BACKGROUND: Telomerase has a leading role as a potential enzyme responsible for tumorigenesis and longevity. Telomerase is a ribonucleoprotein that synthesizes a specific repeating nucleotide sequence onto the ends of telomeres. This enzyme is normally present in immortalized cell lines, germ-line tissues, and tumor tissues. We intended to compare the telomerase activity among various types of leukemia to determine the association of telomerase activity and patients status and responsiveness of chemotherapy. METHODS: Specimens were collected from Jan. 1999 to Oct. 1999 and included the leukemic bone marrow (ALL, AML and CML) and the peripheral blood or bone marrow of normal persons or patients with iron deficiency anemia and immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Telomerase activity was measured by TRAP assay using Telomerase PCR ELISA kit. RESULTS: Telomerase activities were increased in acute leukemias and relapsed acute leukemia cases, whereas in the cases of complete remission state of acute leukemia, the activity was decreased. Telomerase activity was increased in leukemias which had high percentage of immature cells, especially more than 70% of blast. Also the activity was decreased in post-chemotherapeutic group, whereas increased in untreated group. There was no significant difference between prognosis of chromosomal abnormalities and telomerase activity. CONCLUSION: These results showed that telomerase activity was increased in acute phase of leukemia, high percentage of immature cells, and chemoresistant group of leukemia.
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Base Sequence ; Bone Marrow ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Line ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Drug Therapy ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Leukemia* ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive* ; Longevity ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prognosis ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Ribonucleoproteins ; Telomerase* ; Telomere

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterial culture is a confirmatory test to detect the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but it requires considerable time and the diagnosis and treatment may be delayed. The recently developed LCR (ligase chain reaction) is a more rapid and more specific test for the detection of M. tuberculosis. In this study, we compared the LCR results with those of the culture and AFB smear. METHODS: Mycobacterial culture was performed on 3% Ogawa media for 8 weeks. For LCR, we used LCx Mycobacterium tuberculosis assay kit (Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago, Ill.). The specimens for LCR were resuspended to LCx respiratory specimen resuspension buffer, and then separated mycobacterial DNA by ultrasonicator (Abbott LCx Lysor). Then the samples were mixed in amplification vial containing DNA polymerase and DNA ligase and amplified. For the detection, we used LCx analyzer from Abbott laboratories. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the LCx M. tuberculosis assay were 95, 100, 100, 60%, respectively; 90, 100, 100, 42.9%, for culture; and 62.5, 100, 100, 16.7%, for acid-fast staining, respectively. The agreements between culture and LCx, smear and LCx, and culture and AFB smear were 86%, 65% and 60%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: LCx was confirmed as a more rapid and sensitive test than the culture test and AFB smear.
Diagnosis ; DNA ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
Blood Donors* ; Humans ; Phenotype*

BACKGROUND: Sometimes myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is especially difficult to distinguish from acquired aplastic anemia (AA) because of the clinical, cytologic, and histologic similarities of these two disorders. The proliferative activity of the hematopoietic cells is very different in various hematologic disorders and Ki-67 expression in the bone marrow cells is an useful cell proliferation marker. We tried to evaluate the significance of Ki-67/MIB-1 immunoreactivity in the discrimination of MDS and AA. METHODS: Bone marrow biopsy specimens from 56 individuals, 7 controls, 21 with MDS, 16 with AA and 12 with acute leukemia were obtained in Pusan Paik Hospital. Immunohistochemial staining for Ki-67 antigen was assessed by the MIB-1 monoclonal antibody using a microwave oven-based antigen retrieval technique. RESULTS: The mean values (+/-SD) of Ki-67 positive cells was as follows: control group, 16.8+/-3.6%; MDS, 25.3+/-10.1%; AA, 5.1+/-2.9%; acute leukemia, 30.5+/-10.4%. MDS cases showed statistically higher values of Ki-67 than did those of AA cases and control group (P<0.001) but no significance in Ki-67 frequencies was observed between the cases of MDS and acute leukemia. CONCLUSIONS: In the bone marrows of MDS cases the Ki-67 positive cells were frequently observed, suggesting high proliferative activity even in the nonleukemic state, while most of the bone marrows in AA showed very low proliferative activity. Thus immunohistochemical staining with Ki-67/MIB-1 would be useful in the discrimination of AA and MDS by the difference of Ki-67 positive cell percentage in the bone marrow.
Anemia, Aplastic* ; Biopsy* ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Bone Marrow* ; Busan ; Cell Proliferation ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Ki-67 Antigen ; Leukemia ; Microwaves ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes*

We report a case of delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction due to anti-Jka antibody. The patient was a 68-year-old women who was admitted for general weakness after subtotal thyroidectomy. She received two units of packed red cells because of anemia. On the fifteenth post-transfusion day, she developed a marked fall in hemoglobin and mild hyperbilirubinemia. Direct antiglobulin test was positive. Anti-Jka antibody was identified in her serum, and her phenotype of Kidd blood group was Jk(a-b+). Therefore the anti-Jka antibody was thought to be the possible offending antibody in this delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction.
Aged ; Anemia ; Blood Group Incompatibility* ; Coombs Test ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Phenotype ; Thyroidectomy

