Pulmonary artery to pulmonary artery shunt (PAPAS).
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to C S Cho.
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Two hundred seventy-four computed tomographic (CT) scans of the thorax were obtained in 209 patients with malignant lymphoma (153 Hodgkin disease and 56 non-Hodgkin lymphoma). Fourteen patients (6.6%) were shown to have adenopathy involving the cardiophrenic angle lymph nodes on CT. Of these, only three were considered positive on the basis of chest radiography alone. The anatomy of these diaphragmatic lymph nodes and CT appearance of these nodes when pathologically enlarged are discussed.
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This study was to describe the findings of osteonecrosis in patients with SLE at MR and scintigraphic imaging. Among 415 patients with SLE, 37 patients were diagnosed to have osteonecrosis. MR images and bone scintigraphs were analyzed for sites of involvement, signal intensity, bilaterality and multiplicity. MR imaging features of osteonecrosis in patients with SLE included isointense signal intensity relative to adjacent bone marrow, hypointense rim, marginal enhancement and unusual involvement of flat bones. Bilateral and multiple involvements were common.
The use of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLTX) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has generally become restricted to carefully selected cases of small oligocentric tumors. However, it is not uncommon to find previously undetected HCC within recipient cirrhotic livers at the time of hepatectomy. The impact of unsuspected HCC on patient outcomes remains unclear. A retrospective analysis of our institutional experience with adult primary OLTX was performed comparing recipients with incidental HCC (group 1), recipients with known or suspected HCC (group 2), and recipients confirmed by pathologic examination to be tumor free (group 3). Between 1984 and 2000, 27 patients in group 1, 12 patients in group 2, and 612 patients in group 3 underwent primary OLTX. Tumors were smaller (P = 0.0172) in group 1 than in group 2; however, the number of tumors and the histologic findings were similar in the groups. Incidence of bilobar involvement, vascular invasion, portal vein tumor thrombus, lymphatic involvement, and distant metastasis at the time of OLTX did not differ significantly between these groups. Four-year patient survival appeared to be lower in group 1 (70.0%) than in group 3 (79.0%) (P = 0.0546); 4-year patient survival was significantly worse in group 2 (31.0%) compared to group 3 (P = 0.0106). Thus, in our experience, incidentally diagnosed cases of HCC possess many of the same features of malignancy as preoperatively diagnosed HCC. Indeed, patient survival after OLTX appears to be adversely affected by the presence of incidental HCC.
The comb-type polycation consisting of a poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEAEMA) backbone and poly(L-lysine) (PLL) side chains has been prepared as a novel pH-sensitive DNA carrier. The comb-type copolymer PDEAEMA-graft-PLL was prepared by using the macromonomer method, in which a poly(N epsilon-carbobenzoxy-L-lysine) macromonomer was radically copolymerized with DEAEMA. The comb-type copolymer exhibited a two-step proton dissociation and a dual ionic character owing to the two cationic segments in the copolymer, as determined by acid-base titration. In addition, the comb-type copolymer caused no significant turbidity even at pH 10, whereas PDEAEMA homopolymer suddenly precipitated out of the aqueous medium above pH 7.5 owing to the deprotonation of amino groups. Furthermore, a 1H NMR study proved that protonated PLL segments solubilized the comb-type copolymer with a hydrophobic PDEAEMA core at higher pH. Finally, the pH-dependent behavior of the DNA complex with the comb-type copolymer was evaluated. The discontinuous turbidity change of the DNA/PDEAEMA-graft-PLL mixture at pH 7.5 suggested that the solubility of the complex varied in response to pH. By circular dichroism measurement, we also found that the comb-type copolymer was capable of varying DNA compaction pH-dependently. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the comb-type copolymer is capable of sensing a pH signal and outputting the nonlinear change of the physicochemical properties of DNA polyelectrolyte complexes.
OBJECTIVE: Macrophage inhibitory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha), a C-C chemokine, stimulates the activation and migration of leukocytes. We investigated the expression of MIP-1alpha in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) and evaluated the association of the MIP-1alpha levels with disease activity of BD. METHODS: Serum samples were obtained from 67 BD patients and 30 healthy controls. Simultaneously, whole blood cells were isolated from BD patients (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 11) and cultured in the absence or presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) plus ionomycin. The concentrations of MIP-1alpha, interleukin-8 (IL-8), regulated on activation, normally T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were measured in the sera and culture supernatants by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: The serum levels of MIP-1alpha were higher in BD patients than in healthy controls. When whole blood cells were stimulated with LPS or PMA plus ionomycin, but not PHA, BD patients had higher levels of MIP-1alpha in the culture supernatants compared to healthy controls. In sera and culture supernatants of whole blood cells, MIP-1alpha levels correlated well with those of RANTES, MCP-1, and IL-8 in BD patients. Moreover, patients with active disease had significantly higher levels of serum MIP-1alpha levels compared with those with inactive disease. CONCLUSION: MIP-1alpha levels were elevated in patients with BD, and correlated well with IL-8, RANTES, and MCP-1 levels. These results suggest that the increased MIP-1alpha levels in serum of BD patients may lead to activation and migration of leukocytes, playing a role, like other chemokines, in the pathogenesis of BD.
Three cases of Charcot spinal arthropathy in long-standing (greater than 20 years) paraplegia are presented. In this group of patients with other known chronic infections, the differential diagnosis strongly favored osteomyelitis. Scanning techniques including technetium 99, indium 111, and computed tomography (CT) were used in the extensive work-up and were helpful, although not diagnostic. Closed needle and, in two cases, open biopsies eventually confirmed the diagnosis. The possible occurrence of this neuroarthropathy long after the onset of nonprogressive paraplegia should be kept in mind by those treating spinal cord injured patients.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the causes of death in Korean patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: We evaluated retrospectively Korean SLE patients who were monitored in the Center for Rheumatic Disease in Kang-Nam St. Mary's Hospital from 1993 to 1997 and who died. RESULTS: Forty-three (7.9%) of 544 patients died. Comparison of demographics and disease activity indices between the deceased and the survivors showed that the age was older and C3 at presentation was lower in the deceased (n = 40) than the survivors (n = 453) (age: 33.8 +/- 13.6 versus 28.3 +/- 10.6 years, p = 0.02, C3: 36.8 +/- 21.4 versus 49.7 +/- 20.8 mg/dl, p = 0.03). Among 40 patients who died, the frequency and causes of death were as follows: 13 from infection (32.5%), 10 SLE-related factors (25.0%), 6 pulmonary hypertension (15.0%), 4 cerebrovascular accidents (10.0%), and 3 thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (7.5%). The majority of the SLE-related deaths were non-renal in origin, including 3 cerebral nervous system disease, 2 TTP, 2 acute pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome, 1 acute myocarditis, and 1 multi-system illness. SLE-related renal causes were responsible for only death. The major organisms of infection were gram negative bacilli (69.2%), primarily manifesting as sepsis or bacteremia (76.9%). The patients (n = 13) who died from infection had lower levels of complement and higher levels of anti-ds DNA antibody at presentation than those (n = 27) who died from the other causes (C3: 24.7 +/- 17.8 versus 41.7 +/- 21.5 mg/dl, p = 0.02, anti-dsDNA antibody: 68.0 +/- 73.5 versus 27.0 +/- 35.3 IU, p = 0.04). The mean steroid dose being administered one month before death was also higher in the patients who died of infection (30.5 +/- 15.2 versus 15.2 +/- 7.7 mg/day, p = 0.03). Patients who died of pulmonary hypertension, the third most common cause of mortality, showed extremely high pulmonary pressures at the initial diagnosis, with a short interval to death, and had less major organ involvement at death. There were no deaths due to coronary heart disease or neoplasm in this cohort. CONCLUSION: The most common cause of death in 544 Korean lupus patients was infection, mainly manifesting as gram negative bacterial sepsis. SLE-related factors (mostly non-renal) were the next most frequent cause. Death from infection was associated with higher disease activity at presentation and a higher dose of steroid used previously. Death due to pulmonary hypertension was common, whereas death due to coronary heart disease was absent.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations in serum and synovial fluid (SF) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to search for relationships between VEGF levels and clinical and laboratory variables. METHODS: We measured VEGF levels using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum samples were obtained from 99 RA patients, 49 osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and 80 normal controls. Paired samples of serum and SF were collected from 32 patients with RA and 15 with OA. RESULTS: The mean serum VEGF concentration was 590.1 pg/ml for RA patients, 286.7 pg/ml for OA patients, and 265.8 pg/ml in controls. The serum VEGF concentration was significantly higher in the RA patients than in the OA patients or the controls (both p < 0.001). Furthermore, the VEGF levels in SF from RA patients were significantly higher than in SF from OA patients (p = 0.017). However, there was no correlation between VEGF levels in serum and SF from the same RA patients. The serum VEGF concentration was correlated with the ESR, serum CRP concentration, serum rheumatoid factor, number of tender and swollen joints, Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire, and patient and physician global assessments of disease activity in RA patients. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that VEGF level is related to RA disease activity, suggesting that VEGF may play some role in the pathogenesis of RA.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical significance of anti-nucleosome antibodies in SLE patients lacking anti-double stranded DNA (dsDNA) antibodies. METHODS: IgG anti-nucleosome antibodies were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in the sera of SLE patients. Anti-dsDNA antibodies were measured by Farr assays and ELISA, not only in the samples taken for anti-nucleosome testing, but also in sera obtained regularly during the follow-up. RESULTS: Ninety-eight (76.0%) out of 129 patients with SLE had anti-nucleosome antibodies. Twenty-five patients (19.4%) consistently showed little or no anti-dsDNA reactivity during the course of their disease, and among these anti-nucleosome antibodies were present in the sera of 15 (60.0%). Of the patients with anti-dsDNA-negative SLE, renal disorders were present in 8 patients (32.0%), all of whom had anti-nucleosome antibodies. Renal disorders were not found in patients (n = 10) who had neither anti-dsDNA nor anti-nucleosome antibodies. Other autoantibodies such as anti-Ro, anti-Sm and anti-cardiolipin were not associated with renal disorders in this group. The levels of anti-nucleosome antibody strongly correlated with the SLEDAI scores, but inversely correlated with serum complement levels in anti-dsDNA negative SLE patients. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the anti-nucleosome antibody may be a useful marker for diagnosis and activity assessment of anti-dsDNA negative SLE. Anti-nucleosome antibody may be an important factor for renal involvement in this subgroup of patients.
OBJECTIVE: Neuro-Behcet's disease (NBD) is one of the most serious complications of Behcet's disease (BD). Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) has been proved to be useful in detecting neuro-metabolic abnormalities in various diseases affecting the brain. In this study, we attempted to characterize the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in Korean patients with NBD and then examined the usefulness of 1HMRS in evaluating the MRI-negative brain area of NBD patients. METHODS: We performed brain MRI in 18 BD patients with neurologic symptoms and signs. Seven NBD patients without thalamic lesions and 8 healthy controls underwent brain 1H MRS, in which an 8 ml voxel was placed in the left thalamus and the N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) ratio was measured. RESULTS: Fourteen of 18 BD patients were diagnosed as having NBD and 12 NBD patients (86%) had brain lesions on MRI. Most lesions were of high signal intensity on T2-weighted images and located in the midbrain, pons, basal ganglia, and white matter. On 1H MRS, the thalamic area without gross abnormalities on MRI showed a significantly lower NAA/Cr ratio in NBD patients compared to healthy controls (1.07 +/- 0.08 versus 1.54 +/- 0.27, P < 0.01). In 2 NBD patients, the NAA/Cr ratios, monitored serially, were normalized along with clinical improvement 6 months after treatment with prednisolone and immune suppressive agents. CONCLUSION: MRI is a very sensitive diagnostic method for NBD, and 1H MRS may be useful for the early detection and follow-up of MRI-negative NBD.