Publications by authors named "J-H Ahn"
Historically, the standard of care for advanced biliary tract cancers (aBTCs) was gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GemCis). Immunotherapy plus GemCis is now recommended as a first-line treatment for aBTCs. Whether patients can tolerate eight cycles of GemCis in clinical practice, as per the Advanced Biliary Cancer (ABC)-02 study, remains to be assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has become a standard anti-cancer treatment, offering durable clinical benefits. However, the limited response rate of ICB necessitates biomarkers to predict and modulate the efficacy of the therapy. The gut microbiome's influence on ICB efficacy is of particular interest due to its modifiability through various interventions.
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- The study examines how immunity to COVID-19 has evolved from the pandemic to endemic phases, focusing on the updated XBB.1.5 monovalent vaccine (MonoV).
- Researchers tracked 327 healthcare workers over three years, assessing various immunity responses through blood samples collected at different times.
- Findings reveal that while antibody levels declined initially, they were maintained and even enhanced in the endemic phase, with the MonoV showing significantly improved neutralization against new virus strains compared to previous vaccines.
Background And Objectives: Parkinson disease (PD) shows degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and characteristic changes in brain metabolism. However, how they correlated and affect motor and cognitive dysfunction in PD has not yet been well elucidated.
Methods: In this single-site cross-sectional study, we enrolled patients with PD who underwent -(3-[F]fluoropropyl)-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)nortropane (F-FP-CIT) PET, F-fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) PET, the Movement Disorder Society-sponsored Unified PD Rating Scale examination, and detailed neuropsychological testing.
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- An error grid is a tool that helps compare glucose levels measured by devices to see if they are correct and to identify any risks.
- Experts created a new error grid called the DTS Error Grid that works for both blood glucose monitors (BGMs) and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), organizing accuracy into five risk zones.
- The results showed that the DTS Error Grid provides a clearer picture of how accurate these devices are and includes a separate matrix to evaluate how well CGMs track glucose trends over time.
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- * Results showed that engineered human heart tissues (EHTs) exhibited reduced contractility, more arrhythmias, and damage to cellular structures after returning to Earth.
- * RNA sequencing indicated that spaceflight led to changes in gene expression linked to heart failure, oxidative stress, and inflammation, suggesting that microgravity negatively impacts cardiac health.
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- Researchers conducted a trial comparing edoxaban monotherapy with dual antithrombotic therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation and stable coronary artery disease to assess risks of stroke and other serious outcomes.
- The study involved 1,040 patients, with results showing fewer primary-outcome events in those on edoxaban alone (6.8% vs. 16.2% for dual therapy), indicating it may be safer.
- Although the incidence of major bleeding was higher in the dual therapy group (14.2% vs. 4.7%), the major ischemic events were similar for both treatment groups.
Herpes zoster (HZ), also known as shingles, is caused by the reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Decreased VZV-specific T-cell immune responses significantly contribute to the development of HZ. Shingrix is a recombinant zoster vaccine that is currently used to prevent HZ.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground CT performed for various clinical indications has the potential to predict cardiometabolic diseases. However, the predictive ability of individual CT parameters remains underexplored. Purpose To evaluate the ability of automated CT-derived markers to predict diabetes and associated cardiometabolic comorbidities.
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- The androgen receptor (AR) is a key target for prostate cancer treatments due to its involvement in cancer progression, but current therapies have limitations, prompting the search for new strategies.
- Researchers introduced a new AR degrader called UBX-390, which outperforms existing treatments like ARV-110 and ARCC-4 in lab studies on prostate cancer cells.
- UBX-390 effectively reduces AR activity and gene expression, showing great promise for treating patients with advanced, treatment-resistant prostate cancer.
Background: The Murray law-based quantitative flow ratio (μFR) is an emerging technique that requires only 1 projection of coronary angiography with similar accuracy to quantitative flow ratio (QFR). However, it has not been validated for the evaluation of noninfarct-related artery (non-IRA) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) settings. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of μFR and the safety of deferring non-IRA lesions with μFR >0.
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- Cryoablation is a safe and effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF), but its outcomes may vary by body mass index (BMI) in patients, especially in Asians.
- In a study involving 2,648 patients, underweight individuals had a higher recurrence rate of AF after treatment compared to those with a normal BMI, along with a greater risk of complications like transient phrenic nerve palsy.
- These findings suggest that underweight patients require special attention during and after cryoablation due to increased risks of both AF recurrence and procedural complications.
Background: Despite the availability of effective therapies for patients with chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension (the kidney-dysfunction triad), the results of large-scale trials examining the implementation of guideline-directed therapy to reduce the risk of death and complications in this population are lacking.
Methods: In this open-label, cluster-randomized trial, we assigned 11,182 patients with the kidney-dysfunction triad who were being treated at 141 primary care clinics either to receive an intervention that used a personalized algorithm (based on the patient's electronic health record [EHR]) to identify patients and practice facilitators to assist providers in delivering guideline-based interventions or to receive usual care. The primary outcome was hospitalization for any cause at 1 year.
Background: Although clinical benefits of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with complex coronary artery lesions have been observed in previous trials, the cost-effectiveness of this strategy is uncertain.
Methods: RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance vs Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) was conducted in Korea between May 2018 and May 2021. This prespecified cost-effectiveness substudy was conducted using Markov model that simulated 3 states: (1) post-PCI, (2) spontaneous myocardial infarction, and (3) death.
Various chimeric lysins have been developed as efficacious antibiotics against multidrug-resistant bacteria, but direct comparisons of their antibacterial activities have been difficult due to the preparation of multiple recombinant chimeric lysins. Previously, we reported an cell-free expression method to better screen chimeric lysins against , but we still needed to increase the amounts of expressed proteins enough to be able to detect them non-isotopically for quantity comparisons. In this study, we improved the previous cell-free expression system by adding a previously reported artificial T7 terminator and reversing the different nucleotides between the T7 promoter and start codon to those of the T7 phage.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe aimed to evaluate the feasibility of MR elastography (MRE) using a transpelvic approach. Thirty-one patients who underwent prostate MRE and had a pathological diagnosis were included in this study. MRE was obtained using a passive driver placed at the umbilicus and iliac crests.
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- * Research indicated that a specific compound, 11c, which acts as a peripheral serotonin (5HT) antagonist, demonstrated effectiveness in reducing liver fat and fibrosis in mouse models.
- * Compound 11c shows promising results in various animal studies, indicating its potential as a new therapeutic option for treating MASLD and MASH.
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- The study investigates the impact of minimal stent area on long-term outcomes after using drug-eluting stents in patients with left main (LM) disease treated with a specific "crush" technique.
- Researchers identified critical cutoff values for minimal stent area that could predict the likelihood of major adverse cardiac events over five years: 11.8 mm for distal LM, 8.3 mm for the LAD ostium, and 5.7 mm for the LCX ostium.
- Findings reveal that underexpansion of stents in the LAD and LCX significantly increases the risk of adverse events, indicating the importance of proper stent deployment in improving patient outcomes.
Background: Both first and second-generation EGFR-TKIs are recommended in advanced NSCLC with common EGFR mutations. However, there are few data on the difference in efficacy of EGFR-TKIs based on the type of EGFR mutation and agents.
Methods: This retrospective real-world study evaluated the outcomes and clinicopathologic characteristics, including the type of EGFR mutations, of 237 advanced NSCLC patients treated with first- or second-generation (afatinib) EGFR-TKIs as first-line therapy.
Gaining the ability to audit the behavior of deep learning (DL) denoising models is of crucial importance to prevent potential hallucinations and adversarial clinical consequences. We present a preliminary version of AntiHalluciNet, which is designed to predict spurious structural components embedded in the residual noise from DL denoising models in low-dose CT and assess its feasibility for auditing the behavior of DL denoising models. We created a paired set of structure-embedded and pure noise images and trained AntiHalluciNet to predict spurious structures in the structure-embedded noise images.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI (Randomized Controlled Trial of Intravascular Imaging Guidance Versus Angiography-Guidance on Clinical Outcomes After Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention) demonstrated that intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) improved clinical outcome compared with angiography-guided PCI for patients with complex coronary artery lesions. This study aims to assess whether the prognostic benefit of intravascular imaging-guided procedural optimization persists in patients undergoing PCI for left main coronary artery disease.
Methods: Of 1639 patients enrolled in the RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI, 192 patients with left main coronary artery disease were selected for the current prespecified substudy.
Clinical Outcomes of Deferred Lesions by IVUS Versus FFR-Guided Treatment Decision.
Circ Cardiovasc Interv
December 2023
Background: There are limited data regarding the safety of deferral of percutaneous coronary intervention based on intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) findings. The current study sought to compare the prognosis between deferred lesions based on IVUS and fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided treatment decision.
Methods: This study is a post hoc analysis of the FLAVOUR randomized trial (Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular Ultrasound for Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Intermediate Stenosis) that compared 2-year clinical outcomes between IVUS- and FFR-guided treatment decision on intermediate coronary artery lesions using predefined criteria.
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- The study examines the effectiveness of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided versus angiography-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for non-infarct-related artery lesions in patients with acute myocardial infarction, focusing on severe stenosis.
- Among 562 patients, those receiving FFR-guided PCI had significantly lower rates of adverse outcomes (death, myocardial infarction, or repeat revascularization) compared to those who had angiography-guided PCI, particularly in cases with severe stenosis (≥70%).
- The findings suggest that FFR-guided PCI is superior in reducing complications for both severe (≥70%) and less severe (<70%) non-IRA stenosis, indicating its potential benefit for patients with acute myocardial infarction
Background: Stopping aspirin within 1 month after implantation of a drug-eluting stent for ticagrelor monotherapy has not been exclusively evaluated for patients with acute coronary syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ticagrelor monotherapy after <1 month of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is noninferior to 12 months of ticagrelor-based DAPT for adverse cardiovascular and bleeding events in patients with acute coronary syndrome.
Methods: In this randomized, open-label, noninferiority trial, 2850 patients with acute coronary syndrome who underwent drug-eluting stent implantation at 24 centers in South Korea were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either ticagrelor monotherapy (90 mg twice daily) after <1 month of DAPT (n=1426) or 12 months of ticagrelor-based DAPT (n=1424) between April 24, 2019, and May 31, 2022.
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- The study examines the effects of early left ventricular unloading versus a conventional approach on 30-day mortality in patients with cardiogenic shock undergoing VA-ECMO.
- Conducted from March 2021 to September 2022, it involved 116 patients randomly assigned to either early unloading or the conventional approach, with no significant difference in mortality rates observed between the two groups.
- However, the early unloading group experienced a shorter time to disappearance of pulmonary congestion compared to the conventional group.