• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.717-723
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• 2018

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, an emerging immunotherapy, has demonstrated promising clinical results in hematological malignancies including B-cell malignancies. However, accessibility to this transformative medicine is highly limited due to the complex process of manufacturing, limited options for target antigens, and insufficient anti-tumor responses against solid tumors. Advances in gene-editing technologies, such as the development of Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR/Cas9), have provided novel engineering strategies to address these limitations. Development of next-generation CAR-T cells using gene-editing technologies would enhance the therapeutic potential of CAR-T cell treatment for both hematologic and solid tumors. Here we summarize the unmet medical needs of current CAR-T cell therapies and gene-editing strategies to resolve these challenges as well as safety concerns of gene-edited CAR-T therapies.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.133-144
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• 2018

Objectives Since the health insurance coverage for traditional Korean medicine is very low, some physicians and researcher have suggested that government's institutional support is needed for korean medicine field. Therefore We examine the use of traditional medicine and western medicine in Taiwan, which operates a similar health insurance system to Korea. Methods We selected several studies from Pubmed and NHIRD, that could be used to numerically evaluate the use of traditional medicine. We reviewed the current status of medical use in Taiwan and compare it with that of Korea. Results Through a total of 87 studies, We found that 26.59%~31% of Taiwanese use Traditional medical institutions more than once a year, and the use of traditional medicine has been increasing since 2000. In adults than children, in women than men, the use rate of traditional medicine was high. Especially, herbal medicine was the most common intervention, accounting for 70% of traditional medical care. Conclusions The core of low insurance coverage for traditional Korean medicine is in lack of coverage for herbal medicine. Taiwan's case shows that the unmet demand for traditional Korean medicine of the Korean population can exist widely.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.75-82
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to review literature about private health insurance (PHI) schemes for Korean older adults published in Korea and abroad from 2015 to 2019, and to present the implications of the study and provide an overview of PHI utilization by Korean older adults. Nineteen quantitative academic research papers were selected and analyzed with respect to presentation time, research purpose, data source, and study design. Old age, low income, low education, and chronic disease were found to hinder enrollment in PHI schemes. Although the relationship between PHI and medical usage was not consistent, it was positively related to health outcomes such as subjective health status and health-related quality of life. Therefore, for PHI to fulfill the role of providing supplementary medical care for older adults with high medical demands, a national improvement policy should be developed to address the barriers that prevent older adults adopting PHI schemes, and empirical studies related to medical usages by and the health outcomes of older adults should be conducted in order to generate a basis for the use of PHI.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.17-31
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• 2015

Objectives: This paper aims to identify the health related behaviors patterns and its associated factors among marriage immigrant women in Korea, and discusses their application to health promotion strategies. Methods: The study participants were 7,591 immigrant wives in Gyeonggi province who participated in health examinations conducted by the Korea Association of Health Promotion in 2011-2013. The participants completed self-administered questionnaires on sociodemographics, psychological characteristics, health status and health care factors, and health related behaviors. Results: A 3-latent-class model of health behaviors was identified related to 'lack of physical activity', 'abnormal diet', and 'not experienced medical check-up': 'high risk class', 'middle risk class', and 'low risk class'. Most of the participants belong to 'middle risk class'. Country of origin, age, length of stay, number of children, work status, health insurance status, and unmet health care needs were associated with problematic health behaviors in middle risk health behavior class. Conclusions: Health promotion and intervention programs for marriage immigrant women and their family members need to consider the health behavior patterns of physical inactivity, abnormal diet and no medical check-up and develop multiple behavior intervention with pre-existing program modification.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.311-318
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• 2019

Dying alone is an emerging social problem in South Korea. It is reported that most cases of dying alone showed various and chronic health problems. Despite of this situation, there existed neither medical support nor welfare services when dying. It indicated severe health inequality problems. With this background, the purpose of this study was to examine health inequality issue among dying alone cases by using news paper articles during the past three years(2016-2018). Content analysis was employed for 89 dying alone cases. Characteristics of dying alone cases, types of illness and health problems, and unmet medical services were analyzed. Based on the findings, future directions were addressed.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.113-133
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• 2023

Owing to a large-jeopardized myocardium, left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD) represents the substantial high-risk anatomical subset of obstructive coronary artery disease. For several decades, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) has been the "gold standard" treatment for LMCAD. Along with advances in CABG, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has also dramatically evolved over time in conjunction with advances in the stent or device technology, adjunct pharmacotherapy, accumulated experiences, and practice changes, establishing its position as a safe, reasonable treatment option for such a complex disease. Until recently, several randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses, and observational registries comparing PCI and CABG for LMCAD have shown comparable long-term survival with tradeoffs between early and late risk-benefit of each treatment. Despite this, there are still several unmet issues for revascularization strategy and management for LMCAD. This review article summarized updated knowledge on evolution and clinical evidence on the treatment of LMCAD, with a focus on the comparison of state-of-the-art PCI with CABG.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.354-365
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• 2024

