PURPOSE: To investigate the short-term efficacy and safety of ranibizumab in the routine clinical setting in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration and to analyze the associated factors for visual outcome. METHODS: This was a post-hoc analysis of a ranibizumab regulatory post-marketing surveillance study in which 4,136 patients were enrolled and followed for 12 weeks. Change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), size of choroidal neovascularization, and the presence of hemorrhage and exudate were analyzed and the association between BCVA change and baseline characteristics were investigated. Data on ocular and systemic adverse events were collected. RESULTS: Mean BCVA improved significantly and mean BCVA change was the logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution 0.13 ± 0.01 (p < 0.001). A lower baseline BCVA and younger age were significant predictive factors for visual improvement or maintenance (≥0 lines). For greater visual acuity gain (≥3 lines), no treatment history, lower baseline BCVA, younger age, and classic-type choroidal neovascularization were significant predictive factors. No new safety signals were found. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, conducted in real-world clinical practice with a large number of neovascular age-related macular degeneration patients, visual and anatomical outcomes improved significantly after three monthly ranibizumab treatments. Treatment-naive patients had a higher chance of greater visual gain (≥3 lines) than non-naive patients.
Choroidal Neovascularization ; Exudates and Transudates ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Macular Degeneration ; Ranibizumab ; Visual Acuity

Background: This study is aimed to verify individual and regional-level factors affecting the depression of Koreans and to develop social programs for improving the depressive status. Methods: This study used individual-level variables from the Korean Community Health Survey (2018) and used the e-regional index of the Korean Statistical Information Service as the regional-level variable. A multi-level logistic regression was executed to identify individual and regional-level variables that were expected to affect the extent of depressive symptoms and to draw the receiver operating characteristic curve to compare the volume of impact between variables from both levels. Results: The results of the multi-level logistic regression analysis in regards to individual-level factors showed that older age, female gender, a lower income level, a lower education level, not having a spouse, the practice of walking, the consumption of breakfast higher levels of stress, and having high blood pressure or diabetes were associated with a greater increase in depressive symptoms. In terms of regional factors, areas with fewer cultural facilities and fewer car registration had higher levels of depressive symptoms.The comparison of area under the curve showed that individual factors had a greater influence than regional factors. Conclusion This study showed that while both, individual and regional-level factors affect depression, the influence of the latter was relatively weaker as compared to the first. In this sense, it is necessary to develop programs focused on the individual, such as social prescribing at the local or community-level, rather than the city and nation-level approach that are currently prevalent.

BACKGROUND: Decreased activities of daily living (ADL) in elderly people are related to decreased quality of life and death and are a clinically important issue. However, few studies have investigated the various characteristics and risk factors for a decline in ADL among elderly in-patients in geriatric hospitals in Korea. METHODS: In total, 163 elderly in-patients with dementia in three geriatric hospitals located in Incheon, Gwangju and Yongin, Korea were surveyed prospectively for associated factors of a decline in ADL after 6 months. RESULTS: On average, the subjects were 79.4+/-7.6 years old, and 67.5% were female. Approximately 63% had Alzheimer type dementia, 36.8% only attended primary school, 73.0% were widowed, and 38.7% had been admitted to hospitals for less than 1 year. The Korean version of the Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE) score was 14.1+/-6.5, and the clinical dementia rating was 1.9+/-0.9. In total, 8.6% were bed-ridden and 59.5% and 64.6% had never experienced fecal and urinary incontinence, respectively. Total ADL scores declined after 6 months follow-up, and significantly associated factors were low K-MMSE score, fecal incontinence, and co-existence of fecal and urinary incontinence. CONCLUSION: Low K-MMSE scores, fecal incontinence, and the co-existence of fecal and urinary incontinence were associated with ADL declines in elderly in-patients with dementia in long-term care hospitals located in three cities in Korea.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; Dementia ; Fecal Incontinence ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Long-Term Care ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Risk Factors ; Urinary Incontinence ; Widowhood

PURPOSE: Acute encephalitis and encephalopathy are preceded by respiratory or enteric infection, whose pathogens can be detected more easily with advanced tools. However, studies for pathogens in Korea remain scarce. We investigated the clinical characteristics and pathogens in childhood encephalitis and encephalopathy. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of children with acute encephalitis and encephalopathy admitted to our hospital between March 2013 and February 2017. RESULTS: The 51 included patients were aged 5.8±4.4 years (mean±standard deviation), comprising 36 with encephalitis (70.6%) and 15 with encephalopathy (29.4%). Respiratory symptoms (62.7%) were more common than enteric symptoms (45.1%). Brain MRI was abnormal in 54.9%, and leu-kocytosis in the cerebrospinal fluid was noted in 41.2%. The prevalence of diseases was highest in winter (29.4%). In encephalitis, eight patients had infective encephalitis (15.7%), comprising enterovirus (N=4), Epstein-Barr virus (N=3; one with HHV6 coinfection), and tsutsugamushi in-fection (N=1). The 11 patients with ADEM included 1each with adenovirus, influenza A, and mycoplasmal infection. One patient with Bickerstaff-brainstem encephalitis had mycoplasmal pneumonia. In the 15 patients with encephalitis of unknown etiology, rhinovirus (N=3), influenza A (N=2), adenovirus (N=1), and mycoplasmal infection (N=6) were found. In the encephalopa-thy group, three patients had abnormal brain MRI: ANE with influenza A, AESD with exanthem subitum, and norovirus-associated MERS. In the remaining 12 patients, influenza A (N=2), ade-novirus, rhinovirus, enterovirus, norovirus (N=1 for each virus), and mycoplasmal infection (N=4) were found. CONCLUSION: Acute childhood encephalitis and encephalopathy were the most prevalent in winter and were fre-quently associated with respiratory infections.
Adenoviridae ; Bacteria ; Brain ; Brain Diseases* ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Child ; Encephalitis* ; Enterovirus ; Exanthema ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Herpesvirus 6, Human ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Norovirus ; Pneumonia ; Prevalence ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhinovirus

A 50 year-old male with a 10-year history of diabetes was admitted to the hospital for edema and foamy urine. At the time of admission, serum creatinine was 1.99 mg/dL and 24 h urine protein levels were 4.0 g/day. Renal biopsy showed nodular glomerulosclerosis. Immunofluorescence demonstrated the presence of kappa light chains along the glomerular and tubular basement membrane. Electron microscopy showed granular electron-dense deposits along the glomerular subendothelium and tubular basement membrane. Serum protein electrophoresis was negative for a monoclonal spike; however, urine protein electrophoresis demonstrated a monoclonal spike. Bone marrow examination was compatible with multiple myeloma and the patient was diagnosed with light-chain deposition disease associated with multiple myeloma. This report stresses the significant challenges that occur when diagnosing light-chain deposition disease in kidneys of patients with long standing diabetes, and discusses previously reported cases of light-chain deposition disease in Korea.
Basement Membrane ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow Examination ; Creatinine ; Diabetic Nephropathies* ; Edema ; Electrophoresis ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin Light Chains ; Kidney ; Korea ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron ; Multiple Myeloma

Most cases of microcephaly with growth failure and developmental delay have a genetic or metabolic etiology. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) has uncovered many causative genes and has also broadened their phenotypic spectrum. The present study applied WES to a boy with microcephaly, growth failure, developmental delay, seizures and atopic dermatitis, which reveal an unexpected frame-shift mutation (c.1248_1253delinsCT, NM_014009.3; p.Lys416Asnfs, NP_054728.2) in the forkhead box P3 gene (FOXP3). Mutations of this gene are known to result in immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) syndrome. Mutation of FOXP3 was reverified by Sanger sequencing in the proband and his carrier mother. Flow-cytometry expression study of FOXP3 in peripheral white blood cells showed that the mean fluorescence intensity of FOXP3 was lower in the proband than in a normal control. We report a mild form of IPEX syndrome without chronic protracted diarrhea or major infections, instead presenting with proportional microcephaly, growth failure, developmental delay, seizures and atopic dermatitis.
Dermatitis, Atopic ; Diarrhea ; Failure to Thrive ; Fluorescence ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Microcephaly* ; Mothers ; Seizures

Kidney is rarely an involved organ of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Here, we report on a case of membranous nephropathy and interstitial nephritis after allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in a 44-year-old female patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patient received GVHD prophylaxis with low dose steroid, cyclosporin, and short course methotrexate. Cyclosporine was tapered out 17 months after allogeneic HSCT. Thereafter, the patient developed kidney impairment and nephrotic range proteinuria. Kidney biopsy revealed membranous nephropathy concurrent with interstitial nephritis.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Cyclosporine ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranous* ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Methotrexate ; Nephritis, Interstitial* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Proteinuria

