We report a case of corneal deposition of pigments from cosmetic contact lenses after intense pulsed-light (IPL) therapy. A 30-year-old female visited our outpatient clinic with ocular pain and epiphora in both eyes; these symptoms developed soon after she had undergone facial IPL treatment. She was wearing cosmetic contact lenses throughout the IPL procedure. At presentation, her uncorrected visual acuity was 2/20 in both eyes, and the slit-lamp examination revealed deposition of the color pigment of the cosmetic contact lens onto the corneal epithelium. We scraped the corneal epithelium along with the deposited pigments using a no. 15 blade; seven days after the procedure, the corneal epithelium had healed without any complications. This case highlights the importance of considering the possibility of ocular complications during IPL treatment, particularly in individuals using contact lenses. To prevent ocular damage, IPL procedures should be performed only after removing the lenses and applying eyeshields.
Adult ; Coloring Agents/*pharmacokinetics ; Contact Lenses/*adverse effects ; Cornea/*metabolism/pathology/*radiation effects ; Cosmetic Techniques/*adverse effects ; Debridement ; Epithelium, Corneal/surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Phototherapy/*adverse effects ; Postoperative Period ; Treatment Outcome ; Visual Acuity

OBJECTIVES: OSAS (obstructive sleep apnea syndrome) is a common disorder and its consequences are often serious. It is important to detect the disorder early in the course for proper treatment. This study is to grasp the snoring clinic visitors' knowledge level of OSAS. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-nine visitors at the of snoring clinic of Seoul National University Hospital were surveyed by questionnaire about reasons of visit and knowledge of treatment methods of snoring and OSAS, diagnostic method, OSAS-related symptoms, and complications. RESULTS: Most of the respondents (89.4%) "have already heard about OSAS" and the major sources of information was the mass media (58.1%) such as television and radio. More than half (60.3%) were aware that snoring is closely related to OSAS. More than half (59.8%) recognized that a nocturnal polysomnograpy was necessary for proper diagnosis. Two thirds (67%) of the respondents noted surgery as a treatment for snoring. More than half (55.9%) answered that they would follow the doctor's advice on the treatment choice. Only 12.3% of respondents "have heard about nCPAP". No one chose nCPAP (nasal continuous positive airway pressure) as a treatment for either snoring or OSAS. About one third (34.6%) of the respondents were aware that OSAS is related to hypertension. Only 12.8% noted that OSAS is related to diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: Visitors at the snoring clinic were found to have substantially limited knowledge of health risks and proper treatments of OSAS. We suggest that it is crucially important to educate patients and offer easy-to-understand information on snoring and OSAS. We predict that provision of educaiton and information to patients and general public will faciliate the diagnosis and treatment of snoring and OSAS and reduce the related disorders such as hypertension, stroke, and diabetes mellitus.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Mass Media ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive ; Snoring ; Stroke ; Television

PURPOSE: To report two cases of trabeculectomy with biodegradable collagen material conducted on two post-vitrectomy patients. CASE SUMMARY: The first patient was a 43-year-old woman with uncontrolled increased intraocular pressure (IOP) after pars plana vitrectomy with scleral buckling for diabetic retinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage. Another patient, a 28-year-old woman with aphakia, also had uncontrolled increased IOP after pars plana vitrectomy with encircling scleral buckling for retinal detachment. For both of these patients, we performed trabeculectomy using mitomycin C and recently developed biodegradable collagen matrix. In the first case, the IOP was increased three months after the surgery, for which needling was done. After needling, the IOP was well controlled in the range of 16 to 19 mmHg up to eight months postoperatively with stilling anti-glaucomatous eyedrops (Cosopt(R), Xalatan(R)). In the second case, IOPwas increased one week after the surgery, but it was well controlled between 14 to 21 mmHg up to nine months postoperatively with anti-glaucomatous eye drops (Combigan(R)). CONCLUSIONS: Biodegradable collagen matrix can possibly reduce the surgical failure of trabeculectomy and it is especially suitable for high risk patients when combined with anti-metabolic agents like MMC.
Adult ; Aphakia ; Collagen ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; Female ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Mitomycin ; Ophthalmic Solutions ; Retinal Detachment ; Scleral Buckling ; Trabeculectomy ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreous Hemorrhage ; Wound Healing

