No abstract available.

We conducted this cohort analytic study to determine whether women with unexplained elevations of maternal serum hCG at 15-18 weeks' gestation are at increased risk for pregnancy complications and adverse perinatal outcomes. The inclusion criteria were a singleton gestation, a confirmed gestational age, and an hCG level greater than 2.0 multiples of the median (MoM). The exclusion criteria were fetal anomalies, an abnormal karyotype, molar pregnancy, and an MSAFP level greater than 2.5 multiples of the median (MoM). A group of randomly selected women with hCG levels under 2.0 MoM served as controls. Patients with elevated levels of hCG had a significantly higher risk for PIH (17.9% versus 4.5%; P <.05) and preterm delivery (17.9% versus 3.5%; P<, 05) than control. But no significant differences were observed in the incidence of intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight and in the newborn weight. We suggested that pregnancies with unexplained elevated hCG levels should be regarded as high-risk pregnancies. And these patients require careful monitoring with adequate obstetric management.
Abnormal Karyotype ; Chorionic Gonadotropin* ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans* ; Hydatidiform Mole ; Incidence ; Infant, Low Birth Weight ; Infant, Newborn ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications ; Pregnancy Outcome* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, High-Risk

No abstract available.
Lymphocele*

Osteolipoma is an ossified lipoma with distinct components of fat and bone. We present a case of interhemispheric osteolipoma associated with total agenesis of the corpus callosum. A 20-year-old man complained of severe headache, nausea and vomiting. Brain computed tomography showed a low-density mass in an interhemispheric fissure, with high T1 and T2 magnetic resonance signals compatible with fat. The mass measured 4.9 x 2.9 cm in size and showed peripheral calcifications. There was another small piece of same signal mass within the lateral ventricular choroid plexus. The interhemispheric lesion was removed by an interhemispheric approach. Osteolipoma is rare in interhemispheric region, however, it should be a differential diagnosis of lesions with fat intensity mass and calcifications.
Brain ; Choroid Plexus ; Corpus Callosum ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Headache ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Nausea ; Vomiting ; Young Adult

No abstract available.

A case of Carney complex in a Korean patient is presented. The patient had the characteristics of Carney complex including skin lesions, positive family history, and multiple myxomas including a superficial angiomyxoma in the perianal area. An extensive genetic analysis revealed a novel mutation in the protein kinase A type I-a regulatory subunit (PRKAR1A) gene, but not in the phosphodiesterase type 11A (PDE11A) gene. This is the first case wherein extensive genetic studies were performed in a patient with Carney complex in Korea.
Carney Complex ; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases ; Humans ; Korea ; Myxoma ; Skin

PURPOSE: Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we studied the ultrastructures of rapidly proliferating preretinal membranes of young patients with very extensive ischemic proliferative diabetic retinopathy and diabetes with uncontrollable blood sugar level. METHODS: Nine cases of preretinal membranes were obtained from six eyes of five patients with rapidly progressed proliferative diabetic retinopathy (mean age, 35 years) during vitrectomy. We obtained each preretinal membrane bimanually as one single sheet membrane using intraocular scissors and forceps. Each tissue was fixed in 3% glutaraldehyde in the operating room. All specimens were prepared and studied using TEM. RESULTS: The preretinal membranes were composed of blood vessels and some interstitial cells. The blood vessels within the preretinal membranes varied in developmental stages, from the immature stage to the mature stage. The blood vessels were highly active, in that primitive cells showed a large nucleus and prominent chromatin clumping with abundant cytoplasm. Highly active fibroblast-like cells were also noted. CONCLUSIONS: We observed highly active angiogenesis in preretinal membranes, which rapidly proliferated in cases of severe retinal ischemia in young diabetes patients. This is the first report of such a finding, which may help to explain the poor prognosis of this disease modality.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Vessels ; Chromatin ; Cytoplasm ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Eye ; Glutaral ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Membranes ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Operating Rooms ; Prognosis ; Retinaldehyde ; Surgical Instruments ; Vitrectomy

