OBJECTIVES: N100 amplitude slope(the intensity dependence of the cortical auditory evoked potentials) is widely considered as an indirect indicator of central serotonergic neurotransmission. However, there are only a few studies about N100 amplitude slopes of major psychiatric disorders. In this study, we examined N100 amplitude slope differences among major depressive disorder(MDD), bipolar disorder(BD), schizophrenia (SCZ) and normal controls(NC). METHODS: We measured the N100 amplitude slopes of 35 patients with MDD, 33 patients with BD, 27 patients with SCZ and 35 NC subjects. Amplitude differences from N1 to P2 at the five different sound intensities(55, 65, 75, 85 and 95dB) were examined at Cz electrode. The N100 amplitude slope was calculated as the linear regression of five N1/P2 peak-to-peak amplitudes across stimulus intensities. RESULTS: BD patients showed significantly reduced N100 amplitude slope compared with NC(0.54+/-0.70 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=0.035). N100 amplitude slope of SCZ patients was significantly reduced compared with NC(0.50 +/-0.47 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=0.027). N100 amplitude slope of BD patients was significantly lower than that of MDD patients(0.54+/-0.70 vs. 0.94+/-0.60, p=0.046). SCZ patients also showed significant reduction of N100 amplitude slope compared with MDD patients(0.50+/-0.47 vs. 0.94+/-0.60, p=0.036). There was no significant difference of N100 amplitude slope between MDD patients and NC(0.94+/-0.60 vs. 0.96+/-0.72, p=1.000). CONCLUSION: Interestingly, the N100 amplitude slopes of BD and SCZ were reduced compared to NC and MDD patients. Our results suggest the predictive use of N100 amplitude slope in making differential diagnoses of major psychiatric disorders. Clinical implications of N100 amplitude slope in major psychiatric disorders were discussed.
Bipolar Disorder ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Electrodes ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Schizophrenia ; Synaptic Transmission

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are 2 of the independent predictors for cardiovascular disease, while Acanthopanax senticosus Harms (ASH) is a traditional medicinal plant that can improve cardiovascular health. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the fruit of ASH on vascular function in apparently healthy subjects. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, consisting of healthy adults with at least 2 of the following 3 conditions: borderline high blood pressure (BP; 120 mmHg ≤ systolic BP ≤ 160 mmHg or 80 mmHg ≤ diastolic BP ≤ 100 mmHg), smoking (≥10 cigarettes/day), and borderline blood lipid levels (220 ≤ total cholesterol ≤ 240, 130 ≤ low density lipoprotein cholesterol ≤ 165, or 150 ≤ triglyceride ≤ 220 mg/dL). Randomly assigned 76 subjects who received a placebo or 2 doses of ASH fruit (low, 500 mg/day; high, 1,000 mg/day) completed the intervention. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), flow-mediated dilation, carotid intima-media thickness, and BP were measured both at baseline and following the 12-week intervention. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation was assessed by western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the placebo group, the low-dose group showed more significant changes after the 12-week intervention period in terms of systolic BP (0.1 vs. −7.7 mmHg; P = 0.044), baPWV (31.3 vs. −98.7 cm/s; P = 0.007), and the ratio of phospho-eNOS/eNOS (0.8 vs. 1.22; P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that ASH fruit extract at 500 mg/day has the potential to improve BP and arterial stiffness via endothelial eNOS activation in healthy adults with smoking and the tendency of having elevated BP or blood lipid parameters.

