OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and surgical outcomes of laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy (LAVH) for women with anterior wall adherence after cesarean section. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 328 women with prior cesarean section history who underwent LAVH from March 2003 to July 2013. The subjects were classified into two groups: group A, with anterior wall adherence (n=49); group B, without anterior wall adherence (n=279). We compared the demographic, clinical characteristics, and surgical outcomes of two groups. RESULTS: The median age and parity of the patients were 46 years (range, 34 to 70 years) and 2 (1 to 6). Patients with anterior wall adherence had longer operating times (175 vs. 130 minutes, P<0.05). There were no significant differences in age, parity, number of cesarean section, body mass index, specimen weight, postoperative change in hemoglobin concentration, or length of hospital stay between the two groups. There was one case from each group who sustained bladder laceration during the vaginal portion of the procedure, both repaired vaginally. There was no conversion to abdominal hysterectomy in either group. CONCLUSION: LAVH is effective and safe for women with anterior wall adherence after cesarean section.
Body Mass Index ; Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal* ; Lacerations ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Parity ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Bladder

Along with the multiple neuroprotective effect, recent studies suggest that gintonin might increase the blood brain barrier permeability. We evaluated the effect of gintonin on the vascular permeability changes in different brain segments, using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this 8-week, randomized, open label pilot study, ten participants with subjective memory impairment but preserved cognitive function assigned to gintonin-enriched fraction (GEF) 300 mg/day or placebo groups. Korean versions of the Alzheimer's disease assessment scale (ADAS-K) and DCE-MRI parameters including Ktrans and Vp in different brain segments were evaluated at baseline and at 8 weeks after treatment. Nine participants completed the study protocol. No adverse events occurred during the observation period for 8 weeks in both groups. Following gintonin administration, increment trends of the brain permeability that did not reach a statistical significance were observed in the left hippocampus (Ktrans and Vp , both, p = 0.062), left thalamus and in left putamen (Ktrans , p = 0.062), and left insula and right amygdala (Vp , p = 0.062), but not in the control placebo group. The increment of the Ktrans value in the left thalamus from the baseline was highly correlated with the change of the ADAS scores (r = −0.900, p = 0.037). Gintonin might enhance the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in the brain structures involved in cognitive functions. Further efficacy exploration for the synergistic effect of gintonin's BBB permeability enhancement to its other cognitive enhancing mechanisms are warranted.

Background/Aims: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is known to have a lipid-lowering effect. This is in contrast to tenofovir alafenamide (TAF), which has a lipid-neutral effect. Therefore, concerns have been raised as to whether these differences affect long-term cardiovascular risk. Here, we aimed to evaluate the long-term risk of cardiovascular events in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients treated with TAF or TDF. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 4,124 treatment-naïve CHB patients treated with TDF (n=3,186) or TAF (n=938) between 2012 and 2022. The primary outcome was a composite endpoint of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), including myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and hospitalization for unstable angina or heart failure. Serial changes in lipid profiles between two treatments were also explored. Results: The median age of the patients was 50.6 years, and 60.6% of the patients were male. At baseline, 486 (11.8%) and 637 (15.4%) of the patients had dyslipidemia and fatty liver, respectively. A total of 42 MACE occurred, with an annual incidence of 0.2%/100 person-years (PYs). At 1, 3, and 5 years, the cumulative risk of MACE was 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.2% in patients treated with TDF, and 0.2%, 0.7%, and 0.7% in patients treated with TAF, respectively (p=0.538). No significant differences in the risk of MACE were observed between TDF and TAF. A multivariable analysis found that current smoker and a history of cardiovascular events were risk factors associated with an increased risk of MACE. Conclusions Patients treated with TAF had comparable risks of cardiovascular outcomes, defined as MACE, as patients treated with TDF.

