Meta-analysis: Sequential therapy is superior to conventional therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection in Korea.

Background/aims: Conventional triple therapy (CT) for Helicobacter pylori infection fails in up to one-third of patients. Sequential therapy (ST) seem be more effective than CT in other countries. However, there is no systemic literature review that directly compares CT and ST in Korea.

CDA: combinatorial drug discovery using transcriptional response modules.

Background: Anticancer therapies that target single signal transduction pathways often fail to prevent proliferation of cancer cells because of overlapping functions and cross-talk between different signaling pathways. Recent research has identified that balanced multi-component therapies might be more efficacious than highly specific single component therapies in certain cases. Ideally, synergistic combinations can provide 1) increased efficacy of the therapeutic effect 2) reduced toxicity as a result of decreased dosage providing equivalent or increased efficacy 3) the avoidance or delayed onset of drug resistance.

Rational drug repositioning guided by an integrated pharmacological network of protein, disease and drug.

Background: The process of drug discovery and development is time-consuming and costly, and the probability of success is low. Therefore, there is rising interest in repositioning existing drugs for new medical indications. When successful, this process reduces the risk of failure and costs associated with de novo drug development.

[A comparative cross-sectional study of the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B virus, alcohol, or combination of hepatitis b virus and alcohol].

Background/aims: Alcohol may be a cocarcinogen in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. We investigated the effect of alcohol on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in liver cirrhosis (LC) caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods: All patients with LC or HCC associated with HBV or alcohol, admitted between March 2001 and June 2005, were included.

Thalidomide for treating metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma: a pilot study.

Background: Thalidomide has been reported to have antitumor activity for treating metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We evaluated the safety and efficacy of using thalidomide for treating selected patients with unresectable or metastatic HCC, and their disease was refractory to systemic chemotherapy.

Methods: Eight patients with measurable and metastatic HCC that had progressed with prior systemic chemotherapy and who desired further active therapy were enrolled in this study.

QTL mapping and molecular marker analysis for the resistance of rice to ozone.

The resistance of rice to ozone (O3) is a quantitative trait controlled by nuclear genes. The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and analysis of molecular markers of O3 resistance is important for increasing the resistance of rice to O3 stress. QTL associated with the O3 resistance of rice were mapped on chromosomes 1, 7 and 11 using 164 recombinant inbred (RI) lines from a cross between 'Milyang 23' and 'Gihobyeo'.