PURPOSE: To evaluate the MR image in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesion in compression of the vertebral body. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR images of 47 benign(acute traumatic within one month:19, chronic traumatic longer than one month or nontraumatic:28) and 21 metastatic compression fractures were respectively reviewed in terms of margin of lesions, signal intensity, paraspinal mass formation, soft tissue change, and involvement of posterior element of vertebra. MR images of TI-(T1WI) and T2*-weighted gradient echo (GE T2WI) sequences were obtained on 0.5T unit in sagittal and axial orientation with 5mm section thickness. RESULTS: The margin of benign compression fracture was usually indistinct (acute fracture:90% (17/19), chronic fracture:68% (19/28)), whereas it was sharply delineated in metastatic compression fracture (92%, (12/13) (p<0.001). Paraspinal mass was seen in both acute traumatic and metastatic compression fractures (acute fracture :26% (5/19), metastatic fracture: 52% (11/21). Soft tissue change was seen only in acute cornpression fractures (58%, 11/19). Involvement of posterior element of vertebra was noted in metastatic fracture (71%, 15/21), acute fracture (32%, 6/19) and chronic fracture (7%, 2/28) CONCLUSION: On MR imaging, involvement of entire portion of a given vertebral body, sharp margin between normal and abnormal areas in partially involved cases, paraspinal mass formation, and posterior element involvement are more frequently seen in metastatic compression fractures, which are considered to be useful in differentiation between benign and malignant causes of compression fracture.
Fractures, Compression* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Spine

No abstract available.
Gardner Syndrome* ; Rectal Neoplasms*

Giant cell myocarditis(GCM) is a rare inflammatory heart disease which is characterized by multinucleated giant cells and a granulomatous reaction. It usually progresses rapidly and results in a fatal course. We report a patient with giant cell myocarditis who was treated by cardiac transplantation. A 35-year-old male was admitted with dyspnea which had developed 4 months before. On echocardiography, the right and left ventricles were markedly dilated and severe global hypokinesia was noted. He was diagosed with dilated cardiomyopathy with secondary severe mitral regurgitation. His cardiac function deteriorated progressively. He underwent orthotopic heart transplantation. Grossly the heart was enlarged, weighing 420gm and round with a blunt apex. Both right and left ventricles were markedly dilated. There were numerous white patches, measuring up to 4cm, throughout the epi- and myocardium. Microscopically, extensive fibrosis and multiple exuberant granulomas with numerous scattered multinucleated giant cells were seen. Lymphocytes and eosinophils were also frequent. Coronary arteries were unremarkable. Neither microorganisms nor foreign materials were found. By serial endomyocardial biopsies of the transplanted heart, only mild perivascular lymphocytic infiltration was occasionally observed without any evidence of rejection or recurrence of giant cell myocarditis. The patient's postoperative course has been uneventful so far(postoperative 21 months). The etiology of GCM remains to be clarified, although various factors are suspected. No matter what the cause, our experience suggests that this grave disease might be treated well by heart transplantation.
Male ; Humans ; Biopsy

PURPOSE: To evaluate the CT appearance of renal cell carcinoma and to correlate it with nuclear grading andcell type. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The size, outer margin and heterogeneity of inner texture of renal cell carcinomas in 86 patients were evaluated on CT scan and were correlated with nuclear grade and cell type. RESULTS: Tumors less than 5cm were of low grade in 28 of 31 patients, while those larger than 5cm were of low grade in 28 of 55 patients. The lesions which showed no or round protrusion with a sharp margin were of low grade in 26 of 28 patients, while those which showed an undulated or indistinct margin were of low grade in 30 of 58 patients. Lesions which showed a homogeneous solid appearance, focal low densities, or mostly cystic changes were of low grade in 23 of 26 patients, while those which showed multiple or confluent low densites were low grade in 33 of 60 patients. There was a significant difference in the distribution of nuclear grading between the groups. Differences in CT apperance according to cell type were not found. CONCLUSION: Differences in less than 5cm showing no or round protrusion with a sharp margin, homogeneous inner texture with solid appearance, and heterogeneous inner texture with cystic appearance or focal low densities on CT scan were thought to be the findings suggesting low nuclear grading.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Humans ; Population Characteristics ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

A 25 year old male was admitted for the reduction of right side mandible fracture. The patient was injured during a fight with someone under the influence of liquor. Nine days after the halothane anesthesia, the patient began to suffer from acute hepatitis with symptoms of fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice. The patient was cared for at the department of internal medicine and discharged after 49 day's hospitalization. The exact causes of the acute hepatitis were still unknown.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General* ; Diarrhea ; Fever ; Halothane* ; Hepatitis* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Internal Medicine ; Jaundice ; Male ; Mandible ; Nausea ; Vomiting

No abstract available.
Cystitis*

The symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopaty frequently result from impaired left ventricular relaxation, abnormal left ventricular filling, and decreased compliance of left ventricle in spite of normal systolic function. Several studies have suggested that the assessment of transmitral flow velocity waveform with pulsed Doppler echocardiography in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy provide a noninvasive and clinically useful expression of left ventricular diastolic performance. In this study, pulsed Doppler echocardiography was used to measure diastolic indices from transmitral flow velocity waveform and thereby to assess left ventricular diastolic function in 20 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (14 septal hypertrophy, 3 apical hypertrophy, and 3 concentric hypertrophy). The diastolic indices to measure are isovolumic relaxation time(IVRT), deceleration time(DT), pressure half time(PHT), deceleration of early diastolic flow(DEF), EF slope, peak flow velocity in early diastole(PFVE), peak flow velocity during atrial systole(PFVA), and PFVE/PFVA ratio. The diastolic indices obtained from patients were compared with those in 20 age-matched control subjects without heart disease. The relationship between left ventricular wall thickness index(Th Index) and diastolic indices were evaluated. In addition, the effect of calcium channel-blocking agent on left ventricular diastolic function were evaluated. The results were as follows ; 1) There were no significant differences in RR interval, BP, end-systolic left ventricular dimension, and end-diastolic left ventricular dimension, but significant differences in interventricular septal thickness, posterior wall thickness, and left atrial dimension between hypertrophic group and control group. 2) The systolic index(ejection fraction) showed no significant difference between hypertrophic group and control group. 3) All diastolic indices except PFVA showed significant differences between hypertrophic group and control group. 4) Th Index did not showed a significant correlation with the diastolic indices except PFVE/PFVA. 5) There were no significant changes in RR interval, BP end-systolic left ventricular dimension, end-diastolic left ventricular dimension, left atrial dimension, and ejection fraction between medication and drug withdrawal. IVRT significantly increased after drug withdrawal. But other diastolic indices showed no significant changes after drug withdrawal. According to above results the assessment of left ventricular diastolic function by pulsed Doppler echocardiography was a clinically useful method in detecting diastolic dysfunction in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Calcium channel-blocking agent may have beneficial effect in improving left ventricular diastolic function in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Calcium* ; Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic* ; Compliance ; Deceleration ; Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed* ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Relaxation

Increased expression of glucose transporter1 (GLUT1) has been reported in many human cancers. We hypothesized that the degree of GLUT1 might provide a useful biological information in gastric adenocarcinoma. RT-PCR and immunostaining were used to analyze GLUT1 expression in gastric cancer. RT-PCR showed GLUT1 expression was not largely detected in normal gastric tissue but was detected in cancerous gastric tissue of counterpart. By immunohistochemistry, GLUT1 protein was absent in normal gastric epithelium and intestinal metaplasia. 11 of 65 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma had specific GLUT1 immunostaining in a plasma membrane pattern with varied intensities. GLUT1 protein did not show any significant correlation with tumor stage and nodal metastasis (p+AD4-0.05 by Mann-Whitney test). However, the positive immunostaining for GLUT1 is associated with intestinal differentiation (p+AD0-0.003). Our results suggest that GLUT1 protein is associated with intestinal type of gastric cancer.
Adenocarcinoma/pathology ; Adenocarcinoma/chemistry+ACo- ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/pathology ; Gastric Mucosa/chemistry+ACo- ; Human ; Intestines ; Male ; Metaplasia ; Middle Age ; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins/analysis+ACo- ; Neoplasm Proteins/analysis+ACo- ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms/chemistry+ACo- ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis+ACo-

Increased expression of glucose transporter1 (GLUT1) has been reported in many human cancers. We hypothesized that the degree of GLUT1 might provide a useful biological information in gastric adenocarcinoma. RT-PCR and immunostaining were used to analyze GLUT1 expression in gastric cancer. RT-PCR showed GLUT1 expression was not largely detected in normal gastric tissue but was detected in cancerous gastric tissue of counterpart. By immunohistochemistry, GLUT1 protein was absent in normal gastric epithelium and intestinal metaplasia. 11 of 65 patients with gastric adenocarcinoma had specific GLUT1 immunostaining in a plasma membrane pattern with varied intensities. GLUT1 protein did not show any significant correlation with tumor stage and nodal metastasis (p+AD4-0.05 by Mann-Whitney test). However, the positive immunostaining for GLUT1 is associated with intestinal differentiation (p+AD0-0.003). Our results suggest that GLUT1 protein is associated with intestinal type of gastric cancer.
Adenocarcinoma/pathology ; Adenocarcinoma/chemistry+ACo- ; Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Gastric Mucosa/pathology ; Gastric Mucosa/chemistry+ACo- ; Human ; Intestines ; Male ; Metaplasia ; Middle Age ; Monosaccharide Transport Proteins/analysis+ACo- ; Neoplasm Proteins/analysis+ACo- ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stomach Neoplasms/pathology ; Stomach Neoplasms/chemistry+ACo- ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis+ACo-

BACKGROUND: The morphological characteristics of hepatocytes transplanted into the spleen have been studied. However few attempts has been made to determine the expression of genes in intrasplenically transplanted hepatocytes. The aim of this study was to explore whether the pattern of expression of albumin gene in intrasplenically transplanted hepatocytes is similar to that in adult liver, resulting in the long-term expression of this hepatocyte-specific gene. METHODS: Hepatocytes isolated from liver of syngeneic Fischer 344 rats and transplanted into the spleen of rats from the same strain survived for 12 months in the absence of immunosuppressive drugs. Microscopic examination of intrasplenic hepatocytes and Northern blotting for albumin gene expression of RNA extracted from liver and spleen was performed. RESULTS: Microscopy demonstrated that hepatocytes attached themselves only in the red pulp of the spleen and isolated hepatocytes preserved the fine structures characteristic of normal hepatic parenchymal cells. Throughout the 12 months period, intrasplenically transplanted hepatocytes expressed albumin mRNA. CONCLUSIONS: Intrasplenically transplanted hepatocytes represent a unique in vivo system of extrahepatic maintenance of hepatocytes. This novel transplantation system could be used to investigate hepatocyte engraft, proliferation and gene expression.
Adult ; Animals ; Blotting, Northern ; Gene Expression* ; Hepatocytes* ; Humans ; Liver ; Microscopy ; Rats ; RNA ; RNA, Messenger ; Spleen