• International Journal of Stem Cells
• /
• 제17권2호
• /
• pp.194-203
• /
• 2024

Evaluating cell metabolism is crucial during pluripotent stem cell (PSC) differentiation and somatic cell reprogramming as it affects cell fate. As cultured stem cells are heterogeneous, a comparative analysis of relative metabolism using existing metabolic analysis methods is difficult, resulting in inaccuracies. In this study, we measured human PSC basal metabolic levels using a Seahorse analyzer. We used fibroblasts, human induced PSCs, and human embryonic stem cells to monitor changes in basal metabolic levels according to cell number and determine the number of cells suitable for analysis. We evaluated normalization methods using glucose and selected the most suitable for the metabolic analysis of heterogeneous PSCs during the reprogramming stage. The response of fibroblasts to glucose increased with starvation time, with oxygen consumption rate and extracellular acidification rate responding most effectively to glucose 4 hours after starvation and declining after 5 hours of starvation. Fibroblasts and PSCs achieved appropriate responses to glucose without damaging their metabolism 2~4 and 2~3 hours after starvation, respectively. We developed a novel method for comparing basal metabolic rates of fibroblasts and PSCs, focusing on quantitative analysis of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation using glucose without enzyme inhibitors. This protocol enables efficient comparison of energy metabolism among cell types, including undifferentiated PSCs, differentiated cells, and cells undergoing cellular reprogramming, and addresses critical issues, such as differences in basal metabolic levels and sensitivity to normalization, providing valuable insights into cellular energetics.

• Clinical Endoscopy
• /
• 제55권2호
• /
• pp.234-239
• /
• 2022

Background/Aims: The efficacy of propofol in gastrointestinal endoscopy for patients with midazolam-induced paradoxical reactions remains unclarified. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of propofol-based sedation in patients who previously experienced paradoxical reactions. Methods: This was a prospective, single-blinded, randomized controlled pilot study. Participants with a history of paradoxical reactions to midazolam during a previous esophagogastroduodenoscopy were recruited and randomly assigned to group I (propofol monosedation) or group II (combination of propofol and midazolam). The primary endpoint was the occurrence of a paradoxical reaction. Results: A total of 30 participants (mean age, 54.7±12.6 years; male, 19/30) were randomly assigned to group I (n=16) or group II (n=14). There were no paradoxical reactions in group I, but there were two in group II, without a significant difference (p=0.209). The mean dose of propofol was higher in group I than in group II (p=0.002). Meanwhile, the procedure and recovery times did not differ between groups. Conclusions: Propofol-based sedation was safe and effective for patients who experienced paradoxical reactions to midazolam. However, caution is needed because few cases of paradoxical reaction again can happen in group II in which midazolam was readministered.

• 대한치매학회지
• /
• 제23권3호
• /
• pp.136-145
• /
• 2024

Background and Purpose: We developed a new digital cognitive assessment called Seoul Cognitive Status Test (SCST), formerly called Inbrain Cognitive Screening Test. The purpose of this study was to validate the clinical utility of the SCST by comparing its scores of those with subjective cognitive decline (SCD), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and dementia diagnosed by the Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Packet (CERAD-K). Methods: All participants (n=296) who completed the CERAD-K, SCST, and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living tests were included in this study. Total score, cognitive domain scores, and subtest scores of the SCST were compared among the 3 groups (SCD, aMCI, and dementia). Additionally, correlations between SCST and CERAD-K subtests were examined. Results: Cognitive domain scores and total score of the SCST showed significant differences among the three groups, with scores being the highest in the order of SCD, aMCI, and dementia (p<0.001). Most subtests of the SCST also showed higher scores in the order of SCD, aMCI, and dementia (p<0.001). However, SCD and aMCI groups showed no significant differences in scores of the Phonemic Word Fluency Test (p=0.083) or Korean Trail Making Test-Elderly version Part A (p=0.434). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the score of Place Recognition (p=0.274) of the Word-Place Association Test between aMCI and dementia groups. Conclusions: In conclusion, differences in total score, cognitive domain scores, and subtest scores of the SCST among the 3 groups of participants diagnosed using CERAD-K confirm the clinical utility of the SCST for cognitive assessment.

• 대한치매학회지
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.45-58
• /
• 2022

Recently, aducanumab, a beta amyloid targeted immunotherapy, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia (AD). Although many questions need to be answered, this approval provides a promising hope for the development of AD drugs that could be supported by new biomarkers such as blood-based ones and composite neuropsychological tests that can confirm pathologic changes in early stages of AD. It is important to elucidate the complexity of AD which is known to be associated with other factors such as vascular etiologies and neuro-inflammation. Through the second international conference of the Korean Dementia Association (KDA), researchers from all over the world have participated in the exchange of opinions with KDA members on the most up-to-date topics. The Academic Committee of the KDA summarizes lectures to provide the depth of the conference as well as discussions. This will be an important milestone to widen the latest knowledge in the research of AD's diagnosis, therapeutics, pathogenesis that can lead to the establishment of future directions.

