No abstract available.
Animals ; Carcinogenesis* ; Rats*

Sulfuric acid can cause local or systemic effects after exposure by inhalation, ingestion, or topical application. Direct ingestion is the main exposure route for fatal sulfuric acid injury. Fatal accidents involving the inhalation of toxic sulfuric acid vapors are rare. Inhalation of sulfuric acid fumes causes severe irritation or corrosive damage to the upper respiratory tract. Consequently, severe congestion, edema, and inflammation of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory passages hinder the entry of air into the lungs, possibly leading to fatalities in victims. A 35-year-old man died at his home after complaining of a severe sore throat. One day earlier, he had worked in a sulfuric acid tank in a copper-smelting plant while wearing an ordinary gas mask that offered no protection against sulfurous acid vapors. Upon autopsy, the larynx and epiglottis showed pronounced edema, congestion, and inflammation that histologically mimicked an acute bacterial suppurative inflammation, accompanied by severe pulmonary edema. A field analysis of the air inside the sulfuric acid tank revealed SO4(2-) positivity and a 40% sulfuric acid concentration.
Adult ; Autopsy ; Eating ; Edema ; Epiglottis ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Inhalation* ; Larynx ; Lung ; Mucous Membrane ; Pharyngitis ; Plants ; Pulmonary Edema ; Respiratory Protective Devices ; Respiratory System ; Sulfur* ; Sulfuric Acids

BACKGROUND: Portable devices for measuring peak expiratory flow(PEF) are now of proved value in the diagnosis and management of asthma and many lightweight PEF meters have become available. However, it is necessary to determine whether peak expiratory flow rate(PEFR) measurements measured with peak flowmeters is accurate and reproducible for clinical application. The aim of the present study is to define accuracy, agreement, and precision of mini-Wright peak flow meter(MPFM) against standard pneumotachygraph. METHODS: The lung function tests by standard pneumotachygraph and PEFR measurement by MPFM were performed in a random order for 2 hours in 22 normal and 17 asthmatic subjects and also were performed for 3 successive days in 22 normals. RESULTS: The PEFR measured with MPFM was significantly related to the PEFR and FEV1 measured with standard pneumotachygraph in normal and asthmatics(for PEFR, r=0.92 p<0.001; for FEV1, r=0.78 ; p<0.001). The accuracy of MPFM was within 10%(limits of accuracy recommeded by NAEP) in all the subjects or 22 normal, mean difference from standard pneumotachygraph being I 6.5L/min(percentage of difference being 2.90%) or 1 0.6L/min(percentage of difference being 1.75%), respectively. According to the method proposed by Bland and Altman, the 95% limits of the distribution of differences between MPFM and standard pneumotachygraph after correction of PEFR using our regression equation were +38.2 and -71.5L/min in all the subjects or -20.49~ + 9.49L/min in 22 normal and was similar to the intraindividual agreements for 3 successive days in normal. There was no statistically significant difference of PEFR measured with MPFM and standard pneumotachygraph among three days(p>0.05) and the coefficient of variation(2.4 1.2%) of PEFR measured with MPFM was significantly lower than that( 5.2 3.5%) with standard pneurnotachygraph in normal (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This results suggest that the MPFM was as accurate and reproducible as standard pneumotachygraph for monitoring of PEFR in the asthmatic subjects.
Asthma ; Diagnosis ; Flowmeters ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Respiratory Function Tests

No abstract available.
Deoxyglucose* ; Shock*

OBJECTIVE: The authors conducted this study to investigate the safety and efficacy of decompressive surgery alone in the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis in the elderly population. METHODS: All charts and records of 323 patients aged 65 years or older who underwent lumbar spinal decompressive surgery without fusion for lumbar spinal stenosis in the period from September 2003 to August 2007 were reviewed. RESULTS: A total of 323 patients were identified. Mean age among patients were 72.6years. 197 patients(60.9%) underwent wide decompression, 95 patients(29.4%) had microscopic partial decompression, and 31 patients(9.5%) underwent bilateral decompression via unilateral approach. Perioperative morbidity seen was among 16 patients(4.9%). There were 5 patients(1.5%) reoperated for hematoma formation. Another 5 patients(1.5%) developed wound infection. Cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) leakage were noted among 3 patients(0.9%). 2 patients(0.6%) had urinary difficulty, and Steven Johnson syndrome developed in one patient(0.3 %). Clinical outcome was evaluated using Macnab's classification. 40 patients(12.4%) had excellent results, 241 patients(74.8%) had good results, 34 patients(10.3%) had fair results and 8 patients(2.5%) had poor outcome. CONCLUSION: Decompressive laminectomy alone is a relatively safe and effective treatment option for the elderly.
Aged ; Decompression ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Spinal Stenosis ; Wound Infection

OBJECTIVES: This study compared attitudes toward antipsychotic treatment according to awareness of the name of their illness in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: Information on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, including awareness of the importance of antipsychotic treatment, was obtained through a self-report questionnaire. The Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI) was administered. The data were compared according to awareness of the name of their illness. RESULTS: The study analyzed data for 199 patients with schizophrenia. Of these, 115 patients (57.8%) were aware that their illness was called schizophrenia, while 84 patients (42.2%) knew it by their psychotic symptoms or as another mental illness, such as depression. The patients aware of the name of their illness had significantly longer durations of illness and higher scores on the DAI. They were significantly more likely to have stopped taking medication on their own accord and to agree with the importance of antipsychotic treatment. Statistical significance was sustained in a logistic regression analysis after adjusting for the duration of illness and study site, except for the DAI score, which had borderline significance (p=0.055). In subjects with duration of illness > or =5 years, patients aware of the name of their illness had significantly higher scores on the DAI. CONCLUSION: Awareness of the name of their illness was associated with awareness of the importance of, and a positive attitude toward, antipsychotic treatments in patients. Psycho-education, including telling the patient the correct name of his or her illness, might be needed for maintaining antipsychotic treatment in patients with chronic schizophrenia.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Depression ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a consistent feature of asthma. Since the airway smooth muscle is hyperresponsive to a number of different stimuli operating through many different mechanisms, it is attractive to speculate that the abnormality may reside in the airway smooth muscle itself. Animal model of asthma is needed to unravel possible mechanisms underlying airway hyperresponsiveness and also to develop new therapeutic approaches. However, there are few reports showing that airway smooth muscle from animal asthma model is indeed hyperresponsive. In addition, sensitizing and provoking doses of allergen were different each other ambng the studies on animal asthma model. The aim of this study was to determine an appropriate sensitizing and provoking dose of allergen to induce a maximum airway hyperresponsiveness. Eighty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were actively sensitized with a subcutaneous injection of 0, 10, or 1000/gg ovalbumin(OA) and 14 days later they were provoked with 0, 1, or 5 % OA aerosols. One day after the provocation, serum levels of OA-specific IgE, cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and in vitro isometric contractile responses of the isolated tracheal smooth muscle(TSM) to 120 mM KC1, acetylcholine(ACh, 0.1~ 1000/micro meter), electrical field stimulation (EFS, 0.5~100Hz), serotonin(5-HT, 0.014 100/micro meter), and OA(10, 50, or 250 micro gram/ml) were measured. The results were as follows; 1) When 38 OA-sensitized rats were exposed to OA aerosols in vivo early asthmatic responses(EAR) were observed in 20(52.6%) rats. In vitro isometric contractile forces of TSM from rats with EAR were stronger than those from rats without EAR. 2) The maximal contractile responses to KC1 and EFS were significantly higher in rats only sensitized with OA compared with those in controls. The maximal response to ACh was significantly related to OA-specific serum IgE level(r=0.40, p%0.05), and the latter was in turn significantly related to the BALF eosinophil count(r=0.67, p<0.01). 3) When 10 microgram OA-sensitized rats were analyzed, the maximal response to KC1, ACh, EFS, and 250 micro gram/ml OA were lower in OA-provoked rats compared to those in saline-provoked control rats, in which 5% OA-provoked rats had a lower response than 1% OA-provoked rats. 4) The sensitivity of TSM to ACh was significantly higher in 10/micro gram OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats, and the sensitivity to EFS was also significantly higher in 10/~g OA-sensitized & 5% OA-provoked rats compared to that in controls(p<0.05). 5) There was a significant correlation between the sensitivity of TSM to EFS and the counts of eosinophil or of lymphocytes in BALF(for eosinophil, r=-0.30; p<0.05, for lymphocyte, r=-0.35; p<0.05), or OA-specific serum IgE level(r=-0.46, p<0.01) in OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats. This relationship was maintained in the data obtained only from 10 micro gram OA-sensitized & 5% OA-provoked rats. 6) The ratio of EFS-sensitivity to ACh-sensitivity was significantly lower in OA-sensitized & OA-provoked rats compared to that in controls or rats only sensitized with OA(p%0.05). 7) The Schultz-Dale phenomenon occurred in an in vitro dose-dependent manner. However, the inhaled provocation with OA in vivo resulted in a decrease in the contractile response to OA in vitro. There was a significant correlation between OA-specific serum IgE level and isometric response to 250 micro gram/ml OA(r=0.36, p<0.01). These results suggest that sensitization and provocation in vivo with OA in rats induces hypersensitivity of airway smooth muscle to cholinergic stimuli through an allergic inflammatory mechanism. The sensitivity was highest when sensitized to 10 micro gram OA and exposed to 5% OA aerosols.
Aerosols ; Animals ; Asthma* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Cell Count ; Ear ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Models, Animal ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

No abstract available.
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid* ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage* ; Humans ; Lung*

BACKGROUND: Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) to direct stimuli, such as methacholine (MCh), is observed not only in asthma but other diseases. AHR to indirect stimuli is suggested to be more specific for asthma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether asthmatic airway inflammation is more closely related to AHR to hypertonic saline (HS), an indirect stimulus, than to MCh. METHODS: Sixty-four consecutive adult patients with suspected asthma (45 asthma and 19 non-asthma) performed a combined bronchial challenge and sputum induction with 4.5% saline, and MCh challenge on the next day. RESULTS: Both HS-PD15 and MCh-PC20 were significantly lower in asthma patients than in non-asthma patients. However, the sensitivity/ specificity for asthma was 48.9%/100%, respectively, in the HS test and 82.2%/ 84.2%, respectively, in the MCh test. There was a significant relationship between HS-PD15 and MCh-PC20 and only 52.9% of patients with MCh-PC20 < or= 4 mg/mL showed HS-AHR, but 4 patients with HS-AHR showed MCh-PC20 > 4 mg/mL. There were significant correlations between both HS-PD15 and MCh-PC20 and FEV1, or sputum eosinophils, but FEV1 was more closely related to MCh-PC20 (r=0.478, p < 0.01) than to HS-PD15 (r=0.278, p < 0.05), and sputum eosinophils were more closely related to HS-PD15 (r=-0.324, p < 0.01) than to MCh-PC20 (r=-0.317, p < 0.05). Moreover, the IL-5 level (r=-0.285, p < 0.05) and IFN-gamma/IL-5 ratio (r=0.293, p < 0.05) in sputum were significantly related to HS-PD15, but not to MCh-PC20. CONCLUSION: HS-AHR may reflect allergic asthmatic airway inflammation more closely than MCh-AHR.
Asthma/*physiopathology ; Bronchial Hyperreactivity/*physiopathology ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Bronchoconstrictor Agents/*diagnostic use ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Human ; Male ; Methacholine Chloride/*diagnostic use ; Saline Solution, Hypertonic/*diagnostic use ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Treatment of rainbow trout macrophages with glycyrrhizin (GL), an aqueous extract of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), enhanced their respiratory burst activity. Maximal effects were seen using concentrations of 10-100 ug/ml. GL also modulated trout lymphocytes, increasing proliferation responses to the mitogen phytohemagglutinin two-fold over a range of GL concentrations. In addition, GL elicited the release of a macrophage activating factor (MAF) kom head kidney leukocytes, as assessed by the ability of generated supernatants to increase respiratory burst activity of target macrophages. MAF activity was most apparent using 100 ug/ml GL to induce MAF release and a 48 h incubation period with the target macrophages. Finally, GL was shown to enhance the release oF MAF in response to the mitogen concanavalin A. The results suggest that GL might modulate the innate defences in fish.
Concanavalin A ; Glycyrrhiza ; Glycyrrhizic Acid* ; Head Kidney ; Leukocytes* ; Lymphocytes ; Macrophages ; Oncorhynchus mykiss* ; Oncorhynchus* ; Respiratory Burst ; Trout