No abstract available.
Antioxidants* ; Technetium Tc 99m Medronate*

The halophilic bacterium, Vibrio vulnificus, causes acute fulminating wound infections and septicemia in human. Especially the septicemia shows high mortality above 50%. In Korea, septicemia by V. vulnificus was reported at westem and southern coast in every year. Here, we try to isolate this V. vulnipcus at Kyoung-nam area and coast of Pusan during 1996. Purposed sites were Dadaepo, Songjung, Chungsapo and Mipo of Pusan and Kijang, Ilkuang, Juksoung, Dongam, Waljun and Chilam of southern sea. Total 40 strains of V. vulnipcus were isolated from sea samples. Biochemical characteristics of isolated V. vulnificus were almost same with reference strain V. vulnificus ATCC 27562 on Farmer's tests and on API 20E kit test. V. vulnificus isolates in 1996, fermented cellobiose and salicin but arabinose. and had resistance to 7% sodium chloride.
Arabinose ; Busan* ; Cellobiose ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mortality ; Sepsis ; Sodium Chloride ; Vibrio vulnificus* ; Vibrio* ; Wound Infection

Amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) is a rare peripartum complication with a mortality rate of 61 to 86%. The main clinical manifestations include shock, acute pulmonary edema, neurologic signs, and coagulopathies. Most diagnosis of AFE is made on the postmortem examination of the maternal pulmonary vasculature, but antemortem confirmation of amniotic fluid material by aspiration of pulmonary blood is rare. We report the first case in Korea who survived from amniotic fluid embolism confirmed by the identification of amniotic fluid debris in pulmonary artery blood. Serial echocardiographic changes of left ventricle systolic dysfunction are also described with a brief review of literatures.
Amniotic Fluid* ; Autopsy ; Diagnosis ; Echocardiography ; Embolism, Amniotic Fluid* ; Female ; Heart Ventricles* ; Korea ; Mortality ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Peripartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Edema ; Shock

BACKGROUND: The information on nasal transport and the metabolism of peptides have been obtained from pharmacokinetic investigations in experimental animals. However, there are no transport and metabolic studies of human nasal epithelial cells. In this study, the permeability characteristics and the metabolic properties of in vitro human nasal cell monolayers were investigated. Material and METHODS: Normal human inferior nasal conchal tissue samples were obtained from patients undergoing endoscopic nasal cavitary surgery. The specimens were cultured in a transwell using an air-liquid interface (ALI) culture, and the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) value of the blank filter and confluent cell monolayers were measured. To determine the % leakage of mannitol, 4µmol 14C-labelled mannitol was added and the % leakage was measured every 10 minute for 1 hour. RESULT: Human nasal epithelial cells in the primary culture grew to a confluent monolayer within 7 days and expressed microvilli. The tight junction between the cells was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The TEER value of the blank filter, fifth day and seventh day reached 108.5 ohm.cm2, 141 ohm.cm2 and 177.5 ohm.cm2, respectively. Transcellular % leakage of the 14C-mannitol at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 minutes was 35.67±5.43, 34.42±5.60, 32.75±5.71, 31.76±4.22, 30.96±3.49 and 29.60±3.68 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: The human nasal epithelial monolayer using ALI using techniques is suitable for a transcellular permeability study. The data suggests that human nasal epithelial cells in as ALI culture technique shows some promise for a nasal transport and metabolism study.
Animals ; Culture Techniques* ; Electric Impedance ; Epithelial Cells* ; Humans* ; Mannitol ; Metabolism ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Microvilli ; Peptides ; Permeability ; Tight Junctions

BACKGROUND: Exercise can aggravate asthmatic symptoms in many patients with bronchial asthma. It is caused by that inhaled air bypasses nasal cavity and goes directly to the lower airways through open mouth dring exercise. Although the pathogenetic mechanisms of exercise-induced asthma(EIA) have not been clarified yet, there is evidence that chemical mediators, released from the inflammatory cells triggered by airway cooling or drying, might be responsible for induction of bronchoconstriction. However, it has been controversial which chemical mediators or cells are involved in such process. Objectiye . The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of activated mast cells in the pathogenesis of EIA and find out whether or not sulfidopeptide leukotrienes (LTC4/d4/E4) are involved in the exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Eleven asthmatics with documented exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and 10 control subjects were studied. Before and 6 hours after free running for 6 minutes, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV,) and the concentrations of N- methylhistamine, LTE4, and creatinine in unine collected for 6 hours after exercise were determined. RESULT: Urinary concentrations of N-methylhistamine(mean+SE, ng/mg creatinine) of EIA patients before and after exercise were 159+40 and 450+75, respectively. Those of control subjects were 208+ 54 and 275+ 62, respectively. Uninary N-methylhistamine levels of EIA group increased significantly after exercise, while those of control group did not change. Urinary concentrations of LTE,(mean+SE, pg/mg creatinine) of EIA patients before and after exercise were 15.6 k2.6 and 22.2+5.8, respectively. Those of control subjects were 10.4+ 4.0, 18.2 +7.0, respectively. The concentrations of LTE4 in the urine samples collected before exerise revealed no difference between EIA and control subjects (p=0.07). There was no change after exercise in both groups. Percent fall of FEV, was 29.1+8.0% (mean+SD) in EIA group and 3.4 + 4.0% in control group, respectively. There was no correlation between reduction of FEV, and change in urinary concentrations of N-methyl-histmine after exercise. CONCLUSTION: Chemical mediators of activated mast cells may be involved in exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, but there is little evidence for enhanced sulfidopeptide leukotriene generation as assessed by urinary LTE4.
Asthma ; Asthma, Exercise-Induced* ; Bronchoconstriction ; Creatinine ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Leukotriene E4 ; Leukotrienes ; Mast Cells ; Mouth ; Nasal Cavity ; Running

Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease affecting the skin and peripheral nervous system. Because of its variable manifestations, leprosy can be misdiagnosed as syphilis, sarcoidosis, psoriasis and eczema. A 73 year-old man showed erythematous papules on his arms and legs. He had been erroneously treated as eczema before the correct clinicopathological diagnosis of borderline lepromatous leprosy was made. We report this case to suggest that dermatologists should pay careful attention while diagnosing new cases of leprosy.
Arm ; Diagnosis ; Eczema* ; Granulomatous Disease, Chronic ; Leg ; Leprosy* ; Leprosy, Multibacillary* ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Psoriasis ; Sarcoidosis ; Skin ; Syphilis

Bacillus species are aerobic, gram-positive, spore forming rods that are widely distributed in soil, dust, stream, and other environmental sources and are regarded as natural organism. But certain species of the genus Bacillus, most notably B.cereus, which is associated with food-borne illness, occasionally have been implicated in the occurrence of fatal illness and complication in a compromised host. We roport a case of pneumonia and bacteremia caused by B.cereus in an 81 year-old man, who had no obvious immunologic compromise. The condition was treated with combination of roxithromycin and gentamicin.
Bacillus cereus* ; Bacillus* ; Bacteremia ; Dust ; Gentamicins ; Pneumonia* ; Rivers ; Roxithromycin ; Soil ; Spores

Hansen's disease(HD) is a chronic infectious disorder acquired by inoculation of Mycobacterium leprae. With the establishment of complex multidrug therapy, the incidence rate of leprosy patients has continually shown to decline by 90% compared to the incidence rate in the 1990s. However, the prevalence of the disease still remains high in southeast asian countries. Due to the rarity and diverse nature of cutaneous presentation, HD is often misdiagnosed with other dermatoses or infectious conditions. Especially, when a patient presents with unusual presentation with leprosy reaction with no classical feature such as sensory disorders and skin lesion, the diagnosis is further delayed with misguided treatments. Herein we present a 27-year-old Indonesian immigrant who displayed clinical features mimicking that of orbital cellulitis who was later diagnosed with borderline lepromatous leprosy through histologic and PCR confirmation, in light of alerting the probability of leprosy in immigrants with intractable skin presentations.
Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Diagnosis ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leprosy ; Leprosy, Borderline ; Leprosy, Multibacillary ; Mycobacterium leprae ; Orbit ; Orbital Cellulitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Sensation Disorders ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of laryngopharyngeal neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on dysphonia in patients with dysphagia caused by stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Eighteen patients participated in this study. The subjects were divided into NMES (n=12) and conventional swallowing training only (CST, n=6) groups. The NMES group received NMES combined with CST for 2 weeks, followed by CST without NMES for the next 2 weeks. The CST group received only CST for 4 weeks. All of the patients were evaluated before and at 2 and 4 weeks into the study. The outcome measurements included perceptual, acoustic and aerodynamic analyses. The correlation between dysphonia and swallowing function was also investigated. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the GRBAS (grade, roughness, breathiness, asthenia and strain scale) total score and sound pressure level (SPL) between the two groups over time. The NMES relative to the CST group showed significant improvements in total GRBAS score and SPL at 2 weeks, though no inter-group differences were evident at 4 weeks. The improvement of the total GRBAS scores at 2 weeks was positively correlated with the improved pharyngeal phase scores on the functional dysphagia scale at 2 weeks. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that laryngopharyngeal NMES in post-stroke or TBI patients with dysphonia can have promising effects on phonation. Therefore, laryngopharyngeal NMES may be considered as an additional treatment option for dysphonia accompanied by dysphagia after stroke or TBI.
Acoustics ; Asthenia ; Brain Injuries* ; Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders* ; Dysphonia* ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Electric Stimulation* ; Humans ; Phonation ; Pilot Projects* ; Stroke

Diffuse skin thickening of the breast is produced by lymphedema usually secondary to obstruction of theaxillary lymphatics. On physical examination, the affected breast is, due to increased fluid content, larger,heavier, and of higher overall density. Mammography reveals an increased coarse reticular pattern. Thickening ofthe skin can have many causes. It may be a result of tumor invasion or a tumor in the dermal lymphatics; orbecause of lymphatic congestion through obstruction of lymphatic drainage within the breast, in the axilla, orcentrally in the mediastinum. Further causes may be congestive heart failure, benign inflammation, primary skinprocesses such as psoriasis, or systemic diseases which involve the skin. Mammographic appearance is known to benonspecific. Ultrasound can demonstrate skin thickening directly, but despite some reports suggesting that thecause of skin thickening can be inferred from the results of ultrasound, this is not usually of practicalimportance. The purpose of this study is to review the causes of skin thickening of the breast and to usemammography and US to differentiate the causes.
Axilla ; Breast Diseases* ; Breast* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Drainage ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart Failure ; Inflammation ; Lymphedema ; Mammography* ; Mediastinum ; Physical Examination ; Psoriasis ; Skin* ; Ultrasonography*