No abstract available.
Cells, Cultured ; Prevotella ; Prevotella nigrescens

PURPOSE: This study was performed to evaluate the changes of tear film and ocular surface after using cyclosporine A in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy accompanied by dry eye. METHODS: Corneal sensitivity test (CST), tear break-up time (BUT), basal tear secretion test (BST), fluorescein staining (FS), tear clearance rate (TCR), and conjunctival impression cytology were evaluated in 28eyes of 28 patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy accompanied by dry eye before and after using 0.1 cyclosporine A. RESULTS: CST (P=0.03), BUT (P<0.01), and BST (P=0.01) were shown significant improvements after 3 month treatment with topical 0.1% cyclosporine A. There are also shown improvments of impression cytologic findings, reduction of the degree of conjunctival squamous cell metaplasia (P=0.02) and increment of the density of goblet cell (P=0.04) after 3 month treatment. But TCR and FS were shown no significant changes after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The improvement of parameters of tear films and ocular surface suggest the treatment with 0.1% cyclosporine A for dry eye in thyroid ophthalmopathy was effective.
Cyclosporine* ; Fluorescein ; Goblet Cells ; Graves Ophthalmopathy ; Humans ; Metaplasia ; Tears* ; Thyroid Gland*

BACKGROUND: The plateletpheresis yields are important to meet standard platelet transfusion doses and single donor platelets (SDPs) with fewer than 3.0x1011 can not be issued without approval from hospitals according to the regulations of Korea Red Cross blood center. This study evaluates platelet yields and plateletpheresis parameters of three different cell separators. METHODS: We used Amicus (Baxter, Deerfield, IL, U.S.A.), MCS+ (Haemonetics, Braintree, MA, U.S.A.) and Trima (Gambro BCT, Lakewood, U.S.A.) and collected a total of 2,303 units of leukocyte-reduced SDP(LRSDP). All separators were set up to target a platelet yield of 3.2x1011 and parameters were recorded for each collection. All units were divided into group 1(<2.5x1011), 2(2.5-2.9x1011), 3(3.0x1011-optimal platelet counts/unit) and 4(>optimal platelet counts/unit) by platelet yields and separators. RESULTS: Three cell separators did not show any differences in the mean values of platelet yields. SDPs with 3.0x1011 or over were 87%, 91% and 87%, respectively. SDPs with more than optimal platelet counts per unit were 2%, 1% and 2%, respectively. SDPs collected by Trima had significantly higher values for pre-platelet count, total processing blood volume and used ACD volume. SDPs collected by MCS+ showed significant differences between groups in evaluated parameters including longer collecting time. CONCLUSION: All three separators provided satisfactory platelet yields with no significant differences among them. But platelet yields less than 3.0x1011 accounted for 9-13% of all collections. This study demonstrated that qualified management and thorough understanding of the plateletpheresis technology are necessary to increase productivity of SDPs with 3.0x1011 or over. It is also necessary to introduce new regulations and criteria for platelet yields, e.g. the yield-based pricing system.
Blood Platelets ; Blood Volume ; Efficiency ; Humans ; Korea ; Platelet Count ; Platelet Transfusion ; Plateletpheresis* ; Red Cross ; Social Control, Formal ; Tissue Donors

No abstract available.
Sparganosis*

No abstract available.
Female ; Indomethacin* ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Pregnancy ; Ritodrine*

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the positive rate of 3 serologic methods and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the changes of IgG and IgG subclasses in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MP). METHODS: Fifty children with pneumonia admitted to Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, Korea, during MP outbreaks were evaluated for the diagnostic antibody status using 3 serologic methods: indirect micro-particle agglutinin assay (MAA, Serodia-Myco II, Fujirebio, Tokyo, Japan), cold agglutinins and enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA, Platelia M. pneumoniae IgM & IgG BIO-RAD, Marnes-la-Coquette, France) and PCR. The levels of antibody for MP in each method were measured 2 times during hospitalization: at presentation and at discharge (mean interval, 6.5 days). The levels of IgG and IgG subclasses (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4) were also analyzed 2 times (at presentation and at discharge) using stored sera. RESULTS: At presentation, the positive rates of the diagnostic methods were 52%, 38%, 30% and 12% for MAA, cold agglutinins, EIA and PCR assay, respectively. Following analysis of the repetitive measurement of the antibody, the positive rates of the diagnostic methods were 76%, 60% and 56% for MAA, cold agglutinins and EIA, respectively. The mean IgG level of MP patients increased during hospitalization (973+/-184 vs. 1,040+/-205 mg/dL; P=0.008). Among the IgG subclasses, the levels of IgG1 and IgG3 showed a significant increase during hospitalization (553+/-129 vs. 611+/-151 mg/dL, P=0.003 for IgG1; 43+/-27 vs. 47+/-30 mg/dL, P=0.005 for IgG3). CONCLUSION: For the accurate and relatively rapid diagnosis of MP, a paired sample examination is mandatory, especially within a short-time period. The sensitivity of serologic tests for the diagnosis of MP may differ among commercially available kits. IgG1 and IgG3 appear to be the main IgG subclasses that show an increase after MP infection.
Agglutinins ; Child ; Cold Temperature ; Cryoglobulins ; Disease Outbreaks ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Serologic Tests ; Tokyo

