BACKGROUND: In eczematous skin it is expected that altered defense mechanisms are employed against an injury, which mechanisms include alterations in the stratum corneum barrier function and lipid contents. OBJECTIVE: To investigaten aspect of pathophysiology of hand eczema by comparing the water holding capacities and transepidermal water loss(TEWL) after injuries on the skin and by comparing the epidermal lipid contents between hand eczema and normal subjects. METHODS: The water holding capacities were checked by corneometer, and the TEWL were checked after epidermal barrie! destruction with acetone or adhesive tapes. The epidermal lipids were extracted with acetone, ther (1: 1 v/v) mixture solvent and analysed by HP- TLC. RESULTS: The water holdingapacities were decreased in eczema of the palm, but the recoveries of TEWL and the lipid content did not differ between hand eczema and normal subjects. CONCLUSION: The water holding capacities were decreased in the eczematous skin. But there were no significant differencies in the recovery of destructed epidermal barrier and the epidermal lipid contents.
Acetone ; Adhesives ; Defense Mechanisms ; Eczema* ; Hand* ; Skin ; Water

Bullous pemphigoid(BP) and herpes gestationis(HG) are subepidermal bullous diseases which show clinical and immunological similarities. Both diseases show immune deposits along the basement membrane zone and their autoantibodies bind a common antigenic site within the non-collagenous stretch of the 180 kDa BPAG2 ectodomain. Besides its association with pregnancy, HG has some characteristic features that distinguish it from BP. The serum of patients with HG often contains an IgG that avidly fixes complement, and showes IgG1 subclass predominance. We report here two cases of non-pregnant young women presenting clinical and histological features of bullous pemphigoid or herpes gestationis. The immunopathology, IgG subtyping and immunoblotting studies showed that the autoantibodies in the patients were the characteristic ones of herpes gestationis. The patients might be a subtype of BP that have characteristics of autoantibodies of HG patients.
Autoantibodies* ; Basement Membrane ; Complement System Proteins ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoblotting ; Immunoglobulin G ; Pemphigoid Gestationis* ; Pemphigoid, Bullous* ; Pregnancy

We report a case of multiple eccrine hidrocystoma (MEH) in a 57-year-old woman who had asymptomatic, discrete, skin-colored, shiny, firm papulovesicles on the face. These lesions enlarged during summer or when the patient did housework, and decreased in sue during winter or rest. Histologic examination showed a dilated, unilocular, cystic, invaginated structure within the middle dermis. The wall of the cyst generally consisted of two layers of Rat or cuboida1 epithelial cells. Decapitation secretion and myoepithelial cells were not observed. The lesions improved markedly with 1% topical atropine sulfate.
Animals ; Atropine* ; Decapitation ; Dermis ; Epithelial Cells ; Female ; Hidrocystoma* ; Housekeeping ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Rats

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Borrelia burgdorferi* ; Borrelia* ; Immunoblotting* ; Lyme Disease*

Adenosis tumor is a ra re tumor of the breast and primarily consists of adenosis. Authors report a case of surgically proved adenosis tumor in a 31-year-old woman. Mammogram showed a Iobulated, well-circumscribed mass with several surrounding radiolucent halos. In the center of the mass several linear radiolucent densities were seen with the appearance of a conglomerated well-circumscribed mass such as fibroadenoma. These linear radiolucent densities were consistent with the fat between the fibrous sclerosis in pathologic specimen. Ultrasonogram showed a well-circumscribed mass with homogeneous low echogenicity, partial posterior enhancement, and bilateral acoustic shadowings.
Acoustics ; Adult ; Breast* ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Humans ; Sclerosis ; Shadowing (Histology) ; Ultrasonography

We report a rare case of glomangiomyoma in a 25-year-old man who had an asymptomatic, 1.5 × 1.5cm sized, round, skin-colored, soft mass on the right cheek. Histopathologically, the lesion was consistent with glomangiomyoma which showed irregularly dilated vessels lined by endothelial cells and several outer layers of glomus cells, and smooth muscles distributed within the tumor. The tumor cells were characterized immunohistochemically by the presence of smooth muscle actin, muscle specific actin, and vimentin. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of glomangiomyoma on the facial location in the Korean literature.
Actins ; Adult ; Cheek ; Endothelial Cells ; Glomus Tumor ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth ; Vimentin

Cutaneous or subcutaneous metastases occur in 2% to 9% of visceral malignancies. Skin metastases are seen most commonly from carcinomas of the breast, lung, large intestine. Skin metastases of prostatic origin are quite uncommon and preferentially localized to the lower abdomen and genital area. Two cases of cutaneous metastases of prostatic origin have been reported in the Korean dermatological literature in our review. We report a case of cutaneous metastases from prostatic cancer
Abdomen ; Breast ; Intestine, Large ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Skin

Nevus lipomatosus superficialis is a fairly uncommon disease characterized by ectopic fat tissue in the dermis. Lesions most commonly occur on the lower trunk, especially on the back, buttocks or abdomen. Rarely, lesions also occur on the knee, axilla, arm, ear and scalp. To our knowledge this is the first case of nevus lipomatosus superficialis developing on the dorsal foot.
Abdomen ; Arm ; Axilla ; Buttocks ; Dermis ; Ear ; Foot* ; Knee ; Nevus* ; Scalp

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to examine the health behaviors of nurses and provide basic information on health promotion for nurses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire survey was completed by 340 nurses working at a university hospital in Daegu, Korea from March 6 to March 30, 2006. The questionnaire included demographic characteristics, working environment, health behaviors, self-assessed health status, and the practice of health promotion activities according to the work group(shift group vs. non-shift group). RESULTS: There were significant differences in 'regular diet', 'drinking', 'ordinary health management', 'regular exercise', 'leisure activities', 'rest', and 'feeling of fatigue' between the two groups. The score for the practice of health promotion activities of the non-shift group was 121.9, which was higher than the 115.4 for the shift group. By field of practice of health promotion activities, there were significant differences in 'self-realization' and 'nutrition' between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The shift group did not appear to have enough time to take care of their health. It is therefore important to provide a working environment in which nurses are encouraged to increase their interest and efforts to maintain healthy behaviors. In addition, programs for education and training should be developed to help nurses adopt healthy life styles and enhance their self-esteem.
Daegu ; Education ; Health Behavior* ; Health Promotion ; Korea ; Life Style ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.