• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.1601-1607
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• 2013

A determination of circulating tumor cell (CTC) effectiveness for prediction of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) was conducted as an adjunct to standard treatment of care in breast cancer management. Between November 2008 and March 2009, 22 metastatic and 12 early stage breast carcinoma patients, admitted to Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, were included in this prospective trial. Patients' characteristics, treatment schedules and survival data were evaluated. CTC was detected twice by CellSearch method before and 9-12 weeks after the initiation of chemotherapy. A cut-off value equal or greater than 5 cells per 7.5 ml blood sample was considered positive. All patients were female. Median ages were 48.0 (range: 29-65) and 52.5 (range: 35-66) in early stage and metastatic subgroups, respectively. CTC was positive in 3 (13.6%) patients before chemotherapy and 6 (27.3%) patients during chemotherapy in the metastatic subgroup whereas positive in only one patient in the early stage subgroup before and during chemotherapy. The median follow-up was 22.0 (range: 21-23) and 19.0 (range: 5-23) months in the early stage and metastatic groups, respectively. In the metastatic group, both median PFS and OS were significantly shorter in any time CTC positive patients compared to CTC negative patients (PFS: 4.0 vs 14.0 months, Log-Rank p=0.013; and OS: 8.0 months vs. 20.5 months, Log-Rank p<0.001). OS was affected from multiple visceral metastatic sites (p=0.055) and higher grade (p=0.044) besides CTC positivity (log rank p<0.001). Radiological response of chemotherapy was also correlated with better survival (p<0.001). As a result, CTC positivity was confirmed as a prospective marker even in a small patient population, in this single center study. Measurement of CTC by CellSearch method in metastatic breast carcinoma cases may allow indications of early risk of relapse or death with even as few as two measurements during a chemotherapy program, but this finding should be confirmed with prospective trials in larger study populations.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.256-265
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• 1997

Objectives：The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and differences of brain function in pervasive developmental disorder and developmental language disorder. Method：The subjects were composed of 14 cases of pervasive developmental disorder and 13 cases developmental language disorder. They were investigated by technitium-99m-EDC SPECT. All SPECT were visually assessed by two nuclear medicine specialists, and then quantified by region of interest including temporal, parietal cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia and cerebellum. Result：In both groups, cerebral blood flow was decreased in the temporal, parietal cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum by visual assessment. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups by quantitative and qualitative assessment. Conclusion：These results suggest that pervasive developmental disorder and developmental language disorder are caused by defects in the interneural connection and that both disorders are spectrum disorders.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2009

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) by oxidative stress may play an important role in the pathogenesis of various chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension and malignancy that are linked to metabolic syndrome. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We examined the relationship between IPF and presenting factors associated with metabolic disorders. Methods: One hundred fourteen patients who met the current consensus of IPF definition were enrolled from March 2000 to April 2006 in Gil Hospital and Samsung Medical Center in Korea. One hundred thirty-four control subjects without pulmonary diseases were selected from subjects who visited Gil hospital for routine medical examinations, including low-dose chest computed tomography from January 2002 to July 2006. Retrospectively, we analyzed the clinical characteristics, the results of blood examinations, and lung function tests from medical records of both groups. Results: IPF patients and control subjects differed in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus as assessed by univariate analysis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that diabetes mellitus and obesity were associated with IPF. The adjusted odds ratios for diabetes mellitus were 2.733 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.282~5.827) and 2.001 (95% [CI], 1.063~3.766) for obesity. The remaining factors tested showed no differences between the patient group and the control. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus and obesity may be associated with IPF development.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.76 no.1
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• pp.15-22
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• 2014

Background: Apoptosis plays a role in the development of pleural effusion. Caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18, a marker for epithelial cell apoptosis, was evaluated in pleural effusion. Methods: A total of 79 patients with pleural effusion were enrolled. The underlying causes were lung cancer (n=24), parapneumonic effusion (n=15), tuberculous effusion (n=28), and transudates (n=12). The levels of M30, an epitope of caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18, were measured in blood and pleural fluids using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay along with routine cellular and biochemical parameters. The expression of M30 was evaluated in the pleural tissues using immunohistochemistry for M30. Results: The M30 levels in pleural fluid were significantly higher in patients with tuberculosis ($2,632.1{\pm}1,467.3U/mL$) than in patients with lung cancer ($956.5{\pm}618.5U/mL$), parapneumonic effusion ($689.9{\pm}413.6U/mL$), and transudates ($273.6{\pm}144.5U/mL$; all p<0.01). The serum levels were not significantly different among the disease groups. Based on receiver operating characteristics analysis, the area under the curve of M30 for differentiating tuberculous pleural effusion from all other effusions was 0.93. In the immunohistochemical analysis of M30, all pathologic types of cancer cells showed moderate to high expression, and the epithelioid cells in granulomas showed high expression in tuberculous pleural tissues. Conclusion: Caspase-cleaved cytokeratin 18 was most prominently observed in tuberculous pleural effusion and showed utility as a clinical marker. The main source of M30 was found to be the epithelioid cells of granulomas in tuberculous pleural tissues.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.472-482
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• 1994

Cytokines expressed specifically in leukocytes subsets and in activated cells, which are involved in chemotaxis and activation of leukocytes, are recently defined as chemokines. Macrophage inflammatory $protein-1{\alpha}(MIP-1{\alpha})$ and $MIP-1{\beta}$ are members of C-C chemokine subfamily which produces wide immunomodulatory, proinflammatory, and hematopoietic modulatory actions. We have studied their gene expression by using Northern blot analysis in various blood cells such as cytolytic T lymphocyte(CTL), helper T lymphocyte(HTL), macrophage, and B lymphocyte. Resting CTL line CTLL-R8 expressed $MIP-1{\alpha}$ mRNA which was downregulated by ConA stimulation. Both of resting and ConA stimulated HTL line Hut78 and Jurkat did not express $MIP-1{\alpha}$ mRNA. There was detectable $MIP-1{\alpha}$ transcript in HTL hybridoma 2B4.11 which was a little upstimulated by ConA stimulation. B cell line 230, and macrophage cell line RAW264.7 and WR19M.1 showed distinct $MIP-1{\alpha}$ message which were induced after LPS stimulation. Expression pattern of $MIP-1{\beta}$ in all cell lines or cell were almost identical to that of $MIP-1{\alpha}$. Also strategies employed to identify and characterize the biological functions was preceded by receptor cloning to trace the shorcut to the final goal of cytokine research. For the cloning of $MIP-1{\alpha}$ receptor(R), we used synthetic oligonucleotides of transmembrane(T) conserved sequences of already cloned human(h) IL-8-R, and performed reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) amplification using murine(m) macrophage cell line mRNA. Among 5RT-PCR products, we isolated a homologous cDNA with hIL-8-R which were shown to be putative mIL-8-R cDNA.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.399-407
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• 2012

To evaluate age and gender differences in the relation of cardiovascular risk factors, cognitive impairment, and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis from aged people using by a cross sectional method. Sixty-nine healthy elders living in the community who had not previously undergone carotid ultrasonography were included. We conducted life style surveys, and cognitive function tests including Korean-mini-mental state examination (K-MMSE) and clinical dementia rating-Korean. Various biomarkers from blood were assessed; fasting insulin-like growth factor-1, lipid-profile, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, total homocysteine, glucose, insulin, Homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) for insulin resistance index, vitamin B12, and folate level. Carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT), and plaques were measured using carotid ultrasonography and aortic ultrasonography, a valid index of atherosclerosis. For the elderly subjects (aged 65-82 years), cognition impairment was more prevalent in females while subclinical atherosclerosis was more prevalentin males. Increased C-IMT has been kept in males, and C-IMT shows increasing trend and the peak at about 80 year-old in females with increasing age. The significant correlations between C-IMT and many vascular risk factors including age, triglyceride, abnormal homocysteinein male, and K-MMSE, insulin, HOMA index and abnormal aortic ultrasonography in female were different in each gender, with the exception of homocysteine (p<0.05). This data suggests that there were differences of age and gender characteristics in terms of subclinical atherosclerosis, cognitive impairment and vascular risk factors in community-living elders. Further larger and longitudinal studies across entire age are required to better understand the effects of risk factors on subclinical atherosclerosis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.102-116
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analyze the research trends of randomized controlled trials on herbal medicine treatment for atopic dermatitis in China for the last 5 years. We searched for randomized controlled trials with the intervention of herbal medicine for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in the CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) from January 2014 to December 2018. For the screening of the paper, we used '特应性皮炎' and '异位性皮炎' which mean atopic dermatitis and search was limited to three areas within Medicine & Public Health: Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs, Combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine with Western Medicine. Among the 136 searched studies, we selected a total of 34 studies and analyzed a year of publication, subject characteristics, study design and intervention, prescribed herbal medicine and herbs, pattern identification, evaluation criteria, and outcomes. Longmu decoction (龍牡湯) and Polia Sclerotium (茯笭) was the most frequently prescribed medicine and herb. The most commonly used pattern identification was Blood deficiency and Wind-dryness (血虛風燥), and among them, the most frequently prescribed herb is Rehmanniae Radix (生地黃). In most studies using the total effectiveness and SCORAD index as an outcome measure, the herbal medicine treatment group showed statistically better results than the control group. As a result of the safety assessment, the herbal medicine treatment group was reported having significantly fewer side effects compared to the control group. Hence, it was confirmed that the intervention including herbal medicine had a significant effect on atopic dermatitis. This study would be able to provide the basis of clinical research on atopic dermatitis and applied to the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.283-288
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• 2017

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a notorious and ubiquitous virus in the swine industry. The susceptibility of the host to PCV2 infection is considered to be one factor associated with the dynamics of PCV2. The objective of this study was to verify the criteria for host susceptibility to PCV2, using blood parameters of post-weaned pigs naturally infected with the virus. The PCV2 DNA viral load, antibody titer, and leukopenia characteristics were measured in the serum extracted from the pigs at the 10th week. We classified the pigs into high (>5.0), intermediate (3.0 to 5.0), and low (<3.0) groups on the basis of the PCV2 viral load (log copies/ml), or as positive (${\leq}0.50$) and negative (>0.50) groups on the basis of antibody titer (sample-to-negative corrected ratio). Moreover, using these two categorized parameters, we suggested the criteria for classification into the susceptible and resistant groups. Statistical analyses revealed that pigs in the susceptible group had a significantly higher viral load (p<0.001) and negative antibody titer (p<0.001), as well as significantly lower leukocyte counts (p=0.018) and lower amounts of several leukocyte components (p<0.05), than pigs in the resistant group. We concluded that the susceptible group could be considered to have PCV2-induced leukopenia. Therefore, we suggest that the combined classifications of viral loads and anti-PCV2 antibodies can be used to determine PCV2-induced leukopenia in the subclinical PCV2 infection of post-weaned pig populations.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.23-28
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• 2007

Objectives : Chronic infections with hepatitis B or C and alcoholic cirrhosis are three well-known major risk factors for liver cancer. Diabetes has also been suggested as a potential risk factor. However, the findings of previous studies have been controversial in terms of the causal association. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the association between serum glucose levels and liver cancer development in a Korean cohort. Methods : Thirty-six liver cancer cases were identified in the Korean Multi-Center Cancer Cohort (KMCC). Baseline information on lifestyle characteristics was obtained via questionnaire. Serum glucose levels were measured at the study's enrollment. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated using a Cox proportional hazard regression model. The adjusting variables included age, gender, smoking history, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity. Results : The RRs of serum glucose for liver caner were 1.20 (95% CI = 0.48-2.99) for the category of 100 to 125 mg/dL of serum glucose and 2.77 (95% CI = 1.24-6.18) for the >126 mg/dL serum glucose category (both compared to the <100 mg/dL category). In a subgroup analysis, the RR of serum glucose among those who were both HBsAg seronegative and non-drinkers was 4.46 (95% CI = 1.09-18.28) for those with glucose levels >100 mg/dL. Conclusions : The results of this study suggest that a high level of serum glucose can increase liver cancer risk independently of hepatitis infection and drinking history in Koreans. This study implies that glucose intolerance may be an independent risk factor for liver cancer.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.188-196
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• 2008

Purpose : To describe the clinical, MR imaging, and pathologic findings of pediatric meningiomas. Materials and Methods : The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records and MR images of 16 pediatric patients with pathologically proven meningioma. Mean patient age at diagnosis was 14 years (range, 3-18). MR images were reviewed for details of lesion sizes, locations, signal intensity (SI), marginal characteristics, internal architectures, enhancements, and dural and parenchymal changes. The findings of other imaging modalities and of pathological examinations were also analyzed. Results : Mean tumor size was 5.24 cm (range, 1.3-18.1 cm) and locations were supratentorial in 12 and infratentorial in 4. SI of masses were variable, that is, high in 9, iso in 4, and low in 3 on T2 weighted images (T2WI), and low (n=11), iso (n=4), or high (n=1) on T1WI images. All lesions were visualized as well-demarcated enhancing masses. Five of the tumors were heterogeneous with cystic or necrotic components. Dural attachment was observed in 11 patients and adjacent brain edema in 10. Tumors exhibited hyperdense (n=6) or isodense (n=4) on non-enhanced CT scans, and 3 of the 7 angiograms demonstrated blood supply from the internal carotid artery. Pathologic examinations revealed the following subtypes; transitional cell (n=4), meningotheliomatous (n=4), chordoid (n=2), fibrous (n=2), clear cell (n=1), hyalinized (n=1), rhabdoid papillary (n=1), and atypical (n=1). Conclusion : Pediatric meningiomas occur usually in teenagers, have diverse pathological types, and may produce atypical imaging findings, such as, a heterogeneous internal content or findings suggestive of intraaxial tumors.