• 대한통합의학회지
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• 제7권4호
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• pp.43-52
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• 2019

Purpose: This study aimed to analyze the affecting factors related to cancer screening for persons with disabilities. Methods: We examined the factors affecting cancer screening in individual aged older than 20 years who participated in the 2017 National Survey of the Disabled. The subjects were 6031 individuals with disabilities who were aged older than 20 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression with the SPSS Win 21.0 software. Results: Cancer screening among persons with disabilities is differentiated based on age, education level, marital status, type of disability, grade of disability, subjective house economic status, health insurance, chronic disease, unmet healthcare needs, suicidal thinking, and health screening. The significant predictors of health screening were age, marital status, chronic disease, and health screening. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, it is necessary to develop a program for young, medical care recipients to improve the participations of disabled in cancer screening.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제81권1호
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• pp.29-41
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• 2018

Lung cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although progress in the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been made over the past decade, the 5-year survival rate in patients with lung cancer remains only 10%-20%. Obviously, new therapeutic options are required for patients with advanced NSCLC and unmet medical needs. Cancer immunotherapy is an evolving treatment modality that uses a patient's own immune systems to fight cancer. Theoretically, cancer immunotherapy can result in long-term cancer remission and may not cause the same side effects as chemotherapy and radiation. Immunooncology has become an important focus of basic research as well as clinical trials for the treatment of NSCLC. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are the most promising approach for cancer immunotherapy and they have become the standard of care for patients with advanced NSCLC. This review summarizes basic tumor immunology and the relevant clinical data on immunotherapeutic approaches, especially immune checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC.

• Biomaterials and Biomechanics in Bioengineering
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• 제2권2호
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• pp.71-84
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• 2015

A low-profile flow sensor has been designed, fabricated, and characterized to demonstrate the feasibility for monitoring hemodynamics in cerebral aneurysm. The prototype device is composed of three micro-membranes ($500-{\mu}m$-thick polyurethane film with $6-{\mu}m$-thick layers of nitinol above and below). A novel super-hydrophilic surface treatment offers excellent hemocompatibility for the thin nitinol electrode. A computational study of the deformable mechanics optimizes the design of the flow sensor and the analysis of computational fluid dynamics estimates the flow and pressure profiles within the simulated aneurysm sac. Experimental studies demonstrate the feasibility of the device to monitor intra-aneurysmal hemodynamics in a blood vessel. The mechanical compression test shows the linear relationship between the applied force and the measured capacitance change. Analytical calculation of the resonant frequency shift due to the compression force agrees well with the experimental results. The results have the potential to address important unmet needs in wireless monitoring of intra-aneurysm hemodynamic quiescence.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.1-20
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• 2019

Neuropathic pain is a complex chronic pain state caused by the dysfunction of somatosensory nervous system, and it affects the millions of people worldwide. At present, there are very few medical treatments available for neuropathic pain management and the intolerable side effects of medications may further worsen the symptoms. Despite the presence of profound knowledge that delineates the pathophysiology and mechanisms leading to neuropathic pain, the unmet clinical needs demand more research in this field that would ultimately assist to ameliorate the pain conditions. Efforts are being made globally to explore and understand the basic molecular mechanisms responsible for somatosensory dysfunction in preclinical pain models. The present review highlights some of the novel molecular targets like D-amino acid oxidase, endoplasmic reticulum stress receptors, sigma receptors, hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channels, histone deacetylase, $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ and Wnt/Ryk, ephrins and Eph receptor tyrosine kinase, Cdh-1 and mitochondrial ATPase that are implicated in the induction of neuropathic pain. Studies conducted on the different animal models and observed results have been summarized with an aim to facilitate the efforts made in the drug discovery. The diligent analysis and exploitation of these targets may help in the identification of some promising therapies that can better manage neuropathic pain and improve the health of patients.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.9.1-9.23
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• 2022

In the past few decades, biological drugs and small molecule inhibitors targeting inflammatory cytokines, immune cells, and intracellular kinases have become the standard-of-care to treat autoimmune diseases. Inhibition of TNF, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-23 has revolutionized the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and psoriasis. B cell depletion therapy using anti-CD20 mAbs has shown promising results in patients with neuroinflammatory diseases, and inhibition of B cell survival factors is approved for treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus. Targeting co-stimulatory molecules expressed on Ag-presenting cells and T cells is also expected to have therapeutic potential in autoimmune diseases by modulating T cell function. Recently, small molecule kinase inhibitors targeting the JAK family, which is responsible for signal transduction from multiple receptors, have garnered great interest in the field of autoimmune and hematologic diseases. However, there are still unmet medical needs in terms of therapeutic efficacy and safety profiles. Emerging therapies aim to induce immune tolerance without compromising immune function, using advanced molecular engineering techniques.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.16-26
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• 2023

Despite long-term research achievements, the development of cell therapy (CT) products remains challenging. This is because the risks experienced by the subject and therapeutic effects in the clinical trial stage are unclear due to the various uncertainties of CT when administered to humans. Nevertheless, as autologous cell products for systemic administration have recently been approved for marketing, CT product development is accelerating, particularly in the field of unmet medical needs. The human experience of CT remains insufficient compared with other classes of pharmaceuticals, while there are countless products for clinical development. Therefore, for many sponsors, understanding the rationale of human application of an investigational product based on the consensus and improving the ability to apply it appropriately for CT are necessary. Thus, defining the level of evidence for safety and efficacy fundamentally required for initiating the clinical development and preparing it using a reliable method for CT. Furthermore, the expertise should be strengthened in the design of the first-in-human trial, such as the starting dose and dose-escalation plan, based on a sufficiently acceptable rationale. Cultivating development professionals with these skills will increase the opportunity for more candidates to enter the clinical development phase.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• 제52권6호
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• pp.414-428
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• 2022

Although tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is a general medical issue with growing prevalence and socioeconomic burden, most clinicians have not paid much attention to TR in the past. Several problems of TR have been pointed out in clinical practice, which include: ambiguous clinical manifestations and the difficulty in initial detection, limitations in generally used diagnostic tools, the absence of objective criterion for therapeutic intervention, high operative morbidity and mortality, and lack of long-term clinical data after the intervention for TR. Therefore, patients with TR usually visit clinicians at a much-advanced state, and this delay gives a major dilemma in clinical decision-making in a routine clinical practice. To improve the clinical outcome of TR, we need more knowledge about TR for solving the current problems and making strategies for better clinical practice. With this background, we have discussed in the present article about the pathophysiology of TR and the problems frequently experienced by clinical physicians in the diagnosis and treatment of TR. Furthermore, we have discussed the future strategy to improve the treatment of TR.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.110-122
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• 2024

Objectives: This study analyzed the Korea Health Panel Annual Data 2019 to investigate factors related to the use of non-insured Korean medicine (KM) treatment in individuals with chronic diseases. The non-insured KM treatments of interest were herbal decoction (HD) and pharmacopuncture (PA). Methods: Among adults aged 19 or older, 6,159 individuals with chronic diseases who received outpatient KM treatment at least once in 2019 were included. They were divided into three groups according to the KM treatment used: (1) basic insured KM non-pharmacological treatment (BT) group (n = 629); (2) HD group (n = 256); (3) PA group (n = 184). Logistic regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with favoring HD or PA use over BT. Potentially relevant candidate factors were classified using the Andersen Behavior Model. Results: Compared to BT, the 1st to 3rd quartiles of income compared to the 4th quartile (odds ratio: 1.50 to 2.06 for HD; 2.03 to 2.83 for PA), health insurance subscribers compared to medical aid (odds ratio: 2.51; 13.43), and presence of musculoskeletal diseases (odds ratio: 1.66; 1.91) were significantly positively associated with HD and PA use. Moreover, the presence of cardiovascular disease (odds ratio: 1.46) and neuropsychiatric disease (odds ratio: 1.97) were also significantly positively associated with HD use. Conclusion: The presence of some chronic diseases, especially musculoskeletal diseases, was significantly positively associated with HD and PA use, while low economic status was significantly negatively associated with HD and PA use, indicating the potential existence of unmet medical needs in this population. Since chronic diseases impose a considerable health burden, the results of this study can be used for reference for future health insurance coverage policies in South Korea.

• 보건행정학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.326-334
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• 2020

Background: Korea has gradually expanded the coverage of medical care services in its national health insurance system. On April 1, 2018, it implemented a policy that expanded the coverage for an ultrasonography in the upper abdomen. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the policy on the utilization of the ultrasonography in the upper abdomen in tertiary care hospitals. Methods: Using the dataset of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, we explored changes in the utilization of the ultrasonography in the upper abdomen in tertiary care hospitals from July 1, 2017 to November 30, 2018 through the difference-in-difference (DID) mixed-effects-model method. Facility factor, equipment factor and personnel factors, type of hospital, the total amount of medical care expenses, and geographic region were considered as control variables. Results: On average, the utilization of the ultrasonography in the upper abdomen increased by 228% after the coverage expansion policy. However, the results of DID mixed-effects-model method analysis showed that the utilization increased by 73%. As for the number of beds, the utilization was higher with a group of 844-930, 931-1,217, and 1,218 or greater compared with a group of 843 or fewer, while the utilization of the number of ultrasonic devices was lower with a group of 45-49 compared with a group of 44 or fewer. The utilization decreased with the number of interns and the number of nurse assistants. Besides, relative to Seoul, the utilization was lower in the other metro-cities and provinces. Conclusion: The coverage expansion policy in the national health insurance system increased service utilization among people. Future research needs to investigate the degree to which such coverage expansion policy reduces the unmet medical care needs among the deprived in Korea.

• 보건의료산업학회지
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• 제7권3호
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• pp.95-109
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• 2013

The objective of this study is to assess the utilization and satisfactions about public health centers in Korea. For the analysis, the study utilize the nationwide data of 229,229 person on '2010 Community Health Survey' of Ministry of Health & Welfare. The statistical methodology used in the study is ${\chi}^2$, ANOVA, logistic regression model and multiple regression model. This study have four major findings. First, the significant affecting socio-demographic factors in utilizing public health center were gender, age, region, national basic living secured, married, income, education, job, state of health, chronic disease, unmet medical needs and utilization reason. Second, the most serviced category of health center user was vaccination both city and rural area and the next was certificate, primary care, health screening, other use, the mother and child in city area, primary care, health screening, certificate, home visiting health in rural area. Third, the significant affecting socio-demographic factors in satisfaction degree on health center service were age, region, national basic living secured, income, education, job, state of health, utilization degree and reason. Fourth, the most satisfied service of health service center was home visiting health in city area and mental health service in rural area and the next was nutritive control and the lowest satisfied service was user of certificate. The utilization and satisfaction on health center service were identified as different with residental area and user's characteristics. The politic effort are needed to support socially disadvantaged class and to narrow regional gap.