Panax species include Panax ginseng Meyer, Panax quinquefolium L., Panax notoginseng, Panax japonicum, Panax trifolium, and Panax pseudoginseng, which contain bioactive components (BCs) such as ginsenosides and polysaccharides. Recently, growing evidence has revealed the pharmacological effects of Panax species and their BCs on allergic airway diseases (AADs), including allergic asthma (AA) and allergic rhinitis (AR). AADs are characterized by damaged epithelium, sustained acquired immune responses with enforced Th2 responses, allergenspecific IgE production, and enhanced production of histamine and leukotrienes by activated mast cells and basophils. In this review, we summarize how Panax species and their BCs modulate acquired immune responses involving interactions between dendritic cells and T cells, reduce the pro-inflammatory responses of epithelial cells, and reduce allergenic responses from basophils and mast cells in vitro. In addition, we highlight the current understanding of the alleviative effects of Panax species and their BCs against AA and AR in vivo. Moreover, we discuss the unmet needs of research and considerations for the treatment of patients to provide basic scientific knowledge for the treatment of AADs using Panax species and their BCs.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.2459-2464
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• 2016

Background: Cancer treatments can have long-term physical, psychological, financial, sexual and cognitive effects that may influence the quality of life. These can vary from urban to rural areas, survival period and according to the type of cancer. We here aimed to describe demographics and psychosocial analysis of cancer survivors three to five years post-treatment in rural Australia and also assess relationships with financial stress and quality of life domains. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 65 participants visiting the outpatient oncology clinic were given a self-administered questionnaire. The inclusion criteria included three to five years post-treatment. Three domains were investigated using standardised and validated tools such as the Standard Quality of Life in Adult Cancer Survivors Scale (QLACS) and the Personal and Household Finances (HILDA) survey. Included were demographic parameters, quality of life, treatment information and well-being. Results: There was no evidence of associations between any demographic variable and either financial stress or cancer-specific quality of life domains. Financial stress was however significantly associated with the cancer-specific quality of life domains of appearance-related concerns, family related distress, and distress related to recurrence. Conclusions: This unique study effectively points to psychosocial aspects of cancer survivors in rural regions of Australia. Although the majority of demographic characteristics were not been found to be associated with financial stress, this latter itself is significantly associated with distress related to family and cancer recurrence. This finding may be of assistance in future studies and also considering plans to fulfil unmet needs.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.148-157
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• 2021

Background: Based on that the key function of health technology is improving the quality of healthcare services, our study purports to explore the process of medical device development in detail and to discuss its policy implications. Methods: A total of 12 in-depth interviews were conducted with four groups of industry, hospital, academia, and civil society. All of the interviewees except those from civil society were involved in the new medical device development between 2009 and 2018. We performed a text network analysis and content analysis of the interview data. Results: The frequency and the degree centrality rankings suggested a close association between the utilization issue and the technology development. Similarly, the results of the content analysis showed that the appropriate intervention in the utilization of technology has a direct impact on the progress of development. Under the continuous industrial effort to boost profits by developing new technology, service providers and citizens should be knowledgeable of and make good use of the new technology for the provision of better services. Conclusion: As the development itself would not guarantee the improvement of service quality and better health outcomes, health technology policies should take a more comprehensive view to serve the unmet needs and even to facilitate the technology development.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.351-361
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• 2021

This study was conducted to identify the factors of hypertension treatment in Gwangju and to establish a hypertension cure rate management plan by using local community health surveys to provide the hypertension cure rate management plan centering around the wellness local community. The research collected 13,714 Gwangju research data among a total of 685,820 local community health surveys of KDCA (Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency) from 2017 to 2019. Among the data, 2,941 subjects, those with diagnosed hypertension aged over 30, were selected and analyzed through SAS 9.4, SAS Enterprise Miner 15.1. The results are as follows. The differences in hypertension diagnosis cure rate in Gwangju based on the subjects' socioeconomic characteristics were shown in gender, age, marital status, level of educational attainment, economic activity status, and monthly income. The significant differences in hypertension cure rate based on health behavior characteristics were shown in current smoking, monthly alcohol consumption, high-risk drinking, breakfast, recognition of good health level, diabetes and treatment, annual unmet medical needs, and annual health center use. As a result of the logistic regression analysis and interactive decision tree analysis to identify the factors affecting hypertension treatment, the research found that the factors that appear are age, marital status, diabetes and treatment, and annual unmet medical needs. Accordingly, to increase the recognition of the importance of hypertension treatment to people of young ages and not to develop complications, public health-educational effort in Gwangju is needed with an effective preparation plan.