To adapt to the demand for highly talented medical personnel in the new century, China Medical University has proposed a teaching reformation policy that aims to reinforce the combination of training goals with all subjects; to carry out bilateral infiltration and three optimizations; to emphasize the development of knowledge, ability and quality; to enliven teaching methods; and to make adaptations in all areas. In preparation, we have studied the reform experiences and current practices of more than 200 medical colleges and universities around the world in light of current conditions in China and China Medical University. We have also renewed our recognition of the training goals of specialties as a firm basis for the quality education of skilled doctors. The University has reformed its curriculum system and teaching plans for clinical medical specialties in many ways and has adjusted its teaching contents to form a new model for training talented medical personnel for the next century.

Intravesical instillation of Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) has been used for treating nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer as the forefront of immunotherapy, but BCG is ineffective in approximately 30–40% of cases and disease recurs in up to 50% of patients. Recently BCG is considered an effective vehicle for delivery of antigens due to its unique characteristics, and the genetic control of these mycobacteria is advanced in the search for less toxic and more potent therapeutic agents for bladder cancer immunotherapy. We will discuss current advances in recombinant BCG construction, research, and future directions.
Administration, Intravesical ; BCG Vaccine ; Humans ; Immunotherapy* ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms* ; Urinary Bladder*

There exists a need to develop strategies that promote neovascularization in virtually all tissue engineering and regenerative medicine efforts. While research typically focuses on understanding and exploiting the role of angiogenic factors and vascular cells on new blood vessel formation, the activity of the immune system is being recognized to impact vascular formation and adaptation. This review will provide both an overview of the relationship of angiogenesis and the immune system, and how biomaterials may be designed to promote favorable angiogenesis by interaction between these 2 systems to promote effective vascularization.
Angiogenesis Inducing Agents ; Biocompatible Materials ; Blood Vessels ; Immune System ; Inflammation* ; Regenerative Medicine ; Tissue Engineering

OBJECTIVE: The question of whether religion has beneficial or detrimental effects on the mental well-being of the adult individual is debatable. Because most Korean citizens are free to select their own religion, there is a higher proportion of non-believers than believers among the Korean population. The aim of this research was to investigate the association between spiritual values and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition mental disorders in Korea across all types of belief systems, including Koreans not affiliated with a particular religion. METHODS: The Korean version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 2.1 was used to interview 6,275 people across South Korea in 2001. While controlling for age and sex, we used logistic regression to analyze the relationship between mental disorders (both current and past) and the types of religion and spiritual values. RESULTS: Strong spiritual values were positively associated with increased rates of current depressive disorder and decreased rates of current alcohol use disorder. Using "atheist" as the reference category, Catholics had higher lifetime odds of single episodes of depression whilst Protestants had higher lifetime odds of anxiety disorder and lower lifetime odds of alcohol use disorders. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that depressive episodes often lead to a search for spirituality and that religion may be helpful in overcoming depression or becoming less vulnerable to relapsing. The associations between religion, spiritual values, and mental health have not been fully elucidated and warrant further exploration.
Adult ; Anxiety Disorders ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mental Disorders ; Mental Health ; Prevalence ; Protestantism ; Republic of Korea ; Spirituality

The Mental Health Act is an initiative aimed at changing and shaping mental health services and protecting human rights of persons with mental disorders. Since its legislation in 1995, four amendments have been made to the Act according to issues related to public concerns. Despite this Act, debate remains surrounding the human rights protection of the mentally ill. Further, Supreme Court precedents have been set related to the Mental Health Act. This study aimed to provide information regarding hospitalization procedures in the Mental Health Act with some lawsuits. Although annual numbers of patients involuntarily hospitalized have not been reported, it has been estimated that a small percentage of these individuals have are given review relating to the appropriateness of their hospitalization. The conditions set forth regarding involuntary admission in the Korean Mental Health Act are so inclusive and obscure that courts have had to request more evidence related to the inevitability of hospitalization in ensuing lawsuits. Involuntary hospitalizations in Korea are regarded as private contracts between hospitals and the family of mentally ill patients. Therefore, it is critical when patients are involuntarily hospitalized under the Mental Health Act, that others are not punished for illegal detention. Since the Protection of Personal Liberty Act took effect in 2009, most related lawsuits have been in regard to hospitalized patients in psychiatric facilities. Balancing the right to be treated and the right to refuse treatment is complex and intricate. More resources need to put into mental health to improve the protection of human rights in mentally ill patients in Korea.
Contracts ; Freedom ; Hospitalization ; Human Rights ; Humans ; Korea ; Mental Disorders ; Mental Health ; Mental Health Services ; Mentally Ill Persons

With the emergence of microbiome as a major player in many human diseases, bacteria as therapeutics are gaining significant interest. Whole bacteria or cytotoxic or immunogenic peptides carried by them exert potent anti-tumor effects in the experimental models of cancer. The use of attenuated microorganism (s) e.g., BCG to treat human urinary bladder cancer was found to be superior compared to standard chemotherapy. While bacteria alone may not offer full therapeutic benefits, modifying them with anti-tumor agents, anti-oncogenes or immunogenic antigens, either alone or in combination, will prove to be beneficial. Vectors for delivering shRNAs that target oncogenic products, express tumor suppressor genes and immunogenic proteins have been developed. These approaches have showed promising anti-tumor activity in mouse models against various tumors. These can be potential therapeutics for humans in the future and such therapeutics may become a future alternative or adjunct regimen along with conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In this review, some conceptual and practical issues on how to improve these agents for human applications are discussed.
Animals ; Bacteria* ; Drug Therapy ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans ; Mice ; Microbiota ; Models, Theoretical ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Peptides ; Radiotherapy ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms

Objective: We aimed to identify subgroups of suicide risk and their characteristics among Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the National Mental Health Survey of Korea 2021. Participants were 5,511 adults aged 18–79 years. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of suicide risk using suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts, and self-harm. Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics according to the subtype of suicide risk were compared. Results: Suicide risk was classified into three latent classes: low suicide risk (89.5%, Class 3 [C3]), high suicidal ideation and low suicidal behavior (8.7%, Class 2 [C2]), and high suicidal thoughts and behavior (1.8%, Class 1 [C1]). Risk factors associated with C1 and C2 were the absence of a spouse, low educational and economic status, and unstable occupational status. C1 and C2 had more physical and psychological problems than did C3. Prevalence of mental disorders and mental health service use were higher in C1 than in C2. Conclusion Suicide risk types have different demographic, physical health-related, and mental health-related characteristics. Therefore, a focused and individualized suicide preventive strategy should be implemented.

Objective: We aimed to identify subgroups of suicide risk and their characteristics among Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the National Mental Health Survey of Korea 2021. Participants were 5,511 adults aged 18–79 years. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of suicide risk using suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts, and self-harm. Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics according to the subtype of suicide risk were compared. Results: Suicide risk was classified into three latent classes: low suicide risk (89.5%, Class 3 [C3]), high suicidal ideation and low suicidal behavior (8.7%, Class 2 [C2]), and high suicidal thoughts and behavior (1.8%, Class 1 [C1]). Risk factors associated with C1 and C2 were the absence of a spouse, low educational and economic status, and unstable occupational status. C1 and C2 had more physical and psychological problems than did C3. Prevalence of mental disorders and mental health service use were higher in C1 than in C2. Conclusion Suicide risk types have different demographic, physical health-related, and mental health-related characteristics. Therefore, a focused and individualized suicide preventive strategy should be implemented.

Objective: We aimed to identify subgroups of suicide risk and their characteristics among Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the National Mental Health Survey of Korea 2021. Participants were 5,511 adults aged 18–79 years. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of suicide risk using suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts, and self-harm. Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics according to the subtype of suicide risk were compared. Results: Suicide risk was classified into three latent classes: low suicide risk (89.5%, Class 3 [C3]), high suicidal ideation and low suicidal behavior (8.7%, Class 2 [C2]), and high suicidal thoughts and behavior (1.8%, Class 1 [C1]). Risk factors associated with C1 and C2 were the absence of a spouse, low educational and economic status, and unstable occupational status. C1 and C2 had more physical and psychological problems than did C3. Prevalence of mental disorders and mental health service use were higher in C1 than in C2. Conclusion Suicide risk types have different demographic, physical health-related, and mental health-related characteristics. Therefore, a focused and individualized suicide preventive strategy should be implemented.

Objective: We aimed to identify subgroups of suicide risk and their characteristics among Korean adults. Methods: We used data from the National Mental Health Survey of Korea 2021. Participants were 5,511 adults aged 18–79 years. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of suicide risk using suicidal thoughts, plans, attempts, and self-harm. Sociodemographic and health-related characteristics according to the subtype of suicide risk were compared. Results: Suicide risk was classified into three latent classes: low suicide risk (89.5%, Class 3 [C3]), high suicidal ideation and low suicidal behavior (8.7%, Class 2 [C2]), and high suicidal thoughts and behavior (1.8%, Class 1 [C1]). Risk factors associated with C1 and C2 were the absence of a spouse, low educational and economic status, and unstable occupational status. C1 and C2 had more physical and psychological problems than did C3. Prevalence of mental disorders and mental health service use were higher in C1 than in C2. Conclusion Suicide risk types have different demographic, physical health-related, and mental health-related characteristics. Therefore, a focused and individualized suicide preventive strategy should be implemented.