OBJECTIVE: In muscle and neuronal cells, calcium channels have been classified by electrophysiological and pharmacological properties into (1) voltage-dependent Ca2+-channel(1) P/Q-type Ca2+-channel (2) N-type Ca2+-channel R(3) L-type Ca2+-channel (4) T-type Ca2+-channel (5)R-type Ca2+-channel. The present study was done in order to investigate whether there is any difference in Ca2+-channel distribution between activated and normally fertilized embryos. METHODS: The immunocytochemical method was used to identify the existence of voltage-dependent Ca2+-channels in parthenogenetically activated 2-cell embryos by ethanol and SrCl2 treatment. These 2-cell embryos were obtained by exposure to 6% ethanol for 6 min and to 10 mM SrCl2 for 2h. RESULTS: P/Q-type Ca2+ channels and L-type Ca2+-channels have been identified. Whereas, three type of Ca2+-channel P/Q-type, N-type, L-type have been identified in 2-cell embryos fertilized in vivo. CONCLUSION: Activation by ethanol was faster than those by SrCl2. However, there was difference in DAB staining of the embryos between ethanol and SrCl2 treatment (87.7% and 54.1%). Intensity of staining was also different between ethanol- and SrCl2-treated group. However, it has not been known why there was some difference in DAB staining and staining intensity in the present study.
Mice ; Animals

No abstract available.
Coronary Vessels* ; Pulmonary Artery*

The treatment of choice for Cushing's disease is surgical removal of tumor, the source of ACTH overproduction. In occasional patients in whom a surgical approach including total adrenalectomy is not feasible or surgical removal of tumor is not complete, medical treatment may be necessary because pituitary irradiation requires a long 1ag time to remission. Although ketoconazole, an imidazole derivative with inhibitory activity on adrenal steroidogenesis has been reported to be effective in the treatment of Cushing's disease, the limited effectiveness in lowering very high level of cortisol and occasional hepatotoxicity restrains its wide use. In this report, we describe a woman with Cushing's disease due to pituitary microadenoma. Transsphenoidal pituitary adenomeetomy followed by ketoconzole treatment had been unsuccessful in achieving remission of the disease, but combined treatment with ketoconazole and octreotide accomplished successful reduction in cortisol production.
Adrenalectomy ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Ketoconazole* ; Octreotide* ; Pituitary Irradiation

There are considerable discrepacies between clinical symptoms and imaging diagnosis in the localization of the responsible radiculopathy. The purposes of this study are to analyzed the dynamic alteration of contrast filling of the spinal nerve sleeves during positional changes and to determine how the abnormalities of nerve sleeves no lateral bending A-P views correlate with sciatica. The criteria indicationg the root abnormality in functional myelography were (1) bad filling of ipsilateral root to sciatica and (2) good filling of contralateral root compared with those in neutral A-P view. Of total 77 patients, 67 had radiculopathy and 10 had no radiculopathy. In 23 (34.3%) of 67 patients with radiculopathy and 6 (60%) of 10 patients with no radiculopathy, their clinical symptoms well correlated with conventional myelographic findings. However, in 35 (52.2%) of 67 patients with radiculopathy and 6(60%) of 10 patients with no radiculopathy, their symptoms well correlated with functional myelographic findings. This study suggests that the functional myelogaphy using both lateral bending A-P views can be used as a complementary tool in the evaluation of the radiculopathy.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Myelography* ; Radiculopathy* ; Sciatica ; Spinal Nerves

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Rheumatic Heart Disease*

A patient with amebic colitis in which the rare complication of ameboma developed accompanying liver abscess is presented. The diagnosis was made by colonic mucosal biopsy and microscopic stool examination which revealed hematophagous trophzoites of Entamoeba histolytica. All rnanifestations of this patient's illness, including liver abscess, completley reverted to normal after appropriate therapy.
Amebiasis* ; Biopsy ; Colon ; Diagnosis ; Dysentery, Amebic* ; Entamoeba histolytica ; Humans ; Liver Abscess* ; Liver*

No abstract available.
Aneurysm* ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular*

PURPOSE: We performed the study prospectively to evaluate the advantage of fat suppression MR in the diagnosis of rotator cuff injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten symptomatic patients were studied with both conventional T2WI and FST2WI using chemical shift technique. Each image was analyzed for the assessnent of injuries, conspicuity of the lesion, the presence of effusion in subacromial bursae and joint space, and presence of humeral head injury. Arthroscopy was done in 4 patients following MRI. RESULTS: We could made presumptive diagnoses on FSMR as identical as on conventional MR in six cases(1 normal, 2 tendinitis, 2 partial thickness tear, 1 full thickness tear), two of them were confirmed by arthroscopic procedures. Two cases of partial thickness tear proved by arthroscopy were detected on FST2WI, whereas they were considered tendinitis on conventional T2Wl. There were another 2 cases who showed tendinitis on FSMR, but normal on conventional T2Wl. They, however, were not confirmed by either arthroscopy or surgical procedure. CONCLUSION: We found the FSMR were superior to conventional T2Wl in the conspicuity of lesions and detection of joint effusion and abnormalities on the humeral head. We think FSMR of the shoulder could have significant diagnostic advantages over the conventional spin-echo MR imaging.
Arthroscopy ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Humeral Head ; Joints ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder ; Tendinopathy

Kissing aneurysms associated with a proximal basilar artery fenestration are an exceedingly rare and unique therapeutic challenge due to anatomical complexity. This report describes double-barrel stent-assisted technique with dual closed-cell stents for the successful endovascular coiling of kissing aneurysms from a proximal basilar artery fenestration.
Aneurysm* ; Basilar Artery* ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Stents*

No abstract available.