Angiogenesis is essential for tumor growth and metastasis, however, the prognostic value of neovascularization is undetermined. The aim of this study is to evaluate the prognostic significance of microvessel density (MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in breast carcinomas. An immunohistochemical stains for CD 31 (DAKO) to estimate MVD and VEGF (Santa Cruz) were done on 40 cases of invasive breast carcinoma. MVD was calculated as an average count of vessels per 200 power field in the most vascularized areas. VEGF expression was interpreted according to staining intensity and number of positive cells. Mean MVD was 35, and MVD was not correlated with lymph node metastasis or histologic grade, but high MVD (mean MVD>35) showed an increasing tendency in cases with larger size, negative ER/PR, and positive cathepsin D. All of the cases showed VEGF expression, but VEGF expression was not correlated with tumor size, histologic grade, lymph node metastasis, ER/PR status, and cathepsin D expression. These results suggest that MVD and VEGF expressions are not reliable prognostic factors.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Cathepsin D ; Coloring Agents ; Lymph Nodes ; Microvessels* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

PURPOSE: To examine effects of a postnatal care program on self-efficacy, self-management, and glycemic control in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: A non-equivalent control group non-synchronized quasi-experimental design was used. Sixty-two women with GDM were enrolled and assigned to either an experimental group (n=30) or a control group (n=32). The experimental group received an intervention which was postnatal care program for women with GDM. The postnatal care program for GDM included an individual education with leaflet and mobile web-based video with three times of telephone counseling. Effects of the intervention were measured with self-efficacy, self-management questionnaire, and a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (75g OGTT). Statistical significance was examined using independent t-test and χ2-test. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference in 75g OGTT (χ2=.11, p=.748) or self-management (t=−1.28, p=.206), there was a statistically significant increase in self-efficacy (t=−2.02, p=.048) in the experimental group compared to that in the control group. CONCLUSION: A postnatal care program is needed for women with GDM to improve their self-efficacy. Further studies are warranted to improve self-management and glycemic control through tailored education for GDM postpartum women.
Blood Glucose ; Counseling ; Diabetes, Gestational* ; Education ; Female ; Glucose Tolerance Test ; Humans ; Postnatal Care* ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Self Care* ; Telephone

The purpose of this study was to compare food intakes between Korean breast cancer patients and a healthy control group. We compared the intake of nutrients of 117 food items between Korean breast cancer patients (n=97) and age matched healthy controls (n=97). Nutrient intake was estimated using a quantitative food frequency questionnaire. The mean caloric intake of breast cancer patients and healthy controls was not significantly different. Breast cancer patients consumed significantly less fat and antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin A, retinol, beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E when compared to the control subjects. Among the food items, the intake of eggs (p<0.01), legumes (p<0.05), vegetables (p<0.05), seasonings (p<0.001), and oils and fats (p<0.01) in breast cancer patients was significantly lower than that in the controls. These results suggest that Korean breast cancer patients consumed less amount of soy and vegetables, which are rich source of antioxidant nutrients and phytosterols. Thus, dietary guidance to increase intake of these foods may be beneficial in the prevention of breast cancer.
Ascorbic Acid ; beta Carotene ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Eating* ; Eggs ; Energy Intake ; Fabaceae ; Fats ; Female ; Humans ; Oils ; Ovum ; Phytosterols ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seasons ; Vegetables ; Vitamin A ; Vitamin E ; Vitamins

BACKGROUND: Disparities of Minor H antigens can induce graft rejection after MHC-matched transplantation. H60 has been characterized as a dominant antigen expressed on hematopoietic cells and considered to be an ideal model antigen for study on graft-versus-leukemia effect. METHODS: Splenocytes from C57BL/6 mice immunized with H60 congenic splenocytes were used for establishment of H60-specific CTL clones. Then the clones were characterized for proliferation capacity and cytotoxicity after stimulation with H60. Clone #14, #15, and #23 were tested for the TCR binding avidity to H60-peptide/H-2Kb and analyzed for TCR sequences. RESULTS: H60-specific CTL clones showed different levels of proliferation capacity and cytotoxic activity to H60-stimulation. Clones #14, #15, and #23 showed high proliferation activity, high cytotoxicity, and low activities on both aspects, respectively, and have TCRs with different binding avidities to H60-peptide/H-2Kb with t 1/2 values of 4.87, 6.92, and 13.03 minutes, respectively. The TCR usages were Valpha12D-3-01+Jalpha11-01 and Vbeta12-1-01+Dbeta1-01+J2-7-01 for clone #14, Valpha13D-1-02+Jalpha34-02 and Vbeta13-1-02+Dbeta2-01+Jbeta2-7-01 for clone #15, and Valpha16D+Jalpha45-01 and Vbeta12-1-01+Dbeta1-01+Jbeta2-5-01 for clone #23. CONCLUSION: The results will be useful for modeling GVL and generation TCR transgenic mouse.
Animals ; Clone Cells ; Graft Rejection ; Histocompatibility ; Histocompatibility Antigens ; Mice ; Mice, Transgenic ; Transplants

Metabolomics has been used as a powerful tool for the analysis and quality assessment of the natural product (NP)-derived medicines. It is increasingly being used in the quality control and standardization of NP-derived medicines because they are composed of hundreds of natural compounds. The most common techniques that are used in metabolomics consist of NMR, GC-MS, and LC-MS in combination with multivariate statistical analyses including principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). Currently, the quality control of the NP-derived medicines is usually conducted using HPLC and is specified by one or two indicators. To create a superior quality control framework and avoid adulterated drugs, it is necessary to be able to determine and establish standards based on multiple ingredients using metabolic profiling and fingerprinting. Therefore, the application of various analytical tools in the quality control of NP-derived medicines forms the major part of this review. Veregen® (Medigene AG, Planegg/Martinsried, Germany), which is the first botanical prescription drug approved by US Food and Drug Administration, is reviewed as an example that will hopefully provide future directions and perspectives on metabolomics technologies available for the quality control of NP-derived medicines.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dermatoglyphics ; Metabolomics* ; Prescriptions ; Quality Control* ; United States Food and Drug Administration

A hand-arm vibration syndrome, local vibration illness, occurs in some workers who use hand held vibration tools. It consists of white fingers, diffusely distributed finger neuropathy, pain in the hand and arm, and a small excess risk of osteoarthritis. This study is aimed to identify effective methods to confirm local vibration illness among various health exams, which are mentioned in worker's special health exam regulation. In addition, this study is aimed to quantitatively assess the daily vibration exposure level as a major determinant of vibration illness. The subjects, 46 vibration workers, were selected according to the results of the first special health exam about vibration hazards at shipbuilding industry in 1997. They all had experiences of work related blanching of fingers. Fifteen controls, who had no vibration exposure at all, were also recruited to compare their test results with the results of vibration workers. We adopted 1 subjective and 6 objective tests to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility for confirming local vibration illness. These tests were history taking of subjective symptoms according to the Stockholm classification, checking blood pressure of finger, checking grasp power, checking finger skin temperature, nail-bed pressing test, vibration perceptional threshold test, and skin prick test for pain perception. Among these, checking skin temperature, nail-bed pressing test, and vibration perception test included cold water provocations. We also estimated some vibration exposure levels of hand held vibration tools by using previously published data from one automobile company. In conclusion, history taking of subjective symptoms according to the Stockholm classification, nail-bed pressing test, and vibration perceptional threshold test were discovered to be effective to diagnose local vibration illness. Furthermore, vibration perceptional threshold on right fingers showed a dose-response relationship to daily vibration exposure levels. The parameter beta was 0.0005(+/-0.0002), and statistically significant by REM (random effects model).
Arm ; Automobiles ; Blood Pressure ; Classification ; Fingers ; Hand ; Hand Strength ; Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome ; Osteoarthritis ; Pain Perception ; Skin ; Skin Temperature ; Vibration* ; Water

Internal abdominal hernia is an unusual cause of intestinal obstruction. Paraduodenal hernia is relatively rare congenital malformations resulting from incomplete rotation of the midgut with entrapment of the small intestine beneath the developing colon. We report a case of paraduodenal hernia treated by laparoscopic approach. The patient was a 45-year-old man presenting with severe abdominal pain for 5 hours. Left paraduodenal hernia with jejunum hernia containing jejunal loops showed in abdominal CT. At operation, herniation of the small intestine into a retroperitoneal space through a defect on the left mesocolon was noted. After the herniated bowel was fully reduced, the hernia orifice was closed intra-corporeally in the manner of interrupted sutures with absorbable suture materials. The patient was discharged home without any serious complications on postoperative day 9. Conclusively, we think laparoscopic surgery in left paraduodenal hernia is feasible.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon ; Hernia ; Hernia, Abdominal ; Humans ; Intestinal Obstruction ; Intestine, Small ; Jejunum ; Laparoscopy ; Mesocolon ; Middle Aged ; Retroperitoneal Space ; Sutures

Central venous stenosis is a relatively common complication in hemodialysis patients; however, jugular venous reflux (JVR) and increased intracranial pressure are rare, and associated progressive visual disturbance was reported in only a few cases. Here, we report a case of JVR with visual disturbance and increased intracranial pressure. Notably, the MRI was accompanied by a dilatation of the superior ophthalmic vein, which was mistaken for a cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistula (CSdAVF). The patient had JVR on time-of-flight MR angiography (TOF-MRA) and severe stenosis of the left brachiocephalic vein on conventional angiography. After balloon angioplasty for central venous stenosis, he was discharged after improvement of his visual disturbance. Although JVR due to central venous stenosis and CSdAVF might show similar symptoms, treatment plans are different. Therefore, it is important to distinguish radiologically based on a thorough review of MRI and TOF-MRA and confirm the central venous stenosis on cerebral angiography for the accurate diagnosis.

Malignant lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract is a rare lesion, which comprises 1~4% of the malignant neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. Abdominal pain and weight loss are the most common symptoms and an abdominal mass, the most common physical finding. This tumor is often discovered at a late stage; a diagnosis should be done on all patients undergoing an emergency operation for an obstruction, hemorrhage, or perforation. We report a case of a multiple ulcerating malignant lymphoma of the gastrointestinal tract with perforation in a 60 year-old male. The patient visited our hospital because of a sudden onset of acute abdominal pain. The operative finding was multiple masses on the small bowel, sigmoid colon, and stomach, plus multiple perforations of the small bowel. We performed a multiple small bowel segmental resection and an anastomosis at the site of the perforated lesion. The pathologic evaluation diagnosed it as a malignant lymphoma and the patient was treated with cyclophosphamide, adreiamycin, and vincristine. We report this rare disease with a review of the literature.
Abdominal Pain ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Gastrointestinal Tract* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rare Diseases ; Stomach ; Ulcer* ; Vincristine ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: Recently, obesity with metabolic syndrome is considered as an important risk factor in the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Glomerulomegaly and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) are found in the obese patients, suggesting that investigation of structural- functional relationship in the obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG) is needed to prevent CKD. Thus, we report here clinical and pathologic characteristics of ORG and its association with other clinical variables. METHODS: Obesity was defined by body mass index >25 kg/m2 and ORG morphologically by FSGS and glomerulomegaly or glomerulomegaly alone. Clinicopathologic findings and glomerular sizes of ORG (14 cases) were compared with age-matched controls with thin basement membrane disease. Multiple variable analysis was performed between glomerular size and clinical variables. RESULTS: There was no nephrotic syndrome or pretibial pitting edema in all obese patients. Mean glomerular diameter was increased in obese patients compared to controls (240+/-21 micrometer vs 197+/-21 micrometer, p=0.001). Seven cases had lesions with FSGS with glomerulomegaly and seven cases glomerulomegaly alone. Mild tubular atrophy, interstitial fibrosis and arteriolosclerosis were observed in more than half of patients. In obese patients, seven patients with FSGS had more elevated systolic blood pressure and tubular interstitial fibrosis compared to patients with glomerulomegaly only. Patients' systolic blood pressure and waist circumference were independent risk factors influencing the glomerular size in obese patients. CONCLUSION: FSGS or glomerulomegaly are prominent even in the mild obesity with insignificant clinical symptoms. This indicates that the clinical attention to glomerular disease is needed in obese patients.
Arteriolosclerosis ; Atrophy ; Basement Membrane ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Edema ; Fibrosis ; Glomerulosclerosis, Focal Segmental ; Humans ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Obesity ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Risk Factors ; Waist Circumference