Glutathione S-Transferase (GST) is a conjugation enzyme in the metabolism of exogenous and endogenous lipophilic compounds for their excretion and detoxification. Acidic isozyme of GST, GST-Pi, has been recognized as a preneoplastic marker in the experimental hyperplastic nodules of liver in rats, and GST-Pi is abundant in the squamous cells of the skin, also. This histochemical study was carried out to evaluate the distribution and the relationship between the differentiation status of squamous cells in dysplastic or neoplastic epithelium in various organs. The human placental form of glutathione S-transferase (GST-Pi) were stained immunohistochemically with specific anti GST-Pi rabbit antibody in 23 cases of human squamous cell carcinomas. The patients consisted of 14 cases from the uterine cervix, 3 cases from the esopahgus, 3 cases from the lung and 3 cases from the larynx. The results obtained were as follows; 1. Basal cells in normal mucosa were stained negative for GST-Pi while superficial keratinocytes were stained moderately positive. Basal dysplastic cells were stained negatively or weakly positive. Carcinoma cells especially large cells either keratinizing or nonkeratinizing were stained moderately to strongly. Carcinoma cells surrounding keratin pearl were strongly reacted with GST-Pi than other carcinoma cells. 2. Differentiated cells of squamous cell carcinoma showed moderate to strong positive reaction to GST-Pi staining irrespective of its site of origin. 3. Therefore, Immunohistochemical staining pattern of GST-Pi in various squamous carcinoma cells showed similar immunohistochemical reaction to the GST-pi, which is closely correlated to the degree of differentiation, keratinigation and also suggested that squamous carcinoma cells had abundant GST-Pi related detoxifying system.
Humans ; Rabbits ; Animals

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Laser induced prostatectomy(LIP) has recently been considered as safe alternative to conventional transurethral resection of the prostate(TURP) in the surgical treatment of BPH. However, the value of LIP remains incompletely defined. We herein have performed a prospective study to compare TURP and LIP in treatment efficacy, safety and costs to define the value of LIP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 113 patients with BPH who were candidates of TURP were randomized to undergo TURP or LIP and were adequately followed up for more than 1 year. There were no significant differences in preoperative clinical characteristics between 55 patients who underwent TURP and 58 patients who underwent LIP. For the LIP procedure, Nd:YAG was used in 42 patients and diode laser in 16 patients, respectively. 37 patients were treated by contact LIP only, and 21 with hybrid procedures of contact LIP and noncontact LIP using side firing laser fiber or interstitial laser fiber. Seven patients underwent LIP under local anesthesia at the outpatient department. RESULTS: International prostate symptom score(IPSS) and peak urinary flow rate(Qmax) were significantly improved at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year after LIP as well as after TURP. There were no significant difference between TURP group(85.4%) and LIP group(87.9%) in treatment success rate as defined by improvement of IPSS and Qmax as well as patient's content for the surgical outcome. Nine(16.4%) and two(3.6%) of the patients who underwent TURP and none of the patients who LIP underwent developed ignificant bleeding and electrolyte imbalance, respectively. There were no significant difference in postoperative incidence of retrograde ejaculation, infection and urethral stricture between the two groups. Compared to TURP, the LIP procedure required significantly shorter hospitalization(6.8 vs 4.5 days) and catheterization(4.1 vs 2.6 days, all p<0.0l). There was no significant difference in total treatment cost between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: LIP may be comparable to TURP in terms of short term treatment efficacy and cost effectiveness. LIP may be better than TURP in terms of safety and shortened hospitalization and catheterization. Further studies are necessary on long-term outcomes of LIP."
Anesthesia, Local ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Ejaculation ; Fires ; Health Care Costs ; Hemorrhage ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lasers, Semiconductor ; Lip ; Male ; Outpatients ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate* ; Prostatectomy* ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Treatment Outcome ; Urethral Stricture

