This study was conducted to identify the factors for serum cholesterol level among Korean Air Force pilots. We obtained risk factors for 408 pilots examined during period from January 1996 through March 1997. The associations between total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol and age, body mass Index(BMI), smoking, drinking, blood pressure, flight time and fat intake were analyzed. The mean serum total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were 161.8+/-31.0 mg/dl, 475+/-11.0 mg/dl, 93.1+/-30.2 mg/dl, and 106.5+/-61.3 mg/dl respectively. Possible risk factors were total flight time, BMI, smoking, drinking, exercise, flight, and fighter or not. Total flight time and BMI were statistically significant factors In serum cholesterol level while controlling for the effect of the remaining factors. The longer the total flight time, the higher the level of serum total cholesterol. Total flight time, BMI, and drinking amount were statistically significant factors in serum HDL-cholesterol while controlling for the effect of the remaining factors. The higher the BIM, the lower the level of HDL-cholesterol. BMI was a statistically significant factor in seurm LDL-cholesterol while controlling for the effect of remaining factors. Total flight time, BIM, and flight were statistically significant factors in serum triglyceride while controlling for the effect of the remaining factors. Conclusively, BIM was a only significant factor in all four lipid levels, and total flight time took an affect to total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
Blood Pressure ; Cholesterol ; Drinking ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is a chronic inflammatory disease with markedly increased eosinophils, Th2-type lymphocytes, fibroblasts, and goblet cells. Fungi are commonly associated with airway inflammatory diseases, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is important in the development of Th2 inflammatory responses. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction between airborne fungi and nasal fibroblasts in TSLP mRNA and protein expression. METHODS: Inferior turbinate and nasal polyp fibroblasts were stimulated with Alternaria and Aspergillus, respectively, for 48 hours, and TSLP mRNA and protein expressions were measured. The reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed for the Toll-like receptor (TLR) mRNA expression of the nasal fibroblasts. To determine the role of TLR in the induction of TSLP, the fibroblasts were transfected with siRNA against TLR2 and TLR5. RESULTS: Alternaria induced TSLP mRNA and protein expression in both inferior turbinate and nasal polyp fibroblasts. The nasal polyp fibroblasts responded more strongly to the fungi. TLR2 and TLR5 mRNA expressions were significantly increased with fungal stimulation and TSLP production was significantly inhibited by siRNA against TLR2. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that TSLP expression could be induced in nasal fibroblasts by exposure to Alternaria and that TLR2 may be involved in the process. The promotion of TSLP production in nasal fibroblasts by airborne fungi may facilitate the development or exacerbation of Th2-type nasal inflammation, especially in CRS with nasal polyps.
Alternaria* ; Aspergillus ; Eosinophils ; Fibroblasts* ; Fungi ; Goblet Cells ; Inflammation ; Lymphocytes ; Nasal Polyps ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Toll-Like Receptor 2* ; Toll-Like Receptors* ; Turbinates

Mutation of the p53 gene is one of the most common genetic alterations in invasive breast carcinoma. However, it is unclear that the mutation usually occurs in noninvasive breast lesions. It might be expected that there is a correlation between histologic progression of breast lesions and proliferative rate. We investigated the expression of p53 protein and Ki-67 labelling index (LI) using immunohistochemistry in 16 ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCIS-Mi), 56 DCIS, 15 atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH), and 7 intraductal hyperplasia (IDH). Expression of p53 protein was detected in 33.9% of DCIS and 56.3% of DCIS-Mi and was confined exclusively in Van Nuys DCIS group 2 and 3. In ADH and IDH, no expression of p53 protein was found. There was no significant correlation between Van Nuys DCIS groups and Ki-67 LI. In conclusion, p53 mutation may be involved in the neoplastic progression from ADH to DCIS and is directly related to high nuclear grade and associated necrosis of DCIS.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating* ; Genes, p53 ; Hyperplasia* ; Immunohistochemistry ; Necrosis

BACKGROUND: Core needle biopsy (CNB) is widely used as the initial sampling method for breast cancer. And because frozen section (FS) diagnosis is rapid and reliable, we studied the diagnostic agreement between the diagnosis of FS of CNB and final diagnosis after surgery to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the FS of CNB. METHODS: Of 409 patients who were preoperatively diagnosed by FS of CNB and who underwent final surgery from 1996 through 2000, 24 cases were found to be ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 385 cases invasive carcinoma (IC). The diagnoses of FS of CNB were compared with final diagnoses. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of carcinoma is 63.6% for DCIS and 86.9% for invasive carcinoma. Five cases (1.2%) could not be diagnosed because of material insufficiency for diagnosis. Twenty two cases (5.4%) were diagnosed as benign on FS, among which 20 (90.9%) were misdiagnosed by sampling error. Twenty seven cases (6.7%) were deferred on FS, 4 of these cases were DCIS, 5 were invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), the rest displayed low nuclear grades or marked freezing artifacts. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy of FS of CNB is very high except for cases of ILC and low grade DCIS. Considering the advantage of rapid evaluation, more definitive diagnosis, familiarity by pathologists and availability of ancillary study, FS of CNB is very useful method as the preoperative evaluation.
Animals ; Artifacts ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle* ; Biopsy, Needle ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; Diagnosis ; Freezing ; Frozen Sections* ; Humans ; Mammary Neoplasms, Animal ; Recognition (Psychology) ; Selection Bias

BACKGROUND: Cat scratch disease (CSD) manifests as a self-limiting, regional lymphadenopathy, fever and constitutional symptoms following a cat scratch or close contact with cats. Bartonella henselae is a causative agent of CSD that is globally distributed. In Korea there are no case report of CSD and no reports on the seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae in patients with suspected CSD. In this study the prevalence of antibodies to Bartonella in patients with lymphadenopathies was evaluated. METHODS: We evaluated serological responses of 31 patients (8 male, 23 female) with regional lymphadenopathies. The age of the patients ranged from 6 to 76 years old (mean+/-S.D., 30.6+/-14.3 years). Final diagnoses on the lymphadenopathies were tuberculous lymphadenopathy, Kikuchi's disease, Kawasaki's disease, and viral infection, but considerable cases remained undiagnosed. All sera were examined using MRL Diagnostics Bartonella IgG indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test kits (MRL Diagnostics, Cypress, California, USA) according to the manufac-turer's instructions. RESULTS: Of the 31 patients, 21 (67.7%) patients showed positive titers of immunoglobulin G (IgG) to B. henselae (1 : 64 or higher). Twelve (38.7%) had IgG titers of 1 : 128 and four (12.9%) had titers of 1 : 256. Among these patients, three patients had a history of close contact with a cat or cat scratch. Twenty patients (64.5%) showed positive reactions against B. quintana. CONCLUSION: This study revealed possible patients with cat scratch disease, but, unlike other countries, Bartonella seropositivity was not closely associated with cat contact. The further studies should be performed in a large number of patients including a control group and be accompanied with culture or polymerase chain reaction of extirpated lymph node.
Aged ; Animals ; Antibodies* ; Bartonella henselae* ; Bartonella quintana* ; Bartonella* ; California ; Cat-Scratch Disease ; Cats ; Cupressus ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Histiocytic Necrotizing Lymphadenitis ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Korea ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Diseases* ; Male ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence* ; Seroepidemiologic Studies

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a proliferative disease that shares phenotypic characteristics with Langerhans cells (LCs) and involves multiple organs. Here, we report a case of LCH in a 36-year-old male simultaneously involving the lungs and thoracic spine. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed multifocal thin-walled cysts and ill-defined nodular opacities primarily in the bilateral upper and middle lung lobes that fluctuated with smoking. Despite improvement of pulmonary lesions after smoking cessation, osteolytic lesion of thoracic vertebra was aggravated. Symptoms were not improved after nerve block, suggesting vertebral instability that necessitated surgical mass removal and posterior fusion. Microscopically diffuse proliferation of immature, rounded LCs and inflammatory cell infiltration was noted. Although pulmonary LCH in an adult is a benign disease that is usually resolved spontaneously after smoking cessation, surgical treatment should be considered in a case of spinal LCH.
Adult ; Histiocytosis ; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell ; Humans ; Langerhans Cells ; Lung ; Male ; Nerve Block ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Spine ; Thorax

Lipoma is a benign fatty tumor that can arise in any location of the body where fat is present. It is found most commonly in the upper half of the body, particularly the head and neck, shoulders, and back. A mass in the antero-inferior part of the neck may be initially thought to be thyroid masses and then other cervical masses should be considered. Ultrasongraphic examination of benign lipoma demonstrates solid and echogenic mass and may differentiate nonthyroid from thyroid masses. Although the location of tumors, its consistency, and its motion with deglutition, seperation from the thyroid on sonographic examination, all pointed to nonthyroidal origin, did not rule out a possible mass that isolated from the lobes of the thyroid. Fine needle aspiration and biopsy can provide clear answer.We herein report a case of anterior cervical mass in a 48-yr-old male patient presenting a non-tender, slightly hard and nodular mass slowly growing for several years and moved with swallowing, and diagnosed his case as benign lipoma using thyroid scan and ultrasonography. When we encounter patients with anterior neck mass, we should consider benign lipoma mimicking diffuse goiter.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Deglutition ; Goiter ; Head ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Male ; Neck ; Shoulder ; Thyroid Gland ; Ultrasonography

Background: To determine the effects of Jerusalem Artichoke extract (JAE) and inulin on blood glucose levels and insulin secretion in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice.
Methods: Thirty four mice were divided into a normal control group and three experimental groups: diabetic control, JAE, and inulin. STZ (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to induce diabetes in the three experimental groups. The JAE and inulin groups were fed 10 g/kg JAE or fed 1 g/kg inulin, respectively, for 6 weeks. Fasting glucose was checked weekly. After 6 weeks, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed, and the insulin level was checked.
Results: Four mice from the JAE group (n = 9) died and autopsies revealed inflammation and ulceration of skin lesions on the chest areas. Fasting glucose levels were not decreased in the inulin or JAE group relative to diabetic control group. In the OGTT at 60 minutes and 120 minutes, the serum glucose levels were significantly higher in the inulin group (572.6 ± 52.0 mg/dL and 555.8 ± 72.9 mg/dL, respectively) than in diabetic control group (484.3 ± 81.6 mg/dL and 467.3 ± 111.1 mg/dL, respectively). Insulin levels were not increased in the inulin group relative to the diabetic control group.
Conclusion These results indicate that JAE and inulin might not be useful therapeutic strategies for diabetes mellitus and indiscreet intake of Jerusalem Artichoke could exacerbate to diabetes.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic potential of whole-exome sequencing (WES) and elucidate the clinical and genetic characteristics of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) in the Korean population. Materials and Methods: Forty-seven patients clinically suspected of having PCD were enrolled at a tertiary medical center. WES was performed in all patients, and seven patients received biopsy of cilia and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: Overall, PCD was diagnosed in 10 (21.3%) patients: eight by WES (8/47, 17%), four by TEM. Among patients diagnosed as PCD based on TEM results, two patients showed consistent results with WES and TEM of PCD (2/4, 50%). In addition, five patients, who were not included in the final PCD diagnosis group, had variants of unknown significance in PCD-related genes (5/47, 10.6%).The most frequent pathogenic (P)/likely pathogenic (LP) variants were detected in DNAH11 (n=4, 21.1%), DRC1 (n=4, 21.1%), and DNAH5 (n=4, 21.1%). Among the detected 17 P/LP variants in PCD-related genes in this study, 8 (47.1%) were identified as novel variants. Regarding the genotype–phenotype correlation in this study, the authors experienced severe PCD cases caused by the LP/P variants in MCIDAS, DRC1, and CCDC39. Conclusion Through this study, we were able to confirm the value of WES as one of the diagnostic tools for PCD, which increases with TEM, rather than single gene tests. These results will prove useful to hospitals with limited access to PCD diagnostic testing but with relatively efficient in-house or outsourced access to genetic testing at a pre-symptomatic or early disease stage.

PURPOSE: Of the hypothetical models of the carcinogenesis of breast cancer, the horizontal progression is most acceptable at the present time. According to the hypothesis, there are genetically different pathways among pure invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), non-high grade IDC with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), and high grade IDC with DCIS. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is any heterogeneity in biological behavior among these three categories. METHODS: With reversed Black nuclear grade (RBNG) in IDC component and the association of DCIS, we divided 184 breast cancer patients, who had underwent curative operations, into three groups. The patients with pure IDC were included in Group 1, non-high grade (RBNG 1 and 2) IDC with DCIS in Group 2, and high grade (RBNG 3) IDC with DCIS in Group 3. And we retrospectively analyzed and compared three groups with mean age, menopausal status, T stage, N stage, the expression rate of ER, PR, p53, and c-erbB-2, and cumulative metastasis-free survival. RESULTS: The percentage of the postmenopausal patients was significantly smaller in Group 3 (14.0%, P=0.025) than Group 1 and 2 (36.1% and 30.6%). There were significantly higher expression rates of ER and PR in Group 2 with 78.3% and 68.3%, respectively (P=0.000 and P=0.030). The 5-year metastasis- free survival rate were 70.4% in Group 1, 85.2% in Group 3, and 87.5% in Group 2. The Log Rank test in Kaplan-Meier cumulative survival curve showed the statistically significant differences among three groups (P= 0.041). CONCLUSION: We can say that there would be clinical heterogeneity among three groups classified by histopathologic findings. To apply this classification to the multi-disciplinary therapeutic modality of breast cancer, further study using a new biologic marker, which is associated with invasiveness and metastagenicity and can discrminate the three categories of breast cancers in any kind of specimen biopised preoperatively, is needed.
Biomarkers ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Classification* ; Humans ; Population Characteristics ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate