OBJECTIVES: Long standing ulcerative colitis (UC) has been known to be one of the precancerous diseases of colorectal cancer. Although the frequent loss of p53 allele (LOH) and aneuploidy were reported as the molecular events in carcinoma and dysplasia known as the precursor of UC, p53 genetic alteration was not reported in indefinite dysplasia and UC involved mucosa in long standing UC. Therefore, we investigated the mutational inactivation of the p53 gene in UC patients who showed dysplastic mucosa, as well as non-dysplastic mucosa on H & E stain and, secondly, if there is p53 mutation, we examined the relationship between p53 alteration and clinical data. METHOD: Sixteen patients with UC who had different duration of colitis were studied by endoscopic examination with rectal mucosal biopsies, p53 gene alterations were detected by PCR-SSCP for exon 4-8 and immunohistochemical staining with p53 monoclonal antibody. RESULTS: Among 16 patients, 2 patients (12%) showed dysplasia on H-E stain. The p53 point mutations were detected in 4 (two dysplasia and 2 normal looking mucosa) on PCR-SSCP. 4 patients who had p53 gene mutation were positive in immunohistochemical staining. With regard to clinical characteristics, these patients with p53 point mutation showed poor response to medical treatment. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the p53 mutation may be an early molecular event of cancerous change in UC.
Adolescence ; Adult ; Base Sequence ; Biopsy, Needle ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Colitis, Ulcerative/pathology ; Colitis, Ulcerative/genetics* ; Colonic Neoplasms/genetics* ; Colonoscopy ; Female ; Human ; Infant ; Intestinal Mucosa/pathology ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutation* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Precancerous Conditions/genetics* ; Protein p53/genetics* ; Rectum/pathology* ; Substances: Protein p53

PURPOSE: We investigated the efficacy and safety of oral sildenafil, and the selection rate of sildenafil, for the continuous treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients who received intracavernous injection (ICI) therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 69 ED patients (55.1+/-12.3 years) who received ICI therapy, with trimix (papaverine 18.75mg+phentolamine 0.625mg+PGE1 6.25microgram/ ml) for more than 6 months, were recruited for this study. All patients received a starting dose of 50mg sildenafil. The dose was adjusted to 100mg or 25mg based on its efficacy and tolerability. The erection quality, side effects, and selection rates of sildenafil for the continuous treatment, with reasons for its selection, were compared with those of ICI. RESULTS: Good erectile responses, to both trimix and sildenafil, were noted in 52 (75.4%) patients. There were no differences in the age, frequency of associated diseases, dose of trimix, duration of the injection therapy, and IIEF Q3 or Q4 on the ICI between sildenafil-responders and -nonresponders. The dose of sildenafil in the responders was 100mg, 50mg and 25mg in 37, 14 and 1, respectively. Of the 52 sildenafil-responders, the erectile quality with ICI was better than with the sildenafil in 46 (88.5%), whereas only 2 showed a better quality, and 4 showed similar responses. Among the 52 responders, 18 (34.6%) preferred to continue the oral drug, 18 (34.6%) used both treatment alternatively, and 16 (30.8%) returned to the ICI. The main reason for selecting sildenafil was its easier administration (88.9%), whereas that for the ICI was its better erection quality (74.3%). The most common adverse reactions to the sildenafil included, hot flushes (17.4%) and headaches (13%). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with ED on the ICI therapy are likely to have similar erectile responses and adverse reactions to those on sildenafil from their comparison with other clinical trials on sildenafil. However, the selection rate of ICI for the continuous treatment in sildenafil-responders was high due to its better erection quality.
Erectile Dysfunction ; Headache ; Humans ; Male ; Sildenafil Citrate

