Thin basement membrane nephropathy(TBMN) is defined histologically as follows: 1) By light rnicroscopy only minor abnormalities are detected in the glomeruli at most minor mesangial widening. 2) By electron microscopy, diffuse thinning of glomerular basement rnembrane is demonstrated. 3) By immunofluorescence, absence of immunoglobulins and complement components is demonstrated. 4) Alport's syndrome and systemic diseases that may affect the glomerular structure have been excluded. TBMN presented frequently with recurrent or persistent microscopic hematuria. Massive proteinuria such as in nephrotic syndrome rarely occurs in TBMN. We reported two cases of TBMN presented with typical minimal change nephrotic syndrome.
Basement Membrane* ; Complement System Proteins ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Hematuria ; Immunoglobulins ; Microscopy, Electron ; Nephritis, Hereditary ; Nephrosis, Lipoid* ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Proteinuria

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the effect of self-esteem and spouse support on prenatal depression. Methods: The subjects were 131 pregnant women who visited two women clinics located in Changwon City. Data were collected from September 25 to November 20, 2019, and the self-report questionnaire included spouse support, self-esteem, and prenatal depression. The collected data were analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 23.0 using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression analysis. Results: Prenatal depression had a significant negative correlation with self-esteem (r=-0.39, p=0.001) and spouse support (r=-0.36, p<0.001). The factors affecting prenatal depression were religion (β=-0.16, p=0.035), monthly family income (β=-0.15, p=0.040), self-esteem (β=-0.25, p=0.002), and spouse support (β=-0.19, p=0.017); these variables explained 28.4% of the variance in prenatal depression. Conclusion To prevent depression in pregnant women, professional counseling and support systems such as spouses, religious and social environments should be applied to pregnant women, especially those with low self-esteem. Additionally, more financial support should be provided for low-income pregnant women. Further, there is a need to screen and manage the risk of depression in pregnancy.

Four hundred and sixty five randomly selected clones from a cDNA library of Blattella germanica were partially sequenced and searched using BLAST as a means of analyzing the transcribed sequences of its genome. A total of 363 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were generated from 465 clones after editing and trimming the vector and ambiguous sequences. About 42% (154/363) of these clones showed significant homology with other data base registered genes. These new B. germanica genes constituted a broad range of transcripts distributed among ribosomal proteins, energy metabolism, allergens, proteases, protease inhibitors, enzymes, translation, cell signaling pathways, and proteins of unknown function. Eighty clones were not well-matched by database searches, and these represent new B. germanica-specific ESTs. Some genes which drew our attention are discussed. The information obtained increases our understanding of the B. germanica genome.
Sequence Alignment ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Male ; Female ; *Expressed Sequence Tags ; Blattellidae/*genetics ; Base Sequence ; Animals

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical findings upon initial diagnosis and extraglandular manifestations in Korean patients with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). METHODS: We collected clinical and laboratory data from 238 pSS patients enrolled at Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital and Seoul Medical Center from March 2011 to December 2014. All patients met the American-European Consensus Group criteria for pSS. RESULTS: Upon initial diagnosis, sicca symptoms (xerophthalmia or xerostomia) as the chief complaint were only observed in 129 (54.2%) pSS patients, while extraglandular manifestation was more common as the chief complaint in male patients or those with younger age (<40 years) than female or older patients (both p<0.05). Extraglandular manifestations were found in 178 (74.8%) patients, with musculoskeletal manifestations being most common (53.8%). Peripheral neuropathy in pSS patients was associated with Raynaud phenomenon and elevated serum total immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels (both p<0.05). Serum beta2-microglobulin (beta2-M) levels were significantly correlated with European League against Rheumatism (EULAR) Sjogren's syndrome disease activity index, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and serum total IgG (all p<0.001), and were higher in patients with extraglandular manifestations than those without (p<0.05). Serum C3 levels were decreased in patients with extraglandular manifestation, compared to those without (p<0.05). Malignant lymphoma was found in Korean pSS patients (1.7%) and associated with elevated serum beta2-M levels (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Extraglandular manifestations were common in pSS patients and may be a diagnostic tool for male or younger pSS patients. Serum beta2-M levels can be useful markers for monitoring pSS patients.
beta 2-Microglobulin ; Consensus ; Diagnosis ; Erythrocyte Indices ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Raynaud Disease ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Seoul ; Sjogren's Syndrome*

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a common condition leading to renal dysfunction and is closely related to increased cardiovascular and mortality risk. CKD is an important public health issue, and recent genetic studies have verified common CKD susceptibility variants. This research examines the interrelationship between candidate genes polymorphisms of interferon lambda (IFNL) induction, its signaling pathway, and CKD. Methods: Seventy-five patients with advanced CKD and 312 healthy subjects (as controls) participated in this research. A replication set composed of 172 patients with advanced CKD and 365 controls was used for additional analysis. The genotype of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was determined by the Axiom Genome-Wide Human Assay and SNaPshot assay. Results: The SNP of IFNL3 was significantly associated with CKD in the codominant (p = 0.02) and dominant models (p = 0.02). In addition, the SNPs of IFNL2 were significantly associated with CKD in the dominant model (p = 0.03), and the SNP of interferon alpha receptor 2 (IFNAR2) was significantly associated with CKD in the log-additive model (p = 0.03). Concerning rs148543092, in the IFNL3 gene, a significant association was observed after pooling the original and replication sets. Conclusion: These results indicate that SNPs in the IFNL induction and signal pathway may be associated with CKD risk in the Korean population. Finally, our results also show that the IFNL3 gene variant may be associated with CKD risk.

Pseudomyxoma peritonei is an unusual condition in which gelatinous fluid collection is associated with mucinous implants on the peritoneal surfaces and omentum. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics of pseudomyxoma peritonei and elucidate the optimal treatment modality. METHODS: Nine patients (male: female=2: 7) who had been operated on due to pseudomyxoma peritonei were analyzed retrospectively, in terms of clinical characteristics. RESULTS: The common symptoms and signs were abdominal pain, mass and distension. Elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level was found in six cases. CT and ultrasonography were most valid diagnostic tools for pseudomyxoma peritonei. Six cases underwent debulking operation as initial treatment and two of them underwent intraoperative chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and other three cases did open biopsy. The origin of the primary tumor were appendix in three cases, ovary and appendix in three cases, ovary and colon in one case, ovary in one case, while the tumor origin could not be identified in one case. The three cases with cystadenoma remain free of disease after debulking operation. 2-Year survival rate of nine cases was 75%. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that (1) the preoperative diagnosis could be made with careful physical examination in conjunction with sonography or computerized tomography; (2) the prognosis may be better in patient with benign origin and aggressive surgical management; (3) serum CEA level may be valuable for detection of this disease.
Abdominal Pain ; Appendix ; Biopsy ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Colon ; Cystadenoma ; Diagnosis* ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; Gelatin ; Humans ; Mucins ; Omentum ; Ovary ; Physical Examination ; Prognosis ; Pseudomyxoma Peritonei* ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Oral UFT is known to be a safe and effective antineoplastic regimen for adjuvant chemotherapy of colorectal cancer. As it sometimes produces upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as anorexia, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, medication should be stopped transiently or dosage reduced. UFT-E, an enteric coated granule of UFT was introduced to reduce UGI toxicity. We analyzed the toxicity of UFT and UFT-E prospectively for the purpose of comparison between the two types. METHODS: The toxicity of UFT and UFT-E were evaluated in 83 patients (UFT; 45, UFT-E; 38) with colorectal cancer who underwent curative surgery according to the WHO toxicity criteria. All patients were selected consecutively with patients' approval and by the "Institutional Review Board, Asan Medical Center". RESULTS: The toxicity incidence in UFT-E group was slightly less than that in UFT group without statistical significance. The severity of toxicity seemed to be mild within grade 1 or 2 and most of them toxicity self-limiting. The regimen was completely interrupted in 9 patients (20%) in the UFT group, 3 patients (7.9%) in the UFT-E group due to severe UGI symptoms, prolonged leukopenia, derrangement of liver function and skin rash. CONCLUSIONS: Toxicity rate of UFT-E was not higher than that of UFT. But we cannot prove superiority of UFT-E on UGI toxicity. Oral UFT-E can be administered safely on an outpatient basis without lethal toxicity requiring hospitalization.
Abdominal Pain ; Anorexia ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Exanthema ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukopenia ; Liver ; Nausea ; Outpatients ; Prospective Studies ; Vomiting

The aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferases of type Ib (aac(6')-Ib) gene confers resistance to amikacin, tobramycin, kanamycin, and netilmicin but not gentamicin. However, some isolates harboring this gene show reduced susceptibility to amikacin. The European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) recommends a revision of the phenotypic description for isolates harboring the aac(6')-Ib gene. In this study, we determined the aminoglycoside susceptibility profiles of 58 AAC(6')-Ib-producing Enterobacter cloacae isolates. On the basis of the CLSI and EUCAST breakpoints, a large proportion (84.5% and 55.2%, respectively) of these 58 isolates were found to be susceptible to amikacin. However, among the isolates that were shown to be anikacin-susceptible according to the CLSI and EUCAST breakpoints, only 30.6% and 18.8% isolates, respectively, could be considered to have intermediate resistance on the basis of the EUCAST expert rules. Further studies should be conducted to determine the aminoglycoside susceptibility profiles of aac(6')-Ib-harboring isolates from various geographic regions and to monitor the therapeutic efficacy of amikacin in infections caused by these isolates.
Acetyltransferases/*genetics ; Amikacin/pharmacology ; Aminoglycosides/*pharmacology ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/genetics ; Enterobacter cloacae/*genetics/isolation & purification ; Enterobacteriaceae Infections/diagnosis/microbiology ; Humans ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Central neurocytoma is a rare, well-differentiated neuronal tumor and is usually located in the lateral or third ventricle of young adults. Its overall prognosis is excellent with a low proliferative index. The majority of previously reported malignant variants rarely did recurred after tumor removal and regarded as benign tumor despite of histopathological malignant feature. Nevertheless, we experienced a case of malignant variant of the central neurocytoma with high proliferative index(Ki-67 labeling index >30%), which showed recurrence immediately after surgery and died within 3 months POD. Here, we describe the case with a review of the literatures.
Humans ; Neurocytoma* ; Neurons ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Third Ventricle ; Young Adult

Human palatine tonsil-derived mesenchymal stem cells (TMSCs) are known to be a new source of progenitor cells. Using waste tissue after tonsillectomy as a cell provider can be the biggest benefit of TMSCs, compared with other stem cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate tenogenic differentiation of TMSCs and to access the differential effects of transforming growth factor beta 3 (TGF-β3) on the tenogenesis of TMSCs. Human tonsil was obtained after tonsillectomy. Using a cytometric analysis, we were able to find that the TMSCs had typical mesenchymal stem cell markers: positive for CD73, CD90, and CD105, and negative for CD14, CD34, and CD45. Using TGF-β3, the expressions of tenocyte-specific genes and proteins, such as collagen type 1 (COL1), tenomodulin (TNMD), and scleraxis (SCX), were measured by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunofluorescence staining, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses. Quantitative PCR assay showed that TGF-β3 significantly increased the expressions of tenocyte lineage marker genes, including COL1, TNMD, and SCX, at a 3-day treatment, compared with control. However, these increases were not found at long-term exposures (7 or 10 days), except that TNMD expression was maintained at 50 ng/mL at a 7-day exposure to TGF-β3. Like genes, the protein expression levels of COL1, TNMD, and SCX were also induced in TGF-β3-treated TMSCs in a 3-day treatment, which were maintained for 10 days, as evidenced by immunofluorescence staining, immunohistochemistry and Western blot analyses. This study demonstrated that TMSCs in tenogenic stimulation with TGF-β3 have a high tenogenic differentiation potential.
Blotting, Western ; Collagen ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Palatine Tonsil ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Stem Cells ; Tonsillectomy ; Transforming Growth Factor beta