We induced percutaneous spinal cord injuries (SCI) using a balloon catheter in 45 rats and transplanted human umbilical cord blood derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCB-MSCs) at the injury site. Locomotor function was significantly improved in hUCB-MSCs transplanted groups. Quantitative ELISA of extract from entire injured spinal cord showed increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3). Our results show that treatment of SCI with hUCB-MSCs can improve locomotor functions, and suggest that increased levels of BDNF, NGF and NT-3 in the injured spinal cord were the main therapeutic effect.
Animals ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor/*genetics ; *Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Gene Expression Profiling ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; Locomotion ; Nerve Growth Factor/genetics ; Rats ; Spinal Cord Injuries/*therapy

Here, percutaneous spinal cord injury (SCI) methods using a balloon catheter in adult rats are described. A balloon catheter was inserted into the epidural space through the lumbosacral junction and then inflated between T9-T10 for 10min under fluoroscopic guidance. Animals were divided into three groups with respect to inflation volume: 20 microL (n = 18), 50 microL (n = 18) and control (Fogarty catheter inserted but not inflated; n = 10). Neurological assessments were then made based on BBB score, magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology. Both inflation volumes produced complete paralysis. Gradual recovery of motor function occurred when 20 microL was used, but not after 50 microL was applied. In the 50 microL group, all gray and white matter was lost from the center of the lesion. In addition, supramaximal damage was noted, which likely prevented spontaneous recovery. This percutaneous spinal cord compression injury model is simple, rapid with high reproducibility and the potential to serve as a useful tool for investigation of pathophysiology and possible protective treatments of SCI in vivo.
Animals ; Balloon Embolectomy/*methods ; Disease Models, Animal ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord Compression/*therapy

A benign metastasizing leiomyoma is a rare condition that affects women with a history of uterine leiomyoma, usually after a myomectomy or hysterectomy. Typical radiographic findings include well-circumscribed solitary or multiple pulmonary nodules ranging from a few millimeters to several centimeters in diameter and scattered among the normal interstitium. We report a case of a benign metastasizing leiomyoma that manifested with multiple cavitary nodules in a 46-year-old woman with no previous history of a myomectomy or hysterectomy.
Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Leiomyoma* ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Uterus

Xanthogranuloma is a benign, fibrohistiocytic lesion that presents as a yellowish, cutaneous papule or nodule. Although the head, neck, and trunk are the most common sites for xanthogranuloma, it can appear at any site on the body. We report a rare solitary xanthogranuloma on the palm of 24-year-old man.
Head ; Humans ; Neck ; Young Adult

Eccrine porocarcinoma is a very rare, locally-aggressive, potentially fatal, malignant cutaneous neoplasm that arises from the intraepithelial ductal portion of the eccrine sweat gland. Eccrine porocarcinoma may develop either spontaneously or from a longstanding benign eccrine poroma. Herein, we describe two cases of eccrine porocarcinoma and review the related literature.
Eccrine Porocarcinoma* ; Poroma ; Sweat Glands

Cutaneous metastasis from bladder cancer is very rare. A 48-year-old man presented with a 5 month history of a dome-shaped nodule on his scalp. Histopathologic examination of the skin lesion revealed the proliferation of atypical cells, which were similar to those of urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder. We herein report on a case of cutaneous metastasis from urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder with a review of the Korean literature.
Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Scalp ; Skin ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Urinary Bladder*

Granular cell tumor (GCT) of the breast is a rare clinical entity, and is believed to be of schwannian origin and to follow a benign clinical course. A 50-year-old woman presented with a slowly growing mass in the right breast. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed a cellular smear containing isolated or clustered cells showing round to oval nuclei with abundant oncocytic granular cytoplasm. Nuclei showed a fine granular chromatin pattern and occasional small single nucleoli. Cell boundaries were poorly defined, and naked nuclei were frequently found. Histologically, the tumor showed features of typical GCT, and immunohistochemical staining findings strongly supported the diagnosis. The present study demonstrates that GCT of the breast can mimic malignant lesions of breast both clinically and radiologically. The recognition of its cytologic features and suspicion of this lesion would undoubtedly aid the correct diagnosis of mammary GCT.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Breast* ; Chromatin ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Granular Cell Tumor* ; Humans ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND: The adhesion of H. pylori to the gastric epithelial cells may be an essential step for the pathophysiology of various H. pylori-induced gastrointestinal diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural relation of H. pylori and gastric epithelial cells in their adhesion. METHODS: Endoscopic biopsy of gastric antrum and body was performed from 15 patients (9 men, 6 women) with chronic gastritis and H. pylori infection. The specimens were processed for electron microscopy and observed with a transmission electron microscope (Hitachi H-600). RESULTS: On the basis of morphological appearances, the adhesions of H. pylori to the gastric epithelial cells were categorized into three types; filamentous connection, adhesion pedestals and membrane fusion. Coccoid and undetermined forms adhered mainly by the filamentous connection, whereas the bacillary forms adhered primarily by the adhesion pedestals and membrane fusion. CONCLUSION: Various types of adhesion were associated with H. pylori and gastric epithelium. Further studies are needed to evaluate the influence of different types of adhesion to the pathophysiology of H. pylori.
*Bacterial Adhesion ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Female ; Gastritis/*microbiology/pathology ; Helicobacter Infections/*microbiology/pathology/physiopathology ; Helicobacter pylori/classification/physiology/*ultrastructure ; Human ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron ; Middle Age ; Stomach/*microbiology/pathology ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

