No abstract available.
Animals ; Mice* ; Valproic Acid*

The goal of therapy of epileptic children is to control of seizures with minimal side effects of antiepileptic drug (AED). The relationship between side effects, serum levels and doses of AED were examined prospectively in 72 epileptic children who received monotherapy with phenobarbital, phenytoin, valproate, or carbamazepine for 6 to 26 months. Our results were as follows: 1) Side effects were observed in 59.7% of all patients; in decreasing order, behavioral (41.6%)>digestive (25.0%)>others (22.2%)>neurologic (11.1%). 2) The most common side effects in children treated with phenobarbital (PB) was behavioral (54.2%); these included hyperactivity, drowsiness, sleeping in decreasing order and there was significant relationship between drowsiness and serum level of PB(P<0.05). 3) Common side effects in patients receing carbamazepine (CBZ) were behavioral (52.0%) and digestive (52.2%); behavioral disorders included drowsiness and sleeping which showed significance with dosage of CBZ (P<0.01), digestive disorders were abdominal pain which showed significance, with dosage of CBZ (P<0.05) and weight gain. Other side effects were dizziness, headache, diplopia, tremor pallor, durg eruption, alopecia, aggravated acne etc. 4) The most common side effect in children treated with valproate (VPA) was pallor which showed significance with dosage of VPA (P<0.05). Abdominal pain had<0.05 significance with serum level of VPA, and Other side effects were anemia and weight gain. 5) In 83.3% of all patients, they had no side effects or could tolerate mild side effects. But in 12.5% of patients, the side effects disappeared when dosages were reduced, and AED had to be withdrawn in only 4.2% of patients.
Abdominal Pain ; Acne Vulgaris ; Alopecia ; Anemia ; Anticonvulsants* ; Carbamazepine ; Child* ; Diplopia ; Dizziness ; Headache ; Humans ; Pallor ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Prospective Studies ; Seizures ; Sleep Stages ; Tremor ; Valproic Acid ; Weight Gain

No abstract available.
Child* ; Colon* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Korea* ; Measles* ; Vaccination*

No abstract available.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections* ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses*

The third complementarity determining region (CDR3) of the immunoglobulin (Ig) kappa () chain is known to be located at the center of antigen binding groove and critical for antibody specificity. Ig chain has been characterized by limited junctional diversity due to the absence of N-region addition resulting in relative conservation of CDR3 lengths with 9 or 10 amino acids. CDR3 region of 11 amino acids is only possible with N-region addition. Recently, x transcripts with 11 amino acids CDR3 was found to be expressed in normal individuals, and in autoimrnune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, the fraction of 11 amino acids CDR3 of humkv325-derived chains was overexpressed compared to conventional adult peripheral B cells. However, the significance of this bias is difficult to interpret without a clear understanding of normal repertoire of CDR3 length during development. The purpose of this study is to determine whether developmental regulation of CDR3 amino acids codon lengths exists in chains expressed in the fetal liver, cord blood, and adult peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Lymphocytes were seperated from fetal liver, cord blood and adult PBL and cDNA was generated from extracted mRNA. PCR-based CDR3 finger- printing assay was performed with VI-IV family specific primers. CDR3 length diversity of Ig x chain increases as the development proceeds. The length diversity most frequently occured in Vlll family derived transcripts including 11 amino acids CDR3. transcripts with 11 amino acids CDR3 were consitently expressed in both fetal and adult Ig repertoire. These results support the hypothesis that v chain CDR3 length is developmentally regulated and implicates the diversity of antigen-antibody specificity generation.
Adult ; Amino Acids ; Antibody Specificity ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; B-Lymphocytes ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Codon ; Complementarity Determining Regions ; DNA, Complementary ; Fetal Blood ; Humans* ; Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Liver ; Lymphocytes ; RNA, Messenger ; Sensitivity and Specificity

