• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2023

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is known to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. LRRK2 is predominantly expressed in the lung as well as the brain. However, it is unclear whether LRRK2 expression correlates with the pathogenesis of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). This study analyzes the prognostic significance of LRRK2 in LUSC using the Kaplan-Meier plotter tool. High expression of LRRK2 is known to be associated with a bad prognosis in patients with LUSC. Patients with high LRRK2 expression, tumor mutational burden, high neoantigen load, and even gender correlation reportedly have the worse survival rates. In the gene expression profiling interactive analysis (GEPIA) database, the severity of pathogenesis in LUSC with high LRRK2 expression positively corresponds to a high expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines but not inflammatory cytokines. Similarly, the increased expression of interleukin (IL)10-related genes was shown to be significantly linked in LRRK2-high LUSC patients having a poor prognosis. Moreover, the tumor immune estimation resource (TIMER) database suggests that macrophages are one of the cellular sources of IL10 in LRRK2-high LUSC patients. Collectively, our results demonstrate that the postulated LRRK2-IL10 axis is a potential therapeutic target and prognostic biomarker for LUSC.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.451-457
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• 2024

Objective : Exploring protein requirements for critically ill patients has become prominent. On the other hand, considering the significant impact of coma therapy and targeted temperature management (TTM) on the brain as well as systemic metabolisms, protein requirements may plausibly be changed by treatment application. However, there is currently no research on protein requirements following the application of these treatments. Therefore, the aim of this study is to elucidate changes in patients' protein requirements during the application of TTM and coma therapy. Methods : This study is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from March 2019 to May 2022. Among the patients admitted to the intensive care unit, those receiving coma therapy and TTM were included. The patient's treatment period was divided into two phases (phase 1, application and maintenance of coma therapy and TTM; phase 2, tapering and cessation of treatment). In assessing protein requirements, the urine urea nitrogen (UUN) method was employed to estimate the nitrogen balance, offering insight into protein utilization within the body. The patient's protein requirement for each phase was defined as the amount of protein required to achieve a nitrogen balance within ±5, based on the 24-hour collection of UUN. Changes in protein requirements between phases were analyzed. Results : Out of 195 patients, 107 patients with a total of 214 UUN values were included. The mean protein requirement for the entire treatment period was 1.84±0.62 g/kg/day, which is higher than the generally recommended protein supply of 1.2 g/kg/day. As the treatment was tapered, there was a statistically significant increase in the protein requirement from 1.49±0.42 to 2.18±0.60 in phase 2 (p<0.001). Conclusion : Our study revealed a total average protein requirement of 1.84±0.62 g during the treatment period, which falls within the upper range of the preexisting guidelines. Nevertheless, a notable deviation emerged when analyzing the treatment application period separately. Hence, it is recommended to incorporate considerations for the type and timing of treatment, extending beyond the current guideline, which solely accounts for the severity by disease.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.27-39
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• 2024

Purpose : Smoking is a major factor in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the effect of electrical cigarette smoking on COPD development is still uncertain. This study aimed to compare the functions of airways and lungs exposed to combustible cigarettes and electrical cigarettes based on the pulmonary function test (PFT) results from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods : This study used data from 8,942 participants with PFT results out of 47,309 total subjects from the 6th to 8th Korean NHANES (2014-2015, 2016-2018, and 2019, respectively). Individuals with diseases such as cancer, ex-smokers, and dual tobacco users were excluded. The PFT results were analyzed according to the COPD diagnostic criteria. After adjusting for confounding variables, a complex sample generalized linear model ANOVA test was performed to investigate the association between PFT results and combustible smoker or electrical cigarette user groups. Results : In an analysis based on the obstructive ventilatory disorders (forced expiratory volume in 1 second[FEV₁]/forced vital capacity[FVC]<.7), combustible cigarette smokers showed a 3.46 times higher risk of COPD compared to non-smokers, while electrical cigarette smokers exhibited no significant difference in terms of COPD-related risks compared to non-smokers. FEV₁ showed a negative relation with combustible cigarette smokers as reported elsewhere (B=-.07, p<.001). FEV₁/FVC was negatively related to both combustible cigarette smokers (B=-.03, p<.001) and electrical cigarette smokers (B=-.02, p<.001). Conclusion : FEV₁/FVC decreases were observed in the long-term exposure to both combustible and electrical cigarettes. The lower FEV₁ in the combustible cigarette group implies the worsening of the severity of COPD, suggesting more damage to the airways and lungs in the short term. Therefore, the temporary electrical cigarettes use for the transition period in order to smoking cessation potentially aids to reduce the harmful effect of combustible cigarettes in COPD development.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.25.1-25.16
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• 2021

