Congenital indifference to pain is a rare disorder chsracterized by absence of normal subjective and objective responses to noxious stimuli in patients with intact central and peripheral nervous system. It is attributed to an abnormal affective response rather than to defective perception. Sensory apparatus of the patient was intact as far as can be determined. We experieneed a csse of congenital indifference to pain with decreased sweating.
Humans ; Pain Insensitivity, Congenital ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Sweat ; Sweating

PURPOSE: Atopy is a state of allergic response, mediated by IgE, to common environmental allergens. In recent decades, there has been an increase in prevalence of atopic disorders in children in developed countries. The factor associated with the rise of atopy incidence may be declining exposure to some infection opportunities. The aim of this study is to determine if the immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis can suppress atopy by investigating the association between tuberculin responses and serum IgE. METHODS: We divided the patients into two groups according to tuberculin skin test. Group A showed positive response (induration diameter > or =10mm), while Group B showed negative response (induration diameter< l0mm). A comparison was made between the two groups in terms of age, sex, serum total IgE and allergen-specific IgE. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients comprised Group A and 72 comprised Group B. The mean serum total IgE concentration and the number of patients showing positive MAST in Group B was significantly higher than that of Group A (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In our study, there was an inverse association between delayed hypersensitivity to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and atopy.
Allergens ; Child ; Developed Countries ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Incidence ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Prevalence ; Skin Tests ; Tuberculin*

BACKGROUND: Activated coagulation time (ACT) is commonly used to guide heparin and protamine dosing during cardiovascular surgery. There are many factors that influence the ACT such as time of test, hemodilution, temperature, aprotinin and etc. We considered the other factor that influence the ACT, the route of blood sample. METHODS: This study included 40 patients who were scheduled for cardiac surgery. Whole blood was sampled through arterial and central venous line at 10 minutes after surgical incision and heparin administration. The ACT was measured with Hemochron 801 blood coagulation timer with 12 mg of celite surface activator. RESULTS: At 10 minutes after surgical incision and heparin administration, arterial blood and venous blood ACTs were 127 20, 537 214 seconds and 118 18, 496 145 seconds respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the venous blood ACT is more less than arterial blood ACT during cardiovascular surgery.
Aprotinin ; Blood Coagulation ; Diatomaceous Earth ; Heart* ; Hemodilution ; Heparin ; Humans ; Thoracic Surgery*

Endometriosis is defined as the presence of endometrial tissue, e.g. gland and stroma, outside the uterus. Extrapelvic endometriosis is a rare condition but it occurrs in the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, pancreas, umbilicus, perianal area, abdominal scar tissue, lung or central nervous system except spleen. We have experienced a case of extrapelvic endometriosis in an adolescent girl, who complained of severe left upper quadrant abdominal pain and vomiting. The lesion was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography and computerized tomography, and confirmed histologically by exploratory laparotomy and mass excision biopsy. During menstration after surgery, she had no complaint of abdominal pain nor dysmenorrhea. We report this case with a review of associated literature.
Abdominal Pain* ; Adolescent* ; Biopsy ; Central Nervous System ; Cicatrix ; Dysmenorrhea ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Female* ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Kidney ; Laparotomy ; Lung ; Pancreas ; Spleen ; Ultrasonography ; Umbilicus ; Uterus ; Vomiting

Primary gastric lymphoma is relatively uncommon, accounting for 3% to 8% of all malignancies arising in the stomach. The most common symptom is abdominal pain, closely followed by weight loss, anorexia, weakness due to anemia, nausea, and vomiting. The diagnosis of gastric lymphoma usually requires a biopsy at the time of gastroscopy or laparotomy. Microscopically, the vast majority of gastric lymphoid tumors are non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of B cell origin. Survival rates for all types of gastric lymphoma generally exceed those for adenocarcinoma and other malignancies of the stomach. We experienced one case of primary gastric lymphoma in puberty with a brief review of the literature.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenocarcinoma ; Adolescent ; Anemia ; Anorexia ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Gastroscopy ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Nausea ; Puberty* ; Stomach ; Survival Rate ; Vomiting ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonias have been one of the most common causes of lower respiratory tract diseases during childhood. It is suggested that pathologic changes seen in the lung tissues were the histologic expression of the host immune response. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the chest radiographic pattern of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and the level of the cell-mediated immunity of the host. METHODS: Chest radiographic changes and the results of tuberculin skin test (5TU PPD) were studied during the acute stage of infection in 76 patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. Chest radiographic findings were used to divide the patients into two groups; one group had a predominance of diffuse reticulonodular infiltration (Group A; n=40), while the remainings showed a predominance of segmental or lobar consolidation (Group B; n=36). A comparison was made between the two groups in terms of age, gender, total leukocyte and lymphocyte count, mycoplasma antibody titer, severity of pneumonia, and pleural effusion. RESULTS: Sixty out of 70 patients had negative tuberculin skin test and the positive rate of PPD reaction was higher in Group A (14/40) compared to Group B (2/40) (P<0.05). Pleural effusion was observed significantly more often in Group B (10/36) than in Group A (2/40) (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between Group A and B in age, gender, total leukocyte and lymphocyte count, mycoplasma antibody titer and severity of the disease (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that the cell-mediated immunity of patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia might influence the radiographic pattern of the pulmonary lesions.
Humans ; Immunity, Cellular* ; Leukocytes ; Lung ; Lymphocyte Count ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Radiography* ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; Skin Tests ; Thorax* ; Tuberculin ; Tuberculin Test

No abstract available.
Renal Insufficiency*

PURPOSE: Eosinophils are cells of the granulocyte lineage that participate in host defence against parasitic disease and mediate allergic inflammation. In this study by using the combination of cytokines IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF, we explore the characterization of cultured eosinophils from CD34+ CBCs. METHODS: Mononuclear cells were isolated heparinized umbilical cord blood by Ficoll-paque (1.077 g/ml) density gradient centrifugation method. The CD34-bearing hematopoietic progenitor cells were collected by elution after their adhesion to a magnetic cell sepatation (MACS) column. The CD34+ cells were incubated in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and were cultured in the presence of IL-3, IL-5, and GM-CSF in a 6-well plate bottomed tissue culture plate at 37 degrees C for 7-28 days in humidified 5% CO2 and 95% air atmosphere. For the identification of cultured eosinophils Wright's and Giemsa staining, RT-PCR, Southern blotting and FACS analysis are used. RESULTS: We analyzed the cultured eosinophils Wright's and Giemsa staining, the total cell number of cells increased 50-fold by days 28 of culture. Also, using the sensitive RT-PCR technique, we monitered the appearance of mRNA transcrips of EPO. Identity of each RT-PCR product was confirms by southern blotting with independent gene-specific oligonucleotide probes and we found increasing of hybridization signals for EPO at 7th culture days. In addtion, we identified eosinophils in cultured CD34+ CBCs by flow cytometry. As s results, we succeeded in developing of pure eosinophils efficiently from CD34+ of CBCs in the presence of IL-3, IL-5 and GM-CSF. CONCLUSION: The in vitro growth of CD34+ CBCs may provide a useful system to study growth factor and stage-dependent adhesion molecule expression, as well as function on developing eosinophils.
Atmosphere ; Azure Stains ; Blotting, Southern ; Cell Count ; Centrifugation, Density Gradient ; Cytokines ; Eosinophils* ; Fetal Blood* ; Flow Cytometry ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Granulocytes ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Heparin ; Humans* ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-3* ; Interleukin-5* ; Oligonucleotide Probes ; Parasitic Diseases ; RNA, Messenger

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Specific IgE to food allergen is associated with atopic dermatitis, but it does not always show good clinical correlation. It has been suggested that IgG may be partly involved in allergen-induced reaction. This study was designed to investigate the clinical significance of specific IgG antibody to egg white (EW) in atopic dermatitis patients who showed improvement with egg elimination diet. METHOD: Eleven atopic dermatitis patients who responded to egg elimination diet were selected. They were classified into two groups; group I (n=5) with positive specific IgE to EW and group II (n=6) with normal levels of serum specific IgE. Two volunteers with no allergic diseases were enrolled in the control group. EW-specific IgG western blotting was performed with patient's serum and purified protein extracted from EW. RESULTS: IgG western blotting to EW in group I showed bands at 51.8 kD in two patients and bands at 35 kD in the others. In group II, two showed bands at 51.8 kD, and diffuse bands at 35 kD~51.8 kD were found in four patients. There were no bands in the control group. CONCLUSION: Regardless of the presence of specific IgE, specific IgG to EW was detected by western blotting in patients with egg-associated atopic dermatitis, suggesting that specific IgG may play a role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis.
Blotting, Western* ; Child* ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diet ; Egg White ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Ovum* ; Volunteers

A 21-year-old woman with a 4 cm enhancing cystic renal mass in the left moiety of a horseshoe kidney was treated through a retroperitoneal laparoscopic approach. The tumor was excised completely with cold scissors, and renal parenchyma suturing with a surgical bolster was done with Vicryl 2-0 sutures. Choosing the proper approach according to the location of the lesion and the surgeon's experience with both approaches are of importance in laparoscopic surgery in horseshoe kidney cases. A preoperative kidney computed tomography angiography was helpful for understanding the complex renal vasculature.
Angiography ; Cold Temperature ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney ; Laparoscopy ; Nephrectomy ; Polyglactin 910 ; Sutures ; Young Adult