Translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) is a mitochondrial protein highly expressed on reactive microglia and astrocytes, and is considered as a biomarker for neurodegeneration and brain damage, especially neuroinflammation. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are closely related with inflammatory responses of microglia and astrocytes and these signaling pathways regulate neuroinflammation. Previous reports have identified the anti-inflammatory effects of TSPO ligands, however study of their effects in relation to the TLR signaling was limited. Here, we investigated the effects of five representative TSPO ligands on microglia and astrocytes following activation by various TLR ligands. Our results show that TSPO ligands reduce the pro-inflammatory response elicited by the TLR ligands with more profound effects on microglia than astrocytes.
Astrocytes* ; Brain ; Ligands* ; Microglia* ; Mitochondrial Proteins ; Toll-Like Receptors

Doxazosin is an adrenergic alpha-1 receptor antagonist used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms that are common in prostatic hyperplasia. To our knowledge, few cases of gynecomastia and mastodynia, as a complication of adrenergic alpha-1 receptor antagonist, have been reported to date; no cases have been reported in Korea. We describe a case involving a 78-year-old man treated for prostatic hyperplasia with 13 months of doxazosin. He complained about unilateral gynecomstia and mastodynia. Five months after the discontinuation of doxazosin, the gynecomastia was significantly improved. This is the first reported case of gynecomastia and mastodynia associated with doxazosin use in Korea.
Aged ; Doxazosin* ; Gynecomastia* ; Humans ; Korea ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Mastodynia ; Prostatic Hyperplasia

Cardiovascular malformations, such as bicuspid aortic valve and coarctation of the aorta, are more prevalent in patients with Turner syndrome than in the general population. Here, we describe the case of a 35-year-old female with Turner syndrome who was admitted to our hospital with a fever caused by infective endocarditis. Aortic coarctation was diagnosed using computed tomography. The patient was treated with antibiotics and a stent was then implanted. Endovascular therapy using stents is a safe and effective treatment option for aortic coarctation in patients with Turner syndrome.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aortic Coarctation* ; Aortic Valve ; Bicuspid ; Endocarditis ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Stents* ; Turner Syndrome*

Peri-implantitis, in which inflammation caused by plaque and biofilm on the implant surface spreads to the hard tissue, can be treated by decontamination of the implant surface and reconstruction of the lost hard tissue through surgical methods. We have described the management of 3 peri-implantitis cases by decontamination of the implant surface using a round titanium brush and regenerative therapy. All cases showed clinical improvements, and no further radiographic bone loss was observed during a 2-year follow-up. This treatment method can be effective for clinical improvement and bone regeneration. However, a longer follow-up period is necessary to support these outcomes.

Circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle of behavioral and physiological changes. Disrupted sleep-wake patterns and circadian dysfunction are common in patients of Alzheimer Disease (AD) and are closely related with neuroinflammation. However, it is not well known how circadian rhythm of immune cells is altered during the progress of AD. Previously, we found presenilin 2 (Psen2) N141I mutation, one of familial AD (FAD) risk genes, induces hyperimmunity through the epigenetic repression of REV-ERBα expression in microglia and bone marrow-derived macrophage (BMDM) cells. Here, we investigated whether repression of REV-ERBα is associated with dysfunction of immune cell-endogenous or central circadian rhythm by analyses of clock genes expression and cytokine secretion, bioluminescence recording of rhythmic PER2::LUC expression, and monitoring of animal behavioral rhythm. Psen2 N141I mutation down-regulated REV-ERBα and induced selective over-production of IL-6 (a well-known clock-dependent cytokine) following the treatment of toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands in microglia, astrocytes, and BMDM. Psen2 N141I mutation also lowered amplitude of intrinsic daily oscillation in these immune cells representatives of brain and periphery. Of interest, however, the period of daily rhythm remained intact in immune cells. Furthermore, analyses of the central clock and animal behavioral rhythms revealed that central clock remained normal without down-regulation of REV-ERBα. These results suggest that Psen2 N141I mutation induces hyperimmunity mainly through the suppression of REV-ERBα in immune cells, which have lowered amplitude but normal period of rhythmic oscillation. Furthermore, our data reveal that central circadian clock is not affected by Psen2 N141I mutation.