PURPOSE: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is defined as lymphoma limited to the cranial-spinal axis without evidence of systemic disease and its incidence has risen threefold during the last fifteen years among apparantly healthy population. This study was intended to analyze the clinicopathologic features and treatment outcome of the patient with PCNSL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty one patients were diagnosed and treated for the PCNSL limited to brain parenchyme at Asan Medical Center between March 1989 and December 1996. We reviewed clinical records of these patients and analyzed clinicopathologic features, treatment response, survival time and prognostic factors. RESULTS: The ratio of male to female was 1.3: 1 and the most prevalent age group was the 4th decade. Most patients had diffuse large cell (19/21) and B-cell type (8/8). Seventeen (94.4%) among 18 evaluable patients achieved complete remission (CR) as initial response, but 53% of patients showed recurence of the disease. Median times of disease-free and overall survival were 40 and 50 months, respectively and 5 year overall survival rate was 35.3 %. Prognostic factors such as age and performance status, had a statistically significant influence on the overall survival but not on disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: CR rate of the patients with PCNSL was high, but relapses were frequent. There fore further studies are needed to define the pmgnostic factors and to decrease relapse rate.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; B-Lymphocytes ; Brain ; Central Nervous System* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lymphoma* ; Male ; Recurrence ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: Although the therapeutic outcome of aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has been considerably improved by the introduction of combination chemotherapy, many patients still fail to achieve complete response(CR) and/or long-term survival. Because the outcome appears to depend on certain prognostic factors, long term prognosis can be predicted by identification of risk group. And also, the patients in high risk group may benefit from new therapeutic modality. In 1993, the international prognostic index model for aggressive NHL as developed far the purpose of predicting outcome and designing of therapeutic trial. Thus, analysis of prognostic factors was performed to identify independent factors for the end points of CR, overall survival, and disease-free survival. METHODS: From 1989 to 1994, total 340 patients were treated with combination chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for NHL in Korea Cancer Center Hospital. Among 340, informations on eleven prognostic factors(sex, age, performance status, Ann Arbor stage, serum LDH level, tumor size, number of extranodal disease sites, bone marrow involvement, presence of B symptom, sex, time to CR, and histologic grade) were avaliable for 273 patients. Among these, 221 patients with aggressive NHL(NCI clinical schema) were eligible for the prognostic factor analysis for the response and survival. Also, 186 patients were eligible to determine whether International Prognostic Index Model could be applicable for Korean NHL. RESULTS: One hundred fifty patients(68%, 95% CI 62-74%) achieved a complete remission, 43 patients (20%) a partial remission. With a median follow-up of 3,5 years, overall 3 year survival rate was 6396, and 3 year DFS for the 150 CRs was 72%. In a univariate analysis for the CR and survival, Ann Arbor stage, number of extranadal disease, performance status, presence of B symptoms, presence of BM involvement, serum LDH level and histologic grade were found to be statistically significant prognostic factors. Among them, by multivariate analysis, number of extranodal disease(RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.7), B Symptoms (RR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2-0.9), and histologic grade(RR 0.2, 95% CI 0.08-0.7) showed to be independent adverse prognostic factors for CR. For disease-free survival, Ann Arbor stage(RR 2.6, 95% CI 1.1-6.4) was independent risk factor. For overall survival, number of extranodal involvement(RR 2, 95% CI 1.3-4) and histologic grade(RR 2, 95% CI 1.2-3.7) were independently significant prognostic factors. With these 2 independent prognostic factors for survival, we could establish a prognastic index model which could separate the high risk patients. However, the usefulness of this model should be confirmed in a larger patient population. The dose intensity of cyclophosphamide, during initial 3 months of treatment, was significantly associated with CR rate and overall survival(p=0.01 and 0.03, respectively). When International Prognostic Index Model was applied to our patients, patients in the lower risk groups had significantly better outcome than patients in the higher risk groups(3 year survival and RR: 77% and 1 for low risk group, 61% and 1.9 for low-intermediate risk group, 50% and 2.2 for high-intermediate risk group, and 25% and 6 for high risk group). CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed that features other than the Ann Arbor stage were independently associated with CR and survival, and the International Prognostic Index Model would be an useful tool for the selection of high-risk patients who could be benefited from more aggressive chemotherapy.
Bone Marrow ; Cyclophosphamide ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hodgkin Disease* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Radiotherapy ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate