No abstract available.
Hypersensitivity* ; Meperidine* ; Skin*

An immunoperoxdase technique in electron microscopy was used to investigate the ultrastructural site of keratinolytic proteinase (KPase) of M crosporum cans in sections of skin from guinea pigs infected with the same organism. Ultrastructurally, the KPase was present only in the cell walls of the invading dermatophytes as a continuous deposition of the electron-dense reaction product on the inner and outer aspects of the cell wall of the fungal hyphae without deposition in the keratin surrounding the invading hyphae. Our results suggest that the KPase may not play an absolute role in the invasion of dermatophytes into keratinized tissue in vivo.
Animals ; Arthrodermataceae ; Cell Wall ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Hyphae ; Immunoenzyme Techniques* ; Microscopy, Electron* ; Microsporum* ; Skin* ; Tinea

Wegener's granulomatosis is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis of unknown cause. The disease is characterized by the involvement of the upper airway, the lung, and the kidney. Skin lesions are frequent and the most common lesion is purpura distributed on the limbs and trunk. A 34-year-old female showed recurrent purpuric macules on the both lower extremities and buttocks. The patient. showed nasal septal perforation with saddle nose deformity and C-ANCA positivity. Histopathologic findings of purpuric lesion revealed the features of necrotizing vasculitis. The histologic specimen from the nasal cavity showed chronic inflammation with granuloma formation and kidney showed focal necrotizing glomerulonephritis. Therefore, we treated the patient with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide having diagnosed Wegener's granulomatosis.
Adult ; Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Buttocks ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Cyclophosphamide ; Extremities ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Kidney ; Lower Extremity ; Lung ; Nasal Cavity ; Nasal Septal Perforation ; Nose ; Prednisolone ; Purpura ; Skin ; Vasculitis ; Wegener Granulomatosis

BACKGROUND: Chronic actinic dermatitis comprises a spectrum of chronic photosensitivity disorders. Treatment includes avoidance of UV light, application of broad-spectrum topical sunscreens, PUVA therapy, corticosteroid, azathioprine and cyclosporine. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the efficacy of cyclosporine in the treatment of chronic actinic dermatitis. METHODS: Six patients with chronic actinic dermatitis refractory to conventional treatment were treated with cyclosporine 100-200mg a day for four to eighteen weeks. RESULTS: In all six patients improvement of the skin lesions and itching were dramatic, but in three of them hyperterision developed during the cyclosporine treatment. After stopping the cyclosporine therapy, their blood pressures normalized within two to five weeks. Other side effects of cyclosporine were not found. Although the skin lesions of all of the six patients were aggravated more or less after stopping the cyclosporine therapy, we could maintain their improved states with topical corticosteroids and oral antihistamines. CONCLUSION: 1. Cyclosporine is a good alternative in treating chronic actinic dermatitis patients who are suffering from severe symptoms refractory to conventional therapy. 2. Hypertension is the frequent side effect of cyclosporine.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Azathioprine ; Cyclosporine* ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Photosensitivity Disorders* ; Pruritus ; PUVA Therapy ; Skin ; Sunscreening Agents ; Ultraviolet Rays

PURPOSE: To investigate the fundus examination rate in diabetic patients and the public health factors associated with the fundus examination rate. METHODS: We analyzed the results of the third Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We investigated the fundus examination rate in patients who had diabetes mellitus for more than 3 months during the previous year and determined the relationship of public health factors with the fundus examination rate. RESULTS: In all 547 patients (38.1%) received the fundus examination out of 1,437 total patients with diabetes mellitus. We found that many public health factors influenced the higher fundus examination rate, including patients who were residents in urban areas, women, office workers, university graduates, patients with a higher family income or more than 5 years duration of diabetes mellitus, patients with current insulin treatment, treatment of diabetes mellitus, education about diabetes mellitus, subjective visual problems or subjective health problems. However, age, marital status, health insurance and residential district did not influence the fundus examination rate. CONCLUSIONS: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey is the largest health survey in Korea. This study is meaningful as a population-based study, not a clinic-based cross-sectional study and it suggests the basic data for improving the fundus examination rate in diabetes mellitus patients.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Marital Status ; Nutrition Surveys ; Public Health

This study was intended to analyze the relation between the psychic traumatic experience and the psychological health of the aged. The authors carried out this study by means of the combined anxiety-depression scale (CADS) and the preadolescence traumatic experience scale (PTES) with 278 aged men and women residing in Taegu from September to October 1988. The results were as follows: 1. Based on the scores evaluated by CADS, the scores of the both groups showed that comparative group was accounted for 40.15±6.19, while the experimental group for 57.75±6.37, which showed significantly higher score in the experimental group (p<0.001). 2. The experimental group showed significantly higher early experience score than the comparative group in the dietary difficulty, alcoholism among family members, disunion between husband and wife, trouble between mother and children, early mother loss, parent's indifference and unwanted birth (p<0.001). 3. The experimental group showed higher early experience score than the comparative group by sex, age, marital status and grown location (p<0.001). 4. When the subjects were included in the unemployed and in the middle or low classes and their parents were engaged in agriculture and commercial business and believing in buddhism or no-religion, showed higher experience score (p<0.001).
Aged* ; Agriculture ; Alcoholism ; Buddhism ; Child ; Child, Unwanted ; Commerce ; Daegu ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Marital Status ; Mental Health* ; Mothers ; Parents ; Spouses

We report a patient with an unusual manifestation of Trichophyton violaceum infection, who lives in Seoul. An 8-year-old male presented an erythematous nodule on the lower eyelid of the left eye which had persisted for 10 weeks. On physical examination, there was no abnormality except a skin lesion on the eyelid. The skin biopsy of the nodule showed epidermal hyperplasia and granulomatous change in the upper dermis. The biopsy specimen yielded Trichophyton uiolaceum on culture. The skin lesion disappeared 2 months after administration of ketoconazole.
Biopsy ; Child ; Dermis ; Eyelids ; Granuloma* ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Ketoconazole ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Seoul ; Skin ; Trichophyton*

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunoglobulin M* ; Tinea*

There are several different methods of purifying Treponema pallidum(TP) from rabbit testicular tissue. Among them, we compared the use of differential centrifugation, which has been most widely used, to Percoll density gradient centrifugatian, a newly applied method, in purifying TP from rabbit testicular tissue by checking the protein concentration of the TP suspension, hemagglutination assay using sheep erythrocytes sensitized by TP, IgM-TP-enzyme-linked immunosorhent, assay(IgM-TP-ELISA) and eJect,ron microscopic observation. The protein concent,ration af TP antigen suspension (2x10(8)TP/ml) purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation (lower band) was the lowest (129.0pg/ml) when compared to those purified by differential centrifugation (324.0pg/ml) and Percoll density gradient centrifugatian (upper band) (560.2pg/ml). Sheep erythrocytes sensitized by TP purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation(lower band) showed the same resiilts as those using a commercii1 TPHA kit when tested with positive and negative control sera. The sensitivity and specificity of the IgM-TP-ELISA were 88.5%(23/26') and 86.4%(19/2Z) respectively using TP as an antigen purified by differential centrifugation. The rates were 96.29% (25/26) and 95.5%(2l/22) using TP purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. As shown by the electron microscopy, T. pizllida purified by clifferential centritugation and Percoll density gradient centrifugatiori were structurally unaltered, and Percoll-purified TP contained much less tissue debris than TP prepared by differ ential centrifugation. Therefor e, Percoll density gradient centrifugation is considered to be a better method of purifying TP from rabbit testicular tissue when compared to differential centrifugatian, as a matter of fact, Perrol1 density gradient centrifugation has been applieci successfully in the study of the physiology, recombinant DNA techniques, and antigenic structure of TP and to the preparation of the antigen for the FTA-ARS and TP-ELISA
Centrifugation ; Centrifugation, Density Gradient ; DNA, Recombinant ; Erythrocytes ; Hemagglutination ; Microscopy, Electron ; Physiology ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sheep ; Treponema pallidum* ; Treponema*

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis is still unknown. Many reports have suggested that the house dust mite antigen may play a role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. The IgG4 allergen-specific subclass has been considered to be involved both in allergic reactions and associated with the appropriate response to allergen-specific immunotherapy. OBJECT: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the positive rate of the allergic prick test to D. farinae and the levels of D. farinae-specific IgE and Ig64. METHODS: We performed the allergy prick test, RAST for D. farinae-specific IgE and ELISA for D. farinae-specific IgG subclasses and compared the values between atopic dermatitis patients and normal controls. RESULTS: 1. D. farinae was the most common allergen in patients with atopic dermatitis and the positive rate of the allergic prick test was 61.0%. The positive rate of the allergic prick test and the positive rate to D. farinae increased as c]inical grading increased. 2. The Positive reaction rate of D. farinae-specific IgE(RAST) in those with atopic dermatitis was 68.8% and increased as the positive reactions of the allergic prick test to D. farinae and chnical grading increased. 3. Among the IgG subclasses, only the level of D. farinae-specific IgG4 was significantly higher in atopic dermatitis than normal controls. 4. The level of D. farinae-specific IgG4 showed a tendency to decrease in accordance with the clinical severity grades. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that D. farinae might play an important role in the development of atopic dermatitis and well-designed studies should continue to be performed in order to delineate the biological significance of IgG4.
Antibodies* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunotherapy ; Pyroglyphidae*