BACKGROUND: Enhancing blood flow and cell proliferation in the hair dermis is critical for treating hair loss. This study was designed to aid the development of alternative and effective solutions to overcome alopecia. Specifically, we examined the effects of Morus alba.L root extract (MARE, which has been used in traditional medicine as a stimulant for hair proliferation) on dermal fibroblasts and other cell types found in the epidermis. METHODS: We first optimized the concentration of MARE that could be used to treat human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) without causing cytotoxicity. After optimization, we focused on the effect of MARE on HDFs since these cells secrete paracrine factors related to cell proliferation and angiogenesis that affect hair growth. Conditioned medium (CM) derived from MARE-treated HDFs (MARE HDF-CM) was used to treat human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and hair follicle dermal papilla cells (HFDPCs). RESULTS: Concentrations of MARE up to 20 wt% increased the expression of proliferative and anti-apoptotic genes in HDFs. MARE HDF-CM significantly improved the tubular structure formation and migration capacity of HUVECs. Additionally, MARE HDF-CM treatment upregulated the expression of hair growth-related genes in HFDPCs. CM collected from MARE-treated HDFs promoted the proliferation of HFDPCs and the secretion of angiogenic paracrine factors from these cells. CONCLUSION Since it can stimulate the secretion of pro-proliferative and pro-angiogenic paracrine factors from HDFs, MARE has therapeutic potential as a hair loss preventative.

Dermatomyositis and polymyositis are uncommon, acquired idiopathic inflammatory myopathies of an unknown etiology. Although there are 9 reported cases in the literature of developing dermatomyositis or polymyositis after collagen dermal injection, it is still controversial whether there is a link between injectable filler materials and autoimmune diseases, and specifically dermatomyositis/polymyositis. We experienced a case of a 40-year-old woman who developed dermatomyositis after repeated injections of multiple filler materials, including collagen for cosmetic purposes, which suggests a temporal relation between the two factors. The benefit-to-risk ratio should be assessed for repeated cosmetic surgical procedures that use filler materials.
Adult ; Aluminum Hydroxide ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Carbonates ; Collagen ; Cosmetics ; Dermatomyositis ; Female ; Humans ; Myositis ; Polymyositis

A 63-year old man developed acute monoarthritis in the dorsum of the left foot. Polarized light microscopy of the synovial fluid from his third metatarsophalangeal joint revealed numerous positively birefringent lipid spherules with a maltese cross appearance. Positively birefringent lipid spherules can be found in association with acute, otherwise unexplained arthritis, and may induce synovial inflammation similar to that seen in other types of crystal-induced arthritis. We report a case of acute monoarthritis in which large numbers of positively birefringent lipid spherules were present in a hyperlipidemic diabetic patient.
Acute Disease ; Arthritis/metabolism* ; Arthritis/complications* ; Birefringence ; Case Report ; Crystallization ; Diabetes Mellitus/blood* ; Human ; Hyperlipidemia/complications* ; Lipids/metabolism* ; Male ; Middle Age ; Synovial Fluid/metabolism*

OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical features, pathologic findings, postoperative results and the effects of immunosuppressive therapy in patients with Beh et's disease (BD). METHODS: We reviewed the postoperative course of the 9 BD patients who underwent a total of 17 aortic valve replacement procedures with prosthetic valves. RESULTS: Histological examination of the aortic valve commonly revealed diffuse myxoid degeneration (75 percent). Of 17 valve replacement surgeries, 13 surgeries resulted in complications, such as detachment of the prosthetic valve with perivalvular leakage and dehiscence of the sternotomy wound, within an average of 5 months (range from 1 month to 14 months). The rate of prosthetic valve detachment was 76 percent (13 of 17 surgeries). Four of the 9 patients (44 percent) who underwent aortic valve replacement procedures died of heart failure or infection associated with the detachment of the prosthetic valve, and perivalvular leakage within an average of 9 months. Aortic insufficiency associated with dehiscence of the prosthetic valve developed in 11 of 12 surgical cases (92 percent) with a mechanical valve and 2 of 5 surgical cases (40 percent) with tissue valves. Thirteen of 15 surgeries (87 percent) which were not given postoperative immunosuppressive therapy developed complications, while none of 2 surgeries that used postoperative immunosuppressive therapy with prednisolone (1 mg/kg/day) and azathioprine (100 mg/day) had these complications. CONCLUSION: The rates of prosthetic valve detachment in BD involving aortic valve were higher than those of other diseases. Aortic valve involvement was also one of the poor prognostic factors in BD. Intensive postoperative immunosuppressive therapy and surgical methods may be important factors for postoperative results.
Adult ; Aortic Valve/pathology ; Aortic Valve Insufficiency/*etiology/pathology ; Behcet Syndrome/*complications/drug therapy/pathology ; Female ; Heart Valve Diseases/*complications/pathology/surgery ; Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation/*mortality ; Human ; Immunosuppression ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Prosthesis Failure ; Survival Analysis

