BACKGROUND: The development of lung cancer results from the interaction between genetic mutations and dynamic epigenetic alterations, although the exact mechanisms are not completely understood. Changes in DNA methylation may be a promising biomarker for early detection and prognosis of lung cancer. We evaluated the serial changes in genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in blood samples of lung cancer patients. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained for three consecutive years from three patients (2 years before, 1 year before, and after lung cancer detection) and from three control subjects (without lung cancer). We used the MethylationEPIC BeadChip method, which covers the 850,000 bp cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) site, to conduct an epigenome-wide analysis. Significant differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified using p-values <0.05 in a correlation test identifying serial methylation changes and serial increase or decrease in β value above 0.1 for three consecutive years. RESULTS: We found three significant CpG sites with differentially methylated β values and 7,105 CpG sites with significant correlation from control patients without lung cancer. However, there were no significant DMRs. In contrast, we found 11 significant CpG sites with differentially methylated β values and 10,562 CpG sites with significant correlation from patients with lung cancer. There were two significant DMRs: cg21126229 (RNF212) and cg27098574 (BCAR1). CONCLUSION: This study revealed DNA methylation changes that might be implicated in lung cancer development. The DNA methylation changes may be the possible candidate target regions for the early detection and prevention of lung cancer.
Biomarkers ; DNA Methylation ; DNA ; Epigenomics ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung ; Methods ; Methylation ; Prognosis

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of vigabatrin (VGB) as a therapeutic agent for patients with infantile spasms (IS), compare risk factors for treatment response, and review safety of VGB by assessing its side effects. METHODS: Among 35 patients admitted to the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea who received initial monotherapy with VGB under diagnosis of IS, 23 patients who met our inclusion criteria were enrolled and their medical records were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: Of these 23 patients, average age at diagnosis was 7.26±4.8 months and average age at spasms was 6.20±3.8 months. Average treatment lag was 1.09±1.8 months. Thirteen patients (56.5%) achieved seizure free status. There was no ophthalmic complication among patients. Remission of hypsarrhythmia at 3 and 6 months after treatment was a good prognostic factor (P=0.026 and P=0.004, respectively). CONCLUSION VGB is effective enough to become a first-line drug for children with IS. Better prognosis can be expected in patients with clinical remission of hypsarrhythmia on electroencephalography after treatment initiation using VGB compared to those who do not have such remission. Regular eye examination and follow-up check-up are also needed in parallel with the use of VGB.

BACKGROUND: The development of lung cancer results from the interaction between genetic mutations and dynamic epigenetic alterations, although the exact mechanisms are not completely understood. Changes in DNA methylation may be a promising biomarker for early detection and prognosis of lung cancer. We evaluated the serial changes in genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in blood samples of lung cancer patients. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained for three consecutive years from three patients (2 years before, 1 year before, and after lung cancer detection) and from three control subjects (without lung cancer). We used the MethylationEPIC BeadChip method, which covers the 850,000 bp cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) site, to conduct an epigenome-wide analysis. Significant differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified using p-values <0.05 in a correlation test identifying serial methylation changes and serial increase or decrease in β value above 0.1 for three consecutive years. RESULTS: We found three significant CpG sites with differentially methylated β values and 7,105 CpG sites with significant correlation from control patients without lung cancer. However, there were no significant DMRs. In contrast, we found 11 significant CpG sites with differentially methylated β values and 10,562 CpG sites with significant correlation from patients with lung cancer. There were two significant DMRs: cg21126229 (RNF212) and cg27098574 (BCAR1). CONCLUSION This study revealed DNA methylation changes that might be implicated in lung cancer development. The DNA methylation changes may be the possible candidate target regions for the early detection and prevention of lung cancer.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory disease with increased prevalence in the elderly. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences found at the end of the chromosome, which progressively shorten as cells divide. Telomere length is known to be a molecular marker of aging. This study aimed to assess the relationship between telomere length and the risk of COPD, lung function, respiratory symptoms, and emphysema index in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Dusty Areas (CODA) cohort. Methods: We extracted DNA from the peripheral blood samples of 446 participants, including 285 COPD patients and 161 control participants. We measured absolute telomere length using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. All participants underwent spirometry and quantitative computed tomography scan. Questionnaires assessing respiratory symptoms and the COPD Assessment Test was filled by all the participants. Results: The mean age of participants at the baseline visit was 72.5±7.1 years. Males accounted for 72% (321 participants) of the all participants. The mean telomere length was lower in the COPD group compared to the non-COPD group (COPD, 16.81±13.90 kb; non-COPD, 21.97±14.43 kb). In COPD patients, 112 (75.7%) were distributed as tertile 1 (shortest), 91 (61.1%) as tertile 2 and 82 (55%) as tertile 3 (longest). We did not find significant associations between telomere length and lung function, exacerbation, airway wall thickness, and emphysema index after adjusting for sex, age, and smoking status. Conclusion In this study, the relationship between various COPD phenotypes and telomere length was analyzed, but no significant statistical associations were shown.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic respiratory disease with increased prevalence in the elderly. Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences found at the end of the chromosome, which progressively shorten as cells divide. Telomere length is known to be a molecular marker of aging. This study aimed to assess the relationship between telomere length and the risk of COPD, lung function, respiratory symptoms, and emphysema index in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Dusty Areas (CODA) cohort. Methods: We extracted DNA from the peripheral blood samples of 446 participants, including 285 COPD patients and 161 control participants. We measured absolute telomere length using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. All participants underwent spirometry and quantitative computed tomography scan. Questionnaires assessing respiratory symptoms and the COPD Assessment Test was filled by all the participants. Results: The mean age of participants at the baseline visit was 72.5±7.1 years. Males accounted for 72% (321 participants) of the all participants. The mean telomere length was lower in the COPD group compared to the non-COPD group (COPD, 16.81±13.90 kb; non-COPD, 21.97±14.43 kb). In COPD patients, 112 (75.7%) were distributed as tertile 1 (shortest), 91 (61.1%) as tertile 2 and 82 (55%) as tertile 3 (longest). We did not find significant associations between telomere length and lung function, exacerbation, airway wall thickness, and emphysema index after adjusting for sex, age, and smoking status. Conclusion In this study, the relationship between various COPD phenotypes and telomere length was analyzed, but no significant statistical associations were shown.

Background: Postmenopausal status increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, and C-reactive protein (CRP) constitutes an independent cardiovascular risk factor. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with increased high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) level in postmenopausal women. Methods: We included postmenopausal women without laboratory test results that suggested acute inflammation who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2016 and 2017. The participants were divided into high and low hs-CRP groups (cutoff value, 3.0 mg/L). We investigated factors that influenced the hs-CRP level with logistic regression analysis. Results: The total number of subjects was 2,739, of whom 76.4% had low hs-CRP levels and 23.6% had high hs-CRP levels. The mean age and body mass index were higher in the high than in the low hs-CRP group. In the simple logistic regression analysis, high hs-CRP level was associated with smoking, whereas low hs-CRP level was associated with aerobic exercise, use of oral contraceptives, and history of pregnancy in postmenopausal women. When the analysis was adjusted for confounding variables, histories of smoking and pregnancy had a statistically significant association with high hs-CRP level. Conclusion This study showed that the important modifiable risk factors of elevated hs-CRP level in postmenopausal women of Korea include obesity, smoking, and lack of aerobic exercise, but well-controlled prospective investigations should be considered.

OBJECTIVE: The first-night effect is a well-known phenomenon resulting from an individual's maladaptation to the unfamiliar environment of a sleep laboratory. However, there have been no direct reports of the effect of previous sleep patterns on the first-night effect. We aimed to investigate the effect the previous week's sleep pattern on the first-night effect. METHODS: Twenty-four young, healthy, male participants completed the study procedure. During one week prior to study, the participants kept sleep diaries and wore actigraphs to identify sleep-wake pattern. Two consecutive nights of polysomnography were conducted after that. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were applied to compare sleep variables of the two nights. Variance (standard deviation) of sleep onset time during the previous week was used as an index of irregularity. A Kendall's ranked correlation analysis and a linear regression test were applied to detect correlation between sleep irregularity and the first-night effect measured by polysomnography. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the values of sleep efficiency (p=0.011) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) (p=0.006) between the two nights. Sleep efficiency was lower and WASO was higher on the first night as compared to the second night. Sleep irregularity in the previous week was negatively correlated with sleep efficiency (p<0.001) of the first night, but was not significantly correlated with any other sleep parameters. CONCLUSION: We replicated the existence of the first-night effect commonly observed in sleep studies. Sleep irregularity in the previous week may influence the first-night effect in polysomnographic studies.
Humans ; Linear Models ; Male ; Polysomnography

Endometriosis is a relatively common gynecologic disease. However thoracic endometriosis syndrome is exceedingly rare among various types of external endometriosis. We experienced a case of 35-year-old woman who presented with recurrent episodes of spontaneous right-sided pneumothorax that occurred during her menstrual periods. After the localization of the disease site by means of chest radiography and computed tomography of the thorax, a chest tube was inserted after which bullectomy and pleurodesis using doxycycline were performed. A hormonal treatment with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for 12-months was also conducted. However, right-sided pneumothorax recurred two times after these procedures. Subsequently, surgical excision of diaphragmatic lesion along with pleurodesis was underwent. To prevent recurrence, we maintained long-term GnRH agonist administration with add back therapy using low dose estrogen-progesterone. Menstruation stopped, and the chest pain disappeared. During a 19-months follow-up period, pneumothorax did not recur. We report this case with a brief review of the concerned literatures.
Adult ; Chest Pain ; Chest Tubes ; Doxycycline ; Endometriosis* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genital Diseases, Female ; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Humans ; Menstruation ; Pleurodesis ; Pneumothorax* ; Radiography ; Recurrence ; Thorax

The causes of pyogenic liver abscess has been known as biliary tract disease or intrabadominal infection but the large proportions of the patients has no apparent underlying disorders. Recently colonic mucosal lesions were reported in patients with cryptogenic liver abscess and it has been suggested that colonic mucosal break may play a role in developing liver abscess in otherwise healthy patients. We experienced a patient of severe recurrent liver abscess complicated with endophthalmitis only 3 months after successful treatment of initial cryptogenic liver abscess and a polypoid colon cancer was discovered by chance. It seems prudent to proceed colonoscopic examination in patients with cryptogenic liver abscess especially when it is recurrent.
Biliary Tract Diseases ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Endophthalmitis ; Humans ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Liver ; Liver Abscess ; Liver Abscess, Pyogenic ; Recurrence

BACKGROUND: Korean milk consumption and low-fat milk sales are steadily increasing. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of metabolic syndrome according to the type of milk. METHODS: The subjects included 5,553 persons who aged 19 to 64 years, from the data of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2013–2015. All subjects were divided by intake of type of milk that are ‘whole milk intake group’, ‘low-fat milk intake group’ and ‘no milk intake grou’p. And the subects were classified as 19-39 years old and 40-64 years old. In order to check differences of demo-sociographic characteristics and metabolic risk factors in three groups, the data was analyzed by chi-square test, t-test and binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: For subjects aged 40–64, whole milk intake group had lower relevance with metabolic syndrome than no milk intake group (odds ratio [OR] 0.807, P=0.035, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.660–0.985). But low fat milk intake group was't relevant (OR 0.879, P=0.350, 95% CI 0.670–1.152). Looking at the 19-39 year-old subjects, whole milk and low fat milk intake group were not associated with metaboic syndrome (OR 1.023, P=0.911, 95% CI 0.686–1.525; OR 1.547, P=0.103, 95% CI 0.915–2.617). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that whole milk intake is less relevant to the metabolic syndrome than no milk intake. Low fat milk intake was not relevant. More researches are needed to determine the effects of low fat milk and whole milk on metabolic syndrome.
Commerce ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Milk* ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Risk Factors