The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has severely impacted global health and economy. There is currently no effective approved treatment for COVID-19; although vaccines have been granted emergency use authorization in several countries, they are currently only administered to high-risk individuals, thereby leaving a gap in virus control measures. The scientific and clinical communities and drug manufacturers have collaborated to speed up the discovery of potential therapies for COVID-19 by taking advantage of currently approved drugs as well as investigatory agents in clinical trials. In this review, we stratified some of these candidates based on their potential targets in the progression of COVID-19 and discuss some of the results of ongoing clinical evaluations

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy and validity of subgingival bacterial sampling using a retraction cord, and to evaluate how well this sampling method reflected changes in periodontal conditions after periodontal therapy. Methods: Based on clinical examinations, 87 subjects were divided into a healthy group (n=40) and a periodontitis group (n=47). Clinical measurements were obtained from all subjects including periodontal probing depth (PD), bleeding on probing (BOP), clinical attachment loss (CAL), and the plaque index. Saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) as a subgingival bacterial sample were sampled before and 3 months after periodontal therapy. The salivary and subgingival bacterial samples were analyzed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction to quantify the following 11 periodontal pathogens: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa), Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Tannerella forsythus (Tf), Treponema denticola (Td), Prevotella intermedia (Pi), Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn), Pavimonas micra (Pm), Campylobacter rectus (Cr), Prevotella nigrescens (Pn), Eikenella corrodens (Ec), and Eubacterium nodatum (En). Results: Non-surgical periodontal therapy resulted in significant decreases in PD (P<0.01), CAL (P<0.01), and BOP (P<0.05) after 3 months. Four species (Pg, Tf, Pi, and Pm) were significantly more abundant in both types of samples in the periodontitis group than in the healthy group. After periodontal therapy, Cr was the only bacterium that showed a statistically significant decrease in saliva, whereas statistically significant decreases in Cr, Pg, and Pn were found in GCF. Conclusions Salivary and subgingival bacterial sampling with a gingival retraction cord were found to be equivalent in terms of their accuracy for differentiating periodontitis, but GCF reflected changes in bacterial abundance after periodontal therapy more sensitively than saliva.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the differences of results of Older Adult Behavior Checklist (OABCL) in subjects with dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and normal group. METHODS: The data was composed of 42 patients with MCI, 71 patients with dementia, and 111 randomly collected participants who were recruited for standardization of Korean version of Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment Older Adult Forms. Medical records, results of OABCL, neuropsychological tests, activities of daily living scale, and clinical dementia rating scale of the subjects were retrospectively analyzed to find significant factors in distinguishing the groups. RESULTS: In dementia group, almost of the empirically base problem scales and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-oriented scales showed significantly higher scores than MCI or normal groups. MCI group also showed higher scores in several empirically base problem and DSM-oriented scales than normal group. Also, functional impairment, memory/cognition, thought problems, irritable/disinhibited scales of empirically base problem and depressive, dementia, psychotic problems DSM-oriented scales significantly predict in distinguishing the three groups. CONCLUSION: The results implicated that OABCL is not only useful in assessing cognition decline but also in investigating psychological and behavioral problems of older adults.
Activities of Daily Living ; Adult* ; Checklist* ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders* ; Dementia ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Medical Records ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Problem Behavior ; Psychopathology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Weights and Measures

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is well known for detecting the presence of hemorrhagic transformation, microbleeds and the susceptibility of vessel signs in acute ischemic stroke. But in some cases, it can provide the tissue perfusion state as well. We describe a case of a patient with hyperacute ischemic infarction that had a slightly hypodense, patchy lesion at the left thalamus on the initial SWI, with a left proximal posterior cerebral artery occlusion on a magnetic resonance (MR) angiography and delayed time-to-peak on an MR perfusion performed two hours after symptom onset. No obvious abnormal signals at any intensity were found on the initial diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). On a follow-up MR image (MRI), an acute ischemic infarction was seen on DWI, which is the same location as the lesion on SWI. The hypointensity on the initial SWI reflects the susceptibility artifact caused by an increased deoxyhemoglobin in the affected tissue and vessels, which reflects the hypoperfusion state due to decreasing arterial flow. It precedes the signal change on DWI that reflects a cytotoxic edema. This case highlights that, in some hyperacute stages of ischemic stroke, hypointensity on an SWI may be a finding before the hyperintensity is seen on a DWI.
Angiography ; Artifacts ; Edema ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Infarction ; Ischemia ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Perfusion ; Posterior Cerebral Artery ; Stroke ; Thalamus

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the biocompatibility and the mechanical properties of ultraviolet (UV) cross-linked and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP)-added collagen membranes and to compare the clinical results of ridge preservation to those obtained using chemically cross-linked collagen membranes. Methods: The study comprised an in vitro test and a clinical trial for membrane evaluation. BCPadded collagen membranes with UV cross-linking were prepared. In the in vitro test, scanning electron microscopy, a collagenase assay, and a tensile strength test were performed. The clinical trial involved 14 patients undergoing a ridge preservation procedure. All participants were randomly divided into the test group, which received UV cross-linked membranes (n=7), and the control group, which received chemically cross-linked membranes (n=7). BCP bone substitutes were used for both the test group and the control group. Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were performed and alginate impressions were taken 1 week and 3 months after surgery. The casts were scanned via an optical scanner to measure the volumetric changes. The results were analyzed using the nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The fastest degradation rate was found in the collagen membranes without the addition of BCP. The highest enzyme resistance and the highest tensile strength were found when the collagen-to-BCP ratio was 1:1. There was no significant difference in dimensional changes in the 3-dimensional modeling or CBCT scans between the test and control groups in the clinical trial (P>0.05). Conclusions The addition of BCP and UV cross-linking improved the biocompatibility and the mechanical strength of the membranes. Within the limits of the clinical trial, the sites grafted using BCP in combination with UV cross-linked and BCP-added collagen membranes (test group) did not show any statistically significant difference in terms of dimensional change compared with the control group.

Background: Need for regulatory science is emerging with the development of pharmaceutical industry. It is essential to train regulatory science experts to meet the needs of technology and regulations to evaluate advanced products. Major regulatory science countries are conducting the regulatory science activities and fostering the experts. Methods: Published literature and the relevant website of European Union (EU) were reviewed and criteria were developed. In particular, we focused on in depth descriptions of the Innovative Medicines Initiative program, which was conducted twice. Results: EU is striving to provide funding and training experts for the development of the regulatory science by horizon 2020 and regulatory science to 2025. Innovative medicines initiative (IMI) is a public-private partnership aimed at the development of the pharmaceutical industry, including the regulatory science. IMI education and training projects have provided various education and training course including short-term curriculum and master and doctoral course. The difference between South Korea’s regulatory science expert training project in 2021 and the EU’s IMI education and training projects is participation of pharmaceutical companies. While the pharmaceutical companies participate in the IMI project to select project topics and form a community, South Korea’s project is focused on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and universities. Conclusion Through successful active networks with regulatory party, pharmaceutical companies, and universities, a great innovative advance of regulatory science in South Korea is expected.

Background: Need for regulatory science is emerging with the development of pharmaceutical industry. It is essential to train regulatory science experts to meet the needs of technology and regulations to evaluate advanced products. Major regulatory science countries are conducting the regulatory science activities and fostering the experts. Methods: Published literature and the relevant website of European Union (EU) were reviewed and criteria were developed. In particular, we focused on in depth descriptions of the Innovative Medicines Initiative program, which was conducted twice. Results: EU is striving to provide funding and training experts for the development of the regulatory science by horizon 2020 and regulatory science to 2025. Innovative medicines initiative (IMI) is a public-private partnership aimed at the development of the pharmaceutical industry, including the regulatory science. IMI education and training projects have provided various education and training course including short-term curriculum and master and doctoral course. The difference between South Korea’s regulatory science expert training project in 2021 and the EU’s IMI education and training projects is participation of pharmaceutical companies. While the pharmaceutical companies participate in the IMI project to select project topics and form a community, South Korea’s project is focused on the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and universities. Conclusion Through successful active networks with regulatory party, pharmaceutical companies, and universities, a great innovative advance of regulatory science in South Korea is expected.

