• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2014

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of year-round respiratory viral infection in children with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and the relationship between respiratory viral infection and allergen sensitization in exacerbating asthma. Methods: We investigated the sources for acute LRTIs in children admitted to our hospital from May 2010 to April 2011. The 6 most common respiratory viruses were isolated from nasopharyngeal aspirate using multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 309 children; respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (AV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), influenza virus (IFV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), rhinovirus (RV). Atopic sensitization was defined if more than 1 serum specific Immunoglobulin E level measured using UniCAP (Pharmacia) was over 0.35 IU/mL. Results: RSV was the most common pathogen of bronchiolitis in hospitalized children through the year. RV or IFV infection was more prevalent in asthma exacerbations compared to other LRTIs. AV and hMPV were more likely to cause pneumonia. RV and IFV were associated with asthma exacerbations in children with atopic sensitization, but not in nonatopic children. Conclusion: RV and IFV are associated with hospitalization for asthma exacerbation in children with atopic sensitization.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.82-88
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• 2014

This study is a single group before-and-after study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of additional acupuncture therapy for lung cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy. Acupuncture therapy was conducted twice a day at least for a week. The effectiveness outcome measures were the Korean Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-L) and the Korean Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT-F) at the baseline, discharge and four weeks after discharge, and visual analogue scale(VAS) checked daily from the baseline to discharge. Ten patients were enrolled, one patient had excluded due to acute exacerbation of lung cancer. The data of nine patients showed some improvement in all of FACT-L, FACIT-F and VAS, however, there were no statistical significance. Additional acupuncture therapy for lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy might be beneficial to improve the quality of life(QoL) and to improve fatigue. Prospective trials with complex traditional Korean medicine interventions are needed to further investigation.

• The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.179-187
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• 2000

The etiology of rheumatic arthritis (RA) is associated with a number of genetic and environmental factors, but is not definitively elucidated. Recently, more attention has been paid to the possibility of microbial etiology in the pathogenesis of RA, because many different infectious agents have been reported to precede the onset or exacerbation of RA. Adenovirus (ADV) may be one cause of persistent or recurrent inflammatory arthritis. Varicella zoster virus (VZV) arthritis is detected frequently in RA patients treated with low dose methotrexate. The demonstration of simultaneous presence of both viral agents of specific viral nucleic acid in synovial fluids from synovitis patients would provide more direct evidence for arthritis etiological relationship, but there are no confirmed results. Therefore, we studied the ability of adenovirus and VZV to establish coinfection and persistent infection in synovial fluid from synovitis patients. The presence of viral agents in the synovial fluid demonstrated by isolation of cell culture, enzyme immunoassay and nested-PCR. The synovial fluids were also investgated for the presence of viral nucleic acid by nested-PCR using specific primer. ADV produced 220 bp and VZV produced 447 bp by each nested-PCR with specific primers. We detected 4/6 cases (66.7%) with persistent infection of ADV and 5/6 cases (83.3%) of VZV with 13 synovial fluids (between 7 to 52 day intervals) from synovitis patients by monoclonal ErA and nested-PCR. 21/28 cases (75%) with coinfection of adenovirus and VZV with synovial fluids from synovitis patients by nested-PCR. ADV and VZV coinfection and persistent infection of synovial fluids may provide a chronic antigenic stimuli to the immune system therefore provoking a continuing inflammatory response and caused the possibility of synovitis and arthritis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.132-137
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• 2018

Background: The pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) includes inflammation, oxidative stress, an imbalance of proteases and antiproteases and apoptosis which has been focused on lately. Abnormal apoptotic events have been demonstrated in both epithelial and endothelial cells, as well as in inflammatory cells including neutrophils and lymphocytes in the lungs of COPD patients. An increased propensity of activated T lymphocytes to undergo apoptosis has been observed in the peripheral blood of COPD patients. Therefore, the apoptosis of T lymphocytes without activating them was investigated in this study. Methods: Twelve control subjects, 21 stable COPD patients and 15 exacerbated COPD patients were recruited in the study. The T lymphocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood using magnetically activated cell sorting. Apoptosis of the T lymphocytes was assessed with flow cytometry using Annexin V and 7-aminoactinomycin D. Apoptosis of T lymphocytes at 24 hours after the cell culture was measured so that the T lymphocyte apoptosis among the control and the COPD patients could be compared. Results: Stable COPD patients had increased rates of $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis at 24 hours after the cell culture, more than the $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis which appeared in the control group, while the COPD patients with acute exacerbation had an amplified response of $CD4^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis as well as of $CD8^+$ T lymphocyte apoptosis at 24 hours after the cell culture. Conclusion: Stable COPD patients have more apoptosis of $CD4^+$ T lymphocytes, which can be associated with the pathophysiology of COPD in stable conditions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.81 no.2
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• pp.116-122
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• 2018

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a serious chronic condition with a global impact. Symptoms of COPD include progressive dyspnea, breathlessness, cough, and sputum production, which have a considerable impact on the lives of patients. In addition to the human cost of living with COPD and the resulting death, COPD entails a huge economic burden on the Chinese population, with patients spending up to one-third of the average family income on COPD management in some regions is clinically beneficial to adopt preventable measures via prudent COPD care utilization, monetary costs, and hospitalizations. Methods: Toward this end, this study compared the relative effectiveness of six indices in predicting patient healthcare utilization, cost of care, and patient health outcome. The six assessment systems evaluated included the three multidimensional Body mass index, Obstruction, Dyspnea, Exercise capacity index, Dyspnea, Obstruction, Smoking, Exacerbation (DOSE) index, and COPD Assessment Test index, or the unidimensional measures that best predict the future of patient healthcare utilization, cost of care, and patient health outcome among Chinese COPD patients. Results: Multiple linear regression models were created for each healthcare utilization, cost, and outcome including a single COPD index and the same group of demographic variables for each of the outcomes. Conclusion: We conclude that the DOSE index facilitates the prediction of patient healthcare utilization, disease expenditure, and negative clinical outcomes. Our study indicates that the DOSE index has a potential role beyond clinical predictions.

• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.147-152
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• 2009

Since a liquid-phase LPG injection system allows accurate control of fuel injection and increase in volumetric efficiency, it has advantages in achieving higher engine power and lower emissions compared to the mixer type LPG supplying system. However, this system also leads to an unexpected event called icing phenomenon which occurs when moisture in the air near the injector freezes and becomes frost around the nozzle hole due to extraction of heat from surrounding caused by instant fuel vaporization. As a result, it becomes difficult to control air/fuel ratio in engine operation, inducing exacerbation of engine performance and HC emission. One effort to mitigate icing phenomenon is to attach anti-icing injection tip in the end of nozzle. Therefore, in this study, the effect of engine operation parameters as well as surrounding conditions on icing phenomenon was investigated in a bench test rig with commercially-used anti-icing injection tips. The test results show that considerable ice was deposited on the surface near the nozzle hole of the anti-icing tip in low rpm and low load operating conditions in ambient air condition. This is because acceleration of detachment of deposited ice from the tip surface was induced in high load, high rpm conditions, resulting in decrease in frost accumulation. The results of the bench testing also demonstrate that little or no ice was formed at surrounding temperature below a freezing point since the absolute amount of moisture contained in the intake air is too small in such a low temperature.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.173-177
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• 2020

Background: Indoor air dampness microbiota (DM) is a big health hazard. Sufficient evidence exists that exposure to DM causes new asthma or exacerbation, dyspnea, infections of upper airways and allergic alveolitis. Less convincing evidence has yet been published for extrapulmonary manifestations of dampness and mold hypersensitivity syndrome). Methods: We investigated the prevalence of extrapulmonary in addition to respiratory symptoms with a questionnaire in a cohort of nurses and midwives (n = 90) exposed to DM in a Helsinki Obstetric Hospital. The corresponding prevalence was compared with an unexposed cohort (n = 45). Particular interest was put on neurological symptoms and multiple chemical sensitivity. Results: The results show that respiratory symptoms were more common among participants of the study vs. control cohort, that is, 80 vs 29%, respectively (risk ratio [RR]: 2.56, p < 0.001). Symptoms of the central or peripheral nervous system were also more common in study vs. control cohort: 81 vs 11% (RR: 6.63, p < 0.001). Fatigue was reported in 77 vs. 24%, (RR: 3.05, p < 0.001) and multiple chemical sensitivity in 40 vs. 9%, (RR: 3.44, p = 0.01), the so-called "brain fog", was prevalent in 62 vs 11% (RR: 4.94, p < 0.001), arrhythmias were reported in 57 vs. 2.4% (RR: 19.75, p < 0.001) and musculoskeletal pain in 51 vs 22% (RR: 2.02, p = 0.02) among participants of the study vs. control cohort, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that the exposure to DM is associated with a plethora of extrapulmonary symptoms. Presented data corroborate our recent reports on the health effects of moist and mold exposure in a workplace.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.32 no.2 s.57
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• pp.93-97
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• 2006

Staphylococcus aureus is found on the skin of $78{\sim}100%$ of children and adults with atopic dermatitis (AD) but only on the skin of $2{\sim}25%$ of healthy subjects. It is known that S. aureus and their endotoxins as superantigen have important roles in the exacerbation and prolongation of AD. This study was carried out for the detection of S. aureus in the skin of AD, age, sex, outbreak age of AD, treatment duration, aggravation season, and the relation of ooze and S. aureus. Most patients (84%) with AD show colonization of the skin with S. aureus and there is a correlation between the degree of colonization and the serous exudate. It seems likely that the inhibition of S. aureus is associated with improvement in the skin of AD patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.171-176
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• 2012

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the natural history of epilepsy and response to anti-epileptic drug treatment in patients with Angelman syndrome (AS) in Korea. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 14 patients diagnosed with epilepsy out of a total of 17 patients with a genetic diagnosis of AS. These patients were seen at the Department of Pediatric Neurology at Severance Children's Hospital from March 2005 to March 2011. Results: Fourteen (9 males and 5 females) subjects (82.3%) were diagnosed with epilepsy in AS. The most common seizure types were generalized tonic-clonic (n=9, 27%) and myoclonic (n=9, 27%), followed by atonic (n=8, 24%), atypical absence (n=4, 12%) and complex partial seizure (n=3, 9%). The most commonly prescribed antiepileptic drug (AED) was valproic acid (VPA, n=12, 86%), followed by lamotrigine (LTG, n=9, 64%), and topiramate (n=8, 57%). According to questionnaires that determined whether each AED was efficacious or not, VPA had the highest response rate and LTG was associated with the highest rate of seizure exacerbation. Complete control of seizures was achieved in 6 patients. Partial control was achieved in 7 patients, while one patient was not controlled. Conclusion: Epilepsy is observed in the great majority of AS patients. It may have early onset and is often refractory to treatment. There are few reports about epilepsy in AS in Korea. This study will be helpful in understanding epilepsy in AS in Korea.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.9-18
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• 2009

Objectives and Methods: The treatments of osteoporosis in occidental medicine are need complementations for reason of low-continuation and adverse-drug-reaction. So we would have literature centered consideration both oriental medical cognition and acupuncture-moxibustion therapy in osteoporosis. Results: 1. Deficiency of bone marrow caused by heat in the kidney and deficiency of kidney Gi, is causative of osteoporosis in pathology in oriental medicine. 2. Bone flaccidity and bone impediment are similar with osteoporosis. Withered bone comes under pathogenesis of bone flaccidity. And heavy debilitating disease of the bone is exacerbation of bone impediment. 3. In acupuncture-moxibustion therapy of osteoporosis, Bladder Meridian of Foot Taeyang, Kidney Meridian of Foot Soeum, Gallbladder Meridian of Foot Soyang, Lung Meridian of Hand Taeeum, Large Intestine Meridian of Hand Yangmyeong, Spleen Meridian of Foot Taeeum, Conception Channel, Stomach Meridian of Foot Yangmyeong, and Heart Meridian of Hand Soeum are used much in the order named. 4. In acupuncture-moxibustion therapy of osteoporosis, Hyeonjong(GB39, 7times), Daejeo(BL11, 3times), Sanggwan(GB3, 2times), Sinsu(BL23, 2times), Gyeoksu(BL17, 2times), Honmun(BL47, 2times), Buryu(KI7, 2times), Taebaek(SP3, 2times), Sanggu(SP5, 2times), Sangnyeom(LI9, 2times) are used much in the order named. Conclusions: In treatment of osteoporosis, we could make full use of acupuncture-moxibustion therapy. And we need active and persistent study about osteoporosis.