BACKGROUND: Twenty-six patients (12 male and 14 female) with symptomatic scapular winging caused by serratus anterior dysfunction were managed by split pectoralis major tendon transfer (sternal head) with autogenous hamstring tendon augmentation from 1998 to 2006. METHODS: Twenty-five patients showed positive results upon long thoracic nerve palsy on electromyography. The mean duration of symptoms until surgery was 48 months (range, 12-120 months). Four patients had non-traumatic etiologies and 22 patients had traumatic etiologies. On follow-up assessment for functional improvement, a Constant-Murley score was used. Twenty-one patients were completely evaluated, while five patients who had less than 12 months of follow-up were excluded. RESULTS: Pain relief was achieved in 19 of the 21 patients, with 20 patients showing functional improvement. The pain scores improved from 6.0 preoperatively to 1.8 postoperatively. The mean active forward elevation improved from 108degrees (range, 20degrees-165degrees) preoperatively to 151degrees (range, 125degrees-170degrees) postoperatively. The mean Constant-Murley score improved from 57.7 (range, 21-86) preoperatively to 86.9 (range, 42-98) postoperatively. A recurrence developed in one patient. Of the 21 patients, ten had excellent results, six had good results, four had fair results, and one had poor results. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with severe symptomatic scapular winging showed functional improvement and pain relief with resolution of scapular winging.
Electromyography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Paralysis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies* ; Scapula* ; Tendon Transfer ; Tendons ; Thoracic Nerves ; Wings, Animal

No abstract available.
Phosphatidylcholines* ; Phospholipases A2* ; Phospholipases*

Testicular involvement in male patients with leprosy is well documented and may be associated with impotence, sterility and gynecomastia. Testicular histology shows atrophy of the seminiferous tubules with hypertropy and clumping of Leydig cells and hyalinization of the small and medium sized vessels. The hormonal functions of the testes have been studied by a number of workers, usually in patients with testicular atrophy and gynecomastia. In these particular patients, androgens are generally diminished while gonadotropins are increased. The pathogenesis of testicular damage is uncertain, though Wall and Wright(1974) found that testicular germinal cell antibodies were present in 75% of lepromatous, and postulated that :autoirnmunity, Erythema Nodosum Leprosum imrnune complex damage and direct invasion by Mycobacterium leprae may all be contributory.
Androgens ; Antibodies ; Atrophy ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Erythema Nodosum ; Gonadotropins ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Infertility ; Leprosy ; Leydig Cells ; Male ; Mycobacterium leprae ; Seminiferous Tubules ; Testis

No abstract available.
Pelvic Bones*

It is interesting and in important to study histochemical changes of glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) activity by electron microscopy in order to promote the knowledge needed for diagnosis and prognosis in such liver diseases as von Gierke's disease, hepatoma and various other hepatocellular alterations of different origins. Since we had not accomplished the electron microscopic demonstration of G-6-Pase, although light microscopic studies on changes of the enzyme activity were done in this laboratory, this investigation was planned to obtain a satisfactory technique for ultrastructural demonstration of the enzyme activity. Unfixed frozen sections (80 micro thick) of mouse liver were washed for 2~3 minutes in a 0.4M sucrose solution (pH6.8) containing 4 mM lead nitrate and then incubated for 15~20 minutes at 32~37 degrees C in several different media to which 0.4M sucrose solution was added: A) a modification of the original Chiquoine medium, B) the first modification of the Wachstein-Meisel medium C (the second modification; the 2% lead nitrate solution was reduced in amount to 1.5 m1 instead of 3.0 ml in the medium-B). After incubation, these sections were fixed in 1% osmic acid containing sucrose, followed by embedding in Epon, ultrathin-section, mounting and staining with uranyl acetate and/or lead nitrate. By incubating the sections in the medium (B or C), satisfactory preparations were obtainable for its electron microscopic demonstration. The granular deposits of reaction products were found characteristically on the membranous component of the rough-and smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and unclear envelope. Occasional deposits were observed within cisternae or vesicles, in the nucleus, and immediate1y adjacent to the cisternal membrane and glycogen areas.
Animal ; Glucose-6-Phosphatase/metabolism* ; Liver/enzymology* ; Liver/ultrastructure ; Male ; Mice ; Microscopy, Electron

