No abstract available.
Granuloma* ; Intubation*

BACKGROUND: During neuroanesthesia, head holder pinning commonly results in sympathetic stimulation manifested by hemodynamic changes, such as increased heart rate and arterial blood pressure. Remifentanil has been used successfully to control acute autonomic responses during neurosurgical procedures. The objective of this study was to determine effect-site concentration of remifentanil for suppressing the hemodynamic response to head holder pinning with the probability of 50% (EC50). METHODS: Forty-one ASA physical status I or II patients, between the ages of 20-70, who were scheduled for neurosurgery were recruited into this study. After arrival in the operating room, standard monitoring was applied throughout the study, which included a bispectral index monitor. Both propofol and remifentanil were administered by Target-control infusion device. The Dixon "up-and-down" sequential allocation method was used to determine the EC50 of remifentanil. RESULTS: The EC50 of remifentanil was 2.19 +/- 0.76 ng/ml by the turning point estimate (TPE). In probit analysis, EC50 was 2.42 ng/ml (95% CI : -0.62-4.66) and EC95 was 5.70 ng/ml (95% CI : 4.02-67.53). The EC50 estimator comes from isotonic regression is 2.90 ng/ml (95% CI : 1.78-3.65). The EC95 estimator comes from isotonic regression is 4.28 ng/ml (95% CI : 3.85-4.41). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that EC50 of remifentanil was 2.19 +/- 0.76 ng/ml by TPE. EC50 was 2.42 ng/ml (95% CI -0.62-4.66) in probit analysis, as back up analysis. The EC50 estimator comes from isotonic regression is 2.90 ng/ml (95% CI : 1.78-3.65).
Arterial Pressure ; Consciousness Monitors ; Head ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Neurosurgery ; Neurosurgical Procedures ; Operating Rooms ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Piperidines ; Propofol

Fibrolipoma is a rare variant of lipomas which shows distinct pathologic findings with both component of mature adipose cells and broad bands of dense fibrous connective tissue. A 52-year-old woman presented with 2X2cm sized, indurated, slightly elevated and slightly tender subcutaneous mass which slowly enlarged during the last four to five years accompanied by slight tenderness on the right upper back. The laboratory examination showed non-specific findings. Histopathologic findings revealed a well-defined mass composed of eosinophilic dense connective tissue bands with mature adipose cells scattered throughout the mass. The lesion was totally excised and she showed no evidence of recurrence after 6 months of follow-up.
Connective Tissue ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lipoma ; Middle Aged ; Recurrence

The pancreas is formed from dorsal and ventral parts which normally fuse in the second month of intrauterine life. Pancreas divisum occurs when the ventral and dorsal elements fail to fuse; as a result, the main bulk of the pancreas drains through the accessory papilla. It is a congenital variait of pancreatic ductal fusion and drainage anomalies. Since the accessoy papilla and Santorinis duct are too all to accept total pancreatic secretion, obstructive pain and pancreatitis may result. Between March 1983 and February 1988, 631 patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography(ERCP) in our hospital. We experiericed one case of pancreas divisum. And then, we report it with brief review of literatures.
Drainage ; Humans ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatic Ducts ; Pancreatitis

No abstract available.
Choriocarcinoma* ; Female ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Pregnancy

No abstract available.
Lung*

No abstract available.
Echocardiography* ; Heart Valves* ; Humans

Mitochondria-targeted vitamin E (MVE) is designed to accumulate within mitochondria and is applied to decrease mitochondrial oxidative damage. However, the protective effects of MVE in skin cells have not been identified. We investigated the protective effect of MVE against UVB in dermal fibroblasts and immortalized human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). In addition, we studied the wound-healing effect of MVE in animal models. We found that MVE increased the proliferation and survival of fibroblasts at low concentration (i.e., nM ranges). In addition, MVE increased collagen production and downregulated matrix metalloproteinase1. MVE also increased the proliferation and survival of HaCaT cells. UVB increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in fibroblasts and HaCaT cells, while MVE decreased ROS production at low concentration. In an animal experiment, MVE accelerated wound healing from laser-induced skin damage. These results collectively suggest that low dose MVE protects skin from UVB irradiation. Therefore, MVE can be developed as a cosmetic raw material.
Animal Experimentation ; Cell Line ; Collagen ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; Mitochondria ; Models, Animal ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Skin* ; Vitamin E* ; Vitamins* ; Wound Healing

In a previous study, we have demonstrated that S-methylmethionine sulfonium (SMMS) confers wound-healing and photoprotective effects on the skin, suggesting that SMMS can be used as a cosmetic raw material. However, it has an unpleasant odor. Therefore, in the present study, we synthesized odor-free SMMS derivatives by eliminating dimethyl sulfide, which is the cause of the unpleasant odor and identified two derivatives that exhibited skin-protective effects: one derivative comprised (2S,4S)- and (2R,4S)-2-phenylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid and the other comprised (2S,4R)-, (2S,4S)-, (2R,4R)-, and (2R,4S)-2-phenyl-1,3-thiazinane-4-carboxylic acid. We performed in vitro proliferation assays using human dermal fibroblasts (hDFs) and an immortalized human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). The two SMMS derivatives were shown to increase hDF and HaCaT cell proliferation as well as improve their survival by protecting against ultraviolet exposure. Moreover, the derivatives regulated the expression of collagen type I and MMP mRNAs against ultraviolet exposure in hDFs, suggesting that these derivatives can be developed as cosmetic raw materials.
Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Collagen Type I ; Fibroblasts ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Keratinocytes ; Odors ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin ; Vitamin U*

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the change of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) after the infection of the human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCSMCs) with Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) and the effect of PPARgamma agonist on the expression of PPARgamma of C. pneumoniae-infected HCSMCs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine the effect of PPARgamma agonist on the proliferation of C. pneumoniae-infected HCSMCs, rosiglitazone at various concentrations was applied 1 hour before inoculation of HCSMCs. RESULTS: The expression of PPARgamma mRNA in HCSMCs increased from 3 hours after C. pneumoniae infection and reached that of noninfected HCSMCs at 24 hours (p < 0.05). The expression of PPARgamma protein in HCSMCs also increased from 3 hours after C. pneumoniae and persisted until 24 hours as compared with that of noninfected HCSMCs (p < 0.05). The pretreatment of HCSMCs with rosiglitazone followed by the infection with C. pneumoniae augmented the expression of PPARgamma mRNA and protein (p < 0.05) and decreased cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the expression of PPARgamma increases in response to C. pneumoniae infection and rosiglitazone further augmented the expression of PPARgamma. It is suggested that rosiglitazone could ameliorate the chronic inflammation in the vessel wall induced by C. pneumoniae by augmenting PPARgamma expression.
Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae/growth & development/*physiology ; Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects ; Humans ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology/drug effects/metabolism ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle/drug effects/*metabolism/microbiology ; PPAR gamma/genetics/*metabolism ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Thiazolidinediones/pharmacology