PURPOSE: Differential diagnosis of sexual precocity is important. Sexual precocity, defined as the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys, was studied to evaluate the sex incidence and etiology of sexual precocity. METHODS: We reviewed the etiology and age incidence of precocious puberty in 14 boys and 89 girls examined between 1994. 11. 1-2002. 7. 31 at Samsung Seoul Hospital. All underwent standard anthropometric measures. They were assigned to diagnostic categories on the basis of clinical assessment, endocrine evaluation, radiologic imaging, and pelvic ultrasonography. RESULTS: In 89 girls, 27 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 12 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 44 had premature thelarche, 2 had premature menarche, 1 had premature adrenarche. The majority of idiopathic precocious puberty girls(78%) were aged between 7-7.9 years. In 14 boys, 2 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 6 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 3 had gynecomastia. CONCLUSION: Sexual precocity occurs more frequently in girls than boys. Premature thelarche is the most common form of sexual precosity. In boys, majority of central precocious puberty had organic brain lesion, so brain imaging study should be performed. In girls, majority of idiopathic precocious puberty were aged between 7-7.9 years. Reexamination of the age limit for defining when puberty should be considered precocious in Korean girls is necessary.
Adolescent ; Adrenarche ; Brain ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Male ; Menarche ; Neuroimaging ; Puberty ; Puberty, Precocious* ; Seoul ; Ultrasonography

This study was carried out to clarify the effect of dietary calcium, casein, and suet on the accumulation of cadmium in mice. It was performed for 30 days, from April 11 to May 10 1988. 90 mice were divided into 4 experimental groups and control group with 6 mice each dietary group, and measured survival rate, body weight, and weight ratio of organ to body. The contents of cadmium in liver, kidney, spleen, muscle and skin with hair, and faces were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer after sacrifice by anesthesia. After 30 days, the survival rate of control group was 100%, but 66.7% in group IV(basal+Cd+Ca) with single dose of 100 microgram cadmium and with free-intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium, and group V(basal diet+Cd+suet) with free-intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. The rate of weight gain in the case of single dose of 100 microgram cadmium was highest in group IV as 42.3% and lowest in group V as 26.0%, whereas in the cases of free intake group IV was highest as 24.0% and group II(basal diet+Cd) was lowest as 11.6%. The body weight, in the case of single dose of 100 microgram cadmium showed no increase until 5th day after acute poisoning. But in the case of free intake group, it showed very increase through all the breeding period. The weight ratio of organ to body were lowest in the liver of group II in both occasions. The most of cadmium administered were excreted through feces within 2 days after single dose of 100 microgram cadmium. The contents of cadmium in each group were significantly higher than those of control group. In the liver, kidney, spleen and muscle, group II showed the highest level in both occasions of 100 microgram single dose and free intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. In the skin with hair, group II of the occasion with single dose of 100 microgram and group V with free intake showed the highest level. And the contents of cadmium in tissue were markedly higher in the occasion of free intake of water containing 50ppm cadmium. From the above results I would conclude that the addition of casein and calcium are effective in the inhibition of intension absorption of cadmium esp. by calcium.
Absorption ; Anesthesia ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Breeding ; Cadmium* ; Calcium ; Calcium, Dietary* ; Caseins* ; Feces ; Hair ; Kidney ; Liver ; Mice* ; Poisoning ; Skin ; Spleen ; Survival Rate ; Water ; Weight Gain

PURPOSE: To understand natural course of transient hyperthyrotropinemia, so that the unnecessary treatment could be avoided. METHODS: Total 182 healthy newborns whose TSH levels in newborn screening test had been higher than 20 microIU/mL were recalled. Their serum levels of TSH, T4, free T4 were checked. RESULTS: Among 182 newborns, 10 newborns had congenital hypothyroidism. 68.1 % of healthy newborns who had high TSH levels were normalized within 2 months and all of the rests were normalized within 5 months. CONCLUSION: Transient hyperthyrotropinemia in newborns improves spontaneously. The unnecessary treatment of transient hyperthyrotropinemia should be avoided.
Congenital Hypothyroidism ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening ; Neonatal Screening*

