Coxiella burnetii(C. burneii)was first recognized as the agent of Q fever in 1937. Q fever is an acute self-limited febrile illness. However, it manifests with several clinical symptoms depending upon the organs that are involved. The association of C. burnetii with human neoplasia has been rarely reported. We prospectively studied the 55 patients with fever of unknown origin, pneumonia, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, leukemia, lymphoma, and immunodeficiency and 14 persons who contacted the Q fever patients. The patient's sera were tested for antibodies specific for C. burnetii, using indirct fluorescent antibody techniques (IFA). 1) We serologically confirmed 23 C. burnetii infection. The 23 children with Q fever ranged in age from 0 to 15 years, with mean age of 4 years 11 months. Seventeen were boys and 6 were girls. 2) Characteristic symptoms and signs were fever (9/12 cases), rash (8/14 cases), hepatosplenomegaly (8/8 cases)and lymphadenopathy (14/27 cases). Five cases among 14 asymptomatic cases who contacted Q fever patients showed positive IFA test. One suffered from irregular uterine contraction, 4 weeks after contact with a Q fever patient. 3) There were no history of exposure to domestic animal carriers or contaminated dust, or drinking raw milk except one family. Three attending doctors and her father infected by a patient with Q fever. These suggested the person to person transmission of Q fever in a family and house staffs infected by a patient of Q fever. 4) Q fever (9 cases), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (2 cases), acute myelomonocytic leukemia (1 case), hairy cell leukemia (1case), Kawasaki disease (4 cases) and congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (1 case) showed positive IFA test. 5) Of 9 cases who suffered from lnly Q fever, 7 cases were confirmed hairy cell formation in their peripheral blood. One case was diagnosed as hairy cell leukemia after bone marrow study. Of 7 cases who showed hairy cells, all had hepatomegaly, 6 cases had lymphedenopathy and 5 cases showed splenomegaly. All except 1 case who was not followed cured after treatment. 6) We treated Q fever patients with rifampin and/or ciprofloxacin, and/or tetracyclin (over 8 year-old of age)for 2-4 weeks. One 25 month-old patient with hairy cell leukemia was treated with rifampin, ciprofloxacin and tetracyclin for 4 weeks, and rifampin for 8 months. A pregnant patient was administered with rifampin, and treated with rifampin and ciprofloxacin after delivery. We gave rifampin in one nweborn baby. In conclusion, we suggest that Q fever should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with FUO, hepatosplenomegaly and/or immunodeficiency.
Anemia, Dyserythropoietic, Congenital ; Animals, Domestic ; Antibodies ; Bone Marrow ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Ciprofloxacin ; Coxiella burnetii* ; Coxiella* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Drinking ; Dust ; Exanthema ; Fathers ; Female ; Fever ; Fever of Unknown Origin ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Hepatomegaly ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Hairy Cell ; Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Acute ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Milk ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Pneumonia ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Prospective Studies ; Q Fever* ; Rifampin ; Splenomegaly ; Uterine Contraction

Authors analysed the corpus callosum of Korean(27 male & 14 female) anthrolopologically by the method of Kappers and Ban, and obtained the following results ; 1. The mean height of corpus callosum of the Korean male was about 25.9mm and that of the female was about 25.6mm. 2. The mean length of corpus callosum of the Korean male was about 69.1mm and that of the female was about 69.9mm. 3. According to the callosum horizontal index, the length of the cerebral hemisphere of the Korean male was about 2.22 times longer than that of the corpus callosum, and that of the female was about 2.27 times longer. 4. According to the callosum parietal index, the height of parietal lobe of the Korean male and female was about 2.8 times higher than that of corpus callosum. 5. The mean value of the callosum index of Korean was about 0.374, which was greater than that of the Japanese and Chinese, but lesser than that of Battak. 6. The most common type of corpus callosum of the Korean was the type III and VI, but the type I and X were not appeared. 7. According to the type distribution in relation to the callosum horizontal index, the type VI at callosum horizontal index 0.44 was the most common types.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cerebrum ; Corpus Callosum* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Parietal Lobe ; Rabeprazole

