There have been no standard treatments for recurrent aphthous stomatitis, and clinical management is usually directed toward symptomatic relief. Recent immunological investigations have focused on possible imrnunopathogenesis of the disease. Several reparters suggested that levamisole, nonspecific immune-stimulator, had a beneficiaI effect in controlling attacks of recurrent a,phthous stomatitis and in reducing subsequent episodes. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the therapeutic effectiveness of levamisole in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. A total of 8 patients who had had recurrent aphthous stomatitis for 2 to 20 years and who had experienced at least one episode per month were selected for this study from the department of dermatology, National Medical Center, through March 1979 to September 1979, Levamisole (Decaris') was given 150mg, p.o., once daily on 3 consecutive days every week for 2 months. Tbe results were as follows. 1) One patient had to have levamisole discontinued due to a high fever and exacerbations of tbe oral ulcerations. 2) 5 patients showed beneficial effects in reducing tbe number, frequency, pain and severity of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. 3') One patient showed no therapeutic response. 4) One patient, who has experienced new oral ulcerations continuously before starting levamisole, showed no recurrences of the lesions during the follow-up period of 3 months. 5) Side effects during levamisole administration were transient and generally mild, They included nausea, headache, dizziness and high fever.
Dermatology ; Dizziness ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Levamisole* ; Nausea ; Oral Ulcer ; Recurrence ; Stomatitis ; Stomatitis, Aphthous*

Acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, which was introduced to the dermatologic literature by Sweet in 1964, is characterized by persistent high fever and preceding upper respiratory infection like symptoms, polymorphonuclear leukocytosis in the peripheral blood, raised painful plaques on the limbs, face and neck, histologically a dense dermal infiltration with polymorphonuclear leukocyte, dramatic response to corticosteroids, and the absence of scarring. Case 1 was a 35 year-old female who had suffered from malaise, sore throat, and fever 3 to 7 days before the each episode of the cutaneous manifestation. Painful, red, raised, well-demarcated plaques appeared on the face with tendency of recurrences, and was accompanied by a few, small, shallow ulcerations on the lower Iip and tongue, and conjunctivitis. Polymorphonuclear leukocytosis (10400 with 65%, 11600 with 75%) and elevated ESR(23mm/hr, 19mm/hr) were found on two occasions. Histologically a dense inflammatory cell infiltration composed predominantly of polymorphonuclear neutrophils, small round cells, and a few eosinophils were seen in the dermis and subcutis, especially around the dermal capillaries. Alao there were many nuclear debris and marked endothelial cell proliferations. (countinued...)
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Capillaries ; Cicatrix ; Conjunctivitis ; Dermis ; Endothelial Cells ; Eosinophils ; Extremities ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Leukocytosis ; Neck ; Neutrophils ; Pharyngitis ; Recurrence ; Sweet Syndrome* ; Tongue ; Ulcer

Between 1986 and 1990, four children with recurrent CNS leukemia who had previous CNS prophylaxis therapy were treated with intermittent central nervous system irradiation and intrathecal chemotherapy (IIIC). There was no isolated CNS recurrence. One patient died form bone marrow relapse. Three patients are alive without evidence of disease for 3E3/12 year to 3E6/12 year after the diagnosis of recurrence of CNS leukemia. This experience suggests that IIIC may be an effective treatment for preventing the recurrence of CNS leukemia without any serious side effects.
Bone Marrow ; Central Nervous System* ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Leukemia* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Recurrence

The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of a bleaching agent on tooth surfaces and to evaluate the resin bond strength according to different surface treatments on bleached teeth.To prepare for the experimental samples,first,extracted human third molars were used and the body portions of the crowns were cut into four equal-sized specimens.Next,each specimen was mounted in an plastic bottle with self-cured resin and highly polished to have them reveal the enamel or dentin surfaces.Then,the enamel(E)and dentin(D)specimens were divided into four; 1) non-bleached,laser-treated(NBLA)group 2)bleached,laser-treated(BLLA)group 3)non-bleached,acid-treated(NBAC)group and 4)bleached,acid-treated(BLAC)group.Here,opales-cence(R)(10%carbamide peroxide)was used for bleaching agent.The treated specimens were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy and bonded with composite resin for shear bond test. The following results were obtained from this experiment : 1. Compared with the ENB group,the EBL group was shown to be dyed about 20 micrometer deeper with rhodamine B.The DBL group appeared to be caved in at the entry part of the dentinal tubules, was dyed about 20 micrometer deeper and 5 micrometer wider in diameter,compared with the DNB group. 2. In comparison with the EBLAC group,the ENBAC group looked evenly bonded with the resin, while the DNBAC group,compared to DBLAC group,was observed to have its resin tags penetrated about 50 micrometer deeper.Other than those,however,no observable differences between ENBLA and EBLLA group or between DNBLA and DBLLA group were found. 3. At the shear bond test,the ENBAC group was shown to have statistically significant higher shear bond strength than the EBLAC group(p<0.05).No statistically significant differences between the ENBLA and the EBLLA groups were observed(p>0.05). 4. At the shear bond test,the DNBAC group was shown to have statistically significant higher shear bond strength than the DBLAC group(p<0.05).No statistically significant differences between the DNBLA and the DBLLA groups were observed(p>0.05). The in vitro observations above suggest that tooth-bleaching procedure brings a certain change on enamel and dentin surfaces and it weakens the shear bond strength with composite resin when the bleached tooth was acid-treated.
Crowns ; Dental Enamel* ; Dentin* ; Humans ; Microscopy, Confocal* ; Molar, Third ; Plastics ; Rhodamines ; Tooth

