Artificial Intelligence-Based Fully Automated Quantitative Coronary Angiography vs Optical Coherence Tomography-Guided PCI (FLASH Trial).

Background: Recently developed artificial intelligence-based coronary angiography (AI-QCA, fully automated) provides real-time, objective, and reproducible quantitative analysis of coronary angiography without requiring additional time or labor.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of AI-QCA-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared to optical coherence tomography (OCT)-guided PCI in terms of post-PCI results.

Methods: This trial enrolled 400 patients with significant coronary artery disease undergoing PCI from 13 participating centers in South Korea.

Real-Time Imaging Assessment of Stress-Induced Vascular Inflammation Using Heartbeat-Synchronized Motion Compensation.

Background: Chronic mental stress accelerates atherosclerosis through complicated neuroimmune pathways, needing for advanced imaging techniques to delineate underlying cellular mechanisms. While histopathology, ex vivo imaging, and snapshots of in vivo images offer promising evidence, they lack the ability to capture real-time visualization of blood cell dynamics within pulsatile arteries in longitudinal studies.

Methods: An electrically tunable lens was implemented in intravital optical microscopy, synchronizing the focal plane with heartbeats to follow artery movements.

Exploring Deep Learning Applications using Ultrasound Single View Cines in Acute Gallbladder Pathologies: Preliminary results.

Rationale And Objectives: In this preliminary study, we aimed to develop a deep learning model using ultrasound single view cines that distinguishes between imaging of normal gallbladder, non-urgent cholelithiasis, and acute calculous cholecystitis requiring urgent intervention.

Methods: Adult patients presenting to the emergency department between 2017-2022 with right-upper-quadrant pain were screened, and ultrasound single view cines of normal imaging, non-urgent cholelithiasis, and acute cholecystitis were included based on final clinical diagnosis. Longitudinal-view cines were de-identified and gallbladder pathology was annotated for model training.

The Comparative Metabolism of a Novel Hepatocellular Carcinoma Therapeutic Agent, 2,3-Diamino--(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)propanamide, in Human and Animal Hepatocytes.

[2,3-diamino--(4-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)propanamide], named as ETN101, is a novel therapeutic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma. In vitro studies examined ETN101 metabolites in human, mouse, rat, dog, and monkey hepatocytes and identified the drug-metabolizing enzymes involved using cDNA-expressed human recombinant cytochrome P450s (CYPs), carboxylesterases (CESs), -acetyltransferase (NAT) 1, and human liver cytosol. ETN101 showed similar metabolic stability across hepatocytes from five species, with particularly comparable stability in humans, rats, and monkeys.

Mechanism of EHMT2-mediated genomic imprinting associated with Prader-Willi syndrome.

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is caused by loss of expression of paternally expressed genes in the human 15q11.2-q13 imprinting domain. A set of imprinted genes that are active on the paternal but silenced on the maternal chromosome are intricately regulated by a bipartite imprinting center (PWS-IC) located in the PWS imprinting domain.

Artificial intelligence-enhanced automation of left ventricular diastolic assessment: a pilot study for feasibility, diagnostic validation, and outcome prediction.

Background: Evaluating left ventricular diastolic function (LVDF) is crucial in echocardiography; however, the complexity and time demands of current guidelines challenge clinical use. This study aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based framework for automatic LVDF assessment to reduce subjectivity and improve accuracy and outcome prediction.

Methods: We developed an AI-based LVDF assessment framework using a nationwide echocardiographic dataset from five tertiary hospitals.

Racial Differences in Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke: An Ecological Epidemiological Study.

Background:  This study aimed to evaluate racial differences in the incidence of stroke by conducting an ecological epidemiological study using UK Biobank and Korean nationwide data.

Methods:  This study used individual data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening and UK Biobank, which included participants who underwent health examinations between 2006 and 2010. We included 112,750 East Asians (50.

Brain structural indicators of β-amyloid neuropathology.

Recent efforts demonstrated the efficacy of identifying early-stage neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through lumbar puncture cerebrospinal fluid assessment and positron emission tomography (PET) radiotracer imaging. These methods are effective yet are invasive, expensive, and not widely accessible. We extend and improve the multiscale structural mapping (MSSM) procedure to develop structural indicators of β-amyloid neuropathology in preclinical AD, by capturing both macrostructural and microstructural properties throughout the cerebral cortex using a structural MRI.

Racial Differences in Bleeding Risk: An Ecological Epidemiological Study Comparing Korea and United Kingdom Subjects.

Background:  This study aimed to evaluate racial differences in bleeding incidence by conducting an ecological epidemiological study using data from Korea and the United Kingdom.

Methods:  We included healthy participants from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening and the UK Biobank who underwent health examinations between 2006 and 2010 and had no comorbidities or history of medication use. Finally, 112,750 East Asians (50.

Clinical Benefit of Intravascular Imaging Compared With Conventional Angiography in Left Main Coronary Artery Intervention.

Background: 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.

Discovery of proteolysis-targeting chimera targeting undruggable proteins using a covalent ligand screening approach.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD) technology, such as proteolysis-targeting chimera (PROTAC), has become a new therapeutic modality. However, the degradation of undruggable proteins, such as those involved in protein-protein interactions (PPIs), using PROTAC is still limited owing to the difficulties in finding small-molecule binders of these proteins. To identify new chemical moieties that bind to the target sites of the protein of interest (POI), we conducted a site-specific and fragment-based covalent ligand screening using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

1,5-Dicaffeoylquinic acid from Pseudognaphalium affine ameliorates dry eye disease via suppression of inflammation and protection of the ocular surface.

