• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.400-406
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• 1995

Interstitial pneumonitis may be the presenting manifestation of polymyositis-dermatomyositis (PM-DM), or may occur later in the evolution of disease. The clinical picture is characterized by non-productive cough, dyspnea and hypoxemia. The chest radiograph demonstrates interstitial infiltrates with predilection for the lung bases, often with an alveolar pattern in addition. We experienced a case of polymyositis associated with diffuse alveolar damage(DAD) that was proven in open lung biopsy. The patient was a 52 year-old woman who was presented with 6 months' duration of generalized ache, edema on ankle and wrist, non-productive cough and mild dyspnea. She had typical symptoms and physical findings of interstitial pneuminitis, and elevated muscle enzyme levels in serum with characteristic histologic findings of myositis on muscle biopsy. She also had typical interstitial lung disease pattern on high resolution CT and restrictive pattern on pulmonary function tests. The findings of open lung biopsy was compatible with diffuse alveolar damage(DAD). She failed to respond to the therapeutic trials with corticosteroid and cyclophosphamide, and finally expired due to acute respiratory distress syndrome.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2013

Objective: Pyungwi-san (PWS) plays a role in a number of physiologic and pharmacologic functions in many organs. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemaker cells that generate slow waves in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of PWS in mouse small-intestinal ICCs. Methods: Enzymatic digestion was used to dissociate ICCs from the small intestine of a mouse. The whole-cell patch-clamp configuration was used to record membrane potentials from the cultured ICCs. Results: ICCs generated pacemaker potentials in the GI tract. PWS produced membrane depolarization in the current clamp mode. Pretreatment with a $Ca^{2+}$-free solution and a thapsigargin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase, inhibitor in the endoplasmic reticulum, eliminated the generation of pacemaker potentials. However, only when the thapsigargin was applied in a bath solution, the membrane depolarization was not produced by PWS. Furthermore, the membrane depolarizations due to PWS were inhibited not by U-73122, an active phospholipase C inhibitor, but by chelerythrine and calphostin C, protein kinase C inhibitors. Conclusions: These results suggest that PWS might affect GI motility by modulating the pacemaker activity in the ICCs.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.59-63
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• 2016

Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome is a rare and severe drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome characterized by hematological abnormalities and multiorgan involvement. Liver involvement is the most common visceral manifestation. However, renal failure has been rarely described. The common culprit drugs are anticonvulsants and allopurinol. We experienced a patient with DRESS syndrome with acute interstitial nephritis caused by concomitant administration of quinolone and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). A 41-year-old man presented with a diffuse erythematous rash and fever which developed after administration of quinolone and NSAIDs for a month due to prostatitis. He was diagnosed with DRESS syndrome. Skin rash, fever, eosinophilia, and elevations of liver enzymes improved with conservative treatment and discontinuation of the causative drugs. However, deterioration of his renal function occurred on day 8 of admission. The levels of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine increased and oliguria, proteinuria and urinary eosinophils were observed. Ultrasonography showed diffuse renal enlargement. The clinical features were compatible with acute interstitial nephritis. Despite intravenous rehydration and diuretics, renal function did not improve. After hemodialysis, his renal function recovered completely within 2 weeks without administration of systemic corticosteroid.

• Proceedings of the Korea Association of Crystal Growth Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.187-207
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• 1999

The thermal distributions near the growth interface of 150mm CZ crystals were measured by three thermocouples installed at the center, middle (half radius) and edge (10m from surface) of the crystals. The results show that larger growth rates produced smaller thermal gradients. This contradicts the widely used heat flux balance equation. Using this fact, it si confirmed in CZ crystals that the type of point defects created is determined by the value of the thermal gradient (G) near the interface during growth, as already reported for FZ crystals. Although depending on the growth systems the effective lengths of the thermal gradient for defect generation are varied, were defined the effective length as 10mm from the interface in this experiment. If the G is roughly smaller than 20C/cm, vacancy rich CZ crystals are produced. If G is larger than 25C/cm, the species of point defects changes dramatically from vacancies to interstitial. The experimental results which FZ and CZ crystals are detached from the melt show that growth interfaces are filled with vacancy. We propose that large G produces shrunk lattice spacing and in order to relax such lattice excess interstitial are necessary. Such interstitial recombine with vacancies which were generated at the growth interface, next occupy interstitial sites and residuals aggregate themselves to make stacking faults and dislocation loops during cooling. The shape of the growth interface is also determined by the distributions of G across the interface. That is, the small G and the large G in the center induce concave and convex interfaces to the melt, respectively.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.74 no.5
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• pp.235-239
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• 2013

Several chemotherapeutic agents are known to develop pulmonary toxicities in cancer patients, although the frequency of incidence varies. Cyclophosphamide is a commonly encountered agent that is toxic to the lung. Additionally, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) being used for the recovery from neutropenia can exacerbate lung injury. However, most of the patients reported previously that the drug-induced interstitial pneumonitis were developed after three to four cycles of chemotherapy. Hereby, we report a case of peripheral T cell lymphoma which rapidly developed a fatal interstitial pneumonitis after the first cycle of combined chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, prednisolone, and etoposide and the patient had also treated with G-CSF during neutropenic period.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.7-11
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• 2006

