BACKGROUND: Basal cell carcinoma(BCC) is the most common tumor of light-skinned people. Most of them are relatively innocuous, but some may cause extensive tissue destruction, and result in death by local infiltration of vital structure or metastatic disease. The bcl-2 is a protooncogene involved in tumorigenesis by blocking apoptosis or programmed cell death. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there was a difference in bcl-2 expression in different histopathological types of BCC. Method: We performed immunohistochemical staining by using a monoclonal mouse anti-human bcl-2 oncoprotein in 28 BCC(nodular: 7 cases, micronodular; 3 cases, adenoid; 1 case, infiltrative; 9 cases, and mixed; 8 cases). Result: All 28 BCC expressed bcl-2, and the degree of staining was different according to histopathological types; poor prognostic micronodular(100%) and infiltrative(73.3%) types were relatively strong, and nodular(66.7% ) and adenoid(75.0%) types were moderate. Conclusion . These results suggest that the degree of bcl-2 expression in BCC seems to be dependent to the histopathological types together with clinical behavior.
Adenoids ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Cell Death ; Mice

The aim of this study was to compare wear resistance of resin denture teeth opposing various restorative materials. The wear resistance of conventional acrylic resin teeth (Trubyte Biotone) and three high-strength resin teeth(Bioform IPN, Endura, SR-Orthosit-PE) opposing different restorative materials (gold alloys, dental porcelain, composite resin) was compared. Wear tests were conducted with a sliding-induced wear testing apparatus which applied 100,000 strokes to the specimen in an mesio-distal direction under conditions of 100 stroke/min and constant loading of 1Kgf/tooth. Wear resistance of the resin denture teeth was evaluated by the following criteria : 1) wear depth, 2)weight loss, and 3) SEM observation. Results were as follows. 1. When opposed to gold alloys and composite resin, high-strength resin teeth showed superior wear resistance compared to acrylic resin teeth. But, in cases opposing dental porcelain, differences between the wear of the high-strength and acrylic resin teeth were not statistically significant (p<0.05). 2. When comparing wear resistance among high-strength resin teeth, opposing gold alloys, Endura was slightly more resistant and while in cases opposing dental porcelain, SR-Orthosit-PE was showed to be slightly resistant(p<0.05). 3. The wear of high-strength resin teeth was greater by 5 to 7 times when opposing porcelain and 2 to 3 times when opposing composite resin compared to gold alloys(p<0.05). 4. SEM observations of the wear surface showed that wear of resin teeth opposing gold alloys is a fatigue type of wear and wear of resin teeth opposing dental porcelain is fatigue and abrasion type of wear. Trubyte Biotone showed more severe fatigue type of wear than high-strength resin teeth. In conclusion, the use of dental porcelain should seriously be considered as restorative material in cases opposing resin denture teeth and improvement seems to be needed on resin teeth in the areas of wear resistance.
Dental Alloys ; Dental Porcelain ; Dentures* ; Fatigue ; Gold Alloys ; Stroke ; Tooth*

We report a rare case of intrathoracic lymphangiomatosis associated with chylothorax in a 3-year-old boy. The patient had been healthy until he had chickenpox followed by continued dyspnea. The biopsy specimen showed proliferating lymphatic channels & spindle cells in the lung tissue. The boy died of respiratory failure despite conservative treatment and surgical treatment with pleurodesis. An autopsy was performed. Pleura and pericardium showed severe adhesion to the right lung parenchyma. The cut surface of lung showed thickened interlobular septum with honeycomb-appearance. Histologically, extensive intercommunicating and anastomosing endothelial-lined lymphatic channels were noted along the visceral and parietal pleura, pericardium, around the great vessels, and in the anterior mediastinum over the thymus. These lymphatic channels infiltrated into the pulmonary parenchyme along the bronchovascular bundles. There were scattered areas of spindle cell proliferation with extravasation of RBCs mimicking Kaposi's sarcoma. Histologic diagnosis and differential diagnosis on biopsy materials can be difficult to establish but awareness of the intrathoracic lymphangiomatosis and its various clinical presentation may be helpful for diagnosis.
Autopsy* ; Biopsy ; Cell Proliferation ; Chickenpox ; Child, Preschool ; Chylothorax ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Mediastinum ; Pericardium ; Pleura ; Pleurodesis ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Sarcoma, Kaposi ; Thymus Gland

