Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare, distinctive cutaneous tumor, which consists of spindle shaped ceils arranged in densely packed interlacing bundles with the storiform or cartwheel pattern. Histologically, it resembles deep growing dermatofibroma, nodular fasciitis, neurofibroma and neural sheath tumors. DFSP is one of t.he connective tissue tumors which is difficult. to diagnose histologically as well as clinically. Recently, the immunochemical staining with a monoclonal antibody to CD34 is reported to give assistance in the clear differential diagnosis of DFSP from other fibrous or neural tumors. Herein, three cases of DFSP were stained by immunohistochemical staining with S-100 protein, vimentin, factor VIII and anti-CD34 antibody in order to assess the use of anti-CD34 in the differential diagnosis of DFSP.
Connective Tissue ; Dermatofibrosarcoma* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Factor VIII ; Fasciitis ; Histiocytoma, Benign Fibrous ; Neurofibroma ; S100 Proteins ; Vimentin

BACKGROUND: It is evident that inhalational anesthetics, such as nitrous oxide, possess a certain degree of myelodepressive effect in humans. However, unlike nitrous oxide, propofol is frequently recommended for the anesthesia of oncologic patients or for harvesting bone marrow from donors. To evaluate the possible toxicity of propofol on hematopoietic stem cells, the in vitro sensitivity of colony growth to propofol was assessed using murine clonogenic hematopoietic progenitor cells. METHODS: Femoral and tibial marrow cells were obtained from 4- to 6-week-old male BALB/c mice. Propofol was diluted in culture medium (30microM, 300microM and 1 mM) and added into methylcellulose semi-solid culture media. After 14 days of culturing, the numbers of colony-forming unit granulocyte/monocyte (CFU-GM) colonies were counted. An advance liquid culture (RPMI 1640) of 5 hours duration was also applied prior to culturing in semisolid media to assess the short term exposure toxicity. RESULTS: The colony counts were significantly decreased compared to the control at higher concentrations than 1 mM (P<0.05). The pre-exposure to propofol did not affect the number CFU-GM colony count at the concentrations of 30microM and 300microM or under conditions of co-culture. CONCLUSIONS: No myelodepressive effect was observed in mouse bone marrow cells with exposure of propofol at concentrations under 300microM.
Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; Bone Marrow* ; Coculture Techniques ; Culture Media ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Progenitor Cells ; Hematopoiesis* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Male ; Methylcellulose ; Mice* ; Nitrous Oxide ; Propofol* ; Stem Cells ; Tissue Donors

Acute cerebellitis, also known as acute cerebellar ataxia, is an inflammatory syndrome of cerebellar dysfunction that may reflect an infectious, post-infectious, or post-vaccination disorder. The clinical presentations are abnormal eye movement, truncal ataxia, dysarthria, nausea, headache, tremor, convulsion and altered mental status. Many patients with cerebellitis are supposed to have normal MRI findings. But hyperintense signals of cerebellar gray matter in T2-weighted sequences of MRI can be used as a strong indication of acute cerebellitis. We report here a case of acute cerebellitis with abnormal MRI findings in 7 years old patient with diplopia and tremor.
Ataxia ; Cerebellar Ataxia ; Cerebellar Diseases ; Child ; Diplopia ; Dysarthria ; Eye Movements ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Nausea ; Seizures ; Tremor

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by typically short-lived and fleeting wheals, angioedema or both, which occur spontaneously and persist for longer than 6 weeks. This term is applied to the most common subtype of chronic urticaria. The underlying pathophysiology for CSU involves mast cell and basophil degranulation with release of histamine, leukotrienes, prostaglandins and other inflammatory mediators. Although a variety of treatments exist, many patients do not tolerate or benefit from the existing therapies and even require more effective treatments. Omalizumab is currently the only licensed biologic for antihistamine-refractory CSU, and novel drugs are under development. This article reviews its current status regarding pathogenesis and approach to treatment as well as therapeutic agents that are under development for the treatment of CSU.
Angioedema ; Basophils ; Biological Products ; Histamine ; Humans ; Leukotrienes ; Mast Cells ; Omalizumab ; Prostaglandins ; Urticaria

No abstract available.
Mandibular Condyle

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Periodic limb movements (PLM) during sleep (PLMS) are associated with cortical and cardiovascular activation. Changes in cerebral hemodynamics caused by cortical activity can be measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We investigated oscillatory components of cerebral hemodynamics during PLM and different sleep stages in restless legs syndrome (RLS) patients with PLMS. METHODS: Four female RLS patients with PLMS, and four age- and sex-matched normal controls were included. PLM and sleep stages were scored using polysomnography, while the spontaneous cerebral hemodynamics was measured by NIRS. The phase and amplitude of the cerebral oxyhemoglobin concentration [HbO] and the deoxyhemoglobin concentration [Hb] low-frequency oscillations (LFOs) were evaluated during each sleep stage [waking, light sleep (LS; stages N1 and N2), slow-wave sleep (stage N3), and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep]. In RLS patients with PLMS, the cerebral hemodynamics during LS was divided into LS with and without PLM. RESULTS: The cerebral hemodynamics activity varied among the different sleep stages. There were changes in phase differences between [HbO] and [Hb] LFOs during the different sleep stages in the normal controls but not in the RLS patients with PLMS. The [HbO] and [Hb] LFO amplitudes were higher in the patient group than in controls during both LS with PLM and REM sleep. CONCLUSIONS: The present study has demonstrated the presence of cerebral hemodynamics disturbances in RLS patients with PLMS, which may contribute to an increased risk of cerebrovascular events.
Extremities* ; Female ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Oxyhemoglobins ; Polysomnography ; Restless Legs Syndrome* ; Sleep Stages ; Sleep, REM ; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared*

BACKGROUND: The antitumor effects of herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase(HSV-tk) and ganciclovir(GCV) strategies for cancer gene therapy have a the following advantages:1) a direct cytotoxicity to HSV-tk modified cancer cells by GCV 2) a cell death by the local transfer of toxic metabolites from the HSV-tk modified cells to nearby unmodified tumor cells(bystander effect), and 3) in vivo bystander effect such as antitumor-immunity. Retroviral and adenoviral sequences can silence transgene expression in cells and mice. In this study, we investigated the above described advantages of HXV-tk/GCV strategy in Lewis lung cell and mouse lung cancer model using retroviral vector and adenoviral vector. Also, we observed whether the expression of a silenced gene can be reactivated by treating cell with butyrate. METHODS: Retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors were used for the transduction of Lewis lung carcinoma(LLC) cells. The change of HSV-tk expression by butyrate was measured by Western blot.The antitumor activities containing bystander effect were observed in vivo(by MTT assay) and in vivo tumor models of various combinations of LLC and LLC-tk. RESULTS: 1. Butyrate induced the enhancement of HSV-tk expression from adenovirally transduced cells but not from retrovirally transduced cells. 2. Both retrovirus-HSV-tk and adenovirus-HSV-tk vectors with GCV treatment were effective for killing of tumor cell in vitro and suppression of LLC tumorigenicity. Bystander effect was responsible for killing of mixture of LLC-tk and LLC in vitro and in vivo-tumorigenicity model. CONCLUSION: Butyrate could augment adenoviral vector seems to be an effective approach for lung cancer therapy.
Adenoviridae ; Animals ; Butyrates ; Bystander Effect ; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung* ; Cell Death ; Genes, Neoplasm ; Genetic Therapy* ; Herpes Simplex* ; Homicide ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Mice* ; Phosphotransferases* ; Retroviridae ; Simplexvirus* ; Thymidine ; Transgenes ; Zidovudine*

6months); were analyzed by linear measurement to evaluate changes in position (hard tissue B, Pogonion point)and compare relapse between both groups.]]>
Chin ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genioplasty ; Osteotomy ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: Some studies report a role of leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and suggest a rationale for the use of leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) in the treatment of atopic dermatitis. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment effectiveness of montelukast in children with atopic dermatitis. METHODS: Fifty-four children between the ages of 2 and 6 years with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis were enrolled. Group A received montelukast for 8 weeks, followed by a crossover to 8 weeks of placebo after a 2-week washout period. Group B reversed the administration according to a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design. The SCORing atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) index, urinary leukotriene E4 (LTE4), and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN) were assessed at every visit. RESULTS: Forty-three patients (21 males) completed the study. Although the SCORAD index was decreased in both groups, there was no statistically significant difference between montelukast and placebo (-3.0±11.2 vs -5.7±11.3, P=0.43). The level of urinary LTE4 was decreased after taking montelukast when compared to placebo, but there was no statistically significant difference (-65.9±556.2 vs 87.7±618.3, P=0.26). The changes in urinary EDN after taking montelukast and placebo had no significant difference (37.0±1,008.6 vs -195.8±916.7, P=0.10). When analyzing SCORAD indices, urinary LTE4, and EDN, we could not prove the effectiveness of montelukast in the atopic, non-atopic or high ECP (ECP ≥15 µg/L) subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: There was no statistically significant difference in clinical improvement or biomarkers between montelukast and placebo treatment. Therefore, conventional treatments with skin care and infection control might be more important strategies in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.
Biological Markers ; Child* ; Cross-Over Studies* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Eosinophil-Derived Neurotoxin ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Leukotriene E4 ; Leukotrienes ; Receptors, Leukotriene ; Skin Care ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: Intrauterine growth restriction(IUGR) accounts for significantiy increased perinatal mortality and neonatal morbidity rates. The Purpose of this study is to investigate the association between some of the risk factors and the incidence of fetal growth restriction. PATIENTS AND METHOD: The retrospective survey of obstetric records of 2188 mothers, who delivered between July, 1995 and June, 1998, was carried out in Hanyang University Kuri Hospital, with the following inclusion criteria: Korean, singleton pregnancy with live birth and a gestational age of more than 32 weeks. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: 1) The incidence rate for IUGR was 4,7% during the period of 1995 through 1998. 2) 41.2% of IUGR was due to unknown causes, 58.8% of IUGR was due to known. Among known causes the maternal factor was 40.2%, the placenta factor was 14.7%, and the fetal anomaly was 4%. 3) Among maternal factors, pregnancy induced hypertension was the most common cause. 4) The incidence of IUGR was higher in primiparous women and in female babies. 5) The IUGR group showed lower Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes than control group,
Female ; Fetal Development ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Incidence ; Live Birth ; Mothers ; Perinatal Mortality ; Placenta ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors