ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy with using 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is a good noninvasive treatment modality that can treat several cutaneous diseases. Yet hydrophilic ALA is not able to easily penetrate the cellular membrane or the lipid layer of the skin. Thus, various ALA alkyl esters been developed. OBJECTIVE: We studied whether novel ALA unsaturated alkyl esters synthesize more protoporhyrin IX (PpIX) than does ALA in mouse skin tissues. METHODS: We applied 5, 10, 15% ALA and ALA esters ointment to the skin of shaved mice, respectively. We harvested the skin tissue, made a preparation and did quantitative analysis according to the fluorescent spectrum for determining the amount of PpIX synthesized in the skin after the elapse of 1 hour and 3 hours, respectively. RESULTS: No matter what the sort or the concentration of the ALA and ALA ester was, the amount of synthesized PpIX increased more after the elapse of 3 hours than that after 1 hour. ALA (hetenyl-, petenyl-, butenyl-, methyl-) esters tended to produce a much greater amount of PpIX than ALA. According to the results of the comparative study with using 5%, 10% and 15% of ALA and ALA esters ointment, the amount of synthesized PpIX was not proportional to the concentration of the ALA and the ALA esters, even though the ALA esters produced more PpIX than the ALA. CONCLUSION: We found that the ALA unsaturated alkyl esters are a good photosensitizer and they are similar to ALA-me, which is an ALA saturated alkyl ester that induces more PpIX, an actual photosensitizer, than ALA can.
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , Aminolevulinic Acid , Esters , Membranes , Photochemotherapy , Protoporphyrins , SkinABSTRACT
Cutaneous leiomyoma is a benign tumor of smooth-muscle fibers. There are five types of cutaneous leiomyoma; multiple piloleiomyomas; solitary piloleiomyoma; solitary genital leiomyoma; solitary angioleiomyoma; and leiomyoma with additional mesenchymal elements. A 50-year-old woman had a 13-year history of variable sized painful eryhtematous papules and nodules on the left upper chest, shoulder, arm and back. These lesions were distributed in a zosteriform pattern and corresponded with the left fourth cervical and the left second thoracic dermatome. The histopathologic findings revealed typical piloleiomyoma. One case of zosteriform cutaneous leiomyoma has been reported in the Korean literature. However, the lesions of the case corresponded with two close dermatomes and developed widely. Such a case has never been reported in the Korean literature case.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Arm , Leiomyoma , Leiomyomatosis , Neck , Shoulder , ThoraxABSTRACT
Erosive lichen planus of the vulva, a variant of lichen planus appearing on the genital area, presents painful erosion and white reticulated patch to the vagina. This disease presents various clinical signs and symptoms. Rarely squamous cell carcinoma or vulva intraepithelial neoplasm can develop in this disease, but this has not been recorded in the Korean medical literature. We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma which follows erosive lichen planus of the vulva in 54-year-old woman.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Carcinoma in Situ , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell , Lichen Planus , Lichens , Vagina , VulvaABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Vitiligo is a depigmented disorder, causing serious cosmetic problems for patients. In diagnostic and therapeutic aspects, vitiligo should be differentiated from other hypopigmented disorders as the therapeutic approach and prognosis are different for each disease. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the usefulness of several markers for melanocytes or melanin in differential diagnosis of vitiligo. METHODS: Twenty-eight patients were studied, who were diagnosed clinically as suffering from one of the following diseases: vitiligo, nevus depigmentosus, pityriasis alba, postinflammatory hypopigmentation, and idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis. Skin samples (frozen or paraffin-fixed) were obtained from depigmented patches and normal neighboring skin (control). Histological staining was performed by using Fontana-Masson, S-100, MART-1, and DOPA. The staining level of lesional skin was compared with that of normal skin. RESULTS: When the staining level of vitiligo was compared with that of others, vitiligo was significantly lower in Fontana-Masson (13.3+/-17.2% vs 44.4+/-23.7%), S-100 (49.5+/-14.9% vs 74.7+/-24.2%), MART-1 (7.4+/-8.7% vs 68+/-33.9%), and DOPA (9.5+/-11.3% vs 58.2+/-29.5%) (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: MART-1 and DOPA are valuable markers in differential diagnosis of vitiligo. However, Fontana-Masson, a marker of melanin, had some limits in detecting melanocytes, and S-100 showed non-specific staining other than melanocytes.
Subject(s)
Humans , Cosmetics , Diagnosis, Differential , Dihydroxyphenylalanine , Hypopigmentation , Melanins , Melanocytes , Nevus , Pityriasis , Prognosis , Skin , Stress, Psychological , VitiligoABSTRACT
Conventional S-plasty is a modified method showing favorable results compared with the standard fusiform excision. The modified S-plasty can greatly reduce the tension of suture lines as well as the length of the suture by approximately two thirds. It therefore obtains excellent aesthetic outcomes. So far, skin grafts or flaps have been used as a general method when a simple primary closure is impossible, but these are complex and take much time. In this case, we can get better surgical and aesthetic results by using the modified S-plasty instead. The scar is more natural if a curved line is sutured along the skin crease of the forehead or nasal area on the face. We surgically removed skin tumors in 4 cases by using the modified S-plasty. All resulted in good aesthetic outcomes.
Subject(s)
Cicatrix , Forehead , Skin , Sutures , TransplantsABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study examined the differences in NOS expression after a spinal cord injury (SCI) in young and adult rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 20 Sprague-Dawley rats (5 weeks and 16 weeks) were anesthetized with halothane, and laminectomies were performed at the level of the eleventh thoracic vertebra. The spinal cord injury was induced using the dropping method. Immunohistochemistry for nNOS and iNOS and NADHP-d for eNOS were performed on the spinal cord after SCI 1 and 7 days after surgery. The behavior of the rats subjected to spinal cord injury were examined by BBB scoring. The differences between the young and adult rats were analyzed using a paired t-test with significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: There was a decrease in the number of nNOS immunoreactive cells, and an increase in the number of iNOS immunoreactive cells and NADPH-d positive (eNOS reactive) blood vessels in the spinal cords of the adult rats 1 and 7 days after SCI. On the other hand, in the young rats, the number of nNOS immunoreactive cells in the spinal cords was maintained 1 day after SCI, and NADPH-d positive (eNOS reactive) blood vessels were abundant in the spinal cords 1 and 7 days after SCI. There was a higher iNOS immunoreactivity in the spinal cords of the adult rats after SCI than in the young rats. The motor dysfunction of the hind limbs was slightly lower in the young rats was than in the adult rats. In addition, the recovery of the motor dysfunction was more rapid in the young rats than in the adult rats. CONCLUSION: An increase in the neuroprotective eNOS reactivity was prominent in young rats, whereas an increase in neurodestructive iNOS expression was prominent in the adult rats.
Subject(s)
Adult , Animals , Humans , Rats , Blood Vessels , Extremities , Halothane , Hand , Immunohistochemistry , Laminectomy , Nitric Oxide Synthase , Nitric Oxide , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Spinal Cord Injuries , Spinal Cord , SpineABSTRACT
We had replaced 159 hips in 130 patients with cementless porous-coated AML porsthesis at Kwang Ju Christian Hospital between April 1987 and Feb. 1992. Among them, 100 cases(80 patients) could be analyzed clinically and radiologically with an average follow-up of 38.5 months(range 10 months to 74 months). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships of initial fit, follow up stability and clinical results. The results were as follows. 1. The average postoperative Harris hip score was 90 points(preop. 42) at the follow-up of 1 year or more, the pain score 41 points(preop. 15). 2. When the surgical fit of stem was achieved properly, fixation by bone ingrowth could be expected. Simultaneously adequate fit of acetabular cup provided stable fixation. 3. The incidence of thigh pain was high in patients with an unstable implant of stem and the hip pain was more common in group of a definitely unstable cup. 4. Stress shielding was seen in 44 cases(44%). Of the 44 cases, 38 cases(86%) revealed in bone ingrowth. In conclusion, this study showed good clinical result of THR using AML prosthesis at the average follow-up of 38.5 months and it seemed to be influenced by initial fit significantly. But long-term follow-up is needed for accurate clinical and radiological evaluation.