Onychomycosis is a relatively common fungal infection. Treatment modalities include oral and topical antifungals, surgical treatment or a combination of these therapies. But treatment failure is common and oral drugs may cause toxicity and potential drug interactions. Currently, there are few publications about the treatment of onychomycosis using photodynamic therapy or laser therapy. We report two cases of toenail onychomycosis treated by 1,064 nm Nd:YAG laser.
Drug Interactions ; Laser Therapy ; Nails ; Onychomycosis ; Photochemotherapy ; Treatment Failure

No abstract available.
Acupuncture* ; Epidermal Cyst*

PURPOSE: It is important to identify a potential tumor marker that is associated with pathophysiologic processes of breast cancer. N-Myc downstream regulated genes (NDRG) are composed of four subtypes (NDRG 1-4) and NDRG2 gene has been reported as a specifically expressed gene in the human solid tumor including breast cancer. Although NDRG2 inhibits cell proliferation and promote differentiation, the molecular basis of the tumor-suppressor activity of NDRG2 in breast cancer is unknown. Herein, we tried to reveal the correlations between the expression of NDRG2 and the various clinicopathologic prognostic factors and evaluate its functional and pathophysiological roles in tumorigenesis of breast cancer. METHODS: We were obtained the 67 breast cancers and paired normal tissue samples from patients who operated for breast cancer between June 2002 and June 2004. The expression of NDRG2 were measured with immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody and it was used eukaryotic transfection to manipulate the expression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. Cell proliferation analysis were evaluated with trypan blue stain and status of differentially-expressed genes by NDRG2 overexpression were investigated with oligo microarray chip analysis. RESULTS: Significant difference of NDRG2 mRNA expression between breast cancer and normal tissue was not detected. However, NDRG2 was significantly down-regulated in breast cancer tissue, compared to normal tissue (p<0.0001). It was a inverse-correlation between the NDRG2 expression and tumor size, histologic grade although other clinicopathological parameters such as axillary lymph node metastasis were not correlated. Overexpression of NDRG2 in MDA-MB-231 cell showed a decrease of cell proliferation compared with Mock control. Of the 24,000 genes, 64 genes were increased in expression while 256 genes including cyclin D1 were repressed by NDRG2 overexpression. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NDRG2 can function as a regulator of cell differentiation and cell cycle (as a tumor suppressor gene) in the early stage of breast cancer. In addition, NDRG2 protein indicates a prognostic tumor marker for breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclin D1 ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection ; Trypan Blue

PURPOSE: It is important to identify a potential tumor marker that is associated with pathophysiologic processes of breast cancer. N-Myc downstream regulated genes (NDRG) are composed of four subtypes (NDRG 1-4) and NDRG2 gene has been reported as a specifically expressed gene in the human solid tumor including breast cancer. Although NDRG2 inhibits cell proliferation and promote differentiation, the molecular basis of the tumor-suppressor activity of NDRG2 in breast cancer is unknown. Herein, we tried to reveal the correlations between the expression of NDRG2 and the various clinicopathologic prognostic factors and evaluate its functional and pathophysiological roles in tumorigenesis of breast cancer. METHODS: We were obtained the 67 breast cancers and paired normal tissue samples from patients who operated for breast cancer between June 2002 and June 2004. The expression of NDRG2 were measured with immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody and it was used eukaryotic transfection to manipulate the expression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. Cell proliferation analysis were evaluated with trypan blue stain and status of differentially-expressed genes by NDRG2 overexpression were investigated with oligo microarray chip analysis. RESULTS: Significant difference of NDRG2 mRNA expression between breast cancer and normal tissue was not detected. However, NDRG2 was significantly down-regulated in breast cancer tissue, compared to normal tissue (p<0.0001). It was a inverse-correlation between the NDRG2 expression and tumor size, histologic grade although other clinicopathological parameters such as axillary lymph node metastasis were not correlated. Overexpression of NDRG2 in MDA-MB-231 cell showed a decrease of cell proliferation compared with Mock control. Of the 24,000 genes, 64 genes were increased in expression while 256 genes including cyclin D1 were repressed by NDRG2 overexpression. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that NDRG2 can function as a regulator of cell differentiation and cell cycle (as a tumor suppressor gene) in the early stage of breast cancer. In addition, NDRG2 protein indicates a prognostic tumor marker for breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinogenesis ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Line ; Cell Proliferation ; Cyclin D1 ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lymph Nodes ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; RNA, Messenger ; Transfection ; Trypan Blue

