Takayasu's arteritis is briefly as an inflammatory process of unknown etiology occuring dominantly in young female most commonly involving the great vessels arising from the aortic arch. The disease process results in stenosis and obliteration of involved vessels. Syncope in Takayasu's arteritis is known to result from decreased blood flow to brain because of stenosing blood vessels. We herein describe a case of paroxysmal atrioventricular block in a 40-year old man with Takayasu's arteritis. The patient presented with spontaneous recurrent syncope associated with paroxysmal AV block. Carotid sinus pressure repeatedly induced paroxysmal AV block and syncope. Carotid sinus pressure after pretreatment of atropine failed to induce AV block or syncope. Coronary angiogram was normal. We concluded that syncope in this patients was attributed to carotid hypersensitivity rather than decreased blood flow to the brain due to vessel stenosis.
Adult ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Atrioventricular Block* ; Atropine ; Blood Vessels ; Brain ; Carotid Sinus ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Female ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Syncope ; Takayasu Arteritis*

PURPOSE: Both headache and obesity are prevalent and chronic conditions among children. A well-known pathophysiology of migraine is that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is an important postsynaptic mediator of trigemino-vascular inflammation. Plasma CGRP levels have been shown to increase in obese individuals during the headache phase of migraines. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between headache and plasma CGRP levels in obese children. METHODS: We prospectively studied plasma CGRP levels in 33 patients (20 overweight and obese subjects without headache, 13 overweight and obese subjects with headache) who visited Chosun University Hospital from March 2009 to September 2009. Blood samples were collected from cubital veins and plasma levels of CGRP were measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS: The mean age was 12.3+/-2.3 (range 6-15 years) and mean CGRP level was 19.1+/-2.5 pg/ml in the overweight and obese with headache group and 17.4+/-5.1 pg/mL in the overweight and obese without headache group. In the group CGRP levels lower than 19 pg/mL, mean headache frequency per month, mean severity, and mean disability were 17.0+/-18.4, 4.0+/-2.8 and 2.0+/-0.0, respectively. In the group with CGRP levels of 19 or greater pg/ml, levels were 11.0+/-9.8, 5.6+/-1.0, and 23.1+/-8.2, respectively. CONCLUSION: The mean CGRP level in overweight and obese children with headache was not significantly higher than in those without headache (P =0.202). Further, there was no significant correlation between CGRP level and frequency, severity of headache, and disability due to headache (P > 0.05). Further studies are needed to access the relationship of CGRP and pediatric headache in obese subjects.
Calcitonin ; Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide ; Child ; Headache ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Migraine Disorders ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Plasma ; Prospective Studies ; Veins

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Diagnosis ; Prognosis

No abstract available.
Atrophy* ; Brain*

2 patients of forearm deformities with ulnar defect and radial head dislocation were treated with the Ilizarov apparatus at Chungnam University Hospital. One patient had a severe hypoplastic remnant-like ulnar fragment and a anterolaterally dislocated radial head due to complicated osteomyelitis of ulnar. We applied an Ilizarov apparatus to transport the radial head distally, and fixed to remaining proximal ulnar fragment. The other had a large bony defect at the ulnar shaft and a dislocated radial head due to complicated osteomyelitis of ulna. We performed internal transport of ulna to decreased the ulnar defect and to descend the dislocated radial head. The clinical-radiological features and functional results of those 2 forearm deformities were described with brief review of the articles about the Ilizarov method for correction of forearm defor- mities.
Chungcheongnam-do ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dislocations ; Forearm ; Head ; Humans ; Ilizarov Technique ; Osteomyelitis ; Ulna

No abstract available.
Pregnancy* ; Uric Acid*

The ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is known to be a potent modulator of many host immune functions and the exposure of experimental animals to the inflammatory effects of UVR induces depressions in their ability to initiate and effectuate various types of cellular immune responses. In this study, the effects of UV-B (280 320 nm) radiation on resistance to a facultative intracellular bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes (LM), were examined at the cellular level. The numbers of cultivable LM recovered from the spleens of UV-B-irradiated mice were decreased at 2 days postinfection compared with those of untreated control mice. However, the acquired immunity, developed 7 days after immunization with streptomycin (SM)-sensitive LM, in either UV-irradiated, LPS- or IL-1-pretreated mice was less stronger than that developed in untreated, control mice. To elucidate the possible mechanisms underlying the observation that UVR did increase innate immunity but decreased acquired immunity of mice to the infection with LM, the effects of UVR of mice on the production of IFN-r by activated splenocytes and TNF-a by peritoneal macrophages were assessed. Activated splenocytes from UV-irradiated mice exhibited a reduced capacity to produce IFN-r and cultured peritoneal macrophages produced more TNF-a in the presence of LPS during 24 hours after UV radiation. Though TNF-r activity was not detected in the sera of LM-infected mice, intravenous LPS injection induced TNF-r production and UVR decreased TNF activity in sera obtained from LM-infected mice with LPS induction 9 days after irradiation. Although Ia-negative macrophages were predominant in the peritoneal macrophages from untreated control mice, the infection of mice with LM caused a marked increase in Ia expression on peritoneal macrophages. However, UVR resulted in decreased expression of Ia molecule on the peritoneal macrophages during the LM infection. These findings suggest that the dual effects of UVR on the innate and acquired immunity of mice to the LM infection may be associated with altered capacities of splenocytes and peritoneal macrophages of the mice to produce cytokines, in addition to decrease of la molecule expression on the macrophages.
Adaptive Immunity ; Animals ; Cytokines ; Depression ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunity, Innate ; Immunization ; Listeria monocytogenes* ; Listeria* ; Macrophages ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice* ; Spleen ; Streptomycin ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha*

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to provide an actualized classification system for acute pancreatitis (AP) by applying new principle and investigated the benefits of new classification. METHODS: Medical records and computed tomography (CT) images of 235 consecutive patients with AP admitted to the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between 2005 and 2010 were reviewed. The patients of severe pancreatitis who has necrosis were only 68 cases, these are too small for comparing to mild form. So we analyzed mild form of pancreatitis preferentially into two groups; group A, without morbidity and without organ failure (145 patients, mild acute pancreatitis, MAP); group B, with morbidity and without organ failure (22 patients, aggressive mild acute pancreatitis, AMAP). Clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, duration of hospitalization, need for the intensive care unit (ICU), organ failure, needs of intervention, another severity indexes and death were evaluated. RESULTS: AMAP (group B) was higher proportion of need for the ICU care and of organ failure than MAP after age-adjusting (P<0.01). Also AMAP had higher incidence of associated malignancy, pseudocysts, and increasing fasting sugar level. CONCLUSION: The AMAP is a different type of MAP. We need new category of different grade of mild form pancreatitis, because AMAP showed different clinical course. New classification of mild acute pancreatitis is relatively effective, and has clinically significant value.
Fasting ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intensive Care Units ; Medical Records ; Necrosis ; Pancreatitis

No abstract available.
Herpes Zoster* ; Infertility*

No abstract available.