Due to an author error the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant Number was incorrectly listed in the original online publication of this article.

BACKGROUND: Allergen-specific immunotherapy ( IT ) can be an important adjunctive therapy in the treatment of allergic disorders. Although a number of studies have shown that cytokine production by T cells may be modified by IT, IT-induced chsnges at the single cell level in allergen -specific Th ( T helper ) and Tc ( cytotoxic T ) responses have not been reported. Objective : The objectives of the present study were ( 1 ) to demonstrate differences in the house dust mite(HDM)-induced cytokine production patterns of Th and Tc cells between untreated and treated HDM allergic patients and ( 2 ) to determine whether there are differences between child and adult patients in Th and Tc cell responses to HDM. METHOD: This study included twenty Dermatophagoides farinae (Df)-sensitive asthmatics ( ten children and ten adults ), of which five children and five adults received immunotherapy to Df over a 1.5- to 3-year period. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells ( PBMC ) were isolated from peripheral blood of each patient and cultured in the presence of IL-2 ( 10ng/ml ) and Df extract (100ug/ml) for 6 days. After harvesting cultured cells, Th and Tc cell frequencies were determined by a multiparameter cytokine flow cytometric assay that allows simultaneous determination of intracellular IFN-r and IL-4 in CD4+ or CD8+ cells. RESULTS: Predominant Th2 responses to Df were observed in all untreated child patients, three untreated adult patients, and two treated adult patients. On the other hand, predominant Thl responses to Df were observed in all treated child patients, two of untreated adult patients, and three of treated adult patients. Predominant Tcl responses to Df were observed in all groups of patients. However, Tcl responses were more prominent in adults than in children and in treated adult patients than in untreated adult patients. In children, there were no differences in predominant Tcl responses except in one treated child, in whom more prominent Tcl response was observed.
Adult ; Cells, Cultured ; Child ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dust ; Hand ; Humans ; Immunotherapy* ; Interleukin-2 ; Interleukin-4 ; T-Lymphocytes

The purine antimetabolite 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP) has been in clinical use for over 30 years and is still a widely used agent in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The bioavailibility, clinical efficacy and toxicity of 6-MP administered orally for maintenance therapy of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are highly variable in many studies, as well as at differnt times in same patient. there are many factors affecting the bioavailibility of 6-MP. The most notably factor being that concomitantly administered drugs and foods might contribute to a decrease in the bioavailibity of this drug. In our sociocultural environment milk is a major constituent of child's foods. Cow's milk contains a high concentration of xanthine oxidase, which could potentially transform 6-TM into 6-thioxanthine (6-TX) and 6-thiouric acid (6-TUA) which have no more therapeutic effects. In this study, we evaluated the effect of various milk products on the bioavailability of 6-MP. Incubation at 37degrees C for 30 min raw or pasteurized milk resulted in transformation of a large quantity of clinically relevant concentration of 6-MP into 6-TUA. The concomitant adminstration of folic acid and allopurinol has markedly inhibitory effect on the 6-MP destroying activity of milk at clinically relevant concentrations. These observations may help to optimize modalities of administration of 6-MP for the treartment of patients with childhood leukemia.
6-Mercaptopurine* ; Allopurinol ; Biological Availability* ; Child ; Complement Factor B ; Folic Acid ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Milk* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Xanthine Oxidase

This study was performed to examine the effect of a 7-week comprehensive health promotion program for improving pain, depression, and disability by employing a quasi-experimental design. The subjects were regular out-patients of a RA aclinic in an University Hospital in Inchon from November 11. 1998 to December 24. 1998. The Experimental group included 18 patients who participated in an arthritis health promotion program, and the control group included 18 patients who did not. The 7-week health promotion program, which had the objective to enhance health promoting skills, was provided to patients. The effects of this program on the patients' pain, depression, and functional disability were examined. According to the study results, a significant group difference was found on these dependent variables (Hotelling's T =.30, F=3.11, p=.04). To examine which dependent variables had significant effects, one-way ANOVAs were performed. There were significant group differences in pain (F=4.35, p=.05) and in depression (F=4.22, p=.05) However, no significant group differences on functional disability (F=.04, p=.84) were found. Conclusively, the arthritis health promotion program, which was designed to enhance 11 health promoting skills, can be evaluated as successfully achieving the ultimate goal of enhancing the patients' quality of life. It can also be contended that the improvement of the patients' quality of life was enabled by relieving pain and reducing depression.
Arthritis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Depression ; Health Promotion* ; Humans ; Incheon ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Sulindac

