PURPOSE: Although female breast cancer remains relatively rare in Korea, its incidence and mortality have been rising quite rapidly. In this study, we estimated the probability of developing breast cancer, and examined the trend of its incidence using the proportion of cases with breast cancer among the total female cancer cases in the Korean Central Cancer Registry. METHODS: The probability of developing breast cancer was estimated for Korean women using a method based on the cumulative risk. The number of future breast cancer cases for the year 2020 was estimated by extrapolating the secular trend of the proportions of those with breast cancer between 1995 and 2002, using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: With an expected average life span of 84 years, Korean female has a 2.36% chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime. The predicted expected age-adjusted proportions of breast cancer among the total female cancer cases were 19.5, 24.3, 29.9 and 36.1% for the years 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, respectively. The predicted expected crude proportions for the same years were 17.4, 19.7, 21.7 and 23.4%, respectively. The expected number of breast cancer cases to the 2020 would be 19,791, which is at least five times than that in 1996. CONCLUSION: Based on our results, female breast cancer in Korea will increase further and cumulative rate of breast cancer is highest at 40s and 50s. Lifestyle modification and prevention strategy especially for younger or high risk women might be essential to reduce breast cancer incidence.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Life Style ; Linear Models ; Logistic Models ; Mortality

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of propofol abuse based on the results of a survey analysis of abusers among non-healthcare professionals in Korea. METHODS: Thirty-eight propofol abusers were questioned between October and December 2010, and were enrolled and voluntarily participated in a structured survey consisting of an interview and completing a previously prepared questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into three distinct parts: part 1 dealt with the history of propofol abuse; part 2 highlighted the problems caused by propofol abuse; and part 3 enquired regarding demographics of abusers. RESULTS: Thirty-one (81.6%) of the 38 interviewees abused propofol for more than one year. During the last 12 months, 34 (89.0%) received propofol at two or three times a week. The minimum and maximum amounts of propofol (median, range) administered each time were 500 (100, 1000) and 2000 (500, 4000) mg, respectively. Stress relief and the maintenance of a sense of well-being were quoted the most important reasons for the first-time administration of propofol and its subsequent abuse, respectively. The majority of abusers (36.0, 97.3%) reported a sense of pleasure or euphoria at the time of their propofol injection. Withdrawal symptoms occurred in five abusers (13.2%). Thirteen (36.1%) reported disruptions in their work life. None of the respondents had previously admitted to and or reported abuse of any other controlled substances. CONCLUSIONS: These results provided reference data for the regulation of propofol in Korea as a controlled substance and may also be of interest to international agencies in other countries.
Controlled Substances ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Demography ; Euphoria ; International Agencies ; Korea* ; Pleasure ; Propofol* ; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome

PURPOSE: Dry eye syndrome is commonly thought of as an inflammatory disease, and we have previously presented data showing the effectiveness of topical TNF-α blocker agents for the treatment of this condition. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the TNF-α blocking agent HL036337 compared to cyclosporine A for the treatment of dry eye induced inflammation in order to establish whether HL036337 represents a more effective method for suppressing inflammation. The efficacy of HL036337 and cyclosporine A was determined using an experimental murine dry eye model. METHODS: The TNF-α blocker HL036337 is a modified form of TNF receptor I. Using dry eye induced C57BL/6 mice (n = 45), corneal erosion was measured at day 4 and 7 after topical treatment with cyclosporine A or HL036337. To determine the effective treatment dose, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2.5, and 5 mg/mL of HL036337 were topically administered twice per day to dry eye induced murine corneas for 1 week. RESULTS: The optimal concentration of the TNF-α blocker HL036337 for treatment of dry eye induced corneal erosion was determined to be 1 mg/mL. Dry eye induced corneal erosion was improved after 1 week with topically applied cyclosporine A and HL036337 at 1 mg/mL. CONCLUSIONS: HL036337 administered topically at 1 mg/mL effectively improved corneal erosion induced by dry eye. This finding may also suggest that inhibition of TNF-α can improve dry eye syndrome.
Animals ; Cornea/diagnostic imaging ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Dry Eye Syndromes/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; Female ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Microscopy, Acoustic ; Ophthalmic Solutions/administration & dosage ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/*antagonists & inhibitors

Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) caused by Hantaan viruses has been one of the principal acute febrile disease in Korea. To analysis the sero-epidemiological patterns of HFRS, 4,177 patient sera of acute febrile illness submitted for serological assay to National Institute of Health from Community Health Centers, Institutes of Health and Environment and hospitals from 1996 to 2005 were examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus by indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Serum samples with greater than 1:32 antibody titer were considered positive. The results were analyzed seroepidemiologically by annual, sexual, seasonal, age and regional distribution of HFRS patients. Out of 4,177 serum samples tested, 1,415 samples (33.9%) were positive to Hantaan virus. The ratio of males (48.2%, 682/1,415) to females (38.2%, 541/1,415) was 1.3:1. Seasonal incidence showed that 69.5% (985/1,415) of cases occurred from October to December, resulting with higher prevalence in November (41.3%, 584/1,415). Regionally, seropositive rates of samples collected in Gyenggi, Gangwon and Chungbuk were 39.9% (564/1,415), 19.3% (274/1,415) and 8.5% (120/1,1415), respectively. Age distributions of seropositive of HFRS were detected from 20 to 79 years (78%).
Academies and Institutes ; Age Distribution ; Antibodies ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Community Health Centers ; Female ; Fever* ; Gangwon-do ; Hantaan virus ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seasons

This study was focusing on evaluating the protection of polyphosphate kinase (ppk) deleted and/or temperature-sensitive (ts) Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) as an attenuated vaccine in chickens. We constructed SEppk, SEts and SEppk::ts mutants and screened those mutants by growth capability in vitro, protection study in mice model and antibody response in chickens. Among the mutants, SEppk::ts-3 was selected because it showed higher growth capability, good protection against highly virulent SE in mice model, and good antibody response in chickens. SEppk::ts-3 also showed good protection against highly virulent SE isolate because it decreased colonization of virulent SE challenge strain in spleen, liver and cecum compared with the non-vaccinated control. The SEppk::ts-3 mutant showed cross-protection against S. Gallinarum (SG) challenge although the its cross-protection rate was a little lower than that of SG9R, a commercial vaccine against SG infection. To use for live attenuated vaccine in chickens, it should further be characterized.
Animals ; Antibody Formation ; Cecum ; Chickens ; Colon ; Cross Protection ; Liver ; Mice ; Phosphotransferases ; Salmonella enteritidis* ; Salmonella* ; Spleen

Viral load and the duration of viral shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are important determinants of the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019.In this study, we examined the effects of viral doses on the lung and spleen of K18-hACE2 transgenic mice by temporal histological and transcriptional analyses. Approximately, 1×105 plaque-forming units (PFU) of SARS-CoV-2 induced strong host responses in the lungs from 2 days post inoculation (dpi) which did not recover until the mice died, whereas responses to the virus were obvious at 5 days, recovering to the basal state by 14 dpi at 1×102 PFU. Further, flow cytometry showed that number of CD8+ T cells continuously increased in 1×102 PFU-virusinfected lungs from 2 dpi, but not in 1×105 PFU-virus-infected lungs. In spleens, responses to the virus were prominent from 2 dpi, and number of B cells was significantly decreased at 1×105PFU; however, 1×102 PFU of virus induced very weak responses from 2 dpi which recovered by 10 dpi. Although the defense responses returned to normal and the mice survived, lung histology showed evidence of fibrosis, suggesting sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings indicate that specific effectors of the immune response in the lung and spleen were either increased or depleted in response to doses of SARS-CoV-2. This study demonstrated that the response of local and systemic immune effectors to a viral infection varies with viral dose, which either exacerbates the severity of the infection or accelerates its elimination.