• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.253-262
• /
• 1994

The patterns of the conventional radiation treatment fields and their shielding blocks are analysed to determine the optimal dimension of the MultiLeaf Collimator (MLC) which is considered as an essential tool for conformal therapy. Total 1109 radiation fields from 303 patients (203 from Asan Medical center, 50 from Baek Hosp and 50 from Hanyang Univ. Hosp.) were analysed for this study. Weighted case selection treatment site (from The Korean Society of Therapeutic Radiology 1993). Ninety one percent of total fields have shielding blocks. Y axis is defined as leaf movement direction and it is assumed that MLC is installed on the cranial-caudal direction. The length of X axis were distributed from 4cm to 40cm (less than 21cm for $95\%$ of cases), and Y axis from 5cm to 38cm (less than 22cm for $95\%$ of cases). The shielding blocks extended to less than 6cm from center of the field for $95\%$ of the cases. Start length for ninety five percent of block is less than 10cm for X axis and 11cm for Y axis. Seventy six percent of shielding blocks could be placed by either X or Y axis direction, $7.9\%$ only by Y axis, $5.1\%$ only by X axis and It is reasonable to install MLC for Y direction. Ninety five percent of patients can be treated with coplanar rotation therapy without changing the collimator angle. Eleven percent of cases of cases were impossible to replace with MLC. Futher study of shielding technique is needed for $11\%$ impossible cases. The treatment field dimension of MLC should be larger than $21cm{\times}22cm$. The MLC should be designed as a pair of 21 leaves with 1cm wide for an acceptable resolution and 17cm long to enable the leaf to overtravel at least 6cm from the treatment field center.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.329-336
• /
• 2016

Background: Guidelines for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) in the West allow the continued use of warfarin under therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) level. In Korea, no guidelines have been issued regarding warfarin treatment before EGD. The authors surveyed Korean cardiac surgeons about how Korean cardiac surgeons handle warfarin therapy before EGD using a questionnaire. Participants were requested to make decisions regarding the continuation of warfarin therapy in two hypothetical cases. Methods: The questionnaire was administered to cardiac surgeons and consisted of eight questions, including two case scenarios. Results: Thirty- six cardiac surgeons at 28 hospitals participated in the survey, and 52.7% of the participants chose to stop warfarin before EGD in aortic valve replacement patients without risk factors for thromboembolism. When the patient's INR level was 2, 31% of the participants indicated that they would choose to continue warfarin therapy. For EGD with biopsy, 72.2% of the participants chose warfarin withdrawal, and 25% of the participants chose heparin replacement. In mitral valve replacement patients, 47.2% of the participants chose to discontinue warfarin, and 22.2% of the participants chose heparin replacement. For EGD with biopsy in patients with a mitral valve replacement, 58.3% of the participants chose to stop warfarin, and 41.7% of the participants chose heparin replacement. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that attitudes regarding warfarin treatment for EGD are very different among Korean surgeons. Guidelines specific to the Korean population are required.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
• /
• v.58 no.5
• /
• pp.349-356
• /
• 2014

With the advent of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), the perceptions of HIV therapy have changed from treating acute and terminal diseases to managing complex chronic diseases. Due to needs for specialists with professional knowledge on anti-retroviral therapies, pharmacists have been recognized as established and integral members in HIV multi-disciplinary care teams. Nevertheless, the roles of Korean pharmacists for HIV/AIDS therapy were highly limited. According to the transition of '2+4'-year pharmacy school curricula in Korea, it is necessary for pharmacy students to possess improved knowledge about and proper attitudes toward HIV/AIDS as future pharmacists. However, there have been little studies regarding the assessment of HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and risk perceptions of pharmacy students in Korea. Thus, this study was to examine Korean pharmacy students' knowledge levels, attitudes, and risk perceptions about HIV/AIDS and compare them according to pharmacy educational systems. The self-reported questionnaire was utilized to collect data. Total 238 students responded to the survey questionnaires. Most pharmacy students who participated in this study knew that the main transmission routes of HIV were unprotected sex, unscreened blood, occupational exposure, and intravenous drug use. However, they did not properly know post exposure prophylaxis for HIV. The pharmacy students under '2+4'-year curricula were more competent with treatment, care, counseling for HIV patients than those under 4-year curricula. Most pharmacy students thought that all healthcare students and professionals should receive mandatory HIV testings. The results from this study may contribute to developing new educational programs about HIV/AIDS. Additionally, further studies regarding the changes of Korean pharmacy students' attitudes and risk perceptions will need to be performed after they participate in these kinds of the programs.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.50 no.4
• /
• pp.391-398
• /
• 2018

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an attractive resource for refractory patients because of their anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory capability and multi-lineage differentiation potential. The transplantation of MSCs has led to positive results in preclinical and clinical application to various diseases, including autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, liver cirrhosis, and ischemic stroke. On the other hand, studies have shown that paracrine factors, not direct cell replacement for damaged cells or tissue, are the main contributors in MSC-based therapy. More recently, evidence has indicated that MSC-derived exosomes play crucial roles in regulating the paracrine factors that can mediate tissue regeneration via transferring nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids to the local microenvironment and cell-to-cell communication. The use of these exosomes is likely to be beneficial for the therapeutic application of MSCs because their use can avoid harmful effects, such as tumor formation involved in cell transplantation. Therefore, therapeutic applications using MSC-derived exosomes might be safe and efficient strategies for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. This review summarizes the recent advances and provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of MSC-derived exosomes as a therapeutic agent.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.175-190
• /
• 2007

Purpose: Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs or pockets within or on the surface of an ovary. Most cysts present little or no discomfort and are noncancerous and harmless. So non-surgical treatments with herbal medicine or acupuncture and moxa therapy are important and suitable in this pathology. But there are few RCT articles about ovarian cyst in Korean Medicine(KM) clinical and research field. Methods: To review treatment method and other research tendency about ovarian cyst in journals related with KM and Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) through web-searching. Searching was done through web site #http://omis.ksucc.ac.kr# and pub-med(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez) with key words #ovarian cyst#, #TCM#, #herb#, #CAM#, and #acupuncture#. Results: Seven articles were searched in journals related with KM, then six of them were simple case report and the other one was about diagnosis for ovarian cyst and another gynecologic disease such as uterine myoma and infertility through the iris diagnosis. And two articles were searched in journals related with TCM, then one of them was simple case report but the other is RCT article. Conclusion: KM and TCM therapies have some beneficial effect to resolve cyst, but objective power as a evidence is weak in the viewpoint of EBM. So continuous clinical trials such as RCT and multi center trials are needed.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.146-148
• /
• 2002

Progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is a multi-systemic disorder characterized by abundant fibrosis of the skin, blood vessels, and visceral organs. But it rarely affects the peripheral nervous system. We report a 36-year-old man of painful trigeminal neuropathy as a complication of PSS. He was referred from Rheumatology for the evaluation of abruptly developed bilateral facial pain. He had facial hypesthesia and paresthesia on neurologic examinations. In the blink reflex, ipsilateral and contralateral R1 and R2 responses were not detected during bilateral supraorbital stimulation. But normal latency and CMAP amplitude of facial NCV were found. Under the impression of trigeminal neuropathy caused by PSS, steroid therapy was tried, and his clinical symptoms and electrophysiologic findings were improved. PSS could be the cause of the painful trigeminal neuropathy.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.134-149
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Dysmenorrhea is a common gynecologic condition among reproductive-age women. It consisted with menstrual clamps and other symptoms such as nausea. vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Pain control for this disease mainly through NASIDs. but recently CAM therapies, acupuncture and others for painful menstruation are widely used in western countries. But RCT articles about dysmenorrhea in Korea, are not enough to lead such global research trends. The purpose of this study is to review treatment method and other research tendency about dysmenorrhea in Korean Medicine(KM) related dominant journals. Methods: Searching was done through web site and directly searched dysmenorrhea related articles in journals of Korean medicine Gynecology, published during 1996-2007. Results: Twenty five articles were searched in KM related journals, then two of them were simple case report and ten were paper of clinical trials. But there no RCT or control group-designed study. All of them present positive effect on dysmenorrhea but drop out rates were relatively high. Conclusion: KM therapies including acupuncture and herbal medicine have some beneficial effect to resolve menstrual cramps, but KM therapy related Korean articles don't have strong objective power as a evidence in the viewpoint of EBM. So continuous clinical trials such as RCT and multi center trials are needed.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.33 no.1
• /
• pp.48-51
• /
• 2016

Milk-alkali syndrome (MAS), a triad of hypercalcemia, metabolic alkalosis, and renal failure, is associated with ingestion of large amounts of calcium and absorbable alkali. MAS is the third most common cause of hypercalcemia in hospital, after primary hyperparathyroidism and malignant neoplasm. MAS is not often reported in the Korean literature. We describe MAS secondary to intake of calcium citrate for the treatment of osteoporosis with thoracic spine compression fracture. A 70-year-old man presented to our hospital with a 1-week history of general weakness and lethargy. He was found with acute kidney injury (serum creatinine, 4.6 mg/dL), hypercalcemia (total calcium, 14.8 mg/dL), and alkalosis. Laboratory evaluation excluded both hyperparathyroidism and malignancy. Mental status and serum calcium level was normalized within a week after proper hydration and intravenous administration of furosemide. However, he developed aspiration pneumonia, pseudomembranous colitis, and sepsis with multi-organ failure. Despite intensive treatment including inotropics, mechanical ventilation, and renal replacement therapy, he expired with no signs of renal recovery on the 28th hospital day.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.48 no.8
• /
• pp.454-460
• /
• 2015

Naturally occurring reoviruses are live replication-proficient viruses that specifically infect human cancer cells while sparing their normal counterpart. Since the discovery of reoviruses in 1950s, they have shown various degrees of safety and efficacy in pre-clinical or clinical applications for human anti-cancer therapeutics. I have recently discovered that cellular tumor suppressor genes are also important in determining reoviral tropism. Carcinogenesis is a multi-step process involving the accumulation of both oncogene and tumor suppressor gene abnormalities. Reoviruses can exploit abnormal cellular tumor suppressor signaling for their oncolytic specificity and efficacy. Many tumor suppressor genes such as p53, ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), and retinoblastoma associated (RB) are known to play important roles in genomic fidelity/maintenance. Thus, a tumor suppressor gene abnormality could affect host genomic integrity and likely disrupt intact antiviral networks due to the accumulation of genetic defects which in turn could result in oncolytic reovirus susceptibility. This review outlines the discovery of oncolytic reovirus strains, recent progresses in elucidating the molecular connection between oncogene/tumor suppressor gene abnormalities and reoviral oncotropism, and their clinical implications. Future directions in the utility of reovirus virotherapy is also proposed in this review. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(8): 454-460]

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
• /
• 2002.09a
• /
• pp.305-308
• /
• 2002

More complex radiotherapy techniques using multi leaf collimation(MLC) such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy(IMRT) has been increasing the significance of verification of leaf position and motion. Due to the reliability and robustness, quality assurance(QA) of MLC is usually performed with portal films. However, the advantage of ease of use and capability of providing digital data of electronic portal imaging devices(EPIDs) have attracted many attentions as alternatives of films for routine quality assurance in spite of the concerns about their clinical feasibility, efficacy, and the cost to benefit ratio. In our work, the method of routine QA of MLC using electronic portal imaging(EPI) was developed. The verification of availability of EPI images for routine QA was performed by comparison with those of the portal films which were simultaneously obtained when radiation was delivered and known prescription input to MLC controller. Specially designed test patterns of dynamic MLC were applied to image acquisition. Quantitative off-line analysis using edge detection algorithm enhanced the verification procedure in addition to on-line qualitative visual assessment. In conclusion, the EPI is available enough for routine QA with the accuracy of portal films.