The mammalian ovary has been known as receiving its innervation by sympathetic and sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system from the brain. Recently, there were several functional reports that the vagus nerves were also regulating the ovarian function, but the vagus nerve had not been identified by clear morphological evidence. A viral transneuronal tracing technique has been used to demonstrate the morphological evidence for the central vagal involvement in ovarian innervation in brain areas. Bartha strain of pseudorabies virus injection was made into the ovary of Sprague Dawley rats. In experimental group, the vagus nerve of the same injection side was removed right after ovarian injection. At five days after initial injection, all the rats were sacrificed and brains were processed for immunohistochemistry. Several central nuclei including hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus showed strong bilateral positive labelings after unilateral injection in control rats, but the positive labelings were disappeared or decreased in several hypothalamic nuclei and nuclei of the vagus nerve. In conclusion, these results provide the morphological evidence that vagus nerve has neural connection to ovary and by which the central nervous system may maintains the state of ovulation and reproduction as a possible parasympathetic routes in mammals.
Animals ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Female ; Herpesvirus 1, Suid ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mammals ; Ovary ; Ovulation ; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproduction ; Sensory Receptor Cells ; Vagus Nerve

We found a case of Ael for the first time in Korea. The patient was 28-year-old woman admitted for the delivery of her first baby. Patient's red cells were typed as O, while the serum typing was A. The red cells were agglutinated by anti-H, but not agglutinated by anti-A1 or anti-AB. Adsorption of anti-A by patient's RBC was confirmed on the adsorption-elution test. In the saliva, only H substance was demonstable. A substance was not demonstrated either in the serum or in the saliva. A transferase was not demonstrated in patient's serum. One of the patient's sister and her daughter, and the patient's son also had same Ael phenotype.
Adsorption ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Nuclear Family ; Phenotype ; Saliva ; Siblings ; Transferases

The inferior alveolar nerve block is the most common method of local anesthesia for intraoral surgery at the posterior mandibular region. However, unexpected complications may occur when administering the local anesthesia. One of these uncommon complications is the fracture of the needle. If the injection needle is broken during the surgery, it should be removed immediately. However, this is one of the most difficult procedures. In this report, we present two cases of needle fracture during the procedure, and its successful removal under general/local anesthesia administration.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Local ; Mandibular Nerve* ; Methods ; Needles* ; Nerve Block

BACKGROUND: In the Republic of Korea, Plasmodium vivax malaria, which had disappeared since 1984, re-emerged in 1993. Currently, malaria is becoming a serious public health problem in the Republic of Korea. The diagnosis of malaria has relied on microscopic examination such as thin and thick blood smears. However, even for expert microscopists, this test is a laborious and time-consuming procedure. Therefore, the development of a reliable, easy, and convenient diagnostic test is crucial. Recently, the LG malaria anti-PvTM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for the detection of a specific antibody against the merozoite surface protein (MSP) of P. vivax was developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic kit for P. vivax malaria in the Republic of Korea. METHODS: To determine the usefulness of the LG malaria anti-PvTM as a diagnostic kit for vivax malaria, a total of 59 serum samples from patients with P. vivax malaria were tested. The patients were diagnosed microscopically and the parasitemia index of their blood was calculated. Sera from 203 uninfected healthy blood donors, which were microscopically negative for Plasmodium vivax, were used as negative controls. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the LG malaria anti-PvTM were 98.31% (58/59) and 98.03% (199/203), respectively. The false-positive and false-negative rates were 1.97% (4/203) and 1.69% (1/59), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic kit, LG malaria anti-PvTM, might be a useful tool for diagnosis and screening of P. vivax malaria in Korea.
Blood Donors ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Korea ; Malaria* ; Malaria, Vivax* ; Mass Screening ; Merozoites ; Parasitemia ; Plasmodium vivax* ; Plasmodium* ; Public Health ; Republic of Korea* ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Liposuction is one of the most frequently performed cosmetic surgeries worldwide for reshaping the body contour. Although liposuction is minimally invasive and relatively safe, it is a surgical procedure, and it carries the risk of major and minor complications. These complications vary from postoperative nausea to life-threatening events. Common complications include infection, abdominal wall injury, bowel herniation, bleeding, haematoma, seroma, and lymphoedema. Life-threatening complications such as necrotizing fasciitis, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism have also been reported. In this paper, we provide a brief introduction to liposuction with the related anatomy and present computed tomography and ultrasonography findings of a wide spectrum of postoperative complications associated with liposuction.
Abdomen/ultrasonography ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing/etiology ; Hematoma/etiology ; Humans ; Lipectomy/*adverse effects ; Postoperative Complications/*etiology ; Pulmonary Embolism/etiology ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Venous Thrombosis/etiology