No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant ; Infant Mortality*

Objective: PD-1 inhibitors have demonstrated improved health outcomes in cancer patients. PD-1 inhibitors are well-tolerated and associated with immune-related adverse events. The objectives of this study are to analyze use patterns of PD-1 inhibitors in patients with cancer and to investigate the incidence of thyroid-related adverse reactions in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors. Methods: The study included patients who had been administered PD-1 inhibitors (either nivolumab or pembrolizumab) at the Samsung Medical Center between October 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. Data was collected from electronic medical records and tested using Mann-Whitney tests and Chi-Square tests for statistical significance. Associations between PD-1 inhibitors and incidence of adverse events were tested using Cox regression for age, gender, BMI, ECOG PS and medication. Results: Two hundred fifteen patients were identified as eligible for analyses. Thyroid-related adverse events occurred in 20% of patients (n=43). Thyroid function tests (TFTs) was performed in 109 patients (50.7%). Positive results of PD-L1 testing were found in 53.2% of the 94 patients who had the test. Approved doses of nivolumab (3 m/kg) and pembrolizumab (200 mg) were administered in 70.4% and 53% of patients, respectively. The analysis of risk factor of thyroid-related adverse reaction did not show statistically significant differences (Cox regression). Conclusion Thyroid-related adverse events are common in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors and hypothyroidism is the most frequent adverse reaction. Routine TFTs monitoring is strongly recommended to evaluate thyroid function in real-world clinical practice.

Objective: PD-1 inhibitors have demonstrated improved health outcomes in cancer patients. PD-1 inhibitors are well-tolerated and associated with immune-related adverse events. The objectives of this study are to analyze use patterns of PD-1 inhibitors in patients with cancer and to investigate the incidence of thyroid-related adverse reactions in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors. Methods: The study included patients who had been administered PD-1 inhibitors (either nivolumab or pembrolizumab) at the Samsung Medical Center between October 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017. Data was collected from electronic medical records and tested using Mann-Whitney tests and Chi-Square tests for statistical significance. Associations between PD-1 inhibitors and incidence of adverse events were tested using Cox regression for age, gender, BMI, ECOG PS and medication. Results: Two hundred fifteen patients were identified as eligible for analyses. Thyroid-related adverse events occurred in 20% of patients (n=43). Thyroid function tests (TFTs) was performed in 109 patients (50.7%). Positive results of PD-L1 testing were found in 53.2% of the 94 patients who had the test. Approved doses of nivolumab (3 m/kg) and pembrolizumab (200 mg) were administered in 70.4% and 53% of patients, respectively. The analysis of risk factor of thyroid-related adverse reaction did not show statistically significant differences (Cox regression). Conclusion Thyroid-related adverse events are common in patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors and hypothyroidism is the most frequent adverse reaction. Routine TFTs monitoring is strongly recommended to evaluate thyroid function in real-world clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Of the many prognostic factors for breast cancer, the relationship between an infiltration of inflammatory cells and the prognosis is debatable. Of the chemokines affecting cancer's inflammatory reactions, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 16 (CXCL16) has attracted attention for its prognostic value in many cancers, including colorectal cancer and renal cell carcinoma. But the situation for breast carcinoma is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the prognostic factors and the CXCL16 expression in patients with breast carcinoma. METHODS: The patients (n=106) diagnosed with invasive ductal cancer of the breast were enrolled. We reviewed the clinicopathological factors of these patients, hematoxylin and eosin stains were prepared and estrogen receptor (ER), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) and CXCL16 immunostaining was performed. RESULTS: The ER expression was significantly correlated with age and inflammation. A CXCL16 expression was noted in 81.1% of the cases. No association was evident between a CXCL16 expression and any other parameter, including the survival rate. Multivariate analysis did not implicate ER, HER2/neu or CXCL16 as an independent prognostic factor, but the tumor size was independent predictive factor for the patient outcome. CONCLUSIONS: An inflammatory reaction mediated by CXCL16 is not associated with the prognosis of breast cancer or any clinicopathological factors.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Chemokines ; Chemokines, CXC ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Coloring Agents ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Estrogens ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor ; Receptor, erbB-2 ; Receptors, Scavenger ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: Recombinant human growth hormone is an effective therapy for short-statured children born small for their gestational age (SGA). This single-arm, multicenter, phase III clinical study of such children was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of treating them with recombinant human-growth-hormone (Eutropin(TM) Inj.) for 6 months. METHODS: Between 2005 and 2007, 30 treatment naive, prepubertal, short-statured SGA-born children were recruited as participants. Eutropin(TM) Inj. was administered for 6 months with a subcutaneous dose of 0.48 mg/kg/wk. The primary endpoint was the change in height velocity from the baseline to month 6. Various parameters were checked to obtain secondary outcome measures and to meet safety criteria. RESULTS: Height velocity significantly increased from 5.36 +/- 1.59 cm/yr at baseline to 10.66 +/- 2.03 cm/yr at month 6 (P < 0.0001). Secondary outcome measures (height velocity at month 3, height SDS for chronological age (CA), weight SDS for CA, bone maturation, and IGF-I and IGFBP-3 levels) were also significantly increased. Eutropin(TM) Inj. was well tolerated and safe over 6 months of treatment. CONCLUSION: The clinical efficacy and safety of Eutropin(TM) Inj. was demonstrated for the 6 month treatment of prepubertal children with short stature due to SGA. Further long-term study is needed.
Child ; Gestational Age ; Human Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care)

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of victims of bullying and the demographic characteristics of victims, and their related psychopathology, in a Korean nationwide sample of youths in middle and high school over a one month period. METHODS: During the autumn of 2009, students in the 7th to 12th grades at 23 secondary schools participated in a nationwide, cross-sectional study. The study subjects completed the Adolescent Mental Health and Problem Behavior Screening Questionnaire- II (AMPQ-II) and Symptom Checklist-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). Based on the data acquired, descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. RESULTS: Among the 3364 participants, 2272 (67.54%) completed the questionnaire. The prevalence of victimization was 28.9%. Male gender was positively associated with victimization, and grade level was negatively related to victimization. The AMPQ-II bullying score (Factor 4) was significantly (p<.001) and positively correlated to the AMPQ-II student total score (r= 0.50), Worry and thought (Factor 1 ; r=0.38), Mood and suicide (Factor 2 ; r=0.31), Academic and Internet-related problems (Factor 3 ; r=0.24), Rule violations (Factor 5 ; r=0.23), and AMPQ-II teacher total score (r=0.11). Somatization (r=0.23), Obsessive-compulsive behavior (r=0.24), Interpersonal sensitivity (r=0.30), Depression (r=0.33), Anxiety (r=0.26), Hostility (r=0.30), Phobic anxiety (r=0.22), Paranoid ideation (r=0.36), and Psychoticism (r=0.31) results from the SCL-90-R were also found to be positively related to the AMPQ-II bullying score, and remained significant after adjusting for age and gender. A total of 26% of the victims reported suicidal ideations as compared to 9% of non-victims over the month prior to the evaluation (chi2=119.595, df=1, p<.001). The multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the AMPQ-II bullying score significantly increased the risk of suicidal ideation [Exp(b)=1.55, df=1, p<.001] after adjusting for age and gender. CONCLUSION: School bullying was highly prevalent among Korean middle and high school students. This study provided strong evidence that suicidal ideation and psychopathology were serious problems among the victims of bullying.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Bullying ; Crime Victims ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Hostility ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Psychopathology ; Suicidal Ideation ; Suicide ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Seasonal variation in urinary stone presentation is well described in the literature. However, previous studies have some limitations. To explore overall cumulative exposure-response and the heterogeneity in the relationships between daily meteorological factors and urolithiasis incidence in 6 major Korean cities, we analyzed data on 687,833 urolithiasis patients from 2009 to 2013 for 6 large cities in Korea: Seoul, Incheon, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, and Busan. Using a time-series design and distributing lag nonlinear methods, we estimated the relative risk (RR) of mean daily urolithiasis incidence (MDUI) associated with mean daily meteorological factors, including the cumulative RR for a 20-day period. The estimated location-specific associations were then pooled using multivariate meta-regression models. A positive association was confirmed between MDUI and mean daily temperature (MDT), and a negative association was shown between MDUI and mean daily relative humidity (MDRH) in all cities. The lag effect was within 5 days. The multivariate Cochran Q test for heterogeneity at MDT was 12.35 (P = 0.136), and the related I2 statistic accounted for 35.2% of the variability. Additionally, the Cochran Q test for heterogeneity and I2 statistic at MDHR were 26.73 (P value = 0.148) and 24.7% of variability in the total group. Association was confirmed between daily temperature, relative humidity and urolithiasis incidence, and the differences in urolithiasis incidence might have been partially attributable to the different frequencies and the ranges in temperature and humidity between cities in Korea.
Busan ; Daegu ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Humidity ; Incheon ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Meteorological Concepts ; Population Characteristics ; Seasons ; Seoul ; Urinary Calculi ; Urolithiasis*

