BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The stent material and thickness may influence the rate of restenosis following coronary artery stenting. A thin strut cobalt-alloy stent has been developed in an attempt to reduce the restenosis rate, while maintaining the radiopacity and radial strength. The purpose of this study was to compare a stainless steel Core(r) stent (thickness: 90 micrometer/HUMED Co. Ltd, Korea) with that of a cobalt alloy Core(r) stent (thickness: 60 micrometer/HUMED Co. Ltd, Korea) in a porcine coronary stent restenosis model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cobalt alloy (Co-alloy) and stainless steel (SS) stents were implanted in 24 porcine coronary arteries. Four weeks after stenting, the pigs were sacrificed after quantitative coronary angiography (QCA). The coronary arteries were perfusion-fixed and stained, and a pathological examination performed by computer-aided histomorphometry. RESULTS: The minimal luminal diameter at 4 weeks was larger in the Co-alloy than the SS group according to the QCA (1.8+/-0.8 mm vs. 2.7+/-0.8 mm, p=0.019). The neointimal area was significantly smaller in the Co-alloy than the SS group (1.96+/-0.68 mm2 vs. 0.89+/-0.27 mm2, p<0.001). The intima/media area ratio was significant lower in the Co-alloy than the SS group (1.33+/-0.46 vs. 0.69+/-0.21, p=0.003). CONCLUSION: The thin strut cobalt alloy Core(r) stent significantly reduces the neointimal formation compared to the stainless steel Core(r) stent in a porcine coronary stent injury model.
Alloys* ; Cobalt* ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Restenosis* ; Coronary Vessels ; Models, Animal ; Phenobarbital ; Stainless Steel* ; Stents* ; Swine

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the gene expression profiles using GeneFishing(TM) DEG kit in Korean women with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: Cervical cancer biopsies were obtained from patients at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Mary's hodpital. In this study, we used a common reference that was mixed with an equal amount of RNA extracted from non-cervical cancer patients. The profiles of expression genes between cervical normal and squamous cell carcinoma tissue were identified using GeneFishing(TM) DEG Kit and screened by BLAST search. RESULTS: Almost 100 differential expressed genes were identified in universal control and cervical squamous cell carcinoma, 53 of differential expressed genes, up-regulated expression of 32 and 21 down-regulated expression was sequenced. Up-regulated genes were calcylin, calgranulin A, TRK oncogene, HLC5, fibrillarin, collagene type I alpha1 etc. and down-regulated genes were galectin 1, PRP8 pre-mRNA precessing factor 8 homology, clusterin etc. CONCLUSION: We identified gene expression profile in cervical squamous cell carcinoma using GeneFishing(TM) Kit in Korean women. The functional genomics of these genes should be further studied.
Biopsy ; Calgranulin A ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Clusterin ; Collagen ; Female ; Galectin 1 ; Gene Expression* ; Genomics ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Obstetrics ; Oncogenes ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; RNA ; RNA Precursors ; Transcriptome ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of the Genoss drug-eluting coronary stent. METHODS: This study was a prospective, multicenter, randomized trial with a 1:1 ratio of Genoss drug-eluting stent (DES)™ and Promus Element™. Inclusion criteria were the presence of stable angina, unstable angina, or silent ischemia. Angiographic inclusion criteria were de novo coronary stenotic lesion with diameter stenosis >50%, reference vessel diameter of 2.5–4.0 mm, and lesion length ≤40 mm. The primary endpoint was in-stent late lumen loss at 9-month quantitative coronary angiography follow-up. Secondary endpoints were in-segment late lumen loss, binary restenosis rate, death, myocardial infarction (MI), target lesion revascularization (TLR), target vessel revascularization (TVR), and stent thrombosis during 9 months of follow-up. RESULTS: We enrolled 38 patients for the Genoss DES™ group and 39 patients for the Promus Element™ group. In-stent late lumen loss at 9 months was not significantly different between the 2 groups (0.11±0.25 vs. 0.16±0.43 mm, p=0.567). There was no MI or stent thrombosis in either group. The rates of death (2.6% vs. 0%, p=0.494), TLR (2.6% vs. 2.6%, p=1.000), and TVR (7.9% vs. 2.6%, p=0.358) at 9 months were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: This first-in-patient study of the Genoss DES™ stent showed excellent angiographic outcomes for in-stent late lumen loss and major adverse cardiac events over a 9-month follow-up.
Angina, Stable ; Angina, Unstable ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Polymers* ; Prospective Studies ; Sirolimus ; Stents* ; Thrombosis

Background: Current international guidelines recommend against deep sedation as it is associated with worse outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in Korea the prevalence of deep sedation and its impact on patients in the ICU are not well known. Methods: From April 2020 to July 2021, a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, noninterventional cohort study was performed in 20 Korean ICUs. Sedation depth extent was divided into light and deep using a mean Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale value within the first 48 hours. Propensity score matching was used to balance covariables; the outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Overall, 631 patients (418 [66.2%] and 213 [33.8%] in the deep and light sedation groups, respectively) were included. Mortality rates were 14.1% and 8.4% in the deep and light sedation groups (P = 0.039), respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed that time to extubation (P < 0.001), ICU length of stay (P = 0.005), and death P = 0.041) differed between the groups. After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation was only associated with delayed time to extubation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.66; 95% confidence inter val [CI], 0.55– 0.80; P < 0.001). In the matched cohort, deep sedation remained significantly associated with delayed time to extubation (HR, 0.68; 95% 0.56–0.83; P < 0.001) but was not associated with ICU length of stay (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.13; P = 0.500) and in-hospital mortality (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.65–2.17; P = 0.582). Conclusion In many Korean ICUs, early deep sedation was highly prevalent in mechanically ventilated patients and was associated with delayed extubation, but not prolonged ICU stay or in-hospital death.