Tea contains polyphenols and is one of the most popular beverages consumed worldwide. Because most tyrosinase inhibitors that regulate melanogenesis are phenol/catechol derivatives, this study investigated the inhibitory effects of Camellia sinensis water extracts (CSWEs), including black tea, green tea, and white tea extracts, on melanogenesis using immortalized melanocytes. CSWEs inhibited melanin accumulation and melanin synthesis along with tyrosinase activity in a concentration-dependent manner. These inhibitory effects were superior to those of arbutin, a well-known depigmenting agent. The anti-melanogenic activity of black (fermented) tea was higher than that of a predominant tea catecholamine, epigallocatechin gallate. CSWEs, especially black tea extract, decreased tyrosinase protein levels in a concentration-dependent manner. These results suggest that the anti-melanogenic effect of CSWEs is mediated by a decrease in both tyrosinase activity and protein expression, and may be augmented by fermentation. Thus, CSWEs could be useful skin-whitening agents in the cosmetic industry.
Animals ; Catechin/analogs & derivatives/metabolism ; Cell Line ; Melanins/*metabolism ; Melanocytes/enzymology/*metabolism ; Mice ; Monophenol Monooxygenase/*metabolism ; Plant Extracts/*pharmacology ; Plant Leaves/chemistry ; Tea/*chemistry

No abstract available.
Aneurysm* ; Bone Cysts* ; Giant Cell Tumors* ; Giant Cells*

PURPOSE: This study compared the functional fitness and brake response of elderly and young drivers to confirm the correlation between the functional fitness and brake response. METHODS: This study was a cross sectional observational design. Older drivers (>65age, n=21) and young adult drivers (20–40aged, n=20) were enrolled as subjects. The functional fitness of the subjects was measured using a senior fitness test consisting of a back scratch (BS), chair sit and reach (CSR), arm curl (AC), chair stand up (CSU), foot up and go (8-FUG), and 2-minute step (2-MS). The brake response used the virtual driving simulator to measure the brake reaction time (BRT) and braking distance (BD) according to the pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. RESULTS: The older drivers had a lower BS (p < 0.000), CSU (p=0.040), and 8-FUG (p=0.011) than the young adult drivers. BS and 8-FUG showed a significant positive correlation with the BRT and BD of pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. CSU showed a significant negative correlation with the BRT of pedestrian protection and traffic signal compliance. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the flexibility of the upper extremity, lower extremity strength, and agility are strongly correlated with the driving performance of elderly drivers.
Aged* ; Arm ; Compliance ; Foot ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Pliability ; Reaction Time ; Upper Extremity ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: Neuroimaging in headache patients identifies clinically significant neurological abnormalities and plays an important role in excluding secondary headache diagnoses. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing guidelines and studies surrounding neuroimaging in headache patients. METHODS: The research question involved determining the prevalence of detecting clinically significant neurological abnormalities using neuroimaging in patients suspected of primary headache. Searches of the PubMed and Embase databases were conducted on English-language studies published from 1991 to 2016, and the reference lists of the retrieved articles were also checked manually. All headache subtypes and patients aged ≥15 years were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Ten studies met the selection criteria. The pooled prevalence of detecting clinically significant abnormalities in the neuroimaging of headache patients was 8.86% (95% confidence interval: 5.12–15.33%). Subsequently, diverse subgroup analyses were performed based on the detection method, headache type, study type, study region, age group, and disease type. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that limited neuroimaging methods should be carefully considered for headache diagnostic purposes when there are red flag symptoms. Limitations and suggested directions for future studies on neuroimaging in headache patients are described.
Diagnosis ; Headache ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Methods ; Neuroimaging ; Patient Selection ; Prevalence ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

We aimed to evaluate the clinical features of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and risk factors for severe RSV disease among Korean children in 2022/2023. A total of 235 children were identified, and 84.3% were hospitalized. Patients under 3 months and 2 years of age accounted for 20.9% and 54.5%, respectively. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 40.9% of children and bronchiolitis in 23.8%. Respiratory support and intensive care were required in 43.4% and 7.7% of patients, respectively. Haemophilus influenzae nasopharyngeal colonization and the presence of underlying disease showed a significant correlation with severity indicators. The clinical impact of RSV infection was high on infants and toddlers, even those having no underlying disease or not being indicated for palivizumab.

Background: Riehl’s melanosis of the face and neck has been reported in middle-aged women who have darker skin types. Recently, cases of Riehl’s melanosis have been on the rise in Korea, which might reflect the increased use of various cosmetic products and procedures. Objective: This study was designed to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics and treatment outcomes of Riehl’s melanosis in Korean patients. Methods: We closely observed 80 patients with Riehl’s melanosis diagnosed in Asan Medical Center and Hanyang University Medical Center between 2005 and 2015. A skin biopsy was analyzed in 51 patients, and a patch test was carried out in 16 patients. Results: Patients with chronic Riehl’s melanosis (＞12 months) had an increased frequency of previous laser treatments. Patients with acute Riehl’s melanosis (＜3 months) reported a previous history of dry skin, itching, or irritation as a result of the use of hair dye. Patients older than 50 years, with darker skin type, and with a longer disease duration (＞12 months) had poor response rates. Chronic Riehl’s melanosis may be preceded by repeated irritation of barrier-compromised skin, and acute Riehl’s melanosis seems to be an allergic form of Riehl’s melanosis. Conclusion Riehl’s melanosis has different clinical manifestations according to disease duration and different treatment responses based on disease duration.

Purpose: Preoperative tumor size is associated with clinical stage, treatment plan and even survival rate of patient. We investigated the accuracy of tumor size estimation between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) findings, comparing these with pathologic tumor size in the diagnosis of early breast carcinoma. Methods: Between 2011 and 2016, 136 patients with early breast cancer were analyzed and their tumor size on US and MRI findings were compared with their pathologic tumor size retrospectively. The background parenchymal enhancement of MRI was categorized as minimal, mild, moderate, and extreme. The patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy, had positive resection margins, underwent excisional biopsy for cancer diagnosis, and had non-mass lesions on MRI scans, were excluded. Results: In all, 83.1% of the cases showed concordance between MRI findings and pathologic tumor size within 0.5cm. MRI overestimated the findings by 10.3% and underestimated them by 6.6%; 78.7% showed concordance between US findings and pathologic tumor size within 0.5cm. US overestimated the findings by 5.9% and underestimated them by 15.4%. The tumor size on MRI (r=0.87) showed a stronger correlation to the pathologic tumor size than that on US (r=0.64) in early breast cancer patients. US had a tendency to underestimate the tumor size. The degree of breast parenchyma did not affect the accuracy of the measurement of preoperative tumor size. Conclusion MRI is relatively more accurate than US for assessing preoperative tumor size in breast cancer patients. US tends to underestimate tumor size.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of gadoxetic acid on the measurement of the stiffness value of MR elastography (MRE) used to evaluate hepatic fibrosis (HF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: MRE was obtained in 32 patients with clinically suspected chronic liver disease, both before and after injection of gadoxetic acid. Two independent reviewers measured the stiffness values of the liver parenchyma on elastograms. The mean liver stiffness values were compared in the pre- and post-contrast MREs using the paired t-test. Intra-rater and inter-rater correlation was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of both pre- and post-contrast MREs was evaluated for the diagnosis of significant HF (> or = F2) using cut off value of 3.1 kPa. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the stiffness values of the liver parenchyma on pre- and post-contrast MREs (p = 0.15 and 0.38 for each reader, respectively). Regarding intra-rater correlation, excellent agreement was noted on rater 1(ICC = 0.998) and rater 2 (ICC = 0.996). Excellent correlation regarding the measured stiffness values was noted on both pre- and post-contrast MREs (ICC = 0.988 for pre-contrast, ICC = 0.993 for post-contrast). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the pre- and post-contrast MREs for differentiating significant HF (> or = F2) from < or = F1 were same as 71%, 60%, and 100%, respectively. CONCLUSION: As there was no significant difference in the stiffness measurements seen on MREs before and after administration of gadoxetic acids, it is therefore acceptable to perform MRE after contrast injection in order to evaluate HF.
Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Fibrosis ; Gadolinium DTPA ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Diseases ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Beef allergies are relatively rare, especially in adults. However, clinical manifestations can vary from urticaria, angioedema, anaphylaxis to gastrointestinal symptoms. Currently available tests, such as skin testing or in vitro determination of beef-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), do not provide an accurate diagnosis of beef allergy. The recent development of the basophil activation test (BAT) presents a new opportunity for the diagnosis of food allergies. Here, we report a 37-year-old woman with a history of recurrent generalised urticaria, nausea, vomiting and hypotension after ingestion of beef, suggesting a beef allergy. Although the skin prick test and serum specific IgE to beef, pork and milk allergens showed negative results using commercial kits, the BAT showed significant upregulation of CD203c in a dose-dependent manner compared to both non-atopic and atopic controls. To our knowledge, this is the first case study of beef allergy consisting of a non-IgE-mediated reaction. The detection of food allergies using direct basophil activation is suggested to complement conventional diagnostic tests.
Adult ; Allergens ; Anaphylaxis ; Angioedema ; Basophils ; Complement System Proteins ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Eating ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypotension ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulins ; Milk ; Nausea ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; Up-Regulation ; Urticaria ; Vomiting

No abstract available.