No abstract available.
Humans

This study was carried out to investigate the intricate mechanisms of intraalveolar fibrosis, leading to the alveolar structural remodeling, of rat lungs treated with paraquat. Sixty-three male Sprague-Dawley rats, maintained on a stock diet, weighing 200.0 gm, average, were divided into 4 experimental groups. Group 1. Control group (10 rats). Intraperitoneal injections of 2-4 ml normal saline only. Group 2(13 rats). 10, 20, 25, 30 and 40 mg per kg of body weight was administered intraperitoneally. Animals were sacificed 5 hours. 1 and 3 days after paraquat treatment. Group 3(16 rats). 20, 25, 30 and 40 mg per kg of body weight was administered to the animal, and animals died 2-5 days after paraquat administration. Group 4(24 rats). The same amount of paraquat was administered to the animal as in the group 2. Animals were sacrificed 1, 2, 6, 8 and 10 weeks after paraquat treatment. Sacrificed animal lung was examined by gross, light-microscopic, immunohistochemical, ultrastructural observation, along with cellular and chemical analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The results were as follows: Grossly, 6 rats of chronic stage (1-10 weeks survival) developed multiple wedge-shaped scars on both lungs. These scars were situated mainly along the bronchial trees, blood vessels and subpleural regions. Light microscopically, the salient features found of the chronic stage lungs were intraalveolar fibrosis. Intraluminal buds or polypoid masses projecting into the alveolar lumen and ducts. Elsewhere, loose connective tissue masses were found to fuse together to alveolar wall, obliterating the alveolar spaces with resultant severe alveolar structural remodeling. Immunohistochemically, fibronectin was found in the center of intraalveolar buds and polypoid mass, projecting into the alveolar lumen, and in the adjacent proliferating alveolar macrophages. An attempt to measure the amount of fibronectin in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid failed. Electron microscopically, the chronic stage lung revealed marked proliferation of both alveolar macrophages and fibroblasts in the alveolar spaces, the latter containing actin-like microfilaments and collagen fibers arranged in bundles and spirals. In areas, myofibroblasts and smooth muscle cells also present. Cellular analysis of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in chronic stage lungs revealed no significant findings. It can be concluded, therefore: That intraalveolar fibrosis of the paraquat-treated lungs of the rat is probably mediated by intraalveolar migrations of the interstitial cells, the main task force being the connective tissue cells, passing through the defects created in the epithelial lining surface to its basement membrane, which were inflicted upon the alveolar wall by paraquat toxicity. Fibronectin, released by activated alveolar macrophages, may be responsible for the migrations of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts into the alveolar spaces to form the intraalveolar fibrosis with subsequent alveolar structural remodeling,
Male ; Humans ; Rats ; Animals

PURPOSE: Na+-K+ ATPase Activity has beem estimated by the degree of inhibition of cation transport by cardiac glycosides (ouabain) using Rb-86 as a substrate. The biological characterist-Isc of T1-201 is known to be simiIar to those of potassium as a transport substrate in the presence of glucose, insulin or phobol myristate acetate (PMA). The purpose of this study was to measure ouabain sensitive Na+-K+ ATPase activity using T1-201 and compare with that using Rb-86. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Smooth muscle cells isolated from rat aorta or human placental umbilical artery were cultured, and used to measure cellular Na+-K+ ATPase activity. Na+-K+ ATPase activity was measured as a percentage decrease in cellular uptake of T1-201 or Rb-86 by ouabain under the presence of glucose, insulin or PMA in media. RESULTS: Na+-K+ ATPase ase activity measured with T1-201, as a transport substrate, was not different from those measured with Rb-86 in rat or human smooth muscle cell preparation. Incubation with high concentration glucose resulted in about 30% decrease in enzyme activity. In contrast, insulin or PMA resulted in 50-70% or 28% increases from baseline activity, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results suggests that T1-201 could replace Rb-86 in measurement of ouabain sensititive Na+-K+ ATPase activity in vitro. High level of glucose concentration decreased cellular Na+-K+ ATPase activity, but insulin or PMA increased it.
Adenosine Triphosphatases* ; Animals ; Aorta ; Cardiac Glycosides ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Membranes* ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Myristic Acid ; Ouabain ; Potassium ; Rats ; Umbilical Arteries

Amiodarone, an antiarrhythmic drug, may exert pulmonary toxicity in some patients but the pathogenesis is not clear. This study was carried out to investigate the pathogenetic mechanism of pulmonary injury induced by amiodarone at dose of 100 mg/kg/day given to rats by intraperitoneal injection for 3 weeks. And the preventive effects of concomitantly injected steroid (10 mg/kg/day) on amiodarone induced pulmonary injury was also studied using bronchoalveolar lavage, light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The results obtained were summarized as follows: Mild lymphocytosis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was found in all experimental groups. Intracytoplasmic lamellar body formation was found in all types of pulmonary cells and type II pneumocytes revealed the earliest abnormal lamellar body formation. The capillary endothelial cells showed cellular swelling and detachment from underlying basement membrane at early phase of experiment and the edema of alveolar wall and interstitium were noted. Interstitial fibrosis and proliferation of type II pneumocytes were noted at late phase. The lungs of steroid injected groups revealed accumulation of lamellar bodies in all types of pulmonary cells but interstitial fibrosis was not occurred. These findings support the concept that amiodarone is responsible for a drug-induced phospholipidosis and directly toxic to pulmonary endothelial and epithelial cells. And steroid may regress the progression of amiodarone induced pulmonary injury.
Rats ; Animals

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*

We have experienced a 50-year-old male patient, who died of multiple metastatic nodular melanoma which had the primary lesions on the right hallux and forefoot with eventual involvement of skin and internal organs. An autopsy was performed for the evidence of metastatic features of the internal organs and their spreading routes, with concurrent histopathologic findings. The autopsy findings revealed diffuse metastases to the ipsilateral femoral and inguinal lymph nodes via ascending vascular channels and to the internal organs: 1. The heart had multiple metastatic lesions on the pericardium and right ventricular wall. And the mediastinal, periaortic and periesophageal lymph nodes were also involved. 2. The both lungs were moderately indurated and focally discolored, and showed metastatic lesions in the right lower lobe and hilar areas, Melanoma cells were diffusely invaded to the interstitia and alveoli. 3. The right 5th and 6th ribs showed the invsion of melanoma cells on their bone marrows, periostia, and Haversians canals. 4. The liver was enlarged and showed multiple various sized nodules on the surface with adesion to the parts of peritoneum, omentum and diaphragm. Melanoma cells were seen mostly on and around the sinusoidal spaces and parenchyma. 5. The stomach wall had an ulcerated metastatic lesion and the melanoma cells invaded deeply into the muscle layer. 6. The pancreas was normal in its size and shape but had multiple metastatic lesions on the head and body with melanoma celi infiltration. 7. The both kidneys were grar ular surfaced and showed two metastatic lesions on the right renal cortex and two on the left. Renal tubules and parenchyma were widely invaded by melanoma cells but the glomerular tufts were intact. 8. The adreral and thyroid glands showed four and two metastatic lesions respectively and diffuse invasion of melanoma cells into the parenchyma. 9. The brain was normal in gross appearance, but the cortex was edematous and showed settered melanoma cell infiltration.
Autopsy* ; Bone Marrow ; Brain ; Diaphragm ; Hallux ; Head ; Heart ; Humans ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Melanoma* ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Omentum ; Pancreas ; Pericardium ; Peritoneum ; Ribs ; Skin ; Stomach ; Thyroid Gland ; Ulcer

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between age at menopause and mortality in a population-based sample of women in Kangwha, Korea. METHODS: From the Kangwha Cohort, followed-up from 1985 to 1999, the data of the over 55 year old female group(n=3,596) was used in this study to examine the association between age at menopause and mortality. We calculated the all causes mortality risk ratio and the cancer mortality risk ratio by age at menopause grouping using the Cox Proportional Hazards Model with adjustments for age, BMI, smoking, education, chronic disease, self-rated health status, alcohol consumption and age at first birth. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: Compared to women who had menopause at 45-49 years, the all causes mortality risk ratio was 1.24 for women with menopause at less than 40 years(95% CI=1.01-1.53) and 1.05 for women with menopause at over 50 years(95% CI=0.92-1.20). Also, compared to women who had menopause at 45-49 years, the cancer mortality risk ratio was 1.53 for women with menopause at less than 40 years(95% CI=0.78-2.98) and 1.17 for women with menopause at over 50 years(95% CI=0.77-1.80).
Alcohol Drinking ; Birth Order ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies* ; Education ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Menopause* ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Odds Ratio ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Smoke ; Smoking

