• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2012

The radial artery superficial palmar branch free flap is based on the perforators of the superficial palmar branch of the radial artery and its venae comitantes. This flap can be used as a sensible flap including palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve. Forty radial artery superficial palmar branch free flaps were performed at Centum Institute during October 2010 to December 2011. There were 32 males and 8 females and their mean age were 48 years (range 30 to 66 years). The thumb injured in 13 patients, the index finger in 16 patients, the middle finger in 4 patients, the ring finger in 2 patients, and the little finger in 5 patients. The mean size of the flap was $2.5{\times}3.5$ cm(range $2{\times}2.5$ to $3{\times}7$ cm). The donor site was always closed primarily. The overall survival rate was 90.2 percent. The flaps showed well-padded tissue with glabrous skin. All patients have touch sensation and showed 12 mm two point discrimination in an average(range 8 to 15 mm). Donor site morbidity was conspicuous. One patient showed unsightly scar. Early postoperative range of motion of the affected thumb showed slightly limited radial and palmar abduction. But it improved after postoperative 2 months, and patients did not complaint limitation of motion. In conclusion, the radial artery superficial palmar branch free flap can be used as an option for soft tissue reconstruction of finger defects where local or island flaps are unsuitable.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.85-88
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• 2010

We analyzed parasitic diseases diagnosed by tissue biopsy specimens at KyungHee Medical Center (KMC) from 1984 to 2005. The total number of parasite infection cases was 150 (0.07%) out of the total 211,859 biopsy specimens submitted for histopathological examinations. They consisted of 62 cysticercosis, 23 sparganosis, 16 paragonimiasis, 15 amebiasis, 11 anisakiasis, 11 clonorchiasis, 3 ascariasis, 2 scabies, 2 enterobiasis, 2 trichuriasis, 1 leishmaniasis, 1 taeniasis, and 1 thelaziasis. Out of 62 cysticercosis cases, 55 were detected in subcutaneous tissues or the central nerve system. Eighteen out of 23 sparganosis cases were involved in muscular and subcutaneous tissues. In most anisakiasis cases, the involved organ was the stomach. The lung and the pleura were the most common site of paragonimiasis. The incidence of parasitic diseases during the first 5 years (1984-1988) was the highest of all observed periods. After 1989, similar incidences were shown throughout the period. Whereas cysticercosis was diagnosed in 34 cases during 1984-1988, no case has been diagnosed since 2000. In the case of sparganosis, the chronological incidence was almost uniform throughout the period 1984-2005. Paragonimiasis showed a similar tendency to cysticercosis. In gender and age distribution of parasitic diseases, men showed higher incidence rates than females, and the age groups of the 40s or older indicated higher infection frequencies than other age groups. Therefore, these results are a significant report to appear the tendency of human parasitic disease diagnosed by tissue biopsy in association with parasitosis at KMC in Seoul.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.268-268
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• 2006

Due to their multipotency, stem cells can differentiate into a variety of specialized cell types, such as chondrocytes, osteoblasts, myoblasts, and nerve cells. As an alternative to mature tissue cells, stem cells are of importance in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Since interactions between scaffold and cells play an important role in the tissue development in vitro, synthetic oligopeptides have been immobilized onto polymeric scaffolds to improve specific cell attachment and even to stimulate cell differentiation. In this study, chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells was evaluated using surface-modified PLLA scaffolds, i.e., either hydrophilic acrylic acid (AA)-grafted PLLA or RGD-immobilized one. Porous PLLA scaffolds were prepared using a gas foaming method, followed by plasma treatment and subsequent grafting of AA to introduce a hydrophilicity (PLLA-PAA). This was further processed to fix RGD peptide to make an RGD-immobilized scaffold (PLLA-PAA-RGD). Stem cells were seeded at $1{\times}10^{6}$ cells per scaffold and the cell-PLLA constructs were cultured for up to 4 weeks in the chondrogenic medium. Using these surface-modified scaffolds, adhesion, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells were evaluated. The surface of PLLA scaffolds turned hydrophilic (water contact angle, 45 degrees) with both plasma treatment and AA grafting. The hydrophilicity of RGD-immobilized surface was not significantly altered. Cell proliferation rate on the either PLLA-PAA or PLLA-PAA-RGD surface was obviously improved, especially with the RGD-immobilized one as compared to the control PLLA one. Chondrogenic differentiation was clearly identified with Safranin O staining of GAG in the AA- or RGD-grafted PLLA substrates. This study demonstrated that modified polymer surfaces may provide better environment for chondrogenesis of stem cells.

• Journal of fish pathology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2003

The infection characteristics with scuticociliates at on-land rearing farms and hatcheries of flounder, Paralithys olivaceus was investigated during the year of 2001 by juvenile infection routes. When culture tanks for living food organisms such as chlorella, rotifer, and Artemia were searched, scuticocilates were detected both in live and dead rotifer, and at the dregs of culture tank bottoms at almost hatcheries. When rotifer infected with scuticocilates fed on fish larvae, lots of scuticocilate were inhabited at the bottom of fry rearing tanks. After feeding on scuticocilates-infected rotifer on fish larvae, first infection was detected at 10 days after bottom dwelling or 40 days old after hatching. By histopathological examination we confirmed the infection route of eyeball or brain contamination was that the ciliate worms digged through mouth and front part of the dosal fin cuticle, transferred into eyeball along the epithelium and muscle tissue, and reached finally into brain by the muscle and nerve tissue. The infection of internal organs was clarified into two routes. The first route was started from the infection at ventral and anal fin rays by the worms, and reached at the anus and rectum through the epithelium and muscle tissue. The second route was initiated from the infection at urinary organ and reached into the rectum epithelium cells, inner wall of intestine, abdominal cavity, pancreas, kidney, and pancreas. At seed production farms where fish larvae fed on scuticocilate-free rotifer, the worms were not detected not only at the food organisms culture tanks and juvenile rearing tanks but also larval flounder less than 7cm in total length.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.107-116
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• 2004

Flaps are necessary, when important structures such as bone, tendon, nerve and vessel are exposed. Arterialized venous free flap is suited to the coverage of finger and hand because the thickness of venous flap is thin. Authors performed 65 cases arterialized venous free flap for the soft tissue reconstruction of the hand and finger. The size of donor defect were from $1{\times}1cm\;to\;7{\times}12cm$. The mean flap area was $9.1cm^2$. The recipient sites were finger tip in 34 cases, finger shaft in 29 cases and hand in 2 cases. The donor sites were volar aspect of distal forearm in 40 cases, thenar area in 17 cases and foot dorsum in 6 cases. The types of arterialized venous free flap were A-A type in 4 cases and A-V type in 61 cases. The length of afferent vein was from 0.5 cm to 3 cm (mean 1.7 cm) and efferent vein was from 1 cm to 10 cm (mean 2.2 cm). 58 flaps(89.2%) survived eventually. 42 flaps(64.6%) survived totally without any complication. 8 flaps(12.3%) showed the partial necrosis but they were healed without any additional operations. 8 flaps (12.3%) showed the partial necrosis requiring the additional skin graft. We had a satisfactory result by using arterialized venous free flap for the soft tissue reconstruction of finger and hand. We believe that volar aspect of distal forearm, thenar area, foot dorsum are suited as a donor site and the short length of the flap pedicle, the strong arterail inflow affect the survival rate of arterialized venous free flaps.

• The Journal of the Korean bone and joint tumor society
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.89-97
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• 1997

Twenty hundred and five out of 266 patients who were registered in Korea Cancer Center Hospital from Mar. 1985 to Jan. 1994, were analyzed in the aspect of survival and local recurrence. Fifty one patients were excluded due to inadequate data and follow up. Prognostic factors for survival were evaluated statistically. One hundred and four cases were male, 101 female. Average age was 39.7(range 1 to 77) year with a peak incidence around 4th decade. The most frequent diagnosis was malignant fibrous histiocytoma(MFH)(24.1%). Liposarcoma, synovial sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor and fibrosarcoma were relatively common diagnostic entities, in decreasing order. In location, extremity was 179(87.3%) and trunk 26(12.7%). Average follow up period was 7.5 years(6 months to 10 years). Actuarial 5 years and 10 years survival rate were 64.0% and 40.8% respectively. In univariate analysis with log-lank test, significant differences in survival rate were noted in histopathological diagnosis, size(10 cm), stage and metastasis. Age, sex, tumor location, tumor depth and local recurrence didn't affect the survival rate. Adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy did not affect overall survival rate, but lowered the local recurrence rate when compared with surgery only. Surgical margin did not affect the survival rate, but local recurrence rate was different according to each margin; 5.7% in more than wide; 39.5% in marginal; and 60.0% in intralesional excision. In multivariate analysis for results of univariate analysis with Cox's propotional model, metastasis was a meaningful factor for survival of soft tissue sarcoma.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.423-433
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• 2024

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are a type of adult stem cell present in the dental pulp tissue. They possess a higher proliferative capacity than bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Their ease of collection from patients makes them well-suited for tissue engineering applications, such as tooth and nerve regeneration. Chios gum mastic (CGM), a resin extracted from the stems and leaves of Pistacia lentiscus var. Chia, has garnered attention for its potential in tissue regeneration. This study aims to confirm alterations in cell proliferation rates and induce differentiation in human DPSCs (hDPSCs) through CGM treatment, a substance known for effectively promoting odontogenic differentiation. Administration of CGM to hDPSC cells was followed by an assessment of cell survival, proliferation, and odontogenic differentiation through protein and gene analysis. The study revealed that hDPSCs exhibited low sensitivity to CGM toxicity. CGM treatment induced cell proliferation by activating cell-cycle proteins through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Additionally, the study demonstrated that CGM enhances alkaline phosphatase activation by upregulating the expression of collagen type I, a representative matrix protein of dentin. This activation of markers associated with odontogenic and bone differentiation ultimately facilitated the mineralization of hDPSCs. This study concludes that CGM, as a natural substance, fosters the cell cycle and cell proliferation in hDPSCs. Furthermore, it triggers the transcription of odontogenic and osteogenic markers, thereby facilitating odontogenic differentiation.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.53-61
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• 2017

Myogenous temporomandibular disorder is a collective term for pathologic conditions of the masticatory muscles, mainly characterized by pain and dysfunction associated with various pathophysiological processes. Among the subtypes of myogenous temporomandibular disorder, myofascial pain is one of the most common muscle disorders, characterized by the presence of trigger points (TrPs). Various modalities, such as ultrasound, manipulative therapy, spray-and-stretch technique, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, injection/dry needling, and low-level laser therapy are used to inactivate TrPs. Needling/injection on the TrPs is one of the most common treatments for myofascial pain. Despite the evidence, there is continued controversy over defining the biological and clinical characteristics of TrPs and the efficacy of injection/dry needling. This review discusses the current concept of injection/needling to relieve TrPs.

• Ceramist
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.216-232
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• 2018

The average life span is over 80 years of age, and various biomaterials have being studied. Many research institutes and companies around the world have been commercializing bioactive glass through R&D, however, there is not much research in Korea. Most bioactive glass is applied to bone regeneration in powder form due to its excellent bio-compatibility. Recently, new applications such as scaffolds for tissue engineering and nerve regeneration have been found in composite form. The global market size is not as large as US $ 556 million in 2019, but the growth rate is very high at a CAGR of 14.35 %. This field is waiting for the challenge of new researchers.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.86-89
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• 2013

The neuroma is a tumor of nerve tissue that partially or completely severed through incomplete regeneration process. Neuromas that formed in the stump of a limb following amputation is a cause of the stump pain and can make intractable pain. The authors report a rare case of 36-year-old man with neuroma at stump, which has been recurred three times. This patient was treated with end-to-end neurorrhaphy after resecting neuroma. Follow-up at out-patient clinic showed satisfied result.