INTRAVITREAL ANTI-VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR TREATMENT IN PATIENTS WITH NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION AND POOR VISUAL ACUITY.

Purpose: To investigate the significance of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and poor visual acuity.

Methods: Retrospective study of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration with baseline best-corrected visual acuity of ≤20/200. Patients were divided into regular treatment and scarce treatment groups according to whether they underwent consecutive intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatments at intervals of ≤4 months or not.

Prevalence and natural course of incidental gastric subepithelial tumors.

Background/aims: Gastric subepithelial tumors (SETs) are often encountered during the upper gastrointestinal endoscopic screening. We assessed the prevalence of gastric SETs and the risk factors for their progression.

Methods: We reviewed the electronic medical records of 30,754 patients who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopic screening at our medical center between January 2013 and December 2016.

Successful Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection Using Open Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Duodenal Neuroendocrine Tumor.

Duodenal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are subepithelial tumors that are difficult to remove endoscopically, particularly when located just beyond the pylorus. This paper reports a case of a successful endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) using open gastric peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for a remnant duodenal NET detected after endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR). A 67-year-old male presented with a 5 mm remnant duodenal NET close to the pylorus after EMR for a duodenal polypoid lesion performed four months earlier.

The efficacy of newly proposed gastric open peroral endoscopic myotomy (GO-POEM) in preventing post-endoscopic submucosal dissection stenosis: A comparison with non-GO-POEM group.

Extensive endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) for gastric adenoma or early cancer can lead to post-ESD stenosis. This may cause a decrease in quality of life and an increase in medical issues. Therefore, this study examined the safety and effectiveness of gastric open peroral endoscopic myotomy (GO-POEM) in preventing stenosis following ESD.

Intravitreal injectable hydrogel rods with long-acting bevacizumab delivery to the retina.

Retinal vascular diseases such as neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) are the leading cause of blindness worldwide. They can be treated with intravitreal injections of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agents by inhibiting VEGF which is a major agent of abnormal blood vessel growth. However, because of drug's short half-life, clinical treatment often requires monthly repeated intravitreal injections, causing treatment burden and undertreatment.

Primary and additional treatment preference in aggressive retinopathy of prematurity and type 1 retinopathy of prematurity.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the preference for antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) versus laser ablation therapy as primary and additional treatment in aggressive retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and type 1 ROP.

Methods: This multicentre retrospective study was conducted at nine medical centres across South Korea. A total of 94 preterm infants with ROP who underwent primary treatment between January 2020 and December 2021 were enrolled.

Cord blood transforming growth factor-β-induced as predictive biomarker of retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants.

Purpose: To determine whether 14 inflammation-, angiogenesis-, and adhesion-related proteins in cord blood (CB), alone or in combination with conventional perinatal factors, could predict retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants.

Methods: Data from 111 preterm infants (born at ≤ 32.0 weeks) were retrospectively reviewed.

Underestimation of endoscopic size in large gastric epithelial neoplasms.

Background/aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is an effective method for resecting gastric adenomas and adenocarcinomas. A significant discrepancy was observed between endoscopic and pathological sizes in samples obtained from patients undergoing ESD. This study elucidates the factors affecting size discrepancy after formalin fixation.

Association of inflammatory and angiogenic biomarkers in maternal plasma with retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants.

Objective: To investigate whether various novel inflammatory and angiogenic biomarkers in maternal plasma, alone or in combination with baseline antenatal factors, could predict retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 140 premature singleton neonates born to women with preterm birth (≤32 weeks) and screened for ROP. Maternal blood obtained at the time of admission was assayed for CRP, endoglin, endostatin, IGFBP-2, IGFBP-3, IL-6, LBP, MMP-8, PlGF, S100A8/A9, TGFBI, and VEGFR-1.

Endoscopic Ultrasonography-guided Gastrojejunostomy for Patients with Gastric Outlet Obstruction and Pyloric Metal Stent Dysfunction.

