The authors tried to confirm the significant changes of plasma homovanillic acid(HVA) concentration after insulin administration in comparison with those of usual diurnal variation in the same subjects. Male patients with schizophrenia taking neuroleptics were participated in a study of diurnal variation and insulin induced dopaminergic perturbation, with multiple samplings at baseline. 30minutes, 60minutes and 90minutes after insulin administration(n=18). Ten patients were sampled at baseline and 60minutes after insulin administration. There was a diurnal variation of plasma HVA concentrations, which decreased gradually from 8 am to 9 : 30 am. We confirmed that regular insulin(0.1 unit/kg) blocked the normal diurnal variations and increased plasma HVA concentrations. This pattern was not correlated with clinical variables, such as age, onset age, duration of illness and presence of family history. Schizophrenic patients were grouped by the positive and negative syndrome scale. In contrast to our previous study, the concentrations of positive and negative groups were similar at baseline. The HVA concentrations of negative group after insulin administration were higher than those of positive group without statistical significance. We have a plan modify the current insulin-HAV method. In the near future, we will try to confirm whether the modified insulin-HVA method can be used as a biological indicator for the elucidation of complex clinical manifestations of schizophrenia.
Age of Onset ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Homovanillic Acid* ; Humans ; Insulin ; Male ; Plasma* ; Schizophrenia

No abstract available.
Facial Paralysis* ; Humans ; Malocclusion*

PURPOSE:Neopterin is a marker of activation of the T-lymphocyte/monocyte axis. We measured serum neopterin concentration to investigate whether serum neopterin levels are increased in children with Graves' disease and whether serum neopterin measurement can be used as a marker of disease activity in Graves disease. METHODS:Twenty children with Graves' disease(3 boys and 17 girls) and 15 healthy children(7 boys and 8 girls) are enrolled in this study. Serum neopterin concentrations are measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS:Neopterin concentration in children with Graves' disease(1.59+/-1.25ng/ml) is not higher than that of healthy children(1.51+/-0.73ng/ml). Neopterin concentration is not influenced by thyroid function and remission state. CONCLUSION: Serum neopterin level in children with Graves' disease can not be used as a marker of activity.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Child* ; Graves Disease* ; Humans ; Neopterin* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Thyroid Gland

Acute suppurative thyroiditis is a rare because of high resistance to bacterial infection of thyroid gland, which is rich vascularity and lymphatic drainage, a high iodine content and complete encapsulation. The common clinical manifestations are fever, neck pain and localized mass of thyroid area. This thyroiditis is more common in left thyroid lobe. The most important causal microorganism are staphylococci and streptococci, with frequent isolation of mixed flora and anaerobes. Diagnosis was easily made by typical clinical manifestation, ultrasonography, thyroid imaging and fine needle aspiration. Treatment usually consist of appropriate antibiotic therapy and surgical drainage when abscess formation develops. We report a typical case of acute suppurative thyroiditis in 1 year old female infant with brief review of literatures.
Abscess ; Bacterial Infections ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Infant ; Iodine ; Neck Pain ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroiditis ; Thyroiditis, Suppurative* ; Ultrasonography

46,XX male is a rare abnormality of sex determination with an incidence of 1 in 20,000 male neonates. The clinical manifestations of 46,XX males are usually hypogonadism, gynecomastia, azoospermia, and hyalinations of seminiferous tubules, with altered hormonal levels at puberty. Less frequently, some sexual ambiguities are found, always with sterility owing to reduced testicular development. The origin of male phenotype in 46,XX male could be the results of at least three different mechanisms:translocations of Y sequence, including the SRY gene, to an X chromosome or to an autosome(about 90% of cases); a mutation in a yet unknown X-linked or autosomal gene in the testis-determinating pathway, and cryptic Y chromosome mosacism. We experienced a case of SRY-positive 46,XX male in a 21-year-old man with small testes. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Endocrinol 2003;8:184-188)
Adolescent ; Azoospermia ; Genes, sry ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Hypogonadism ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Infertility ; Male* ; Phenotype ; Puberty ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis ; X Chromosome ; Y Chromosome ; Young Adult

46,XX male is a rare abnormality of sex determination with an incidence of 1 in 20,000 male neonates. The clinical manifestations of 46,XX males are usually hypogonadism, gynecomastia, azoospermia, and hyalinations of seminiferous tubules, with altered hormonal levels at puberty. Less frequently, some sexual ambiguities are found, always with sterility owing to reduced testicular development. The origin of male phenotype in 46,XX male could be the results of at least three different mechanisms:translocations of Y sequence, including the SRY gene, to an X chromosome or to an autosome(about 90% of cases); a mutation in a yet unknown X-linked or autosomal gene in the testis-determinating pathway, and cryptic Y chromosome mosacism. We experienced a case of SRY-positive 46,XX male in a 21-year-old man with small testes. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Endocrinol 2003;8:184-188)
Adolescent ; Azoospermia ; Genes, sry ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Hypogonadism ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Infertility ; Male* ; Phenotype ; Puberty ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis ; X Chromosome ; Y Chromosome ; Young Adult

Purpose : The main genetic contribution to type 1 diabetes susceptibility is the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II gene. Several non-HLA chromosomal regions are also known to be involved. We studied the association of HLA class II and non-HLA candidate genes, which are cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA4), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), lymphotoxin-alpha(LT-alpha, and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene, polymorphisms with disease susceptibility in Korean children with type 1 diabetes.Methods : Fifty Korean children with type 1 diabetes (29 girls and 21 boys) and 166 healthy Koreans were investigated in this study. HLA class II alleles were determined by PCR-SSP (sequence-specific primer) and PCR-SSOP (sequence specific oliogonucleotide probe) method. CTLA4 exon 1 polymor phism was analyzed by PCR-SSCP (single strand conformation polymorphism), and TNF promotor and LT-alphagene polymorphism by PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism), respectively. VDR gene polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP using restriction enzyme FokI, ApaI, TaqI, and BsmI. Results : The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*04, DRB1*09, and DQB1*04 were significantly increased and those of HLA-DRB1*14, DRB1*15, DQB1*05 and DQB1*06 were significantly decreased in the patients with type 1 diabetes compared with the control subjects. No significant differences in the distribution of CTLA4 exon 1, TNF promotor, LT-alpha and VDR gene polymorphisms were observed between the patients with type 1 diabetes and the control subjects. Conclusion : These data suggest that HLA-DRB1*04, DRB1*09, and DQB1*04 are susceptible genes for type 1 diabetes, whereas HLA-DRB1*14, DRB1*15, DQB1*05, and DQB1*06 are protective genes in Korean children. CTLA4 exon 1, TNF promotor, LT-alpha and VDR gene polymorphisms are not associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes in Korean children.
Alleles ; Child* ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* ; Disease Susceptibility* ; Exons ; Female ; Genes, MHC Class II ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Receptors, Calcitriol ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: The need for continuing Growth Hormone(GH) replacement after adolescence in patients with childhood-onset GH deficiency has been recognized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the abnormalities of lipid profiles in young adults with childhood-onset hypopituitarism who discontinued GH therapy after the completion of height growth. METHODS: Nine male patients(mean age:22.4+/-3.3 years) with childhood-onset hypopituiatarism in whom GH treatment had been discontinued after final height was achieved were included. Their body mass index(BMI) and serum levels of total cholesterol, triglyceride(TG), high-density lipoprotein(HDL) cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol were measured. The relationships of duration after GH discontinuation, age, and BMI to lipid profiles were anaylzed. RESULTS: BMI increased significantly from 21.8+/-1.9 kg/m2 before GH discontinuation to 23.0+/-3.0 kg/m2 after GH discontinuation(P<0.05). Serum levels of total cholesterol, TG, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were 217.3+/-33.4, 237.8+/-128.2, 42.1+/-7.1, and 127.4+/-27.2 mg/dL, respectively, 3.1+/-2.0 years after GH discontinuation. Percentage of patients who had total cholesterol > or = 200 mg/dL, TG > or = 150 mg/ dL, LDL cholesterol > or = 140 mg/dL, and HDL cholesterol < or = 40 mg/dL were 77.8%, 88.9%, 44.4%, and 33.3%, respectively. All subjects had some abnormalities of lipid profiles. A significant positive correlation was found between duration after GH discontinuation and serum levels of total cholesterol and TG(r=0.84, P<0.01; r=0.83, P<0.01). A significant positive correlation was also found between age and serum levels of total cholesterol and TG(r=0.86, P<0.01; r=0.81, P<0.01). There were no correlations between BMI and serum lipid levels. CONCLUSION: Most of young adult patients with childhood-onset hypopituitarism had abnormal lipid profiles by 1-5 years after discontinuation of GH treatment. These data suggest that continuous GH treatment after completion of height growth is necessary.
Adolescent ; Adult* ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Growth Hormone* ; Humans ; Hypopituitarism* ; Male ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Humans ; Pregnancy, Twin* ; Twins*

In order to investigate the level of lead exposure of workers in litharge making industry and to evaluate how lead exposure, personal habit such as smoking and drinking affect the prevalence of lead related symptoms and other study variables, we investigate 114 workers(24 office workers and 90 lead exposed workers) in a litharge making industry. Study variables chosen were blood lead(PbB), zinc protoporphyrin in whole blood(ZPP), Hemoglobin(Hb), hematocrit (Hct), SGOT and SGPT. symptom questionnaires which had 15 lead exposure related symptoms were provided to all workers and filled up by themselves and reconfirmed by physician. The results obtained were as follows; 1. The mean value of PbB, ZPP and SGOT in lead exposed group were higher than those of non-exposed group, and there were no differences of means in other study variables. 2. The smoking and drinking rate of study subjects were 65.8% and 71.0% as a whole. Smoking rates were lower in non-exposed group than exposed group, but drinking rate were not. 3. There were no differences of mean values of study variables between smoker and non-smoker in non-exposed and exposed group, but there was a difference of mean value of SGOT between drinker and non-drinker in lead exposed group. 4. while the symptom prevalence of lead exposed group were higher in neuromuscular category than non-exposed group, those of non-exposed group were higher or same with exposed group in gastrointestinal and general symptom category. 5. The symptom prevalence of smoker were higher than non-smoker regardless of exposure. 6. The symptom prevalence of drinker were only higher in gastrointestinal symptom category than non-drinker. 7. In multiple stepwise regression analysis of lead related symptoms as dependent variable and blood lead, smoking habit, drinking habit and work duration as independent variables, drinking habit contributed to the gastrointestinal symptom category, whereas blood lead and smoking contributed to the neuromuscular symptom category. For the total symptoms work duration and smoking habit contributed significantly.
Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Drinking ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Zinc