Background/Aims: With the wide application of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for hepatitis C virus infection, the number of patients achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) will continue to increase. However, no consensus has been achieved on exempting SVR-achieving patients from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance. Methods: Between 2013 and 2021, 873 Korean patients who achieved SVR following DAA treatment were analyzed. We evaluated the predictive performance of seven noninvasive scores (PAGE-B, modified PAGE-B, Toronto HCC risk index, fibrosis-4, aspartate aminotransferase-toplatelet ratio index, albumin-bilirubin, and age male albumin-bilirubin platelet [aMAP]) at baseline and after SVR. Results: The mean age of the 873 patients (39.3% males) was 59.1 years, and 224 patients (25.7%) had cirrhosis. During 3,542 person-years of follow-up, 44 patients developed HCC, with an annual incidence of 1.24/100 person-years. Male sex (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR], 2.21), cirrhosis (AHR, 7.93), and older age (AHR, 1.05) were associated with a significantly higher HCC risk in multivariate analysis. The performance of all scores at the time of SVR were numerically better than those at baseline as determined by the integrated area under the curve. Timedependent area under the curves for predicting the 3-, 5-, and 7-year risk of HCC after SVR were higher in mPAGE-B (0.778, 0.746, and 0.812, respectively) and aMAP (0.776, 0.747, and 0.790, respectively) systems than others. No patients predicted as low-risk by the aMAP or mPAGE-B systems developed HCC. Conclusions aMAP and mPAGE-B scores demonstrated the highest predictive performance for de novo HCC in DAA-treated, SVR-achieving patients. Hence, these two systems may be used to identify low-risk patients that can be exempted from HCC surveillance.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of Extrapyramidal signs (EPS) and the associations between EPS and cognitive subdomains in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: We recruited 1,324 patients with AD from the Clinical Research of Dementia of South Korea (CREDOS), a hospital based cohort study with fifty-six participating hospitals. We estimated cognitive subdomain using the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery-Dementia version (SNSB-D). Dementia severity was measured by Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) and Korean version of Mini-Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE). The EPS group was defined by the presence of at least one EPS based on a focused neurologic examination. RESULTS: The prevalence of patients with EPS was 11%. These had higher CDR-SB scores than non-EPS group. After controlling for demographic, radiological, and dementia severity (CDR-SB) factors, EPS group showed lower cognitive ability in the subdomains for visuospatial and frontal-executive function than non-EPS group. The patients with EPS were showed significantly higher scores in the subdomain for memory function. CONCLUSION: The presence of EPSs in patients with AD was associated with lower visuospatial, frontal-executive function and higher memory function.
Alzheimer Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Dementia ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Memory ; Neurobehavioral Manifestations ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between cognitive subdomains and insight into one's cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: We recruited 1,722 patients with AD from the Clinical Research of Dementia of South Korea study and designed a cross-sectional study. Each patient's cognitive subdomain was assessed by using the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery-Dementia version. Severity of dementia was evaluated by Korean version of Mini-Mental Status Examination (K-MMSE) and Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB). Insight into one's cognitive impairment was categorized as 'with insight' and 'without insight' through interview with patient's caregivers. RESULTS: Among the 1,722 patients with AD, 1,475 patients were included in the 'with insight' group and the remaining 247 patients were included in the 'without insight' group. Subjects in the 'without insight' group had lower K-MMSE and CDR-SB scores than those in the 'with insight' group. After controlling for demographic data and dementia severity, higher scores on both attention function (odds ratio=1.12, 95% confidence interval : 1.03-1.21) and frontal-executive function (odds ratio=1.03, 95% confidence interval : 1.01-1.05) significantly predicted the membership to 'with insight' group. CONCLUSION: In patients with AD, attention and frontal-executive function were associated with insight into one's cognitive impairment.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Caregivers ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dementia* ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Seoul

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify the association depression with education level in patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). METHODS: We examined 911 patients with AD in CREDOS (Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea) study and designed cross-sectional study. Each patient underwent psychiatrical, neurological and medical examination, interview for caregivers, laboratory tests, neuropsychological tests, and brain MRI. Cognitive function was measured using Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination, Global Deterioration Scale and Clinical Dementia Rating. Psycho-Behavioral symptom was measured using Caregiver-Administered Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Daily Living was measured using Barthel Index for daily living activities and Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Depressive symptoms using the Korean version of the Short form on Geriatric Depression Scale were measured. Education was classified into low, intermediate, and high levels. 621 patients were performed APOE genotyping among the 911 patients. RESULTS: Out of the 911 patients, 477 were low education, 287 were intermediate education, and 147 were high education. 341 patients had depression. In logistic regression model we confirmed low education was the risk factor of depression (OR 2.26, 95% CI 1.66-3.07). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that low education was associated with depression in Alzheimer's dementia.
Activities of Daily Living ; Apolipoproteins E ; Brain ; Caregivers ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dementia ; Depression ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to identify the association between insight and neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). METHODS: We examined 2607 patients with AD in the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea study and designed a cross-sectional study. Each patient underwent psychiatric, neurological, and medical examination, interview for caregivers, laboratory tests, neuropsychological tests, and brain MRI. Cognitive function was measured using the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination, Global Deterioration Scale, and Clinical Dementia Rating. Behavioral and psychological symptoms were measured using the Korean version of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Daily Living was measured using the Barthel Index for daily living activities and Seoul-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Insight was classified according to 'with insight', 'partial insight', and 'without insight' by interview with caregivers. RESULTS: Among the 2607 patients, 990 were included in the 'with insight' group, 1191 were included in the 'Partial insight' group, and the 'without insight' group included 426 patients. The 'without insight' group had a significantly higher aggression level than the 'with insight' group, but not the 'partial insight' group [odds ratio (OR)=1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) : 1,14-1.88]. A significantly lower prevalence of depression was observed in the 'Partial insight' group and the 'without insight' group, compared to the 'with insight' group (OR=0.51, 95% CI : 0.43-0.61/OR=0.61, 95% CI : 0.48-0.78). The 'partial insight' group showed a lower anxiety level than the 'with insight' group (OR=0.63, 95% CI : 0.53-0.75). CONCLUSION: Findings of this study confirmed that insight level was associated with aggression, depression, and anxiety in patients with Alzheimer' dementia.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aggression ; Anxiety ; Brain ; Caregivers ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dementia ; Depression ; Humans ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea