PURPOSE: It is not clear that the development of glomerular injury and aggravation by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is related to intrarenal or serum concentration of TNF-alpha. So, we studied the relationship between the concentration of TNF-alpha and aggravation of glomerular damage in the Henoch-Schonlein nephritis(HSN) and idiopathic nephrotic syndrome(INS). METHODS: We collected the sera and urines of 21 patients with Henoch-Schonlein purpura(HSP) and 22 patients with INS visited Chungbuk National University hospital from March 1998 to March 2001. The concentration of TNF-alpha in the sera and urines were measured by sandwich ELISA. RESULTS: Serum TNF-alpha levels in the HSP patients with renal involvement were significantly higher than those without renal involvement(P=0.009). But urine TNF-alpha levels have no correlation with renal involvement(P=0.088). In the HSN patients, proteinuria have a significant correlation with serum TNF-alpha levels(P=0.004) but less correlation with urine TNF-alpha levels(P=0.053). Otherwise, proteinuria have no correlation with serum TNF-alpha levels(P=0.763) but have a significant correlation with urine TNF-alpha levels(P=0.007) in INS. CONCLUSION: These result suggest that the serum concentration of TNF-alpha would be important to glomerular involvement in HSP. And, it is interesting that proteinuria shows a significant relation with serum TNF-alpha levels in the HSN, but with urine TNF-alpha levels in the INS. This means the major production of TNF-alpha may be originated by extrarenal inflammation in the HSN and by intrarenal tubulo-interstitial damage due to proteinuria in the INS.
Chungcheongbuk-do ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Nephritis* ; Nephrotic Syndrome* ; Proteinuria* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

This study was undertaken at the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chonnam University Medical School, to investigate the association between some of the risk factor and the incidence of intrauterine fetal growth restriction(IUGR). The studied population was selected from patients who admitted at Chonnam University Hospital during January, 1992 through May, 1997, with following criteria, Korean, singletone pregnancy with live birth and known gestational weeks with 28 or more. And then, the risk factors were analyzed in terms of maternal factor, placental factor, and fetal factor. The following results were obtained. 1) The incidence of IUGR was 6.1%. 2) The incidence of IUGR was higher at young aged mother and nullipara. 3) Only 39.1% of etiologic factors for IUGR was found to have known causes. According to the risk factors for IUGR, hypertensive disorder during pregnancy, anemia, cardiac disease, leukemia, and pulmonary tuberculosis were associated with increased incidence of IUGR. 4) The relative risk of IUGR was much higher in neonates born with congenital anomalies. 5) According to the placental causes of IUGR, placenta previa and placenta abruption showed some association with IUGR.
Anemia ; Fetal Development* ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gynecology ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Jeollanam-do ; Leukemia ; Live Birth ; Mothers ; Obstetrics ; Placenta ; Placenta Previa ; Pregnancy ; Risk Factors ; Schools, Medical ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

No abstract available.
Herpesvirus 4, Human*

No abstract available.
Antibodies, Monoclonal* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans* ; Tetanus Toxoid* ; Tetanus*

No abstract available.
Adaptive Immunity ; Animals ; Cell Line* ; Rats*

Generally alloplastic matrials such as collagen compound and liquid silicone injection, or autologous fat injection have been used for correction of surface irregularity. But, except for autologous fat injection, the other methods have been proved to be not effective or even dangerous. Then with the explosion in the popularity of liposuction, the autologous fat injection has been applied to variable clinical uses for contouring of the soft tissue irregularities. The author performed main operations with fat injections as ancillary procedure in 16 patients from 1993 to 1996, and long term follow-ups were reported. The lesions treated most frequently were cheeks, and others were thighs, legs, nasolabial folds and upper eyelids in order of frequency. The donor sites were lower abdomen, thigh, buttock and cheek. Our method of fat injection was used as an ancillary procedure for improving post-operative results in variable cases (craniofacial microsomia, fibrous dysplasia, asymmetry of leg, etc). And the important technical points in our method for reducing the absorption of fat after injection were atraumatic liposuction, multilayered dispersed injection, and 20% overcorrection. We obtained satisfactory aethetic results without major complications.
Abdomen ; Absorption ; Buttocks ; Cheek ; Collagen ; Explosions ; Eyelids ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leg ; Lipectomy ; Nasolabial Fold ; Silicones ; Thigh ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants*