An air blow gun is one of the most common pneumatic tools found at industrial sites and entrances of mountain trails in South Korea. It is used for spraying high-pressure air to dust off surfaces and clothes, and to inject air into tubes. There have been many reported cases of injuries and deaths associated with air blow guns. The victim died by placing the nozzle of an air blow gun, installed on an outdoor sports field, into her nose, and pulling the trigger. An autopsy ascribed her death to pneumothorax. Numerous accidents associated with air blow guns have been reported in the media. However, the use of an air blow gun has not been the subject of a suicide case study in forensic literature. To our knowledge, this is the first case report on suicide using an air blow gun. Stronger public safety warnings stressing the potentially fatal outcomes from careless usage of air blow guns are required.

PURPOSE: Prosthodontics education of Korean dental schools is developing under liberal regulation according to the character of each school. Diversity in the current environment and condition for each school make it impossible to apply the same and uniform education curriculum. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to analyze and validate the status of the 2012 prosthodontics education curriculum in Korean dental schools, and to suggest future direction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was completed by all the 11 dental schools in South Korea. RESULTS: The number of students, age, sex, credits for prosthodontics lecture and practice courses, evaluation method before senior students' clinical practice, modalities for minimum requirement for graduation, beginning and finishing timing of clinical practice and faculty personnel involved in the education varied among the dental schools. CONCLUSION: High-quality educators leading an expanded teaching personnel are required, education hours must be increased and efficient curriculum must be organized to improve the prosthodontics education.
Curriculum ; Humans ; Prosthodontics ; Schools, Dental

PURPOSE: Recently, biodegradable collagen matrix has been used as a possible substitute for anti-metabolite in trabeculectomy in order to control the responsiveness of the wound healing process. This paper reports a case of encapsulation of the biodegradable collagen matrix after trabeculectomy. CASE SUMMARY: We conducted a fornix-based trabeculectomy on a 58-year-old man with medically uncontrollable steroid-induced glaucoma. We implanted biodegradable collagen matrix onto the sclera flap beneath the conjunctiva. Immediately after the surgery, we observed a localized bleb with high elevation. In the three months of follow-up, the bleb became encapsulated, and an increase in intraocular pressure was noted. During the wound revision, encapsulated material surrounded by thick fibrous membrane was found and removed from the subconjunctival space, followed by biopsy. Biopsy results demonstrated that amorphous collagenous material was surrounded by spindle and inflammatory cells. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to note that the fibrous encapsulation of collagen material is a possible complication of biodegradable collagen matrix-augmented trabeculectomy.
Biopsy ; Blister ; Collagen ; Conjunctiva ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glaucoma ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Humans ; Intraocular Pressure ; Membranes ; Middle Aged ; Sclera ; Trabeculectomy ; Wound Healing

Nausea and emesis are a major side effect and obstacle for chemotherapy in cancer patients. Employ of antiemetic drugs help to suppress chemotherapy-induced emesis in some patients but not all patients. Ginger, an herbal medicine, has been traditionally used to treat various kinds of diseases including gastrointestinal symptoms. Ginger is effective in alleviating nausea and emesis, particularly, for cytotoxic chemotherapy drug-induced emesis. Ginger-mediated antiemetic effect has been attributed to its pungent constituents-mediated inhibition of serotonin (5-HT) receptor activity but its cellular mechanism of action is still unclear. Emetogenic chemotherapy drugs increase 5-HT concentration and activate visceral vagal afferent nerve activity. Thus, 5-HT mediated vagal afferent activation is essential to provoke emesis during chemotherapy. In this experiment, water extract of ginger and its three major pungent constituent's effect on 5-HT-evoked responses were tested on acutely dispersed visceral afferent neurons with patch-clamp methods. The ginger extract has similar effects to antiemetic drug ondansetron by blocking 5-HT-evoked responses. Pungent constituents of the ginger, [6]-shogaol, [6]-gingerol, and zingerone inhibited 5-HT responses in a dose dependent manner. The order of inhibitory potency for these compounds were [6]-shogaol>[6]-gingerol>zingerone. Unlike well-known competitive 5-HT3 receptor antagonist ondansetron, all tested ginger constituents acted as non-competitive antagonist. Our results imply that ginger and its pungent constituents exert antiemetic effects by blocking 5-HT-induced emetic signal transmission in vagal afferent neurons.
Antiemetics ; Drug Therapy ; Ginger* ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Nausea ; Neurons* ; Neurons, Afferent ; Ondansetron ; Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT3 ; Serotonin* ; Visceral Afferents* ; Vomiting ; Water