OBJECTIVES: Increasing evidence suggests the presence of neurobiological bases for temperamental characteristics in humans. Brain correlates of harm avoidance(HA) have been most extensively studied using functional and structural brain imaging methods due to its potential link with anxiety and depressive disorders. To date, however, we are not aware of any reports that have examined the potential relationship between HA levels and regional cortical thickness. The aim of the current study is to examine the cortical thickness which is associated with HA temperament in healthy young subjects. METHODS: Twenty-eight young, healthy individuals(13 men and 15 women, mean age, 29.4 +/- 6.3 years) were screened for eligibility and administered the Korean version of the Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory and underwent high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging scanning. RESULTS: HA was associated with cortical thickness in the right superior frontal cortex and in the left parietal cortex, adjusted for age and sex and corrected for multiple comparisons using the permutation testing method. CONCLUSION: Individual temperamental differences in HA are associated with structural variations in specific areas of the brain. The fact that these brain regions are involved in top-down modulations of subcortical fear reactions adds functional significance to current findings.
Aluminum Hydroxide ; Anxiety ; Brain ; Carbonates ; Depressive Disorder ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neuroimaging ; Parietal Lobe ; Temperament

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess variations in caudate volume according to dopamin receptor D2/ankyin repeat and kinase domain containing 1 (DRD2/ANKK1) Taq 1a polymorphisms in young healthy adults and to evaluate the relationship between caudate volumes and psychiatric symptoms as measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. METHODS: Genetic information regarding DRD2/ANKK1 Taq 1a and T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance images were acquired from 30 young healthy adults. Automatic segmentation of caudate was performed using the FreeSurfer program. RESULTS: Individuals with A2 homozygotes of DRD2/ANKK1 Taq 1a polymorphisms (n = 10) had greater right caudate volumes compared to those with A1 allele (s)(18.4% greater ; p = 0.019). Right caudate volumes were negatively associated with total scores of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (beta=-0.50 ; p = 0.016). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest the possibility that DRD2/ANKK1 Taq 1a polymorphisms may underlie the psychiatric symptoms by influencing the structure of the right caudate.
Adult ; Alleles ; Brain ; Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale ; Dopamine ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Phosphotransferases

Background/Aims: Rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) is usually incorporated in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) to reduce the incidence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). This study aimed to find optimal ATG doses in patients undergoing human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-mismatched allogeneic HSCT. Methods: We retrospectively collected medical records from 352 consecutive patients with acute myeloid leukemia (n = 214), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n = 62), or myelodysplastic syndrome (n = 76) in eight centers of Korea between 2005 and 2015. All patients received busulfan-based conditioning without total body irradiation (TBI) and received stem cells from HLA-mismatched donors. Results: In the current study, 5-year overall survival rates of patients receiving low to medium doses of ATG (2.5 to 7.5 mg/kg) were higher than those receiving other doses of ATG (hazard ratio [HR], 0.528; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.311 to 0.897; p = 0.018). The incidence rates of extensive chronic GVHD (ecGVHD) after administration of low to medium doses of ATG were lower than those after other doses of ATG (HR, 0.447; 95% CI, 0.224 ton 0.889; p = 0.022). Conclusions The low to medium doses of ATG may be associated with improving survival outcomes and reducing incidence of ecGVHD without enhancing the chances of relapse in patients with acute leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing non-TBI-based HLA-mismatched allogeneic HSCT.