Interstitial lung disorders are characterized by chronic inflammation of the lower respiratory tract that include increased numbers of activated alveolar macrophages and fibroblasts. These increased numbers of fibroblasts may be influenced by the alveolar macrophage released factor which was known as alveolar macrophage derived growth factor. To evaluate this hypothesis, alveolar macrophages from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in rat were incubated with various stimulants including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), free silica dust(Si02), natural carbon dust(NC) for 4 hours and we added these supernatants to the culture of fibroblasts. And we evaluated the fibroblast proliferation, ATP and protein in 1, 2, 3 days. The results were as follows; 1. The number of fibroblasts: in groups of LPS and Si02 show significant increase in comparison with the control group but there was no; difference between NC and control groups. 2. The measurements of ATP in groups of LPS and Si02 tended to be higher than those in the control, and also higher in NC group at the 2nd day than those of control. 3. The amount of protein in LPS and Si02 increased markedly compared with the control group but there was no difference between NC and control groups. 4. In LPS group, we can observe the decrease of ATP and protein after the peak at the 1st day, but;Si02 group show the continuous increase of ATP and protein during the observation period. 5. Increased proportion of ATP and protein indicated their sensitive changes compared with the fibroblast proliferation. These results suggest alveolar macrophages act as the important integrator of the fibrotic process in interstitial lung disorders.
Adenosine Triphosphate ; Animals ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Carbon ; Fibroblasts ; Inflammation ; Lung ; Macrophages, Alveolar* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis* ; Rats ; Respiratory System ; Silicon Dioxide

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to identify comprehensive predictors of fatigue in cancer patients. METHODS: One hundred ten cancer patients visiting in-patient or out-patient clinics of a university hospital located in Incheon participated in this study. RESULTS: The hematologic indicators (WBC and Hemoglobin) were significant for explaining fatigue. The psychological factors of fatigue were statistically significant. Both anxiety and depression, included as psychological factors, were significant in explaining fatigue in cancer patients. The influence of physical factors on fatigue was also statistically significant. Among the variables included as physical factors, pain, nausea/vomiting/anorexia, and sleep disturbance were significant whereas, dyspnea was not significant. The influence of the daily activity factor on fatigue was statistically significant. Among the variables included as daily activity factors, regular exercise or not and the usual activity level were significant in explaining fatigue of cancer patients, while the level of rest was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: From the study results fatigue of cancer patients appeared to be influenced by multidimensional factors, such as physiological, physical, psychological, and activity related factors.
Activities of Daily Living ; Adaptation, Physiological ; Adult ; Aged ; Fatigue/etiology/*nursing ; Female ; Health Status ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Models, Nursing ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasms/complications/*nursing ; Sick Role ; Sickness Impact Profile

A 46-year-old female was admitted to Soon Chun Hyang University hospital with a complaint of intermittent epigastric pain. X-ray and endoscopic pictures showed diffase irregular shallow depression which is similar to the macroscopic pattern of the type IIc early gastric cancer. But endoseopic biopsy showed no malignant cell infiltration. Hndoaeopic biopsy plays an important role in excluding the possibility of carcinoma. But operation shoud be considered inspite of biopsy result because malignant lymphoma ean not be completely ruled out. Histopathologic diagnosis was pseudolymphoma of stomach.
Biopsy ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphoma ; Middle Aged ; Pseudolymphoma* ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms

Spontaneous pneumothorax is a known, but relatively rare complication of pulmonary metastases of sarcoma. A 19-year-old man was presented with chest pain and dyspnea for three days and was diagnosed as left pneumothorax. After bleb resection, microscopic examination revealed metastatic osteosarcoma forming subpleural fistula and dystrophic calcification. Four years ago, he had had limb salvage operation and chemotherapy for osteosarcoma of left femur. After two and a half years he had a bleb resection for right pneumothorax without any evidence of metastasis. Six months later, he was found to have a 4x3cm sized lung mass in the right lower lobe. After lobectomy, he was diagnosed as pulmonary metastasis of osteosarcoma. Pneumothorax is the common complication of metastatic osteosarcoma to the lung and it may be presented before the pulmonary metastasis is clinically evident. It is important to recognize a pneumothorax of the patients with osteosarcoma as a possible sign of metastases.
Blister ; Chest Pain ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Femur ; Fistula ; Humans ; Limb Salvage ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Osteosarcoma* ; Pneumothorax* ; Sarcoma ; Young Adult

No abstract available.
Endometriosis* ; Exons* ; Female ; Humans ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome*

BACKGROUND: Serious organ shortage necessitates ABO incompatible (ABOi) kidney transplantation (KT). Recent reports utilizing rituximab instead of splenectomy and tacrolimus (FK)-based triple immunosuppressants showed excellent graft outcome. METHODS AND RESULTS: Thirteen cases of ABOi living donor KT have been performed since Feb. 2007 in our center. Donor and recipient blood group was B to O (n=5), A1 to O (2), AB to B (2), AB to A1 (1), A1 to B (2) and B to A1 (1). Rituximab was given at 4 weeks before transplantation. Plasmapheresis (PP) was initiated at 7~14 days before transplantation with concurrent immunosuppressants. The number of pretransplant PP was 5.7+/-1.4. Posttransplant PP was also performed in 6 patients with higher initial titer of ABO antibody (IgG > or =256; n=2), rapidly rising antibody titer during the critical period of 2 weeks posttransplantation (n=2), or increase in serum creatinine during the critical period while awaiting pathology report of graft biopsy (n=2). Mean number of posttransplant PP in these 6 patients was 2.2+/-1.3. Median IgG anti-ABO antibody titer before precondition, at transplantation, at 2 weeks and at 6 months was 64 (8~512), 2 (1~8), 2 (1~16) and 6 (1~16), respectively. IgM titer at corresponding time point was 16 (2~128). 1 (1~1), 1 (1~2) and 1.5 (1~4), respectively. Median follow up was 8 (5~27) months. No patient or graft was lost. No patient developed acute humoral rejection. Graft function remained stable with latest serum creatinine 1.2+/-0.3 mg/dl. CONCLUSIONS: ABOi living donor KT without splenectomy can be safely performed with the use of current preconditioning and immunosuppressive regimen, and is therefore a valuable option for expanding donor pool and should be actively performed in Korea.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived ; Biopsy ; Creatinine ; Critical Period (Psychology) ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Kidney ; Kidney Transplantation ; Living Donors ; Plasmapheresis ; Rituximab ; Rejection (Psychology) ; Splenectomy ; Tacrolimus ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: The expansion and strengthening of primary care is approved as the only method to revise the ineffective health care system in Korea. In such a system, we intended to analyze the functional and regianal distribution of specialists by investigating and classifying the hospitals where residents who completed their training in a university hospital located in Seoul for seven years are working and by acquiring the distribution of the subjects who are practicing as primary care physicians by year, specialties and location. METHODS: We selected 384 specialists, all of whom were trained as residents at a university hospital located in Seoul from 1987 to 1993. The hospitals they worked at were classified as primary, secondary and tertiary care hospitals according to the classification in the health care administration. The location of primary care hcspitals among them was plotted an two maps; one of Seoul, the other of Korea. RESULTS: The number of females in the subjects was 68(17.7%) and that of males 316(82.3%). The number of practitianers was 156(40.6%) and that of specialists working at the secondary care hospitals was 55(14.3%), and 147 specialists were working at the tertiary care hospitals(38.3%). With regard to the pereentage of practitioners, dermatologic specialists presented with 60%, and relatively high group included obstetrics and gynecology(59.2%), family medicine(54.5%), plastic surgery(52.6%), otolaryngology (52.0%), pediatrics(51.7%), and orthopedics(48.6%).In tertiary care hospital, chest surgery showed 72.7% as highest. Radiologic ancology presented with 66.7% and anatamical pathology with 66.7%. As to the location of primary care hospitals, 41.0% were in Seoul and 38.5% in Kyungkido. And the rest of the 20. 5% were located in other areas of Korea. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the results of the study that show a great number of specialists are actually practicing as primary care physicians after their specialists training, the present training system of specialists needs to be revised and cantrolled in structure.
Classification ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Obstetrics ; Otolaryngology ; Pathology ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Primary Health Care ; Secondary Care ; Seoul ; Specialization ; Tertiary Healthcare ; Thorax

There are very few reports on the intrabiliary growth of a liver metastasis from a colorectal cancer. The clinical and radiographic findings resemble those of a cholangiocarcinoma. We encountered a surgically resected case of a metastatic liver tumor with prominent intrabiliary growth derived from ascending colon cancer. The patient was a 55 year-old man with ascending colon cancer who showed a cholangiocarcinoma at segment IV of the liver with a mild dilatation of bile duct. He underwent a left hemihepatectomy and right hemicolectomy. The resected specimen of the liver showed a mass with intraductal growth at segment IV. The histological findings demonstrated it to be a metastatic adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma ; Bile Ducts ; Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Colon* ; Colon, Ascending ; Colonic Neoplasms* ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Dilatation ; Humans ; Liver* ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis*

PURPOSE: Saphenous vein allografts are used for femoral-below knee bypass graft purposes in chronic lower limb ischemia. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is an acceptable material for bypass graft, when it is difficult to gain a suitable vein for the graft material, such as the great saphenous, small saphenous, or arm vein. However, some controversy exists as to whether PTFE is equivalent to the saphenous vein as bypass graft material for femoral below knee revascularization. A retrospective analysis was performed to obtain results about femoral-below knee bypass graft using PTFE in chronic lower ischemia patients. METHOD: Between July 1992 and June 2002, 56 patients with chronic lower limb ischemia underwent femoral-below knee bypass graft. The results of treatment were analyzed retrospectively by the patients's clinical records. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate patency rate. RESULT: There were 52 men and 2 women, of mean age 66.6 years. The primary patency rate was 65.6%, 44.9%, 38.0%, and 34.0%, and the secondary patency rate was 85.7%, 72.0%, 72.0%, and 56.1%, after 1, 2, 3, and 5 years, respectively. The limb salvage rate was 78.8% in severe lower limb disease, such as disabling claudication, non-healing ulcer, and gangrene. The major amputation rate was 14.3%. There was no mortality within one month after bypass operation. The primary and secondary rates were not correlated with diabetes, inflow procedure, or severity of lower limb ischemia. CONCLUSION: The overall results of this study show that PTFE grafts have an acceptable patency rate when used for femoral-below knee bypass surgery in patients with chronic lower limb ischemia. This study suggests that early diagnosis of occlusion in graft and adjuvant procedures offers improved patency and limb salvage rate.
Allografts ; Amputation ; Arm ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gangrene ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Knee* ; Limb Salvage ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mortality ; Polytetrafluoroethylene* ; Retrospective Studies ; Saphenous Vein ; Transplants* ; Ulcer ; Veins

Thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm is rare but potentially lethal, and its repair continues to present a surgical challenge because of obligate intraoperative visceral, renal, and spinal cord ischemia. In the past, the authors have experienced 4 cases of Crawford Type III and IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm which were treated by a direct surgical approach. The diagnosis was made by CT scan, and aortogram. We repaired the thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms with Knitted Dacron graft by a single inclusion button that encompasses the origins of the celiac, superior mesenteric, and right renal artery and left renal artery reconstruction with a separate side arm PTFE graft. the visceral ischemia time was less than 45 minutes in 3 operable cases and no paraplegia occurred after thoracoabdominal aortic reconstruction. two cases of Type IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm with emergent presentation were fatal but elective surgical repairs of Type III and IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm were survived. Appropriate patient selection and prevention of visceral or spinal cord ischemia may be helpful in the repair of Type III and IV thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm.
Aneurysm ; Aorta ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic* ; Arm ; Diagnosis ; Ischemia ; Paraplegia ; Patient Selection ; Polyethylene Terephthalates ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Renal Artery ; Spinal Cord Ischemia ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Transplants