OBJECTIVES: We compared the viral cycle threshold (Ct) values of infected patients to better understand viral kinetics by vaccination status during different periods of variant predominance in Gyeonggi Province, Korea. METHODS: We obtained case-specific data from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance system, Gyeonggi in-depth epidemiological report system, and Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service from January 2020 to January 2022. We defined periods of variant predominance and explored Ct values by analyzing viral sequencing test results. Using a generalized additive model, we performed a nonlinear regression analysis to determine viral kinetics over time. RESULTS: Cases in the Delta variant’s period of predominance had higher viral shedding patterns than cases in other periods. The temporal change of viral shedding did not vary by vaccination status in the Omicron-predominant period, but viral shedding decreased in patients who had completed their third vaccination in the Delta-predominant period. During the Delta-predominant and Omicron-predominant periods, the time from symptom onset to peak viral shedding based on the E gene was approximately 2.4 days (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2 to 2.5) and 2.1 days (95% CI, 2.0 to 2.1), respectively. CONCLUSIONS In one-time tests conducted to diagnose COVID-19 in a large population, although no adjustment for individual characteristics was conducted, it was confirmed that viral shedding differed by the predominant strain and vaccination history. These results show the value of utilizing hundreds of thousands of test data produced at COVID-19 screening test centers.

OBJECTIVE: Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by elevated impulsivity, even during periods of remission. Many recovered BD patients have functional impairments, which can lead to poor quality of life (QoL). The aim of this study was to investigate the association between impulsivity and QoL in euthymic BD patients. METHODS: A total of 56 remitted or recovered patients with type I or II BD, diagnosed based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria, were recruited. Psychiatrists administered the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) for BD and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scales and then interviewed the subjects to assess clinical variables. Patients completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument-Brief Form (WHOQoL-BREF). Pearson correlations, univariate regression analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. RESULTS: The BIS-11 total score was significantly correlated with the WHOQoL-BREF total score (r=-0.55, p<0.01) and with the WHOQoL-BREF subscales. After controlling for GAF score and other clinical variables, the BIS-11 total score (beta=-0.43, p=0.001) was independently associated with overall QoL. Additionally, the BIS-11 total score was particularly strongly associated with the physical, psychological, and social domains of the multi-dimensional QoL scale. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that high impulsivity is related to low QoL in euthymic BD patients. Further studies are needed to examine whether interventions for high impulsivity effectively improve QoL in patients with BD.
Impulsive Behavior ; Bipolar Disorder* ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Psychiatry ; Quality of Life* ; Weights and Measures ; World Health Organization

Acquisition of resistance to anti-cancer drugs is a significant obstacle to effective cancer treatment. Although several efforts have been made to overcome drug resistance in cancer cells, the detailed mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated whether microRNAs (miRNAs) function as pivotal regulators in the acquisition of anti-cancer drug resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). A survey using a lentivirus library containing 572 precursor miRNAs revealed that five miRNAs promoted cell survival after 5-FU treatment in human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells. Among the five different clones, the clone expressing miR-200a-3p (Hep3B-miR-200a-3p) was further characterized as a 5-FU-resistant cell line. The cell viability and growth rate of Hep3B-miR-200a-3p cells were higher than those of control cells after 5-FU treatment. Ectopic expression of a miR-200a-3p mimic increased, while inhibition of miR-200a-3p downregulated, cell viability in response to 5-FU, doxorubicin, and CDDP (cisplatin). We also showed that dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6) is a novel target of miR-200a-3p and regulates resistance to 5-FU. Ectopic expression of DUSP6 mitigated the pro-survival effects of miR-200a-3p. Taken together, these results lead us to propose that miR-200a-3p enhances anti-cancer drug resistance by decreasing DUSP6 expression.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Line ; Cell Survival ; Clone Cells ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Resistance ; Dual Specificity Phosphatase 6* ; Dual-Specificity Phosphatases* ; Ectopic Gene Expression ; Fluorouracil* ; Humans ; Lentivirus ; MicroRNAs