Purpose: The role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) in multiple myeloma (MM) treatment remains controversial. We conducted a retrospective, multicenter, nationwide study in Korea to evaluate the outcomes of alloSCT in Asian patients with MM. Materials and Methods: Overall, 109 patients with MM who underwent alloSCT between 2003 and 2020 were included in this study. Data were collected from the Korean Multiple Myeloma Working Party Registry. Results: The overall response rate and stringent complete response plus complete response (CR) rates were 67.0 and 46.8%, respectively, after alloSCT. At a median follow-up of 32.5 months, the 3-year probability of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 69.3% and 71.8%, respectively. The 3-year probabilities of OS rates in the upfront alloSCT, tandem auto-alloSCT, and later alloSCT groups were 75.0%, 88.9%, and 61.1%, respectively. Patients who achieved CR before or after alloSCT had significantly longer OS (89.8 vs. 18 months and 89.8 vs. 15.2 months, respectively). Even though patients who did not achieve CR prior to alloSCT, those who achieve CR after alloSCT had improved PFS and OS compared to those who had no achievement of CR both prior and after alloSCT. Patients who underwent alloSCT with 1-2 prior treatment lines had improved PFS (22.4 vs. 4.5 months) and OS (45.6 vs. 15.3 months) compared to those with three or more prior treatment lines. Conclusion AlloSCT may be a promising therapeutic option especially for younger, chemosensitive patients with earlier implementation from relapse.

Growing evidence suggests that environmental air pollution adversely affects kidney health. To date, the association between carbon monoxide (CO) and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) has not been examined. Methods: Among 134,478 dialysis patients in the Korean ESRD cohort between 2001 and 2014, 8,130 deceased hemodialysis patients were enrolled, and data were analyzed using bidirectional, unidirectional, and time-stratified case-crossover design. We examined the association between short-term CO concentration and mortality in patients with ESRD. We used a two-pollutant model, adjusted for temperature as a climate factor and for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), and particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter as air pollution variables other than CO. Results: Characteristics of the study population included age (66.2 ± 12.1 years), sex (male, 59.1%; female, 40.9%), and comorbidities (diabetes, 55.6%; hypertension, 14.4%). Concentration of CO was significantly associated with all-cause mortality in the three case-crossover designs using the two-pollutant model adjusted for SO2. Patients with diabetes or age older than 75 years had a higher risk of mortality than patients without diabetes or those younger than 75 years. Conclusion: Findings presented here suggest that higher CO concentration is correlated with increased all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients, especially in older high-risk patients.

Objective: Glucagon in mammals and its homolog (adipokinetic hormone [AKH] in Drosophila melanogaster) are peptide hormones which regulate lipid metabolism by breaking down triglycerides. Although regulatory mechanisms of glucagon and Akh expression have been widely studied, post-transcriptional gene expression of glucagon has not been investigated thoroughly. In this study, we aimed to profile proteins binding with Gcg messenger RNA (mRNA) in mouse and Akh mRNA in Drosophila. Methods: Drosophila Schneider 2 (S2) and mouse 3T3-L1 cell lysates were utilized for affinity pull down of Akh and Gcg mRNA respectively using biotinylated anti-sense DNA oligoes against target mRNAs. Mass spectrometry and computational network analysis revealed mRNA-interacting proteins residing in functional proximity. Results: We observed that 1) 91 proteins interact with Akh mRNA from S2 cell lysates, 2) 34 proteins interact with Gcg mRNA from 3T3-L1 cell lysates. 3) Akh mRNA interactome revealed clusters of ribosomes and known RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). 4) Gcg mRNA interactome revealed mRNA-binding proteins including Plekha7, zinc finger protein, carboxylase, lipase, histone proteins and a cytochrome, Cyp2c44. 5) Levels of Gcg mRNA and its interacting proteins are elevated in skeletal muscles isolated from old mice compared to ones from young mice. Conclusion Akh mRNA in S2 cells are under active translation in a complex of RBPs and ribosomes. Gcg mRNA in mouse precursor adipocyte is in a condition distinct from Akh mRNA due to biochemical interactions with a subset of RBPs and histones. We anticipate that our study contributes to investigating regulatory mechanisms of Gcg and Akh mRNA decay, translation, and localization.

The aim of this paper is to introduce basic concepts and methods for calculating sample size in animal studies. At the planning stage of clinical studies, the determination of the sample size is a very important process to show the validity, accuracy, and reliability of the study. However, not all studies require a sample size to be calculated. Before conducting the study, it is essential to determine whether the study objectives suggest a pilot and exploratory study, as well as the purpose of testing the hypothesis of interest. Since most animal experiments are pilot and exploratory studies, it would be more appropriate to review other considerations for conducting an experiment while maintaining scientific and qualitative levels rather than sample size estimation. Sample size is calculated in various situations in animal studies. Therefore, it can be estimated according to the situations and objectives through the methods of precision analysis, power analysis, and so on. In some cases, nonparametric methods can be employed if the assumptions of normality is not met or a small sample is available for the study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the incidence and trends of cervical (C53), endometrial (C54.1), and ovarian cancer (C56) among Korean females between 1999 and 2015. METHODS: The incidence of the three major gynecological cancers between 1999 and 2015 was analyzed based on the data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. The age-standardized rates (ASRs) and the annual percent changes (APCs) for each site were calculated. RESULTS: The absolute incidence rates of the three major gynecological cancers increased from 6,394 in 1999 to 8,288 in 2015. ASR for gynecologic cancer decreased from 23.7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 21.1 in 2015. This was mainly due to a definitive decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer, which recorded an APC of −3.7%. The trends of APC for gynecologic cancer were variable, being −1.36% between 1999 and 2006 and −0.11% between 2006 and 2015. A definitive but variable increase was noted for endometrial cancer, and the APC for this cancer was 7.4% between 1999 and 2009 and 3.5% between 2009 and 2015. The incidence of ovarian cancer gradually increased, with an APC of 1.8% between 1999 and 2015. CONCLUSION: Overall, ASRs and APCs for the three major gynecological cancers are decreasing, with a recent reduction in the width of the change. However, there has been a progressive increase in the incidence of endometrial and ovarian cancers.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cervix Uteri ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Endometrium ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea* ; Ovarian Neoplasms* ; Ovary ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) for energy are derived from total energy expenditure (TEE) measured using the doubly labelled water (DLW) method. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of DRI for predicting the energy requirements of elementary school-age children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The present study involved 25 elementary school-age children aged between 9 and 11 years. TEE was assessed by the DLW method, and the results were compared with the TEE predicted by the DRI equations in order to evaluate accuracy. RESULTS: The subjects' TEE measured by the DLW method was 1,925.2 ± 380.9 kcal/day in boys and 1,930.0 ± 279.4 kcal/day in girls, whereas resting energy expenditure was 1,220.2 ± 176.9 kcal/day in boys and 1,245.9 ± 171.3 kcal/day for girls. The physical activity level was 1.58 ± 0.20 in boys and 1.55 ± 0.13 in girls. The mean bias between the predicted and measured TEE was 12.6% in boys and −1.6% in girls, and the percentage of accurate predictions was 28.6% and 63.6%, respectively. In boys, the equation resulted in underprediction of TEE among the subjects having low TEE values, whereas there was overprediction among subjects having high TEE values as shown by the Bland-Altman plot. On the contrary, this proportional bias was not observed in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that the DRI equation for energy could result in the overestimation of energy requirements in elementary school-age boys. In the case of girls, the equations could be accurate at the group level. However, the DRI appears to be invalid for individual girls, as more than one third of girls had their TEE inaccurately predicted. We recommend more studies for confirmation of these results.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Child* ; Energy Metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Methods ; Motor Activity ; Nutritional Requirements ; Recommended Dietary Allowances* ; Water

Management options for patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) have evolved substantially over the past decades. The American Society of Hematology published a treatment guideline for clinicians referring to the management of ITP in 2011. This evidence-based practice guideline for ITP enables the appropriate treatment of a larger proportion of patients and the maintenance of normal platelet counts. Korean authority operates a unified mandatory national health insurance system. Even though we have a uniform standard guideline enforced by insurance reimbursement, there are several unsolved issues in real practice in ITP treatment. To optimize the management of Korean ITP patients, the Korean Society of Hematology Aplastic Anemia Working Party (KSHAAWP) reviewed the consensus and the Korean data on the clinical practices of ITP therapy. Here, we report a Korean expert recommendation guide for the management of ITP.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Clothing ; Consensus ; Evidence-Based Practice ; Hematology ; Humans ; Insurance ; National Health Programs ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between cognitive perceptual abilities of elderly drivers based on the Cognitive Perceptual Assessment for Driving (CPAD) test and their accident and penalty histories. METHODS: A total of 168 elderly drivers (aged ≥65 years) participated in the study. Participant data included CPAD scores and incidents of traffic accidents and penalties, attained from the Korea Road Traffic Authority and Korea National Police Agency, respectively. RESULTS: Drivers' mean age was 70.25±4.1 years and the mean CPAD score was 52.75±4.72. Elderly drivers' age was negatively related to the CPAD score (p<0.001). The accident history group had marginally lower CPAD scores, as compared to the non-accident group (p=0.051). However, incidence rates for traffic fines did not differ significantly between the two groups. Additionally, the group that passed the CPAD test had experienced fewer traffic accidents (3.6%), as compared to the group that failed (10.6%). The older age group (12.0%) had also experienced more traffic accidents, as compared to the younger group (2.4%). CONCLUSION: Overall, elderly drivers who experienced driving accidents had lower CPAD scores than those who did not, without statistical significance. Thus, driving-related cognitive abilities of elderly drivers with insufficient cognitive ability need to be further evaluated to prevent traffic accidents.
Accidents, Traffic ; Aged* ; Automobile Driving ; Cognition ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Police

No abstract available.
Aged ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Female ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Myositis/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy/immunology ; *Paraspinal Muscles/drug effects/immunology/pathology ; Polymyalgia Rheumatica/diagnosis/drug therapy/*etiology/immunology ; Risk Factors ; Sacroiliitis/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy/immunology ; Treatment Outcome