No abstract available.
Acupuncture Therapy ; Ampicillin/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Ankle/ultrasonography ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Cellulitis/complications/diagnosis/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications ; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/complications/diagnosis/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Prevotella nigrescens/drug effects/*genetics/isolation & purification ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/*analysis ; Sulbactam/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Hyperacute or acute accelerated rejection caused by preformed antibody in sensitized patients resulted in increased waiting period and complicated posttransplant hospital course. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) has known to have anti cytotoxic effect by blocking the anti HLA antibody. PURPOSE: We investigated the effect of IVIG on hyperacute and acclerated rejection of the heart graft in the presensitized rat. METHODS: Recipients (Wistar) were sensitized from repeated allo (Lewis) skin graft and followed by heterotopic allo cardiac transplantation. A guinea pig was used for the xenotransplantation model. IVIG (Green Cross kappa, 400 mg/kg in allotransplantation, 800 mg/kg in xenotransplantation) was given just before heart transplantation. Graft survival and donor specific IgG, IgM and complement were measured. RESULTS: Graft survival was 7.2 days in non sensitized allogenic heart transplantation (n=9), 1.3 days in sensitized allogenic recipients (n=7). Graft survival was prolonged from 1.3 days to 4.4 days with IVIG treatment (n=5). As for xenogenic transplantation, graft survival was prolonged from 30 min to 7.4 hr with IVIG treatment (n=5). Donor specific IgG and IgM and complement increment were blocked by IVIG during the IVIG treatment. Donor specific IgG and Ig M and complement were increased after the cessation of IVIG treatment. CONCLUSION: IVIG was able to prolong the graft survival of the sensitized allograft and xenograft. Suppression of the donor specific IgG, IgM and complement might be one of the underlying mechanisms. A further studies have to follow to clarify the more detailed mechanism.
Allografts ; Animals ; Complement System Proteins ; Graft Survival ; Guinea Pigs ; Heart Transplantation* ; Heart* ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins* ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Rats* ; Skin ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplants

Spontaneous bladder perforation is a very rare event. Prompt diagnosis of this injury is very important, particularly with intraperitoneal perforation, because mortality increases if surgical repair is delayed. Previous studies have reported that plain cystography is the primary modality of imaging study rather than relatively insensitive computed tomography (CT) when bladder perforation is suspected. We report here a rare case of spontaneous intraperitoneal perforation of the bladder associated with urothelial carcinoma with divergent histologic differentiation, as diagnosed with CT cystography.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Rupture, Spontaneous ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to analyze correlation between the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of 2-[F-18]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (FDG) on positron emission computed tomography (PET-CT) scan and the degree of contrast enhancement on computed tomography (CT) scan in lung cancers, and to recognize the difference in SUVmax and CT enhancement between groups of different histopathologic subtypes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study included 53 patients of pathologically confirmed primary lung cancer, who were performed PET-CT and post-contrast chest CT. We calculated initial and delayed SUVmax (SUV1, SUV2), difference between SUV1 and SUV2 (SUVd), retention index (RI), and the degrees of CT contrast enhancement of lung cancers. We analyzed these variables for subtypes of lung cancers. RESULTS: The values (mean +/- standard deviation) were 8.3+/-4.4 for SUV1, 10.7+/-5.7 for SUV2, 2.4+/-1.6 for SUVd, 30+/-14 for RI and 47.1+/-14.8 HU (Hounsfield Unit) for degree of CT contrast enhancement. The difference of SUV1 and degree of CT enhancement between subtypes was not meaningful. SUV1 showed positive correlations with SUVd (r=0.74, p<0.01) and tumor size (r=0.58, p<0.01), but no significant correlation with degree of CT enhancement (r=0.06, p=0.69). In 10 cases, there was discrepancy in the same mass between the area of highest FDG-uptake and the area of highest contrast enhancement. CONCLUSION: We suggest that FDG uptake in lung cancer does not have a positive linear correlation with degree of CT enhancement. And there is no significant difference in FDG uptake and degree of CT enhancement between different subtypes of lung cancers
Electrons ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Retention (Psychology) ; Thorax ; Tomography, Emission-Computed