• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.43-51
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• 1998

Background： Three-dementional imaging with spiral CT(3D spiral CT) is a well established imaging modality which has been investigated in various clinical settings. However the 3D spiral CT in upper airway disease is rarely reported and its results are still obscure. Objectives： To access the usefulness of 3D spiral CT imaging in patients with upper airway diseases. Materials and Methods We performed 3D spiral CT in fourteen patients In whom upper airway diseases were clinically suspected. Nine of these patients had upper airway stenosis, two had laryngeal cartilage fracture, and three had laryngo-hypopharyngeal cancer. For evaluation of location and extent of the lesions, we compared the findings of 3D imaging with those of air tracheogram, conventional 2D CT images, endoscopic and operative findings. Results： In case of stenosis, 3D spiral CT provide significant useful information, particularly the site and length of the stenotic segment. But, it was difficult to define the fracture of the laryngeal framework and to detect the cartilagenous invasion by head and neck cancer using the 3D imaging. Conclusion : The 3D spiral CT was an useful adjunctive method to assess some kind of upper airway disease but not in others. So, we should compare the findings of 3D images with those of other diagnostic tools for accurate diagnosis of the upper airway disease.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.87-90
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• 2016

Cough, the most common symptom, encountered in the outpatient clinic can be caused by various underlying diseases. It defines as chronic cough that the duration of cough is more than 8 weeks with a normal chest X-ray findings. The cause of cough can be found out for more than 90% through the appropriate diagnostic approach and Upper airway cough syndrome, Asthma and Gastroesophageal reflex disease are the most common causes of disease to non-smokers. Chronic cough can be due to not one reason but various reasons and achieve good results by a systematic approach to diagnosis and a concrete treatment on the basis of the sufficient understanding of the underlying disease.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.335-339
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• 2007

The link between upper airway disease (allergic rhinitis and sinusitis) and lower airway disease (asthma) has long been of interest to physicians. Many epidemiological and pharmacological studies have provided a better understanding of pathophysiologic interrelationship between allergic rhinitis and asthma. The vast majority of patients with asthma have allergic rhinitis, and rhinitis is a major independent risk factor for asthma in cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. The association between sinusitis and asthma has long been appreciated. Through the recent evidences, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and asthma may not be considered as different diseases but rather as the expression in different parts of the respiratory tract of same pathological process in nature. Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain the relationship between asthma and upper airway diseases, but the underlying mechanisms are not completely discovered. The implications for the one-airway hypothesis are important not only academically but also clinically for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.70 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2011

Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis (MSL), also called Madelung's disease, is a rare disorder of unknown etiology and characterized by abnormal accumulation of large subcutaneous fatty masses in neck, shoulder, and upper trunk. MSL has known to predominantly affect middle-aged men with a history of alcoholism. Although the clinical course of MSL is considered to be slowly progressive, in advanced stage, fatty masses in the neck may compress the upper aerodigestive tract, resulting in dyspnea and dysphagia. The treatment of MSL is surgical resection, but radical excision is very difficult and recurrence after surgery is frequent. We report the case of 55-year-old man with long lasting MSL, which caused severe airway obstruction. This patient was admitted with progressive dyspnea and massive accumulation of fat around the vocal cord that was detected on a neck CT scan. This abnormal fatty infiltration in supraglottic region caused upper airway obstruction.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.353-361
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• 2022

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a multifactorial, heterogeneous disease characterized by persistent inflammation of the sinonasal mucosa and tissue remodeling, which can include basal/progenitor cell hyperplasia, goblet cell hyperplasia, squamous cell metaplasia, loss or dysfunction of ciliated cells, and increased matrix deposition. Repeated injuries can stimulate airway epithelial cells to produce inflammatory mediators that activate epithelial cells, immune cells, or the epithelial-mesenchymal trophic unit. This persistent inflammation can consequently induce aberrant tissue remodeling. However, the molecular mechanisms driving disease within the different molecular CRS subtypes remain inadequately characterized. Numerous secreted and cell surface proteins relevant to airway inflammation and remodeling are initially synthesized as inactive precursor proteins, including growth/differentiation factors and their associated receptors, enzymes, adhesion molecules, neuropeptides, and peptide hormones. Therefore, these precursor proteins require post-translational cleavage by proprotein convertases (PCs) to become fully functional. In this review, we summarize the roles of PCs in CRS-associated tissue remodeling and discuss the therapeutic potential of targeting PCs for CRS treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.270-274
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• 2001

A functional upper airway obstruction due to a vocal cord dysfunction(VCD) is characterized by a paradoxical adduction of the vocal cords throughout the respiratory cycle with no obvious organic cause for the obstruction. It commonly occurs paroxysmally and imitates acute asthmatic attacks, often in patients with coexisting asthma. They present with episodes of dyspnea associated with inspiratory wheezing that persists despite conventional asthma treatment and a flattening of the inspiratory limb of the flow-volume curve ; an adduction of the vocal cord during inspiration. Failure to recognize concurrent vocal cord dysfunction and asthma has led not only to the excessive use of bronchodilators and corticosteroids, but also to intubation and tracheostomy. Here, we report a case of coexistent obstructive pulmonary disease and functional upper airway obstruction due to a vocal cord dysfunction where a bronchoscopy showed a paradoxical vocal cord motion and typical features of a variable extrathoracic obstruction and a lower airway obstruction on the Flow-volume loop during a symptomatic period.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.53 no.12
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• pp.926-934
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• 2015

