Fifty-nine knees with a specific diagnosis of mediopatella plica syndrom; under arthroscopy were treated by arthroscopic resection. The patients were se1ected for arthroscopy only if the symptoms had continued after a course of physical therapy and medication for at least three weeks. Seven patients were lost in follow up period. Fifty-two knees were reviewed after mean period of 21.5 monl;hs (range 12 to 37). The results were graded as excelient (61.5%), good (25%), poor (9.6%) and failure (3.9%). Majority of the patients ratect their result as excellent or good. We concluded that with the meticulous resection of the pathologic plica with arthroscopy, good result can he expected with resumption of athletic activities and no or mild pain in knee joint.
Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee Joint* ; Knee* ; Sports

No abstract available.
Animals ; Microscopy, Electron* ; Muscle Fibers, Skeletal* ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats*

Some herbal medications induce acute kidney injury. The acute kidney injuries caused by herbal medications are mild and commonly treated by palliative care. A 51-years-old man who drank the juice squeezed from the raw tubers of Dioscorea quinqueloba (D. quinqueloba) was admitted with nausea, vomiting and chilling. He developed a seizure with decreased level of consciousness. He was diagnosed with acute kidney injury, which was cured by continuous venovenous hemodialfiltration. Non-detoxified D. quinqueloba can cause severe acute kidney injury with toxic encephalopathy. It is critical to inform possible adverse effects of the medicinal herbs and to implement more strict regulation of these products.
Acute Kidney Injury/*chemically induced/*complications ; Dioscorea/*adverse effects ; Disease Progression ; Electroencephalography ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurotoxicity Syndromes/*complications

Microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix(FIGO stage IA) has been reported as highly curable disease even with conservative surgery such as conization and simple hysterectomy. Nevertheless, the surgical management for microinvasive carcinomas has been proposed varying from conservative surgery to radical hysterectomy with pelvic nodes dissection according to different diagnostic criterias for microinvasive carcinoma. We reviewed 512 patients who had been diagnosed as microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Cheil Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center from Jan. 1988 to Dec. 1995. Among them, 376 patients were included in this study satisfying guided criterias such as proper management and follow up more than at least one year, and they were analyzed retrospectively based on the clinicopathologic characteristics, pattern of surgical management and postoperative status. (continue)
Cervix Uteri* ; Conization ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Obstetrics ; Retrospective Studies

To analyze the effects of capsaicin administered to the arthritic rat model, immunohistochemical stains for c-fos protein in the spinal dorsal horn and for substance P and CGRP in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were done. Kaolin and careegenan were administered to the knee joint cavity of adult rats to induce arthritis, and capsaicin was administered immediately after kaolin-careegenan injection. A count was conducted of the c-fos immunoreactive dorsal horn neurons and substance P and CGRP immunoreactive cells in L5 and L6 DRG to elucidate the effect of capsaicin. The results were summarized as follows. 1. The number of c-fos immunoreactive neurons in the superficial dorsal horn was increased markedly 2 hours after the kaolin and careegenan injection to the knee joint, and decreased gradually to the control level 1 week after injection. 2. The number of c-fos immunoreactive neurons in the superficial dorsal horn of capsaicin- treated rats was less than in those rats not injected with capsaicin. 3. The number of c-fos immunoreactive neurons in the deep dorsal horn was increased later than those in the superficial dorsal horn and reached peak level 16 hours after the kaolin and careegenan injection, and decreased gradually therafter. 4. The number of c-fos immunoreactive neurons in the deep dorsal horn of the capsaicin treated rats was less than in those rats not treated with capsaicin. 5. The number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive DRG neurons increased 24 hours after the kaolin and careegenan injection to the knee joint, and also apparently increased 1 week after injection. 6. The number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive DRG neurons of capsaicin- treated rats was less than in those rats not treated with capsaicin administered rats. Capsaicin reduces the number of c-fos immunoreactive neurons in the spinal dorsal horn, and also reduces the number of substance P and CGRP immunoreactive neurons in the DRG of the arthritic rat model, which may be closely related to the analgesic effects of capsaicin.
Adult ; Animals ; Arthritis ; Capsaicin* ; Coloring Agents ; Diagnosis-Related Groups ; Ganglia, Spinal* ; Horns ; Humans ; Kaolin ; Knee Joint ; Models, Animal* ; Neurons ; Posterior Horn Cells ; Rats* ; Spinal Cord* ; Spinal Nerve Roots* ; Substance P

PURPOSE: Insulin like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) promotes the proliferation and migration of penile cavernous smooth muscle cells in rats. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of an intracavernosal injection of the IGF-1 gene on the erectile function in the aging rat. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells (CCSMCs) were primarily cultured from Sprague-Dawley rats (16 wks). IGF-1 cDNA was subcloned into pcDNA3.1, and this expression plasmid transfected into CCSMCs. Two, three and four days after transfection, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot analyses were carried out to quantify the transfection efficiency. In an in vivo study, male F344 rats (n=28) were divided into 2 groups; the young (5 months; n=7) and the old (20-21 months; n=21) groups. The old group was further divided into control (n=7) and treatment groups (n=14). The treatment group was given a single intracavernosal injection of DNA-liposome complex (pcDNA alone and pcDNA/IGF-1; 2mug or 4mug in 7 animals each). After 4 weeks of treatment, the erectile function and corpus cavernosal histology were evaluated by hemodynamic study and histomorphometric analysis, respectively. RESULTS: When the CCSMCs were transfected with IGF-1, the IGF-1 mRNA and protein were overexpressed compared to the control. After 4 weeks of treatment, the ratio of the peak intracavernosal pressure to systemic arterial pressure increased in the treatment group (66.3+/- 4.3% with 2mug, 65.4+/- 10.2% with 4mug), but without statistical significance (p>0.05) compared to the control group (55.5+/- 16.7%). The percentage of cavernosal smooth muscle also slightly increased in the treatment group (14.1+/-1.7% with 2mug), but without statistical significance (p>0.05) compared to the control group (13.2+/-1.2%). CONCLUSIONS: IGF-1 mRNA and IGF-1 protein were overexpressed in the rat corpus cavernosum smooth muscle cells due to IGF-1 gene delivery. However, lipid-mediated intracavernosal gene delivery of IGF-1 did not significantly improve the erectile function in the aging rat.
Aging* ; Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Blotting, Western ; DNA, Complementary ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I* ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Plasmids ; Rats* ; Rats, Inbred F344 ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection

Differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) is important for protecting neural cells and brain tissue during inflammation. Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1beta) is the most common pro- inflammatory cytokine in brain inflammation, and increased IL-1beta levels can decrease the proliferation of NPCs. We aimed to investigate whether agmatine (Agm), a primary polyamine that protects neural cells, could trigger differentiation of NPCs by activating IL-1beta in vitro. The cortex of ICR mouse embryos (E14) was dissociated to culture NPCs. NPCs were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After 6 days, protein expression of stem cell markers and differentiation signal factors was confirmed by using western blot analysis. Also, immunocytochemistry was used to confirm the cell fate. Agm treatment activated NPC differentiation significantly more than in the control group, which was evident by the increased expression of a neuronal marker, MAP2, in the LPS-induced, Agm-treated group. Differentiation of LPS-induced, Agm-treated NPCs was regulated by the MAPK pathway and is thought to be related to IL-1beta activation and decreased expression of TLX, a transcription factor that regulates NPC differentiation. Our results reveal that Agm can promote NPC differentiation to neural stem cells by modulating IL-1beta expression under inflammatory condition, and they suggest that Agm may be a novel therapeutic strategy for neuroinflammatory diseases.
Agmatine* ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Brain ; Embryonic Structures ; Encephalitis ; Immunohistochemistry ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-1beta ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Neural Stem Cells ; Neurons* ; Stem Cells ; Transcription Factors

PURPOSE: The human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is expressed in several tumor types, including colorectal cancer, and is a tumor-associated antigen used as a target for antigen-specific immunotheraphy. CEA is a self-antigen associated with development, expressed in fetal cells and rarely expressed in normal colorectal epithelial cells. The induction of immune response to CEA is very difficult. In this study, we attempted to increase the tumor immunity specific to CEA by using dendritic cells pulsed with fusion proteins of CEA and Tat (transactivator of transcription), which transduces extracellular proteins into cytoplasm and causes antigens to be presented with MHC class I pathway. METHODS: The Tat gene was amplified in the PNL4-3 HIV plasmid and then inserted into PCEP4 plasmid vector. The CEA gene was cloned from cDNA from LoVo human colorectal cell line and then amplified through polymerase chain reaction method. After cloning of PCEP4 plasmid vector, the dendritic cell was sensitized and internalized with CEA and Tat-CEA protein. Then the Western blot analysis of the expression of CEA in the gene-modified dendritic cell and the immunofluorescent staining of the expression of CEA in CEA or Tat-CEA-pulsed dendritic cell were performed. A detection of IFN-gamma-releasing CD8 cell and a cytotoxicity of T-cell were was assesed using ELISPOT assay. The Immunoglobulin (Ig) G isotypes were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The statistical significance was assessed using Students t-test. RESULTS: CEA pulsed in dendritic cells was distributed over the cell surface and TatCEA was observed in the cytoplasm. The cellular immune responses by immunization with dendritic cells pulsed with TatCEA (322/10(4) lymphocytes) were significantly increased compared with those with CEA (244/10(4) lymphocytes) by IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay (P<0.05). The cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity using mouse T-cell, EL-4 pulsed peptide (EAQNTTYL) as target cells was 23.3+/-2.75% (E:T=1:100) in the CEA group and 22.9+/-2.23% (E:T=1:100) in the TatCEA group. In ELISA analysis of the IgG isotype, the titer of IgG2a and IgG3, representing Th1 immune response, was lower than that of IgG1, representing Th2 immune response, in both the CEA group and the TatCEA group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that TatCEA could be used for the development of a tumor vaccine and cellular immunotherapy using CTLs induced in vitro.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Cell Line ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Cytoplasm ; Dendritic Cells ; DNA, Complementary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Enzyme-Linked Immunospot Assay ; Epithelial Cells ; Equidae ; Genes, tat ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunization ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulins ; Immunotherapy ; Lymphocytes ; Mice ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; T-Lymphocytes

Injury of the femoral artery with a femoral intertrochanteric fracture is rare, and usually occurs on the deep femoral artery during surgery. We experienced a case of preoperative injury of the superficial femoral artery by a lesser trochanteric fragment. We repaired the femoral artery through an anterior approach before internal fixation.
Femoral Artery ; Femur

PURPOSE: To study the effectiveness of chondrocyte and periosteum-derived cell transplantation in preventing bar formation in growth plate injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty immature rabbits were grouped according to site of growth plate damaged (distal femur or proximal tibia on the medial side) and type of cell and material inserted (chondrocytes plus agar, periosteum-derived cells plus agar, periosteum-derived cells plus Gelfoam, agar alone, or Gelfoam alone). Radiograms were taken for 16 weeks to measure the changes in varus angle of the distal femur and proximal tibia. Transformation of inserted cells was observed histologically. RESULTS: Rabbits inserted with agar alone showed more severe genu varum compared to those inserted with chondrocytes plus agar. Rabbits inserted with periosteum-derived cells plus agar or Gelfoam showed similar deformities compared to those inserted with agar or Gelfoam alone. Some inserted periosteum-derived cells began transformation into chondrocytes. All rabbits showed gradual bar formation and ultimate fusion of the growth plate. CONCLUSION: Cell-based therapy of growth plate injury still has obstacles to overcome. Further study will be required on how to maintain the inserted chondrocytes, or chondrocytes differentiated from the inserted periosteum-derived cells, and to prevent them from changing into osteoid formation cells.
Agar ; Cell Transplantation ; Chondrocytes* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Femur ; Gelatin Sponge, Absorbable ; Genu Varum ; Growth Plate* ; Rabbits* ; Tibia ; Transplants