No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Dermatomyositis*

No abstract available.
Hyperostosis, Cortical, Congenital*

No abstract available.
Endocarditis*

PURPOSE: Skin prick test and determination of allergen-specific IgE antibodies in serum are methods commonly used to diagnose allergies. Several studies indicate that skin test and specific IgE have roughly the same diagnostic precision, although discrepancies exist. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of total serum IgE on the relation between skin prick test and allergen-specific IgE antibody. METHODS: We performed skin prick tests using 14 major inhalant allergens and measured total IgE and specific IgE for two major allergens [Dermatophagoides farinae(D.f.) and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.p.)] in serum of 230 children with atopic asthma. RESULTS: Positivity of skin prick test was 92.2% for D.f., 89.6% for D.p., and 22.6% for cockroach. Allergen/Histamine(A/H) ratio and allergen-specific IgE score showed a positive correlation for D.f.(r=0.39, P<0.01), and for D.p.(r=0.38, P<0.01). Total serum IgE and allergen-specific antibody score showed a positive correlation for D.f.(r=0.50, P<0.01), and for D.p.(r=0.53, P<0.01). There was no correlation between total serum IgE and A/H ratio on skin prick test for the two allergens. However, total serum IgE had the tendency to increase according to the number of positive allergens on skin prick test. At each level of A/H ratio for D.f. and D.p. on skin prick test, patients with high total IgE had higher antigen-specific IgE scores than patients with low total IgE. CONCLUSION: Our results show that the relationship between skin prick test and antigen-specific IgE was influenced by the level of serum total IgE. This indicates that the level of serum total IgE should be taken into account when skin prick test and allergen-specific IgE are compared.
Allergens ; Antibodies ; Asthma* ; Child* ; Cockroaches ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Skin Tests ; Skin*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

Primary ciliary dyskinesia is characterized by chronic upper and lower respiratory infections which are caused by the grossly impaired ciliary transport. Since the cilia and neutrophils both utilize microtubular system for their movement, it has been speculated that neutrophil motility such as chemotaxis might be impaired in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia. Neutrophils were purified from whole blood from 16 patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia and from 15 healthy controls. Chemotactic responses of neutrophils to leukotriene B4 (LTB4), complement 5a (C5a), and formylmethion-ylleucylphenylalanine (fMLP) were examined using the under agarose method. The chemotactic differentials in response to LTB4, C5a, and fMLP in neutrophils from the patient group were significantly lower than the corresponding values in neutrophils from the control group (p<0.05 for all comparisons). The difference in chemotactic index between the two groups was statistically significant for LTB4 and fMLP (p<0.05 for both comparisons), but not for C5a (p=0.20). Neutrophils from patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia showed a decreased chemotactic response as compared with those from normal subjects. It is concluded that the increased frequency of respiratory tract infection in patients with primary ciliary dyskinesia is possibly due to the defective directional migration of neutrophils, as well as to the defective mucociliary clearance of the airways.
Adolescent ; Chemotactic Factors/pharmacology ; Chemotaxis* ; Child ; Cilia/ultrastructure ; Comparative Study ; Complement 5a/pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dynein ATPase/chemistry ; Human ; Kartagener Syndrome/blood* ; Kartagener Syndrome/classification ; Leukotriene B4/pharmacology ; Male ; N-Formylmethionine Leucyl-Phenylalanine/pharmacology ; Neutrophils/physiology* ; Neutrophils/ultrastructure

PURPOSE: Skin reactivity to different allergens may vary with age, since the degree and type of sensitization may be related not only to genetic factors but also to the intensity and duration of exposure to the allergens. The aim of this study was to evaluate profile of sensitization to airborne allergens according to age in children with allergic asthma. METHODS: We performed skin prick tests with 12 common airborne allergens in children with clinically diagnosed asthma, and analyzed the results of 313 patients with at least one positive response. Patients were arbitrarily divided into four groups, according to their age: group I(3 to 7 yrs; n=80), group II(7 to 10 yrs; n=93), group III(10 to 13 yrs; n=85), and group IV(13 to 17 yrs; n=55). The allergens tested were grouped into 5 classes : house dust mites, cockroach, animal danders, molds, and pollens. Atopy index and class index were calculated as the number of allergens and classes to which responses had been positive, respectively. RESULTS: In all groups, the most common positive allergic reaction was to house dust mites. Positive reactions to cat fur, mugwort, and ragweed among the allergens, and animal danders and pollens among the classes, tended to increase from group I to group IV(P<0.05). Atopy index increased with age(P<0.05). Class index also increased with age(P<0.05). Sensitization to more than one class of allergens occurred in 62.3% of the patients, and the percentage of these polysensitized patients tended to increase from group I to group IV(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In children with allergic asthma, the positive number of allergens and their classes by skin prick test increased with the age of the patients. This phenomenon was associated with age- related increase in the frequency of polysensitized patients.
Allergens ; Ambrosia ; Animals ; Artemisia ; Asthma* ; Cats ; Child* ; Cockroaches ; Dander ; Fungi ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Mites ; Pollen ; Pyroglyphidae ; Skin Tests ; Skin*

PURPOSE: Immotile cilia syndrome is a disorder characterized by chronic respiratory tract disease beginning in early childhood and leading to chronic bronchitis and/or bronchiectasis, accompanied by chronic rhinitis and/or sinusitis and otitis media as well as in fectility in the male. It is a genetically determined disorder characterized by immotility or poor motility of the ubiquitous cilia. The purpose of this study is to analyze those clinical features of immotile cilia syndrome confirmed by electron-microscopic examination. METHODS: We carried out the retrospective study on 15 patients who had been admitted at Seoul National University children's hospital from January 1986 to November 1994 and diagnosed as immotile cilia syndrome. RESULTS: 1) In all 15, there were 10 men and 5 women from 6 to 16 years of age. Fourteen presented dynein arm defect and one showed isolated microtubualr translocation. There were five combined cases. Of the 15 subjects, two families were involved. 2) Clinical symptoms and signs were cough, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, otalgia, and hearing impairment. All patients complained of some productive cough. 3) Nearly all patients presented chronic and recurrent sinobronchial diseases. But the prevalences of dextrocardia and otitis media were lower than previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic and recurrent respiratory diseases, especially in childhood, should alert the clinician to the possibility that immotile cilia syndrome may be the underlying problem.
Arm ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; Cilia ; Ciliary Motility Disorders* ; Cough ; Dextrocardia ; Dyneins ; Earache ; Female ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Male ; Nasal Obstruction ; Otitis Media ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; Seoul ; Sinusitis

PURPOSE: Immotile cilia syndrome is a disorder characterized by chronic respiratory tract disease beginning in early childhood and leading to chronic bronchitis and/or bronchiectasis, accompanied by chronic rhinitis and/or sinusitis and otitis media as well as in fectility in the male. It is a genetically determined disorder characterized by immotility or poor motility of the ubiquitous cilia. The purpose of this study is to analyze those clinical features of immotile cilia syndrome confirmed by electron-microscopic examination. METHODS: We carried out the retrospective study on 15 patients who had been admitted at Seoul National University children's hospital from January 1986 to November 1994 and diagnosed as immotile cilia syndrome. RESULTS: 1) In all 15, there were 10 men and 5 women from 6 to 16 years of age. Fourteen presented dynein arm defect and one showed isolated microtubualr translocation. There were five combined cases. Of the 15 subjects, two families were involved. 2) Clinical symptoms and signs were cough, rhinorrhea, nasal obstruction, otalgia, and hearing impairment. All patients complained of some productive cough. 3) Nearly all patients presented chronic and recurrent sinobronchial diseases. But the prevalences of dextrocardia and otitis media were lower than previous reports. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic and recurrent respiratory diseases, especially in childhood, should alert the clinician to the possibility that immotile cilia syndrome may be the underlying problem.
Arm ; Bronchiectasis ; Bronchitis, Chronic ; Cilia ; Ciliary Motility Disorders* ; Cough ; Dextrocardia ; Dyneins ; Earache ; Female ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Male ; Nasal Obstruction ; Otitis Media ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Tract Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinitis ; Seoul ; Sinusitis