Autophagy is an evolutionarily well-conserved cellular homeostasis program that responds to various cellular stresses and degrades unnecessary or harmful intracellular materials in lysosomes. Accumulating evidence has shown that autophagy dysfunction often results in various human pathophysiological conditions, including metabolic disorders, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. The discovery of an autophagy machinery protein network has revealed underlying molecular mechanisms of autophagy, and advances in the understanding of its regulatory mechanism have provided novel therapeutic targets for treating human diseases. Recently, reports have emerged on the involvement of autophagy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Although the role of autophagy in cancer therapy is controversial, the beneficial use of the induction of autophagic cell death in OSCC has drawn significant attention.In this review, the types of autophagy, mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis, and modulating molecules and therapeutic candidates affecting the induction of autophagic cell death in OSCC are briefly described.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily well-conserved cellular homeostasis program that responds to various cellular stresses and degrades unnecessary or harmful intracellular materials in lysosomes. Accumulating evidence has shown that autophagy dysfunction often results in various human pathophysiological conditions, including metabolic disorders, cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases. The discovery of an autophagy machinery protein network has revealed underlying molecular mechanisms of autophagy, and advances in the understanding of its regulatory mechanism have provided novel therapeutic targets for treating human diseases. Recently, reports have emerged on the involvement of autophagy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Although the role of autophagy in cancer therapy is controversial, the beneficial use of the induction of autophagic cell death in OSCC has drawn significant attention.In this review, the types of autophagy, mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis, and modulating molecules and therapeutic candidates affecting the induction of autophagic cell death in OSCC are briefly described.

The peritoneal equilibration test(PET) is used as a tool for determining the characteristics of the peritoneal membrane. Initial PET is recommended at least 1 month after peritoneal dialysis, but PET after 1 month may be difficult to perform on an out- patients basis. Two standard PETs(D/P4Cr) were per- formed in 60 CAPD patients(DM:non DM=22:38). Initial PETs, within one week after starting CAPD and follow up PETs, at least 3 months after CAPD were performed. The initial PET values were compared with subsequent PET values. Clinical data (age, sex, body surface area, BMI, presence of diabetes mellitus, ascites) and laboratory indices(serum albumin, dialysate creatinine clearance, KT/V, protein catabolic rate) were compared with the results of the PETs. In initial PET result, there was negative correlation between D/P4Cr and serum albumin(r=-0.522, p<0.001 N=60). There was no significant difference between initial and follow up(mean+/-S.D.:8.84+/-5.2months after CAPD) D/P4Cr(0.68+/-0.14 vs 0.68+/-0.13). But with passage of time, delta D/P4Cr and delta serum albumin were also negatively correlated (r=-0.459, p<0.001). According to the linear regression analysis, the factor significantly associated with D/P4Cr was serum albumin(coefficients -0.111). In conclusion, serum albumin level is the most important predictor of the peritoneal membrane transport characteristics, and it seems that the timing of PET does not matter, rather the changes of with time are strongly correlated with the changes of the serum albumin level.
Body Surface Area ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Membranes ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Serum Albumin

Atorvastatin is one of the most widely prescribed medications for dyslipidemia treatment. In Korea, post combined therapy with ezetimibe, a 73-year-old woman was reported by a community pharmacy to have experienced visual field defect, which recovered after drug discontinuation. She had never experienced this symptom before, and several studies have reported an association between use of statins and visual disorders such as blurred vision, diplopia, and cataract. Blockage of cholesterol accumulation, oxidative stress, or myopathy is expected to be a cause of this symptom. Naranjo scale, Korean causality assessment algorithm (Ver.2), and World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Center (WHO-UMC) criteria were the three tools used to determine causality between the visual disorder and atorvastatin. The results represent ‘probable’, ‘certain’, and ‘probable/likely’ causality, respectively. Our results, in combination with a review of literature, indicate that ocular adverse effects are highly likely related to atorvastatin.
Aged ; Atorvastatin Calcium ; Cataract ; Cholesterol ; Diplopia ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions ; Dyslipidemias ; Ezetimibe ; Female ; Global Health ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Korea ; Muscular Diseases ; Oxidative Stress ; Pharmacies ; Vision Disorders ; Visual Fields

Bilateral axillary Paget's disease in men is a rare occurrence with limited reports on its diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Here, we report the case of a 55-year-old Korean male, who presented with a palpable mass and eczematous skin lesion on the left axilla. An incisional biopsy and histopathologic examination indicated invasive ductal carcinoma with Paget's disease arising in the accessory breast. Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography revealed no malignancy in the normal breast and other organs. The patient was subjected to a wide excision, wherein the left axillary lymph node was dissected, followed by the administration of adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. After 17 months of disease-free survival, the patient was diagnosed with Paget's disease of the contralateral accessory breast. He underwent wide excision surgery along with radiation therapy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral extramammary Paget's disease in a male.