The instability of the degenerative spondylolisthetic lumbar spine was clinically evaluated by patients symptoms and serial radiograms. With X-ray films of patients lumbar spine, the lumbosacral angle, the sacral angle, the vertebral height difference between anterior and posterior surface of the 5th lumbar vertebra and the level of intercristal line were analysed. And the results of treatment were analysed too. The Results were as follows: 1) In degenerative spondylolisthetic L3 and L4 spines, facets were arranged in sagittal plane and sacrum was vertically arranged, but in L5 facets were coronally arranged and sacrum and in horizontal plane. 2) The lumbosacral angle was 149.9 and the average difference between anterior and posterior height of L5 vertebral body was 3mm. These results revealed that sacrum was more vertical and the 5th vertebral body was more rectangular, so lumbar lordosis was decreased as a whole. 3) The intercristal line was passed at IA or L4–5 interspace in 72.1% of cases(normal:95.8%), so L4 vertebra was placed in higher level. 4) In group A posterolateral fusion was done in 2 cases. Among group B and C, operation was done in 9 cases;4 cases with laminectomy and 5 cases with laminectomy and posterolateral fusion. Two years after surgery, slipping and instability were far advanced in 2 laminectomized cases for whom posterolateral fusion was followed later. 5) Unstable group of degenerative spondylolisthesis with severe neurological symptoms and claudication must be treated by decompressive laminectomy and posterolateral fusion, especially in patients under 60 years of age. 6) Young woman having flattened lumbar curve without slipping, narrowed disc space of L4–5, high-seated L4 and vertical sacrum is thought to be in prespondylolisthetic stage of degenerative origin; therefore, intensive back muscle exercise to prevent the slipping should be performed and periodic X-ray examinations should be followed up to detect the progress of the disease.
Animals ; Back Muscles ; Female ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Lordosis ; Sacrum ; Spine ; Spondylolisthesis ; X-Ray Film

No abstract available.
Child* ; Fetal Growth Retardation* ; Growth Hormone* ; Humans

Primary pericardial tumors are rare than those originating within the myocardium or endocardium and, moreover, primary benign pericardial tumors are much rare in occurrence. Fine(1986) was able to collect only 43 cases of lipoma. Most cases are diagnosed only at autopsy. One fourth of the cardiac lipoma arise subepicardially, where they suggest the presence of pericardial effusion with compression or displacement of the heart. A case of primary intrapericardial lipoma simulating pericardial effusion is presented. This tumor originated in left anterior aspect of pericardium. The tumor was measured 30x30x5cm in size and 2,200mg in weight. Total excision of the mass was accomplished by posterior lateral thoracotomy incision, resulting in complete cure. This is the first case of primary benign lipoma of the pericardium in literatures in our knowledge.
Autopsy ; Endocardium ; Heart ; Lipoma* ; Myocardium ; Pericardial Effusion* ; Pericardium ; Thoracotomy

Diabetes insipidus(DI) of central origin is a clinical syndrome resulting from low blood levels of antidiuretic hormone secreted from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, which is usually caused by lesions involving the hypothalamus-neurohypophyseal axis. MR imaging can reveal absence of the posterior pituitary bright signal(PPBS)in DI. The authors reviewed four patients with intracranial germinomas who had DI due to hypothalamus involvement. All patients before radiotherapy revealed absence of PPBS on MRI. Three cases recovered from DI after radiotherapy and showed reappearance of PPBS. Another one patients who continued DI didn't show signal change of the posterior pituitary gland. Ws speculated that the reappearance of PPBS is related to clinical improvement of DI.
Diabetes Insipidus* ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Germinoma* ; Humans ; Hypothalamus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pituitary Gland ; Pituitary Gland, Posterior ; Radiotherapy*

No abstract available.
Urachus*

To evaluate the efficacy of STIR (short tau inversio recovery) image in the diagnosis of orbital diseases, we compared the STIR images with conventional SE(spin-echo) images in 17 patients. The fat signal was reliably nulled at inversion time of approximately 160-170 msec in all cases. We analyzed all the cases in the aspects of the detection of lesion and the lesion-to-back ground contrast retrospectively. Regarding lesion, the detection rates of STIR, T1 and T2-weighted images were 89, 88 and 83% respectively. In the aspect of lesion-to-background contrast, the contrast ratios of STIR and T1, T2-weighted image were 87% and 64, 56%, respectively. In conclusion, STIR images were similar to T1-and T2-weighted images in the detection of lesion, but superior in the aspect of lesion-to-background contrast. So the STIR images may be a useful adjunct to conventional SE images for the diagnosis of orbital disease.
Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Orbit* ; Orbital Diseases* ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Panax*