No abstract available.
Animals ; Iproniazid* ; Monoamine Oxidase* ; Rats* ; Tyramine*

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the incidence of obesity increased in Koreans. The main cause suggested is the diet style of Korean changed to that of Western. It has been proved that obesity is a risk factor or an aggravating factor of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, etc. Primary physician has been interested in the correlation of blood pressure with relative body weight and aging. The purpose of this study was to focus on the influence of age and relative body weight on blood pressure. METHODS: Subjects were collected from 2,068 adults who had received Adult Health Examination. That subjects were divided according to age, relative body weight and then the relation of blood pressure with age according to relative body weight and relation with relative body weight according to age were investigated. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure increased significantly according to age in all male and female three weight groups and then increased significantly according to relative body weight in all male and female three age groups except male seventh decade group. Diastolic blood pressure increased significantly according to age in all male and female three weight groups except male obesity group and then increased significantly according to the relative body weight in all male and female three age groups except male and female seventh decade groups. Systolic blood pressure has higher correlation with age than relative body weight and diastolic blood pressure has higher correlation with relative body weight in male. In female, systolic and diastolic blood pressure have higher correlations with age. CONCLUSIONS: It can be suggested that blood pressure increase significantly according to aging process and relative body weight. These two factors have a little different effects to systolic and diastolic blood pressure according to sex. Relative body weight has more effect to diastolic blood pressure than systolic blood pressure in male.
Adult ; Aging ; Blood Pressure* ; Body Weight ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diet ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Male ; Obesity* ; Risk Factors

PURPOSE: Although adjuvant chemotherapy after resection of gastric cancer is a popular practice in Korea, there are still controversies about the effectiveness of the treatment. The fact that the relatively less effective drugs have been used and the rarity of large-scaled controlled studies may be partially responsible for the controversies. FP(5-FU, Cisplatin) combination is one of the most active regimen against advanced gastric cancer, consistently showing a response rate of 50~60%. We tried the FP chemotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for high-risk patients after curative resection of gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between February 1992 and June 1996, 35 patients with completely resected high-risk gastric cancer(postoperative stage III or IV except thase with M1) received six courses of FP chemotherapy. Endpoints were toxicities of treatment, relapse free survival, and overall survival. RESULTS: With a median follow-up time of 17.1 months, Kaplan-Meier estimates of 2-year overall survival was 63.3% and relapse free survival estimates was 49%. There were no differences between stage III and IV patients in terms of overall survival or relapse free survival. Hematologic and non-hematologic toxicities were tolerable for most of the patients. CONCLUSION: Postoperative FP combination chemotherapy was tolerable for patients with high-risk(stage III and IV) gastric cancer. It is too early to determine the long term survival rates for this patients, but 2-year overall and relapse free survival were comparable to that of historical non-cisplatin containing regimens. Randomized phase III studies are warranted.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Fluorouracil* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Recurrence ; Stomach Neoplasms* ; Survival Rate

Syringoma is not a uncommon tumor of the skin. It is a benign adenoma, of intraepidermal eccrine ducts. It occurs predominantly in women at puberty or adolescence. The lesions usually are multiple and small, skin colored or slightly yellowish payules, usually only 1 or 3mm in size. The lesions usually are limited to the lower eyelids but may occur on cheek, axilla, abdomen, neck, anterior chest and vulva. Rarely these are generalized in distributior. A 23 years old healthy man has had widespread lesions over the face, anterior chest and abdomen. The lesions appeared at the age of 13 on the anterior chest and abdomen. These increased in number and extended slowly to the face On visiting our department, there were numerous, angular or round, skin colored papules on his face and anterior chest as well as yellowish brown colored papules on his abdomen. Diagnosis was confirmed by clinical and histopathological findings as generalized syringoma.
Abdomen ; Adenoma ; Adolescent ; Axilla ; Cheek ; Diagnosis ; Eyelids ; Female ; Humans ; Neck ; Puberty ; Skin ; Syringoma* ; Thorax ; Vulva ; Young Adult

We have experienced automated and computerized perimetry using a Humphrey Field Analyzer in our Glaucoma Services. To evaluate its clinical efficacy, we report the results of the Armaly central field screening test in comparison with those of central 30-2 threshold test of the Humphrey Field Analyzer. One hundred fortythree eyes of 83 cases of normotensives, ocular hypertensives and glaucoma patients with open-angle or narrow-angle were enrolled in this study. Fiftyfour out of 61 patients (88.5%) and 73 out of 81 eyes (90.1 %) with visual field defect were detected by the screening test of the Humphrey Field Analyzer. Eight out of 81 eyes (9.9%) with visual field defect detected by the screening test were confirmed as false positive. All points of false positive were solitary, which tended to occur more frequently on superior vusual field. False negative of 8 eyes (12.9%) detected by the screening test were confirmed by the threshold test. The point of false negative was more frequent on superior field and showed to locate more peripherally from the fixation point. There was no significant difference in either central sensitivity or age of the false ring.
Glaucoma ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Visual Field Tests ; Visual Fields*

