PURPOSE: Breast cancer has been reported as the most common cancer of women in the United States, Western Europe and Korea and about 210,000 and 10,000 women in United States and Korea every year, respectively are diagnosed with it. Breast cancer is curable with an early diagnosis, and many researchers have made efforts to find a marker for this malady, heat shock protein (HSP) consists of 6 groups, it is highly preserved throughout both the prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and it acts as a molecular chaperone that's involved in protein folding. HSPs have been recently reported to be related with breast cancer. In this study, we investigated the changes of expression of HSP60 in tissues and cell lines of breast cancer. METHODS: We obtained breast cancer tissues and normal tissues from breast cancer patients, and we purchased several cancer cell lines from American tissue culture correction. We treated the tissues and the cell lines of human breast cancer with heat shock protein. Proteins and mRNAs were isolated from the tissues and the cells and then we performed Western blotting, reverse transcriptase-Polymerase chain Reaction and fluorescence activated cell sorter analysis on them. RESULTS: On Western blot, HSP60 was more overexpressed in the tissues and the cell lines of breast cancer than in the normal breast tissues and cell lines. The expression of HSP60 showed 2 types of molecular weight differences in the tissues and cell lines of breast cancer, and specifically, low HSP60 was over-expressed in the cancer tissues. There was no difference between the breast cancer cell lines and the normal cell lines in the expressions of HSP60 mRNA, according to the treatment with heat shock. Also, there was no relationship between phosphorylation and the structural difference of HSP60 protein, according to HSP60 protein's molecular weight. The expression of HSP60 has been mostly reported at the mitochondria; however, in this study, it was more predominantly detected at the cytoplasm than at the mitochondria in the breast cancer cell lines. CONCLUSION: We conclude that HSP60 may be used as a diagnostic marker for breast cancer. Detailed investigation of the usefulness and significance of the HSP60 expression as a prognostic factor is required in further studies.
Blotting, Western ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Cell Line ; Chaperonin 60 ; Cytoplasm ; Early Diagnosis ; Eukaryotic Cells ; Europe ; Female ; Fibrinogen ; Fluorescence ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Korea ; Mitochondria ; Molecular Chaperones ; Molecular Weight ; Phosphorylation ; Protein Folding ; Proteins ; RNA, Messenger ; Shock ; United States

Keloid is proliferative fibrous growths that result from an excessive tissue response to trauma. The earlobe is a common site for the formation of keloid and the frequent cause is ear piercing. Many modalities are available for the treatment of earlobe keloid. Surgical excision has been the most commonly used therapeutic modality but recurrence following excision is common. Intralesional triamcinolon, radiation therapy, compression device, cryosurgery, D-penicillamine or any combination of them were reported to be successful in the treatment of earlobe keloid. We report three cases of earlobe keloid treated with partial surgical keloidectomy of upper part and carbon dioxide laser vaporizing the residual keloid tissue. And then the defect was covered with a primary closure with flap. Pressure earrings were fitted 2 weeks after surgery, and were maintained for 3 months. There was no recurrence of keloid for follow-up period at least 9 months. We suggest that combined modality of CO2 laser vaporization and pressure earring after surgical keloidectomy may offer a better cosmetic and functional improvement in the treatment of primary and recurrent earlobe keloid.
Body Piercing ; Carbon Dioxide* ; Carbon* ; Cryosurgery ; Ear* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Keloid* ; Lasers, Gas* ; Penicillamine ; Recurrence ; Volatilization

Ketoprofen is an nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug derived from propionic acid. It has been widely used as topical preparations, as gel or patch. It has been reported that topical ketoprofen can cause contact dermatitis and photocontact dermatitis. We experienced five cases of contact dermatitis, developed after applying ketoprofen patch(Ketotop(R), Pacific pharmaceutical Co., Korea) for the control of oste omuscular or joint pain. While one patient had generalized urticarial eruption, the rest of patents showed localized erythematous pruritic eczematous skin eruptions. It was verified through intradermal skin test and pin prick test that ketoprofen itself was not the causative drug for the skin eruption. Patch test excluded the possibility of allergic skin reaction to rubber compounds. It should be elucidated which compounds are allergic or toxic to the skin, contained in woven fabrics.
Arthralgia ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Dermatitis, Photoallergic ; Diethylpropion ; Humans ; Ketoprofen* ; Patch Tests ; Rubber ; Skin ; Skin Tests

