This purpose of this study was to evaluate the possible prognostic factors of physeal bar resection in the treatment of partial physeal growth arrest. From January 1979 to October 1993, 23 skeletally immature patients (16 males, 7 females) underwent physeal bar resection and fat graft interposition. The age was ranged from 1 year 8 months to 16 years 9 months (average 8 years 9 months). The follow-up period was ranged from 12 months to 10 years 6 months (average 3 years 4 months). The results of the surgery were categorized into 4 groups on the basis of relative growth ratio (RGR), spontaneous angular correction after physeal bar resection, disappearance of converging growth arrest lines, and the viability & proximal migration of the interposed fat verified by follow-up MRI. The RGR was assessed as a percentage of the contralateral limb segment: change in length of operated limb segment divided by change in length of unoperated limb segment multiplied by 100. The angular correction was calculated as the difference of the degrees of angular deformity between the preoperative and the latest follow-up visit. In the sixteen cases which required concomitant operations (osteotomy, Ilizarov method of for lengthening or deformity correction), their contribution to the angular correction was excluded in the calculation. The etiology of partial physeal arrest consisted of fracture (17), infection (5), and leukemia (1). In 10 of 17 fracture cases in which initial radiographs were available, the Salter-Harris types were assessed. There were type II (2), type III (2) and type IV (6) fractures. Distal femur was the most common site of physeal arrest (13), followed by distal tibia (7), proximal tibia (2), and distal radius (1). There were peripheral (9), combined (6), central (5) and linear (3) types of physeal bar. The nine variables including preoperative limb length discrepancy and degree of angulation, age, onset, etioloty of physeal arrest, Salter-Harris type of epiphyseal injury, site of the arrested physis, type and size.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Extremities ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ilizarov Technique ; Leukemia ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Radius ; Tibia ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Ultraviolet light induces sunburn, ageing of the skin, pigmentation and even promotes skin cancers. As there has been a recent decrease in the ozone layer surrounding the earth, increasing attention has been given to the effects of ultraviolet light on the skin. Through human epidermis, ultraviolet light is reflected, scattered, absorbed or transmitted. In caucacians, the rate of transmitted ultraviolet light A from the epidermis to the dermis is 50% and the rate of transmitted ultraviolet light B is below 10%. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the transmittance of UVA and UVB on Korean normal epidermis. METHODS: Pure epidermis was obtained from normal human epidermis by suction of blisters in 12 patients with vitiligo. All specimens were irradiated respectively with UVA and UVB and the amount of transmitted energy was measured. RESULTS: 1. The transmittance of UVA energy density by normal epidermis was 47.7+11.2% of irradiated UVA energy. 2. The transmittance of UVB energy density by normal epidermis was 32.4+3.4% of irradiated UVB energy. CONCLUSION: UVA energy transmission through normal epidermis of Korean is less than those of Caucacians but UVB energy transmission through nor mal epidermis of Korean is more than those of Caucacians. It is suggested that this could be an important basic data to study for photoaging and photoprotection in Korean population.
Blister ; Dermis ; Epidermis* ; Humans* ; Pigmentation ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms ; Stratospheric Ozone ; Suction ; Sunburn ; Ultraviolet Rays ; Vitiligo

Twenty-five patients with cerebrovascular diseases were administered Nicardipine, a calcium antagonist, in daily dose of 60 mg per orally for 8-12 weeks during the year of 1983, to evaluate the efficacy of the drugs clinically. The following results were obtained. 1) General improvement rating was 80%. 2) Marked improvement(88%) were noted in subjective symptoms, especially of tinnitus, paresthesia and headache. significant improvement were noted in psychiatric(74%) and neurologic(71%) symptoms e.g disturbance of sleep, emotion, memory, speech, swallowing and muscle power. 3) In 13 hypertensive patients, average blood pressure lowered from 163/96 to 138/83 mmHg in 4 weeks and maintained thereafter. 4) major adverse effect was facial flushing, noted in 4 patients(16%), which were transient and mild and allowed to contiume medication.
Blood Pressure ; Calcium ; Deglutition ; Flushing ; Headache ; Humans ; Memory ; Nicardipine ; Paresthesia ; Tinnitus

We report a case of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis in a 42-year-old woman who had atypical clinical findings with moderately pruritic erythematous follicular papules and pustules on the face and neck. Histopathologically miny eosinophils and neutrophils infiltrated around the follicles, within the follicles and around tbe vessels. The follicular walls showed spongiosis. The differential count of eosinophils in seram was 1.9%. The patient responded well to systemic steroid and dapsone.
Adult ; Dapsone ; Eosinophils* ; Female ; Folliculitis* ; Humans ; Neck ; Neutrophils

The antiarrhythmic effect of oral amiodarone was evaluated by 24-hr Holter monitoring in 12 patients with frequent and/or complex ventricular ectopy. Amiodarone was administered as following schedule; 600mg a day for the 1st week, 400mg a day for the 2nd week and 200mg a day, 5 days a week from the 3rd week. In 9 patients, the frequency of VPC decreased significantly or the grade of VPC changed to the more benign grade, so we considered them as "Effective Group" (75%). In 7 patients, both the frequency and the grade of VPC improved, so we considered them as "Excellent Group" (58%). No significant side effect was observed during investigation. We concluded that amiodarone is very effective antiarrhythmic drug and has no serious side effect during a short-term observation.
Amiodarone* ; Appointments and Schedules ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Electrocardiography, Ambulatory ; Humans

In vitro culture of Toxoplasma gondii in HL-60 cells cnd cell-mediated immunity against Toxoplasma in dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO)-induced HL-60 cells, i.e., differentiation into granulocytes, were pursued. HL-60 cells were treated with various concentrations of DMSO, and 1.3%(v/v) for 3 day incubation was chosen as the optimal condition for differentiation into granulocytes. The degree of differentiation was assayed in physiological and functional aspects in addition to morphological point. When treated with 1.3% DMSO for 3 days, HL-60 cells did not synthesize DNA materials beyond background level, and showed active chemotactic response to chemotactic peptide, formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine(FMLP). Morphologically promyelocytes of high nuclear/cytoplasmic(N/C) ratio changed to granulocytes of relatively low N/C ratio. The relationships between HL-60 cells or DMSO-induced HL-60 cells and Toxoplasma were examined after stain with Giemsa and fluorescent dye (acridine orange). HS-60 cells did not show any sign of toxoplasmacidal activity but showed intracellular proliferation of Toxoplasma to form rosette for 72 hr co-culture. In contrast, DMSO-induced HL-60 cells phagocytosed Toxoplasma within 1 hr, and performed a process of intracellular digestion of Toxoplasma thereafter. With the above results, it is suggested that phagosome-lysosome fusion is one of the critical events for the parasitism by Toxoplasma or for susceptibility of host cells. The in vitro culture system of this study has offered a defined condition to study the protozoan parasite-host cell interactions.
parasitology-protozoa ; Toxoplasma gondii ; HL-60 cells ; dimethylsulfoxide ; in vitro culture ; dimethylsulfoxide

It is generally recognized that several chemical mediators are involved in tbe pathogenesis of sunbum; however, the exact mechanism is still to he resolved. Recently, prostaglandin has been found to be one of the inflammatory mediators in sunbum, particularly in the delayed erythema response and several investigators have shown that the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs inhibit the in vivo synthesis of prostaglandin. On the assumption that the nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs might exert a beneficial effect on the sunbum through the antiprostaglandin effect, several authors have reported the effect of indomethacin on sunbum. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of topical indomethacin on the delayed erythema response induced by artificial sunlamp and sunlight by clinical and histopathological examination. Indomethacin(2. 5% ointment, 2. 5% solution, 5% solution) was applied immediately after 3 MED irradiation of artificial sunlamp to the shaved back skin of 6 healthy albino guinea pigs weighing 550-850gm and 9 human volunteers and the delayed erythema response was observed at 2, 4, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after irradiation respectively. Punch biopsies of the skin were performed on 6 guinea pigs at 6, 12, 24 a.nd 48 hours after irradiation and the histologic changes were observed. Four human volunters were exposed t,o 3 MED of sunlight and indomethacin preparations were applied immediately after irradiation. The delayed erythema response was observed at 2, 4, 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours postirradiation and in one volunteer, the skin was biopsied at 24 hour for histologi.c evaluation. The results were as follows: 1. Topical indomethacin in ointment or solution forms delayed and decreased the appearance and degree of erythema induced by sunlight and artificial sunlamp in both human and animal subjects. 2. Histologically, the number of sunbum cells at 24 hour in the epidermis of one human volunteer was decreased on indomethacin applied sites. The dermis showe6 no difference in histologic changes between control and indomethacin sitea. In animal study, however, no detectable difference in epidermal or dermal changes was observed between control and indomethacin applied sites. The autors confirmed that topical indometha,cin was effective in delaying and blanching of the delayed erythema of sunbum in guinea pigs as well as in human volunteers, though there was no difference in histologic changes between indomethacin and control sites in guinea pigs. The mechanism involvel on this aspect is remained to be resolved.
Animals ; Biopsy ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Erythema ; Guinea Pigs ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Indomethacin* ; Research Personnel ; Skin ; Sunburn* ; Sunlight ; Volunteers

