PURPOSE: Bladder cancer can be induced by many chemicals, of which smoking was confirmed by Burch et al to be one well known risk factor. In our study, we evaluate the effect of smoking on bladder cancer as a single risk factor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 156 patients were enrolled in this study from March 1999 to April 2003. A survey soliciting smoking pattern, and duration and dose of smoking was mailed to each patient. We classified all patients into current smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers on the basis of their smoking history. ANOVA and Chi-square tests were performed to evaluate the differences of stage, grade, tumor size and recurrence rate. The Kaplan-Meier technique was used to plot recurrence free survival and the log-rank test was used to compare the survival curves. RESULTS: There was no significant difference among current smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers in terms of stage, grade and tumor size. However there was an obvious difference of recurrence rate among these groups. No significant difference of recurrence-free survival rate between ex-smokers and current smokers was noted, while never-smokers showed a better recurrence-survival rate than ex-smokers and current smokers. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that stage, grade, tumor size and tumor character can not represent the effect of smoking on bladder cancer progression. More accurate and prospectively determined assessment of smoking status by molecular investigation and indirect smoking would be required.
Humans ; Postal Service ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke* ; Smoking* ; Survival Rate ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

Malacoplakia is a rare granulomatous inflammatory disease, which most frequently involves the urinary tract and especially the urinary bladder. The prostatic involvement of malacoplakia is rare and only two cases have been reported in the Korean literature. Malacoplakia of the prostate may clinically mimic prostate cancer or chronic prostatitis. We report a case of malacoplakia of the prostate in a 71-year-old man, which was initially misdiagnosed as prostate cancer or prostatitis.
Aged ; Humans ; Malacoplakia* ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Prostatitis ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Tract

The earliest stages of mammalian embryogenesis are governed by the activity of maternally inherited transcripts and proteins. Cytoplasmic polyadenylation of selected maternal mRNA has been reported to be a major control mechanism of delayed translation during preimplantation embryogenesis in mice. The presence of cis-elements required for cytoplasmic polyadenylation (e.g., CPE) can serve as a useful tag in the screening of maternal genes partaking in key functions in the transcriptionally dormant egg and early embryo. However, due to its relative simplicity, UA-rich sequences satisfying the canonical rule of known CPE consensus sequences are often found in the 3'-UTR of maternal transcripts that do not actually undergo cytoplasmic polyadenylation. In this study, we developed a method to confirm the validity of candidate CPE sequences in a given gene by a multiplex comparison of 3'-UTR sequences between mammalian homologs. We found that genes undergoing cytoplasmic polyadenylation tend to create a conserved block around the CPE, while CPE-like sequences in the 3'-UTR of genes lacking cytoplasmic polyadenylation do not exhibit such conservation between species. Through this cross-species comparison, we also identified an alternative CPE in the 3'-UTR of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), which is more likely to serve as a functional element. We suggest that verification of CPEs based on sequence conservation can provide a convenient tool for mass screening of factors governing the earliest processes of mammalian embryogenesis.
Animals ; Consensus Sequence ; Cytoplasm ; Embryonic Development ; Embryonic Structures ; Female ; Mass Screening ; Mice ; Ovum ; Polyadenylation ; Pregnancy ; RNA, Messenger, Stored ; Tissue Plasminogen Activator

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: It is essential to develop a reliable predictive serum biomarker for Parkinson's disease (PD). The accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) and up-regulated expression of Rab35 participate in the etiology of PD. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a useful predictive biomarker for PD. METHODS: Serum levels of αSyn or Rab35 were determined in serum samples from 59 sporadic PD patients, 19 progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients, 20 multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, and 60 normal controls (NC). Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of αSyn or/and Rab35 in discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients. RESULTS: The levels of αSyn and Rab35 were increased in PD patients. The serum level of Rab35 was positively correlated with that of αSyn in PD patients. Compared to analyzing αSyn or Rab35 alone, the combined analysis of αSyn and Rab35 produced a larger area under the ROC curve and performed better in discriminating PD patients from NC, MSA patients, or PSP patients. When age was dichotomized at 55, 60, 65, or 70 years, the combined assessment of αSyn and Rab35 for classifying PD was better in the group below the cutoff age than in the group above the cutoff age. CONCLUSIONS: Combined assessment of serum αSyn and Rab35 is a better biomarker for discriminating PD patients from NC or atypical parkinsonian patients, and is a useful predictive biomarker for younger sporadic PD patients.
alpha-Synuclein ; Humans ; Multiple System Atrophy ; Parkinson Disease ; ROC Curve ; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive

Objective: Bariatric surgery effectively treats non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The glutamate-serine-glycine (GSG) index has emerged as a non-invasive diagnostic marker for NAFLD, but its ability to monitor treatment response remains unclear. This study investigates the GSG index's ability to monitor NAFLD's response to bariatric surgery. Methodology: Ten NAFLD participants were studied at baseline and 6 months post-bariatric surgery. Blood samples were collected for serum biomarkers and metabolomic profiling. Hepatic steatosis [proton density fat fraction (PDFF)] and fibroinflammation (cT1) were quantified with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI), and hepatic stiffness with magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Amino acids and acylcarnitines were measured with mass spectrometry. Statistical analyses included paired Student’s t-test, Wilcoxon-signed rank test, and Pearson’s correlation. Results: Eight participants provided complete data. At baseline, all had hepatic steatosis (BMI 39.3 ± 5.6 kg/m2, PDFF ≥ 5%). Post-surgery reductions in PDFF (from 12.4 ± 6.7% to 6.2 ± 2.8%, p = 0.013) and cT1 (from 823.3 ± 85.4ms to 757.5 ± 41.6ms, p = 0.039) were significant, along with the GSG index (from 0.272 ± 0.03 to 0.157 ± 0.05, p = 0.001). Conclusion The GSG index can potentially be developed as a marker for monitoring the response of patients with NAFLD to bariatric surgery.
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Amino Acids ; Metabolomics

OBJECTIVE: Considering the different prevalence rates of diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Asians relative to other races, Koreans may have unique airway structure and lung function. This study aimed to investigate unique features of airway structure and lung function based on quantitative computed tomography (QCT)-imaging metrics in the Korean Asian population (Koreans) as compared with the White American population (Whites). MATERIALS AND METHODS: QCT data of healthy non-smokers (223 Koreans vs. 70 Whites) were collected, including QCT structural variables of wall thickness (WT) and hydraulic diameter (Dh) and functional variables of air volume, total air volume change in the lung (ΔVair), percent emphysema-like lung (Emph%), and percent functional small airway disease-like lung (fSAD%). Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to compare the two groups. RESULTS: As compared with Whites, Koreans had smaller volume at inspiration, ΔVair between inspiration and expiration (p < 0.001), and Emph% at inspiration (p < 0.001). Especially, Korean females had a decrease of ΔVair in the lower lobes (p < 0.001), associated with fSAD% at the lower lobes (p < 0.05). In addition, Koreans had smaller Dh and WT of the trachea (both, p < 0.05), correlated with the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (R = 0.49, 0.39; all p < 0.001) and forced vital capacity (R = 0.55, 0.45; all p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Koreans had unique features of airway structure and lung function as compared with Whites, and the difference was clearer in female individuals. Discriminating structural and functional features between Koreans and Whites enables exploration of inter-racial differences of pulmonary disease in terms of severity, distribution, and phenotype.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Asthma ; Continental Population Groups ; Female ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Phenotype ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Thorax ; Trachea ; Vital Capacity

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.