This study was carried out to investigate the morphologic findings and process of castration-induced apoptosis in the rat prostate. The experimental group was treated with bilateral orchiectomy followed by sequential sacrifices at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 days and 2, 3 weeks (6 rats, respectively). Ventral prostate was extirpated and examined by light microscopic and immunohistochemical, ultrastructural observation. Apoptotic index increased by 4 days after castration and decreased thereafter. ApopTag stain revealed brownish granular pattern in the nucleus of apoptotic cells. DNA fragmentation rate was 0.5% in the control group and began to increase by 1 day after castration and reached to 11.1% by 4 days and decreased thereafter. PCNA stain showed brownish granular pattern in the nucleus of some epithelial cells of the prostatic glands. PCNA labelling index was 2.4% in the control group and reached peak by 3 days after castration and decreased thereafter. Electron microscopically, there was chromatin condensation with margination toward the nuclear membrane by 1 day after castration. Also noted were condensation of cytoplasm, dilatation of RER and nuclear fragmentation. Apoptotic bodies were formed and phagocytosed by adjacent cells and some apoptotic bodies were found in the lumen of acini. Based on these results, it can be concluded that castration-induced prostatic involution is the result of apoptosis. Detection of DNA fragmentation with ApopTag is a more a accurate method to identify not only apoptotic body formation itself but also the previous step of apoptotic body formation. PCNA labelling index to identify the cellular proliferation seems to play an active role in the early step of apoptosis and be a good tool for investigation of apoptosis.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Castration ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromatin ; Cytoplasm ; Dilatation ; DNA Fragmentation ; Epithelial Cells ; Nuclear Envelope ; Orchiectomy ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; Prostate* ; Rats*

In Korea, owing to effective vaccination, occurences of poliomyelitis begen to decrease rapidly from 1964 and in recent years less than 10 cases of acute infection are being reported annually. However, patients crippled with poliomyeltis residua, mainly the legacy of the many epidemics of 1950s, and early 1960s, are many and pose a social and national problem as well as a personal and family ordeal. We reviewed 536 patients with residual poliomyelitis admitted and treated at Seoul National University Hospital during the past 18 years, from 1963 to 1980 They were divided into four chronological groups; the first, 1993 to 1968, the second 1968 to 1973, the third, 1974 to 1977, and the fourth, 1978 to 1980, In each group, based on in-patient records, and out-patient records, epidemology, deformities, and treatment were extensively reviewed. The followings are the outcome of this investigation 1. The male-to-female ratio was 53.7%: 46.3%, The male majority, distinct in the first group with 63. 7%, became less conspicuos in the fouth group with 50. 3%. 2. Average age oe admission, which was 10. 7 years in the first group, had increased decidedly to 17. 8 years in the fourth group. 3. The age of onset was most frequent between 1 to 2 years with 45.8% and next frequent between 7 to 12 months with 23. 5%. The ages below 5 years occupied 97. 6% of the cases. 4. The year of onset was most frequent from 1961 to 1963 with 28.7%. The incidence markedly and steadily decreased thereafter. 5. 94. 5% of the cases were unvaccinated. The remaining cases, except one, had had incomplete vaccination. 6. Fever, with 74. 0% was by far the most frequent initial symptom. Vomiting and diarrhea were the next frequent symptoms. 7. Of the 60% of the patients who had had any previous treatment, 25. 9% had operations and 20. 4% had braces and crutches. 8. Average number of admissions per patient were 1. 7 and average number of operations were l. 9. Average length of hospitalization was 39. 2 days. 9. 23. 6% of the patents had hip deformities, of which flexion defermity was most frequent with 4. 7%. Soutter fasciotomy or Campbell operation was employed in order to correct flexion deformity. In the earlier groups, Mustard operation, Sharrard operation, Ober-Barr operation, and pem-berton osteotmy were commonly practiced, whereas in the later groups, Thomas-Thompson-Straub operation, combined Thomas-Thompson-Straub and Ober-Barr operation, Salter osteotomy, Chiari osteotomy, Steel osteotomy were favored. 10. 45.2% of the patients had knee and leg deformities, of which flexion deformit; was most frequent with 14.5%. Flexion-valgus-external rotation deformity and flexion-valgus deformity with 4.6% and 4.5%, respectively, followed next. 11. 83. 9% of the patients had foot and toe deformities, of which equinovarus deformity occupied 6. 5% equinovalgus deformity 6.8%, and clawing of great toe 25. 2%. Triple arthodesis was done most frequently with 45. 9% of the cases, or 282 feet. Jone's operation or its modification, Tendo Achilles lengthening, plantar fasciotomy, and Peroneal tendon transfer were also frequntly performed. 12. There was leg length inequality in 90%. of the cases, Epiphysiodesis and femoral shortening were carried out, except for 4 cases of stapling in the earliest group, and femoral lengthening was done in 3 cases. 13. Spineal deformity was found in 19.7 % Of the cases, of which scoliosis was most freqent with 11. 5%. 7% of the cases had pelevic obliquity. Lumbodorsal fasciotomy, and postrior spinal fusion with Harrington instrument were carried out in order to ameliorate these deformities. 14. Deformities in the upper extremity were found in 3.6% of the patients. Procedures carried out inclulded shoulder fusion, Saha's operation, Steindler's flexorplasty, sternocleidomastold transfer, wrist fusion and opponensplasty, etc. 15. Generally, there was marked improvement of disability after treatment. The patients having moder.ate to severe limping decreased from 41.3%, preoperatively, to 25% after operation.
Age of Onset ; Animals ; Arterial Switch Operation ; Braces ; Clubfoot ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Crutches ; Diarrhea ; Fever ; Foot ; Hip ; Hoof and Claw ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Knee ; Korea ; Leg ; Leg Length Inequality ; Male ; Osteotomy ; Outpatients ; Poliomyelitis ; Scoliosis ; Seoul ; Shoulder ; Spinal Fusion ; Steel ; Tendon Transfer ; Toes ; Upper Extremity ; Vaccination ; Vomiting ; Wrist