PURPOSE: To estimate annual health care and productivity loss costs attributable to overweight or obesity in working asthmatic patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted using the 2003–2013 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) in the United States. Patients aged 18 to 64 years with asthma were identified via self-reported diagnosis, a Clinical Classification Code of 128, or a ICD-9-CM code of 493.xx. All-cause health care costs were estimated using a generalized linear model with a log function and a gamma distribution. Productivity loss costs were estimated in relation to hourly wages and missed work days, and a two-part model was used to adjust for patients with zero costs. To estimate the costs attributable to overweight or obesity in asthma patients, costs were estimated by the recycled prediction method. RESULTS: Among 11670 working patients with a diagnosis of asthma, 4428 (35.2%) were obese and 3761 (33.0%) were overweight. The health care costs attributable to obesity and overweight in working asthma patients were estimated to be $878 [95% confidence interval (CI): $861–$895] and $257 (95% CI: $251–$262) per person per year, respectively, from 2003 to 2013. The productivity loss costs attributable to obesity and overweight among working asthma patients were $256 (95% CI: $253–$260) and $26 (95% CI: $26–$27) per person per year, respectively. CONCLUSION: Health care and productivity loss costs attributable to overweight and obesity in asthma patients are substantial. This study's results highlight the importance of effective public health and educational initiatives targeted at reducing overweight and obesity among patients with asthma, which may help lower the economic burden of asthma.
Adult ; Asthma/*economics/epidemiology/therapy ; *Cost of Illness ; *Efficiency ; *Employment ; Female ; *Health Care Costs ; Health Expenditures ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity/*economics/epidemiology/therapy ; Overweight/economics/epidemiology/therapy ; United States/epidemiology ; Young Adult

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stabilization of retinyl palmitate (RP) on its skin permeation and distribution profiles. Skin permeation and distribution study were performed using Franz diffusion cells along with rat dorsal skin, and the effect of drug concentration and the addition of pectin on skin deposition profiles of RP was observed. The skin distribution of RP increased in a concentration dependent manner and the formulations containing 0.5 and 1 mg of pectin demonstrated significantly increased RP distributions in the epidermis. Furthermore, it was found that skin distribution of RP could be further improved by combined use of pectin and ascorbyl palmitate (AP), due largely to their anti-oxidative effect. These results clearly demonstrate that the skin deposition properties of RP can be improved by stabilizing RP with pectin. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that pectin could be used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations as an efficient stabilizing agent and as skin penetration modulator.
Animals ; Diffusion ; Epidermis ; Rats ; Skin*

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stabilization of retinyl palmitate (RP) on its skin permeation and distribution profiles. Skin permeation and distribution study were performed using Franz diffusion cells along with rat dorsal skin, and the effect of drug concentration and the addition of pectin on skin deposition profiles of RP was observed. The skin distribution of RP increased in a concentration dependent manner and the formulations containing 0.5 and 1 mg of pectin demonstrated significantly increased RP distributions in the epidermis. Furthermore, it was found that skin distribution of RP could be further improved by combined use of pectin and ascorbyl palmitate (AP), due largely to their anti-oxidative effect. These results clearly demonstrate that the skin deposition properties of RP can be improved by stabilizing RP with pectin. Therefore, it is strongly suggested that pectin could be used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic formulations as an efficient stabilizing agent and as skin penetration modulator.
Animals ; Diffusion ; Epidermis ; Rats ; Skin*