A national pharmacoepidemiological study of antibiotic use in Korean paediatric outpatients.

Background: Information on the use of antibiotics in Eastern Asian children is limited. The objectives of this study were to evaluate in Korean paediatric outpatients (1) the nationwide pattern of prescribing antibiotics according to age group and medical institution and (2) the adherence of antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections to both national guidelines and European antibiotic prescribing quality indicators.

Method: This population-based study used the national insurance reimbursement database for 2011.

Ethnic variability in the allelic distribution of pharmacogenes between Korean and other populations.

Objective: We examined the differences in allele frequencies for pharmacogenes among the Korean (KOR), Chinese (CHB), Japanese (JPT), Caucasian (CEU), and Nigerian (YRI) populations.

Methods: Fifty-seven pharmacogenes were selected from the imputed Korean Association REsource and HapMap databases. Minor allele frequencies were analyzed using the sample size-modified single nucleotide polymorphism-specific fixation index (FST) and the χ-test with Bonferroni's correction.

Gamma-irradiation enhances RECK protein levels in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells.

Radiotherapy is an important treatment for many malignant tumors, but there are recent reports that radiation may increase the malignancy of cancer cells by stimulating expression of type IV collagenases. In this study, we examined changes in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitors, such as the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, TIMP-2 and RECK, in response to irradiation in Panc-1 pancreatic cancer cells. Irradiation increased RECK protein levels but not mRNA levels, whereas no significant changes were found in TIMP-1 and TIMP-2.