OBJECTIVES: Salmonellosis outbreaks occurred at 2 restaurants 2 days apart, and an epidemiological investigation was conducted to determine whether the outbreaks were connected. METHODS: Case studies were conducted for both outbreaks. Stool samples were collected from individuals, and food samples were collected from the restaurants. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing analyses were performed on outbreak-related Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis) isolates. Traceback investigations were also conducted for the ingredients from gimbap restaurants A and B. RESULTS: In total, 106 people from gimbap restaurant A and 5 from gimbap restaurant B met the case definition. Salmonella Enteritidis was detected in samples from 2 food handlers, 22 patients, and 1 food (iceberg lettuce) at gimbap restaurant A and from 1 patient at gimbap restaurant B. According to PFGE, all isolates were identified as SEGX01.089. The molecular typing of all isolates showed the same pattern, and the genetic distance was close according to phylogenetic analysis. Eggs were the only food ingredient that was supplied to both gimbap restaurants. CONCLUSIONS The outbreaks were caused by Salmonella Enteritidis, and the source of infections was suspected to be contaminated eggs. To prevent foodborne outbreaks of Salmonella, restaurants should heat eggs sufficiently, and egg farms need to establish management systems that prevent Salmonella infections.

PURPOSE: Poisoning is an important cause of death in Korea. We aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and outcomes for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in poisoned patients in Korea. METHODS: This is a population-based study, analyzing 576 IHCA patients who were poisoned and registered in the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in 2013. The cardiopulmonary resuscitation outcomes, including survival discharge and 30-day survival rate, were analyzed. The main diagnoses were categorized in accordance with the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases version 6. RESULTS: The overall survival discharge and 30-day survival rate were 31.6% and 15.3%, respectively. The most common etiologies of poisoning were pesticides (54.3%), drugs and medications (21.9%), carbon monoxide (8.9%), and unspecified substances (5.4%); the 30-day survival rate for each etiology was 16.6%, 15.2%, 9.8%, and 19.4%, respectively. A geographical analysis showed a high 30-day survival rate in Gwangju (32.0%), Daejeon (25.0%) and Ulsan (25.0%). CONCLUSION: Pesticides poisoning is the most common cause for IHCA patients. The survival rate after IHCA by poisoning was similar in pesticides poisoning than in other toxic etiologies. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce pesticide poisoning and to establish a poisoning information inquiry system.
Carbon Monoxide ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Cause of Death ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Gwangju ; Heart Arrest* ; Humans ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Mortality ; Pesticides ; Poisoning ; Survival Rate ; Ulsan

Objective: The diagnostic accuracy of novice residents in evaluating the scrotal pathology by point-of-care (POC) ultrasonography(US) was compared with that by the conventional US to determine the level of experience required toachieve competency. Methods: Three novice residents underwent a one-day training course on identifying scrotal pathologies using POC US.They performed POC US on patients with an acute scrotum to identify five pathological findings. The diagnosis was confirmedby conventional scrotal US. The sensitivity and specificity of POC US by novice residents were calculated, and thechanges in sensitivity and specificity over time were observed. Results: Sixty-two patients were included; the overall sensitivity and specificity were 76.7% (95% confidence interval [CI],61.3%-88.2%) and 78.9% (95% CI, 54.4%-93.9%), respectively. Decreased blood flow in the testicle showed very goodspecificity (100%; 95% CI, 93.8%-100.0%). The sensitivity and accuracy were variable at first 18 scans of each resident,but increased after 18 scans and were maintained over time. Conclusion Although the diagnostic accuracy of novice residents in evaluating the scrotal pathology using POC US wasvariable at first, the accuracy improved over time, especially after 18 scans of each resident. Nevertheless, larger, longtermresearch is needed to confirm the results of this study.

Background and Objectives: Accumulating evidence shows that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether SGLT2i, compared with other antidiabetic drugs, reduce the new development of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. In this study, we compared SGLT2i with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) in terms of reduction in the risk of AF in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We included 42,786 propensity score-matched pairs of SGLT2i and DPP-4i users without previous AF diagnosis using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Results: During a median follow-up of 1.3 years, SGLT2i users had a lower incidence of AF than DPP-4i users (1.95 vs. 2.65 per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.97; p=0.028]). In individuals without heart failure, SGLT2i users was associated with a decreased risk of AF incidence (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.52–0.94; p=0.019) compared to DPP-4i users. However, individuals with heart failure, SGLT2i users was not significantly associated with a change in risk (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.44–2.44; p=0.936). Conclusions In this nationwide cohort study of individuals with type 2 diabetes, treatment with SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF compared with treatment with DPP-4i.

Background and Objectives: Accumulating evidence shows that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) reduce adverse cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether SGLT2i, compared with other antidiabetic drugs, reduce the new development of atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. In this study, we compared SGLT2i with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) in terms of reduction in the risk of AF in individuals with type 2 diabetes. Methods: We included 42,786 propensity score-matched pairs of SGLT2i and DPP-4i users without previous AF diagnosis using the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between May 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Results: During a median follow-up of 1.3 years, SGLT2i users had a lower incidence of AF than DPP-4i users (1.95 vs. 2.65 per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio [HR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.55–0.97; p=0.028]). In individuals without heart failure, SGLT2i users was associated with a decreased risk of AF incidence (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.52–0.94; p=0.019) compared to DPP-4i users. However, individuals with heart failure, SGLT2i users was not significantly associated with a change in risk (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.44–2.44; p=0.936). Conclusions In this nationwide cohort study of individuals with type 2 diabetes, treatment with SGLT2i was associated with a lower risk of AF compared with treatment with DPP-4i.