• 대한치매학회지
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.59-70
• /
• 2022

Background and Purpose: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) has been considered as a biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD). We measured plasma NfL levels in older adults with cognitive complaints and evaluated their clinical usefulness in AD. Methods: Plasma levels of NfL, measured by using the single molecule array method, were acquired in a total of 113 subjects consisting of subjective cognitive decline (SCD; n=14), mild cognitive impairment (MCI; n=37), or dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT; n=62). Plasma NfL level was compared among three groups, and its association with cognitive and functional status was also analyzed. Results: After adjusting for age, plasma NfL level was higher in subjects with DAT (65.98±84.96 pg/mL), compared to in subjects with SCD (16.90±2.54 pg/mL) or MCI (25.53±10.42 pg/mL, p=0.004). NfL levels were correlated with scores of the mini-mental state examination (r=-0.242, p=0.021), clinical dementia rating (CDR) (r=0.291, p=0.005), or CDR-sum of boxes (r=0.276, p=0.008). Just for participants who performed amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), the levels were different between subjects with PET (-) (n=17, 25.95±13.25 pg/mL) and PET (+) (n=16, 63.65±81.90 pg/mL, p=0.010). Additionally, plasma NfL levels were different between vascular dementia and vascular MCI, and between Parkinson's disease- dementia and no dementia. Conclusions: This pilot study shows that in subjects with DAT, plasma NfL levels increase. Plasma NfL level correlated with cognitive and functional status. Further longitudinal studies may help to apply the plasma NfL levels to AD, as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and predicting progression.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• 제41권3호
• /
• pp.207-212
• /
• 2024

Background: Myringotomy with tympanostomy tube insertion (MTI) is a superficial surgical procedure used to prevent hearing loss in children with serous otitis media. Intravenous anesthesia, often ketamine, is preferred for this procedure because of its ability to induce sedation without compromising airway reflexes. However, ketamine alone may be insufficient and potentially lead to spontaneous movement during surgery. This study evaluated the effectiveness of midazolam and fentanyl as adjuvants to ketamine in reducing spontaneous movement during MTI and enhancing the quality of recovery. Methods: This study involved two groups of 30 patients each: one group received intravenous ketamine (1.5 mg/kg) with an equal volume of normal saline (K group), while the other received a combination of midazolam, fentanyl, and ketamine (0.05 mg/kg, 1 ㎍/kg, and 1.5 mg/kg, respectively; MFK group). We assessed side effects, intraoperative patient movement, surgeon satisfaction, and emergence agitation scores. Results: The MFK group exhibited significantly lower scores for patient movement (p<0.01) and emergence agitation (p<0.01) and markedly higher surgeon satisfaction scores (p<0.01) than the K group. Conclusion: Administering a midazolam-fentanyl-ketamine combination effectively reduced spontaneous movement during surgery and emergence agitation during recovery without prolonging discharge times in children undergoing MTI.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• 제87권3호
• /
• pp.329-337
• /
• 2024

Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is known to useful biomarker for detecting eosinophilic airway inflammation. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the role of FeNO in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed to assess whether elevated FeNO and its impact on treatment change into an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)-containing regimen and association with acute exacerbation (AE) in patients with COPD. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 107 COPD patients without a history of asthma from March 2016 to December 2019. The patients whose FeNO value was more than 50 parts per billion (ppb) were defined into the high FeNO group. Multivariable analysis with logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with AE in COPD. Results: The median FeNO value was 32 ppb (interquartile range, 19 to 45) and 34 (20.0%) patients were classified as high FeNO group (median 74 ppb). In the high FeNO group, changes in inhaler treatment into an ICS-containing regimen occurred in 23 of 34 patients after the measurement of FeNO. In multivariate analysis, high FeNO was not a contributing factor for AE, but only the high blood eosinophil count (≥300 cells/µL) was associated with AE (adjusted odds ratio, 2.63; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 6.91; p=0.049). Conclusion: High FeNO value had a significant impact on the prescription of ICSs in COPD patients, but it did not show a significant association with AE either on its own or with changes in treatment.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• 제9권2호
• /
• pp.93-100
• /
• 2006

목적: 본 연구는 말기 암 환자의 호스피스 완화의료에 대한 의사들의 태도에 대하여 알아보고자 하였다. 방법: 서울과 경지지역의 종합병원에 근무하는 전문의를 대상으로 호스피스 완화의학 연구회에서 자체 개발한 설문지를 이용하여 말기 암 환자에서 호스피스 완화의료에 대한 태도를 조사하였다. 설문지는 총 17문항으로 구성되었다. 수집된 자료는 실수, 중앙값과 백분율로 분석되었다. 결과: 총 81명(남자 46명, 여자 35명)이 설문지에 응답하였으며 나이의 중앙값은 35세였다. 내과가 36명(44.4%)으로 가장 많았다. 전문의 경력의 중앙값은 4년이었다. 1주일에 진료를 하는 환자 수는 거의 환자를 보지 않는 경우가 43명(53.2%)으로 가장 많았다. 호스피스 완화의료의 정확한 정의를 알고 있는 의사수는 37명(45.6%)이었다. 호스피스 완화의료의 필요성에 대하여 80명(98.8%)이 필요하다고 응답하였고 이 중에 73명(91.2%)이 완화의학 전문의가 필요하다고 응답하였다. 말기 암 환자에 대하여 적극적으로 호스피스 완화의료에 의뢰하겠는가에 대한 질문에 55명(67.9%)이 그렇게 하겠다고 응답하였으며 이 중 17명(30.9%)은 주저한 경험이 있는데 이유로 가족의 반대가 6명(35.3%)으로 가장 많았으며 다음으로 '환자를 포기하는 것 같아서'로 응답한 의사가 4명(23.5%)이었다. 적극적으로 호스피스 완화의료에 의뢰하지 않은 22명(27.2%)에 대하여 이유로 '환자를 포기하는 느낌'과 기타 사항으로 '절차를 모른다'가 각각 6명(27.2%)으로 가장 많았다. 37명(45.7%)의 의사가 임종 전 3개월에 호스피스 완화의료를 받는 것이 가장 좋다고 응답하였으며 가장 도움을 받는 것은 정신적, 심리적 조절이라고 응답한 의사가 58명(71.6%)으로 가장 많았다. 결론: 대부분의 의사들이 호스피스 완화의료의 필요성은 인식하고 있으나 말기 암 환자에 대한 호스피스 완화의료에 의뢰하는 적극적인 자세는 부족하였다. 의사들에게 지속적인 호스피스 완화의료에 대한 교육과 정보, 홍보가 필요하리라고 생각된다.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• 제16권3호
• /
• pp.175-182
• /
• 2013

목적: 말기암환자의 영성은 호스피스완화의료에서 중요하게 고려되어야 할 영역이지만 아직 이에 대한 연구자료가 부족하다. 따라서 이번 연구에서는 호스피스 병동에 입원해 있는 말기 암환자들을 대상으로 영적 안녕과 통증, 불안 및 우울과의 연관성에 대하여 살펴보았다. 방법: 서울소재 일개 대학병원에 입원해 있는 환자를 대상으로 연구자와 연구간호사가 연구에 동의한 50명의 환자에게 자기 기입식 설문지를 배부하는 방법으로 설문을 시행하였다. 영적 안녕지수의 측정은 Functional Assessment of Chronic-Illness Therapy-Spirituality (FACIT-Sp)의 영적 상태 12문항을 이용하였으며 병원 우울불안지수는 Hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), 통증지수의 측정은 BPI-K를 이용하였다. 수집된 자료는 Spearmans' rank test, T-test, univariate and multivariate regression analysis를 이용하여 분석하였다. 결과: 영적 안녕은 평균 통증 강도(r=-0.283, P<0.05), 불안 하부척도(HADS-A)(r=-0.613, P<0.05), 우울 하부척도(HADS-D)(r=-0.526, P<0.05)와 상관관계를 보였다. 다른 변수들의 영향을 보정한 뒤에도 영적 안녕은 종교유무(OR=9.193, 95% CI=4.158~14.229, P<0.001)와 불안하부척도(OR=-1.03, 95% CI=-1.657~-0.403, P=0.002)와 유의한 상관관계를 보였다. 결론: 말기암환자의 영적 안녕감은 통증, 우울, 불안 점수와 유의한 상관관계를 가졌으며 종교가 있고 우울지수가 낮은 경우 영적 안녕감의 증가와 유의한 상관관계를 가졌다. 추후 전향적 연구를 통한 영적 말기암환자의 영적 중재 및 영적 지지에 대한 노력이 필요할 것으로 생각된다.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• 제20권2호
• /
• pp.152-164
• /
• 2020

Purpose: To compare long-term disease-free survival (DFS) between patients receiving tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil (S-1) or capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (CAPOX) adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for gastric cancer (GC). Materials and Methods: This retrospective multicenter observational study enrolled 983 patients who underwent curative gastrectomy with consecutive AC with S-1 or CAPOX for stage II or III GC at 27 hospitals in Korea between February 2012 and December 2013. We conducted propensity score matching to reduce selection bias. Long-term oncologic outcomes, including DFS rate over 5 years (over-5yr DFS), were analyzed postoperatively. Results: The median and longest follow-up period were 59.0 and 87.6 months, respectively. DFS rate did not differ between patients who received S-1 and CAPOX for pathologic stage II (P=0.677) and stage III (P=0.899) GC. Moreover, hazard ratio (HR) for recurrence did not differ significantly between S-1 and CAPOX (reference) in stage II (HR, 1.846; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.693-4.919; P=0.220) and stage III (HR, 0.942; 95% CI, 0.664-1.337; P=0.738) GC. After adjustment for significance in multivariate analysis, pT (4 vs. 1) (HR, 11.667; 95% CI, 1.595-85.351; P=0.016), pN stage (0 vs. 3) (HR, 2.788; 95% CI, 1.502-5.174; P=0.001), and completion of planned chemotherapy (HR, 2.213; 95% CI, 1.618-3.028; P<0.001) were determined as independent prognostic factors for DFS. Conclusions: S-1 and CAPOX AC regimens did not show significant difference in over-5yr DFS after curative gastrectomy in patients with stage II or III GC. The pT, pN stage, and completion of planned chemotherapy were prognostic factors for GC recurrence.