Risk factors for asthma-related healthcare use: longitudinal analysis using the NHI claims database in a Korean asthma cohort.

Background: Though insurance claims data are useful for researching asthma, they have important limitations, such as a diagnostic inaccuracy and a lack of clinical information. To overcome these drawbacks, we used the novel method by merging the clinical data from our asthma cohort with the National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data.

Methods And Results: Longitudinal analysis of asthma-related healthcare use from the NHI claims database, merged with data of 736 patients registered in a Korean asthma cohort, was conducted for three consecutive years from registration of the cohort.

Clusterin expression level correlates with increased oxidative stress in asthmatics.

Background: Oxidative stress is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Clusterin is a sensitive cellular biosensor of oxidative stress and has antioxidant properties. The function and expression of clusterin in patients with asthma have not been fully investigated.

Influence of initial treatment modality on long-term control of chronic idiopathic urticaria.

Background: Chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) is a common cutaneous disorder but the influence of initial treatment modality on long-term control is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical features, and the influence of initial treatment modality on long-term control.

Methods And Results: 641 CIU patients were enrolled from the allergy clinic in a tertiary referral hospital.

The Effectiveness of Automatic Recommending System for Premedication in Reducing Recurrent Radiocontrast Media Hypersensitivity Reactions.

Background: Non-ionic radiocontrast media (RCM) is rarely associated with hypersensitivity reactions. Premedication of patients who reacted previously to RCM with systemic corticosteroids and/or antihistamines can help reduce recurrent hypersensitivity reactions. However, premedication is still not prescribed in many cases for various reasons.

Characteristics of liver injury in drug-induced systemic hypersensitivity reactions.

Background: The liver is the most commonly involved internal organ in drug-induced systemic hypersensitivity. However, data obtained from these patients have yet to be analyzed in depth with respect to liver injury.

Methods: The medical records of 136 patients who developed delayed-type drug hypersensitivity were reviewed at a tertiary referral hospital.

Clinical characteristics that distinguish eosinophilic organ infiltration from metastatic nodule development in cancer patients with eosinophilia.

Background: When new space-occupying lesions are observed together with peripheral blood eosinophilia in patients diagnosed with cancer, the possibility of eosinophilic organ involvement should be differentiated from metastasis of primary cancer, since a misdiagnosis could lead to unnecessary chemotherapy. The aim of this study is to identify the clinical characteristics of eosinophilic organ involvement that distinguish it from distant metastasis in patients with primary cancer.

Methods: The medical records of 43 cancer patients who developed hepatic or pulmonary nodules with peripheral blood eosinophilia between January 2005 and February 2010 in the Asan Medical Center (Seoul) were reviewed.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract attenuates allergic inflammation in murine models of asthma.

Background: Antioxidants have been suggested to alleviate the pathophysiological features of asthma, and grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) has been reported to have powerful antioxidant activity.

Purpose: This study was performed to determine whether GSPE has a therapeutic effect on allergic airway inflammation in both acute and chronic murine model of asthma.

Methods: Acute asthma model was generated by intraperitoneal sensitization of ovalbumin (OVA) with alum followed by aerosolized OVA challenges, whereas chronic asthma model was induced by repeated intranasal challenges of OVA with fungal protease twice a week for 8 weeks.

The role of nitrosative stress in the pathogenesis of unexplained chronic cough with cough hypersensitivity.

Background: Unexplained chronic cough is a common condition without specific causes. A hyperreactivity of the cough reflex has been suggested as a mechanism for inducing chronic cough. We hypothesized that nitrosative stress in the upper airway might play a role in cough hypersensitivity by causing neurochemical abnormalities.

Hyperoxidized peroxiredoxins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of asthma patients is associated with asthma severity.

Aims: Oxidative stress is involved in the pathogenesis of asthma, and peroxiredoxins (PRDX) may be critical in controlling intracellular oxidative stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate expressions of PRDX and their hyperoxidized forms in asthmatic individuals.

Main Methods: The levels of expression of PRDX1, PRDX2, PRDX3, and PRDX6 and their hyperoxidized forms (PRDX-SO(3)) were measured in PBMCs from asthma patients and control subjects.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae inhibits corticosteroid-induced suppression of metalloproteinase-9 and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection has been suggested to be associated with severe asthma characterized by persistent airway limitation, which may be related to airway remodelling. We investigated whether C. pneumoniae infection affected the secretion of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) and tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP1), and altered the responsiveness of inflammatory cells to corticosteroids.

Smoking, longer disease duration and absence of rhinosinusitis are related to fixed airway obstruction in Koreans with severe asthma: findings from the COREA study.

Background: The clinical manifestations of severe asthma are heterogeneous. Some individuals with severe asthma develop irreversible fixed airway obstruction, which is associated with poor outcomes. We therefore investigated the factors associated with fixed airway obstruction in Korean patients with severe asthma.

Central pontine myelinolysis in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a case report.

We describe a 37-yr-old man who developed central pontine myelinolysis (CPM) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. After HSCT, desquamation developed on the whole body accompanied by hyperbilirubinemia. The liver biopsy of the patient indicated graft-versus-host disease- related liver disease, and the dose of methylprednisolone was increased.