Prednisolone, a cortisol analogue, was given intraperitoneally to rats with 5, 10 or 15 doses of 5 mg. per kg. of body weight per day. Sacrificing the animals 24 hours after the last injection, unfixed frozen sections from small pieces of liver tissue were incubated and stained by a modification from the method of Wachstein and Meisel(1965) for glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) activity. Some of the tissue blocks were processed for staining with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological observation. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity, being represented histochemically by brownish-black deposits, was progressively increased after administrations 5 or 10 times. With 15 doses of prednisolone the general histochemical picture of G-6-Pase activity appeared to be similar to that of the control group, except for a different distribution of hepatocytes possessing strong activity. In prednisolone treated rats, the swollen hepatocytes showed a marked, cytoplasmic vacuolization and nuclear pyknosis, particularly in the periportal and midzonal areas of hepatic lobules. Some discussion of the G-6-Pase corticosteroids are presented in terms of their metabolic effects.
Animal ; Glucose-6-Phosphatase/analysis* ; Liver/drug effects ; Liver/enzymology* ; Male ; Prednisolone/pharmacology* ; Rats

No abstract available.
Athletes* ; Dysmenorrhea* ; Female ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: Major depression is known to have immunologic dysfunctions, the recent studies revealed that cytokines including Il-6 and IL-1beta were increased in patients with major depression. Since molecular genetic methods have been progressed, this study was to investigate the relationship between major depression and immunologic aspects by analyzing polymorphism of IL-10 gene. METHOD: 92 patients with major depression were included and data of 146 normal controls obtained from the Catholic Hemopoietic Stem Cell Information Bank of Korea were used in this study. DNA was extracted from whole blood, thereafter amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and digested by Mae III. After that procedure, we obtained and assessed RFLP of two alleles, IL-10T and IL-10C. All data were analyzed by chi2 test. RESULTS: 1) There were no significant difference in genotype frequencies of IL-10*T/T, IL-10*T/C, and IL-10*C/C between major depression patients group and control group. 2) There were no significant difference in allelic frequencies of IL-10*T and IL-10*C between major depression patients group and control group. CONCLUSION: We did not verified the differences in frequencies of IL-10*T/IL-10*C gene between the major depression patients group and control group, respectively. But the results of this study do not declare that the IL-10 gene has no association with major depression. We do suggest that further systematic studies including various clinical variables should be conducted.
Alleles ; Cytokines ; Depression* ; DNA ; Genotype ; Humans ; Interleukin-10* ; Interleukin-6 ; Korea ; Molecular Biology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length* ; Stem Cells

We studied the intradural variations of spinal nerve rootlets in 100 cases of Korean adults. The results of the study are as follows ; 1. The incidence of intrasegmental variations (abberrant rootlets) is high in cervical segments and decreased toward lumbosacral segments. The incidence is higher in posterior rootlets than anterior, except cervical sesments. 2. The incidence of intersegmental variations is higher in posterior rootlets than anterior, and generally high in cervical and lumbar segments. 3. We divide the intersegmental variations into supernumerary rootlets, dividing rootlets, and anastomosing rootlets, and among them the incidence of anastomosing rootlets is higher. We divide the anastomosing rootlets into parallel anastomosing rootlets, uniting anastomosing rootlets, and rearrangement anastomosing rootlets. 4. The anterior to posterior anastomosing of spinal nerve rootlet is present in 4 of cases studied.
Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Spinal Nerves*

No abstract available.
Aneurysm* ; Arteries* ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass* ; Circulatory Arrest, Deep Hypothermia Induced*