Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, distinctive cutaneous tumor, which consists of spindle shaped ceils arranged in densely packed interlacing bundles with the storiform or cartwheel pattern. Histologically, it resembles deep growing dermatofibroma, nodular fasciitis, neurofibroma and neural sheath tumors. DFSP is one of t.he connective tissue tumors which is difficult. to diagnose histologically as well as clinically. Recently, the immunochemical staining with a monoclonal antibody to CD34 is reported to give assistance in the clear differential diagnosis of DFSP from other fibrous or neural tumors. Herein, three cases of DFSP were stained by immunohistochemical staining with S-100 protein, vimentin, factor VIII and anti-CD34 antibody in order to assess the use of anti-CD34 in the differential diagnosis of DFSP.
Connective Tissue ; Dermatofibrosarcoma* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Factor VIII ; Fasciitis ; Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous ; Neurofibroma ; S100 Proteins ; Vimentin

The rib cartilage has been the most popular autogenous tissue for microtia reconstruction. Donor site complications, especially chest wall deformities occurring after harvest of costal cartilage graft are presented and discussed in many reports. In this study, 100 chest donor sites were evaluated in 34 patients (25 male and 9 female) who underwent costal cartilage grafts for microtia reconstruction from 1992 to 1999, and reviewed for donor site complications by radiography and physical examination. Ribs from which costal cartilage had been harvested showed increased inward bowing on radiographs in 38 of 100 donor sites; the upper ribs record a higher incidence of deformity than lower ribs. The frequency of rib deformity in donor site was 21 percent when cartilages were harvested from patients older than 10 years of age, whereas it was 73.3 percent in patients younger than 10 years. This difference was statistically significant. In our study, the incidence of chest wall deformity was 57 percent, concerning donor site morbidity after the supraperichondrial rib harvesting procedure, whereas it was 35 percent in patients after the subperichondrial rib harvesting procedure. In conclusion, surgeons should consider the possibility of thoracic deformity when planning costal cartilage grafting. To avoid these deformities, costal cartilage harvesting should be made at lower levels of the rib cage, and delayed operation time for thoracic maturation is recommended. More care should be taken to preserve the perichondrium and the germinative zone of the costochondrial junction.
Cartilage* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Radiography ; Ribs ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax* ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

We report two cases of ectopic kidney with the review of literatures.
Kidney*

Although very rare, the incidence of tricuspid valve regurgitation after blunt chest trauma has risen in line with the increasing rate of car accidents and steering wheel trauma. It is easy to miss the diagnosis of tricuspid valve regurgitation following blunt chest trauma because most patients feel no symptoms at trauma, and the condition is sometimes overlooked for a long period of time due to its mild symptoms. A 49-year-old man suffered dyspnea on exertion for 1 month due to right heart failure 8 years after accidentally falling from a third floor. Preoperative echocardiography revealed severe tricuspid valve regurgitation resulting from prolapse of the anterior leaflet with annular dilatation. The patient underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty with a 36-mm Carpentier tricuspid ring. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography showed mild tricuspid valve regurgitation. We report a case of successful native valve salvage of ruptured tricuspid valve after blunt chest trauma, and present a review of the relevant literature.
Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Incidence ; Middle Aged ; Prolapse ; Thorax* ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency ; Tricuspid Valve* ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating

Although very rare, the incidence of tricuspid valve regurgitation after blunt chest trauma has risen in line with the increasing rate of car accidents and steering wheel trauma. It is easy to miss the diagnosis of tricuspid valve regurgitation following blunt chest trauma because most patients feel no symptoms at trauma, and the condition is sometimes overlooked for a long period of time due to its mild symptoms. A 49-year-old man suffered dyspnea on exertion for 1 month due to right heart failure 8 years after accidentally falling from a third floor. Preoperative echocardiography revealed severe tricuspid valve regurgitation resulting from prolapse of the anterior leaflet with annular dilatation. The patient underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty with a 36-mm Carpentier tricuspid ring. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography showed mild tricuspid valve regurgitation. We report a case of successful native valve salvage of ruptured tricuspid valve after blunt chest trauma, and present a review of the relevant literature.
Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Dyspnea ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Incidence ; Middle Aged ; Prolapse ; Thorax* ; Tricuspid Valve Insufficiency ; Tricuspid Valve* ; Wounds, Nonpenetrating