Gout attacks are often accompanied by systemic inflammatory response. The aim of the retrospective study was to compare gout patients in different age groups in terms of their clinical features at gout attacks. Patients, who were treated for gout attack in two tertiary medical centers between January 2000 and April 2014, were divided into young (≤ 50 years), middle-aged, and elderly (> 65 years) groups. Patients in three age groups were compared in terms of presence of fever (> 37.8°C), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and erythrocyte sedimentation ratio (ESR) at the gout attacks. Monocytes, which were isolated from 10 consecutive patients who previously experienced gout attacks, were stimulated with monosodium urate (MSU) crystals and cytokine production was measured by flow cytometry. Among 254 patients analyzed in this study, 48 were young, 65 were middle-aged, and 141 were elderly. The elderly patients were more likely to have fever (51.1%) during the attack than the young (20.8%) and middle-aged (30.8%) patients (P < 0.001 by χ² test). They were also more likely to have higher ESR and CRP levels than the young patients (P = 0.002 for ESR, P < 0.001 for CRP). Patients' age correlated significantly with CRP and ESR levels (both P < 0.001). After stimulation with MSU, the production of interleukin-1β by monocytes increased with patients' age (r = 0.670, P = 0.03). In conclusion, gout attacks in elderly patients are associated with fever and higher ESR and CRP levels, often resembling a septic arthritis.
Aged* ; Aging ; Arthritis, Infectious ; Blood Sedimentation ; C-Reactive Protein ; Fever ; Flow Cytometry ; Gout* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Monocytes ; Retrospective Studies ; Uric Acid

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have documented increased release of endothelin(ET) during acute attack of asthma. The purpose of this study is to observe the link between plasma level and urinary excretion of each and changes during acute exacerbation. METHOD: Plasma and 24 hour urine were collected from sixteen asthmatics during acute exacerbation, twice ; first day of symptomatic exacerbation and two weeks after treatment. Controls were ten healthy normal subjects. All patients were treated with corticosteroid and beta-2 adrenergic agonist on admission. ET was determined by radioimmmunoassay and had 100% cross reactivity with ET-1, 67% with ET-2, 84% with ET-3, and 8% with Big-ET. RESULTS: Plasma ETs were significantly elevated during acute attack of asthma compared with those in remission and controls. However, there was no significant changes in urine ET concentrations or total ET amounts in 24 hour urine during exacerbation upto two weeks. Those levels of urine ET in asthmatics were still higher than controls. ET concentrations in plasma or urine were not correlated with pulmonary functional parameters and hypoxemia. CONCLUSION: The findings suggests that increased plasma ETs are related with exaggerated release during acute asthma. Urinary ET excretion is increased in asthma. However, urine ET changes during exacerbation should be observed in a larger and longer scale.
Adrenergic Agonists ; Anoxia ; Asthma* ; Endothelin-2 ; Endothelins* ; Humans ; Plasma*

BACKGROUND: Mannitol containing monophasic filler with higher crosslinking has not been well studied for moderate and severe nasolabial fold (NLF) correction. OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy and safety of a novel mannitol containing hyaluronic acid (HA) filler (HA-G) with biphasic HA filler (HA-P) for moderate and severe NLF correction. METHODS: Thirteen subjects with symmetric moderate to severe NLF received HA-G (in one NLF) and HA-P (in other NLF) and were evaluated for 24 weeks. RESULTS: At both 12 and 24 weeks, the mean improvement in Genzyme 6-point grading scale from baseline was significantly greater in the side of face that was treated with HA-G than HA-P (1.96±0.91 vs. 1.54±0.73 at week 12; p=0.044, 1.88±0.78 vs. 1.3±0.79 at week 24; p=0.027, respectively). At 12 weeks, the mean Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale score was 2.92±0.93 for HA-G and 2.31±0.95 for HA-P (p=0.008). Both fillers were well tolerated. CONCLUSION: The HA filler HA-G provides better efficacy and similar local tolerability compared with HA-P in 6 months following treatment for moderate and severe NLF.
Dermal Fillers* ; Hyaluronic Acid* ; Mannitol* ; Nasolabial Fold*