Regardless of the any cause leg ulcers are painful and inconvenient to patients and present clinical and economic problems due to their chronicity. Conventional skin grafts, cultured allogenic epidermis, and cultured autologous epidermis have been used for the treatment of leg ulcers. In a twenty-year-old woman with leg ulcers, autologous pure epidermal sheets were obtained from the lower chest by means of suction blisters and grafted to the leg ulcers. All lesions were healed completely in 20 days after grafting. The donor sites showed slight postinflammatory hyperpigmentations without scars. The autologous epidermal graft using suction blisters appears to be a useful method for the treatment of leg ulcers, with no immunologic rejection, no need for cultivation and anesthesia, no desiccation, and no scars on the donor sites.
Anesthesia ; Blister* ; Cicatrix ; Desiccation ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Leg Ulcer* ; Leg* ; Methods ; Skin ; Suction* ; Thorax ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants*

We have observed that the companion shadow of the upper rib may be misinterpreted as a small pnemothorax or pleural plaque associated with asbestosis. To observe the radiographic characteristics of the normal companion shadow, we analyzed, on the posteroanterior(PA) chest radiographs, the companion shadow of 50 normal cases. Factors such as occurrence on each rib, the sharpness of the margin, the relative position to the rib, the shape and the thickness were observed. Also, we analyzed the displaced pleura of 4 pneumothorax cases to differentiate their frndings from the findings of normal companion shadows. On 50 normal chest radiographs, 192 compaion shadows were observed on the first to fourth ribs. In 173 of those shadows, the visceral margin of the companion shadow on the second rib simulated pneumothorax more closely than those on any othe rivs due to its apical location and thinness. In six of 50 normal cases, the companion shadow on the first or second rib showed an inw rdly convex lower margin, mimicking pleural plaque. The compaion shadow was suggested on the plain chest radiograph by the following characteristics imultiplicity(47/50), thicker than normal pleura(3/4), persistent on serial filma with the same shape and specific location(4/4).
Asbestosis ; Friends* ; Humans ; Pleura ; Pneumothorax ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Ribs* ; Thinness

A new hypolipidemic drug, pravastatin, hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor was administered to 33 patients with primary hyperlipidemia, 10mg daily for 8 weeks and sequential changes of lipid profile were analysed as follows. 1) Mean value at baseline period of total cholesterol, triglyceride, high and low density lipoprotein cholesterol were 260, 220, 51 and 163mg/dl respectively. 2) Total cholesterol showed 21% decrease at the end of 8 weeks and that of LDL-cholesterol were 30%. 3) Triglyceride decreased 16% at the end of 8 weeks and increment of HDL-cholesterol was 8% at the end of 8 weeks. 4) No serious side reactions were observed except one patient, who showed generalized skin rash which last 3 days and did not prevent further medication. In conclusion, pravastatin is a safe and useful hypolipidemic agent for the patient with primary hyperlipidemia.
Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coenzyme A ; Exanthema ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias* ; Oxidoreductases ; Pravastatin* ; Triglycerides