No abstract available.
Compliance* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Compliance* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Fingers*

OBJECTIVES: MR fluid-attenuated inversion recovery(FLAIR) image uses paired long inversion time and relaxation time that nulls the signal from CSF. With nulling of the CSF long echo time readout could be used to increase T2-weighting, hence improving the conspicuousness of most tissue lesions without the deleterious effects of CSF artifact seen on T2 weighted sequence. We examed the usefulness of FALIR image in the diagnosis of mild head injury. METHODS: A total of 38 patients with mild head injury were examined by FLAIR image. We compared those images with CT scan and T1, T2-weighted images. Careful observation of MR images were done by two well-trained neuroradiologists. Each image was compared for conspicuousness and detectability of traumatic lesions might have shown abnormal signal intensities. The Wilcoxon signed ranks test was used for statistical evaluation. RESULTS: The FLAIR image was significantly more sensitive than those of other images(p<0.001). T2 FFE(Fast Field Echo) image was more useful for detection of small petechial hemorrhages. CONCLUSION: FLAIR image is considered to be more sensitive than those of conventional MR images in the evaluation of mild head injuries.
Artifacts ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Diagnosis ; Head* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Relaxation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: To evaluate corneal biomechanical properties in eyes that had previously undergone penetrating keratoplasty (PK) using the ocular response analyzer (ORA). METHODS: We recruited 26 patients who had received unilateral PK. Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), Goldmann-correlated intraocular pressure (IOPg), and cornea-compensated intraocular pressure (IOPcc) were measured with the ORA and were compared to the measurements from the contralateral eyes that did not undergo PK. RESULTS: The CH was 8.95+/-2.59 mmHg in eyes that underwent PK and 9.78+/-1.45 mmHg in the contralateral eyes that did not undergo PK (p=0.077). The CRF was 10.26+/-2.64 mmHg in post-PK eyes and 9.75+/-1.45 mmHg in the contralateral eyes (p=0.509), and the CH-CRF was significantly smaller in post-PK eyes (-1.31+/-2.32 mmHg in post-PK eyes vs. 0.03+/-0.88 mmHg in fellow eyes, p=0.016). The IOPg and IOPcc were significantly higher in the PK group than they were in the control group. The IOPcc's were 20.81+/-7.81 mmHg and 16.27+/-2.49 mmHg in post-PK and control eyes, respectively (p=0.011); and the IOPg's were 19.22+/-7.34 mmHg and 15.07+/-3.03 mmHg in post-PK and control eyes, respectively (p=0.019). The IOPcc-g's were 1.59+/-2.81 mmHg and 1.21+/-1.30 mmHg in post-PK and control eyes, respectively (p=0.412), and the central corneal thickness (CCT)'s were 489.11+/-90.60 microm and 556.24+/-42.84 microm in post-PK and control eyes, respectively (p=0.068). CONCLUSIONS: Following PK, CH tended to decrease while CRF tended to increase, significantly decreasing CH-CRF. A significantly higher intraocular pressure and a thinner CCT following PK may have contributed to the observed changes in these corneal biomechanical parameters.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cornea/*physiopathology ; *Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological ; Elasticity ; Female ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; *Keratoplasty, Penetrating ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Period ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of this study were to examine the expressions of endothelium specific VE-cadherin, intestine specific LI-cadherin, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and to determine their relationships with the clinicopathological parameters of gastric cancer. METHODS: A total 47 patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery were enrolled. Endoscopic biopsies were obtained from the cancer and normal mucosa, respectively. Using semiquantitative RT-PCR, the mRNA expression levels of VE-cadherin, LI-cadherin and VEGF were measured by tumor/normal (T/N) ratios. The protein expressions of VE-cadherin, LI-cadherin and VEGF were examined by Western blot and immunohistochemical stain in surgically resected tissues. The clinicopathological variables were reviewed and analyzed, retrospectively. RESULTS: Twenty two cases (46.8%) of VE-cadherin, 25 cases (53.2%) of LI-cadherin and 27 cases (51.1%) of VEGF mRNA expressions were overexpressed in gastric cancer compared to normal tissue. There was a tendency for T/N ratio of VE-cadherin mRNA to correlate with the lymphatic invasion (p=0.07) and the lymph node metastasis (p=0.099) in advanced gastric cancer. The T/N ratio of LI-cadherin mRNA showed significant association with distant metastasis (p=0.031) and lymphatic invasion especially in advanced gastric cancer (p=0.023). There was a tendency for the T/N ratio of VEGF mRNA to correlate with the distant metastasis (p=0.073) in advanced gastric cancer. CONCLUSIONS: As increased mRNA expression of LI-cadherin was associated with distant metastasis and lymphatic invasion especially in the biopsy specimen of advanced gastric cancer before surgery, it may provide useful preoperative information on tumor aggressiveness.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antigens, CD/genetics/*metabolism ; Cadherins/genetics/*metabolism ; Female ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms/*metabolism/pathology/surgery ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/genetics/*metabolism

Recently, the association of Th-17 cells or IL-17 with ocular inflammatory diseases such as uveitis, scleritis and dry eye syndrome was discovered. We assessed whether interleukin (IL)-17 was present in the tears of various ocular surface inflammatory diseases and the tear IL-17 concentrations were clinically correlated with various ocular surface inflammatory diseases. We measured concentrations of IL-17 in tears of normal subjects (n = 28) and patients (n = 141) with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), dry eye syndrome (DES), Sjogren syndrome (SS), Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), filamentary keratitis, and autoimmune keratitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus. Clinical epitheliopathy scores were based on the surface area of corneal and conjunctival fluorescein staining. The mean concentrations of IL-17 in tears of patients with filamentary keratitis, GVHD, autoimmune keratitis, SS, DES, MGD, SJS were significantly higher in order than that in normal subjects. Tear IL-17 concentration was significantly correlated with clinical epitheilopathy scores in the patients with systemic inflammatory disease, while tear IL-17 was not correlated with clinical severity of the cornea and conjunctiva in the dry eye patients without any systemic inflammatory disease. Tear IL-17 is likely to correlate clinically with corneal disease severity only in the patients with systemic inflammatory disease.
Adult ; Aged ; Dry Eye Syndromes/*metabolism ; Eye Diseases/diagnosis/*metabolism ; Eyelid Diseases/metabolism ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease/metabolism ; Humans ; Interleukin-17/*analysis ; Keratitis/metabolism ; Male ; Meibomian Glands/physiopathology ; Middle Aged ; Severity of Illness Index ; Sjogren's Syndrome/metabolism ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/metabolism ; Tears/metabolism

XX male has a male phenotype with testes or gonads of testicular type and a female chromosomal constitution of 46, XX with no evidence of either ovarian tissue or female genital organs. Generally, they have normal male genitalia and all are infertile. We experienced a neonate with anophthalmia, hypospadia, small penis, and normal testes, whose chromosomal analysis demonstrated 46, XX. Polymerase chain reaction revealed the existence of a sex-determining region of Y (SRY). These findings suggest that the translation of an SRY on the X chromosome led to the development of a male phenotype. We report the case with a review of the related literature.
46, XX Testicular Disorders of Sex Development* ; Anophthalmos ; Constitution and Bylaws ; Female ; Genitalia, Female ; Genitalia, Male ; Gonads ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Penis ; Phenotype ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Testis ; X Chromosome

PURPOSE: To compare the short term effects of topical 0.05% cyclosporine (CsA) and a mixture of 0.08% chondroitin sulfate and 0.06% sodium hyaluronate (CS-HA) on dry eye ocular surfaces. METHODS: 36 patients with moderate to severe dry eye (5 mm/5 min or less with Schirmer's test or tear break up time (BUT) less than 6 seconds), were treated with topical application of CS-HA on one eye and CsA on the other 4 times a day for 6-8 weeks. BUT, Schirmer's test without anesthesia, and conjunctival impression cytology (CIC; goblet cell density, nucleus to cytoplasmic ratio, and epithelial cell morphology) were evaluated and compared between eyes before and after treatment (repeated measurement of ANOVA). RESULTS: After treatment, BUT and tear wettings were significantly prolonged in each group. Topical CsA treated eyes had greater increase in BUT (p=0.026); there was no significant difference in tear wetting (p=0.132). While the 3 parameters of CIC improved in both groups, goblet cell density was significantly higher in eyes treated with CsA (p=0.033). CONCLUSIONS: While both CS-HA and 0.05% CsA eyedrops improve ocular surfaces, topical CsA may have a better effect on enhancing tear film stability and goblet cell density.
Adjuvants, Immunologic/administration & dosage ; Administration, Topical ; Cell Count ; Chondroitin Sulfates/*administration & dosage ; Conjunctiva/drug effects/pathology ; Cyclosporine/*administration & dosage ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Dry Eye Syndromes/*drug therapy/metabolism/pathology ; Epithelium/drug effects/pathology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Goblet Cells/drug effects/pathology ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid/*administration & dosage ; Immunosuppressive Agents/*administration & dosage ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmic Solutions/administration & dosage ; Tears/drug effects/metabolism ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Cell cycle progression is governed by cell cycle regulators and inhibitors such as the cyclin dependent kinases (CDK), p27(Kip1), p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p53. The purpose of this study was to correlate expressions of p34(cdc2), p27(Kip1), p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p53 with the various clinicopathologic prognostic parameters of human breast cancers. METHODS: The paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 102 patients with human breast carcinomas were examined by performing immunohistochemical staining. The primary antibodies used for immunohistochemical staining were mouse monoclonal antibody to human p34(cdc2), p27(Kip1), p21(WAF1/Cip1), p53, ER and PR. RESULTS: The expression rates of p34(cdc2), p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p53 were 29.3%, 40.2% and 49.1% in breast carcinomas, respectively. In normal breast tissues, p34(cdc2), p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p53 were not expressed. The p34(cdc2) was expressed in the cytoplasm of cancer cells. The expression rate of p27(Kip1) was 29.3% in breast carcinomas and 100% in normal breast tissues, so the loss of p27(Kip1) expression in breast cancer was noted. The high expression of p21(WAF1/Cip1) in neoplastic cells was associated with the p53 expression (p=0.03). The expression of p27(Kip1) was correlated with that of the progesterone receptor (PR) (p=0.04) and the expression of p21(WAF1/Cip1) was correlated with that of positivity for estrogen receptor (ER) (p=0.04) and PR (p=0.04). No correlation was demonstrated between the mean patient survival and the expression rate of p34(cdc2), p27(Kip1), p21(WAF1/Cip1) and p53. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of the normal cell growth cycle by the abnormal expression of cyclin dependent kinases and their inhibitors and the steroid hormones may play an important role in human breast carcinogenesis. The p53 dependent p21(WAF1/Cip1) pathway, the p27(Kip1) protein loss and the cdc2 overexpression were important in development and progression of human breast cancer.
Animals ; Antibodies ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Cycle ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases ; Cytoplasm ; Estrogens ; Humans* ; Mice ; Receptors, Progesterone