No abstract available.
Kinetics* ; Wrist*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of the laparoscopic L5-S1 fusion, its perioperative parameters and long-term outcome are compared with those of open anterior surgical approach. METHODS: Data of 54 consecutive patients who underwent anterior approach for L5-S1 fusion either by laparoscopic or open mini-anterior lumbar interbody fusion(ALIF) from 1997 to 1999 were analyzed. Among them, 47 cases were available with more than 2-years follow-up data. In all cases, carbon cage and autologous bone graft were used. RESULTS: Twenty five patients underwent a laparoscopic procedure and twenty two a open mini-ALIF. Three laparoscopic procedures were converted to open ones. For perioperative parameter, only the operative time was statistically different(p=0.001) while length of postoperative hospital stay and blood loss were not. The incidence of operative complication was three in laparoscopic group and two in open mini-ALIF group. After the follow-up of at least two years, the two groups showed no statistical difference in visual analog scale for pain, Oswestry disability index, and patient satisfaction index. The fusion rate was 91% in each group. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest that laparoscopic ALIF has similar effectiveness and safety with open mini-ALIF. However, the advantage of laparoscopic approach as a minimally invasive surgery should be reconsidered because no objective additional benefit was found.
Carbon ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Patient Satisfaction ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Transplants ; Visual Analog Scale

No abstract available.
Extraembryonic Membranes* ; Placenta*

BACKGROUND: There are many reports showing the efficacy of polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for the diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum. but only few reports in extrapulmonary specimens. Because of the difficulty in establishing a diagnosis of tuberculosis in the extrapulmonary specimens there have been considerable interest in the development of a rapid sensitive diagnostic test that might be useful. Therefore we used PCR for detection of M. tuberculosis DNA in extrapulmonary specimens and compared the results of conventional acid-fast stain, culture methods and PCR assay. METHODS: Total of 63 clinical samples(10 cerebrospinal fluids, 12 pleural fluids, 1 pericardial fluid, 3 bone marrow aspirates, 1 ascitic fluid, 25 fine needle aspirates of lymph nodes, 7 urine, 1 stool and 3 tissue biopsies) in Ewha Womans University Tongdaemun hospital were analysed by the PCR. We performed the PCR using a species-specific M. tuberculosis DNA fragment(mtp 40 gene) as primers that was cloned and sequenced at recent and a 396-bp fragment was specifically amplified. We analyzed sensitivity and specificity of AFB culture and PCR for the diagnosis of extrapulomonary tuberculosis. RESULTS: The positivity of AFB smear, culture and PCR were 2(10%), 4(20%), 13(65%) out of total 20 cases diagnosed as clinically active extrapulmonary tuberculosis. respectively. All of 2 smear-positive samples and 2 of 4 culture-positive and smear-negative samples were PCR-positive. And 9 of 14 smear and culture negative specimens also gave detectable DNA products in PCR The specificity of PCR(95.4%) is compared with those of smear and culture(100.0%). CONCLUSIONS: This results suggest that the PCR assay is a sensitive and rapid diagnostic alternative to classical procedures for the diagnosis of extrapulmonary tuberculosis.
Ascitic Fluid ; Bone Marrow ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Clone Cells ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Needles ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis*

No abstract available.
Hepatic Encephalopathy*

Animal models are useful tools to study the molecular basis of schizophrenia pathophysiology and efficacy of potential therapeutic agents. Schizophrenia animal models can be subdivided into three classes ; drug-induced models, genetic models, and environmental models and each model is designed based on specific traits corresponding to the characteristic symptoms of human schizophrenia patients. Psychomotor agitation and sensitivity to psychotomimetic drugs are often thought to reflect positive symptoms. Social interaction deficits and affective impairments are known to correspond to negative symptoms. Also, cognitive symptoms have been linked to the working memory impairments, attention deficits and related cognitive deficits in animals. To analyze such components in quantifiable manners, various behavioral paradigms have been developed and utilized. Here, we overview these animal models, focusing on underlying rationales for their use in the context of schizophrenia research.
Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Memory, Short-Term ; Models, Animal* ; Models, Genetic ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Psychomotor Agitation ; Schizophrenia*

No abstract available.
Temporomandibular Joint*

No abstract available.
Transurethral Resection of Prostate*