A 52-year-old woman with a gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) caused by pyloric cancer underwent pyloric endoscopic self-expandable metal stent (SEMS) insertion. She presented with abdominal distension 40 days later. The SEMS was dysfunctional, and endoscopic ultrasound-guided gastrojejunostomy (EUS-GJ) was performed using an endoscopic nasobiliary drainage tube.

Safety and efficacy of prophylactic gastric open peroral endoscopic myotomy for prevention of post-ESD stenosis: A case series (with video).

Objective: Endoscopic resection of over 3/4 of the lumen of the antrum or pylorus is a known risk factor for post-endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) stenosis. Local or systemic steroids may reduce the risk of stenosis, but their overall role in stenosis prevention remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of prophylactic gastric open peroral endoscopic myotomy (GO-POEM) in preventing post-ESD stenosis.

[Cannulation of the Portal Vein during Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in a Patient with Choledocholithiasis].

Cannulation of the portal vein is a rare complication of ERCP. This paper reports a case of portal vein catheterization during ERCP in a patient with choledocholithiasis. A 62-year-old man was admitted to the Presbyterian Medical Center with right upper quadrant pain and jaundice.

Maximal diameter of liver abscess independently predicts prolonged hospitalization and poor prognosis in patients with pyogenic liver abscess.

Background/aims: This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with prolonged hospital stay and in-hospital mortality in patients with pyogenic liver abscess.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from patients with pyogenic liver abscess who were admitted between 2005 and 2018 at three tertiary hospitals in Jeonbuk province, South Korea. Prolonged hospital stay was defined as a duration of hospital admission of more than 21 days.

Data on the microstructure and deformation of FeMnCrCoN supporting the modifications of partial-dislocation-induced defects (PDIDs) and strength/ductility enhancement in metastable high entropy alloys.

The data presented in this article are related to a research paper on the modification of deformed nanostructure and mechanical performance of metastable high entropy alloys (HEAs) [1]. FeMnCrCo alloys with and without nitrogen were synthesized in a vacuum induction furnace using pure metals of 99.99% purity and FeCrN as nitrogen source.

Association between corneal refractive surgery and the prevalence of glaucoma: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2010-2012.

Aim: To determine the relationship between corneal refractive surgery and the prevalence of glaucoma in the Korean population.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), a population-based cross-sectional study using a complex, stratified, multistage, probability-cluster survey. This study included 604 eyes that had undergone myopic corneal refractive surgery, and 3389 control eyes without a history of any ocular surgery and having a spherical equivalent (SE) <-3.

Effects of hyperthermia on the effective concentration of rocuronium and sugammadex-mediated reversal in isolated phrenic nerve hemidiaphragm preparations of rats.

Background: Hyperthermia is relatively rare during general anesthesia; however, a few studies have been conducted on hyperthermia and the neuromuscular blockade (NMB) induced by rocuronium, and the reversal of NMB by sugammadex. We investigated the effect of hyperthermia status on the NMB induced by rocuronium, and its reversal by sugammadex, in isolated phrenic nerve hemidiaphragm (PNHD) preparations of the rat.

Methods: Thirty-three male Sprague-Dawley rat PNHD preparations were randomly assigned to three groups at different temperatures (36 °C, 38 °C, and 40 °C; each group, n = 11, in Krebs solution).

Comparison of Ocular Biometry and Refractive Outcomes Using IOL Master 500, IOL Master 700, and Lenstar LS900.

Purpose: To evaluate the agreement in ocular biometry outcomes measured by three different devices, the IOL Master 500, IOL Master 700, and Lenstar LS900, and compare the refractive outcomes after cataract surgery obtained using those three devices.

Methods: Medical records of 178 eyes of 89 patients who underwent ocular biometry with the three devices were retrospectively reviewed, and 124 eyes met the inclusion criteria. Paired comparisons were performed for axial length (AL), mean keratometry (Km), and anterior chamber depth and quantified their agreement using Bland-Altman plots.

Similarities and Differences Between Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data Systems.

