BACKGROUND: A presumptive diagnosis of cutaneous tuberculosis can be made on the basis of patients' history, clinical and histologic findings. However, isolation of Mycobacerum tuberculosis is required for a definitive diagnosis and confirmation can be difficult with traditional techniques, including the direct visualization in tissue and growth in culture. OBJECTIVE: We used polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for the detection of mycobacterial DNA from routinely prepared formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded skin specimens to evaluate its usefulness as a diagnostic tool. METHOD: We studied typical cases of localized cutaneous tuberculosis. Ten paraffin-embedded biopsy samples obtained from 2 patients with scrofuloderma, lupus vulgaris and tuberculosis verrucosa cutis were analyzed by PCR, respectively. RESULTS: M. tuerculosis DNA was demonstrated in all 10 specimens. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the PCR will be a useful method for the confirmation of the diagnosis in localized cutaneous tuberculosis and many skin lesions thought to be related to M. tuberculosis infection.
Biopsy* ; Diagnosis ; DNA* ; Humans ; Lupus Vulgaris ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Paraffin* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Skin* ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Cutaneous*

No abstract available.
Lipodystrophy, Congenital Generalized*

A 51-year-old female developed a distinctive perioral rash, conisting of discrete or confluent erythematous papules for one and a half years. Histopathologic examiriation revealed upper dermal granulomas admixed with lymphoytes. Pieces of hair shaft were staincd peri-dish by AFB in the center of granuloma, which might play a role in the formation of the granuloma She also had used corticosteroid ointment intermittently duririg this time. There were no associated systemic abnormalities. The lesions resolved after two month treatment with oral corticosteroid and tetrac cline.
Dermatitis, Perioral* ; Exanthema ; Female ; Granuloma ; Hair ; Humans ; Middle Aged

Dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria is a rare pigmentary disorder characterized by widespread mothed hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation. We report a 40-year-old male patient with numerous hyperpigmenter, and hypopigmented macules all over the body except on the palms and soles. The family history revealed similar pigmentary changes in 5 other members through 4 generations, and we could guess the hereditary pattern of the disease of this family to be autosomal dominant inheritance.
Adult ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Hypopigmentation ; Male ; Moths ; Wills

Cerebriform intradermal melanocytic nevus is a cause of cutis veticis gyrata, a morphologic term which describes the hypertrophy and folding of the skin, typically occurring on the scslp, to present a gyrate or cerebriform appearance. We report a 37-year-old woman with a 17 x 22cm soft, convoluted mass over most of the occipital, parietal, and temporal scalp. At birth, she had a small brownish macide on the occipital scalp that enlarged to form this extensive lesion. Histologically, nests of nevus cells were shown in the upper and the mid dermis.
Adult ; Dermis ; Female ; Fibroadenoma ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Nevus ; Nevus, Pigmented* ; Parturition ; Rabeprazole ; Scalp ; Skin

In an era of low fertility, the maternity infrastructure system has collapsed steeply and the number of obstetrically underserved areas has increased. To improve the maternity infrastructure, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has announced the introduction of an essential medical support policy centered on introducing an additional delivery medical fee. The core of the essential medical policy for labor and delivery is the addition of regional medical fees, safety policy additional fees, and infectious disease-controll policy additional fees to the existing labor and delivery medical fees. The government's delivery medical additional fees will vary according region, with 200% increase in metropolitan cities, 300% increase in nonmetropolitan cities, and an additional 100% increase in the event of an infectious disease outbreak. After analyzing the government's plan to support additional fees, it is estimated that the total delivery expenses will be increased by Korean won (KRW) 236,619,748,266, and KRW 485,872,173 per maternity hospital. Even though this support plan is expected to help maintain maternity hospitals, this plan has limitations in small maternity hospitals in metropolitan cities and maternity hospitals for high-risk pregnant women. This is because the government's support policy is based on the "medical payment system by action," which is less effective in rural maternity hospitals with fewer deliveries and in training hospitals that mainly treat high-risk pregnant women rather than simple deliveries. Additionally, given the expected decline in the number of births in the future, it is estimated that the total delivery medical fees will steadily decline, as will the income per maternity hospital. To maintain a sustainable maternity infrastructure, it is essential to introduce the medical fees for operating a maternity delivery room that can be maintained, the medical fees for high-risk pregnancies, and various salary and protection support policies for obstetricians and nurses in addition to delivery medical fees.