A clinical study was done on 16 cases of cerebellar hemorrhage and 3 cases of cerebellar infarction which were diagnosed with brain CT scan at Keimyung university Dongsan hospital from July 1981 to June 1985 and conclusions obtained are as follows. 1. The incidence of cerebellar hemorrhage and infarction was 3.5% and 0.6% of all spontaneous intracranial parenchymal hemorrhage and infarction, respectively. 2. The most prevalent age group was 7th decade and sex ratio was higher in male in cerebellar stroke. 3. Major single percipitating factor of cerebellar stroke was hypertension. 4. Most of cerebellar stroke showed catastrophic or sudden onset type. 5. The most common initial symptoms of cerebellar stroke were nausea and vomiting, followed by headache and dizziness or vertigo, in order of frequency. 6. The most common neurologic signs on admission were impaired consciousness, constricted pupil with preserved light reflex and cerebellar signs. 7. The common site of cerebellar hemorrhage was right hemisphere, followed by vermis and left hemisphere, in order of frequency, and that of cerebellar infarction was right posterior hemisphere. 8. The better the consciousness on admission, the better the outcome of cerebellar stroke. 9. The following parameters indicated good prognosis with medical therapy, so called benign cerebellar hemorrhage: clear consciousness on admission, gradual onset type, less than 20cc of hematoma, no or mild hydrocephalus, no ventricular hematoma, no vermis involvement on CT scan.
Brain ; Consciousness ; Dizziness ; Headache ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Infarction ; Male ; Miosis ; Nausea ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Prognosis ; Reflex ; Sex Ratio ; Stroke ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Vertigo ; Vomiting

Intramedullary myelitis due to bacterial meningitis associated with cervical epidural abscess is very rare. Its cause and clinical features are non-specific, therefore exact diagnosis is often missed or mistaken for other disease and immediate treatment may be delayed. We report a case of intramedullary myelitis due to epidural abscess presented with prominent symptoms of meningitis and manifestations of acute cerebrovacular accident. A 69 -year-old man was admitted due to right hemicranial headache with pain on right posterior neck and febrile sensation. At first, the patient's headache was improved by conservative therapy. Three weeks later, the patient showed abrupt right hemiparesis (MRC grade 2/5) with drowsy mentality. The CSF findings of the patient were compatible with acute bacterial meningitis. Cervical spine MRI showed cervical epidural abscess and extensive intramedullary myelitis from cervical to lumbar spinal cord. After antibiotic therapy, mentality of the patient became to be alert and right hemiparesis was improved to MRC grade 4/5. Follow up cervical spine MRI after several weeks represented that the lesions of cervical epidural abscess and intramedullary myelitis were significantly diminished.
Diagnosis ; Epidural Abscess* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Meningitis ; Meningitis, Bacterial* ; Myelitis* ; Neck ; Paresis ; Sensation ; Spinal Cord ; Spine

No abstract available.
Peripheral Vascular Diseases*

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful and cost-effective treatment for end-stage degenerative arthritis. The aging of society and an increase in the prevalence of obesity has led to increases in the prevalence of arthritis and the incidence of TKA. Currently, the total number of procedures in Korea per year has reached 90,000. With the rapid growth, we need to know about the current state of TKA. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent literature regarding TKA. The main indication for TKA is end-stage arthritis with severe pain, reduced function, and no response to conservative management. Metal on the polyethylene-bearing surface and cobalt alloy are used in most TKAs. Despite good clinical outcomes and long-term survival rates after TKA in many papers, 20% of patients are dissatisfied with the outcome of surgery. To improve the patient’s satisfaction, surgeons should understand factors affecting patient’s satisfaction, including patient’s expectations, age, and preoperative mental state. Navigationassisted surgery and robotic surgery have been introduced in knee arthroplasty to achieve more precise and accurate alignment. There is some evidence to suggest that computer-assisted surgery reduces revision rates. However, clinical efficacy is also controversial, and a long-term follow-up study is required. The common complications of TKA include infection, polyethylene wear, loosening, stiffness, periprosthetic fracture, and thromboembolism. An understanding of the potential complications and pitfalls of TKA is essential for prevention.

