Purpose : The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriages in children using a multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (mRT-PCR) assay kit. Methods : We obtained nasopharyngeal swabs from 33 children without any underlying disease from July 25 to July 28, 2008. The children were free from the signs of respiratory tract infections at the... |
Purpose : The aims of this study were to identify the clinical characteristics and determine the changes in the expression of cytokines and apoptosis-related genes in children with infectious mononucleosis. Methods : Serological examinations of 15 pediatric patients diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis were performed prospectively. Peripheral blood from the patients was used to compare the composition of T cell subsets,... |
Blood eosinophilia can be classified as either familial or acquired. Familial eosinophilia is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterized by a stable eosinophil count. Acquired eosinophilia is classified further into a primary or secondary phenomenon depending on whether eosinophils are considered integral to the underlying disease. Primary eosinophilia is considered clonal in the presence of either a cytogenetic abnormality or... |
Purpose : Iron is a critical nutritional element that is essential for a variety of important biological processes, including cell growth and differentiation, electron transfer reactions, and oxygen transport, activation, and detoxification. Iron is also required for neoplastic cell growth due to its catalytic effects on the formation of hydroxyl radicals, suppression of host defense cell activities, and promotion of... |
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) arising from epithelial cells of the renal tubules is a highly aggressive and malignant tumor in all ages; however, it rarely occurs in children. the standard treatment for RCC is radical nephrectomy with lymph node dissection when the tumor is localized and can be completely resected. Adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy are used for pediatric patients... |
Purpose : Capsaicin, the major pungent ingredient in red pepper, has long been used in spices and food additives. It has been recently shown to induce apoptosis in several cell lines through a not well known mechanism. The aim of this study was to investigate the apoptosis-inducing effect of capsaicin on gastric cancer cells, and to provide valuable information concerning... |
Purpose : p16 gene, mapped to the 9p21 chromosomal region, has emerged as a candidate tumor suppressor gene in human neoplasm. It is an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase and inhibits Rb phosphorylation. In a variety of tumors including childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), deletion and/or mutation of the p16 gene has been found. Despite their high frequency, the prognostic importance... |
Purpose : Multiple transfusions in patients with chronic anemia can result in excessive iron deposition in tissues and organs. Effective iron chelation therapy in chronically transfused patients can only be achieved when iron chelators remove sufficient amounts of iron equivalent to those accumulated in the body from transfusions, thus leading to maintain body iron load at a non-toxic level. This... |
Purpose : In this study, we analyzed the short term changes of thyroid function, incidence and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction soon after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children. Methods : We enrolled 80 pediatric patients following allogeneic HSCT, at the Catholic HSCT center between January, 2004 and February, 2006. Serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), total serum thyroxine and... |
목 적 : 새로운 암억제 유전자로 알려진 IGFBP-3의 주요 기능은 IGF-I과 IGF-II와 결합을 하여 IGF의 기능을 조절하는 IGF dependent mechanism과 IGFBP-3 자체가 IGF와 결합과는 무관하게 세포의 apoptosis를 유도하는 IGF independent mechanism이 보고되었다. 암억제 유전자 p53의 대표적인 항암기전의 하나는 직접 IGFBP-3의 발현을 증가시키며, 발현된 IGFBP-3는 암세포의 apoptosis를 유도시킨다. IGFBP-3의 항암작용은 보고되었지만, IGFBP-3의 변역 후 변형에 의한 항암기전은 전혀 밝혀져 있지 않다.... |
Purpose : Cytomegalovirus(CMV) infection still remains as a major cause of morbidity and mortality after stem cell transplantation. In this study, we analyzed the results of antigenemia-guided pre- emptive therapy among children with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to determine the incidence and risk factors associated with CMV antigenemia, and evaluated the efficacy of the CMV antigenemia based preemptive therapy.... |
Purpose : The role of ghrelin, which promotes the secretion of growth hormone, was not well known until now. Recently it was found that the mutation of ghrelin gene is related to obesity and diabetes. This study is to find the screening method that can easily and effectively detect the polymorphism of Leu72Met in ghrelin gene of obesity patients and... |
Purpose : Neck masses, in pediatric population, derive from a multitude of congenital, inflammatory, or neoplastic diseases. The majority of these masses represent benign conditions. However, thorough clinical evaluation is required to rule out malignant diseases. We evaluated the causes, clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with neck masses who underwent tissue biopsy. Methods : A total of 28 medical records... |
Melanotic neuroectodermal tumor of infancy (MNTI) is a rare neoplasm known by a variety of names including melanotic progonoma and retinal anlage tumor, and currently thought to be neural crest derivation. The vast majority develop within the first year of life. The behavior is generally benign, but recurrent and metastatic cases have been documented. It arises in the head and... |
Purpose : Tissue Doppler imaging(TDI) is recently being used for assessement of regional ventricular function in adults. However, data in neonates have not been established yet. The aim of this study is to establish reference values of TDI velocities and to investigate the effect of other factors on TDI velocites in the neonatal population. Methods : Forty eight healthy neonates with... |
Purpose : PTEN/MMAC1, a novel tumor suppressor gene, is mutated in a variety of advanced and metastatic cancers. It acts as a phosphatase, and thereby, regulates the PI-3 kinase/Akt pathway. In this study, we examined to evaluate the new function of anti-tumor effects of PTEN/MMAC1 through the regulation of the IGFs-IGFBPs in gastric cancer cells. Methods : PTEN/MMAC1 was expressed in... |
Purpose : Respiratory distress syndrome(RDS) is caused by a deficiency of pulmonary surfactant, which is a lipoprotein complex. Both low levels of surfactant protein A(SP-A) and SP-A alleles have been associated with RDS. However, the genes underlying susceptibility to RDS are insufficiently known. The candidate-gene approach was used to study the association between the SP-A gene locus and RDS in... |
Objective : A probable diagnosis of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome(WAS) should be considered in any boy presenting with unusual bleeding, congenital thrombocytopenia and small platelets. The definitive diagnosis of WAS is usually made by the detection of WASP gene mutation or a decrease or absence of the WAS protein(WASP) in blood cells using molecular genetic analysis. However, these methods are too time-consuming... |
Purpose : Ataxia telangiectasia mutated(ATM) is involved in DNA damage responses at different cell cycle checkpoints, and signalling pathways associated with regulation of apoptosis in response to ionizing radiation(IR). However, the signaling pathway that underlies IR-induced apoptosis in ATM cells has remained unknown. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to investigate the apoptotic pathway that underlies IR-induced apoptosis in... |
Purpose : This study was performed to find the chief clinical problems associated with the ages of adult patients of tetralogy of Fallot(TOF) who had undergone total correction. Methods : Of the 30 patients who were registered at the Grown-Up Congenital Heart Disease (GUCH) Clinic of Samsung Medical Center for TOF, a retrospective investigation was carried out on 28 patients who... |
Purpose : Gap junction intercellular communication(GJIC) is an important mechanism of the bystander effect in herpes simplex thymidine kinase/ganciclovir(HSVtk/GCV) gene therapy Therefore, we attempted to enhance the bystander effect in vitro by exogenous overexpressing connexin 37(Cx37) in cells to increase GJIC. Methods : NIH3T3 cells were transfected with the Cx37 and HSVtk gene or the HSVtk gene alone by the calcium... |
Marfan syndrome is infrequently diagnosed early in infancy. The morphologic characteristics and prognosis in infantile Marfan syndrome may be quite different from those in older patients. Characteristic cardiac findings in early life include mitral valve prolapse, valvular regurgitation, and aortic root dilation. Morbidity and mortality may be high for infants diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. Cardiac surgery for cardiovascular complication in... |
Isolated right ventricular hypoplasia, unassociated with severe pulmonary or tricuspid valvar malformations, is a rare primary congenital cardiac anomaly in which of the trabecular portion of right ventricle fails to develop. An atrial septal defect or a patent foramen ovale serves as an escape valve. We observed a 2-day-old neonate with this disorder who suffered from cyanosis. The diagnosis was... |
Mollaret meningitis is a recurrent aseptic meningitis with characteristic clinical features and Mollaret cells in cerebrospinal fluid. Since Mollaret first reported Mollaret meningitis in 1944, further reports had been made mainly in Europe. The syndrome consists of brief attacks of meningitis that recur at regular intervals and alternate with a symptom-free period lasting for weeks or months. The symptoms subside... |
VURD syndrome is a disorder characterized by a posterior urethral valve, unilateral reflux, and ipsilateral renal dysplasia. This syndrome is not uncommon, with an incidence in the range of 15 to 20% in patients with posterior urethral valve. Etiology is not clear, but there are a few reports that renal dysplasia is either a result of hydrostatic pressure transmitted to... |
Cystic hygroma is a true, benign, congenital multi-cystic tumor. It is thought to be arised from failure of the lymphatic system to communicate with the venous system. Frequently it occurs at birth, and it is found most commonly in the neck as painless and fluctuant mass. For many years, surgical excision has been considered as the treatment of choice. However, excision... |
The level of the calcium and the creatinine were measured in 2nd voided morning urine and 24hr urine in 32 patients of the pediatric ward SNUH. They were males aging from 2 months to 24 months. The Ca/Cr concentration ratio was calculated in 2nd voided morning urine and 24hr urine, and 24hr urine Ca excretion per body weight were also... |