BACKGROUND: Punch biopsy has been used frequently as a diagnostic method in dermatologic field. However dermatologist administrated antibiotics is routine for the prevention of wound infection. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic antibiotics in punch biopsy. METHODS: Four hundred and one patients undergoing punch biopsy were studied prospectively. Patients were randomly split in to two groups: group I received prophylactic antibiotics after punch biopsy (197 patients), group II didn't receive any antibiotic after punch biopsy (204 patients). Wound infection was defined as a condition of erythema, edema, and pain or purulent discharge. RESULTS: Patients demographics and skin disease were similar between two groups. Biopsy site were infected in 3 patients of group I and 5 patients of groups II. Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Bacteroides fragilis were isolated from the infected biopsy site. There was no significant difference of infection rate between two groups. CONCLUSION: This result suggests that the routine use of prophylactic antibiotics after skin punch biopsy is unnecessary.
Anti-Bacterial Agents* ; Bacteroides fragilis ; Biopsy* ; Demography ; Edema ; Erythema ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Wound Infection

Kaposi's sarcoma(KS) is a multicentric proliferative vascular tumor involving cutaneous and visceral tissues. KS was one of the first recognized manifestations of AIDS. A 71-year-old woman was seen with multiple violaceous nodules and painful erythematous cellulitis-like swelling on both lower legs. Easy bruising and senile purpura was also noted on her forearms. She had been suffered from lower back pain for 7 years, and had been treated with corticosteroids. Clinical picture and hormonal study revealed that she had iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome. The histopathologic study from skin lesion showed abnormally proliferated and dilated vessels, vascular slits, spindle shaped cells in the entire dermis. Human herpesvirus 8(HHV-8) was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction(PCR) using the paraffin-embedded skin tissue. She received localized radiotherapy(50 Gray) to both lower legs with favorable response. But five months later, her skin lesions had recurred and progressed into more aggressive pattern mainly on her left lower leg. We report a rare case of human herpesvirus 8 related KS in iatrogenic Cushing's syndrome.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Aged ; Cushing Syndrome* ; Dermis ; Female ; Forearm ; Herpesvirus 8, Human* ; Humans* ; Leg ; Low Back Pain ; Purpura ; Sarcoma, Kaposi* ; Skin

PURPOSE: In the current study, the relation between the clinicopathological parameters and levels of the amplification of the c-met and E-cadherin genes were investigated in patients with an advanced gastric carcinoma. METHODS: The levels of amplification of the c-met and E-cadherin genes in 44 advanced gastric carcinoma patients were retrospectively investigated using RT-PCR. The relationships between the levels of amplification of these genes and the clinicopathological parameters were evaluated using univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Seventeen (38.6%) and 13 (29.5%) of the 44 advanced gastric carcinoma patients were evaluated as having amplification of the c-met gene and down-regulation of the E-cadherin gene, respectivly. The amplification of c- met gene was significantly correlated with serosal invasion, lymph node metastasis and neural invasion, whereas the down-regulation of the E-cadherin gene was significantly correlated with the diffuse type of gastric carcinoma by Lauren's calssification, and neural invasion. CONCLUSION: The levels of the c-met and E-cadherin gene amplifications may be a powerful aids in evaluating the metastatic potential and prognosis in patients with advanced gastric cancer.
Cadherins* ; Down-Regulation ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms*

Male osteoporosis is known to progress slowly and is less severe compared to female osteoporosis, and the incidence of lumbar compression fracture is considerably lower in male population. Hypogonadism which can develop from various causes including hypopituitarism is a common cause for secondary male osteoporosis. Hypopituitarism as a late complication of severe form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is known to occur occasionally but its clinical symptoms rarely appear. A 75-year-old male patient who had recovered from HFRS 13 years ago was admitted due to severe low back pain. He presented with gradually developed symptoms of hypogonadism and hypothyroidism resulting from hypopituitarism. MRI revealed collapsed pituitary gland and empty sella. This case presents with a male patient with multiple lumbar compression fractures due to severe osteoporosis secondary to hypogonadism, which resulted from hypopituitarism as a late complication of HFRS.
Aged ; Female ; Fever ; Fractures, Compression ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Hypopituitarism ; Hypothyroidism ; Incidence ; Low Back Pain ; Male ; Osteoporosis ; Pituitary Gland

The management of unruptured aneurysm is controversial, and two main discussion points are its natural history and the role of endovascular coiling in the repair of this aneurysms. We reviewed our results of treatments using coil embolization for the unruptured intracranial aneurysms. We treated 106 unruptured aneurysms by endovascular coiling for the last 6 years. while 45 unruptured aneurysms were treated by clipping during same period. Seventy-six (71.7%) unruptured aneurysms were distributed in anterior circulation and 30 (28.3%) was in posterior circulation. Aneaurysms of paraclinoid carotid artery and vertebrobasilar artery was the most frequent location of endovascular coiling of UIAs and anticipated surgical difficulty was the most common reason for choosing coiling. Sixty-three (59.4%) aneurysms were smaller than 10 mm in maximum aneurysm size, 30 (28.3%) aneurysms were 11-20 mm, and 13 (12.2%) were over 21 mm. Complete embolization was achieved in 61 (57.5%) aneurysms, neck remnants in 35 (33.0%) aneurysms, incomplete embolization in 7 (6.7%), and attempted and failed was in three (2.8%). There were 9 procedural complications, 6 thromboembolisms, 2 aneurysm perforations and 1 coil migration. Three patients with thromboembolic complication and a coil migration patient remained in permanent neurologic deficit (morbidity : 3.8%). However, three thromboembolic complications and two aneurysm perforation recovered clinically well. In our series, small aneurysms (<10 mm) were involved larger number of preventive interventions of UIAs than large or giant size aneurysms. Although, over all morbidity and mortality of coil embolization for unruptured aneurysms in our series were low, the indications of repairing for small size unruptured aneurysms need to investigated further.
Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Carotid Arteries ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Mortality ; Natural History ; Neck ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Thromboembolism

OBJECTIVE: Recent clinical studies have demonstrated that intracisternal administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator(rt-PA) can facilitate the normal clearing of blood from the subarachnoid space. Urokinase, a first generation fibrinolytic agent, has been used to liquify such clots with some success. Therefore, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, a second generation fibrinolytic drug that may be safer and more effective, is studied to evaluate its dosage to lyse clots in vitro and reactivity in the brain parenchyme. METHODS: Intracerebral hematomas were created by stereotactically injecting 2ml of clotted autogenous blood into the brain parenchyme of total 28 anesthetized adult cats (weighting 3.8 to 4.1kg). The control animals (group A) received 1ml of normal saline injected into the clots and the experimental animals received each 0.1mg of rt-PA (group B), 0.5mg of rt-PA (group C) and 1mg of rt-PA (group D) at 6 hours after the clot injection. RESULTS: 1. The amount of remained clots after lysing the hematomas were as follows: 1.80+/-0.17ml in group A, 1.65+/-0.23ml in group B, 0.61+/-0.37ml in group C and 0.52+/-0.34 in group D. The result indicated that hematomas in rt-PA treated groups (C & D) were lysed better than the control group. 2. At least 0.5mg of rt-PA should be required for the lysis of 2ml of hematomas. 3. Light microscopic examination revealed no histological evidence of hemorrhage in tissue sections from each brain. CONCLUSION: Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator may be safely and effectively employed for the lysis of intracerebral hematomas in animal model.
Adult ; Animals ; Brain ; Cats* ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Models, Animal ; Plasminogen ; Subarachnoid Space ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator* ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

PURPOSE: To investigate the recanalization rate after intravenous administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) for acute major arterial occlusion of the anterior cerebral circulation and to investigate the relationship between atrial fibrillation and recanalization. METHODS: From April 2005 to April 2006, 16 patients with acute major arterial occlusion of the anterior cerebral circulation were treated with IV-tPA. Recanalization was classified as good (as compared with an unoccluded contralateral vessel; thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) classification grade II and III) and poor (TIMI grade 0 and I). The clinical and radiological parameters associated with recanalization were analyzed. The clinical outcomes were evaluated by use of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at 3 months after treatment. RESULTS: Of all of the 16 patients, 11 patients (68.8%) showed good recanalization. Among these 11 patients, nine patients survived (81.8%). However, only one patient survived (20%, p = 0.036) of the other five patients who showed poor recanalization. The pretreatment NIHSS score and atrial fibrillation were significantly correlated with the recanalization rate. Atrial fibrillation was found in 8 of 16 patients (50.0%) as the cause of the cerebral embolic infarction. Among the patients with atrial fibrillation only three patients showed good recanalization (37.5%); patients without atrial fibrillation showed good recanalization (100%, p = 0.026). CONCLUSIONS: I.-tPA appears to be effective and safe as a recanalization method for acute major cerebral arterial occlusion in patients that do not have atrial fibrillation. Good recanalization was associated with a good clinical result. Atrial fibrillation is a significant associated factor of poor recanalization and high mortality.
Administration, Intravenous ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Classification ; Humans ; Infarction ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Stroke ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator*