Platelets are derived from the fragments that are formed from the cytoplasm of bone marrow megakaryocytes-small irregularly shaped anuclear cells. Platelets respond to vascular damage, contracts blood vessels, and attaches to the damaged region, thereby stopping bleeding, together with the action of blood coagulation factors. Platelet activation is known to affect genes associated with vascular risk factors, as well as with arteriosclerosis and myocardial infarction. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study with 352,228 single-nucleotide polymorphisms typed in 8,842 subjects of the Korea Association Resource (KARE) project and replicated the results in 7,861 subjects from an independent population. We identified genetic associations between platelet count and common variants nearby chromosome 4p16.1 (p = 1.46 x 10(-10), in the KIAA0232 gene), 6p21 (p = 1.36 x 10(-7), in the BAK1 gene), and 12q24.12 (p = 1.11 x 10(-15), in the SH2B3 gene). Our results illustrate the value of large-scale discovery and a focus for several novel research avenues.
Arteriosclerosis ; Blood Coagulation Factors ; Blood Vessels ; Blood Platelets ; Bone Marrow ; Cytoplasm ; Genome-Wide Association Study* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Korea ; Megakaryocytes ; Myocardial Infarction ; Platelet Activation ; Platelet Count* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Risk Factors

The aims of this study were to develop strategies and algorithms of calculating food commodity intake suitable for exposure assessment of residual chemicals by using the food intake database of Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). In this study, apples and their processed food products were chosen as a model food for accurate calculation of food commodity intakes uthrough the recently developed Korea food commodity intake calculation (KFCIC) software. The average daily intakes of total apples in Korea Health Statistics were 29.60 g in 2008, 32.40 g in 2009, 34.30 g in 2010, 28.10 g in 2011, and 24.60 g in 2012. The average daily intakes of apples by KFCIC software was 2.65 g higher than that by Korea Health Statistics. The food intake data in Korea Health Statistics might have less reflected the intake of apples from mixed and processed foods than KFCIC software has. These results can affect outcome of risk assessment for residual chemicals in foods. Therefore, the accurate estimation of the average daily intake of food commodities is very important, and more data for food intakes and recipes have to be applied to improve the quality of data. Nevertheless, this study can contribute to the predictive estimation of exposure to possible residual chemicals and subsequent analysis for their potential risks.
Eating ; Korea* ; Malus ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Risk Assessment

Pachyonychia congenita (PC) is characterized by hypertrophic nail dystrophy, focal palmoplantar keratoderma and blistering, oral leukokeratosis, cyst formation, palmoplantar hyperhydrosis, and follicular keratoses on the trunk and extremities. PC is diagnosed by clinical findings and molecular genetic studies. A 26-year-old man presented with hypertrophic nail dystrophy and subungual debris of all 20 nails, hyperkeratotic plaques on the heels of both soles, and oral leukokeratosis. He had no family history of similar clinical findings. The patient's clinical presentation and history were consistent with PC. Herein we report on a rare case of pachyonychia congenita with a review of literature.
Adult ; Blister ; Extremities ; Heel ; Humans ; Keratoderma, Palmoplantar ; Keratosis ; Leukoplakia, Oral ; Molecular Biology ; Nails ; Pachyonychia Congenita

White fibrous papulosis of the neck is a rare skin disease that manifests with tiny papules that are distributed on the neck. Thick collagen bundles in the papillary dermis and diminution of the elastic fiber are characteristic on histologic examination. It is thought to be a normal aging process of the skin or an associated disorder. We report here on a case of white fibrous papulosis of the neck of a 49-year-old Korean woman.
Aging ; Collagen ; Dermis ; Elastic Tissue ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Skin ; Skin Diseases

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: For the long-term success of removable partial dentures, the bonding between metal framework and denture base resin is one of the important factors. To improve bonding between those, macro-mechanical retentive form that is included metal framework design has been generally used. However it has been known that sealing at the interface between metal framework and denture base resin is very weak, because this method uses mechanical bonding. PURPOSE: Many studies has been made to find a simple method which induces chemical bond, now various bonding system is applied to clinic. In this experiment, shear bond strengths of heat-cured denture base resin to the surface-treated Co-Cr alloy were measured before and after thermocycling. Chemically treated groups with Alloy Primer(TM), Super-Bond C&B(TM), and tribochemically treated group with Rocatec(TM) system were compared to the beadtreated control group. The data were analyzed with two-way ANOVA. RESULT: 1. Shear bond strength of bead-treated group is highest, and Alloy Primer(TM) treated group, Super-Bond C&B(TM) treated group, Rocatec(TM) system treated group were followed. Statistically significant differences were found in each treated group(p<0.05). 2. Surface treatment and thermocycling affected shear bond strength(p<0.05), however there was no interaction between two factors(p>0.05). 3. Shear bond strengths of bead-treated group and Alloy Primer(TM) treated group showed no statistically significant difference before and after thermocycling(p>0.05), and those of Super-Bond CBTM treated group and RocatecTM system treated group showed statistically significant difference after thermocycling(p<0.05).
Alloys* ; Denture Bases* ; Denture, Partial, Removable ; Dentures*

BACKGROUND: Generalized granuloma annulare (GGA) is a benign granulomatous disease of an unknown etiology. Although numerous studies about GGA have been reported, publications that describe the general clinical features of the disease are very sparse. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the clinical characteristics of Korean GGA cases. METHODS: We reviewed and analyzed the clinical data derived from four patients diagnosed with GGA at our hospital and the clinical data from 58 patients diagnosed with GGA at other Korean hospitals between 1995 and 2011. RESULTS: The cutaneous lesions could be divided into the annular (n=30, 48%) and nonannular (n=32, 52%) types, and the lesions were more common in males than in females, with 33 males and 29 females affected. The GGA incidence showed a bimodal distribution with respect to age at disease onset. Twenty-six cases (42%) presented within the first decade of life and 29 cases (47%) presented when they were in the fifth decade of life or older. Twelve patients (19%) had systemic diseases. Of note, diabetes mellitus (DM) occurred only in adult GGA patients who were aged over 40 years. CONCLUSION: In contrast to previously reported studies, this study shows that the age at GGA onset has a bimodal distribution, and that GGA occurs more often in males. The prevalence of DM among GGA-affected individuals was higher than that found in the general Korean population. Therefore, a DM workup should be undertaken for GGA-affected patients who are over 40 years of age.
Adult ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Granuloma Annulare* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence

BACKGROUND: The primitive reflexes such as palmomental, glabella, snout, nuchocephalic reflexes may appear in a variety of diseases of the central nervous system. In this study, we investigated the frequencies of these primitive reflexes in the healthy elderly Korean population that have never been studied before. METHODS: Randomly selected 103 vol-unteers aged older than 60 years were examined by neurologists with a systemic neurological examination which included primitive reflexes and by radiologists with neuroimaging. Seven subjects were excluded from the study due to abnormal findings in the MRI of one subject and unusual neurological signs in 6 subjects. RESULTS: The overall mean age of the subjects was 66.5 years. One or more of the primitive reflexes were seen in 26 (24.9%) subjects. Eighteen (17.2%) subjects showed the palmomental reflex; eleven (10.5%) subjects showed the glabella reflex; five (4.8%) sub-jects showed the snout reflex; and one (1.0%) subject showed the nuchocephalic reflex. One subject had palmomental, glabella as well as snout reflexes, and five subjects had two primitive reflexes at the same time. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the normal findings from the neurological examinations and neuroimaging, 24.9% of healthy aged people had one or more primitive reflexes. The presence of these primitive reflexes as an isolated phenomenon may not imply brain lesions. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(4):380~383, 2001)
Aged* ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neuroimaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Reflex*

PURPOSE: This study examined the relationship between caffeine intake and metabolic syndrome in Korean adults using the 2013 ~ 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (KNHANES). METHODS: The caffeine database (DB) developed by Food and Drug Safety Assessment Agency in 2014 was used to estimate the caffeine consumption. The food and beverage consumption of the 24 hr recall data of 2013 ~ 2016 KNHANES were matched to items in the caffeine DB and the daily caffeine intakes of the individuals were calculated. The sample was limited to non-pregnant healthy adults aged 19 years and older, who were not taking any medication for disease treatment. RESULTS: The average daily caffeine intake was 41.97 mg, and the daily intake of caffeine of 97% of the participants was from coffee, teas, soft drinks, and other beverages. Multivariate analysis showed that the caffeine intake did not affect metabolic syndrome, hypertension, low HDL-cholesterol, and abdominal obesity. Diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia, however, were 0.76 (95% CI: 0.63 ~ 0.93), and 0.87 (95% CI: 0.77 ~ 0.98) in third quintile (Q3), and 0.66 (95% CI: 0.53 ~ 0.82) and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73 ~ 0.94) in fourth quintile (Q4) compared to Q1, respectively. Therefore, caffeine intake of 3.66 ~ 45.81 mg per day is related to a lower risk of diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. CONCLUSION: The study showed that adequate caffeine intake (approximately 45 mg) was associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes and hypertriglyceridemia. Therefore, it can be used as a guideline for the adequate level of caffeine intake for maintaining health.
Adult ; Beverages ; Caffeine ; Carbonated Beverages ; Coffee ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertriglyceridemia ; Korea ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prevalence ; Tea

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been the most potent treatment option for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, the underlying neural mechanisms of ECT in schizophrenia remain largely unclear. This paper examines studies that investigated structural and functional changes after ECT in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: We carried out a systematic review with following terms: ‘ECT’, ‘schizophrenia’, and the terms of various neuroimaging modalities. Results: Among the 325 records available from the initial search in May 2020, 17 studies were included. Cerebral blood flow in the frontal, temporal, and striatal structures was shown to be modulated (n=3), although the results were divergent. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies suggested that the ratio of N-acetyl-aspartate/creatinine was increased in the left prefrontal cortex (PFC; n=2) and left thalamus (n=1). The hippocampus and insula (n=6, respectively) were the most common regions of structural/functional modulation, which also showed symptom associations. Functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN; n=5), PFC (n=4), and thalamostriatal system (n=2) were also commonly modulated. Conclusion Despite proven effectiveness, there has been a dearth of studies investigating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ECT. There is preliminary evidence of structural and functional modulation of the hippocampus and insula, functional changes in the DMN, PFC, and thalamostriatal system after ECT in patients with schizophrenia. We discuss the rationale and implications of these findings and the potential mechanism of action of ECT. More studies evaluating the mechanisms of ECT are needed, which could provide a unique window into what leads to treatment response in the otherwise refractory TRS population.

Objective: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been the most potent treatment option for treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). However, the underlying neural mechanisms of ECT in schizophrenia remain largely unclear. This paper examines studies that investigated structural and functional changes after ECT in patients with schizophrenia. Methods: We carried out a systematic review with following terms: ‘ECT’, ‘schizophrenia’, and the terms of various neuroimaging modalities. Results: Among the 325 records available from the initial search in May 2020, 17 studies were included. Cerebral blood flow in the frontal, temporal, and striatal structures was shown to be modulated (n=3), although the results were divergent. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies suggested that the ratio of N-acetyl-aspartate/creatinine was increased in the left prefrontal cortex (PFC; n=2) and left thalamus (n=1). The hippocampus and insula (n=6, respectively) were the most common regions of structural/functional modulation, which also showed symptom associations. Functional connectivity of the default mode network (DMN; n=5), PFC (n=4), and thalamostriatal system (n=2) were also commonly modulated. Conclusion Despite proven effectiveness, there has been a dearth of studies investigating the neurobiological mechanisms underlying ECT. There is preliminary evidence of structural and functional modulation of the hippocampus and insula, functional changes in the DMN, PFC, and thalamostriatal system after ECT in patients with schizophrenia. We discuss the rationale and implications of these findings and the potential mechanism of action of ECT. More studies evaluating the mechanisms of ECT are needed, which could provide a unique window into what leads to treatment response in the otherwise refractory TRS population.