No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to evaluate an immunoassay for urinary nuclear matrix protein (NMP22) as an indicator for transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three groups of subjects attended the trial of NMP22. First group was 27 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, second group was 24 patients with other urinary cancer consisted of prostate cancer and renal cell carcinoma, and third group was 24 healthy volunteers. NMP22 was determined using a commercial test kit, which is based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: In normal healthy volunteers and other urinary cancer group median NMP22 levels were 2.24 and 3.27 U/ml, respectively. Median urinary NMP22 levels in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were 54.30 U/ml. It was significantly greater than other two groups. Median NMP22 levels according to the tumor stage and the tumor grade did not show the significant difference statistically. CONCLUSIONS: Urinary NMP22 is a useful marker that is more specific for bladder cancer thsn for other urinary cancer. Further tests are required to clarify the influence of other spe- cific conditions, such as urinary tract infection, and intravesical drug instillation or procedure.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Instillation, Drug ; Nuclear Matrix* ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urinary Tract Infections

No abstract available.
Biofeedback, Psychology* ; Headache* ; Humans ; Muscle Tonus*

Extraadrenal pheochromocytomas developed from the paraganglia other than adrenal medulla are uncommon tumors. Such lesions have been reported that as much as 10% of retroperitoneal paragliomas arise outside the adrenal gland. But their incidence and prognosis are changing partly as a result of progression in developmental mechanism, diagnostic tools and concepts including ultrastructure, immunohistochemistry. The ultrastructure of chromaffine neoplasm from adrenal and extraadrenal tissues has been studied with chrarnaffine granule specificity and type of catecholamine content. With rare exceptions, extraadrenal chrornaffine tumor mainly has high concentration of norepinephrine which is suggested as dict relationship to numoruos electrone dense granular bodies in the cell cytoplasrn. High or intermediate level of epinephrine in tissue is associated with cytoplasmic granular bodies of much less density, Recently we experienced the exception, a case of norepinephrine secreting pheochrom-ocytoma in the organ of Zuckerkandl with epinephrine granules in cytoplasm and this discrepancy probably due to the plasticity
Adrenal Glands ; Adrenal Medulla ; Cytoplasm ; Epinephrine ; Immunohistochemistry ; Incidence ; Norepinephrine ; Para-Aortic Bodies ; Pheochromocytoma ; Plastics ; Prognosis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Duodenal diverticulum is commonly found at 2nd portion of duodenum undergoing duodenal procedure. It is generally asymptomatic and not harmful. But occasionally it causes massive upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Bleeding from duodenal diverticulum is very difficult to diagnose and manage since vision of the lesion by conventional direct endoscope is limited. Recently, emphasis has been placed on aggressive and careful endos- copic diagnosis and hemostasis with hemoclip or local injection. We report a case of massive duodenal diverti- cular bleeding on a senile patient which was treated successfully by endoscopic hemoclip therapy.
Diverticulum ; Duodenal Diseases ; Duodenum ; Endoscopes ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; Vision, Ocular

Both direct and indirect environmental stress to brain were increase the expression of transcription factor c-fos in various populations of neurons. In this study, we examined whether the intraperitoneal injections of lidocaine at doses inducing convulsion within 10 min increased the level of c-fos mRNA and protein in forebrain areas. In situ hybridization using (35S)UTP-labeled antisense c-fos, cRNA increased c-fos mRNA levels though hippocampal formation, piriform cortex, septum, caudate-putamen, neostriatum, and amygdala within 2 hr. In parallel with the mRNA expression, c-FOS protein immunoreactivity was also observed in the same forebrain areas. In contrast to the seizure activity and widespread neuronal degeneration following a kainate treatment, injections of lidocaine did not produce neuronal death within 3 days. The present study indicates that lidocaine induces convulsion and c-fos expression without causing neuro-toxicity.
Adult* ; Amygdala ; Animals ; Brain* ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Injections, Intraperitoneal ; Kainic Acid ; Lidocaine* ; Neostriatum ; Neurons ; Prosencephalon ; Rats* ; RNA, Complementary ; RNA, Messenger* ; Seizures ; Transcription Factors

PURPOSE: Simple cysts are a common structural abnormality in seemingly healthy individuals, but their clinical significance, especially on changes of renal function, remains unknown. We examined whether sporadic cysts can influence changes of renal function in apparent healthy individuals. METHODS: The records from 424 people who underwent two ultrasonographic examinations in a routine check-up at our health promotion center from 2000 to 2003 were reviewed. Patients who had a medical disease were excluded. The healthy individuals (n=199) were divided into two groups according to whether they had renal cysts (cyst group, n=61), or not (control group, n=138). Renal function was evaluated by serum creatinine level (Scr), creatinine clearance (Ccr), using the Cockcroft-Gault equation, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR), using the MDRD equation. RESULTS: Individuals in the cyst group were significantly older (44.18+/-7.55, 41.02+/-7.06, p=0.013) and more likely to be male (90.16%, 72.46%, p=0.006) than those without cysts. Compared with the control group, the cyst group had no significant differences in Scr (1.03+/-0.15 mg/dL, 1.08+/-0.11 mg/dL, respectively, p=0.06), in Ccr (82.34+/-13.26 ml/min, 81.00+/-12.6 ml/min, respectively, p=0.56) nor in GFR (84.35+/-11.65 ml/min/1.73m2, 82.47+/-10.27 ml/min/1.73m2, respectively, p=0.38). Furthermore, the parameters for changes of renal function were not significant over three years. Conclusions:The presence of renal cysts was associated with neither renal dysfunction nor a reduction in renal function over three years in Korean individuals without apparent renal disease.
Creatinine ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; Kidney Function Tests ; Male

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Vascular access dysfunction is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Recent studies have shown that a klotho gene mutation is related to endothelial dysfunction, thrombosis, and arteriosclerosis, which are regarded as causes of vascular access dysfunction. We investigated the relationship between the klotho G-395A polymorphism and early dysfunction in vascular access in HD patients. METHODS: Patients who underwent vascular access operations between 1999 and 2002 were enrolled (n=126). Genotyping was performed by allelic discrimination using a 5'-nuclease polymerase chain reaction assay. Clinical data that could be relevant to access dysfunction were obtained from medical records. Early dysfunction of vascular access was defined as the need for any angioplastic or surgical intervention to correct or replace a poorly or nonfunctioning vascular access within 1 year and at least 8 weeks after initial access placement. RESULTS: Of the 126 patients, the genotype frequency of G-395A was 72.2% for GG (n=91), 24.6% for GA (n=31), and 3.2% for AA (n=4), and the frequency of minor allele was 0.155. Clinical data were similar between the two groups, divided according to the status of the A allele. Early dysfunction occurred in 34 (27.0%) of patients, but it occurred at a significantly higher rate in A allele carriers (45.7%, 16/35) than in noncarriers (19.8%, 18/91; p=0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the klotho G-395A polymorphism could be a risk factor for early dysfunction of vascular access in HD patients.
Aged ; *Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical ; Catheters, Indwelling ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Glucuronidase/*genetics ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/complications/*genetics/therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymorphism, Genetic/*genetics ; Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics ; *Renal Dialysis ; Vascular Diseases/complications/genetics ; Vascular Patency/*genetics