The purposes of this study were to identify the similarities and differences among the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TIRADS), American College of Radiology (ACR) TI-RADS, and European TIRADS and to compare the diagnostic performance of sonographic fine-needle aspiration (FNA) criteria for detecting malignant thyroid nodules. This study included 2274 consecutively evaluated thyroid nodules 1 cm or larger in 1836 patients with final diagnoses from January 2011 to December 2016. US features of the nodules were retrospectively reviewed and classified according to three published guidelines from international societies.

Epidemiological Correlation between Fecal Adenovirus Subgroups and Pediatric Intussusception in Korea.

We investigated the adenoviral etiology and seasonal epidemic trends in intussusception and each adenoviral subgroup. Also we confirmed whether we can use the adenovirus data of Acute Infectious Agents Laboratory Surveillance Report (AIALSR) as an epidemic predictor of intussusception. Patients with intussusception (n = 126), < 5 years old, were enrolled and matched by age and sex with controls suffering acute gastroenteritis without intussusception (n = 106), all recruited at 8 centers.

Nectandrin B, a lignan isolated from nutmeg, inhibits liver X receptor-α-induced hepatic lipogenesis through AMP-activated protein kinase activation.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is recognized as the most commonly occurring chronic liver disease. Liver X receptor α (LXRα) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP)-1c play a central role in de novo fatty acid synthesis. This study investigated pharmacological effects of nectandrin B, a lignan isolated from nutmeg extract, on hepatic lipogenesis stimulated by LXRα-SREBP-1c-mediated pathway and the possible molecular basis.

Zymosan and PMA activate the immune responses of Mutz3-derived dendritic cells synergistically.

Beta-glucan (β-glucan) including zymosan has been known as a super food because of its multifunctional activities, such as the enhancement of immune responses. To study the functional mechanism of β-glucan in immune stimulation, the effect of zymosan on dendritic cell (DC) was investigated by monitoring the production of TNF-α, a pro-inflammatory cytokine. DC was differentiated from Mutz-3, a human acute myeloid leukemia cell line, by cytokine treatment and characterized.

Prognostic Implications of Primary Tumor Resection in Stage IVB Colorectal Cancer in Elderly Patients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify prognostic factors in stage IVB colorectal cancer in elderly patients, focusing on the influence of treatment modalities, including palliative chemotherapy and primary tumor resection.

Methods: A cohort of 64 patients aged over 65 years who presented with stage IVB colorectal cancer at the Gangneung Asan Hospital between July 1, 2001, and December 31, 2009, was analyzed. Demographics, tumor location, tumor grade, performance status, levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and distant metastatic site at diagnosis were analyzed.

Subcontractors and increased risk for work-related diseases and absenteeism.

Background: Despite increasing reliance on subcontracting in many economic sectors, there is little information available on occupational health and safety issues among subcontractor employees. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of subcontracting on self-reported health problems and absences due to occupational accidents and sickness using a nationally representative sample from South Korea.

Methods: The data used were sampled from the second wave of the Korean Working Conditions Survey [2010].

Intracavernous delivery of a designed angiopoietin-1 variant rescues erectile function by enhancing endothelial regeneration in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic mouse.

Objective: Patients with diabetic erectile dysfunction often have severe endothelial dysfunction and respond poorly to oral phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. We examined the effectiveness of the potent angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) variant, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP)-Ang1, in promoting cavernous endothelial regeneration and restoring erectile function in diabetic animals.

Research Design And Methods: Four groups of mice were used: controls; streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice; STZ-induced diabetic mice treated with repeated intracavernous injections of PBS; and STZ-induced diabetic mice treated with COMP-Ang1 protein (days -3 and 0).

Intracavernous delivery of synthetic angiopoietin-1 protein as a novel therapeutic strategy for erectile dysfunction in the type II diabetic db/db mouse.

Introduction: Patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) associated with type II diabetes often have impaired endothelial function and tend to respond poorly to oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. Therefore, neovascularization is a promising strategy for curing diabetic ED.

Aim: To determine the effectiveness of a soluble, stable, and potent angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) variant, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP)-Ang1, in promoting cavernous angiogenesis and erectile function in a mouse model of type II diabetic ED.