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemakers in gastrointestinal tracts, regulating rhythmicity by activating nonselective cation channels (NSCCs). In the present study, we investigated the general characteristics and pH-mediated regulation of pacemaker activity in cultured interstitial cells of Cajal. Under voltage clamp mode and at the holding potential of -60 mV, the I-V relationships and difference current showed that there was no reversal potential and voltage-independent inward current. Also, when the holding potentials were changed from +20 mV to -80 mV with intervals of 20 mV, there was little difference in inward current. In pacemaker activity, the resting membrane potential (RMP) was depolarized (In pH 5.5, $23{\pm}1.5$ mV depolarized) and the amplitude was decreased by a decrease of the extracellular pH. However, in case of increase of extracellular pH, the RMP was slightly hyperpolarized and the amplitude was decreased a little. The melastatin type transient receptor potential (TRPM) channel 7 has been suggested to be required for intestinal pacemaking activity. TRPM7 produced large outward currents and small inward currents by voltage ramps, ranging from +100 to -100 mV from a holding potential of -60 mV. The inward current of TRPM7 was dramatically increased by a decrease in the extracellular pH. At pH 4.0, the average inward current amplitude measured at -100 mV was increased by about 7 fold, compared with the current amplitude at pH 7.4. Changes in the outward current (measured at +100 mV) were much smaller than those of the inward current. These results indicate that the resting membrane potential of pacemaking activity might be depolarized by external acidic pH through TRPM7 that is required for intestinal pacemaking activity.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.603-607
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Carthami Flos on interstitial cells of Cajal in the gastrointestinal tract. Many regions of the tunica muscularis of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract display spontaneous contraction. These spontaneous contractions are mediated by periodic generation of electrical slow waves. Recent studies have shown that the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) act as pacemakers and conductors of electrical slow waves in gastrointestinal smooth muscles. We investigated the cytotoxicity activity, antioxidant activity, and pacemaking activity. The cytotoxicity activity was measured by MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Antioxidant activities were determined by DPPH (1.1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging capacity assay and DCFH-DA (2,7-dichlorofluorescein diacetate) method. The effects of Carthami Flos on the pacemaker potentials in cultured ICCs from murine small intestine were investigated by using whole-cell patch-clamp techniques at $30^{\circ}C$. The addition of Carthami Flos (5, 10, $30{\mu}g$/ml) depolarized the resting membrane potentials in a concentration dependent manner. These results suggest that the GI tract can be targets for Carthami Flos, and their interaction can affect intestinal motility.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.493-498
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• 2001

Lung involvement in systemic sclerosis(SSC) is common but usually occurs late in the course. Skin changes usually occur before the pulmonary findings. In this report, a patient who developed pulmonary interstitial fibrosis without skin changes is presented. A diagnosis of SSC lung involvement was made histologically. The a nti-scl-70 antibody test was positive. Esophageal manometry revealed a lower amplitude in the lower two-third of the esophagus and pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter. Here we report a case of systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma presenting as pulmonary interstitial fibrosis with a review of the relevant literatures.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.23 no.11
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• pp.649-654
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• 2013

The effect of interstitial elements on the ductile-brittle transition behavior of austenitic Fe-18Cr-10Mn-2Ni alloys with different nitrogen and carbon contents was investigated in this study. All the alloys exhibited ductile-brittle transition behavior because of unusual low-temperature brittle fracture, even though they have a faced-centered cubic structure. With the same interstitial content, the combined addition of nitrogen and carbon, compared to the sole addition of nitrogen, improved the low-temperature toughness and thus decreased the ductile-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) because this combined addition effectively enhances the metallic component of the interatomic bonds and is accompanied by good plasticity and toughness due to the increased free electron concentration. The increase in carbon content or of the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, however, could increase the DBTT since either of these causes the occurrence of intergranular fracture that lead to the deterioration of the toughness at low temperatures. The secondary ion mass spectroscopy analysis results for the observation of carbon and nitrogen distributions confirms that the carbon and nitrogen atoms were significantly segregated to the austenite grain boundaries and then caused grain boundary embrittlement. In order to successfully develop austenitic Fe-Cr-Mn alloys for low-temperature application, therefore, more systematic study is required to determine the optimum content and ratio of carbon and nitrogen in terms of free electron concentration and grain boundary embrittlement.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.134-139
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• 2007

Gefitinib is a novel drug used to treat advanced non-small cell lung cancer. However, drug-related interstitial pneumonia is a major life-threatening side effect, which has a worldwide prevalence of 0.3-0.4%. In Japan, the prevalence is high as 3-4% but the actual frequency in Korea has not been officially assessed. We report two cases of gefitinib-induced interstitial lung disease during the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer. High-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) of one case showed nonspecific ground glass opacity and the chest x-ray of another case showed diffuse bilateral ground glass opacity. The former patient showed a rapid good response to corticosteroid treatment whereas the latter died despite receiving aggressive treatment with high dose corticosteroid and empirical antibiotics.