A case of nevus sebceous of Jadassohn, which has developed on the frontal hair-line of scalp of 31 male patient since birth and associated with syrignocystadenoma papilliperum and basal cell carcinoma on excisional biopsy, showing soft yellowish 3.2*4com sized flat verucous plaque is reported.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Humans ; Male ; Nevus* ; Parturition ; Scalp

Angiosarcoma is rare disease not only in Korea but throughout the world; it is all the more so on the skin. We made an observation on a case of angiosarcoma on the scalp of a 57 year-old man. Noteworthy in this case are: (1) the patient was suffered from a head trauma 6 years prior to onset of the disease, (2) the progress of the disease showed an extreme rapidity accompanied by severe headache intolerable by any medication, (3) no effect was resulted from X-ray irradiation, and (4) the patient survived for 7 months with the disease.
Craniocerebral Trauma ; Headache ; Hemangiosarcoma* ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Rare Diseases ; Scalp ; Skin

BACKGROUND: Chicken pox and herpes zoster are caused by the varicella-zoster virus(VZV). To investigate the epiderniologial relationship between clinical isolates of VZV, it is essential to distinguish different isolate. OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to classify the VZV strains according to R5 tandem direct reiterations(TDR) copy numbers and Pst I endonuclease cleavage site mutation, and to analyze the distribution pattern of VZV strains isolated in Korea. METHODS: Strains of VZV were isolated from 61 patients with herpes zoster who had not been immunized with a live vaccine of VZV. Copy numbers of R5 TDR which was located in variable region IV were measured by PCR. The presence of a Pst I cleavage site in a middle portion of the long unique region of VZV genome was analyzed by PCR thereafter restriction enzyme digestion(PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: VZV strains isolated in Korea contained one to three copy numbers of R5 TDR. Of 61 isolates, 43(70%) comtained 2 copies of R5 TDR, while 11(18%) isolates contained only one copy and 7(12%) isolat s contained 3 copies. About 16% of the strains examined did not have a PstI cleavage site, although the majority of strains retained this site. VZV strains could be classified into 6 strains on the basis of the copy number of R5 TDR and PstI cleavage site, in which the strain with 2 copies of R5 TDR and PstI cleavage site positive was the most frequent type (36 out of 61 isolates) in Korea. Four batches of live attenuated vaccine(Biken) that is now used in Korea showed 2 copy numbers of R5 TDR and PstI site negative. CONCLUSION: The copy number of R5 TDR and the presence of PstI cleavage site seems to be a reliable marker for dicrimination of VZV strains in Korea. This discrimination can be used to study the molecular epiclemiology of VZV and as a criterion for identification of vaccine-related isolates.
Chickenpox* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Genome ; Herpes Zoster* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid*

No abstract available.
Folliculitis*

This study was carried out to determine the effect of long term administration of vitamin A on the changes of lipids in liver tissue and serum in rat. The animals were fed with control diet(200 ug/day) and high vitimin A diet(2, 000 ug/day) for 24 weeks. Vitamin A contents of liver in high vitamin A fed rats were increased linearly accordance with duration of the vitamin A administration, but levels of serum vitamin A showed unremarkable changes during the experimental period. Contents of cholesterol and triglycerides of vitarnin A fed rats were significantly higher than those of controls. Levels of HDL-triglycerides in v:itamin A fed rats were significantly higher than those of control rats during experimental period, while levels of HDL-cholesterol and HDL-phospholipids showed unremarkable changes during experimental period. Levels of individual cholesteryl esters showed undremarkable changes during experimental period in both animal groups.
Animals ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol Esters ; Liver* ; Rats* ; Triglycerides ; Vitamin A* ; Vitamins*

Albinism is an inherited ongenital disarder in which there is sgr neralized decrease or absence of pigrnent in the eyes, skin, and hair. There are two general groups (1) Oculocutneou albinism, (2) Ocular albinism. Skin cancers in albinos are rare in ternperate clirnats and t.hey occur rnostly on sun ex posed areas. We present a case of recurrance of squarnous cell carcinoma ir a Korean albinoid on both sides of the neck and right ear. On liistopathologic examination, we find I or pearls, and irregular mases of epidermal cells that proliferite downward into the devmis. The invaing cell masses are composed of atypical squamous cells.
Albinism ; Albinism, Ocular ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Ear ; Hair ; Neck ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms ; Solar System

Dermoid cysts develop from sequestration of epithelium along lines of embryonic fusion.The most common locations are the lateral third of the eyebrows, nose, and scalp. These cysts are located in the subcutis; they are often adherent to periosteum, and may invade or erode underlying bane. A 34-year-old female presented with a solitary, skin colored, dome-shaped, child fistsized, subcutaneous mass on her right occiput. At operation, keratinous material was discharged and tufts of hair projected from opening of the cyst wall.The base of the cyst was firmly adherent to periosteum and diffuse depression with focal deep erosions of the outer table of skull was found.
Adult ; Child ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Depression ; Dermoid Cyst* ; Epithelium ; Eyebrows ; Female ; Hair ; Humans ; Nose ; Periosteum ; Scalp ; Skin ; Skull*