BACKGROUND: CD34 positive cell enumeration by flow cytometry is currently used to determine the optimal timing of peripheral blood stem cell collections (PBSC) and to predict engraftment of stem cell transplantation. However, the technical problems and lack of a standardized method are sources of significant variability in the quantitation of the CD34 positive cells. ProCOUNT(TM) (Beckon Dickinson Immuno- cytometry System, USA) kit for three color flow cytometric analysis was introduced to enumerate CD34 positive cells using a standardized method. This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the three color method, ProCOUNT(TM), in comparison with two color method. METHODS: CD34 positive cells from 25 cord blood samples were enumerated by two methods, two color (CD34-PE/CD45-FITC) and three color (ProCOUNT(TM) , nucleic acid dye/CD34-PE/ CD45-PerCP) flow cytometric analysis, in which CD34 positive cells were counted directly in comparison with counting beads introduced in the sample. RESULTS: The count of CD34 positive cells in the cord blood was 28.3(+/-20.0)/uL and 20.9 (+/-16.0) /uL by three color and two color methods, respectively, The number of CD34 positive cells enumerated by ProCOUNTTM kit was well correlated with that by two color method, but the count was significantly higher in the former method (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In the three color method, loss of stem cells was significantly lower than that in the two color method, and it was possible to obtain a direct count of CD34 positive cells by using a standardized procedure.
Fetal Blood* ; Flow Cytometry ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: CD34 positive cell enumeration by flow cytometry is currently used to determine the optimal timing of peripheral blood stem cell collections (PBSC) and to predict engraftment of stem cell transplantation. However, the technical problems and lack of a standardized method are sources of significant variability in the quantitation of the CD34 positive cells. ProCOUNT(TM) (Beckon Dickinson Immuno- cytometry System, USA) kit for three color flow cytometric analysis was introduced to enumerate CD34 positive cells using a standardized method. This study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of the three color method, ProCOUNT(TM), in comparison with two color method. METHODS: CD34 positive cells from 25 cord blood samples were enumerated by two methods, two color (CD34-PE/CD45-FITC) and three color (ProCOUNT(TM) , nucleic acid dye/CD34-PE/ CD45-PerCP) flow cytometric analysis, in which CD34 positive cells were counted directly in comparison with counting beads introduced in the sample. RESULTS: The count of CD34 positive cells in the cord blood was 28.3(+/-20.0)/uL and 20.9 (+/-16.0) /uL by three color and two color methods, respectively, The number of CD34 positive cells enumerated by ProCOUNTTM kit was well correlated with that by two color method, but the count was significantly higher in the former method (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In the three color method, loss of stem cells was significantly lower than that in the two color method, and it was possible to obtain a direct count of CD34 positive cells by using a standardized procedure.
Fetal Blood* ; Flow Cytometry ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: In pregnancy, paternal human leukocyte antigen (HLA) that the fetus possesses can induce the development of cytotoxic HLA antibodies in the pregnant women. We investigated the frequency and the characteristics of HLA antibodies during the pregnancy in Koreans. METHODS: Sera from 192 pregnant women (46 in the 1st trimester, 120 in the 2nd and 26 in the 3rd trimester) were tested for the presence of HLA antibody. Home made lymphocyte panel from 36 volunteers whose HLA-A, B and C antigens had been already identified 3nd formerly frozen in a liquid nitrogen tank were dispensed in duplicate into 72-well microplates and used as testing trays Test sera of one pregnant women with one negative control serum were dispensed in each plate and the plates were tested by microlymphocytotoxic method using anti-human immunoglobulin. The results were observed under fluorescence microscope and PRA (panel reactive antibody) values were determined by the percentage of wells showing positive reactions. HLA antibody specificities were identified by analysis of reaction characteristics. RESULTS: Among the 192 sera, 22 (11.5%) showed positive PRA value (PRA > 0%) in HLA antibody screening tests, in which 20 were less than 50% and 2 were more than 50% of PRA value. Two of the 46 subjects (4.3%) in the 1st trimester, 15 of the 120 (12.5%) in the 2nd and 5 of the 26 (19 2%) in the 3rd trimester were positive for HLA antibody. Among the 22 positive sera , specificities of HLA antibodies were identified in 14 (64%) sera: 8 sera had HLA antibody against single private HLA antigen. 5 had HLA antibodies against two or more antigens. and 1 sera showed anti-Bw4 antibody. CONCLUSION: In 192 pregnant women, 22 (11.5%) had HLA-A, B antibodies and they showed higher frequencies with the progress of pregnancy. Most of the pregnant women who were positive for HLA antibodies showed PRA value less than 50%. HLA antibody specificities were identified in 14 out of 22 positive sera (64%).
Antibodies* ; Antibody Specificity ; Female ; Fetus ; Fluorescence ; HLA-A Antigens* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Leukocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Mass Screening ; Nitrogen ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Volunteers

No abstract available.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Drug Resistance, Multiple* ; Genes, MDR*

