Removal of leukocytes from blood components may prevent alloimmunization to leukocyte antigens, febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reactions, transmission of leukotropic viruses or bacteria, and graft-versus-host disease. New surface-modified fibrous polyester filters were evaluated; they require no special processing of blood components and can be used at the patient's bed-side. Pall RC100TM(Pall Co., USA) was used to filter 2 units of RBCs at a time for a total of 8 filtrations: mean red cell recovery rate was 88.7%, mean WBC removal rate 99. 99%, and mean residual WBC count after filtration 2.77x 10 5. Twelve units of apheresis platelets were filtered with Pall PL50TM(Pall Co., USA): mean platelet recovery rate was 90.7%, mean WBC removal rate 99.95%, and mean residual WBC count after filtration 6.99 x 10 5. This study indicates that these filters efficiently remove WBCs without significant loss of red cells or platelets and that this kind of filters can be easily used at the patient's bed side.
Bacteria ; Blood Component Removal ; Blood Group Incompatibility ; Blood Platelets ; Filtration ; Graft vs Host Disease ; HLA Antigens ; Leukocytes* ; Polyesters

No abstract available.
Pneumoconiosis*

No abstract available.
Ambulances* ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation*

The importance of Toxoplasma gondii in human disease stimulated a number of electron microscope studies on the structure of this protozoan parasite. Gustafson et al. first studied the fine structure by means of thin sections in 1954. Many other papers havs subsequantly appeared. It is well known that Toxoplasma gondii has two stages in its life cycle-the proliferative forms and the cyst. The purpose of the electron microscopical work reported here was to study the fine structure of Toxoplasma gondii with recent techniques clarifying the correlation between the proliferative forms and cyst. RH strain and KM strain as proliferative forms on the one hand and Beverley strain as a cyst form of Toxoplasma gondii on the other hand were used throughout this study. The conoid, toxoneme, nucleus, nucleolus, osmiophilic granules, mitochondria and vacuoles were found in RH strain as wsll as in KM strain and Beverley strain. The endoplasmic reticulum was found in the cytoplasm of RH strain and KM strain. It was better developed in KM strain than in RH strain. The outside contour of the organism of Beverley strain was somewhat irregular and toxoneme of this organism was better developed than in the other two strains. Vacuoles were found in RH strain, KM strain and Beverley strain. Furthermore, tube-like bodies were observed in the vacuoles of the organism of RH strain. In KM strain, two organisms of the same size were demonstrated in the leucocytes. It was presumed that they were products of longitudinal division.
parasitology-protozoa- Toxoplasma gondii ; electron microscopy

Twenty five patients (twenty seven hips) who had Chiari osteotomy at Kang Nam St. Marys Hospital between 1980 and 1995 were reviewed to evaluate the factors in the operative technique that contribute to successful outcome and assess the clinical results in various conditions. The length of follow-up ranged from one to fourteen years and the age of at operation ranged from four to twentythree years. Eighteen patients had developmental dysplasia of the hip: four, septic hip: three had another disorders, Prior to the Chiari osteotomy, fourteen hips had an femoral osteotomy and four, trochanteric arthroplasty. We used to the standard osteotomy as described by Chiari with certain modification. A pneumatic saw and osteotome are used instead of Gigli saw. This technique is simple procedure to make the correct level and angle. Bone graft was not performed in all cases even the osteotomy was displaced more than 50 percent of the iliac width. The overall results were 12 excellent, eight good, five fair, and two poor. In eleven patients, the osteotomy had to be displaced more than 50 percent to provide good coverage of the femoral head. Their results were good or excellent. A good result will be obtained if enough attention is paid to displacing the osteotomy. The osteotomy using the pneumatic saw provides accurate level and direction of osteotomy and it is an simple procedure also.
Adolescent* ; Arthroplasty ; Child* ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Hip ; Humans ; Osteotomy* ; Transplants

Although most of the known pathogenic mutations in the progranulin gene (PGRN) are null mutations leading to a reduction in the serum PGRN protein levels, missense mutations also have been identifi ed in patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and in patients with Alzheimer disease. Among these, p.R564C mutation was identifi ed in a late-onset AD patient with a reduced serum PGRN level. However, recently, we found the p.R564C mutation in a healthy control subject raising doubts whether this is a pathogenic mutation. In this report, we measured the serum PGRN levels in 20 subjects without the p.R564C mutation and in one subject with the p.R564C mutation, to determine whether the p.R564C mutation is associated with reduced serum PGRN levels. We found that the serum PGRN level in the subject with the p.R564C mutation was not reduced compared to the subjects without the p.R564C mutation. Our result reiterates that p.R564C may not be a pathogenic mutation.

Background and Objectives: This study aimed to examine factors of poor outcome by analyzing the outcomes of bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease after 3 years. Methods: We assumed that patients who could not manage independent life in their best stimulationon/medication-on condition after a defi ned period might not have been a good surgical candidate. A poor outcome is defi ned as a failure to maintain functional independence at three years during a stimulation-on/medication-on state. Results: A total of 84 patients underwent bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation and all were followed up for 3 years. We excluded one patient who had intracranial hemorrhage. Twenty-one patients of the 83 patients could not keep up independent life even during their best condition for the following reasons: freezing in 15 patients, dementia in 5, depression in 3, musculoskeletal problems in 7, and cancer in one patient. Conclusions: Many patients could not keep up independent life during their best condition as early as three years after deep brain stimulation. Musculoskeletal problems were one major cause of disabilities, as were freezing and dementia. We emphasize that musculoskeletal problems need more attention in the preoperative screening of deep brain stimulation candidates and during the follow up.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Ultrasonography is the easiest, fastest procedure for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis, but the diagnostic failure are mostly because of the intrapancreatic level of this condition and the absence of bile duct dillatation. Endoscopic ultrasonography is a promising procedure for the diagnosis of extrahepatic cholestasis due to noninvasiveness and accuracy in the digestive gas interposition. The aim of this study was to prospectively compare the diagnostic accuracy of endoscopie ultrasonography with abdominal ultrasonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in 66 patients with suspected choledocholithiasis. METHODS: All of the patients had abdominal ultrasonography, endoscopic ultrasonography ~and endoscopie retrograde cholangiography within 72 hours and final diagnosis was determined by endoseopic retrograde cholangiography with sphincterotomy. RESULTS: (l) Choledocholithiasis was confirmed in 45 patients: Thirteen patients had nondilated common bile ducts and 20 patients had stones with diamerer < 1 cm. (2) Endoscopic ultrasonography was more sensitive(95.5%) than abdominal ultrasonography (44.4%: P<0.0001) and similar to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (97.8%). Specificity was same as 100% in 3 diagnostic tools. (3) Endoscopic ultrasonography was superior to abdommal ultrasonography for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis with nondilated common bile duct(100% vs 15.3%, P<0.0001) and with less than 1cm sized small stone(100% vs 10.0%, P<0.0001). Endoscopic ultrasonography results did not depend on stone diameter or common bile duct dilatation. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic ultrasonography could be an accurate and safe diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis and could be promising especially in the cases with difficult cannulation of bile duct and gal1 stone pancreatitis.
Bile ; Bile Ducts ; Biliary Tract* ; Catheterization ; Cholangiography ; Choledocholithiasis* ; Cholestasis, Extrahepatic ; Common Bile Duct ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Endosonography* ; Humans ; Pancreas* ; Pancreatitis ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ultrasonography

No Abstract Available.
Calmodulin* ; Cell Death* ; Humans* ; Retinoblastoma*

No abstract available.
Prostate* ; Testis*