It has long been known that smoking can have a deleterious effect on sexual potency and fertility capacity of males but the subject of the possible adverse effects of cigarette smoking on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis is controversial. The comparative study presented here was conducted on 30 cigarette-smokers and 30 non-cigarette-smokers of men. They were divided into 3 different groups such as control group (composed of 10 smokers and 10 non-smokers), impotence group (10 smokers and 10 non-smokers) and infertility group (10 smokers and 10 non-smokers). They were subjected to the investigation of medical history, body weight, height, testicular size, coital frequency per week, nocturnal penile tumescence frequency per week, routine laboratory works, plasma FSH, LH, testosterone and prolactin by radioimmunossay and semen analyses. The smokers were found to have a slightly smmaller frequency of coitus per week and also that of nocturnal penile tumescence per week than non-smokers but the differences were not significant. Plasma FSH, LH, testosterone and prolactin levels were also hot significantly different between smokers and non-smokers of each group. The levels of LH and testosterone of control group were greater than thoses of impotence and infertility groups. Semen samples from control and impotence groups showed no significant differences on volume, count, motility and morphology between smokers and non-smokers. Only in the infertility group, sperm motility was significantly greater in non-smokers than smokers and also morphology was slightly greater in non-smokers than smokers but the difference was not significant. The results of this study identify that the postulated deteriolated effect of cigarette smoking on steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis would have most significantly impinged. However, its clarification will require more careful and extensive investigations with large groups of subjects.
Body Weight ; Coitus ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Fertility ; Humans ; Infertility ; Male ; Penile Erection ; Plasma ; Prolactin ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Sperm Motility ; Spermatogenesis* ; Testosterone

Testicular biopsy has been known as very useful diagnostic procedure for the male infertility. For the past 9 months percutaneous testicular biopsy procedures were attempted on 64 patients with azoospermia or atrophic testis using a new Tru-Cut biopsy needle. In addition surgical testicular open biopsy procedure on one side and percutaneous testicular needle biopsy procedure on the other side were performed in comparison with two techniques. Biopsy specimens were fixed in Bouin solution. They were stained and histologically examined. Results were summarized as follows: Numbers of seminiferous tubules obtained by needle biopsy technique were found to be fewer than that of the tubules obtained by open biopsy technique. But diagnostic accuracy was not compromised by the needle biopsy technique. There was no bleeding either from the testis or scrotum, no extusion of testicular tissue from the puncuate site. In conclusion percutaneous testicular biopsy using Tru-Cut biopsy needle has been proved to be simple, time saving, less expensive and accurate method for testicular biopsy.
Azoospermia ; Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Needle* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infertility ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Needles* ; Scrotum ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis

PURPOSE: The incidence of genitourinary tuberculosis(tbc) has consistently declined as results of effective chemotherapy and health care. But it still has significant associated morbidity. The pathogenesis of prostatic and epididymal tbc remains obscure. To assess the progress of tuberculous infection in sex accessory organs including prostate, epididymis and testis, prospective clinical study was performed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of the 58 male patients with genitourinary tbc during a 8-year period(1989-1996), 23 patients (39.7%) had tuberculosis in sex accessory organs. Thirty patients who demonstrated tuberculosis in at least one organ amomg prostate, epididymis, testis and bladder were evaluated. The conclusive diagnosis was made on the basis of isolation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, histopathology. A patients with organ confined tbc was considered to be caused by metastatic spread of infection. RESULTS: In 12(40%) of 30 patients tubercle bacilli were detected in urine. 14(87.5%) of the 16 patients with tuberculous epididymitis and 10(76.9%) of the 13 patients with tuberculous prostatitis were considered to have an infection extended through the metastatic spread. Three(25%) patients had tuberculous cystitis directly extended from the tuberculous prostatitis. All three tuberculous orchitis were secondary to the tuberculous epididymitis. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the route of infection of tuberculosis in the prostate and the epididymis are mainly through the hematogenous spread and direct extension of infection is likely deveploped by descending spread.
Cystitis ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Epididymis ; Epididymitis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Orchitis ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate ; Prostatitis ; Testis ; Tuberculosis* ; Urinary Bladder

Number of germ cells in the seminiferous epithelium was analyzed quantitatively in testicular biopsy specimens of 23 patients without ductal obstruction and of 4 patients with ductal obstruction. Roth number of mature spermatids within each cross-section of seminiferous tubule and number of atrophic tubule were counted in biopsy specimens. Results were expressed as cell number of mature spermatids per seminiferous tubule and percentage of atrophic tubules. A significant correlation was demonstrated between sperm density and mature spermatid counts. Patients with sperm counts of less than 40 x l0(6)/ml had mature spermatids counts of less than 25 per seminiferous tubule. Coefficients of correlation between mature spermatid count and percentage of atrophic tubules were higher than those of correlation between sperm counts and percentage of atrophic tubules. In asoospermrc patients with epididymal obstruction, sperm count after corrective surgery could be predicted correctly by this quantitative analysis technique of testicular biopsy specimens and partial obstruction of anastomotic site of seminal tract could be proved in oligozoospermic patients after corrective surgery.
Biopsy ; Cell Count ; Germ Cells ; Humans* ; Seminiferous Epithelium* ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Sperm Count ; Spermatids ; Spermatozoa ; Testis*