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), most common respiratory disorder of sleep, is characterized by intermittent partial or complete occlusions of the upper airway due to loss of upper airway dilating muscle activity during sleep superimposed on a narrow upper airway. Termination of these events usually requires arousal from sleep and results in sleep fragmentation and hypoxemia, which leads to poor quality of sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, reduced quality of life and numerous other serious health consequences. Untreated OSA may cause, or be associated with, several adverse outcomes, including daytime sleepiness, increased risk for motor vehicle accidents, cardiovascular disease, and depression. Various treatments are available, including non-surgical treatment such as medication or modification of life style, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and oral appliance (OA). Skeletal surgery for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) aims to provide more space for the soft tissue in the oropharynx to prevent airway collapse during sleep. Conventional surgical techniques include uvopalatopharyngoplasty(UPPP), genioglossus advancement (GA), and maxillomandibular advancement (MMA). Surgical techniques, efficacy and complications of skeletal surgery are introduced in this review.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.16
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• 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been spreading worldwide since its outbreak in December 2019, and World Health Organization declared it as a pandemic on March 11, 2020. SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and is transmitted through airway epithelial cells as the first gateway. SARS-CoV-2 is detected by nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swab samples, and the viral load is significantly high in the upper respiratory tract. The host cellular receptors in airway epithelial cells, including angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 and transmembrane serine protease 2, have been identified by single-cell RNA sequencing or immunostaining. The expression levels of these molecules vary by type, function, and location of airway epithelial cells, such as ciliated cells, secretory cells, olfactory epithelial cells, and alveolar epithelial cells, as well as differ from host to host depending on age, sex, or comorbid diseases. Infected airway epithelial cells by SARS-CoV-2 in ex vivo experiments produce chemokines and cytokines to recruit inflammatory cells to target organs. Same as other viral infections, IFN signaling is a critical pathway for host defense. Various studies are underway to confirm the pathophysiological mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Herein, we review cellular entry, host-viral interactions, immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in airway epithelial cells. We also discuss therapeutic options related to epithelial immune reactions to SARS-CoV-2.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 1999

Sleep alters both breathing pattern and the ventilatory responses to external stimuli. These changes during sleep permit the development or aggravation of sleep-related hypoxemia in patients with respiratory disease and contribute to the pathogenesis of apneas in patients with the sleep apnea syndrome. Fundamental effects of sleep on the ventilatory control system are 1) removal of wakefulness input to the upper airway leading to the increase in upper airway resistance, 2) loss of wakefulness drive to the respiratory pump, 3) compromise of protective respiratory reflexes, and 4) additional sleep-induced compromise of ventilatory control initiated by reduced functional residual capacity on supine position assumed in sleep, decreased $CO_2$ production during sleep, and increased cerebral blood flow in especially rapid eye movement(REM) sleep. These effects resulted in periodic breathing during unsteady non-rapid eye movement(NREM) sleep even in normal subjects, regular but low ventilation during steady NREM sleep, and irregular breathing during REM sleep. Sleep-induced breathing instabilities are divided due primarily to transient increase in upper airway resistance and those that involve overshoots and undershoots in neural feedback mechanisms regulating the timing and/or amplitude of respiratory output. Following ventilatory overshoots, breathing stability will be maintained if excitatory short-term potentiation is the prevailing influence. On the other hand, apnea and hypopnea will occur if inhibitory mechanisms dominate following the ventilatory overshoot. These inhibitory mechanisms include 1) hypocapnia, 2) inhibitory effect from lung stretch, 3) baroreceptor stimulation, 4) upper airway mechanoreceptor reflexes, 5) central depression by hypoxia, and 6) central system inertia. While the respiratory control system functions well during wakefulness, the control of breathing is commonly disrupted during sleep. These changes in respiratory control resulting in breathing instability during sleep are related with the pathophysiologic mechanisms of obstructive and/or central apnea, and have the therapeutic implications for nocturnal hypoventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or alveolar hypoventilation syndrome.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics and Information Engineers
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.201-209
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• 2014

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome(OSAS) is a respiratory disease caused by partial or complete obstruction of the upper airway during sleep. In this paper, we proposed the optical flow method to analyze the upper airway dynamic changes during respiration for children with OSAS and control subjects. We compared the absolute value of difference between inspiration and expiration for airway area analysis method and optical flow method for 5 children with OSAS and 6 control subjects. From the statistical analysis, airway area analysis method and optical flow method are statistically significant at the 0.1 (p value is 0.0977) and 0.01 (p value is 0.0011) significance level respectively. From this simulations, the optical flow method could provide more accurate information to diagnose the OSAS patients than the traditional airway area analysis method.