This study is verifying the hypothesis that distraction followed by recompression may promote fracture healing of the osteoporotic bone on the assumption that distraction induces increased callus formation at the distracted gap and recompression results in fusiform callus, having biomechanically stronger fracture stiffness. Sixty-six Sprague-Dawley rats, in which osteoporosis were induced 6-8 weeks after oophorectomy, were separated into two groups. Group I was control group that had fracture healing by simple external fixation. Group II was experimental group that had fracture healing by monofocal distraction-compression. Radiomorphometric study revealed that there was significantly increased amount of callus and ensuing bone formation, which becehe obvious from 20 days after osteotomy in group II compared with group I. Biomechanical study also showed that tensile break strength was significantly higher in group II compared with group I with time. It is concluded that monofocal distraction-compression method may be one of the useful method to promote fracture healing of the estrogen deficient osteoporotic bone.
Animals ; Bony Callus ; Estrogens ; Female ; Fracture Healing* ; Osteogenesis ; Osteoporosis* ; Osteotomy ; Ovariectomy ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

PURPOSE: Laparoscopy-assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) has become a viable alternative treatment for patients suffering with early gastric cancer. Surgeons have long thought that obesity might increase the rate of intraoperative or postoperative complications. This study was performed to evaluate the impact of obesity, according to the learning curve, in patients who underwent laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 100 patients who had undergone LADG for gastric cancer between September 2004 and May 2007 at Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. We measured the degree of obesity by using the body mass index (BMI: kg/m(2)), and we compared the surgical outcomes between the low BMI group (BMI < 25 kg/m(2), n=72) and the high BMI group (BMI >25 kg/m(2), n=28). We further subdivided the patients into the surgeons' number of cumulative LADG cases, the early learning curve group (from the first patient to the 50th patient) and the late learning curve group (from the 51th patient to the 100th patient). We analyzed them in terms of the operation time, the amount of intraoperative bleeding, the number of retrieved lymph nodes, the rate of operative morbidity and the length of the postoperative hospital stay. RESULTS: There no significant differences between the high and low BMI groups in terms of the patients' clinicopathologic characteristics and surgical outcomes, but there was a statistically significant difference in the operation times between the high BMI (303.3 min) and low BMI groups (269.3 min, P=0.029). The postoperative morbidity was not different between the high BMI (25%) and low BMI groups (12.5%, P=0.12). However, when we subdivided the patients by the learning curve, there was a statistically significant difference for the operation time (360 vs 297 minutes, respectively), postoperative morbidity (41.7 vs 10.5%, respectively) and the postoperative hospital stay (15.5 vs 8.6 day, respectively) between the high BMI and low BMI groups at the early learning curve period. Especially for male patients, the early learning curve period showed significant differences in the operation time, the postoperative morbidity and the postoperative hospital stay between the high BMI and low BMI groups, but in case of the female patients, there was no difference in postoperative morbidity and the length of the postoperative hospital stay. At the late learning curve period, there was no difference according to gender and obesity. CONCLUSION: Obesity itself does not increase operative morbidity when performing LADG in patients with gastric cancer. However, at a surgeon's initial period of performing LADG, a careful approach seems to be required for male obese patients.
Body Mass Index ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Learning ; Learning Curve ; Length of Stay ; Lymph Nodes ; Male ; Obesity ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stress, Psychological

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory and motor nerve block achieved by epidural anesthesia using 0.475% ropivacaine and 0.75% ropivacaine. METHODS: Fifty-six patients undergoing cesarean section were randomly allocated to group I (0.75% ropivacaine) or group II (0.475% ropivacaine). We assessed changes in sensory and motor block using the Bromage scale over 180 minutes after epidural anesthesia. The incidence of nausea, vomiting and the total dosage of ephedrine used were also recorded. Sensory changes, motor blockade and the total dosage of ephedrine used were compared using the t-test (P < 0.05). RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the two groups at the sensory block level except at 30 and 60 minutes after epidural anesthesia. However, the motor blockade of group I was significantly more intense than that of group II at 15, 20, 25, 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes after epidural anesthesia. No significant differences were observed between the two groups in the incidences of nausea, vomiting or the total dosage of ephedrine used. CONCLUSIONS: The use of 0.475% ropivacaine instead of 0.75% ropivacaine in epidural anesthesia for cesarean section did not reduce the incidence of nausea, vomiting or the total dosage of ephedrine used. The sensory block achieved using 0.75% ropivacaine was similar, but the motor blockade achieved using 0.475% ropivacaine was less intense with a shorter duration and an earlier recovery to normal than that of 0.75% ropivacaine. These results suggest that 0.475% ropivacaine may be more useful in epidural anesthesia for cesarean section than 0.75% ropivacaine.
Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Cesarean Section* ; Ephedrine ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Nausea ; Nerve Block* ; Pregnancy ; Vomiting