The phenomenon of Myotonia consist in a failure of voluntary muscles to relax immediately when voluntary innervation ceases. The stiffness is accentuated by cold and relieved by exercise, while generalized muscle weakness and atrophy (or not commonly hypertrophy of muscle) is common. Myotonia is a feature of four principal clinical syndromes which have been classified myotonia congenita (Thomsens disease), myotonia atrophica (Steinerts disease), paramyotonia and myotonia and myotonia acquisita by Walton et al. We report here a forty six years old male of myotonia atrophica (Dystrophia myotonia, Steinerts disease) who presents bilateral cataracts, frontal baldness, gonadal atrophy, facial myopathy, sterno-cleidomastoid muscle atrophy and a progressive generalized myopathy of peripheral distribution in the limbs.
Alopecia ; Atrophy ; Cataract ; Extremities ; Gonads ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Male ; Muscle Weakness ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscular Atrophy ; Muscular Diseases ; Myotonia Congenita ; Myotonia ; Myotonic Dystrophy

Contact Urticaria is a wheal-and-flare response to chemicals applied to the skin. Contact urticaria due to bee sting therapy has never been reported in Korea. A 45-year-old male was seen for erythematous plsques and patches with the duration of 3 days. Histologicall, the skin biopsy specimen showed necrosis and dyskeratotic cells in the epidermis. Collagen degenerati in and perivascular lymphocytic infiltrates were seen in the upper dermis.
Bees* ; Biopsy ; Bites and Stings* ; Chronic Pain* ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis ; Skin ; Urticaria*

No abstract available.
Gonadal Dysgenesis, 46,XY*

The effects and safety of using oral Nicardipine(NCP, Perdipine(R)) a calcium blocking agent of the dihydropyridine derivative, were assessed in 29 patients(14 males, 15 females, mean age 56.3 years) with essensed hypertension with complications of left ventricular hypertrophy and/or hypertensive retinopathy. The patients with a sitting blood pressure(BP) of more than 160/100mHg at 4th week while off all antihypertensive agents, were entered into the study and recieved NCP, 20mg tid for 2 weeks, BP being measured once every week. NCP significantly reduced. The systolic BP from 179.5+/-18.2mmHg to 143.4 +/-18.2mmHg, the diastolic BP from 112.9+/-16.2mmHg to 93.1+/-10.4mmHg and the mean BP from 135.2+/-11.7mmHg to 110.0+/-9.9mmHg(mean+/-S.D. of weekly BP for 4 weeks)(P<0.001). Fall in systolic, distolic and mean BP was 35.1+/-15.1mmHg, 20.0+/-8.3mmHg and 25.3+/-10.2mmHg, respectively. A fall in systolic BP of more than 20mmHg, in diastolic BP of more than 10mmHg and in mean BP of more than 13mmHg was obtained in 86.2%, 89.6% and 86.2% of the cases, respectively. The heart rate did not change with oral NCP. The side effects were headache, facial flushing, dizziness and palpitation, but they were tolerable. These finding suggest that NCP is an effective and safe drug for the treatment of sustained essential hypertension.
Antihypertensive Agents ; Calcium ; Dizziness ; Female ; Flushing ; Headache ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Hypertensive Retinopathy ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Male ; Nicardipine*

BACKGROUND: Extravasation of chemotherapeutic agents during intravenous infusion may cause extensive inflammatory reaction, ulceration, crust formation, and skin necrosis. But the exact mechanism of cutaneous reactions after extravasation of adriamycin remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate the clinical and histological features in rabbits after injection of adriamycin and a mixed solution of adriamycin and triamcinolone. METHODS: Three rabbits were divided into three groups and were subcutaneously injected with the following materials on the back:adriamycin, a mixed solution of adriamycin and triamcinolone and 0.9% saline respectively. The injection sites including the skin and subcustaneouskfat were excised and fixed with natural huffered formalin. The biopsied specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. RESULTS: l. In the adriamycin injected group, there were induration, crust formation and ulceration after three weeks. After seven weeks crust and focal ulceration were found. Histologically, after one day mild epidermal necrosis, dermal inflammatory infiltration, destruction of epidermal appendag es, edema and hemorrhage were seen. After one week collagen necrosis was advanced and granulation tissue formation and calcium deposition were found. After seven weeks granulation tissue formation and calcium d position still remained. 2. In the adriamycin and triamcinolone injected group, focal healing ulceration was seen after three weeks. After seven weeks the ulceration healed and normal gross finding was seen. Histologically, destructior of epidermal appendages and edema were found after one day. After three weeks granulation tissue formation and fatty changes in the dermis were seen. After five weeks normal histologic findings were seen in the epidermis. Collagen necrosis became less prominent and hyalinizationand transepidermal elimination were found. After seven weeks nearly normal histological findings in the epidermis and dermis were seen. CONCLUSION: We conclude that there was a marked difference in the gross and histological findings between two groups of adriamycin injected and a mixed solution of adriamycin and triamcinolone injected rabbits. Therefore, we suggest triamcinolone can be used as an adjuvant mode in the treatment of lesions where adriamycin is extravasated.
Calcium ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Doxorubicin* ; Edema ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Epidermis ; Formaldehyde ; Granulation Tissue ; Hematoxylin ; Hemorrhage ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Injections, Intralesional* ; Necrosis ; Rabbits ; Skin ; Triamcinolone ; Ulcer

The clinical trial was carried out with carteolol in 30 patients with essential hypertension. The results were as follows : 1) Before medication and after 2,4,6 and 8 weeks of medications, the overall average systolic and diastolic blood pressure were 175+/-17.7/105+/-9.3, 144+/-8.9/92+/-6.9, 143+/-11.2/90+/-6.6, 141+/-8.4/88+/-6.9, and 142+/-9.0/88+/-7.1 mmHg. As a result, blood pressure significantly fell with carteolol treatment. 2) In 80+/- of all cases, marked or moderate degree of hypotnesive effect was observed within 2 weeks of treatment. 3) Before medication and after 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks of medication, the overall average heart rates were 75+/-11.8, 73+/-9.0, 71+/-8.7, 71+/-8.2 and 71+/-8.6 beats/minute. There was no significant changes in heart rates before and after treatment. 4) Dizziness or fatigability were complained in 4 patients (13+/-) each while receiving carteolol. These side effects were mild in 3 patients, but one patient discontinued treatment due to dizziness. On the basis of these results, carteolol was evaluated to be promising hypotensive drug.
Blood Pressure ; Carteolol* ; Dizziness ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension

BACKGROUND: The stratum corneum(SC) has a permeability barrier function which regulates percutaneous absorption by the inhibition of transepidermal water loss(TEWL). Acute mechanical or chemical disruption of the SC induces the impairment of the permeability barrier and so increases the TEWL. The calciumtion has been recognized as an important ion in the recovery of the skin barrier. Recently the main delivery pathway of iontophoretic drugs have been suggested by SC interstices. However the morphologic changes in the SC interstices and calcium after iontophoresis have not been reported. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study is to confirm that iontophoresis may induce changes in the SC interstices and delay the recovery of the barrier after disruption. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After tape stripping the hairless mouse flank skin, the iontophoresis power supply (6V, 0.6mA) was connected to the patch atiached for 2.5 hours to the stripped site. We checked the THWL 0, 2.5, 6, 12, 18, 24 hours after the tape stripping and obtained specimens and performed osmium tetroxide, ruthenium tetroxide postfixation and calcium ion-capture cytochemical stains for electron microscopic study. RESULTS: The recovery rate of the TEWL in iontophoresis was lower than in the control. This was especially so in the anouse which had received anode iontophoresis for 6 hours. It showed statistically lower TEWL than in the control(p<0.05). Anode iontophoresis induced low calcium in stratum granulosum (SG), but cathode iontophoresis induced high calcium in SC. After iontophoresis there were changes in the SC interstices structures. CONCLUSION: Iontophoresis can induce changes in the SC interstices and calcium distribution and so may help the topical drug delivery system.
Animals ; Calcium ; Coloring Agents ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Electric Power Supplies ; Electrodes ; Iontophoresis* ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless ; Osmium Tetroxide ; Permeability ; Ruthenium ; Skin ; Skin Absorption

No abstract available.
Biopsy* ; Pleural Effusion*

No abstract available.
Nitric Oxide* ; Paclitaxel* ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate spatiotemporal evaluation of pERK1/2 protein expression in the forebrain following hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in adult Sprague-Dawley rats. METHODS: HI injury was induced by occlusion of the bilateral common carotid artery (CCA) and respiration with 5% O2 hypoxic gas for 8 minutes, followed by unilateral release of CCA. RESULTS: Immunoreactivity for pERK1/2 protein in the bilateral cortex began to increase at 2 hours, reached peak levels at 6 hours, and then decreased by 24 hours after HI injury. In a cortical neuron, the expression of pERK1/2 protein was observed in all cellular components and processes including dendrites, cell body and nuclei at 6 hours, but persisted only in the cell body by 24 hours after HI injury. Temporal changes in the immunoreactivity for pERK1/2 protein in the hippocampus was very similar to that of the cortex following HI injury. In contrast, the temporal changes in the cellular distribution of pERK12 protein in hippocampal neurons was largely different from that of the cortex following HI injury. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that HI injury causes an early activation of ERK1/2 signaling with a differential cellular distribution of pERK1/2 protein among different forebrain structures. Further study needs to be done in order to elucidate a possible role of ERK1/2 signaling for neural damage in the adult rodent HI model.
Adult ; Brain ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Dendrites ; Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Neurons ; Prosencephalon ; Respiration ; Rodentia