BACKGROUND: Identification of the genes expressed differentially in renal cell carcinoma (RCC)but not in the non-cancerous kidney is important for understanding the molecular basis ofrenal cell carcinoma and for defining possible prognostic value and therapeutic intervention.We investigated the changes in gene expression accompanying the development and progression of kidney cancer by cDNA microarrays. METHODS: To identify molecular alterations in renal cell carcinoma, we measured expression profiles for paired neoplastic and noncancerouskidney samples from an individual by means of a cDNA microarry representing 7, 500genes. Of the differentially expressed genes, we assessed the decorin gene at the proteinlevel using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The 60 genes were noted to have more than a fivefold change in expression (either increased or decreased) in RCC compared to the noncancerouskidney. The changed genes are those associated with signal transduction, metabolizingenzymes, the cytoskeleton, cell adhesion, cell cycle control, modulation of transcription, the tumor suppressor gene and tumor antigens. Under immunohistochemistry, the expressionof decorin was significantly decreased in the tumor than in the non-cancerous kidney.The expression rate of decorin was not associated with the patient's sex, age, histologic type, Fuhrmann nuclear grade and T stage. CONCLUSION: The author predicted that these geneexpression profiling experiments will lead to improvements in the basic understanding of renaltumor pathogenesis and will promote the discovery of novel molecular markers for renal tumordiagnosis and therapy.
Antigens, Neoplasm ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Cell Adhesion ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cytoskeleton ; Decorin* ; DNA, Complementary* ; Gene Expression* ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kidney ; Kidney Neoplasms ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis* ; Signal Transduction

PURPOSE: To determine the long-term repeatability of diurnal intraocular pressure (IOP) patterns in healthy Asian subjects without glaucoma. METHODS: Twenty-three eyes in 23 healthy Asian subjects without glaucoma underwent diurnal IOP measurements using Goldmann applanation tonometry every 2 hours from 9 AM to 11 PM during two visits that were 8 weeks apart. To validate repeatability between visits, we calculated intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) mean IOP, peak IOP, minimum IOP, and IOP fluctuation at each time point and expressed the results as the difference between peak IOP and minimum IOP or as the standard deviation of all diurnal IOP values in the diurnal IOP curve. RESULTS: IOP repeatability was excellent at all time points, with ICCs ranging from 0.812 to 0.946 (p < 0.001). The 9 AM IOP showed the best repeatability between visits (ICCs, 0.946). Repeatability of mean IOP, peak IOP, and minimum IOP was also excellent (ICCs ranging from 0.899 to 0.929). However, IOP fluctuations showed poor repeatability, with an ICC lower than 0.15. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term repeatability of diurnal IOP patterns in healthy Asian subjects was excellent. These findings suggest that IOP measurements at standardized times of the day will be useful for assessing the effectiveness of glaucoma therapy.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Circadian Rhythm ; Glaucoma ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure* ; Manometry

BACKGROUND: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3), a member of six proteins with a high affinity for insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), seems to modulate the effects of IGFs on cells and to regulate cell proliferation through the IGF-independent pathway. We assessed the role of IGFBP3 in the colorectal carcinoma detected by cDNA microarray. METHODS: To identify molecular alterations in the colorectal carcinoma, we analyzed gene expression profiles of the colorectal adenocarcinoma by means of a cDNA microarray representing 7,500 genes. Of the differentially expressed genes, the author assessed the insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) gene at the protein level using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The expressions of 21 and 16 genes were noted to have more than fivefold increases or decreases in the colonic adenocarcinoma tissue compared with the noncancerous colonic mucosal tissue. The differentially expressed genes include those associated with cell proliferation/apoptosis, signal transduction/transcription, metabolizing enzymes, cytoskeleton, angiogenesis, ion channel, extracellular matrix and others. Of the total 68 cases of colorectal adenocarcinomas observed, 34 cases (50%) showed positive immunohistochemical stainings for IGFBP3. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, it is suggested that IGFBP3 plays a role in colorectal carcinogenesis. And combining an immunohistochemistry with a cDNA microarray can facillitate the rapid characterization of a candidate novel molecular target.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Proliferation ; Colon ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Cytoskeleton ; DNA, Complementary* ; Extracellular Matrix ; Immunohistochemistry ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3* ; Ion Channels ; Mucous Membrane ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis* ; Somatomedins ; Transcriptome