Peritoneal adhesion is one of the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in most parts of the world. In 1989, Thompson and others proposed reduced peritoneal plasminogen activating activity as a possible mechanism of adhesion formation. We used adult Sprague-Dawley rats weighing between 250~350 gm of both sexes. An ether jar was used to induce anesthesia, and a 15 to 20 mg intramuscular injection of ketamine into the hind leg was used to maintain anesthesia. The rat was fixed supine on a rat board, its midabdomen shaved, and povidone-iodine applied. Then the abdomen was opened using Metzenbaum scissors and 2.5 2.5 cm2 area of the parietal peritoneum was abraded in the flank area, left or right side, using sterilized electro-surgical tip cleaner until the preperitoneal fat layer was completely destroyed and blood ooze was emitted from the burst capillaries. The procedure lasted 2~3 minutes. Then, the animals were randomly selected either to apply topically one cc of saline as a control group or to apply drugs dissolved in one cc of saline as on experimental groups. The drugs were disodium cromolycate, verapamil, and urokinase. Disodium cromolycate was used 3 mg/animal, verpamil 0.5 mg, and urokinase 2,000 units/on the animal. The same drugs and the same amounts were used at the same site topically on the 2nd and the 3rd postoperative days without anesthesia by using smooth-tipped needle. Then the animals were examined on the 7th postoperative day under ether anesthesia to find adhesion formations and to grade them into no adhesion, mild, moderate, or severe adhesions according to severity of the adhesions. We used about 15 animals in each group. The results for the peritoneal adhesions were expressed as present or not present to compare the presence of adhesion between the control group and the study groups. The Chi-square test was used, and p values below 0.05 were regarded as significant. In the control rats, there were no adhesions in 3 animals, and adhesions in 12 animals. In the disodium cromolycate-treated groups, there were no adhesions in 8 and adhesions in 8 rats, indicating less frequent adhesion formation, but the p value was 0.081. In the verapamil group, the ratio of no adhesion to adhesion was 4 : 11 which was almost the same as that of the control group(p=0.666). However, in the urokinase group, the ratio was 8 : 6 and the p value was 0.039, so the effects are ignificantly different. With these result, we can conclude that intraperitoneal topical application of urokinase is effective in prevention of rat peritoneal adhesion formation. The effect of disodium cromolycate was only marginal. Verapamil was not effective in prevention of peritoneal adhesion in this study.
Abdomen ; Adult ; Anesthesia ; Animals ; Capillaries ; Ether ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Ketamine ; Leg ; Needles ; Peritoneum ; Plasminogen ; Povidone-Iodine ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator ; Verapamil

Hepatolithiasis is common in east Asia, but rare in the Western world. Recently, epidemiologic study on Korea gallstone disease showed that the portion of patients with hepatolithiasis among total gallstone patients is 14.1%. Hepatolithiasis is the cause of recurrent cholangitis and it is that risk factor of liver abscess, hepatic failure, or sepsis. Also, biliary cirrhosis and cholangiocarcinoma were developed from hepatolithiasis. The incidence of cholangiocarcinoma associated with hepatolithiasis is about 2.4~10% . We present three cases of unresectable cholangiocarcinoma diagnosed after removal of hepatolithiases by percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy.
Cholangiocarcinoma* ; Cholangitis ; Far East ; Gallstones ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Liver Abscess ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary ; Liver Failure ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis ; Western World