Nail-patella syndrome is a relatively rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by dysplastic nail, hypoplastic or absent patella, and dislocation of radial head and iliac horns. In addition, renal abnormalities have been reported. The usual clinical signs of the renal involvement are asymptomatic proteinuria, microscopic hematuria, and in some cases progression to end stage renal disease. We present the case of adult with nail-patella syndrome, who developed proteinuria. Electron microscopy revealed irregular thickening of the glomerular basement membrane with areas of rarefaction, giving rise to a pathognomonic "moth-eaten" appearance.
Adult ; Animals ; Dislocations ; Glomerular Basement Membrane ; Head ; Hematuria ; Horns ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Microscopy, Electron ; Nail-Patella Syndrome* ; Patella ; Proteinuria

No abstract available.
Erythropoietin* ; Humans* ; Renal Dialysis*

Eotaxin is an important inflammatory chemokine in eosinophil chemotaxis and activation and, thus, is implicated in asthma. Recently, obesity was associated with an increased prevalence of asthma, but the relationship between obesity and eotaxin expression has only been partially understood in obese mice and human studies. Therefore, we studied the expression patterns of eotaxin in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes/adipocytes to determine whether eotaxin levels are influenced by body weight gain and/or reduction in diet-induced obese mice. First, we investigated eotaxin expression during differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Then, we treated 3T3-L1 preadipocytes/adipocytes with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), eotaxin, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, or leptin. To examine the effects of weight loss in high-fat diet induced obese mice, we fed C57BL/6 mice a high-fat diet or a normal diet for 26 weeks. Then, half of the high-fat diet group were fed a normal diet until 30 weeks to reduce weight. Epididymal adipose tissue, visceral adipose tissue, serum, and bronchoalveolar fluid of mice were examined for eotaxin expression. The results showed that eotaxin expression levels increased with adipocyte differentiation and that more eotaxin was expressed when the cells were stimulated with TNF-alpha, eotaxin, IL-4, IL-5, or leptin. An in vivo study showed that eotaxin levels were reduced in visceral adipose tissues when high-fat diet fed mice underwent weight loss. Taken together, these results indicate a close relationship between eotaxin expression and obesity as well as weight loss, thus, they indirectly show a relation to asthma.
Adipocytes ; Adipose Tissue ; Animals ; Asthma ; Body Weight ; Chemotaxis ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukin-5 ; Interleukins ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Leptin ; Mice ; Mice, Obese ; Obesity ; Prevalence ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to detect the levels of M30-antigens as a biomarker of apoptosis in cells and their culture media after treatments with anticancer drugs as a preclinical study. METHODS: After HeLa and OVCAR-3 cells were treated respectively with paclitaxel, cisplatin, and camptothecin, the harvested cells were stained sequentially with M30 monoclonal antibodies and propidium iodide (PI). Afterwards, they were analyzed using a FACScan flow cytometer and observed under an immunofluorescence microscope for M30-FITC immunofluorescences. Levels of M30 antigens were also detected in their culture media using M30-Apoptosense ELISA kit. RESULTS: The levels of M30-FITC immunofluorescences were elevated in both cell lines after each drug treatments compared with those of control cells. The levels of M30 antigens detected by ELISA in media culturing each cell line treated with each of drugs were elevated compared with those of control cells. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that M30-antigens representing chemotherapy induced apoptosis may be a useful biomarker for predicting and monitoring the response of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with gynecologic cancers.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Apoptosis ; Camptothecin ; Cell Line ; Cisplatin ; Culture Media ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Flow Cytometry ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Paclitaxel ; Propidium

No abstract available.