This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic procedures and ultrasonography are now commonly used in the obstetric field, and more non-obstetric procedures are being performed. However, little domestic data has been published on the topic. This present retrospective study investigated the clinical information and the effect on perinatal outcomes of non-obstetric surgery during pregnancy. METHODS: This retrospective study was performed using data of all adult pregnant women that underwent non-obstetric surgery at our institute between from July 2009 to December 2016. Data was collected from the institutional computerized database. The causes, types, and the gestational ages at surgery were collected as our primary outcomes. Basic characteristics of patients, operation times, anesthesia times, anesthetic methods, anesthetic agents, and adverse perinatal outcomes such as abortion or preterm delivery were evaluated as secondary outcomes. RESULTS: During the study period, there were 2,421 deliveries and 60 cases of non-obstetric surgery, an operation rate of 2.48%. The most common cause of non-obstetric surgery was abdominal surgery, followed by orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. Most of abdominal surgeries were performed laparoscopically during the first trimester. The incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes was increased in the first trimester, was not related with anesthesia. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of non-obstetric surgery was found to be 2.48%, which was higher than those reported in previous domestic studies. This increase seems to have resulted from early diagnosis by ultrasonography and non-invasive surgery using laparoscopy. Adverse perinatal outcomes are not related with age, surgery and anesthetic-related factors but seem to be associated with surgery exposure stage, especially the first trimester.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Obstetrical ; Anesthetics ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparoscopy ; Neurosurgery ; Orthopedics ; Patient Outcome Assessment ; Pregnancy Trimester, First ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Retrospective Studies* ; Ultrasonography

Epidermal nevi are harmatormas that are the result of developmental malformations of the epidermis, and these lesions present with a variety of clinical and histological characteristics. Some tumors can arise in epidermal nevi because epidermal nevi develop from multipotent germinative cells. We report here on a 57-year-old woman who had epidermal nevi arranged in a linear pattern since childhood. Her epidermal nevi were located in her left chest, arm and shoulder, upon which multiple trichillemal cysts seemed to develop after several years. We think that this patient with linear epidermal nevi associated with multiple trichilemmal cysts is a rare and distinctive case.
Arm ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Nevus ; Shoulder ; Thorax

A faun tail is abnormal lumbar hypertrichosis that is characterized by a wide, often triangular or lozenge-shaped patch of coarse hair, and this hair is usually several inches long. Faun tail is a rare entity. A 36-year-old male presented with a triangular shaped hair tuft with terminal hair on the lumbosacral area, and he'd had this unusual hair since birth. There were no neurologic signs or abnormality on his spine X-ray. The MRI scan showed disc degeneration and loss of lodordosis. We report here on a rare case of faun tail, which was a form of localized hypertrichosis on the lumbosacral area, and this was successfully treated with intense pulsed (IPL) light.
Adult ; Hair ; Humans ; Hypertrichosis ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; Light ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Parturition ; Spine

A faun tail is abnormal lumbar hypertrichosis that is characterized by a wide, often triangular or lozenge-shaped patch of coarse hair, and this hair is usually several inches long. Faun tail is a rare entity. A 36-year-old male presented with a triangular shaped hair tuft with terminal hair on the lumbosacral area, and he'd had this unusual hair since birth. There were no neurologic signs or abnormality on his spine X-ray. The MRI scan showed disc degeneration and loss of lodordosis. We report here on a rare case of faun tail, which was a form of localized hypertrichosis on the lumbosacral area, and this was successfully treated with intense pulsed (IPL) light.
Adult ; Hair ; Humans ; Hypertrichosis ; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ; Light ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Parturition ; Spine

BACKGROUND: Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by the local and gradual transformation of terminal scalp hair into vellus hair, which has a shorter and thinner shaft. It is the most common form of hair loss in people with a genetic predisposition for baldness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, AGA type, family history, co-morbidity diseases, stress factors and endocrine factors of AGA patients. METHODS: We examined a total of 432 male and female AGA patients who visited for two years at the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Chung-Ang University. RESULTS: There were 2.06 times more men (291 patients) than women (141 patients) among the study subjects. Most of the men were in their twenties (108, 37.1%), however, most of the women were in their forties (42, 29.7%). In the 291 male patients, Norwood class IIIv was dominant (120 patients, 41.2%). In the 141 female patients, Ludwig class I was dominant (87 patients, 61.7%). 219 (75.2%) of the 291 male patients and 81 (73.6%) of the 141 female patients had a family history of AGA. 224 (76.9%) of the 291 male patients and 101 (53.4%) of the 141 female patients had a co-morbidity disorder. The most common among these disorders in both the male and female patients was seborrheic dermatitis. Stress factors were observed in 162 (55.6%) of the 291 male patients and in 78 (55.3%) of the 141 female patients. The most common stress factor in both the male and female patients was work tasks. The serum testosterone levels was increased in 51 (17.5%) of the 291 male patients and in 20 (14.1%) of the 141 female patients. CONCLUSION: Most of the study results are compatible with those of our previous study. Yet the following results were different: (1) the number of female AGA patients in their forties is increasing; and (2) stress was found to be associated with AGA in both the male and female patients.
Alopecia ; Dermatitis, Seborrheic ; Dermatology ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Hair ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Scalp ; Testosterone

BACKGROUND: Androgenic alopecia (AGA) is characterized by the local and gradual transformation of terminal scalp hair into vellus hair, which has a shorter and thinner shaft. It is the most common form of hair loss in people with a genetic predisposition for baldness. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, AGA type, family history, co-morbidity diseases, stress factors and endocrine factors of AGA patients. METHODS: We examined a total of 432 male and female AGA patients who visited for two years at the Department of Dermatology, School of Medicine, Chung-Ang University. RESULTS: There were 2.06 times more men (291 patients) than women (141 patients) among the study subjects. Most of the men were in their twenties (108, 37.1%), however, most of the women were in their forties (42, 29.7%). In the 291 male patients, Norwood class IIIv was dominant (120 patients, 41.2%). In the 141 female patients, Ludwig class I was dominant (87 patients, 61.7%). 219 (75.2%) of the 291 male patients and 81 (73.6%) of the 141 female patients had a family history of AGA. 224 (76.9%) of the 291 male patients and 101 (53.4%) of the 141 female patients had a co-morbidity disorder. The most common among these disorders in both the male and female patients was seborrheic dermatitis. Stress factors were observed in 162 (55.6%) of the 291 male patients and in 78 (55.3%) of the 141 female patients. The most common stress factor in both the male and female patients was work tasks. The serum testosterone levels was increased in 51 (17.5%) of the 291 male patients and in 20 (14.1%) of the 141 female patients. CONCLUSION: Most of the study results are compatible with those of our previous study. Yet the following results were different: (1) the number of female AGA patients in their forties is increasing; and (2) stress was found to be associated with AGA in both the male and female patients.
Alopecia ; Dermatitis, Seborrheic ; Dermatology ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Hair ; Humans ; Male ; Prevalence ; Scalp ; Testosterone