• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2014

Background: Diabetes is accompanied by complications. One of the chronic complications, diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of the loss of eyesight and thus has enormous impacts on the quality of life to the patients. It has been reported that thorough glucose regulation can prevent or postpone the outset of diabetic retinopathy in diabetic patients and that the patients who received anti-diabetic manage & care education would be capable of more thorough glucose-level regulation than those who did not. Method: This study set out to investigate the current state of education on anti-diabetic manage & care in South Korea and connections between anti-diabetic manage & care education and occurrence of diabetic retinopathy in diabetic patients based on the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2011. Results: Of the 410 diabetes patients, 74 received anti-diabetic manage & care education, which means that only 15% of diabetic patients benefited from the education in the nation. The occurrence rate of diabetic retinopathy was 28% in the education group and 24% in the non-education group with no significant differences between them. The anti-diabetic manage & care education group recorded a higher occurrence rate of diabetic retinopathy, one of the chronic diabetic complications, than the non-education group contrary to the hypothesis. One of the reasons was that the educated group had a significantly longer duration of diabetes and significantly higher HbA1c than the noneducated group, which indicates that anti-diabetic manage & care education is provided to those who have progressed farther along the course of diabetes instead of the early stage and cannot regulate their glucose-level well in the nation. Conclusion: Those findings raise a need for active educational policies in order to provide anti-diabetic manage & care education under the goals of preventing complications through anti-diabetic education for many patients in early stages of diabetes.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.431-440
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• 2008

Turbid water or suspended sediment is associated with negative effects on aquatic organisms; fish, aquatic invertebrate, and periphyton. Effects of turbid water on fish differ depending on their developmental stage and a level of turbidity. Low turbid water may cause feeding and predation rates, reaction distance, and avoidance in fish, and it could make fish to die under high turbidity and long period. Therefore, it is very important to find out how turbid water or suspended sediment can affect fish in domestic watersheds. The objectives of this study were 1) to introduce international case studies and their standards to deal with suspended sediment, 2) to determine acute toxicity in 4 major freshwater fishes, and 3) to determine in relation to adverse effect of macroinvertebrates and fish. Impacts of turbid water on fish can be categorized into direct and indirect effects, and some factors such as duration and frequency of exposure, toxicity, temperature, life stage of fish, size of particle, time of occurrence, availability of and access to refugia, etc, play important role to decide magnitude of effect. A review of turbidity standard in USA, Canada, and Europe indicated that each standard varied with natural condition, and Alaska allowed liberal increase of turbidity over natural conditions in streams. Even though acute toxicity with four different species did not show any fatal effect, it should be considered to conduct a chronic test (long-term) for more detailed assessment. Compared to the control, dominance index of macroinvertebrates was greater in the turbid site, whereas biotic index, species diversity index, species richness index, and ecological score were smaller in the turbid site. According to histopathological analysis with gills of macroinvertebrate and fishes, morphological and physiological modification of gills due to suspended sediments can cause disturbance of respiration, excretion and secretion. In conclusion, in order to maintain good and healthy aquatic ecosystem, it is the best to minimize or prevent impact by occurrence of turbid water in stream and reservoir. We must make every effort to maintain and manage healthy aquatic ecosystem with additional investigation using various assessment tools and periodic biomonitoring of fish.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2407-2410
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• 2016

Background: Response to antiviral therapy has been linked to different genotypes and this impacts on clinical management. Data on general responses to standard interferon (IFN) against HCV infection exists but little is known regarding HCV genotype specific responses. Purpose: Therefore, we attempted to determine genotype specific responses of chronic HCV patients, having different HCV genotypes, to standard IFN and ribavirin combination therapy administered for a period of six months in Kybher Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Materials and Methods: HCV genotype was determined for all serum samples. Each patient received standard IFN combination therapy with ribavirin administered at dose of 3 MIU three times a week and 800-1200 mg/day, respectively, for a period of six months. After completion of this therapy, PCR was performed for all course completed subjects. Results: Out of total 51 selected patients the most abundant genotypes were 3a (49.0%) and 1a (21.6%) followed by 3b (9.8%), 1b (7.84%), 2a (7.84%) and untypable (3.94%). Moast responsive genotypes were 2a followed by 3a, with end of treatment responses of 77.7%, and 72.2%. Responses for 3b, 1b and untypable were 66.7%, 33.3% and 0%, respectively. Conclusions: IFN response is efficient in case of 2a and 3a genotypes while in case of untypable genotypes, further categorization is required to know about genomic sequences and to adopt some new regimes against these genotypes.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.235-241
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• 2013

Repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) has shown excellent outcomes. However it leaves varying degrees of residual hemodynamic impairment, with severe pulmonary stenosis (PS) and free pulmonary regurgitation (PR) at both ends of the spectrum. Since the 1980s, studies evaluating late outcomes after TOF repair revealed the adverse impacts of residual chronic PR on RV volume and function; thus, a turnaround of operational strategies has occurred from aggressive RV outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction for complete relief of RVOT obstruction to conservative RVOT reconstruction for limiting PR. This transformation has raised the question of how much residual PS after conservative RVOT reconstruction is acceptable. Besides, as pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) increases in patients with RV deterioration from residual PR, there is concern regarding when it should be performed. Regarding residual PS, several studies revealed that PS in addition to PR was associated with less PR and a small RV volume. This suggests that PS combined with PR makes RV diastolic property to protect against dilatation through RV hypertrophy and supports conservative RVOT enlargement despite residual PS. Also, several studies have revealed the pre-PVR threshold of RV parameters for the normalization of RV volume and function after PVR, and based on these results, the indications for PVR have been revised. Although there is no established strategy, better understanding of RV mechanics, development of new surgical and interventional techniques, and evidence for the effect of PVR on RV reverse remodeling and its late outcome will aid us to optimize the management of TOF.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.8
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• pp.204-210
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• 2011

We looked into the content change of microelements participating in the metabolism among the impacts of radiation energy on living bodies. We irradiated X-rays of 1 Gy, 5 Gy and 10 Gy to the whole bodies of mice, and then analyzed the liver tissues. We found that the microelement content had changed in some elements compared with the control group. When it came to changes by radiation dose, there was no significant change with the absorbed level of 1 Gy, but the higher absorbed levels of 5 Gy and 10 Gy reduced the content of Ca and Mn. In particular, the Ca content was reduced the most, apparently causing symptoms such as muscle tension and chronic headache, etc. The increased element was Al, which was found to have increased by 100%. In regard to the content change according to the time elapsed after irradiation, the contents of Fe, Ba, etc. showed the tendency of reduction. The content of Cd, a harmful element, increased by 25%, and it seemed that the element was involved in the calcium metabolism. Therefore, cell damage by radiation energy is determined to have an impact on the content change of microelements and considered to be partly related to a cause of precursor symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.221-225
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• 2015

The bacterium causing Johne's disease (JD), Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is distributed worldwide and causes progressive intestinal disease, also known as paratuberculosis, in domestic and exotic ruminants, including cattle. The subclinical form of this disease results in progressive weight loss, reduced milk production, lower slaughter value, and premature culling, with possible impacts on fertility and udder health. Eventually, infection can lead to the clinical form that manifests chronic diarrhea, emaciation, debilitation, and eventual death. JD is a major cause of economic loss in cattle industry. In this study, serological testing was conducted by ELISA to determine the prevalence of MAP in Korean native cattle of Jeju during the duration of 2010 to 2013. A total of 5,150 blood sera were collected in 111 farms and the samples were classified into four different age groups for MAP; group 1 (2 years or less), group 2 (2~4 years), group 3 (5~7 years), and group 4 (over 8 years). Overall seroprevalence of MAP was 5.2% (269/5,150), and annually from 2010 to 2013, they were 11.6% (106/915), 2.1% (10/474), 5.5% (89/1,627), and 3.0% (64/2,134), respectively. Also, the prevalence rates was determined by age groups: 48 of group 1 (17.8%), 154 of group 2 (57.3%), 48 of group 3 (17.8%), and 19 of group 4 (7.1%) were seropositive for MAP. Although seropositive samples were found in all age groups, the highest seroprevalence was found in group 2. This study showed that during the investigation the seroprevalence of MAP tended to decrease.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2000

Objectives : The author wanted to summarize the psychiatric and social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Methods : The author reviewed all pertinent citations in the Medline database from 1966 to 1999. Results : Psychiatric problems in this population include delirium, psychotic disorder due to general medical condition(especially mania), anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, alcohol abuse/dependence, and drug abuse/dependence. Social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B viral infection relate to the stigma of being a carrier, guilty feeling about infection, guilty feeling about increased family burden, impacts of having hepatitis on interpersonal relations, sexual difficulties, and job loss with increased financial burden, and health care worker's refusal. Conclusions : Appropriate early educational counseling interventions regarding the expected course and psychosocial intervention should be tailored to the sociocultural needs of special populations. Those interventions will increase compliance of treatment and prevent progression to hepatocellalar carcinoma from hepatitis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.255-264
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• 2014

Objective: The aims of this study are to investigate the total volume of prescribed medicines against Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the trends of usage by analyzing the claims-data from the Korea National Health Insurance Service. Method: The demographic and claims-data were included the major AD treating medicines such as donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine, and analyzed during the period of 2010~2012. The assessing criteria were gender, age, habitation, types of medical institution, code of ingredients, outcomes of treatment, volume and amount of claims, and the numbers of patients with dementias. After trimming the data, it were analyzed by the market size, demographic traits, characteristics of medical service, characteristics of each anti-AD medicine, etc. Results: Among the chosen 4 medicines, donepezil had the top prescription volumes. Most prevalent prescribing preparations of donepezil were conventional types. However, among the non-conventional types, oro-dispersible formulation is the fast increasing one in both volume and growth rate. This specialized preparations to improve both toleration and adherence, tend to being prescribed generally at the tertiary medical institutions. While the younger patients with mild-to-moderate AD mostly treated by expensive medicines in resident at the tertiary hospitals, the rest older patients with severe AD have been treated non-expensive one at long-term care facilities. Conclusion: AD is a chronic illness therefore, long-term use of therapeutic medications are highly important. If an anti-AD treatment was applied steadily in the earlier stages, it would be achieved not only improving the quality of life of patient but also reducing the expenses in the medical and nursing cares. As the socioeconomical impacts of AD is expanding, healthcare professionals need to aware the importance of pharmacotherapy and to improve sociopolitical fundamentals.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.789-797
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• 2021

BACKGROUD/OBJECTIVES: Registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) are providers of medical nutrition therapy (MNT) to address health and chronic disease. Traditionally, RDNs have provided care in healthcare facilities including hospitals and private care facilities. The purpose of this study was to determine how RDN individualized MNT in the home impacted nutrition, physical activity, and food security. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This is a secondary data analysis. The mean age of the participants (n = 1,007) was 51.6 years old with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 34.1 kg/m². Individualized MNT visits were delivered by an RDN in the home setting from January to December 2019. Participants were referred by healthcare professionals or self-referred. Participants had MNT benefits covered by their health insurance plan (43.3% Medicaid; 39.8% private insurance; 7.9% Medicare, 9% other). Health outcomes related to nutrition care were measured. Outcomes included self-reported consumption of nutrition factors and physical activity. Our secondary outcome focused on food security. The changes in weight, BMI, physical activity, and nutrition factors were analyzed by a linear regression model or linear mixed model, adjusting for age, sex, baseline value, and number of appointments. Food security was summarized in a 2 by 2 contingency table. RESULTS: Baseline values had significantly negative impacts for all changes and number of appointments was significant in the changes for weight and BMI. Increases in physical activity were significant for both female and male participants, 10.4 and 12.6 minutes per day, respectively, while the changes in weight and BMI were not. Regarding dietary factors, the consumption total servings per day of vegetables (0.13) and water (3.35) significantly increased, while the consumption of total servings of whole grain (-0.27), fruit (-0.32), dairy (-0.80) and fish (-0.81) significantly decreased. About 24% (of overall population) and 45% (of Medicaid population) reported improvements in food security. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that home visits were a useful setting for MNT delivered by RDNs. There is a strong need for individualized counseling to meet the participants' needs and personal goals.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.279-291
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• 2021

Hair loss is one of the most common chronic diseases, with a detrimental effect on a patient's psychosocial life. Hair loss results from damage to the hair follicle (HF) and/or hair regeneration cycle. Various damaging factors, such as hereditary, inflammation, and aging, impair hair regeneration by inhibiting the activation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) and dermal papilla cells (DPCs). Formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) regulates the inflammatory response and the activity of various types of stem cells, and has recently been reported to have a protective effect on hair loss. Given that stem cell activity is the driving force for hair regeneration, we hypothesized that FPR2 influences hair regeneration by mediating HFSC activity. To prove this hypothesis, we investigated the role of FPR2 in hair regeneration using Fpr2 knockout (KO) mice. Fpr2 KO mice were found to have excessive hair loss and abnormal HF structures and skin layer construction compared to wild-type (WT) mice. The levels of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) and β-catenin, which promote HF regeneration, were significantly decreased, and the expression of bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp)2/4, an inhibitor of the anagen phase, was significantly increased in Fpr2 KO mice compared to WT mice. The proliferation of HFSCs and DPCs was significantly lower in Fpr2 KO mice than in WT mice. These findings demonstrate that FPR2 impacts signaling molecules that regulate HF regeneration, and is involved in the proliferation of HFSCs and DPCs, exerting a protective effect on hair loss.