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated that quantitation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in sera of HBsAg-positive patients is more useful test for the assessment of infectivity and for the evaluation of disease status than previously utilized numerous serological markers and qualitative polymerase chain reaction for the detection of HBV DNA. We tried to measure serum HBV DNA using a branched DNA (bDNA) signal amplification assay, which is recently introduced and known to be a simple and nonradioisotopic method. METHODS: Total forty patients with HBsAg were randomly selected and serum HBV DNA was measured with duplication using bDNA signal amplification assay (QUANTIPLEXTM HBV DNA ASSAY, Chiron, USA). Quantitation was determined from a standard curve and expressed as HBV DNA equivalents/mL (Eq/mL; 1 Eq = 1 molecule of the primary HBV DNA standard). Serum HBeAg, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) , and soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) were compared with HBV DNA. RESULTS: Serum HBV DNA was quantitated in 13 patients (32.5%) (range 6.4x106-7.4x109 Eq/mL, mean 1.8x109 Eq/mL, CV 8.1%). All eleven patients (100%) with both HBsAg and HBeAg an4 2 of 29 patients (6.9%) with HBsAg but not with HBeAg showed measurable HBV DNA (p < 0.001). In addition, serum levels of AST, ALT, and sIL-2R were significantly higher in HBV DNA measured patients compared with those of unmeasured patients. CONCLUSIONS: Above results show that more than half the HBsAg-positive patients do not have enough HBV DNA which is measurable with boNA signal amplification assay but all of HBeAg-positive patients and some of HBeAg-negative patients do. In addition, HBV DNA quantitation might be correlated with the disease activity in HBsAg-positive patients because serum levels of AST, ALT, and sIL-2R are higher in patients measured with HBV DNA than unmeasured.
Alanine Transaminase ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Branched DNA Signal Amplification Assay* ; DNA ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Interleukin-2 ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

BACKGROUND: T cell mediated immune destruction is an important mechanism of liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor(sIL-2R) seem to serve as a marker for the T cell activation and progressive liver injury, This study examined serum levels of sIft-2R and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in patients with chronic HCV infection to determine the correlation with the severity of chronic hepatocellular damage. METHODS: Serum levels of sIft-2R in 73 patients with HCV infection (chronic hepatitis 52, liver cirrhosis 9, hepatocellular carcinoma 12) and 40 healthy controls were measured by sandwich enzyme immunoassay (CELLFREE, T Cell Sciences, USA). HCV RNA was quantified by QUANTIPLEX(TM) HCV RNA 2.0 assay (Chiron, USA) with duplication. This assay is a sandwich nucleic acid hybridization procedure using branched DNA amplification for the quantitation of HCV RNA. RESULTS: The sIL-2R levels of 52 patients with chronic hepatitis (591.4+/-238.7U/mL), 9 with liver cirrhosis(949.4+/-721.9 U/mL), and 12 with hepatocellular carcinoma (1,167.4+/- 554.4 U/mL) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls(370.8+/-71.8 U/mL) (p<0.001). A progressive and significant increase occurred in sIL-2R levels with chronic hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order (p(0.001). The HCV RNA was detected in all patients and the means of HCV viral load were 3.3 MEq/mL in chronic hepatitis, 2.8 MEq/mL in cirrhosis, and 3.7 MEq/mL in HCC. There was no significant correlation between HCV RNA and the severity of liver injury in chronic HCV infection. There were no correlations among sIL-2R, HCV RNA and serum ALT. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that chronic hepatocellular injury by HCV progress mainly by T cell mediated immune response, not by direct cytopathic injury. Also, sIL-2R can be useful as a marker in monitoring the patients with HCV infection at high risk of getting HCC.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; DNA ; Fibrosis ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis C, Chronic* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Interleukin-2* ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization ; RNA ; Viral Load

BACKGROUND: T cell mediated immune destruction is an important mechanism of liver injury in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Serum levels of soluble interleukin-2 receptor(sIL-2R) seem to serve as a marker for the T cell activation and progressive liver injury, This study examined serum levels of sIft-2R and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in patients with chronic HCV infection to determine the correlation with the severity of chronic hepatocellular damage. METHODS: Serum levels of sIft-2R in 73 patients with HCV infection (chronic hepatitis 52, liver cirrhosis 9, hepatocellular carcinoma 12) and 40 healthy controls were measured by sandwich enzyme immunoassay (CELLFREE, T Cell Sciences, USA). HCV RNA was quantified by QUANTIPLEX(TM) HCV RNA 2.0 assay (Chiron, USA) with duplication. This assay is a sandwich nucleic acid hybridization procedure using branched DNA amplification for the quantitation of HCV RNA. RESULTS: The sIL-2R levels of 52 patients with chronic hepatitis (591.4+/-238.7U/mL), 9 with liver cirrhosis(949.4+/-721.9 U/mL), and 12 with hepatocellular carcinoma (1,167.4+/- 554.4 U/mL) were significantly higher than those of healthy controls(370.8+/-71.8 U/mL) (p<0.001). A progressive and significant increase occurred in sIL-2R levels with chronic hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in order (p(0.001). The HCV RNA was detected in all patients and the means of HCV viral load were 3.3 MEq/mL in chronic hepatitis, 2.8 MEq/mL in cirrhosis, and 3.7 MEq/mL in HCC. There was no significant correlation between HCV RNA and the severity of liver injury in chronic HCV infection. There were no correlations among sIL-2R, HCV RNA and serum ALT. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that chronic hepatocellular injury by HCV progress mainly by T cell mediated immune response, not by direct cytopathic injury. Also, sIL-2R can be useful as a marker in monitoring the patients with HCV infection at high risk of getting HCC.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; DNA ; Fibrosis ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis C, Chronic* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Interleukin-2* ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Nucleic Acid Hybridization ; RNA ; Viral Load