Sung Sae Han

An aortic dissection in pregnant woman - a case report -

We have experienced a case of aortic dissecting aneurysm in pregnant woman. She felt initially severe chest pain which was radiated to the neck on the 3days before delivery. Thereafter dyspnea and generalized edema were developed for 1 month after delivery. She was diagnosed as aortic dissection, Debakey typeII. During cardiopulmonary bypass, the selective cerebral perfusion was done through the right and left commom carotid arteries. Aortic replacement with Hemashield vascular graft and reimplantation of innominate artery, resuspension of aortic valve, repair of intimal tear were performed. The postoperative course was uneventful.

A Case of Dissection in Marfan Syndrome with Ascending Aortic Aneurysm

The Marfans syndrome is a generalized connective tissue disease involving eye, musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, and inherited autosomal dominant with various expression type. The cardiovascular complications such as aortic aneurysm, aortic dissection, aortic regurgitation, mitral regurgitation and aortic dissection which usually occurs in previously normal sized aorta are poor prognostic factors. However, the aortic dissection which developed in patient with Marfan syndrome and aortic aneurysm was rare. We experienced one case of dissecting aneurysm in patient diagnosed as previous aoritc aneurysm, aortic regurgitation, and Marfan syndrome, receiving successful operation.

Effects of Dimethyl Sulfoxide on the Differentiation of Myocardial and Endothelial Cells

To elucidate the effects of dimethyl sulfoxide on myocardial and endothelial cells in culture, the cells were exposed to 10% dimethyl sulfoxide in culture medium for 1 hour at 48 hours after cell isolation. The general morphology and the cytochemical reaction of marker enzymes for mitochondria and Golgi complexes were investigated. The results were summarized as follows. : 1. DMSO induced elongation and narrowing of the cells and increase of mitochondrial reaction in myocardial cells. 2. DMSO induced destruction and disruption of myofibrils in myocardial cells resulting in increase of contractile activities. 3. In the endothelial cells, DMSO suppressed proliferative activities but thiamine pyrophosphatase reactions were enhanced indicating increase of Goigi complex activity. 4. DMSO seemed to hamper with the adhesiveness and motility of the endothelial cells causing the decrease of the number of cells in vitro.