Skin closure is the surgeon's final operation technique. Although there have been many descriptions about the different kinds of sutures, the report on a 'three-point suture' were quite limited to the horizontal half buried suture technique up till now. The three-point suture can be met frequently in cases like irregular laceration, V-Y advancement flap, and reduction mammaplasty. Authors came up with and thereby introduce a more secure and convenient three-point suture technique, which proved to be superior to the horizontal half buried suture technique in that it gives a better skin approximation and eversion. It can also be applied to a multi- point suture such as a four-point suture or a five-point suture and a three-point mattress suture.
Female ; Lacerations ; Mammaplasty ; Skin ; Suture Techniques* ; Sutures*

Tracheal bronchus is an aberrant bronchus that arises most often from right tracheal wall above the carina. It is a rare congenital anomaly, which is usually asymptomatic but occasionally associated with recurrent pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and bronchiectasis. Anomalies found in association with tracheal bronchi include respiratory(tracheal hypoplasia, tracheal stenosis, cystic lung lesion), gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal systems. Tracheal bronchus has been diagnosed by conventional tomography, bronchography and bronchoscopy in the past. Technical advances have greatly enhanced the utility of this diagnostic modality. So chest CT, even three-dimensional reconstruction, is of particular importance in the evaluation of mediastinal, pleural and lung parenchymal lesions. We experienced a case of duodenal atresia and tracheal bronchus in 6-month-old child who suffered from recurrent pneumonia and dyspnea. So we report with a brief review and its related literatures.
Bronchi* ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; Bronchography ; Bronchoscopy ; Child ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Infant ; Lung ; Musculoskeletal System ; Pneumonia ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tracheal Stenosis

PURPOSE: . The purpose of this study is to evaluate translucency and masking ability of translucent zirconia compared to conventional zirconia and lithium disilicate materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: . Three types of zirconia blocks with different yttria contents (3Y, 4Y, 5.5Y) and LS blocks (Rosetta SM) were used.Ten specimens for each group were fabricated with 10 mm diameter, with both 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm thicknesses (± 0.02 mm). All groups of zirconia specimens were sintered and polished according to the manufacturer’s instructions. To calculate the translucency parameter (TP), CIELAB value was measured with a spectrophotometer on black and white backgrounds. To investigate the color masking abilities, background shades of A2, normal dentin, discolored dentin, and titanium were used. The color difference (ΔE) was calculated with the CIELAB values of A2 shade background as a reference compared with the values in the various backgrounds. One-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests were conducted (P < .05). RESULTS: . The TP values of zirconia specimens increased as the yttria content increased. All materials used in the study were able to adequately mask normal dentin shade (ΔE < 5.5), but were incapable of masking severely discolored dentin (ΔE > 5.5). On the titanium background, all materials of 1.5 mm thickness were able to mask the background shade, but with a thickness of 0.8 mm, only 3Y-TZP and 4Y-PSZ were able to mask titanium background. CONCLUSION . All zirconia materials and lithium disilicate specimens used in this study were unable to adequately mask the shade of severely discolored dentin. It is recommended to use 3Y-TZP or 4Y-PSZ with a sufficient thickness of 0.8 mm or more to mask titanium.

Background: Cudrania tricuspidata is a perennial plant, and Sargassum fusiforme is a brown seaweed with numerous potential benefits, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, the efficacies of C. tricuspidata and S. fusiforme on hair growth have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of C. tricuspidata and S. fusiforme extracts on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice. Results: ImageJ demonstrated that drinking and skin application of C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts significantly increased the hair growth rate in the dorsal skin of C57BL/6 mice compared to the control group. Histological analysis confirmed that drinking and skin application of C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts for 21 days significantly increased the length of hair follicles on the dorsal skin of treated C57BL/6 mice compared to that in the control mice. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that hair growth cycle-related factors (anagen factors) such as Catenin Beta 1 (Ctnnb1) and platelet-derived growth factor (Pdgf) were upregulated (> twofold) only by C. tricuspidata extracts, whereas vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) and Wnts were upregulated by both C. tricuspidata or S. fusiforme applications in treated mice (compared to the control mice). In addition, oncostatin M (Osm, a catagen-telogen factor) was downregulated (< 0.5 fold) by C. tricuspidata when administered via both skin and drinking mode in treated mice compared to that in control mice. Conclusions Our results suggest that C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts show potential hair growth efficacy by upregulating anagen factor genes, including β-catenin, Pdgf, Vegf, and Wnts, and downregulating catagen-telogen factor genes, including Osm, in C57BL/6 mice. The findings suggest that C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts are potential drug candidates to treat alopecia.

BACKGROUND: Lead is a metal that has no biological function useful for the human body. In Korea, non-occupational exposure to lead has mostly occurred through taking oriental medicine. However, in this paper we report a case of lead poisoning caused by ingesting talisman material. CASE PRESENTATION: A 16-year-old male patient complained of severe abdominal pain after taking cinnabar, a talisman material. He was diagnosed with lead poisoning accompanied by acute hepatitis. We confirmed that the cinnabar the patient took contained about 10% elemental lead. After symptom management, the patients' symptoms, liver function test results, and blood lead concentration level improved. CONCLUSION: Lead poisoning can be accompanied by hepatitis, although rarely. As we have confirmed that cinnabar as a talisman material is harmful to the human body, measures to prevent its misuse are needed.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Hepatitis ; Human Body ; Humans ; Korea ; Lead Poisoning* ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional