No abstract available.

Patterns of branches and distribution of right coronary artery in Korean adult hearts were observed at the viewpoint of newly edited Nomina Anatomica, and the results were as follows. Generally the right aortic sinus had one orifice, but sometimes had two orifices which were related to conal branch. The right coronary artery had mural coronary in 17.5% of cases. In the most of the cases, right coronary artery was dominent, and type 4 was most frequent. Descending septal artery was observed in 17.5% of cases. The atrial branches can be grouped as anterior, posterior and left atrial, and each group was composed of one or two branches when present. In 97.5% of cases, intermediate atrial branch was observed. The sinuatrial nodal artery was originated mostly from right coronary artery. The atrioventriclar branch was observed in 7.5% of cases. The ventricular branches can be grouped as right anterior, right posterior and left posterior, and composed of 3-6, 0-2, and 0-4 branches respectively. Right marginal branch showed great variation, and other branch originated from superiorto to it was found to distribute the apex of the heart. Based on the results, the authors depicts typical arrangement of the rignt coronary artery in Korean.
Adult ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels* ; Heart ; Humans ; Sinus of Valsalva

No abstract available.
Embryonic Structures* ; Head* ; Humans* ; Neck*

The tricuspid valve is not a simple but a complex structure, tricuspid valve complex. This complex is composed of tricuspid orifice, annulus, valve leaflet, chordae tendineae and papillary muscles. There are flew articles about these structures. The authors studied tricuspid valve complex in 53 cases of normal korean adults, such as circumference of tricuspid annulus, the maximum diameter of the tricuspid orifice, height and breadth of the cusps, including commissures, the ratio of rough to clear zone, the number of scallops of posterior cusp, the number, length and pattern of arrangement of the several types of chordae, the number and morphological characteristics of papillary muscles.
Adult* ; Chordae Tendineae ; Heart* ; Humans ; Papillary Muscles ; Pectinidae ; Tricuspid Valve*

We report a case of primary cutaneous cryptococcosis on Rt. forehead and perioral area of 57 year old woman with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and Lt. cerebral infarction. She had large ulcers with yellowish purulent exudates on Rt. forehead and perioral area for 2months. A histopathological examination from the lesion showed numerous encapsulated, round spores and the organisms were identified as Cryptococcus neoformans in a series of fun-gal studies. The patient received a 5-week course of IV and oral fluconazole with resolution of her skin lesion. The patient is free of any lesion several months after completing therapy. This experience supports the use of fluconazole as initial and single therapy in primary cutaneous cryptococcosis.
Cerebral Infarction ; Cryptococcosis* ; Cryptococcus neoformans ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Exudates and Transudates ; Female ; Fluconazole* ; Forehead ; Humans ; Skin ; Spores ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND: Sun exposure and therapeutic irradiation have been shown to induce alterations in extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, including elastin, glycosaminoglycan and collagens. The integrity of the connective tissue mainly depends on balanced rates of matrix synthesis and degradation of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) may be involved in ultraviolet irradiation (UVR)-induced alterations in ECM proteins. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of UVA as well as UVB irradiations on ST-1 gene expression in cultured human skin fibroblasts. METHODS: After exposure of different doses of UVA and UVB on cultured human skin fibroblasts, we examined the expression of ST-1 gene by Northern blot analysis, chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) assay with CAT construct containing AP-1 binding site. Additionally, we carried out the gel mobility shift assay to investigate the effects of UVR on the DNA-binding activity of AP-1. RESULTS: After UVR on fibroblasts, the steady-state levels of ST-1 mRNA were in-creased in response to UVA and UVB by 2.5-fold and 4.2-fold, respectively, as compared with controls. Similar results were obtained by CAT assay showing that CAT activity increased as the UVA and UVB doses increased. Furthermore, gel mobility shift assay demonstrated that both UVA and UVB increased AP-1 DNA binding complexes. CONCLUSION: UVB as well as UVA up-regulated ST-1 gene expression at transcriptional levels in vitro. We speculate that modulation of MMPs, including ST-1, gene expression by UVR may contribute to the connective tissue damage related to photoaging and other photocutaneous disorders.
Animals ; Binding Sites ; Blotting, Northern ; Cats ; Chloramphenicol O-Acetyltransferase ; Collagen ; Connective Tissue ; DNA ; Elastin ; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibroblasts* ; Gene Expression ; Humans* ; In Vitro Techniques ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin ; Solar System ; Transcription Factor AP-1

BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in children has some difficulties compared with adult cases. Despite the children's total blood volume is small, they have a relatively higher volume of blood per weight than adults. Also, it is hard for the children to maintain 2 central vein during leukapheresis to shorten the time consumed. We compared the artery-harvest and central vein-harvested group for possible risk and stem cell yield in pediatric patients with malignancies. METHODS: From August, 1995 to January, 1997, 21 leukapheresis was performed by 7 patients. The patients who could have 2 central veins for leukapheresis were included in vein-harvested group and the patients who could have only 1 central vein were included in artery-harvested group. The peripheral vein was not used for leukapheresis. COBE Spectra(COBEBCT, Lakewood, CO) was used and priming was done by packed RBCs in patients weighing less than 20kg. Stem cell yield was assessed by MNC, CD34+, CFU-GM, respectively. During leukapheresis, the patients were closely monitored for change in vital sign, evidence for thrombosis, bleeding, hypocalcemia, etc. RESULTS: There was no serious complication in each group of patients. After the leukapheresis, WBC and platelet count decreased but Hb level was increased due to reinfusion of primed packed RBCs. Average flow rate was higher in vein-harvested group but there was no difference in time consumed and results in stem cell assay. CONCLUSION: Peripheral stem cell harvest in children by radial artery can be performed safely and easily without an increased risk or complication. In younger children, it is possible to achieve even more higher stem cell yield. If the patient is unable to maintain 2 central vein for leukapheresis, transient radial arterial catheterization is a safe and convenient method.
Adult ; Blood Volume ; Catheterization* ; Catheters* ; Child ; Colony-Forming Units Assay ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Progenitor Cells ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypocalcemia ; Leukapheresis ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Platelet Count ; Radial Artery ; Stem Cells* ; Thrombosis ; Veins ; Vital Signs

No abstract available.
Embryonic Structures* ; Humans*

OBJECTIVES: lschemic acute renal failure(ARF) is characterized by an abrupt and sustained decline in GFR within minutes to days after renal ischemia and not immediately reversed on restoration of renal blood flow. The typical delay of a few days to a few weeks suggests reversible parenchymal damage awaiting cell regeneration for functional recovery. Many potentially cell damaging factors, such as ATP depletion, plasma membrane phospholipid degradatian and superoxide-induced membrane damage, play a central part in ischemic injury. More recently, much attention has been focused on the role of calcium, especially ischemic cell injury and the possible therapeutic role of calcium channel blockers emerged from studies conducted several years ago. In the past, it was thought that activation of renin-angiotensin system plays a role in the pathogenesis of ARF. Now the role of angiotensin in human renal ischemia also appears to be controversial. The following study was done in order to investigate the effect of a calcium channel blocker, nifedipine, on gene expression of renin during acute ischemic renal injury. METHODS: The Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups, group I(n=3) as the control, group II (n=3) as the sham operation group, group III(n=15) as the ischemic renal injury group without nifedipine pretreatment, and group IV(n=15) as the ischemic renal injury model by right nephrectomy and left renal artery clamping for 40 minutes with systemic nifedipine pretreatment(10mg/kg), 1n ischemic renal injury model(group III and IV), rats were further divided into three subgroups according to reperfusion time of 1,24,72 hours. The non-ischemic right kidney removed at the time of initial procedure served as paired control. Total renal RNA was extracted by Chomczynskis method and electrophoresis was done in a 1% agarose gel containing 2,2M formaldehyde. Northern was performed at 42degrees C with isotope labeled renin probe for 18 hours, Autoradiographs were obtained and quantitated by a densitometer measured at 530nm. RESULTS: 1) The expression of renin gene was markedly decreased after renal ischemia and slowly recovered to one half of the control level after 72 hours of reperfusion. 2) Renin gene expression pattern of ischemic renal injury with prior nifedipine treatment was similar to the ischemic group without nifedipine pretreatment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the renin gene expression was markedly decreased after renal ischemia and slowly recovered. Systemic nifedipine pretreatment does not have a significant effect on gene expression pattern of renin in ischemic renal injury.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Angiotensins ; Animals ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; Calcium Channels* ; Calcium* ; Cell Membrane ; Constriction ; Electrophoresis ; Formaldehyde ; Gene Expression* ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Kidney ; Membranes ; Nephrectomy ; Nifedipine ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Regeneration ; Renal Artery ; Renal Circulation ; Renin* ; Renin-Angiotensin System ; Reperfusion ; RNA ; Sepharose

Enlargement of bone tunnels has been noted on plain X-rays following arthroscopic ACL reconstruction. The cause of this widening is unclear, but it has been hypothesized that it may be due to either mechanical or biological cases. Ishibashi et al. reported anatomical proximal fixation resulted in the most stable reconstructed knee, with increasing instability as the level of fixation moved away from the tibial plateau. The purpose of this study is to determine if any difference exists in the amount of enlargement of the femoral tunnel following arhotoscopic ACL reconstruction with position of interference screw fixation and instability, and to know the factors which affected to the enlargement of the femoral tunnels. Total 39 patients were retrospectively reviewed for tunnel measurements radiologically at one year post-operation. (27 patients received bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft, 12 patients received bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft and Kennedy LAD-ligament augmentation device). The surgery was performed using an arthroscopic single and double incision technique. AP and lateral X-rays were obtained and the tunnels were measured by two independent observers using a digital caplper. The measurements were made at the widest part of the tunnel. Correction for magnification was performed by comparing the measured width of the interference screw used for fixation of the graft with its actual width. Statistical analysis was performed using a one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA) and t-test. 1. Radiographic tunnel enlargement of femoral side was average 2.42 mm (bone-patellar tendon-bone autograft : 2.36 mm, Kennedy-LAD and autograft : 2.56 mm)(p>0.05). 2. According to the position of the interference screw, the femoral tunnel enlargement were 2.25 mm in anatomical fixation, 2.40 mm in mid-tunnel fixation, 2.62 mm in mid-tunnel fixation, 2.62 mm in outer-tunnel fixation(p < 0.05). 3. The femoral enlargement according to the overall results(Clancy, 1982) were 2.39 mm in above good result group and 2.50 mm in below fair result group(p < 0.05). Tunnel enlargement group of femoral side was related to a distance between femoral articular surface and the position of interference screw. We conclude that femoral tunnel enlargement following arthoscopic bone tendon-bone ACL reconstruction is related to the mechanical effect rather than the properties of grafts and the clinical results.
Autografts ; Humans ; Knee ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplants