• Molecules and Cells
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.338-342
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• 2007

Spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are caused by expansion of (CAG)n triplet repeats. These repeats occur as polymorphic forms in general population; however, beyond a threshold size they become pathogenic. The sizes and distributions of repeats at the SCA1, SCA2, SCA3, SCA7 and DRPLA loci were assessed by molecular analysis of 124 unrelated ataxia patients and 44 controls, and the association of larger normal (LN) alleles with disease prevalence was evaluated. Triplet repeat expansions in the disease range were detected in 8% (10/124) of the cases, with the majority having expansion at the SCA1 locus. Normal allele ranges in the cohort studied were similar to the Caucasian and North Indian populations but differed from the Korean and Japanese populations at various loci. The percentage of individuals with LN alleles at the SCA1 and SCA2 loci was higher than reported in Indians, Japanese and Caucasians. LN alleles showed a good correlation with the incidence of SCA1, indicating that SCA1 is the most prevalent ataxia in our population. The majority of cases with clinical symptoms of SCA could not be diagnosed by established CAG repeat criteria, suggesting that there may be an alternative basis for disease pathogenesis: (i) Repeats lower than the normal range may also result in abnormal phenotypes (ii) LN alleles at different loci in the same individual may contribute to symptoms (iii) Exogenous factors may play a role in triggering disease symptoms in individuals with LN alleles (iv) Triplet repeats may reach the disease range in the brain but not in the blood.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.55-61
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• 2007

Purpose : Fever, the most common presenting symptom in pediatric clinics, has been believed to be a dangerous symptom by many parents. Proper recognition about fever will relieve unnecessary anxiety of parents and help them understand the course of the disease. Our objectives of this study were to investigate current parental recognition about fever and to compare these results with those described in 1992. Methods : Between May and July 2006, we questioned caregivers who visited the pediatric outpatient clinic in St.Paul hospital. The questionnaire consisted of 19 items asking about recognition, attitude and management of fever. Results : A total of 136 caregivers were interviewed. Compared with 10 years ago, there were no significant improvements in misconception about fever. Many caregivers (61%) had wrong information about a definition and the way to measure body temperature. There were still high concerns about febrile convulsion and brain damage from fever. Caregivers started treatment at the body temperature which actually needed no therapy. Conclusion : Parents were not aware that fever is just one of physiologic responses and has benefits, which led to unnecessary anxiety and treatment. This misconception has not been changed over the years. Pediatrician should inform parents that fever itself is not harmful and only rational reason for use of antipyretics is to relieve a discomfort of a febrile child. An educational interventions offered by pediatricians will be helpful for parents to have right attitude and understandings toward fever.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.405-416
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• 2010

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate factors related to the degree of disability of stroke patients in a rural community. Methods: The study subjects included 641 patients selected from 975 stroke patients over the age of 50 with brain lesion-related disabilities living in Gyeongju, Korea, an urban-rural consolidated community. The data were obtained by interviews from July to October 2008. The subjects were divided into a seriously disabled group (1st and 2nd disability grade) and mildly disabled group (3th, 4th, 5th and 6th disability grade) by degree of disability according to registered disability grade. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 14.0 statistical package. Results: The study subjects included 379 males (59.1%) and 262 females (40.9%), and most patients were in their 70s (256 cases, 39.9%). The seriously disabled group included 287 patients (44.8%) and the mildly disabled group included 354 persons (55.2%). Age, prehospital delayed time and number of related chronic diseases were risk factors for serious disability (p<0.05). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the degree of disability can be reduced by decreasing prehospital delayed time. We suggest that education of high risk groups and establishment of emergency services as well as a transport system for stroke patients are required to reduce the degree of disability due to stroke.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1431-1438
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• 2008

The marine algae, Padina arborescens, have been used traditionally for treatment of various brain diseases. However, the molecular studies on the effect of Padina arborescens have not been carried out. In the present study, the protective effect of the water extract of Padina arborescens (PAWE) was researched in $H_2O_2$-treated human vascular endothelial cells, ECV304. ECV304 cells were pre-incubated with PAWE (0, 400, 800, 1,200 and $1,600{\mu}g/m{\ell}$) for 12 h and treated with 500 uM $H_2O_2$ for 12 h, and then the protective effects of PAWE were determined. PAWE recovered the $H_2O_2$-induced cell damage and decreased ROS production in ECV304 cells. Moreover, PAWE increased ERK expression and inhibited p38 and JNK expression. Furthermore, PAWE dosedependently increased the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and the HO-1 expression was reduced by ERK inhibitor treatment in $H_2O_2$-treated EVC304 cells. These results suggested that protective effect of PAWE on $H_2O_2$-induced oxidative stress in ECV304 cells might be associated with the production of HO-1 through the ERK signal pathway.

