PURPOSE: The aim of the study is to evaluate the health-related quality of life, psychological symptoms, distress, and sense of coherence in adult haematopoietic stem cell transplantation survivors. METHODS: Fifty two survivors completed four questionnaires after the transplantation. The questionnaires were the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-BMT Scale, the National Cancer Center Psychological Symptom Inventory, the Distress Thermometer, and the Sense of Coherence scale. RESULTS: Quality of life was positively correlated with sense of coherence, whereas sense of coherence was negatively correlated with all psychological symptoms and distress. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that sense of coherence was the only significant predictor of quality of life after controlling for sex and age at transplantation. Model 2 explained 33.2% of the total variance of quality of life. CONCLUSION: Supporting patients towards improving comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, the three components of sense of coherence, may be beneficial and improve outcomes. Individually pre-transplant and post-transplant assessments of sense of coherence may be of clinical importance, in order to identify patients with unmet needs and to provide rolonged support.
Adult* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Quality of Life* ; Sense of Coherence ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells* ; Survivors* ; Symptom Assessment ; Thermometers

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a rare complication of gemcitabine treatment. A 55-year-old man with a history of urothelial cancer underwent right ureteronephrectomy and palliative chemotherapy. The patient presented with dyspnea, generalized edema with foamy urine, and new-onset hypertension with acute kidney injury (AKI). Although AKI with oliguria was evident, thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia were not overt. To determine the cause of rapidly progressive azotemia, kidney biopsy was performed despite a single kidney and revealed chronic TMA. Microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia developed after renal biopsy. Diagnosed as gemcitabine-induced TMA, gemcitabine cessation and active treatment including steroids, plasmapheresis, and rituximab were carried out, but the patients condition progressed to a dialysis-dependent state. Gemcitabine-induced TMA is often difficult to diagnose because of its variable clinical course. Therefore, heightened awareness of this potentially lethal complication of gemcitabine is essential; renal biopsy may be helpful.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Anemia, Hemolytic ; Azotemia ; Biopsy ; Drug Therapy ; Dyspnea ; Edema ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney* ; Middle Aged ; Oliguria ; Plasmapheresis ; Steroids ; Thrombocytopenia ; Thrombotic Microangiopathies* ; Rituximab

West Nile encephalitis was first identified in 1937, but until now, it was never diagnosed in Korea. A 58-yr-old Korean man was admitted with headache and cognitive dysfunction. The patient had been on a business trip in Guinea. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed pleocytosis. The patient complained of both leg weakness,and arachnoiditis and myelitis were observed on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A specific neutralizing antibody for West Nile virus was positive in serum. After a treatment with interferon-alpha 3mu, follow up CSF findings recovered completely after 3 months later. The first case of West Nile encephalitis in Korea was imported from Guinea, and was cured successfully.
Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Headache/complications ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha/*therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; West Nile Fever/*diagnosis/*drug therapy ; West Nile virus/immunology

West Nile encephalitis was first identified in 1937, but until now, it was never diagnosed in Korea. A 58-yr-old Korean man was admitted with headache and cognitive dysfunction. The patient had been on a business trip in Guinea. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) showed pleocytosis. The patient complained of both leg weakness,and arachnoiditis and myelitis were observed on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A specific neutralizing antibody for West Nile virus was positive in serum. After a treatment with interferon-alpha 3mu, follow up CSF findings recovered completely after 3 months later. The first case of West Nile encephalitis in Korea was imported from Guinea, and was cured successfully.
Antibodies, Viral/*blood ; Headache/complications ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha/*therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; West Nile Fever/*diagnosis/*drug therapy ; West Nile virus/immunology

IL-22, a pleiotropic cytokine, is known to have a profound effect on the regeneration of damaged intestinal barriers. The tissue-protective properties of IL-22 are expected to be potentially exploited in the attenuation and treatment of colitis. However, because of the disease-promoting role of IL-22 in chronic inflammation, a comprehensive evaluation is required to translate IL-22 into the clinical domain. Here, we present the effective production of soluble human IL-22 in bacteria to prove whether recombinant IL-22 has the ability to ameliorate colitis and inflammation. IL-22 was expressed in the form of a biologically active monomer and non-functional oligomers. Monomeric IL-22 (mIL-22) was highly purified through a series of 3 separate chromatographic methods and an enzymatic reaction. We reveal that the resulting mIL-22 is correctly folded and is able to phosphorylate STAT3 in HT-29 cells. Subsequently, we demonstrate that mIL-22 enables the attenuation of dextran sodium sulfate-induced acute colitis in mice, as well as the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Collectively, our results suggest that the recombinant mIL-22 is suitable to study the biological roles of endogenous IL-22 in immune responses and can be developed as a biological agent associated with inflammatory disorders.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary kidney disease. It is characterized by cyst growth in the kidneys, resulting in kidney enlargement and end-stage kidney disease. The polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) and PKD2 have been identified as genes related to ADPKD and their significance in the molecular pathology of the disease has been studied. A disease-modifying drug has been approved; therefore, it has become important to identify patients at a high risk of kidney disease progression. Genetic tests, image analysis methods, and clinical factors for kidney disease progression prediction have been established. This review describes genetic and clinical characteristics, and discusses ongoing studies in Korean ADPKD patients.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common hereditary kidney disease. It is characterized by cyst growth in the kidneys, resulting in kidney enlargement and end-stage kidney disease. The polycystic kidney disease 1 (PKD1) and PKD2 have been identified as genes related to ADPKD and their significance in the molecular pathology of the disease has been studied. A disease-modifying drug has been approved; therefore, it has become important to identify patients at a high risk of kidney disease progression. Genetic tests, image analysis methods, and clinical factors for kidney disease progression prediction have been established. This review describes genetic and clinical characteristics, and discusses ongoing studies in Korean ADPKD patients.

Reninoma is a tumor of the renal juxtaglomerular cell apparatus that causes hypertension and hypokalemia because of hypersecretion of renin. We present a case of a 29-year-old female patient with reninoma and concomitant variant angina. The patient had uncontrolled hypertension and elevated plasma renin activity and aldosterone levels. Imaging studies revealed a mass in the left kidney, which was further confirmed as a renin-producing lesion via selective venous catheterization. During the evaluation, the patient had acute-onset chest pain that was diagnosed as variant angina after a provocation test. After partial nephrectomy, the plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone levels decreased and blood pressure normalized. We report a case of reninoma with variant angina.
Adult ; Aldosterone ; Angina, Unstable ; Blood Pressure ; Catheterization ; Catheters ; Chest Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypokalemia ; Kidney ; Kidney Neoplasms ; Nephrectomy ; Plasma ; Renin

OBJECTIVE: Aberrant expression of the cell surface proteoglycan, syndecan-1, is found in many malignancies. The current study describes the immunohistochemical study of syndecan-1 expression in normal, hyperplastic, and malignant endometrial tissues for evaluation of application as a parameter of cancer progression in patients with endometrial hyperplasia. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining of syndecan-1 was performed in 101 formalin fixed, paraffin embedded sections of normal, hyperplastic, and malignant endometrial tissues. We analyzed specimens from patients with normal endometrium (NE, N=10) as controls, and those of simple hyperplasia (SH, N=20), complex hyperplasia without atypia (CH, N=20), atypical hyperplasia (AH, N=20), and endometrial cancer (EC, N=31). RESULTS: The mean rank of expression scores based on the frequency of syndecan-1 staining were 31.6, 20.5, 52.9, 72.1, and 62.1 for NE, SH, CH, AH and EC, respectively (p<0.001). Syndecan-1 expression was significantly greater in CH (p<0.001) or AH (p<0.001) than in SH, and significantly greater in AH compared to CH (p=0.028). Syndecan-1 is more frequently expressed in CH (p=0.042), AH (p<0.001), or EC (p=0.002) than in NE. Syndecan-1 expression did not differ significantly between NE and SH (p=0.248). CONCLUSION: Syndecan-1 expression appears to be useful as a predictive indicator in endometrial hyperplasia.
Endometrial Hyperplasia ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Endometrium ; Female ; Formaldehyde ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Paraffin ; Proteoglycans ; Syndecan-1

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Timing of almond intake during a day may result differently in the perspectives of body composition and changes of lipid profile. The current study was conducted to compare the effects of daily almond intake as a preload versus as a snack on body composition, blood lipid profile, and oxidative and inflammation indicators among young Korean adults aged 20–39 years old. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a pre-meal almond group (PM), a snack almond group (SN) in which participants were instructed to consume 56 g of almonds either as a preload before meals or as a snack between meals, respectively, and a control group (CL) in which participants were provided high-carbohydrate iso-caloric control food. Measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 8 and 16. RESULTS: A total of 169 (M 77/F 92) out of the 227 participants completed the study between June 2014 and June 2015 (n = 58 for PM; 55 for SN; and 56 for CL). A significant decrease in body fat mass was observed in the PM group at both weeks 8 and 16 compared with the CL. There were significant intervention effects on changes of body fat mass (P = 0.025), body fat percentages (P = 0.019), and visceral fat levels (P < 0.001). Consuming almonds as a daily snack reduced the levels of total cholesterol (P = 0.043) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (P = 0.011) without changing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol compared with the CL. CONCLUSION: Almond consumption as a preload modified body fat percentages, whereas snacking on almonds between meals improved blood lipid profiles. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT03014531.
Adipose Tissue ; Adult* ; Body Composition* ; Cholesterol ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Lipoproteins ; Meals ; Prunus dulcis* ; Snacks