OBJECTIVES: Rapidly progres s ive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a clinico- pathologic entity characterized by extens ive crescent formation(usually involving 50% or more of glomeruli) as the principal his tologic finding and a rapid deterioration of kidney function, which can lead to end s tage renal disease within a few weeks. T he etiology and incidence of RPGN has been well defined in Europe and North America, however, there has been no report of a large series in Korea. T he aim of the present s tudy was to analyze the etiology and clinico- pathologic features of 26 patients with RPGN, seen during 1983-1997. METHODS: T wenty-six patients with RPGN(crescents in > 50% of glomeruli) were obs erved during a period of las t 14 years. Male to female ratio was 1:1.4, and the mean age was 30(6-75) years. Mean time from the initial symptoms to the ESRD was 3.1 months . RESULTS: The incidence of RPGN in our series was 2.1% of primary glomerulonephritis. Immunecomplex mediated disease was presented in 14 cases (54%), including 6 sys temic lupus erythematos us, 3 post- streptococcal glomerulonephritis, 3 Henoch- Schonlein purpura, and 2 IgA nephropathy. Pauci- immune disease was presented in 12 cases (46%), including 3 Wegener' s granulomatos is, one necrotizing crescentic glomerulonephritis, and 8 idiopathic crescentic glomerulonephritis. However, there was none of anti-GBM- mediated disease in our s tudy. ANCA were found in 6 patients. All 3 patients with WG were C- ANCA pos itive, whereas one patient with PSGN, necrotizing cres centic GN, and idiopathic crescentic GN were P- ANCA pos itive, respectively. Initial clinical and laboratory features included edema(80%), hypertens ion(72%), oliguria(68%), a decreased renal function(serum creatinine > 5mg/dL, 35%), and gros s hematuria(36%). Renal biopsy showed large crescents more than 80% of the glomeruli in 14 cases (54%) which were predominantly fibrocellular. Fifteen patients (58%) were treated with prednis olone alone, and 12 of them received puls e doses of corticosteroids. Five patients were treated with prednisolone and cyclophos phamide IV pulse. Two cases received plasma exchange. During the mean follow-up of 31+/-37 months, 18 patients (69%) developed inexorable progression of renal failure, three(12%) showed recovery of renal function, and two(8%) showed partial improvement, which is followed by varying degrees of renal insufficiency. During follow-up, three patients died : two from res piratory failure with severe pulmonary hemorrhage and one from opportunistic pulmonary infection during immunosuppressive therapy. Poor prognos is is as sociated with hypertension, increased serum creatinine level at the time of diagnosis, large crescents more than 85% of glomeruli, and glomerular scleros is . CONCLUSION: We conclude that an earlier diagnos is including kidney biopsy and the more aggressive treatment are essential in the management of RPGN.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic ; Biopsy ; Creatinine ; Diagnosis ; Europe ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerulonephritis* ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Immune System Diseases ; Incidence ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Korea ; Male ; North America ; Plasma Exchange ; Prednisolone ; Purpura ; Renal Insufficiency ; Systemic Vasculitis

INTRODUCTION: In traditional society, the roles of housewives were to do housework, to look after her children and to give her family emotional stability. With rapid social and economic change, the traditional sense of value changes and the concepts of sexual roles, too. However, they are in a transition period yet. These discord and tension followed by role change appeared as the form of psychological instability or social pathological problem in modern family. Thus, this study aimed to avaluate the effect of employment on depression of housewives who play importent roles in family and their commumity. METHODS: From May to July 1996, the questonnaires were distributed to 179 housewives who have university education background(including community college), and have one or more children and live in Bundang-Ku of Sungnam city, making a distinction between working housewives and nonworking housewives. Regarding the subjects of this study, the non-working housewives are restricted to full-time housewives who have no job, and working housewives who have full-time job. As tools of measurement, we used BDI questionnaires consisted of 15 items in Korean. We performed statistical analysis among the data by means of SPSS/PC+. We analyzed statistical data for significance using one-way ANOVA and analyzed categorical data for significance using S-test. RESULTS: The average score on BDI for working housewives was 12.22(standard deviation 7.42) and this is rather higher than that of non-working housewives(10.80, standard deviation : 7.42). But the number of children increased, the BDI score were higher significantly in both groups. And the BDI score was high in working Housewives groups whose husbands had professional job or dommerce job, whose family system is a multi-generation family, and who feel a lot of fatigue after work. In case of non-working housewives, the BDI score was high with age(especially between 50-59), duration of marriage, lower income and Duvalls family life cycle 6, 7. CONCLUSIONS: There is no difference in depression tendency between working housewives and nonworking housewives. But in case of working housewives, some factors have influence on their depression tendency, the number of children, husbands job, family type, degree of fatigue after work. And in case of non-working housewives, the factors are the number of children, age, duration of marriage, income, family life cycle.
Child ; Depression* ; Education ; Employment ; Fatigue ; Gyeonggi-do ; Housekeeping ; Humans ; Marriage ; Seoul* ; Spouses ; Surveys and Questionnaires