Summary measures of population health (SMPHs) have been used to estimate the burden of diseases. Among various type of SMPHs, disability adjusted life year (DALY) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) have been calculated in the global and national burden of disease studies. In order to calculate DALY and HALE, disability weight is an essential element. Disability weights quantify the level of disability for health states or diseases and have values between 0 (full health) to 1 (being dead). In this study, we reviewed the main disability weights studies and determined their meaning and limitations. Furthermore, we provided the whole process of typical disability weight study and reviewed key issues as follows: health state or disease description development, panel composition, valuation method, validation of disability weight, cross-cultural variability in health state or disease, and so on. The results from this study will be helpful to conduct future disability weight studies for adapting disability weights and developing new methodologies.
Life Expectancy ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Weights and Measures

The transformation of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) to anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is well documented in the literature but is an exceptionally rare occurrence in metastatic foci outside the primary thyroid lesion. Even rarer is the simultaneous occurrence of PTC and ATC in the cervical lymph nodes. We report the case of an 85–year–old man who presented with a rapidly growing neck mass diagnosed as PTC. Following surgery, multiple ATC foci in the metastatic cervical lymph node were found coexisting with PTC, whereas in the thyroid, only PTC was found. This case is of high clinical significance because transformation of PTC to ATC outside the thyroid gland per se is very rare and because it suggests rapidly growing tumors in an elderly patient. The use of core needle biopsies in cases with suspected rapid tumor growth can aid in proper diagnosis, surgical decision making, and patient counselling.

We investigated the combined moisturizing effect of liposomal serine and a cosmeceutical base selected in this study. Serine is a major amino acid consisting of natural moisturizing factors and keratin, and the hydroxyl group of serine can actively interact with water molecules. Therefore, we hypothesized that serine efficiently delivered to the stratum corneum (SC) of the skin would enhance the moisturizing capability of the skin. We prepared four different cosmeceutical bases (hydrogel, oil-in-water (O/W) essence, O/W cream, and water-in-oil (W/O) cream); their moisturizing abilities were then assessed using a Corneometer(R). The hydrogel was selected as the optimum base for skin moisturization based on the area under the moisture content change-time curves (AUMCC) values used as a parameter for the water hold capacity of the skin. Liposomal serine prepared by a reverse-phase evaporation method was then incorporated in the hydrogel. The liposomal serine-incorporated hydrogel (serine level=1%) showed an approximately 1.62~1.77 times greater moisturizing effect on the skin than those of hydrogel, hydrogel with serine (1%), and hydrogel with blank liposome. However, the AUMCC values were not dependent on the level of serine in liposomal serine-loaded hydrogels. Together, the delivery of serine to the SC of the skin is a promising strategy for moisturizing the skin. This study is expected to be an important step in developing highly effective moisturizing cosmeceutical products.
Hyaluronic Acid* ; Hydrogel* ; Hydrogels* ; Liposomes ; Serine* ; Skin* ; Water