• Journal of the Korean Data and Information Science Society
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.1027-1041
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• 2017

Hyperlipidemia, the status of blood with high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), is known as a main cause of coronary artery diseases such as myocardiac infarction or brain infarct. Statin is the representative prescription to hyperlipidemia and the effects of it depend on the patient's individual conditions such as health-caring habits or adherence to medication. The main effect of statin is reducing LDL-C, which should reach the target range based on National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) guideline. In this research, the reduction of LDL-C and attainment to patient's target range are considered effects of statin. The association between factors - individual conditions and adherence to medication of patients - and the effects of statin is analyzed with National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC).

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.123-135
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• 2005

Objectives:EEG coherence could imply the connectivity between two different areas of the brain, which is known to be important in the pathophysiology of bipolar I disorder(BPD I) and schizophrenia. The authors investigated EEG coherence in patients with BPD I and schizophrenia to examine the connectivity of the neural circuit. Methods:EEGs were recorded in 15 schizophrenia and 14 bipolar disorder patients, and 14 age-matched normal control subjects from 16 electrodes with linked-ear reference. Spectral parameters and coherence were calculated for the alpha bandwidth(8-13Hz) by a multi-channel autoregressive model using 20 artifact-free 2-seconds epochs and the differences were compared among three groups by two different statistical methods;F-test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Furthermore, when there were significant differences among three groups, Scheffe's multiple comparison tests were provided and Jonckheere-Terpstra tests for the ordered alternative were given. Results:In the intra-hemispheric comparison, left frontal coherence was increased in order of control, BPD I and schizophrenia. In the inter-hemispheric comparison, 1) inter-prefrontal coherence in BPD I was signifi- cantly higher than in normal controls, and 2) inter-prefrontal coherence in schizophrenia was significantly lower than in controls. Conclusion:These results suggest that 1) both schizophrenia and BPD I are diseases having the abnormality of neural circuit connectivity in both frontal and prefrontal lobes, and 2) the abnormality is more severe in schizophrenia than in BPD I. Furthermore, the data support that a common pathogenetic process may reside in both schizophrenia and BPD I.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 2015

Dendritic cells play an important role in determining whether na${\ddot{i}}$ve T cells mature into either Th1 or Th2 cells. We determined whether heat-shock protein X (HspX) purified from Mycobacterium tuberculosis regulates the Th1/Th2 immune response in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine model of asthma. HspX increased interferon-gamma, IL-17A, -12 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-${\beta}$ production and T-bet gene expression but reduced IL-13 production and GATA-3 gene expression. HspX also inhibited asthmatic reactions as demonstrated by an increase in the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, inflammatory cell infiltration in lung tissues, airway luminal narrowing, and airway hyper-responsiveness. Furthermore, HspX enhanced OVA-induced decrease of regulatory T cells in the mediastinal lymph nodes. This study provides evidence that HspX plays critical roles in the amelioration of asthmatic inflammation in mice. These findings provide new insights into the immunotherapeutic role of HspX with respect to its effects on a murine model of asthma.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.141-148
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• 2012

Purpose : Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt insertion is an important treatment modality in children with hydrocephalus. VP shunt infection is a major complication and an important factor that determines the surgery outcome. This 15-year study was performed to evaluate the epidemiology of VP shunt infections in pediatric patients treated at our center. Methods : A retrospective review of medical records was performed in patients 18 years old or younger who underwent VP shunt insertion surgery from April 1995 to June 2010. Results : Three hundred twenty-seven VP shunt surgeries were performed in a total of 190 pediatric patients (83 females, 107 males). The median age of the patients was 2.4 years (range, 0.02-17.9 years). Having a malignant brain tumor was the most frequent cause for VP shunt insertion. The shunt infection rate was 6.7% (22/327) per 100 operations and 9.5% (18/190) per 100 patients, and the incidence rate was 0.45 infection cases per 100 shunt operations-year. The most common pathogen was coagulase-negative staphylococcus (n=7) followed by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n=1). Ten cases were treated with vancomycin and beta-lactam antibiotic (cephalosporin or carbapenem) combination therapy and 7 cases were treated with vancomycin monotherapy. The median duration of antibiotic treatment was 26 days (range, 7 to 58 days). Surgical intervention was performed in 18 cases (18/22, 81.8%). Conclusion : Epidemiologic information regarding VP shunt infections in pediatric patients is valuable that will help guide proper antibiotic management. Additional studies on the risk factors for developing VP shunt infections are also warranted.

• Korean Journal of Digital Imaging in Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigated the usefulness of MR perfusion image comparing with SPECT image. A total of pediatric 30 patients(average age : 7.8) with Moyamoya disease were performed MR Perfusion with 32 channel body coil at 3T from March 01, 2010 to June 10, 2010. The MRI sequences and parameters were as followed : gradient Echo-planar imaging(EPI), TR/TE : 2000ms/50ms, FA : $90^{\circ}$, FOV : $240{\times}240$, Matrix : $128{\times}128$, Thickness : 5mm, Gap : 1.5mm. Images were obtained contrast agent administrated at a rate of 1mL/sec after scan start 10s with a total of slice 1000 images(50 phase/1 slice). It was measured with visual color image and digitize data using MRDx software(IDL version 6.2) and also, it was compared of measurement with values of normal and abnormal ratio to analyze hemodynamic change, and a comparison between perfusion MR with technique using Warm Color at SPECT examination. On MR perfusion examination, the color images from abnormal region to the red collar with rCBV(relative cerebral blood volume) and rCBF(relative cerebral blood flow) caused by increase cerebral blood flow with brain vascular occlusion in surrounding collateral circulation advancement, the blood speed relatively was depicted slowly with blue in MTT(Mean Transit Time) and TTP(Time to Peak) images. The region which was visible abnormally from MR perfusion examination visually were detected as comparison with the same SPECT examination region, would be able to confirm the identical results in MMD(Moyamoya disease)judgments. Hymo-dynamic change in MR perfusion examination produced by increase and delay cerebral blood flow. This change with digitize data and being color imaging makes enable to distinguish between normal and abnormal area. Relatively, MR perfusion examination compared with SPECT examination could bring an excellent image with spatial resolution without radiation expose.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.57-64
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• 2011

Objectives : The aim of this study is to overview the current status of Cochrane systematic review of acupuncture. Methods : Published Cochrane systematic reviews and protocols for evaluating acupuncture and/or moxibustion were searched by the terms 'acupuncture' and 'moxibustion' in Issue 1, Cochrane Library, 2011. Only reviews or protocols that regarded acupuncture or moxibustion as primary methods of intervention in their reviews were included. Data regarding first author national affiliation, intervention and disease, as well as the number of reviews or protocols that included Korean, Chinese, or Japanese databases in search strategies were obtained. Results : We found 92 hits at screening, and 59 studies were eligible for this review. Included interventions were acupuncture (n=56), auricular acupuncture (n=2), and moxibustion (n=1) for various diseases and conditions. The number of publications of Cochrane systematic reviews or protocols increased gradually from 2002 to 2011. First authors' affiliations were located in China (n=32), Australia (n=8), UK (n=7), Canada (n=4), U.S. (n=4), Germany (n=2), Norway, (n=1) and Korea (n=1). 44, four and four Cochrane reviews adopted Chinese, Korean and Japanese databases, respectively. Conclusions : Search strategies in a substantial number of Cochrane reviews or protocols for acupuncture and moxibustion heavily relied on Chinese databases. Korean databases were underused in existing Cochrane reviews and protocols, and Korean authors were much less involved in the Cochrane systematic reviews or protocols than Chinese authors. Further studies need to be conducted in order to incorporate evidence of acupuncture reported in Korean databases into the Cochrane systematic reviews.