BACKGROUND/AIMS: There is considerable variance in individual susceptibility to hepato-toxic effects of ethanol as evidenced by the finding that only about 10-20% of alcoholics develop alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The aims of this study were, 1) to get the data on the genetic polymorphisms of three major ethanol-metabolizing enzymes (ADH, CYP2E1, ALDH) in normal Korean adults, and to search for the specific genotypes influencing alcohol drinking behavior by the comparison of allele frequencies between healthy control group and heavy drinker group with or without liver disease, 2) to investigate the influence of the genetic polymorphisms of these enzymes on the susceptibility to alcoholic liver disease by the comparison of allele frequencies between heavy drinker group without liver disease and alcoholic liver cirrhosis group. METHODS: Healthy control group included 53 healthy males in military service without evidence of liver disease or alcoholism. Heavy drinker group without liver cirrhosis included 29 males who had been drinking 80g or more of alcohol daily for more than ten years but did not have any clinical evidence of liver disease. Alcoholic cirrhosis group included 43 male patients who had drunk 80g or more of alcohol daily for more than ten years and had clinical evidences of overt cirrhosis. Subjects with hepatitis B surface antigen or anti-hepatitis C antibody were excluded. Genotypes of the three enzymes were determined by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with genomic DNAs extracted from peripheral leukocytes. RESULTS: 1) In healthy Korean males, allele frequency of ADH22, ADH31, CYP2E1 c2 and ALDH22 was 81%, 94%, 30% and 14%, respectively. 2) The absence of ALDH22 or CYP2E1 c2 allele were significant risk factors for being a heavy drinker (odds ratio,' 0.09, 0.42, respectively). 3) Although it was not associated with the polymorphism of each ethanol-metabolizing enzymes, the susceptibility to alcoholic liver cirrhosis was significantly associated with combined genotypes of ADH2(22) & ADH3(1+1)& CYP2E1 B or C. COMCLUSION: Genetic polymorphisms of ethanol-metabolizing enzyrnes are significantly associated with the suseptability to alcoholic liver disease as well as alcohol drinking behavior.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Alcoholics* ; Alcoholism ; Alleles ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 ; DNA ; Drinking ; Ethanol ; Fibrosis ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic* ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Genetic* ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Risk Factors

Familial benign chronic pemphigua is a rare disease characterized by a localized recurrent eruption of grouped vesicles and exudative lesions involving the neck, groin, axillae and intertriginous areas. There are no systemic manifestations but chronicity and pruritic lesions creates a significant social and psychological handicap to those afflicted. We presented a case of familial benign chronic pemphigus in a 39 years old man He has had recurrent vesicles, fissures and crust formation in inguinal area for 10 years. Light microscopic findings showed suprabasal vesiculation with acantholysis and villi formation. And electron-microscopic findings showed as follows: Bizzare microvilli changes with widened intercellular spaces, followed by loss of desmosome and complete acantholysis. Tonofilament-desmosome complex is disrupted. Many of acantholytic cells are associated with abnormal keratinization which is repreaented by perinuclear thickened bundles of tonofilament arranged in whorls or lumps. Authors diagnosed with clinical symptoms, light and electron-microscopic findings as Hailey-Hailey disease. The lesions were improved by systemic antibiotics and steroid with cold soaking.
Acantholysis ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Axilla ; Desmosomes ; Extracellular Space ; Groin ; Humans ; Intermediate Filaments ; Microvilli ; Neck ; Pemphigus, Benign Familial* ; Rare Diseases

No abstract available.
Anxiety* ; Depression*

Syringoma is a benign adenoma which usually appear during puberty or adolescence. The lesions are limited to the lower eyelid but may occur on the chest, axillae, abdomen, neck, anterior chest and vulva or be generalized. We recently had an opportunity to observe a 42 year-old woman with generalized syringoma. In histopathologic study of the skin lesion, the numerous cystic and tubular ducts were showed on upper dermis and mid-dermis. Large dilated cysts were usually located in the upper derrnis. A comma-like excrescence similar to tadpoles and solid epithelial cord or ductal structure were showed. In electromicroscopic study, the luminal border of the inner cells was lined with numerous short microvilli and the cytoplasrn showed a periluminal filamment, keratohyaline granules, multivesiculated dense bodies. The outer cells had elongated nucleic and glycogen rich cytoplasm. The cells were connected by well developed desmoaome. The lumina. contained numerous small vesicles and a few multivesiculated bodies. According to these results, this case showed the similar findings of imrnature intraepidermal eccrine sweat duct in electronmicroscopic study.
Abdomen ; Adenoma ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Axilla ; Cytoplasm ; Dermis ; Eyelids ; Female ; Glycogen ; Humans ; Larva ; Microvilli ; Neck ; Phenobarbital ; Puberty ; Skin ; Sweat ; Syringoma* ; Thorax ; Vulva

The gastric polyps may be premalignant lesions and they should be removed as possible. The gastric polyps can be remoued by various endoscopic methods. The safety and therapeutic effectiveness of snare polypectomy, neodymium YAG laser therapy and electrocutery were compared in a total number of 106 patients who were diagnosed as benign polyps by means of endoscopic biopsy.Safety was evaluated by the rate of complications such as perforation and bleeding, and therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated by the average numbers of treatment session of each modality. Average numbers of treatment session of snare polypectomy, laser therapy and electrocautery were 1.04, 1.38 and l.44, respectively. Average numbers of treatment session of snare polypectomy were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of other two methods. Perforation was not occurred in any group. Bleeding rates after snare polypectomy, laser therapy and electrocautery were 17.4%, 1.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Bleeding was significantly (p<0,05) more frequent after snare polypectomy than after other two methods. In conclusion therapeutic effectiveness was best in snare polypectomy but complication was most frequent after snare polypectomy. There was no difference between laser therapy and electrocautery for therapeutic effectiveness and safety. Therfore, laser therapy and electrocautery caa be used for the removal of flat adenoma, alternatively.
Adenoma ; Electrocoagulation ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Neodymium ; Polyps ; SNARE Proteins

The gastric polyps may be premalignant lesions and they should be removed as possible. The gastric polyps can be remoued by various endoscopic methods. The safety and therapeutic effectiveness of snare polypectomy, neodymium YAG laser therapy and electrocutery were compared in a total number of 106 patients who were diagnosed as benign polyps by means of endoscopic biopsy.Safety was evaluated by the rate of complications such as perforation and bleeding, and therapeutic effectiveness was evaluated by the average numbers of treatment session of each modality. Average numbers of treatment session of snare polypectomy, laser therapy and electrocautery were 1.04, 1.38 and l.44, respectively. Average numbers of treatment session of snare polypectomy were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of other two methods. Perforation was not occurred in any group. Bleeding rates after snare polypectomy, laser therapy and electrocautery were 17.4%, 1.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Bleeding was significantly (p<0,05) more frequent after snare polypectomy than after other two methods. In conclusion therapeutic effectiveness was best in snare polypectomy but complication was most frequent after snare polypectomy. There was no difference between laser therapy and electrocautery for therapeutic effectiveness and safety. Therfore, laser therapy and electrocautery caa be used for the removal of flat adenoma, alternatively.
Adenoma ; Electrocoagulation ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Laser Therapy ; Lasers, Solid-State ; Neodymium ; Polyps ; SNARE Proteins

PURPOSE: To evaluate the morphologic differential diagnosis of benign and malignant ductal breast tumors, as seen on US. MATERIALS AND METHODS: US findings in 29 pathologically proven cases of ductal breast tumor were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were female and their mean age was 42 years. Nineteen tumors were benign and ten were malignant, and all ductal or cystic lesions showed solid masses. According to the location of the mural nodule, we classified the sonographic appearance of these tumors into three types : intraductal, intracystic and amorphic. The intraductal type was divided into three subtypes: incompletely obstructive, completely obstructive and multiple mural nodules. For the intracystic type, too, three subtypes were designated : the intracystic mural nodule (mural cyst), intracystic mural nodule with the duct (mural cyst+duct) and intracystic multiple mural nodules. The amorphic type is defined as an atypical ductal tumor with the mural nodule extending into adjacent parenchyma. RESULTS: The margin of the duct or cyst was smooth in 68.4% of benign, and irregular in 90% of malignant ductal tumors. Internal echogeneity of the duct or cyst usually showed homogeneity in both benign and malignant tumors. 73.7% of tumors connecting the duct were benign and 50% were malignant. In benign tumors, 52.6% of mural nodule had an irregular margin, while in malignant tumors, the corresponding proportion was 100% ; both types usually showed heterogeneous hypoechogeneity. Among benign tumors, the most common morphologic type was the intraductal incompletely obstructive subtype (36.8%) ; among those that were malignant, the amorphic type was most common, accounting for 40% of tumors. No amorphic type was benign and no incompletely obstructive subtype was malignant. CONCLUSION: When ductal breast tumors are morphologically classified on the basis of sonographic findings, the intraductal incompletely obstructive subtype suggests benignancy, and the amorphic type, malignancy. The morphologic classification of ductal breast tumors based on sonography is therefore useful for the differential diagnosis of benignancy and malignancy.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Classification* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Female ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography*

OBJECTIVES: To determine the job stress factors of subway workers and firemen and to develope appropriate stress management systems for the works places. METHODS: The study subjects comprised 1,826 male subway workers and 538 male firemen residing in Daegu metropolitan city. The Korean Occupational Stress Scale (KOSS) questionnaire was used. RESULTS: The median values of the study subjects were lower than the reference values. The categories of physical environment and insufficient job control were more stressful to firemen while the organization system category was stressful to both subway workers and firemen (p<0.05). There was no statistical difference in the stress factor of the interpersonal conflict category. Among the firemen, the physical environment category was more stressful to field work department workers than to desk workers (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The study results suggested that interpersonal conflict and organization system categories are stressful to male subway workers and firemen. Especially, effective control of firemen's physical environment stress factor is needed.
Daegu ; Fibrinogen ; Humans ; Male ; Questionnaires ; Railroads* ; Reference Values

A case of traumatic thoracolumbar epidural hemorrhage is presented in a 37-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis. The patient complained neck and back pain right after the accident but paralegia and difficult urination followed 2 days later. Spine CT showed thoracolumbar epidural mass, which was confirmed to be hemorrhage associated with spine fracture and was solely responsible for paraplegia.
Adult ; Back Pain ; Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Neck ; Paraplegia ; Spine ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing* ; Urination

One hundred premature infants with birth weight less than 2000 gm or with gestational ages less than 37 weeks who admitted to Ewha Womans University from January 1991 to May 1993 were examined by indirect ophthalmoscope. We analysed the incidence and the risk factors of retinopathy. The results were as follows: 1. Twenty one infants(21.0%) were diagnosed as retinopathy of prematurity. Among them, six infants(28.6%) presented stage 1, three infants(14.3%) at stage 2, twelve infants(57.1%) at stage 3. 2. Male patients were 11(52.4%) and female patients were 10(47.6%). There was no significant difference in incidence between male and female. 3. The incidence of retinopathy of prematurity increased with low birth weight(<1500 gm), small gestational age(33 weeks) and oxygen administration. 4. The risk factors associated with oxygen therapy besides the duration of oxygen exposure were hyperoxia, hypoxia, hypercarbia, hypocarbia and acidosis. 5. The retinopathy of prematurity was initially diagnosed at 5.6 weeks in average(36.3 weeks by postconceptional age). The onset of retinopathy of prematurity was timed according to postconceptional age rather than chronologie age since birth. 6. Other possible associated risk factors were spontaneous premature rupture of membrane, sepsis, hyaline membrane disease, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia, transfusion and low 5-minute Apgar scores.
Acidosis ; Anoxia ; Birth Weight ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hyaline Membrane Disease ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal ; Hyperoxia ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Male ; Membranes ; Ophthalmoscopes ; Oxygen ; Parturition ; Retinopathy of Prematurity* ; Risk Factors ; Rupture ; Sepsis