Routine use of commercially available antisera against hepatitis B core antigen(HBcAg) has permitted a reevaluation of the histochemical distribution of the antigen in liver tissue. HBcAg, classically described almost exclusively in the nucleus, was found with a very high frequency in the cytoplasm of liver cells as well. To elucidate the biologic significance of HBcAg expression and its relation to the natural course of hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection, the patterns of activity in 33 needle liver biopsies of HBsAg carriers were analysed. A good correlation of liver HBcAg with disease activity was demonstrated. HBcAg was present in the hepatocyte nuclei(nHBcAg) or cytoplasm(cHBcAg), or in both(mixed). Pure nHBcAg was seen mainly in non-aggressive reactive liver tissue and cHBcAg was predominantly associated with chronic active hepatitis(95%). The results suggest that expression of HBcAg correlates with the liver pathology and the possibility of HBcAg to be an immunological target for T cell mediated hepatocyte damage.
Biopsy

No abstract available.
Female ; Fibroma* ; Ovary* ; Teratoma*

OBJECTIVE: A number of preexisting clinical conditions are generally accepted as contraindications for total vaginal hysterectomy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of these contraindications. METHODS: The TVH-A group consisted of 230 patients who have undergone vaginal hysterectomy. These patients (1) had a large uterus (>280 gm), (2) were either nulliparous or had no previous vaginal delivery, or (3) had a history of previous abdominal or vaginal operation. The TVH-B group was composed of patients who did not present with any contraindications when they underwent vaginal hysterectomy. Patients of the TAH group underwent abdominal hysterectomy. The records for all patients were analyzed according to age, weight, parity, primary diagnosis, uterine weight, duration of operation, blood loss, analgesia, hospital stay, and postsurgical complications. RESULTS: No significant difference in age and weight was observed between the three groups. The average number of vaginal deliveries performed was lower in the TVH-A group. Uterine myoma, carcinoma in situ, and adenomyosis were common preoperative diagnoses in all groups. The most common contraindication for total vaginal hysterectomy in the TVH-A group was history of previous operation (54.8%); large uterus (44.8%) and nulliparity (21.3%) ranked second and third, respectively. Durations of operation, hospital stay, and pain were longer, bleeding volume was greater, and incidence of postoperative complications was higher in the TAH group than in the other groups (p<0.01). Previous cesarean delivery did not affect various operative characteristics among women undergoing vaginal hysterectomy (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that a history of previous operation, large uterus, and nulliparity rarely constitute contraindications to vaginal hysterectomy.
Adenomyosis ; Analgesia ; Carcinoma in Situ ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal* ; Incidence ; Leiomyoma ; Length of Stay ; Parity ; Postoperative Complications ; Uterus

No abstract available.
Acoustic Stimulation* ; Acoustics*

No abstract available.
Empyema* ; Lymphoma*

Primary hemangiopericytoma of chest wall is very rate and only a few cases have ever been reported. The tumor aries from the capillary pericyte of Zimmerman. It is a highly vascular slow growing tumor which can be calssified as both malignant and benign varieties. We report a case of a 66 year-old man in whom recurrent hemangiopericytoma was treated by complete surgical excision. In October 1993 he had received surgical excision of hemangiopericytoma on posterior chest wall. For more than 6 years after the operation he was in good condition until a recurrent mass was found on the chest X-ray. The patient was discharged 9 days after the operation and is receiving radiotherapy.
Aged ; Capillaries ; Hemangiopericytoma* ; Humans ; Pericytes ; Radiotherapy ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax*

BACKGROUND: The improved technique for cardiopulmonary resuscitation(CPR) has resulted in the survival of many patient who experienced cardiac arrest. However, mortality in resuscitated patients is high, and the survival rate without brain damage is very low. Various neurological examination models, neuro-imaging techniques, electrophysiological procedures, and biochemical tests have been studied with respect to the detection of cerebral damage and outcome, but an early, reliable prediction of individual outcomes is still uncertain. METHODS: We studied twenty patient who had been in a coma for more than 24 hours after CPR, Somatosensory evoked potentials(SEP) were measured within the first three days after CPR. RESULTS: Of the twenty patients, seven patients(35%) had a good outcome, and thirteen patients(65%) had a bad outcome. Of the eleven patients with loss of the cortical evoked potential's N20 peak, all had a bad outcome. CONCLUSION: SEPs are of great benefit in prognostic evaluation after CPR.
Brain ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation* ; Coma* ; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory* ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Mortality ; Neurologic Examination ; Survival Rate