Background: Rapid revascularization is the key to better patient outcomes in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Direct activation of cardiac catheterization laboratory (CCL) using artificial intelligence (AI) interpretation of initial electrocardiography (ECG) might help reduce door-to-balloon (D2B) time. To prove that this approach is feasible and beneficial, we assessed the non-inferiority of such a process over conventional evaluation and estimated its clinical benefits, including a reduction in D2B time, medical cost, and 1-year mortality. Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study of emergency department (ED) patients suspected of having STEMI from January 2021 to June 2021. Quantitative ECG (QCG™), a comprehensive cardiovascular evaluation system, was used for screening. The non-inferiority of the AI-driven CCL activation over joint clinical evaluation by emergency physicians and cardiologists was tested using a 5% non-inferiority margin. Results: Eighty patients (STEMI, 54 patients [67.5%]) were analyzed. The area under the curve of QCG score was 0.947. Binned at 50 (binary QCG), the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 98.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 94.6%, 100.0%), 76.9% (95% CI, 60.7%, 93.1%), 89.8% (95% CI, 82.1%, 97.5%) and 95.2% (95% CI, 86.1%, 100.0%), respectively. The difference in sensitivity and specificity between binary QCG and the joint clinical decision was 3.7% (95% CI, −3.5%, 10.9%) and 19.2% (95% CI, −4.7%, 43.1%), respectively, confirming the non-inferiority. The estimated median reduction in D2B time, evaluation cost, and the relative risk of 1-year mortality were 11.0 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 7.3–20.0 minutes), 26,902.2 KRW (22.78 USD) per STEMI patient, and 12.39% (IQR, 7.51–22.54%), respectively. Conclusion AI-assisted CCL activation using initial ECG is feasible. If such a policy is implemented, it would be reasonable to expect some reduction in D2B time, medical cost, and 1-year mortality.

Background: Hyperkalemia is a potentially fatal condition that mandates rapid identification in emergency departments (EDs). Although a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) can indicate hyperkalemia, subtle changes in the ECG often pose detection challenges. An artificial intelligence application that accurately assesses hyperkalemia risk from ECGs could revolutionize patient screening and treatment. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and reliability of a smartphone application, which utilizes camera-captured ECG images, in quantifying hyperkalemia risk compared to human experts. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of ED hyperkalemic patients (serum potassium ≥ 6 mmol/L) and their age- and sex-matched non-hyperkalemic controls. The application was tested by five users and its performance was compared to five board-certified emergency physicians (EPs). Results: Our study included 125 patients. The area under the curve (AUC)-receiver operating characteristic of the application’s output was nearly identical among the users, ranging from 0.898 to 0.904 (median: 0.902), indicating almost perfect interrater agreement (Fleiss’ kappa 0.948). The application demonstrated high sensitivity (0.797), specificity (0.934), negative predictive value (NPV) (0.815), and positive predictive value (PPV) (0.927). In contrast, the EPs showed moderate interrater agreement (Fleiss’ kappa 0.551), and their consensus score had a significantly lower AUC of 0.662. The physicians’ consensus demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.203, specificity of 0.934, NPV of 0.527, and PPV of 0.765. Notably, this performance difference remained significant regardless of patients’ sex and age (P < 0.001 for both). Conclusion Our findings suggest that a smartphone application can accurately and reliably quantify hyperkalemia risk using initial ECGs in the ED.

We investigated the effectiveness of lamivudine to prevent hepatitis flare up due to reactivation of hepatitis-B virus (HBV) in hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive patients with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) during cytotoxic chemotherapy. HBsAg-positive patients with NHL were identified from the lymphoma database of the Asan Medical Center from January 1995 to August 2002, and their medical records were reviewed. We found that 31 patients were received cytotoxic chemotherapy among 41 NHL patients with HBsAg-positive during same period. We divided them into 2 groups of HBsAg patients with NHL as follows: Group A who received cytotoxic chemotherapy with lamivudine 100 mg daily; Group B without any prophylactic antiviral therapy. There were no significant differences between Group A and B in several clinical variables. Seventeen patients (85%) in group B and one patient (9%) in Group A had hepatitis due to reactivation of HBV (p<0.001), with one hepatic failure related death in Group B and none in group A. The mean dose intensity of adriamycin actually delivered was 13.3 mg/m2/week (80% Relative Dose intensity (RDI)) in Group A and 9.1 mg/m2/week (55% RDI) in Groups B (p<0.001). Our data suggest that the frequency of chemotherapy-related HBV reactivation may be significantly decreased by lamivudine prophylaxis with maintenance of the dosage of adriamycin.
Adult ; Aged ; Antibiotics, Antineoplastic/*therapeutic use ; Doxorubicin/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatitis B/complications/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/*analysis ; Hepatitis B Virus/metabolism ; Human ; Lamivudine/*therapeutic use ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin/complications/*drug therapy/metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Survival Rate ; Virus Activation