Purpose: Pseudognaphalium affine (P. affine), a medicinal plant, has long been used to treat various diseases due to its astringent and vulnerary effects. These therapeutic benefits are largely attributed to high contents of phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, that have anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective activities.

Improved predictability of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma diagnosis using a blood immune cell biomarker panel developed from bulk mRNA sequencing and single-cell RNA-sequencing.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a devastating cancer due to its poor survival rate, early detection, and resectability. This study aimed to determine the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) immune biomarkers in patients with PDAC and investigate the PDAC-specific peripheral blood biomarker panel and validate its clinical performance.

Methods: In this prospective, blinded, case-control study, a biomarker panel formula was generated using a development cohort-including healthy controls, patients at high risk of PDAC, and patients with benign pancreatic disease, PDAC, or other gastrointestinal malignancies-and its diagnostic performance was verified using a validation cohort, including patients with ≥ 1 lesion suspected as PDAC on computed tomography (CT).

Intravascular Imaging-Guided or Angiography-Guided Complex PCI.

Background: Data regarding clinical outcomes after intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for complex coronary-artery lesions, as compared with outcomes after angiography-guided PCI, are limited.

Methods: In this prospective, multicenter, open-label trial in South Korea, we randomly assigned patients with complex coronary-artery lesions in a 2:1 ratio to undergo either intravascular imaging-guided PCI or angiography-guided PCI. In the intravascular imaging group, the choice between intravascular ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography was at the operators' discretion.

Enhanced Micro-Channeling System via Dissolving Microneedle to Improve Transdermal Serum Delivery for Various Clinical Skincare Treatments.

Topical liquid formulations, dissolving microneedles (DMNs), and microscale needles composed of biodegradable materials have been widely used for the transdermal delivery of active compounds for skincare. However, transdermal active compound delivery by topical liquid formulation application is inhibited by skin barriers, and the skincare efficacy of DMNs is restricted by the low encapsulation capacity and incomplete insertion. In this study, topical serum application via a dissolvable micro-channeling system (DMCS) was used to enhance serum delivery through micro-channels embedded with DMNs.

Early Rhythm Control Therapy for Atrial Fibrillation in Low-Risk Patients : A Nationwide Propensity Score-Weighted Study.

Background: Rhythm control is associated with lower risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes compared with usual care among patients recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AF) with a CHADS-VASc score of approximately 2 or greater in EAST-AFNET 4 (Early Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation for Stroke Prevention Trial).

Objective: To investigate whether the results can be generalized to patients with low stroke risk.

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Effectiveness and Safety of Anticoagulation Therapy in Frail Patients With Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Frail patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are less likely to receive anticoagulation than nonfrail patients with AF despite frailty being associated with poorer clinical outcomes including stroke. Using a population-based cohort, we sought to assess the effectiveness and safety of oral anticoagulants (OACs) in frail patients with AF.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study analyzed 83 635 patients aged at least 65 years with AF and frailty (≥5 Hospital Frailty Risk Score) between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016 from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database.

Association of proteinuria and hypertension with incident atrial fibrillation in an elderly population: nationwide data from a community-based elderly cohort.

Objective: The excess risk of atrial fibrillation in relation to the presence of proteinuria associated with hypertension has not been well elucidated. We aimed to determine the effect of hypertension and/or proteinuria on the incidence of atrial fibrillation. Second, we evaluated whether the associations with temporal changes in proteinuria status on the incidence of atrial fibrillation.

An Elaborate New Linker System Significantly Enhances the Efficacy of an HER2-Antibody-Drug Conjugate against Refractory HER2-Positive Cancers.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in breast and gastric cancers and this causes poor clinical outcomes. Although both T-DM1 and Enhertu are approved as an HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), the effects of these drugs are still not satisfactory to eradicate diverse tumors expressing HER2. To address this shortfall in HER2-targeted therapeutics, an elaborate cleavable linker is created and a novel HER2-targeting ADC composed with trastuzumab and monomethyl auristatin F, which is being investigated in a phase 1 clinical trial and is referred to as LegoChem Bisciences-ADC (LCB-ADC).

Treatment Pattern of Antithrombotic Therapy over Time after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation in Real-World Practice in Korea.

We examined antithrombotic treatment patterns with clinical characteristics and therapy changes over time in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment service claims database (01JAN2007-30NOV2016) in Korea, we included adult patients with AF and PCI: (1) who underwent PCI with stenting between 01JAN2008 and 30NOV2016; (2) with ≥1 claim for AF (ICD code: I48) (3) with antithrombotics 1 day prior to or at the date of PCI; and (4) with CHADS2-VASc of ≥2. In this study, 7749 patients with AF who underwent PCI, triple therapy, dual therapy, dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), and single antiplatelet therapy were prescribed to 24.

Impact of Reduced-Dose Nonvitamin K Antagonist Oral Anticoagulants on Outcomes Compared to Warfarin in Korean Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Reduced-dose nonvitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are commonly prescribed to Asian patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). We aimed to compare the risk of stroke/systemic embolism (S/SE) and major bleeding (MB) between patients treated with reduced-dose NOACs and those treated with warfarin, using the claims database in Korea. Patients with NVAF newly initiated on oral anticoagulants (OACs; apixaban, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and warfarin) between 1 July 2015 and 30 November 2016 were included.