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease whose development is shaped by a variety of environmental and genetic factors. While several recent studies suggest that microbial dysbiosis in the gut may promote asthma, little is known about the relationship between the recently discovered lung microbiome and asthma. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have also been shown recently to participate in asthma. To investigate the relationship between the lung microbiome, ILCs, and asthma, we recruited 23 healthy controls (HC), 42 patients with non-severe asthma, and 32 patients with severe asthma. Flow cytometry analysis showed severe asthma associated with fewer natural cytotoxicity receptor (NCR)⁺ILC3s in the lung. Similar changes in other ILC subsets, macrophages, and monocytes were not observed. The asthma patients did not differ from the HC in terms of the alpha and beta-diversity of the lung and gut microbiomes. However, lung function correlated positively with both NCR⁺ILC3 frequencies and microbial diversity in the lung. Sputum NCR⁺ILC3 frequencies correlated positively with lung microbiome diversity in the HC, but this relationship was inversed in severe asthma. Together, these data suggest that airway NCR⁺ILC3s may contribute to a healthy commensal diversity and normal lung function.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2024

Bovine mastitis-associated Escherichia coli (BMEC) is considered the main causative agent of significant financial losses in the dairy industry worldwide, as it alters both the quantity and quality of milk produced and increases the rate of culling. This creates a variety of challenges for researchers, veterinarians, and farmers in understanding and determining the most effective therapies and diagnostic techniques. Subclinical mastitis is particularly concerning, as infected bovines exhibit no obvious symptoms and continue to secrete apparently normal milk over an extended period, allowing the causative pathogen, E. coli, to spread within the herd. For effective prevention, understanding the pathogenesis of mastitis through three stages invasion, infection, and inflammation is essential. To date, no clear correlation has been found between virulence factors and pathogenicity contributing to the clinical severity of BMEC. Multidrug-resistant E. coli and the evolution of novel resistance mechanisms have become concerns owing to the extensive use of antibiotics to treat mastitis. Therefore, it is vital to explore alternative controls to enhance the efficacy of BMEC treatment. Over the past 30 years, various genetic typing techniques have been used to examine the subspecies-level epidemiology of bovine mastitis. These studies have advanced our understanding of the origin, transmission pathway, population structure, and evolutionary relatedness of BMEC strains. In this review we provide an overview of BMEC, including insights into its etiology, genetic relationship, pathogenesis, and management of the disease, as well as new therapy options.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.30 no.2 s.79
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• pp.235-243
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• 2000

Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) of the temporomandibular joint(TMJ) is very useful method to diagnose internal derangement of the TMJ because of its high specificity foy identification of condyle-disc relationships. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the existence, incidence and severity o』 internal derangement o』 the TMJ by the MRI of Patients who are suspected to have TMJ disorder. MRI sample was composed of 50 subjects(10 males, 40 females) and the mean age was 22.9 years. 43 subjects of the sample were found to have positive findings. $56\%$ of the subjects with positive findings had ADD(anterior disc displacement) without reduction, and $65\%$ had internal derangement of bilateral joints. Distributions in the types of malocclusion in patients with positive findings, the Angle's classification had shown : the largest $41.9\%$ for Cl II ($39.6\%$ for Cl II div 1 and $2.3\%$ for Cl II div 2), $37.2\%$ for Cl I, $18.6\%$ for Cl III, and $2.3\%$ for the unidentified. $8.6\%$ of the subjects with positive findings had facial asymmetry and $55.8\%$ had openbite. We can conclude that the percentage of Cl II is the highest in patients with internal derangement of the TMJ. Openbite or facial asymmetry is considered to be uncompensated or compensated deformity which results from facial skeleton remodeling in the process of degenerative joint disease(DJD) due to TMJ degeneration. Therefore it is recommended to screen the patients with facial asymmetry or openbite by MRI before the beginning of orthodontic treatment. Differential diagnosis is essential because the tendency of relapse is high after the orthodontic treatment and continuous observation of TMJ is needed in patients with TMJ disorder.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.221-227
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• 2011

Purpose: The objectives were to identify the characteristics of neonates with hydrops fetalis, and to identify the risk factors associated with mortality. Methods: A retrospective review of AMC (Asan Medical Center) dataset was performed from January 1990 to June 2009. The characteristics of 71 patients with hydrops fetalis were investigated and they were divided into two groups: the survived group and the expired group. Various perinatal and neonatal factors in two groups were compared to find out risk factors associated with mortality based on univariate analysis, followed by multiple regression analyses (SPSS version 18.0). Results: Of those 71 neonates (average gestational age: 33 weeks, birth weight: 2.6 kg), 38 survived, 33 died, resulting in overall mortality rate of 46.5%. The most common etiology was idiopathic followed by chylothorax, cardiac anomalies, twin-to-twin transfusion, meconium peritonitis, cardiac arrythmias, and congenital infections. Factors that were associated independently with mortality in logistic regression analyses were low 5-minutes Apgar score, hyaline membrane disease and delayed in achieving 50th percentile ideal body weight for appropriate gestational age by 10 days. Conclusion: In this study, 5-minutes Apgar score, hyaline membrane disease and delayed in achieving 50th percentile ideal body weight for appropriate gestational age by 10 days were significant risk factors associated with mortality in hydrops fetalis. Therefore, the risk of death among neonates with hydrops fetalis depends on the illness immediately after birth and severity of hydrops fetalis. Informations from this study may prove useful in prediction of prognosis to neonates with hydrops fetalis.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2006

Purpose : We hypothesized that mannose binding lectin gene(MBL2), a key molecule of innate immunity, may contirbute to the development and the outcome of respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) disease in early childhood. This study was performed to investigate the genetic basis of polymorphisms and haplotypes of MBL2 for RSV disease severity in Korean children. Methods : Cases with severe RSV diseases are 99 children with severe RSV lower respiratory tract infections, who were admitted to the Seoul National University Children's Hospital through 1993~2000. The control subjects consisted of 224 anonymous healthy Korean blood donors. The frequency of promoter variant(-221, X/Y) and structural variant(codon 54) were compared between the case patient group and the control subject group. Results : The mean age of patients was 11.8 months; 49% were <6 months, 39% were 6-24 months and 12% were >24 months. In the cohort of cases of severe RSV diseases, the genotypic frequencies of structural variant in codon 54 were 61% for AA, 34% for AB, and 5% for BB. Those of the promoter X/Y variant were 85% for YY and 15% for XY. There were no significant differences in overall distribution of both structural and promoter variants between the cases and the control subjects. We did not observe statistical difference in the haplotypic frequencies of MBL2. Conclusion : Common variants of MBL2 gene most likely do not contribute to the risk for severe RSV diseases in Korean children. Further genetic association studies should be conducted in a larger propsectively recruited cohort of children with RSV infection.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.727-732
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• 2007

Background: The reciptents of aortic valve replacement or a Bentall operation usually display various degrees of mitral regurgitation. When deciding whether or not to correct the mitral regurgitation, one must consider its severity, underlying causes and operative risk. Recently, the operation method for correcting the concomitant mitral regurgitation has been done through aortic root to reduce the operation time and the cardiac trauma. We report our experiences that transaortic mitral valve commissuroplasty done with aortic valve replacement or a Bentall operation has been a simple, less invasive, effective method in the operative management of mitral valve regurgitation without significant organic changes. Material and Method: Between June 2002 and June 2005, twenty patients under-went mitral valve commissuroplasty via the aortic root with aortic valve replacement (n=14) or a Bentall operation (n=7). The mitral valve regurgitation of the patients didn't exceed a moderate (grade 2) degree and there was no significant organic disease. The preoperative diagnosis of MR was established by TTE and intraoperative TEE, and the patients were followed postoperatively by TTE. The operative technique was a simple anterolateral commissuroplasty of the mitral valve with a single mattress suture via the transaortic annular approach after excision of the aortic valve leaflets. Result: The mean patient age was 56.2 years and 65% (n=13) were male. The preoperative MR was mild (grade 1) in 9 (45%), mild to moderate in 8 (40%), and moderate (grade 2) in 3 (15%) patients. There were no operative mortalities. The MR improved in all patients (p=0.002) and the left ventricular ejection fraction (LV EF) improved in 14 (70%) patients (p=0.005). The mean cross-clamp time for the patients who under- went aortic valve replacement with transaortic mitral repair was $62.1{\pm}13.9 min$ and this was $137.5{\pm}7.2 min$ for the patients who underwent a Bentall operation with transaortic mitral repair. Conclusion: For selected patients without significant mitral organic disease, transaortic mitral valve commissuroplasty combined with aortic valve replacement or a Bentall operation may be a feasible, effective method without adding significant aortic cross clamping time and more cardiotomy.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.389-396
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• 2014

Purpose: The study examined dry eye symptoms of occupants in a newly constructed building and its effects on their work productivity and general activity. Methods: The study subjects were 33 office workers who spent more than eight hours per day on average in a new building constructed in the past three months. The indoor air quality of the new building was evaluated by measuring aldehydes, temperature and humidity. The level of dry eye symptoms was classified into normal, mild, moderate and severe by using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). The experience of LASIK surgery, use of eye makeup, daily use time of a computer and smart-phone, and average daily working hours were also examined. The Work Limitation Productivity Questionnaire was used as the questionnaire about work productivity and general activity to measure the impairment level on a ten-point scale. Results: The concentration variation of formaldehyde in the office was $42.42{\pm}6.30{\mu}g/m^3$. The temperature and humidity were $26.2{\pm}0.70^{\circ}C$ and $40{\pm}1%$, respectively. The respondents with normal, mild, moderate and severe dry eye symptoms were 15.2%, 18.2%, 18.2% and 48.5%, respectively. The severity of dry eye symptoms and impairment of work productivity and general activity demonstrated high correlations of 0.599 and 0.655, respectively (p<0.001). Compared to the normal case, severe dry eye symptoms demonstrated significantly high impairment of work productivity and interruption of general activity (p<0.001). The case of serious dry symptoms showed the possibilities of having impairment level of work productivity and interruption of general activity above three points 3.26 times (p=0.032) and 2.25 times (p=0.045), respectively, higher than that of the normal case. Conclusions: It was confirmed that dry eye symptoms among office workers in a newly constructed building affects work productivity and general activity.