The T cell responses to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were analyzed in acute hepatitis patients, chronic active hepatitis (CAH) patients and asymptomatic carriers. Neither proliferative responses nor substantial cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in response to HBsAg was detected. For further studies, HBsAg- reactive T cell lines were prepared from PBMC of the hepatitis patients and asymptomatic carriers. No proliferative response of the T cell lines was observed. Interestingly, however, T cell lines obtained from acute hepatitis patients were found to produce IFN-r, but not IL- 4, in response to HBsAg stimulation, whereas T cell lines obtained from CAH patients and carriers were not. Results of this study suggest that HBsAg-reactive T cells producing Thl type cytokines may play an important role in the viral clearance during acute infections, while defects in those T cells may be responsible for the viral persistency.
Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; T-Lymphocytes*

Plasma cell cheilitis is a rare inflammatory disorder which shows a dense, band-like infiltrate of plasma cells in the upper dermis. Although the histological picture is shared with other diseases of the lips, plasma cell cheilitis is not associated with any known dermatoses. Some authors have shown the effectiveness of topical or intralesional corticosteroids; however, there have been many reports describing poor therapeutic response to topical steroids. We de-scribe two patients with plasma cell chielitis whose clinical condition responded rapidly to the intralesional injection of corticosteroids.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones* ; Cheilitis* ; Dermis ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional* ; Lip ; Plasma Cells* ; Plasma* ; Skin Diseases ; Steroids

Kasabach-Merritt syndrome is the association of thrombocytopenia, disorder of coagulation, spontaneous bleeding and enlargement of a hemangima or extensive hemangiomatosis, which can be often life threatening. We experienced a three years-old girl with suddenly enlarging hemangioma of right cheek, complicated by severe thrombocytopenia, consumptive coagulopathy and hemorrhagic cystitis. Generalized petechia and ecchymosis were noted on the overlying skin of hemangioma, trunk and extremities. But the study of MRI and angiography, hypevascular was located within the right masseter muscle extending to temporalis muscle and anterior to parotid gland. So selective embolization with PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) was performed through the distal branch of internal maxillary artery and facial artery. She was medicated with oral corticosterioid for 3 weeks. After embolizationn, blood flow to hemangioma and facial swelling were markedly decreased. Patient was followed up for 7 years and she showed normal contour of face and no bleeding diathesis.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Cheek ; Cystitis ; Disease Susceptibility ; Ecchymosis ; Extremities ; Female ; Hemangioma ; Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhagic Disorders* ; Humans ; Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Masseter Muscle ; Maxillary Artery ; Parotid Gland ; Skin ; Thrombocytopenia

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen presenting cells that can activate naive T cells. Mature DCs exress high levels of MHC and costimulatory molecules on their surface and have capacity to produce IL-12, a 75 kDa heterodimeric cytokine composed of p35 and p40 subunit. IL-12 is currently thought to be one of most critical determinants for skewing the immune response towards Th1. Expression of IL-12 in dendritic cells seems to be regulated by various stimuli including CD40L. In the present study we investigated expression of IL-12 in mature DCs, which were cultured from bone marrow cells in the presence of GM-CSF. Maturity of the DCs was confirmed by morphologic characteristics, immunophenotypes, and allostimulatory activities. Exprssion levels of IL-12 p40 in the DCs were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Increases in IL-12 p40 expression were observed after treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an anti-MHC class II monoclonal antibody, or an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody. The most remarkable increases, however, were observed in the DCs treated with an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody. These results support a previous notion that signals through CD40/CD40L interaction may be important for the production of IL-12 by DCs. Moreover, results of this study show a possibility of using monoclonal antibodies against CD40 molecules for preparing DCs producing high amount of IL-12, which can be used for anti-tumor or anti-viral immunotherapy.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Antigen-Presenting Cells ; Bone Marrow Cells ; CD40 Ligand ; Dendritic Cells* ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Immunotherapy ; Interleukin-12* ; Mice* ; T-Lymphocytes

We herein report a case of occupational contact urticaria syndrome induced by cefotiam di-hydrochloride in a nurse. She had generalized pruritic wheals accompanied by palpitations and tachypnea during the preparation of cefotiam solution. A scratch patch test with cefotiam di-hydrochloride, a major component of cefotiam ingredient showed multiple erythema and wheals within 5 minutes, accompanied by palpitations and tachypnea. No delayed type reaction was observed. Based on her clinical history and scratch test result, we diagnosed her condition as contact urticaria syndrome caused by cefotiam.
Cefotiam* ; Erythema ; Patch Tests ; Tachypnea ; Urticaria*