BACKGROUND: Using c-fos expression one of the immediate early gene, as a marker of altered neuronal response, we investigated the effect of superior cervical ganglion block (SCGB) exhibiting the same effect of SGB of human on the activity of several brain regions which are considered as located on autonomic neural pathway and neuroendocrine axis in rat. METHOD: The 48 Sprague-Dawley strain rats were divided into 4 groups, as saline/stress (control) group, SCGB/stress (tested) group, saline group, SCGB group. Superior cervical ganglion block was conducted in the SCGB/stress group and SCGB group while saline/stress and saline group were sham operated. After then restraint stress was imposed on the animals of SCGB/stress group and saline/stress group. And 2 hour after injection (saline, SCGB group) or restraint stress (saline/stress, SCGB/stress group), c-fos protein (Fos) was localized by immunocytochemistry. RESULTS: Much stronger Fos immunoreactivity was induced in the several brain region of control group rats compared to other three groups and the numbers of Fos positive cell count of tested group were significantly decreased in paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (p<0.01), A5 (p<0.01), raphe pallidus (p<0.05), nucleus tractus solitaius (p<0.01) compared to control group. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrate that superior cervical ganglion block attenuates stress induced neuronal activities of paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, A5, raphe pallidus, nucleus tractus solitarius.
Animals ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain* ; Cell Count ; Genes, vif ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neural Pathways ; Neurons ; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Solitary Nucleus ; Superior Cervical Ganglion*

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy constitutes a revolutionary advancement in personalized cancer treatment. During this treatment, a patient's own T cells are genetically engineered to express a synthetic receptor that binds a tumor antigen. CAR-T cells are then expanded for clinical use and infused back into the patient's body to attack cancer. CAR-T cells have produced remarkable clinical responses with B-cell malignancies. However, CAR-T cells therapy is not without problems. Barriers to effective CAR-T cells therapy include severe life-threatening toxicities and modest anti-tumor activity. In this review, we introduce the concept of CAR-T cells therapy, currently available CAR-T cells therapy options, and how to deal with adverse events.

PURPOSE: We evaluated one patient with multiple evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS), using fundus fluorescein angiography (FAG), indocyanine green angiography (ICGA), optical coherence tomography (OCT) on acute phase of the disease, at 2 weeks after onset and at 10weeks. METHODS: Each diagnostic images were compared with patient's clinical course .OCT measurements of serial retinal thickness were done to assess the change in retinal thickness over the disease process. RESULTS: White dots on fundoscopic examination showed hypofluorescent on ICGA and imaged hyperreflective on OCT without presence of neither subretinal fluid nor neuroretinal increase in thickness. These ICGA and OCT findings suggest that lesions of perfusion defect on ICGA may be caused by interstitial precipitations of inflammatory cells in choriocapillaries and the underlying mechanism is not due to vasculitis with edema or serous exudation. CONCLUSIONS: ICGA and OCT allowed more precise anatomic evaluation than FAG in diagnosis and correlated well with clinical symptoms.
Angiography ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Fluorescein Angiography ; Humans ; Indocyanine Green ; Perfusion ; Retinaldehyde ; Subretinal Fluid ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Vasculitis

No abstract available.
Adrenal Cortex Neoplasms/*complications/diagnosis/surgery ; Adrenalectomy ; Adrenocortical Adenoma/*complications/diagnosis/surgery ; Adult ; Biopsy ; Coronary Angiography ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism/diagnosis/*etiology ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction/diagnosis/*etiology/therapy ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/instrumentation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Treatment Outcome

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy presents a revolutionary advancement in personalized cancer treatment. During the production process, the patient's own T-cells are genetically engineered to express a synthetic receptor that binds to a tumor antigen. CAR T-cells are then expanded for clinical use and infused back into the patient's body to attack cancer cells. Although CAR T-cell therapy is considered a major breakthrough in cancer immunotherapy, it is not without limitations. In this review, we discuss the barriers to effective CAR T-cell therapy in Korea.

PURPOSE: We explored the relationship between the use of each medical intervention and the length of time between do-not-resuscitate (DNR) consent and death in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 295 terminal cancer patients participated in this retrospective study. Invasive interventions (e.g., cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intubation, and hemodialysis), less invasive interventions (e.g., transfusion, antibiotic use, inotropic use, and laboratory tests), and the time interval between the DNR order and death were evaluated. The subjects were divided into three groups based on the amount of time between DNR consent and death (G1, time interval ≤ 1 day; G2, time interval > 1 day to ≤ 3 days; and G3, time interval > 3 days). RESULTS: In general, there were fewer transfusions and laboratory tests near death. Invasive interventions tended to be implemented only in the G1 group. There was also less inotrope use and fewer laboratory tests in the G3 group than G1 and G2. Moreover, the G3 group received fewer less invasive interventions than those in G1 (odds ratio [OR], 0.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03 to 0.84; 3 days before death, and OR, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.59; the day before death). The frequency of less invasive interventions both 1 and 3 days before death was significantly lower for the G3 group than the G1 (p ≤ 0.001) and G2 group compared to G1 (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Earlier attainment of DNR permission was associated with reduced use of medical intervention. Thus, physicians should discuss death with terminal cancer patients at the earliest practical time to prevent unnecessary and uncomfortable procedures and reduce health care costs.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Health Care Costs ; Humans ; Intubation ; Korea* ; Resuscitation Orders ; Retrospective Studies ; Terminal Care

BACKGROUND: High-dose melphalan (HDMEL) represents the standard conditioning regimen before autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) in multiple myeloma (MM), but recent updates have suggested combination of melphalan with bulsulfan (BUMEL) is also associated with favorable outcomes. We performed the current study to address the lack of comparative studies between the two conditioning regimens in Asian populations. METHODS: Using the Korean National Health Insurance and Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service databases, 1,304 patients newly diagnosed with MM undergoing ASCT between January 2010 and December 2014 were identified. Patients were divided according to conditioning regimen (HDMEL vs. BUMEL), and after case matching, 428 patients undergoing HDMEL conditioning were compared to 107 patients undergoing BUMEL conditioning with respect to clinical course and treatment outcomes. RESULTS: The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) was 52.5% for the HDMEL conditioning group versus 70.3% for the BUMEL conditioning group (P=0.043). The 3-year overall survival (OS) was 82.0% versus 83.5% (P=0.525), respectively. Although not statistically significant, BUMEL conditioning was associated with more platelet transfusion, while HDMEL was associated with more granulocyte colony stimulating factor support. In multivariate analysis, BUMEL conditioning was not inferior to HDMEL conditioning in regard to both PFS and OS. CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed that BUMEL is an effective and well-tolerated alternative to HDMEL conditioning, with better PFS.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Busulfan* ; Colony-Stimulating Factors ; Disease-Free Survival ; Granulocytes ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Melphalan* ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Multivariate Analysis ; National Health Programs ; Platelet Transfusion ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The role of [18F]-f luorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in first remission is unclear. METHODS: Medical costs within the first 3 years of treatment completion and clinical outcomes of 118 patients with DLBCL in first remission with and without surveillance PET/CT (PET/CT [+] group [n = 76] and PET/CT [−] group [n = 42], respectively) were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In a propensity matched cohort with adjustment for International Prognostic Index risk and relapse, the PET/CT (+) group was shown to have similar medical costs as the PET/CT (−) group. Relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were comparable between the two groups (median RFS not reached [NR] for both groups, p = 0.133; median OS NR, p = 0.542). Among 76 patients with surveillance PET/CT, 31 (40.8%) had findings suggestive of recurrence and 16 of these (51.6%) were later confirmed to have recurrent disease. Fifteen patients (48.4%) were confirmed to not have recurrence after follow-up CT or PET/CT evaluation (n = 10) and biopsy (n = 4). None of the patients with negative PET/CT findings had disease recurrence. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of PET/CT for detection of recurrence were 1, 0.75, 0.52, and 1, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Surveillance PET/CT resulted in similar clinical outcomes and medical costs compared to no surveillance PET/CT. Approximately half of patients with PET/CT findings of recurrence had no recurrence after follow-up imaging and biopsy, which would not have been carried out if PET/CT had not been performed in the first place.