Infants and children of 227 cases with respiratory diseases and 743 cases with non-respiratory disease admitted to pediatric department of NMC for 3 years, from Sept. 1974 to Aug. 1977 were taken throat swabs for bacterial cultures and the results were evaluated for various disease state. The following results were obtained: 1. Total number of bacteria isolated from respiratory and non-respiratory patients were 87 and 168, respectively. 2. Age distribution of cluture revealed 52% of positively cultured patients were below 6 months of age and 65% were less than 1 year of age. 3. Frequency of bacterial isolation were as follows: In respiratory disease, Staphylo. Aureus, Klebsiella, E.Coli, and D.Pneumoniae were isolated in order of frequency. In non-respiratory disease, Staphylo. Aureus, Staphylo. Epidermidis, Klebsiella, D.Pneumoniae, and E.Coli were isolated in order of frequency. 4. Bacterial sensitivity to several antibiotics showed same rate of sensitivity to same kind of antibiotics on the both respiratory and non-respiratory patients. The concept that bacteria from throat swab does not accurately represent the pathogenic organism in the lower respiratory disease should be kept in mind in interpreting the results of the throat culture.
Age Distribution ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Child ; Humans ; Infant ; Klebsiella ; Pharynx*

Bone marrow contains mesenchymal stem cells capable of differentiating into osteoblastic lineage. To test the ability of purified bone marrow mesenchymal cell loaded onto xenograft with type I collagen gel to heal bone defect, mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from bone marrow of Lewis rat, and culture-expanded. Northern blot hybridization revealed that osteocalcin and osteopontin mRNA expression persisted for 8 weeks of in-vitro culture. When the bone marrow mesenchymal cells became 80-90% confluent in 2-3 weeks, they were loaded onto chips of xenograft (Lubboc(R) with type I collagen gel. The cell-gel-xenograft composite was transplanted subcutaneously into the dorsum of nude mice. It was also transplanted into tibial diaphyseal defect made in syngeneic Lewis rats, and compared with the control group where only the xenograft was planted. There was no ectopic bone formation at the dorsum of nude mice around the transplanted cell-gel-xenograft complex. In the long bone defect model, the cell-gel-xenograft group induced fibrosis around it and the bone healing was inferior to the control group. Type I collagen gel is not a suitable carrier of bone marrow mesenchymal cells to heal the long bone defect.
Animals ; Blotting, Northern ; Bone Marrow* ; Collagen Type I* ; Fibrosis ; Heterografts ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocalcin ; Osteogenesis ; Osteopontin ; Plants ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger

Multiple gastric caner, now considered to be a sort of multiple primary cancer by Moertel's classification, is a special type of cancer in which two or more tumor lesions arise independently from the stomach. Although its incidence is rare and it has never been reported in Korea yet, the report of multiple gastric cancer is increasing with lengthened life survival and improved diagnostic method. We recently experienced two cases of triple gastric cancer, the one in 53-years-old male who had well differentiated adenocarcinoma(EGC IIb+c) on antrum, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma on cardia and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma on mid-body, and the other in 65-years-old female who had two poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma on cardia and anterior wall of low body and moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (EGCIIc) on posterior wall of low body. Triple gastric cancer is rare, so we reported 2 cases of triple gastric cancer.
Adenocarcinoma ; Cardia ; Classification ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Infliximab* ; Ulcer* ; Vitiligo*