In the past years skin grafts, local flaps and free flaps have been used in reconstructing skin of soft tissue defects and deformities of the face where primary closure is not feasible. A number of local flaps have been used for reconstruction of facial defects and deformities, but the size of a defect that could be treated in such a way was restricted and the donor site deformity was another problem of local flaps. Introduction of the tissue expansion technique has made it possible to cover even wider defects with neighboring skin and advantageous in facial reconstruction in that such defects can be resurfaced with skin of similar color, texture and thickness, a match superior to that of skin obtained elsewhere. We used tissue expanders in reconstructing defects and deformities of the face(post-burn scar ; 17cases, post-traumatic scar ; 7cases, congenital nevus ; 3cases, total 27cases) from Mar. 1990 to Sep. 1996. We used expanders of various size and shape according to the site and size of the defects. We prefered to use round or croissant type tissue expander for the reconstruction of small-sized scar on medial cheek and to use rectangular type expander for large-sized scar on lateral cheek. Ports are placed under the scar or scalp. Expansion period ranged from 28days to 97days (mean 7weeks) and overinflation (mean 170%) was done. And various methods are used for prevention of complication. We have made anchoring sutures of the remained capsule to the underlying periosteum for prevention of ectropion. We have got satisfactory results from that aesthetically and functionally, so report the results with a review of the current literature.
Cheek ; Cicatrix ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Ectropion ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Humans ; Nevus ; Periosteum ; Scalp ; Skin* ; Sutures ; Tissue Donors ; Tissue Expansion Devices ; Tissue Expansion* ; Transplants

STUDY DESIGN: Case report OBJECTIVES: We report a case of surgically proven tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine at the L5-S1 level in a 43-year-old man that mimicked infectious spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess on magnetic resonance (MR) images. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Some patients have chronic back pain with an epidural mass. Among the many causes of epidural masses, tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine is very rare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 43-year-old man presented with fever and chronic back pain with radiating pain. In an MR image of L4-5, an abnormal subcutaneous mass was found in the posterior epidural space. The subcutaneous mass was isointense on T1-weighted images compared with the intervertebral disc, and focally and strongly hyperintense and heterogeneous on T2-weighted images. After the intravenous administration of gadolinium contrast, the mass was fairly homogenous, with a low signal intensity and without enhancement. With the diagnosis of infective spondylitis with epidural abscess, we performed a decompressive mass resection. RESULTS: The pathologic examination revealed multinuclear giant cells and amorphous crystalline fibrous tissue. The lesion was diagnosed as tophaceous gout. CONCLUSIONS: This case underscores the importance of considering tophaceous gout in the differential diagnosis of an epidural mass in a patient with chronic back pain.
Administration, Intravenous ; Adult ; Back Pain ; Crystallins ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Discitis ; Epidural Abscess ; Epidural Space ; Fever ; Gadolinium ; Giant Cells ; Gout ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Spine ; Spondylitis

OBJECTIVES: We report a case of surgically proven tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine at the L5-S1 level in a 43-year-old man that mimicked infectious spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess on magnetic resonance (MR) images.SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Some patients have chronic back pain with an epidural mass. Among the many causes of epidural masses, tophaceous gout of the lumbar spine is very rare. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 43-year-old man presented with fever and chronic back pain with radiating pain. In an MR image of L4-5, an abnormal subcutaneous mass was found in the posterior epidural space. The subcutaneous mass was isointense on T1-weighted images compared with the intervertebral disc, and focally and strongly hyperintense and heterogeneous on T2-weighted images. After the intravenous administration of gadolinium contrast, the mass was fairly homogenous, with a low signal intensity and without enhancement. With the diagnosis of infective spondylitis with epidural abscess, we performed a decompressive mass resection. RESULTS: The pathologic examination revealed multinuclear giant cells and amorphous crystalline fibrous tissue. The lesion was diagnosed as tophaceous gout. CONCLUSIONS This case underscores the importance of considering tophaceous gout in the differential diagnosis of an epidural mass in a patient with chronic back pain.

Transurethral resection of Prostate(TURP) is the current optimal therapy for benign prostatic hypertrophy. But in some cases of BPH patients, TURP cannot be performed because the patients have medical disorders not to be operated. Thus several alternatives have been used in the management of BPH patients, especially who had anesthetic contraindications to an operation. We experienced 12 cases of BPH patients applied with Intraurethral Cath(IUC) from April 1991 to September 1995. Eleven patients became able to void after IUC insertion. The maximal flow rates were 5.1 to 15.7 ml/sec and average value was 11.8 ml/sec. Almost all patients showed irritative voiding symptoms such as urgency, urge incontinence, frequency, and dysuria at first. In 7 patients, these symptoms disappeared spontaneously within 2 to 5 days and oxybutynin chloride was used orally in 2 patients. Suprapubic cystostomy was done in three patients because two patients had severe irritative voiding symptoms and one patient had persistent urinary retention. The stent was changed every 3 to 6 months. Stone formation around the device was noted in 2 patients and migration of device into the bladder was found in 2 patients. In 4 patients, TURP was performed when the patient's condition improved enough to be operated under epidural anesthesia. In conclusion, the use of IUC is thought to be a valid, cost effective and safe alternative to TURP in the treatment of highly operative risk patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Anesthesia, Epidural ; Cystostomy ; Dysuria ; Humans ; Prostatic Hyperplasia* ; Stents* ; Transurethral Resection of Prostate ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Incontinence, Urge ; Urinary Retention