We evaluated the effect of the pregnane X receptor agonist, pregnenolone 16 alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) on the expression levels of plasma monoamine transporter (PMAT) in the intestine. Male C57/BL6 mice were divided into two 2 groups: mice in the PCN group (n=3) were administered PCN once a day for 4 days, while those in the control group (n=3) received the same volume of vehicle once a day for 4 days. After the mice were killed 24 h after administration of the last dose of PCN or vehicle, and the expression levels of PMAT in the intestine tissues were isolated and measured the expression level of PMAT using immunohistochemical and western blotting analyses. The expression level of PMAT expression levels in the small intestine increased after PCN treatment. These results suggest that the induction of PMAT may play a clinically significant role by increasing intestinal absorption of PMAT substrates such as metformin.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Membrane* ; Humans ; Intestinal Absorption ; Intestine, Small ; Intestines ; Male ; Metformin ; Mice ; Plasma ; Pregnenolone Carbonitrile

The marginal epithelium of corneal ulcer is occasionally edernatous and detached from corneal stroma in chronic corneal ulcer. This leads to retard healing of corneal epithelium because the migration and adhesion of corneal epithelium are prevented. We performed Nd-YAG laser in chronic corneal ulcer, 6 eyes of 6 patients from July 1996 to December 1996. It was used to improve the healing of corneal epithelium. The patiente were treated with Nd-YAG laser using 0.8 to 1. 2mJ per pulse applied to the region of Bowman`s membrane in the margin of corneal ulcer. The mean number of laser spots in one procedure was 22 and the rnean frequency of Nd-YAG laser use in each patient was 2. 3 times. The Nd-YAG laser induced adhesion of corneal epithelium in all patients and improved the healing of corneal epithelium. Therefore, the treatment of Nd-YAG laser can become 8 useful procedure for chronic corneal ulcer accompanied with corneal epithelial detachment.
Corneal Stroma ; Corneal Ulcer* ; Epithelium ; Epithelium, Corneal ; Humans ; Lasers, Solid-State* ; Membranes

The corneal triple procedure is that penetrating keratoplasty, extracapsular cataract extraction, and posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation are performed simultaneously and preoperative prediction of intraocular lens implant power is necessary to achieve the desired postoperative refractive status in eyes undergoing the triple procedure. Therefore we evaluated the important factors in determining intraocular implant power patients undergoing the triple procedure. A retrospective study was done on 12 eyes of 11 patients who underwent triple procedure between March 1993 and April 1997. Mean age was 52.9 years and mean follow-up period was 26.3 month(range, 4 to 53 months). The Mean postoperative spherical equivalent was -0.98+/-4.05D. Forty-two percents of patients were within +/-2.00D of emmetropia. The important factors in determining intraocular lens power of patients undergoing the triple procedure are axial length, corneal curvature, refractive status of the fellow eye, and donor/recipient size. If these values are unreliable, it is desirable for the corneal srurgeon to use mean axial length and mean corneal curvature to determine the intraocular implant power. The important factors in determining intraocular lens power of patients undergoing the triple procedure are axial length, corneal curvature, refractive status of the fellow eye, and donor/recipient size. If these values are unreliable, it is desirable for the corneal surgeon to use mean axial length and mean corneal curvature to determine the intraocular implant power.
Cataract Extraction ; Corneal Transplantation* ; Emmetropia ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Keratoplasty, Penetrating ; Lens Implantation, Intraocular* ; Lenses, Intraocular* ; Retrospective Studies

Human papillomavirus(HPV) has implicated in the development of cervical cancer. Several studies has suggested a strong correlation between HPV 16, 18 and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN). For detecting and typing HPV DNA in cervical tissues, recently the chemiluminescent molecular hybridization assay method has been widely used. This study was performed to determine the usefulness of hybrid capture assay for detecting high-risk HPV in cervical epithelial cells, and to compare the correlation among cervical cytology, biopsy finding and HPV infection, and to determine whether the addition of the hybrid capture assay to cytologic test would improve the ability to identify significant lesions. This study included 267 patients who visited the colposcopic clinic of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, Chonbuk University Hospital from May, 1997 to October 199S. Pap smears hybrid capture assays, and colposcopically directed biopsy were performed concurrently on al1 women. The results obtained were as follow; l. Using hybrid capture assay, the detection rate of high-risk HPV of all patients was 37.1%(99/267). There was no statistical significance in the detection rate of HPV between the age groups. 2. The false negative rate of Pap Smear was 53.3% and showed significant discrepancies between the cytologic and histologic diagnosis. 3. According to the cytologic diagnosis, the detection rates of high-risk HPV were 7.1% in normal, 25.3% in ASCUS or LSIL, and 61.6% in HSIL. In each cytologic group, the patients who had positive results for high-risk HPV showed higher incidence rate of high grade lesions than those with negative results(P<0.05). 4. According to the histologic diagnosis, the detection rates of high-risk HPV were 0.1% in normal, 11.1% in CIN I, and 72.7% in CIN II or CIN III. In each histologic group, the patients who had positive results for high-risk HPV showed higher incidence rate of high grade lesions than those with negative results(P<0.05). 5. According to the comparison of histologic diagnosis between positive and negative results of high-risk HPV test due to each cytology, there was no statistical significance in the incidence rate of cervical neoplasia, Above results suggest that high-risk HPV test using hybrid capture assay may be a useful method in supplement the pitfalls of cervical cytology. This test might also have prognostic value in the management of patients with CIN.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Epithelial Cells* ; Female ; Gynecology ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; Human Papillomavirus DNA Tests* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Jeollabuk-do ; Obstetrics ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

The urachus is a normal embryonic remnant of the primitive dome. It generally exists as a fibrous cord extending from the dome of the bladder to the umbilicus. Disorders of the urachus are developed as a result of its incomplete regression. The urachal cyst is the most common urachal anomaly, and is usually asymptomatic in infancy and childhood. However, when the cysts are large or accompanied with secondary infection, they may be detected in its early stage. A sonography or CT scan may be helpful to confirm the diagnosis of urachal cyst. The managements of infected urachal cyst are varied from simple drainage to radical excision. Here, we report an unusual case of urachal cyst infection that occurred during corticosteroids therapy in a girl with IgA nephropathy.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Coinfection ; Drainage ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Umbilicus ; Urachal Cyst ; Urachus ; Urinary Bladder

PURPOSE:Carotid endarterectomy may benefit patients with bilateral carotid stenosis by improving cerebrovascular hemodynamics of ipsilateral as well as contralateral cerebral hemispheres. We investigated cerebrovascular hemodynamics after carotid endarterectomy in patients with contralateral carotid occlusion by acetazolamide stress brain SPECT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 14 symptomatic patients (all men, mean age 66 yrs) with carotid stenosis (> 50%) with contralateral carotid occlusion. Acetazolamide stress Tc-99m ECD brain SPECTs were performed within 2 weeks before and after carotid endarterectomy using one day protocol. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) were assessed visually. In 12 patients, correlation between the patency of proximal anterior cerebral or anterior communicating arteries (A1/A-comm) and the improvement of CBF or CVR after endarterectomy was assessed. RESULTS: Preoperative SPECT showed reduced CBF in 2 ipsilateral and 10 contralateral hemispheres. CVR was reduced in 4 ipsilateral and 9 contralateral hemispheres. Of 12 hemispheres with reduced CBF, 2 hemispheres (16.7%) showed improvement of CBF after endarterectomy. However, reduced CVR was improved in all 4 ipsilateral and 7 of 9 (78%) of contralateral hemispheres after endarterectomy. Three of 4 with stenotic A1/A-comm and 4 of 8 with patent A1/A-comm had reduced contralateral CVR. Reduced contralateral CVR improved in all 3 patients with stenotic A1/A-comm and 3 of 4 with patent A1/A-comm. CONCLUSION: Acetazolamide stress brain SPECT demonstrated improvement of compromised cerebrovascular reserve in not only ipsilateral but also contralateral hemispheres of patients with contralateral carotid occlusion after carotid endarterectomy, and may, therefore, be useful for evaluating cerebral blood flow and cerebrovascular reserve after carotid endarterectomy.
Acetazolamide* ; Arteries ; Brain Ischemia ; Brain* ; Carotid Stenosis* ; Cerebrum ; Endarterectomy ; Endarterectomy, Carotid* ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Male ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

OBJECTIVE: Although marker chromosome is defined as an abnormal chromosome in which no part can be identified, derivative chromosomes with structural abnormalities of unknown origin are also called as marker chromosomes conventionally. The clinical significance of a marker chromosome is determined according to the origin of marker chromosome. In this study reverse painting fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) methods were employed to elucidate the origin of marker chromosomes in 5 clinical cases. METHODS: Reverse painting probes were generated from five copies of each marker chromosomes microdissected with micromanipulator, amplified with DOP-PCR, and labeled with fluorochromes. The probes were hybridized to normal metaphases. For CGH, normal control and patients' DNA were directly labeled with spectrum-red-dUTP and spectrum-green-dUTP by CGH nick translation kit, and hybridized to normal reference metaphases. The CGH images were captured with a computer controlled fluorescence microscope equipped with a CCD camera and analyzed by Cytovision workstation. RESULTS: Five marker chromosomes were identified as follows (1) derivative chromosome 15 inducing partial trisomy of 15pter->q21, (2) isochromosome of 18p causing 18p tetrasomy, (3) short arm of chromosome 5 causing 5p trisomy (4) small accessory chromosome originated from centromeric region of chromosome Xq11->q12 (5) der(17) with inverted duplication of the short arm of chromosome 17. In all cases the origin of each marker chromosomes were identified successfully with reverse painting FISH, and these results were concordant with the CGH profiles. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that combined reverse painting FISH and CGH is a rapid, convinient and powerful tool to identify the origin of marker chromosomes and derivative chromosomes caused by various chromosome abnormalities such as translocation, duplication, deletion.
Arm ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 15 ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization* ; DNA ; Fluorescence* ; Fluorescent Dyes ; In Situ Hybridization* ; Isochromosomes ; Metaphase ; Paint* ; Paintings* ; Tetrasomy ; Trisomy

The global research and pharmaceutical community rapidly mobilized to develop treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Existing treatments have been repurposed and new drugs have emerged. Here we summarize mechanisms and clinical trials of COVID-19 therapeutics approved or in development. Two reviewers, working independently, reviewed published data for approved COVID-19 vaccines and drugs, as well as developmental pipelines, using databases from the following organizations: United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Japanese Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA), and ClinicalTrials.gov. In all, 387 drugs were found for initial review. After removing unrelated trials and drugs, 66 drugs were selected, including 17 approved drugs and 49 drugs under development. These drugs were classified into six categories: 1) drugs targeting the viral life cycle 2) Anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Monoclonal Antibodies, 3) immunomodulators, 4) anti-coagulants, 5) COVID-19-induced neuropathy drugs, and 6) other therapeutics. Among the 49 drugs under development are the following: 6 drugs targeting the viral life cycle, 12 immunosuppression drugs, 2 immunostimulants, 2 HIF-PHD targeting drugs, 3 GM-CSF targeting drugs, 5 anti-coagulants, 2 COVID-19-induced neuropathy drugs, and 17 others. This review provides insight into mechanisms of action, properties, and indications for COVID-19 medications.

BACKGROUND: Olmesartan medoxomil is an angiotensin II receptor blocker commonly used in hypertension. First objective of this study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two olmesartan formulations, Olmesartan 20 mg and 40 mg tablet (Yuhan, Pharmaceutical Corp. Seoul, Korea) as test drugs and Olmetec(R) 20 mg and 40 mg tablet (Daewoong, Pharmaceutical Corp. Seoul, Korea) as reference drugs. Second objective of this study was to evaluate the dose-proportionality of two formulations. METHODS: Two studies (20 mg, 40 mg) were conducted as a randomized, open-label, 2-period, crossover design. Each subject received one 20 mg or 40 mg tablet of the reference or test formulation of olmesartan medoxomil in each study. Blood samples were obtained during the 48-hour period after the dose in each treatment period. Wash-out period was 1 week in each study. Concentrations of olmesartan medoxomil in plasma were analyzed using a liquid chromatography system with tandem mass-spectrometric detection (LC/MS/MS). The primary pharmacokinetic parameters were Cmax (maximum concentration) and AUCt (area under the concentration-time curve from time 0 to the last sampling time). RESULTS: A total number of 40 healthy male volunteers participated in the study and 37 volunteers completed both treatment periods in 20 mg trial. All 40 participants completed both treatment periods in 40 mg trial. The 90 % CIs for the geometric mean ratios of the pharmacokinetic parameters (test:reference drug) were 0.93 ~ 1.04 for AUCt and 0.97 ~ 1.08 for Cmax in 20 mg trial. The 90 CIs were 0.94 ~ 1.02 for AUCt and 1.00 ~ 1.11 for Cmax in 40 mg trial. All parameters of two studies satisfy the range of bioequivalence criterion. CONCLUSION: The obtained results indicated that pharmacokinetic exposure to Olmesartan 20 mg and 40 mg tablet was bioequivalent to that of Olmetec(R) 20 mg and 40 mg tablet, respectively.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Cross-Over Studies ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Imidazoles ; Male ; Plasma ; Receptors, Angiotensin ; Tetrazoles ; Therapeutic Equivalency

Esophagorespiratory fistulas resulting from Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection are rare. Whereas most esophagorespiratory fistulas are absolute indication for direct surgical closure, this may not be necessary in the case of those of tuberculous origin. If diagnosed early, the infection and the complicating fistula could be treated effectively with anti- tuberculous chemotherapy without the need for surgical intervention. Despite the sugges- tion of a trend away from direct surgical closure in recent years, it seems that anti tuberculous chemotherapy may not result in healing of the fistula in all patients. So we report a case of tuberculous esophagorespiratory fistula that has severe aspiration pneumorua and effectively treated with implantation of silicone-covered self-expandable metal stent and antituberculous chemotherapy.
Drug Therapy ; Fistula* ; Humans ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Silicones* ; Stents* ; Tracheoesophageal Fistula