BACKGROUND: The human homologue of the SC2 gene from a human dermal papilla cell cDNA library has been isolated and designated hSC2. HSC2 protein also shares similarity with 5 -reductase, a protein important in testosterone metabolism. OBJECTIVE: Prior to knowing the functions of hSC2 in dermal papilla, we cloned it and analyzed its relative expression levels in adult tissues and cancer cell lines. METHODS: hSC2 was isolated from low abundant clones in dermal papilla cDNA library using cDNA array hibridization method. Full-length clone was sequenced and we studied its expression in different tissues by Northern blot hybridization. RESULTS: Sequence data reveals a single open reading frame, encoding a putative hydrophobic protein with a calculated molecular weight of 36 kDa. Its deduced amino acid sequences are almost 97.4% identical to t4ose of rat protein. Northern blot hybridization shows that hSC2 cDNA recognizes a 1.35 kb transcript that was expressed in various epithelial and mesenchymal tissues including testis and liver. CONCLUSION: We have cloned and analysed tissue distributions of hSC2. It was interesting that it had homology with 5α-reductase isozymes. Further studies will be needed to understand the involvement of hSC2 in androgen hormone signaling.
Adult ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Blotting, Northern ; Cell Line ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Molecular* ; DNA, Complementary ; Gene Library ; Humans ; Isoenzymes ; Liver ; Metabolism ; Molecular Weight ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Open Reading Frames ; Rats ; Testis ; Testosterone ; Tissue Distribution

BACKGROUND: Generalized immune activation occurs early in the course of many infectious disease. Laboratory investigations have shown that immune activation can be quantified by the measurement of soluble immune activation products in serum. Soluble CD25, CD8, and CD4 are major immune activation products. Soluble CD8 and CD4 are indices of CD8+ T cell and CD4+T cell activity, respectively. OBJECTIVE: We estimated the concentrations of these molecules in patients with leprosy. METHODS: The study population consisted of 31 patients with tuberculoid leprosy and 71 patients with lepromatous leprosy(32 cases of M. leprae negative patients and 39 cases of M. leprae positive patients). Serum samples and clinical and laboratory data were collected form each patient and control. The levels of serum soluble CD25, CD8, and CD4 were measured by sandwich enzyme immunoassay. RESULTS: The levels of serum soluble CD25 were significantly raised in leprosy patients as compared to control and did not vary signficantly between tuberculoid and lepromatous leprosy. The soluble CD8 levels in the serum of patients with leprosy did not differ from the levels of the control. The levels of serum soluble CD4 were significantly decreased in the patients with lepromatous leprosy, but not in the patients with tuberculoid leprosy. However, there was no significant correlation between CD25, CD8, and cD4 and bacterial indices in patients with lepromatous leprosy. CONCLUSIONs: There data suggest that non-specific immune activation occurs the spectrum in leprosy, while CD4+ T cell activity is significantly decreased in patients with lepromatous leprosy.
Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Leprosy* ; Leprosy, Lepromatous ; Leprosy, Tuberculoid

BACKGROUND: Seborrheic dermatitis is a very common chronic inflammatory disease. Previous studies suggested that, Pityrosporum, lipophilic fungi, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the disease clinically and mycologically for better understanding of the pathogenesis. METHODS: Two hundred and one new patient.s with seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp and 67 norrnal subjects were obs!,rved clinically by the dermatologist and studied stat,istically by questionnaires. A mycologic study of Pityrosporum was also performed by direct smear. RESULTS: Among a total of 201 patients wit,h seborrheic dermatitis, 72.6% had pityriasis sicca, 10.5% had pityr iasis steartoides and 16.9% had inflammatory seborrheic dermatitis. On clinical grading by the Kligman.. scale, grade III(slightly scaling) was the most common in the patients and 52.6% of the norma. subjects were below grade II (no scaling). Spores of Pityrosporum were observed in 76.7% of the patients and 91.5% of the normal subjects. The incidence of Pityrosporum was lower particularly in t,he patients with inflammatory seborrheic dermatitis t,han in other pa~tients groups. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the study, it, is difficult to conclude that Pityrosporum is a main causative ager t of seborrheic dermatitis. In addition, it is thought t.hat further studies of the role of Pityrosporum in seborrheic dermatitis are needed.
Dermatitis, Seborrheic* ; Fungi ; Humans ; Incidence ; Malassezia* ; Pityriasis ; Scalp* ; Spores ; Surveys and Questionnaires