Reflex and Spontaneous Movements in Pediatric Patients with Brain Death.

Background: Reflex and spontaneous movements are not uncommon in brain death patients. However, most studies have been conducted in adults, while reports in infants and children are rare. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the frequency and characteristics of these movements in pediatric patients declared as brain death.

Causes of donation failure and improvement measures analyzed based on data from domestic deceased donors in 2019.

In 2019, 1,630 organs were recovered from 450 brain death donors nationwide and were transplanted into 1,612 transplant recipients. However, considering that the number of potential brain-dead linked to the Korea Organ Donation Agency (KODA) information center was 2,484, only 18.1% of the linked brain-dead donated successfully.

Factors Affecting the Time Taken to Determine Brain Death in Patients with Impending Brain Death.

Background And Purpose: The increased demand for donor organs has made it crucial to keep the organs of patients with impending brain death (PWIBDs) suitable for transplantation during the process of determining brain death. This study aimed to identify the time taken to determine brain death (TT-BD) in PWIBDs and the associated influencing factors.

Methods: This study analyzed data collected by the Korean Organ Donation Agency from 15 hospitals in the Yeongnam region of South Korea.

Reflex and Spontaneous Movements in Adult Patients during the Process of Determining Brain Death in Korea.

Background: Brain death is a clinical diagnosis that implies irreversible loss of function of the entire brain, including the brainstem and both hemispheres. Based on previous reports, it is not rare for reflex and spontaneous movements to occur in patients during the process of determining brain death. However, reports of the frequency and common types of these movements vary from study to study.

Organ donation in Korea in 2018 and an introduction of the Korea national organ donation system.

A total of 1,503 solid organs were procured from 449 deceased donors in 2018. Although the number of donors was down by 12.8% from the previous year (8.

Safety of Donation From Brain-dead Organ Donors With Central Nervous System Tumors: Analysis of Transplantation Outcomes in Korea.

Background: This study aims to verify the condition of recipients of solid organs from donors with central nervous system (CNS) tumors and determine the risk of disease transmission due to transplantation.

Methods: Twenty-eight brain-dead organ donors with CNS tumors and 91 recipients who received solid organs from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2014 in Korea were investigated using the Korean Network of Organ Sharing data.

Results: Of the 36 recipients of organs from the 11 donors whose pathological results were not verified, 4 developed the following tumors: renal cell carcinoma, carcinoma in situ of the cervix uteri, B-cell lymphoma, and colon cancer.

Clinical outcomes of ABO-incompatible kidney transplant with rituximab and double-filtration plasmapheresis.

Objectives: The best treatment for end-stage renal disease is kidney transplant, but the shortage of donor organs has caused long waiting times for an appropriate organ allograft. The use of ABO-incompatible kidney transplant can be a valuable option to expand the donor pool. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate 13 patients who had successful ABO-incompatible kidney transplant with double-filtration plasmapheresis and rituximab.

Use of early postoperative MAG3 renal scan to predict long-term outcomes of renal transplants.

Objectives: A Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has been used to evaluate perfusion and excretory function of renal allografts. A Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has been reported to correlate with early allograft outcomes. This study was done to determine whether a Tc-99m mercaptoacetyltriglycine renal scan has any relation with long-term renal transplant outcomes.

Cilostazol inhibits high glucose- and angiotensin II-induced type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor expression in artery wall and neointimal region after vascular injury.

Increased expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) in vascular tissues is a potential factor linking diabetes to restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention. Recent studies have shown that cilostazol, a selective type 3 phosphodiesterase inhibitor, prevents neointimal hyperplasia and in-stent thrombosis in patients with diabetes after coronary angioplasty and stent implantation. However, the molecular mechanism of this drug has not been fully elucidated.

A case of sparganosis mimicking a varicose vein.

Recent advances in radiological and serological techniques have enabled easier preoperative diagnosis of sparganosis. However, due to scarcity of cases, sparganosis has been often regarded as a disease of other etiologic origin unless the parasite is confirmed in the lesion. We experienced a case of sparganosis mimicking a varicose vein in terms of clinical manifestations and radiological findings.

Alpha-lipoic acid inhibits fractalkine expression and prevents neointimal hyperplasia after balloon injury in rat carotid artery.

Vascular inflammation induced by the proinflammatory cytokine/NF-kappaB pathway is one of the key mechanisms in the development of neointimal hyperplasia. Accumulating evidence suggests that a recently identified chemokine, fractalkine, is involved in arterial inflammation and atherogenesis. However, no study has examined the expression of neointimal fractalkine and the effects of pharmacological agents on this process.

Organ allocation for transplantation in the USA and Korea: the changing roles of equity and utility.

Realizing the promise and managing the success of organ transplantation requires the creation of unique institutions. An Organ Procurement and Transplant Network (OPTN) must be capable of increasing the supply of cadaver donor organs, of allocating those organs properly to recipients with due consideration for equity and utility, and of using scientific data to improve the system for the good of society. The OPTN should answer to the public and should expect public support.