoriasis* ; Sepharose

No abstract available.
Hepatic Encephalopathy*

The bone mineral density (BMD) has been measured for evaluation of the osteoporosis. Of the various methods of measuring the BMD, dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has been known to be an accurate, objective, and easily reproducible method. The authors measured BMD in patients with intertrochanteric fracture of the femur for comparison with results in the normal control. The BMD was measured in thirty-two patients with intertrochanteric fracture by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry from March 1993 to March 1995. And the relationship between the severity of osteoporosis and intertrochanteric fracture of the femur was studied. The comparison of BMD between fracture patients and normal control was done in the population below 79 years old of age (23 fracture patients and 90 normal controls). The average BMD in the intertrochanteric fracture group was 0.558g/cm2 in the neck, 0.425g/cm2 in Ward's triangle and 0.568g/cm2 in the trochanter, while in the normal control group it was 0.870g/cm2 in the neck, 0.681g/cm2 in Ward s triangle and 0.772g/cm2 in the trochanter. In comparison with the normal control group, the BMD in fracture group was about 79% of the normal control group. The BMD in the proximal femur was decreased by about 14% with the age increasing decennially after 50 years. The BMD at Ward s triangle and trochanter was much lower in type III and IV of Tronzo classification than in type I and II .The BMD did not show significant correlation with the height and weight of the patients.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Aged ; Bone Density* ; Classification ; Femur* ; Humans ; Neck ; Osteoporosis

Brodie's abscess is a primary subacute pyogenic osteomyelitis that has a thin wall of fibrous tissue and sclerotic bone. The authors have encountered a case of a Brodie's abscess that was developed in the same place of both tibia at the same time and treated the case with surgery and continuous closed irrigation.
Abscess ; Osteomyelitis ; Tibia

No abstract available.
Facial Asymmetry

To establish predictors of prognosis and recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative resection, retrospective analyses of clinical and pathologic factors were done in 85 hepatectomized patients of HCC. The median follow-up duration was 30.5(range: 3-134) months. Two postoperative mortalities and five palliative resections were excluded from analysis of recurrence. The overall 1, 3, 5 year survival rates in 85 patients were 78.6%, 63.6%, 45.6%. The 1, 3, 5 year survival rates in 78 curative resections were 81.8%, 70.2%, 50.3%. The 1, 2, 3 year survival rates of the palliative resections(5 cases) were 60%, 20%, 0%. The 1, 3, 5 year recurrence-free survival rates in the curative resections were 64.4%, 43.2%, 27.5%. Included prognostic variables were age, gender, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, serum alpha-FP level, ICG-R15, diabetes, preoperativeTACE, tumor size, tumor capsulation, number of tumors, vascular invasion, tumor histologic grading, stage of the chronic hepatitis, and anatomic resection. The significant factors affecting recurrence were number of tumors and vascular invasion.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatectomy ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Recurrence* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) is widely accepted as the most accurate procedure to differentiate malignant from benign thyroid nodules. It is a simple, safe, and inexpensive procedure, and the accuracy of FNAC is relatively high; however, its success usually depends upon the skill in using the aspiration technique and the experience and skill of the cytologist. The authors confirmed the diagnostic value of preoperative FNAC in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules treated by the surgical resection. METHODS: Three hundred fifty specimens were taken in the Department of Surgery, Inje University College of Medicine, from July 1990 to June 1996. Fifty-one males and 299 females with ages ranging from 11 to 73 years were enrolled. The cytology of FNAC was compared to the final histologic diagnosis. RESULTS: The number of inadequate smears (or sampling error) was 15.7%. Preoperative cytologic diagnoses was consisted of 198 cases of benign disease (92 cases of nodular goiters, 96 cases of follicular lesion types III, and 10 cases of thyroiditis), 12 cases of highly suspicious malignant lesions (follicular lesions type II), and 85 cases of malignant disease (71 cases of papillary carcinomas and 14 cases of follicular lesions type I). Histologic diagnoses consisted of nodular goiters in 116 cases, adenomas in 66 cases, thyroiditis in 9 cases, papillary carcinomas in 84 cases, and follicular carcinomas in 20 cases. These results has an 84.6% sensitivity, a 95.2% specificity, a 15.3% false negative rate, and a 4.7% false positive rate. In the fifty-five cases of inadequate sampling, 13 cases (23.6%) were malignant lesions histologically. In the 16 cases proven as false negative, nine cases were papillary carcinomas, and 7 cases were follicular carcinomas histologically. Thirteen cases (16.1% of 27 cases of cystic lesions) of cystic nodules revealed malignant neoplasms histologically. CONCLUSION: FNAC is a single, useful diagnostic procedure for the initial screening for malignancy in thyroid nodules. Performing repeated aspiration in cystic nodules and clinically suspicious cases could reduce inadeguate sampling and the false negative rate.
Adenoma ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Female ; Goiter, Nodular ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Thyroiditis

No abstract available.
Kinetics* ; Wrist*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The caudal anesthsia is most commonly used for benign anorectal surgery, The combination of long-acting anesthetics and opiates has been used for longer duration and successful control of postoperative pain. But the side effects of peridural anesthesics and morphine have commonly occured in caudal anesthesia. This study was performed to assess the difference in clinical effects between peridural mepivacaine and bupivacaine with morphine. METHODS: We evaluated the clinical effects in 60 patients who had anal operation with Jack-Knife position under caudal anesthesia. We divided randomly these 60 patients into two groups, M and B groups (in each group, 30 patients included). Group M (n=30) was given 2% mepivacaine 20 ml with morphine 2 mg caudally, and Group B (n=30) was given 0.5% bupivacaine 20 ml with morphine 2 mg in the same manner. We measured the onset time, duration, postoperative analgesia, and side effects including urinary retention. RESULTS: The onset time for analgesia was significantly shorter in group M than in group B. The duration of postoperative pain complaints was significantly longer in group M than in group B. The postoperative analgesic effects and side effects were not significantly different between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Caudal mepivacaine and morphine mixture is effective for control of postoperative pain without significant side effects.
Analgesia ; Anesthesia, Caudal* ; Anesthetics ; Bupivacaine* ; Humans ; Mepivacaine* ; Morphine* ; Pain, Postoperative ; Urinary Retention

No abstract available.