PURPOSE: Intracavernous injection (ICI) was once the cornerstone of treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). This study was designed to investigate how the treatment of ED has changed since introduction of oral sildenafil. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a total of 574 new ED (mean duration 2.9 years) patients with a mean age of 52.6 11.8 years, associated diseases, the cause and duration of ED, and the treatment used initially and after 6 months were investigated. RESULTS: The ED was psychogenic in 40.7% of the men. The most common cause of organic ED was vascular (18.1%) followed by diabetes (15.9%). The associated diseases were hypertension (19.9%), diabetes mellitus (16.5%), trauma and surgery (5.5%), endocrinologic (4.7%), coronary artery (1.6%), and hypercholesterolemia (1.1%). The initial treatment modality was an oral sildenafil in 68.7%, ICI in 11.3%, testosterone replacement in 2.7%, implantation of penile prostheses in 0.8%, and wait and see in 16.5%. Six months later, excluding the patients lost to follow-up, 73.4% of the patients were using oral sildenafil and 20.5% were using ICI. CONCLUSIONS: Oral sildenafil has largely replaced intracavernous injection for the initial treatment of erectile dysfunction.
Coronary Vessels ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Erectile Dysfunction* ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Hypertension ; Lost to Follow-Up ; Male ; Penile Prosthesis ; Testosterone ; Sildenafil Citrate

BACKGROUND: Arthroscopic rotator cuff repair generally has a good clinical outcome but shoulder stiffness after surgery due to subacromial adhesion is one of the most common and clinically important complications. Sodium hyaluronate (HA) has been reported to be an anti-adhesive agent in a range of surgical procedures. However, there are few reports of the outcomes of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair of the shoulder. This study examined whether a subacromial injection of HA/carboxymethylated cellulose (CMC) affected the postoperative shoulder stiffness and healing of rotator cuff repair, as well as the safety of an injection. METHODS: Between January 2008 and May 2008, 80 consecutive patients with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair were enrolled. The patients were assigned randomly to the HA/CMC injection group (n = 40) or control group (n = 40). All patients were evaluated using the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, passive range of motion at 2, 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12 months after surgery, and the functional scores at 6, 12 months postoperatively. Cuff healing was also evaluated using CT arthrography or ultrasonography at 6 or 12 months after surgery. RESULTS: The HA/CMC injection group showed faster recovery of forward flexion at 2 weeks postoperatively than the control group but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.09). There were no significant difference in pain VAS, internal rotation, external rotation and functional scores between two groups at each follow-up period. The functional scores improved 6 months after surgery in both groups but there were no differences between the two groups. The incidence of unhealed rotator cuff was similar in the two groups. There were no complications related to an injection of anti-adhesive agents including wound problems or infections. CONCLUSIONS: A subacromial injection of an anti-adhesive agent after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair tended to produce faster recovery in forward flexion with no adverse effects on cuff healing. However, its anti-adhesive effects after rotator cuff repair should be considered carefully with further studies.
Adult ; Aged ; Arthroscopy/*adverse effects/*methods ; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium ; Drug Carriers ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain ; Prospective Studies ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Recovery of Function ; Rotator Cuff/injuries/*surgery ; Shoulder Joint/physiology ; Tissue Adhesions/*prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome ; Viscosupplements/adverse effects/*therapeutic use

The objective of this study was to compare dentin shear bond strength (DSBS) of dentin bonding agents (DBAs) cured with a plasma arc (PAC) light curing unit (LCU) and those cured with a light emitting diode (LED) LCU. Optical properties were also analyzed for Elipar freelight 2 (3M ESPE); LED LCU, Apollo 95E (DMT Systems); PAC LCU and VIP Junior (Bisco); Halogen LCU. The DBAs used for DSBS test were Scotchbond Multipurpose (3M ESPE), Singlebond 2 (3M ESPE) and Clearfil SE Bond (Kuraray). After DSBS testing, fractured specimens were analyzed for failure modes with SEM. The total irradiance and irradiance between 450 nm and 490 nm of the LCUs were different. LED LCU showed narrow spectral distribution around its peak at 462 nm whereas PAC and Halogen LCU showed a broad spectrum. There were no significant differences in mean shear bond strength among different LCUs (P > 0.05) but were significant differences among different DBAs (P < 0.001).
Dentin ; Dentin-Bonding Agents ; Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique ; Light ; Plasma ; Resin Cements

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatitis A is increasing during the recent years in Korea, and sporadic cases of hepatitis E are not rare. We investigated the etiology of acute viral hepatitis, including 27 cases of coinfection with hepatitis A and E, during the last 3 years. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of one hundred eleven patients with acute viral hepatitis at Chung-Ang University Hospital was done from January 2005 to July 2007. The patients were positive for any one of the following tests: IgM anti-HAV, IgM anti-HBc, HCV RNA and IgM anti-HEV. RESULTS: The proportions of acute viral hepatitis A, B and C were 94.6% (105/111), 4.5% (5/111) and 0.9% (1/111), respectively. Among the patients with hepatitis A, 27 patients (24.3%) were positive for IgM anti-HEV. We analyzed 105 patients with either hepatitis A only or they had coinfection of hepatitis A and E. The mean age, the duration of the hospital stay, the mean levels of serum transaminase, bilirubin and albumin and the protrombin time were similar between the patients with hepatitis A only and those with coinfection of hepatitis A and E. All the patients were discharged without serious complication such as fulminant hepatic failure. The biochemical liver function tests were normalized in all patients within 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: The most common etiology of acute viral hepatitis in Koreans was the hepatitis A virus. Patients coinfected with hepatitis A and E were observed. The patients with coinfection of hepatitis A and E showed no significant difference in their clinical features and laboratory parameters, as compared to the patients with hepatitis A only.
Bilirubin ; Coinfection ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A Antibodies ; Hepatitis A virus ; Hepatitis E ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Liver Failure, Acute ; Liver Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; RNA

The cavernous sinus of skull base is a extremely rare metastastatic site for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A 51-year-old man was diagnosed with HCC by liver biopsy and palliative radiotherapy on HCC including main portal vein was performed. One month later, he was admitted due to sudden onset ptosis. Neurologic findings were normal except for abnormal movement of right eye, and it raised the possibility of abnormality in the right occulomotor, trochlear and the abducens nerves. Contrast-enhanced CT scan of brain showed a mass with homogeneous enhancement involving the right cavernous sinus. T2-weighted axial MR images demonstrated a homogeneous mass with intermediate signal intensity, and contrast-enhanced axial T1-weighted MR images demonstrated a mass with homogeneous enhancement in the right cavernous sinus. We describe a case of HCC metastasis to the cavernous sinus with symptoms of ptosis and disturbance of right eyeball movement.
Blepharoptosis/*etiology/pathology ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications/*diagnosis/*secondary ; Cavernous Sinus/*pathology ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms/complications/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmoplegia/pathology ; Skull Base Neoplasms/diagnosis/*secondary ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

This study investigated the hypothesis that the dentin bond strength of self-etching adhesive (SEA) might be improved by applying additional layer of bonding resin that might alleviate the pH difference between the SEA and the restorative composite resin. Two SEAs were used in this study; Experimental SEA (Exp, pH: 1.96) and Adper Prompt (AP, 3M ESPE, USA, pH: 1.0). In the control groups, they were applied with two sequential coats. In the experimental groups, after applying the first coat of assigned SEAs, the D/E bonding resin of All-Bond 2 (Bisco Inc., USA, pH: 6.9) was applied as the intermediate adhesive. Z-250 (3M ESPE, USA) composite resin was built-up in order to prepare hourglass-shaped specimens. The microtensile bond strength (MTBS) was measured and the effect of the intermediate layer on the bond strength was analyzed for each SEA using t-test. The fracture mode of each specimen was inspected using stereomicroscope and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM). When D/E bonding resin was applied as the second coat, MTBS was significantly higher than that of the control groups. The incidence of the failure between the adhesive and the composite or between the adhesive and dentin decreased and that of the failure within the adhesive layer increased. According to the results, applying the bonding resin of neutral pH can increase the bond strength of SEAs by alleviating the difference in acidity between the SEA and restorative composite resin.
Adhesives* ; Dentin* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Oceans and Seas

PURPOSE: We investigated the relationship between various parameters, including volumetric parameters, and tumor invasiveness according to the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)/American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS) classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 99 patients with completely resected stage IA lung adenocarcinoma. The correlation between several parameters [one-dimensional ground glass opacity (1D GGO) ratio, two-dimensional (2D) GGO ratio, three-dimensional (3D) GGO ratio, 1D solid size, 2D solid size, and 3D solid size] and tumor invasiveness according to IASLC/ATS/ERS classification was investigated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma were referred to as noninvasive adenocarcinoma. RESULTS: The areas under the curve (AUC) to predict invasive adenocarcinoma for the 1D, 2D, and 3D GGO ratios were 0.962, 0.967, and 0.971, respectively. The optimal cut-off values for the 1D, 2D, and 3D GGO ratios were 38%, 62%, and 74%, respectively. The AUC values for 1D, 2D, and 3D solid sizes to predict invasive adenocarcinoma were 0.933, 0.944, and 0.903, respectively. The optimal cut-off values for 1D, 2D, and 3D solid sizes were 1.2 cm, 1.5 cm2, and 0.7 cm3, respectively. The difference in the ROC curves for 3D GGO ratio and 3D solid size was significant (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Computed tomography image-related parameters based on GGO were well correlated with and predictive of invasiveness according to IASLC/ATS/ERS classification. 3D GGO ratio was more strongly correlated with pathologic invasiveness than 3D solid size.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnostic imaging/*pathology ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Area Under Curve ; Female ; Humans ; *Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Lung Neoplasms/*diagnostic imaging/*pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Neoplasm Staging ; Predictive Value of Tests ; ROC Curve ; Retrospective Studies ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tumor Burden

PURPOSE: We wanted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the newly developed oral glyceryl monooleate (GMO)-paclitaxel in a hormone refractory prostate cancer model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A paclitaxel formulation was prepared from GMO, tricaprylin, Tween(R) 80 and paclitaxel. The tumor cells of prostate cancer (DU-145 cells) were incubated and then put into different paclitaxel concentrations. The tumoricidal activity was measured by using an indirect methylthiazol-2-yl-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cells of the DU-145 cell line were subcutaneously heterotransplanted into 18 nude mice, and they developed prostate cancer. The 18 mice were divided into 3 groups; the control group was injected with the DU-145 cell line (n=6), the GMO group was injected with GMO after the DU-145 cells were injected (n=6), and the oral GMO-paclitaxel group was injected with oral GMO-paclitaxel after the DU-145 cells were injected (n=6). The tumor volume was measured every week and the main organs were evaluated pathologically to determine the toxicity. RESULTS: On the MTT assay, the control group and the GMO group did not display cytotoxicity. However, treatment with the various GMO-paclitaxel formulations (0.1 microgram/ml, 1 microgram/ml, 10 microgram/ml) for treating the DU-145 cell line cancer induced cytotoxicity in a dose dependent fashion. The tumor volumes were not significantly changed in the group that was administered oral GMO-paclitaxel. However, there were significantly increased tumor volumes in the control group and the GMO group (p<0.05). Toxic changes were not detected in liver and kidney, and there was normal cellularity with a normal myeloid:erythroid ratio in the mice after the administration of oral GMO-paclitaxel. CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed oral GMO-paclitaxel has a remarkable cytotoxic effect against DU-145 cells without systemic toxicity. Therefore, oral GMO-paclitaxel therapy promises to be a safe and effective modality for treating hormone refractory prostate cancer, and it can possibly replace IV paclitaxel.
Animals ; Cell Line ; Kidney ; Liver ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Paclitaxel ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Tumor Burden