This study was performed to examine the effect of a 7-week comprehensive health promotion program for improving pain, depression, and disability by employing a quasi-experimental design. The subjects were regular out-patients of a RA aclinic in an University Hospital in Inchon from November 11. 1998 to December 24. 1998. The Experimental group included 18 patients who participated in an arthritis health promotion program, and the control group included 18 patients who did not. The 7-week health promotion program, which had the objective to enhance health promoting skills, was provided to patients. The effects of this program on the patients' pain, depression, and functional disability were examined. According to the study results, a significant group difference was found on these dependent variables (Hotelling's T =.30, F=3.11, p=.04). To examine which dependent variables had significant effects, one-way ANOVAs were performed. There were significant group differences in pain (F=4.35, p=.05) and in depression (F=4.22, p=.05) However, no significant group differences on functional disability (F=.04, p=.84) were found. Conclusively, the arthritis health promotion program, which was designed to enhance 11 health promoting skills, can be evaluated as successfully achieving the ultimate goal of enhancing the patients' quality of life. It can also be contended that the improvement of the patients' quality of life was enabled by relieving pain and reducing depression.
Arthritis ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Depression ; Health Promotion* ; Humans ; Incheon ; Outpatients ; Quality of Life ; Sulindac

Two cases of urachal anomaly (1 urachal cyst and 1 patent urachus) are reported in a neonate and an eleven-year old boy, respectively. In case 1, the patient was born after an uncomplicated pregnancy to a mother who had taken progesterone during the first trimester. Because of breech presentation, cesarian section was elected to deliver a male baby weighing 2.3 kg who showed abdominal distension. The patient died of respiratory difficulty several minutes after birth. At autopsy, there was a large cyst in the midpoint of the abdominal and pelvic cavity. This round cyst was composed of two components, urachus and urinary bladder. No area of umbilicocystic fistula was present. The lining epithelium was chiefly of transitional type. Assocaited anomalies were segmental stenosis of posterior urethra, absence of abdominal musculature, bilateral polycystic kidney of Potter type IV, hydroureter, and hypoplasia of lungs. Low set ears, micrognathia and club foot were also present. In case 2 the patient was 11-year old boy. He had suffered from intermittent urinary dribbling from umbilicus since early infancy, whenever the abdominal pressure was increased. The patency of urachus was confirmed by fistulography. And the urachal anomaly was surgically removed. Histopathologically the resected patent urachus consisted of pseudostratified columnar to transitional epithelium resting on fibrous stroma mixed with well formed smooth muscle bundles.
Pregnancy ; Female ; Male ; Infant, Newborn ; Humans ; Cysts

No abstract available.
Animals ; Basement Membrane* ; Rats*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

For the study on the effect of retinoic acid on the formation of palatal rugae and the cleft palate, retinoic acid was administered orally 150mg/kg of body weight by gastric tube at GD 10.5 to Sprague-Dawley rats. The pregnant rats were sacrificed on GD 17.5 under ether anesthesia, and laparatomized. After removal of uterus, the number of pregnant sacs and fetuses were counted. The fetuses weighed, the MEE (medial edge epithelium) thickness measured and the mitotic figures counted after routine processing and H·E stain. All the palates were photographed, and the number of rugae & the rugal pattern analysed. TEM photographs of MEE cells were observed after routine processing. The results were as follows ; 1. Rat fetus body weight after retinoic acid treatment increased significantly compared with the control group. 2. Mitotic figures in the retinoic acid treated group increased significantly compared with control group. 3. In the retinoic acid treated group, 79.3% of fetuses had cleft palates. Among fetuses with cleft palates, complete cleft palates were 10.6%, incomplete cleft palate 89.4%. Incomplete clefts were of two types ; median type (cleft palate at the intermolar region) and soft palate type (cleft posterior to the 8th rugae). Median type was 64.6% and the soft palate type 35.4%. 4. 2.3% of the fetuses had the numerical anomaly of the palatal rugae in the control group, but that of retinoic acid treated group 87.7%. 5. 17.4% of palatal rugae of the control group was disrupted, but 100% of the retinoic acid treated group disrupted. 6. Rugal papillae were observed in the 15.1% of fetuses of the control group and 63.1% of fetuses of the retinoic acid treated group. 7. Longitudinal rugae were observed in 19% of fetuses of the retinoic acid treated group, but not in the control group. 8. In TEM photographs, cytoplasmic processes, intercellular space, and desmosomes decreased. Swelling of mitochondria & ER were also found in the retinoic acid treated groups. According to the above results, it appears that there is close relationship between palatal rugae and cleft palates, and that excess retinoic acid induces disruption of pattern and numerical variations of rat fetus palate rugae. Also retinoic acid has an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of medial edge epithelial cells of palatal shelves. The cleft palates may be induced by the above mentioned retinoic acid effects. But, the exact mechanisms of retinoic acid on cleft palate formation is not thoroughly known and should be further studied.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Cleft Palate* ; Cytoplasm ; Desmosomes ; Epithelial Cells ; Ether ; Extracellular Space ; Fetus ; Mitochondria ; Palate ; Palate, Soft ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tretinoin* ; Uterus