Purpose: This study was performed to evaluate the safety and feasibility of skin adhesives and to compare postoperative and cosmetic outcomes after wound closure in single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPLA) between skin adhesives and steri-strips. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study. We included 22 and 47 patients in whom skin adhesive and steri-strips were used respectively, for skin closure after subcuticular suturing in SPLA between August 2014 and 2020. The patient scar assessment questionnaire (PSAQ) was completed postoperatively to assess postoperative cosmetic outcomes. Results: On the postoperative day, patients in whom skin adhesive was used had significantly lower numeric rating scores than in whom steri-strips were used (2.8 ± 0.8 vs. 3.9 ± 0.8, p < 0.001). The frequency of analgesic administration within 24 hours and between 24 and 48 hours after surgery was significantly lower in the skin adhesive group compared to the wound closure strip group (1.4 ± 0.8 vs. 2.7 ± 1.2, p = 0.013 and 0.2 ± 0.4 vs. 0.7 ± 0.9, p = 0.002, respectively). In the PSAQ, “satisfaction with appearance” and “satisfaction with symptoms” subitem scores were significantly lower in patients in whom skin adhesive was used (11.3 ± 3.0 vs. 15.1 ± 4.5, p = 0.006 and 6.5 ± 1.8 vs. 9.5 ± 3.3, p = 0.003), whereas, “appearance” and “consciousness” subitems revealed no statistically significant differences between the groups. Conclusion Liquid skin adhesive closures seem to be safe and feasible and cause less postoperative pain, resulting in greater patient satisfaction with postoperative scars than wound closure strip closure after subcuticular suturing in SPLA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of serum concentrations of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) of patients with ovarian cysts for differential diagnosis of endometrioama. METHOD: From Jan. 2003 to Dec. 2004, preoperative serum MIF levels were assessed in 28 women with endometrioma, 32 with benign epithelial tumor, 23 with functional and simple cysts, 22 with benign mature cystic teratoma, and 25 women without ovarian tumor as control. MIF levels were determined using an ELISA (Quantikine Human MIF immunoassay, R&D Systems, Inc., USA). RESULTS: Mean MIF levels were higher in all groups with benign tumors than control (all p<0.01), but there was no significant difference between benign tumor groups (p=0.95). There was no significant correlation between MIF levels and tumor volume, body mass index (BMI) (p=0.635, 0.674 respectively) Serum MIF level had significant correlation with count of WBC and neutrophils (p=0.008, 0.024 respectively), but had no correlation with count of lymhocytes and monocytes (p=0.688, 0.294 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a marked increase in MIF concentrations in the peripheral blood of patients with endometrioma, but there was no significant difference with other benign tumors. Serum MIF level had significant correlation with count of WBC and neutrophils. These suggest serum MIF level has no usefulness for differential diagnosis of endometrioma from other benign ovarian cysts.
Body Mass Index ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Endometriosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Macrophages* ; Monocytes ; Neutrophils ; Ovarian Cysts* ; Teratoma ; Tumor Burden

PURPOSE: There was marked decline of measles outbreak in the world since the first measles vaccine had been introduced. Recently, however, measles outbreak in the vaccinated children have been reported worldwide, which was ascribed to the possibilities of primary or secondary vaccine failure. We investigated the incidence in the school-aged children in the Kyong-gi Do area, the larger district which covers the urban and rural area, by the questionnaire. METHODS: The questionnaires which were asked to the students' parents of 14 elementary schools in and nearest Sungnam city, Kyong-Gi Do for their present age, experience of measles attack and vaccination, and the age of measles attack. The answers of this questionnaire were analysed by SAS computer program. RESULTS: 1) Measles vaccination rate at 9 months was 70.5% and MMR vaccination rate at 15 months was 91.3%. 2) Measles attack rate among unvaccinated group was 53.8%, and 16.1% in vaccinated group. There was significant low risk of measles attack among vaccinated group than unvaccinated group(relative risk=3.35, p<0.001). 3) Vaccine efficacy of measles in this age group was 69%. 4) Age distribution of measles outbreak reveals bimodal pattern, the graph shows two peak incidence of 1 year-old and 6 years-old. 5) There were no significant differences of measles incidence in the different medical care service center that measles vaccination had been done. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high rate of measles vaccine coverage in Sungnam, the attack rate of measles in the vaccinated population was relatively high. There may be due to primary, secondary vaccine failure or the other factors. The policy of measles vaccination in Korea should be reestablished as soon as possible.
Age Distribution ; Child* ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Measles Vaccine ; Measles* ; Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vaccination

Neural stem cells (NSCs) have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes. Highly dynamic nature of NSC differentiation requires the intimate involvement of catabolic processes such as autophagy. Autophagy is a major intracellular degradation pathway necessary for cellular homeostasis and remodeling. Autophagy is important for mammalian development and its role in neurogenesis has recently drawn much attention. However, little is known about how autophagy is associated with differentiation of NSCs into other neural lineages. Here, we report that autophagy plays a critical role in differentiation of adult rat hippocampal neural stem (HCN) cells into astrocytes. During differentiation, autophagy flux peaked at early time points, and remained high. Pharmacological or genetic suppression of autophagy by stable knockdown of Atg7, LC3 or CRISPR-Cas9-mediated knockout (KO) of p62 impaired astrogenesis, while reintroduction of p62 recovered astrogenesis in p62 KO HCN cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that autophagy plays a key role in astrogenesis in adult NSCs.
Adult Stem Cells ; Adult ; Animals ; Astrocytes ; Autophagy ; Cell Differentiation ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Neural Stem Cells ; Neurogenesis ; Neurons ; Oligodendroglia ; Rats ; Suppression, Genetic

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for presence and severity of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) at the onset of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in Korean children and adolescents. A retrospective chart review of children and adolescents newly diagnosed with T1DM was conducted in seven secondary and tertiary centers in Korea. Eligible subjects were < 20 years of age and had records on the presence or absence of DKA at the time of T1DM diagnosis. DKA severity was categorized as mild, moderate, or severe. Data were collected on age, height, body weight, pubertal status, family history of diabetes, delayed diagnosis, preceding infections, health insurance status, and parental education level. A total of 361 patients (male 46.3%) with T1DM were included. Overall, 177 (49.0%) patients presented with DKA at T1DM diagnosis. Risk factors predicting DKA at T1DM diagnosis were age ≥ 12 years, lower serum C-peptide levels, presence of a preceding infection, and delayed diagnosis. Low parental education level and preceding infection increased the severity of DKA. These results suggest that alertness of the physician and public awareness of diabetes symptoms are needed to decrease the incidence and severity of DKA at T1DM diagnosis.
Adolescent* ; Body Height ; C-Peptide ; Child* ; Delayed Diagnosis ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 ; Diabetic Ketoacidosis* ; Diagnosis* ; Education ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Parents ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors