Background: Over the last few decades, the incidence of hyperuricemia has increased. Recently, the incidences of gout and asymptomatic hyperuricemia have been rapidly increasing in Korea. A correlation between serum uric acid (SUA) level and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol has already been identified, but it has been rarely studied in the Korean population. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017). Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 8,127 Korean adults aged 19–79 years. Individuals were cancer excluded. Participants were classified as having hyperuricemia if SUA levels were ≥7.0 mg/dL in men and ≥6.0 mg/dL in women. The correlation between SUA level and LDL cholesterol was analyzed by complex sample linear regression analysis. Results: In men, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (120.6±1.61) than in normal individuals (114.3±0.84) (P<0.001). In women, LDL cholesterol was higher in participants with hyperuricemia (125.6±3.25) than in normal individuals (117.6±0.69) (P=0.0149). We used 3 models with progressive degrees of adjustment. Model 1 was adjusted for age, gender, alcohol, smoking, and body mass index. Model 2 was further adjusted for hypertension and diabetes. Model 3 was further adjusted for dyslipidemia, stroke, myocardial infarction or angina, and liver cirrhosis. After adjusting for potential confounders, LDL cholesterol was higher in the hyperuricemic group than in the normal group (P<0.001). Conclusion The study results confirm that a positive correlation exists between serum uric acid level and LDL cholesterol.

BACKGROUND: Although the prevalence of e-cigarette smoking is increasing worldwide, the harmfulness of e-cigarette is not obvious. A previous study reported that e-cigarette smoking is associated with depressive symptoms in college students irrespective of tobacco smoking. However, there has been no research that has addressed this issue in the general population to date. This study was conducted to clarify the association between e-cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms in Korean adults.METHODS: The cross-sectional study collected raw data from the 7th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016) and included 5,742 adults, who were ≥19 years and responded to the survey of smoking and mental health section. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the odds ratio of depressive symptoms by e-cigarette smoking experience and included sex, age, educational level, marital status, household income level, self-rated health, activity restriction, obesity, tobacco smoking experience, alcohol drinking experience, and stress perception level as covariates. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the patient health questionnaire-9, Korean edition.RESULTS: The rate of depressive symptoms in subjects was 5.6% (n=354) in total. Individuals with depressive symptoms were more likely to have used e-cigarettes (15.6%) than those without depressive symptoms (8.6%; P=0.001). The e-cigarette experienced group showed a higher risk of depressive symptoms (odds ratio, 1.71; 95% confidence interval, 1.004–2.924) than the e-cigarette unexperienced group. The result was adjusted based on the abovementioned covariates.CONCLUSION: In Korean adults, a significant association between e-cigarette smoking experience and depressive symptoms was observed.
Adult ; Alcohol Drinking ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Electronic Cigarettes ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Marital Status ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking

Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells (CAR-Ts) has emerged as an innovative immunotherapy for hematological cancer treatment. However, the limited effect on solid tumors, complex processes, and excessive manufacturing costs remain as limitations of CAR-T therapy. Nanotechnology provides an alternative to the conventional CAR-T therapy. Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, nanoparticles can not only serve as a delivery platform for drugs but also target specific cells. Nanoparticle-based CAR therapy can be applied not only to T cells but also to CAR-natural killer and CAR-macrophage, compensating for some of their limitations. This review focuses on the introduction of nanoparticle-based advanced CAR immune cell therapy and future perspectives on immune cell reprogramming.