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate serum Interleukin 8 (IL-8) as a predictor of disease activity in SLE and to provide insight into the potential role of IL-8 in the pathogenesis of SLE. METHODS: Sixty-four paired sera from the 32 SLE patients and 10 healthy control sera were obtained. Serum IL-8 levels were determined by ELISA technique. Tests for other laboratory parameters, such as circulating immune complex (CIC), C3, C4, ANA, anti-dsDNA, Hb, Hct, leukocyte, lymphocyte, platelet and ESR, were performed for every sample coincidently with assessment of clinical disease activity by the Lahita scales. RESULTS: We found that serum IL-8 levels in SLE patients were significantly higher than those of healthy controls. Serum IL-8 levels significantly correlated with clinical disease activity. Serum IL-8 levels correlated with CIC, but it had no correlation with other laboratory parameters. CONCLUSON: These findings suggest that serum IL-8 can be used as a marker of disease activity in patients with SLE. These results may have implication in the pathogenesis of SLE.
Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Blood Platelets ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Interleukin-8* ; Interleukins* ; Leukocytes ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Lymphocytes ; Weights and Measures

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and the safety of etoricoxib 90 mg daily administered to Korean patients for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis over a 12-week period. METHODS: Eighty-nine patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis were administered Etoricoxib 90 mg for 12 weeks. Tender Joint Count (total 68 joints), Swollen Joint Count (total 66 joints), Patient Global Assessment of Disease Activity, and Investigator Global Assessment of Disease Activity were assessed as primary endpoints. Patient Global Assessment of Pain, Health Assessment of Questionnaire (HAQ: disability scales), Patient Global Assessment of Response to Therapy, Investigator Global Assessment of Response to Therapy, and Duration of Morning Stiffness were assessed as secondary endpoints. Those endpoints were assessed at week 2, 4, 8, and 12. Safety was evaluated by physical examination, serum chemistry, blood count, urinalysis, and occurrence of adverse events. RESULTS: Etoricoxib 90 mg showed significant effects compared to baseline, thus the result indicated etoricoxib was clinically effective. Etoricoxib 90 mg showed significant improvement in all efficacy endpoints (primary endpoints and secondary endpoints). Treatment effects for etoricoxib 90 mg were approximately a 7.3 (95% CI 5.8 8.9, p<0.0001) joint reduction in the number of tender joints, 4.8 (95% CI 3.6 6.0, p<0.0001) joint reduction in the number of swollen joints, a 15.4 (95% CI 12.1 18.7, p<0.0001) mm improvement in the patient global assessment (100 mm VAS) and 1.3 (95% CI 1.1 1.6, p<0.0001) unit improvement in the investigator global assessment (0 to 4 Likert scale). Treatment effects were observed at the earliest time point of measurement and were maintained over time during the 12-week period. Drug-related clinical adverse events were reported by 22 (24.7%) of 89 safety evaluable subjects. Eight patients discontinued the drug due to clinical adverse events. Frequency of drug-related laboratory abnormalities was low with 2 (2.2%). Nobody discontinued due to laboratory abnormalities. CONCLUSION: (1) Etoricoxib 90 mg once daily was clinically effective for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Korea patients. (2) Etoricoxib 90 mg once daily administered to patients with rheumatoid arthritis was generally safe and well tolerated.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid* ; Chemistry ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Physical Examination ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Research Personnel ; Urinalysis

OBJECTIVES: To compare the epidemiology, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, seasonality and hospital course of enteroviral meningitis (EM) and non-enteroviral meningitis (NEM) cases in infants under 3 months of age. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed of infants under 3 months of age or less with viral meningitis admitted to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital between January 2010 and December 2016. RESULTS: EM patients were more likely to have siblings compared with NEM. Most of EM was diagnosed during the summer season. Almost 80% of EM was diagnosed between July and September. Fever lasted longer in EM patients compared to NEM. White blood cell count (WBC) from the cerebrospinal fluid was higher in EM patients compared with NEM patients. WBC in blood were lower in EM patients compared with NEM patients. C-reactive protein was lower in EM patients compared with NEM patients. Most of the patients were initially started on antibiotics therapy to rule out bacterial meningitis. EM patients received shorter duration of antibiotic treatment compared with NEM patients. CONCLUSION: This study was conducted to augment the understanding of the incidence, epidemiology, transmission in infants, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, seasonality and hospital courses of enteroviral meningitis compared to NEM. Early recognition, rapid diagnosis and proper clinical management can reduce duration of antibiotic treatment.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Diagnosis ; Enterovirus ; Epidemiology* ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant* ; Leukocyte Count ; Meningitis* ; Meningitis, Bacterial ; Meningitis, Viral ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Siblings

PURPOSE: Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by reactivation of the varicella zoster virus, which occurs frequently in liver transplant recipients with impaired cellular immunity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and risk factors for HZ after adult liver transplantation (LT). METHODS: In our institution, 993 patients underwent adult LT from January 1997 to December 2013. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence rate of HZ and risk factors for HZ after LT. RESULTS: Of 993 LT recipients, 101 (10.2%) were diagnosed with HZ. The incidence of HZ at 1, 3, 5, and 10 years was 6.6%, 9.1%, 10.0%, and 11.9%, respectively. Therefore, we observed that the incidence of HZ after LT was 16.3 per 1,000 person-years. Older age (≥50 years) at LT and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) exposure were independent risk factors of HZ infection after adult LT. CONCLUSION: Patients older than 50 years or with MMF exposure are considered to be at high risk for HZ. Therefore, adult liver recipients with such factors should not be given strong immunosuppression treatments.
Adult ; Herpes Zoster ; Herpesvirus 3, Human ; Humans ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunosuppression ; Incidence ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Transplant Recipients

Cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) is an autosomal-dominant disease characterized by the delayed closure of cranial sutures, defects in clavicle formation, supernumerary teeth, and delayed tooth eruption. Defects in the Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2), a master regulator of bone formation, have been identified in CCD patients. The aim of this study was to identify the molecular genetic causes in a CCD family with delayed tooth eruption.The 23-year-old female proband and her mother underwent clinical and radiographic examinations, and all coding exons of the RUNX2 were sequenced. Mutational analysis revealed a single nucleotide deletion mutation (NM_001024630.4 : c.357delC) in exon 3 in the proband and her mother. The single C deletion would result in a frameshift in translation and introduce a premature stop codon [p.(Asn120Thrfs*24)]. This would result in the impaired function of RUNX2 protein, which may be the cause of delayed eruption of permanent teeth in the family.
Clavicle ; Cleidocranial Dysplasia ; Clinical Coding ; Codon, Nonsense ; Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit ; Cranial Sutures ; Exons ; Female ; Humans ; Molecular Biology ; Mothers ; Osteogenesis ; Sequence Deletion ; Tooth ; Tooth Eruption ; Tooth, Supernumerary ; Transcription Factors ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine an effective survey method for the accurate calculation of obesity prevalence by comparing the self-reported and measured height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) using the 2018 Korea Community Healthy Survey (CHS) data. METHODS: Raw data from the 2018 CHS were used to analyze the differences, correlation, and agreement between self-reported and measured height, weight, and BMI. RESULTS: The self-reported height was over-reported than the measured height (0.59 cm greater for men and 0.71 cm greater for women), while the self-reported weight was under-reported than the measured weight (0.55 kg less for men and 0.67 kg less for women). Subsequently, the self-reported BMI was under-estimated (0.35 kg/m2 lower for men and 0.49 kg/m2 lower for women) compared with the measured BMI. The kappa statistic and agreement between measured and self-reported values per BMI category (underweight, normal, overweight, and obesity) were 0.82 and 79.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of obesity should be calculated using the measured values provided in the CHS in order to promote local health projects based on accurate evidence.