No abstract available.
Steatocystoma Multiplex

BACKGROUND: Automated nucleic acid extraction offers a standardized sample treatment method, low error rate, and avoids sample nucleic acid contamination for use in molecular diagnostics. Here, we evaluated the performance of automated ExiPrep16 system (Bioneer Co.) in comparison with the manual Viral Gene-spin Viral DNA/RNA Extraction kit (VGspin; iNtRON Biotechnology Inc.) for the detection of respiratory viruses from nasopharyngeal flocked swabs. METHODS: To compare the agreement rate and analytical sensitivity between ExiPrep16 and VGspin, previously collected 78 patient samples and 11 pooled samples of each respiratory viruses and their serially diluted samples (until 1/10(8)), were tested by multiplex reverse-transcriptase PCR (Seeplex RV 12 ACE Detection kit; SeeGene Inc.). In addition, we repeatedly analyzed the threshold cycle of the pooled and 1/10(3) dilution of adenovirus (ADV) and influenza virus A (Flu-A) by using real-time PCR to evaluate the precision and crossover of the ExiPrep16 system. RESULTS: The analytical sensitivity of the ExiPrep16 was comparable to that of VGspin, and the highest detectable dilution varied in the range of 1/10 to 1/10(6) depending on the viruses. The total, overall positive and negative percent agreements of ExiPrep16 in comparison with VGspin were 95.7%, 96.2%, and 95.2%, respectively. The mean (CV%) of pooled and 1/10(3) dilution of ADV were, respectively, 19.2 cycle (2.1%) and 31.6 cycle (4.3%) and those for Flu-A were 22.6 cycle (3.1%) and 35.5 cycle (2.6%). No carryover was detected. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the manual VGspin, ExiPrep16 ensured nucleic acid extraction for efficient detection of respiratory viruses.
Adenoviridae ; Biotechnology ; Humans ; Introns ; Nucleic Acids ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Pathology, Molecular ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

No abstract available.
Adiponectin ; Caspase 14 ; Humans ; Keratinocytes

Purpose: To analyze the correlation between the ocular surface staining score and indices of salivary gland scintigraphy in patientswith primary Sjögren's syndrome and dry eye symptoms, and to evaluate the diagnostic value of these indices. Methods: The patients were 51 adults with primary Sjögren's syndrome or non-Sjögren's syndrome plus dry eye symptoms, whowere referred to our ophthalmology clinic for evaluation of the degree of dry eye at the Department of Rheumatology, from July2017 to April 2019. The Mann-Whitney U test and student’s t-test were used for analyzing the ocular surface staining score andquantitative indices of salivary gland scintigraphy, respectively, in the primary Sjögren's syndrome and non-Sjögren's syndromepatients. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the correlations of ocular surface staining score with salivary scintigraphyindices. Results: The ocular surface staining score (p= 0.021), parotid gland excretion fraction (p= 0.022), and submandibular gland excretionfraction (pp= 0.045) were significantly different between the primary Sjögren's syndrome and non-Sjögren's syndromepatients. The submandibular gland uptake ratio (r = -0.369, p= 0.008) and submandibular excretion fraction (r = -0.359, p=0.010) were significantly negatively correlated with ocular surface staining scores. Conclusions The ocular surface staining score was identified as the gold standard for evaluating the degree of dry eye in primarySjögren's syndrome patients. If salivary gland dysfunction is identified by salivary gland scintigraphy, ocular surface stainingshould be performed to confirm the presence of ocular surface lesions, regardless of the presence of dry eye symptoms.

Objective: Thickening agents used in dysphagia diets to adjust the viscosity of foods adversely affect the inherent food flavors and colors. Chopped and ground foods have unfamiliar flavors, colors and textures, causing a loss of appetite. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a savory and easy-to-make dysphagia diet without changing the appearance and taste of foods, and evaluate the suitability of the newly developed diet for patients with dysphagia. Methods: Twenty participants aged 55-85 years (8 patients with dysphagia and 12 healthy elderly) were recruited.The diet consisted of fried rice, hamburger steak, and soybean paste soup, where the solid foods were categorized as International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) Level 5 (Minced and Moist), and the liquid foods were categorized as IDDSI Level 2 (Mildly Thick). To develop the dysphagia diet, textural modifications to the ingredients and viscosity adjustments were applied. A sensory evaluation was conducted by the panel to measure the extent of chewing, swallowing, adhesiveness, choking, and overall flavor and preference. Results: No significant differences in textural properties, such as chewing, swallowing, adhesiveness and choking, were observed between the control and patient groups, but the flavor and preferences in the patient group were statistically significant. Conclusion The modified and newly designed dysphagia foods positively impacted easy swallowing for patients with dysphagia. Therefore, customized dysphagia foods should be considered in terms of flavor-enhancement to provide tailored diets for patients with dysphagia.