ABSTRACT
Application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for assessment of pulmonary disease has been limited, due to susceptibility to cardiac pulsation, respiratory motion, and inhomogeneity of the magnetic field of the lung. With technical advances of MRI and unmet clinical needs for more accurate diagnosis and assessment of the disease, however, the use of MRI for evaluation of the lung has broadened. Herein, we present a case of pneumonic-type lung adenocarcinoma in a patient with history of anaphylactic shock to iodinated contrast medium, in which MRI played a critical role for targeted lung biopsy and cancer staging. Through this paper, we would like to report potential value of MRI in assessment of lung cancer.
Subject(s)
Humans , Adenocarcinoma , Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous , Anaphylaxis , Biopsy , Diagnosis , Lung Diseases , Lung Neoplasms , Lung , Magnetic Fields , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Necrosis , Neoplasm Staging , PneumoniaABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We evaluated clinical manifestations and laboratory findings in patients with measles according to age distribution. METHODS: Retrospective analyses were performed using medical records of patients with measles admitted to The Catholic University of Korea, Daejon St. Mary's Hospital from October 2000 to May 2001. We divided the patients with measles into three age groups, i.e., those who were under two years of age(159 patients), those between 9-11 years of age(39 patients), and those older than 16 years of age who were hospitalized in the department of internal medicine(young adult group; 23 patients). We compared clinical and laboratory characteristics among these three groups. RESULTS: Almost all patients with measles were presented with fever, skin rash and cough. No statistical differences were present between the three groups in total fever duration, number of hospitalization days, complications determined with longer hospitalization for more than eight days, and positive values of anti-measles IgM. Patients under 2 years of age showed statistically higher levels of white bood cell and lymphocyte counts. However, neutropenia and lymphopenia were observed in all age groups compared with age-matched standard values. Campared with the other two age groups, the young adult group showed a higher mean level of liver enzymes(AST/ALT) and more patients with a level twice as high as the normal values. CONCLUSION: Clinical manifestations including complications according to age groups showed no significant differences in patients with measles. Hepatic involvement was more prevalent in the young adult group.
Subject(s)
Adult , Male , Female , HumansABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We evaluated clinical manifestations and laboratory findings in patients with measles according to C-reactive protein(CRP) concentration. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using the medical records of patients with measles at The Catholic University of Korea, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital from October 1999 to May 2000. We divided the patients with measles into four groups according to CRP level, i.e., those with below 5 mg/L(134 patients, negative group), those with 6-19 mg/L(85 patients), those with 20-49 mg/L(27 patients), and those over 50 mg/L(7 patients). We compared clinical and laboratory characteristics among these four groups. RESULTS: The mean CRP level of all patients was 11.1+/-7.5 mg/L. No statistical differences were present between the negative group and the 6-19 mg/L group or the 20-49 mg/L group in the duration of fever, hospitalization days, complications determined with longer hospitalization for more than eight days, white blood cell count, and incidence of hepatitis. Compared with the negative group, the over 50 mg/L group showed a longer duration of fever(4.7+/-1.7 vs 7.2+/-3.9 days), duration of hospitalization(5.4+/-1.4 vs 9.4+/-4.7 days), incidence of complications(5.2% vs 42.9%) and a higher mean level of WBC count(5,900+/-2,700/mm3 vs 12,700+/-6,700/mm3). With an increasing CRP level, there was a tendency for the duration of fever, complications and WBC count to increase. However the levels of liver enzymes(AST/ALT) were not associated with CRP level. CONCLUSION: A CRP level of over 50 mg/L in measles is associated with severity and complications.
Subject(s)
Humans , C-Reactive Protein , Fever , Hepatitis , Hospitalization , Incidence , Korea , Leukocyte Count , Liver , Measles , Medical Records , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase plays an important role in transducing the signals of various growth factor receptors. However, the regulatory mechanism of PI3-kinase activity by these growth factor receptors is not completely understood. Therefore, we attempted to clarify the regulatory mechanism of PI3-kinase using insulin and 3T3 L1 fibroblasts. Our results showed that insulin stimulated PI3-kinase activity seven-fold and concomitantly phosphorylated a p85 subunit at the tyrosine residue. However, this tyrosine phosphorylation was not significant in the activation of PI3-kinase as the PI3-kinase pulled down by the overexpressed GST-p85 fusion protein showed as high an activity as the immunoprecipitated one. The p110 subunit was phosphorylated at both serine and tyrosine residues without insulin treatment. Since the phosphorylation state was not changed by insulin. The results suggested that phosphorylation of the p110 subunit does not control PI3-kinase activity. Finally, it was shown that the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) binding to PI3-kinase was not sufficient for full activation because the amount of IRS-1 pulled down by the GST-p85 fusion protein reached almost maximum, after incubation with insulin-treated cell lysates for 20 min, whereas PI3-kinase activity reached its maximum only after incubation for 5 h. All results suggest that the phosphorylation of p85 subunit at tyrosine residues and phosphorylation of p110 subunit at tyrosine or serine residues are not functionally significant in the regulation of PI3-kinase activity. They also suggest that P13-kinase is needed to bind to other protein(s) as well as the insulin receptor substrate-1 for full activation.