The present study was aim to evaluate the association between very long chain saturated fatty acids (VLSFAs) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Korean population. The study population were recruited from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VI (2013). Using the cross-sectional study design, socio-demographic factors, medical history, and clinical measurements were investigated according to quartiles of VLSFAs intake. The associations between each and sum of VLSFAs intake and MetS were assessed by logistic regression. The result indicated that higher intake of VLSFAs was significantly associated with favorable metabolic status, including lower levels of circulating triglyceride (TG) (p < 0.05). Additionally, subjects with higher intake of arachidic acid and total VLSFAs were negatively associated with MetS risk compared to subjects with lower intake of those fatty acids (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary VLSFAs intake was associated with metabolic risk factors and lower risk of MetS in Korean population.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Fatty Acids* ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides

Oral administration of antigen has long been used in the induction of immune tolerance in various animal models of autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Alleveation of arthritogenic symptoms has been reported from RA patients who received oral administration of type II collagen (CII) without side effects, however its rather inconsistent therapeutic efficacy and variation among patients calls for more detailed investigation on the mechanism of oral tolerance to be settled as regular treatment for RA. In an attempt to understand the immunogenic processes underpinning tolerance induction by orally administered CII, we analyzed changes in the expression of costimulatory molecules and STAT/SOCS signaling messengers in the mouse model of collagen induced arthritis (CIA). We found thatin the spleen of CIA mice, that has been undergone repeated oral feeding of CII prior to the induction of arthritis, showed increased promortion of CTLA4 expressing lymphocytes than in the spleen of PBS fed control. On the other hand, cells expressing CD28 or ICOS were decreased in the spleen of tolerized mice. Tolerance induction by oral CII administration also enhanced the expression of STAT6 in both RNA and protein level, while not affecting the expression of STAT3. The expression of SOCS3, which hasbeen known to transmit STAT-mediated signals from Th2 type cytokines, remained unchanged in the spleen of tolerized mice. Interestingly transcript of SOCS1, which has been associated with Th1 related pathways, was only visible in the spleen of tolerized but not of control mice, suggesting that as in the case of IL-6 signaling, it may exert a feed back inhibition toward the Th1 type stimulation.
Administration, Oral* ; Animals ; Arthritis* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Collagen ; Collagen Type II* ; Cytokines ; Hand ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; Interleukin-6 ; Lymphocytes ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; RNA ; Spleen

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord (UC) is a promising source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). We compared the characteristics of MSCs from cryopreserved UC with those from fresh tissues, and demonstrated the possibility of UC cryopreservation for acquisition of MSCs from cryopreserved UC. METHODS: Each UC was sliced into two types (1~2 mm3 vs. 0.5 cm), and cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen using different media (autologous cord blood plasma, aCBP vs. RPMI 1640). A fresh aliquot of 1~2 mm3-sized UC was used as control tissue. After one week, the cryopreserved tissues were thawed and cultured. For the 0.5 cm UC, a slicing step into 1~2 mm3 was needed. Cell count, viability, proliferative activity, and surface antigens were determined from harvested MSCs. Several growth factors (EGF, IGF-1, PDGF, TGF-beta, bFGF, and VEGF), were measured from the culture supernatant. RESULTS: Eleven UC were enrolled in the study. Efficiencies of obtaining MSCs were higher in cryopreserved UC using RPMI 1640, compared with use of aCBP; the same result was observed for 0.5 cm sized UC, compared with 1~2 mm3 sized UC. No difference in proliferative activity was observed between MSCs from fresh and cryopreserved UC. The amount of growth factors in culture supernatant using RPMI 1640 was larger than that of fresh tissues. CONCLUSION: We obtained growth factors from the supernatant as well as MSCs from cryopreserved UC. As with a cord blood bank, in the future, cryopreservation of UC for acquisition of both MSCs and growth factors would be possible in a time of need.
Antigens, Surface ; Cell Count ; Cryopreservation ; Fetal Blood ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Nitrogen ; Plasma ; Transforming Growth Factor beta ; Umbilical Cord

PURPOSE: In 1970, the Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster(BFM) group introduced an intensification therapy after remission induction to reduce relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) in childhood. Delayed intensification(DI) phase has been included for treatment of ALL in our hospital since the mid-1990s. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome with vs. without DI phase and the outcome with two vs. one DI phase for intermediate risk patients. METHODS: One hundred and thirty nine children with ALL who were treated at the Department of Pediatrics of Wonju Christian Hospital and Yonsei University Medical Center between March, 1990 and July, 2002 were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients were treated with a DI phase, and 101 patients were treated without a DI phase. Among the DI patients, seven patients were treated with a double DI phase. Five-year overall survival(OS) in the low, intermediate, and high risk groups were 68%, 66% and 58%, respectively. 5-year OS in DDI, DI, and control were 95%, 86% and 40%, espectively. In the low risk group, 5-year event free survival(EFS) in DI, and control were 94% and 58%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed intensification improved EFS on childhood ALL in all risk groups.
Academic Medical Centers ; Child ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Pediatrics ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Recurrence ; Remission Induction ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Reference intervals need to be established according to age. We established reference intervals of hematology and chemistry from community-based healthy 1-yr-old children and analyzed their iron status according to the feeding methods during the first six months after birth. METHODS: A total of 887 children who received a medical check-up between 2010 and 2014 at Boramae Hospital (Seoul, Korea) were enrolled. A total of 534 children (247 boys and 287 girls) were enrolled as reference individuals after the exclusion of data obtained from children with suspected iron deficiency. Hematology and clinical chemistry analytes were measured, and the reference value of each analyte was estimated by using parametric (mean±2 SD) or nonparametric methods (2.5-97.5th percentile). Iron, total iron-binding capacity, and ferritin were measured, and transferrin saturation was calculated. RESULTS: As there were no differences in the mean values between boys and girls, we established the reference intervals for 1-yr-old children regardless of sex. The analysis of serum iron status according to feeding methods during the first six months revealed higher iron, ferritin, and transferrin saturation levels in children exclusively or mainly fed formula than in children exclusively or mainly fed breast milk. CONCLUSIONS: We established reference intervals of hematology and clinical chemistry analytes from community-based healthy children at one year of age. These reference intervals will be useful for interpreting results of medical check-ups at one year of age.
Breast Feeding ; Clinical Chemistry Tests/*standards ; Female ; Hematologic Tests/*standards ; Humans ; Infant ; Iron/*blood/standards ; Male ; Reference Values ; Republic of Korea

Since Yunis and Sanchez described in 1974, distal 10q partial trisomy has been recognised as a chromosomal anomaly, which has typical features, psychomotor delays, distinctive dysmorphic appearance and growth retardation. Also, it is associated with cardiac, renal and ocular anomalies. Most of them result from an unbalanced tanslocation or a deletion but, pure duplications are very rare. We report a 19-month-old boy with typical clinical features of distal 10q partial trisomy with a pure duplicatin of 10q.
Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Trisomy*

We present a case of 34-year-old female patient with major depressive disorder who had decreased metabolic activity of CYP2D6. Low dosage regimen of mirtazapine & paroxetine led to unexpectedly severe adverse effects and noncompliance in this case with genotype CYP2D6 *1/*5. Antidepressant change to imipramine with consideration of the genotyping resulted with tolerable adverse effects and remission of depression. This case suggests the clinical usefulness of pharmacogenetic testing in individualized antidepressant treatments.
Adult ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System* ; Cytochromes* ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder, Major* ; Female ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Imipramine ; Paroxetine ; Pharmacogenetics

PURPOSE: The goal of our study was to identify the incidence and clinical, neurophysiological and neuroradiological variables with predictive value for posttraumatic seizure(PTS). METHODS: The medical records of 625 children with head traumas under 15-year-old who were admitted to the Wonju Christian Hospital, from January, 1993 to January, 2002 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 472 patients were included in this study. The PTS patients were divided into early PTS, in whom seizure occurred within one week after head trauma and late PTS, in whom seizure occurred beyond the first week after head trauma. The injuries were classified into mild(Glasgow Coma Scale, GCS 13 to 15 or no brain CT abnormality and a brief hospital stay), moderate(GCS, 9 to 12, or a GCS above 12 and longer than 48-hour hospital stay, or brain CT abnormalites) and severe(GCS, below 9). The variables such as age, sex, duration of unconsciousness, GCS, brain CT scan finding, initial neurologic finding and anticonvulsant therapy were analyzed for risk factors of PTS. RESULTS: Early PTS was developed in 41(8.7%) patients, 35(77.8%) patients among them had a seizure within 24 hours after head trauma. Late PTS was developed in 17(3.6%) patients. The frequency and duration of PTS were not correlated with the latency of PTS. And there was correlation between the frequency and duration of PTS. The 82.9% of early PTS and the 76.5% of late PTS were generalized tonic-clonic seizure. There was a significant difference in the incidence of PTS by severity of head trauma. The incidence of PTS after mild head trauma(5.8%) was lower than after severe head trauma(29.9%). The risk factors of early PTS were unilateral hemorrhage, neurologic finding(hemiparesis and coma), GCS(under 12 score), and diffuse contusion. And the late PTS were the same as early PTS, except for diffuse contusion, and age factor(under 2 years was also significant). CONCLUSION: The incidence and risk factors of PTS were correlated with severity of head trauma.
Adolescent ; Brain ; Child* ; Coma ; Contusions ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Gangwon-do ; Head ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Seizures* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Unconsciousness

We present a case with decreased metabolic activity of CYP2D6, a cytochrome P450 enzyme catalyzing the metabolism of nortriptyline (NT). Conventional dosage regimen led to toxic plasma concentration of NT and adverse effects such as dry mouth, constipation, and dizziness in this case with genotype CYP2D6*5/*10B. This case suggests the clinical usefulness of pharmacogenetic testing in individualized dosage adjustments of NT.
Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic/*adverse effects/pharmacokinetics ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6/*genetics/metabolism ; Depression/*drug therapy/genetics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nortriptyline/*adverse effects/pharmacokinetics

BACKGROUND: Although cord blood (CB) is a well-known source of hematopoietic stem cells, uncertainties exist regarding the quality of cryopreserved CB. We investigated the changes in quality of CB units according to the duration of cryopreservation. METHODS: We analyzed CB units that were rejected from the Seoul Metropolitan Government Public Cord Blood Bank inventory after conventional processing, because of unsuitability for allogeneic transplantation. Two hundred CB units that were cryopreserved from 1 year to 5 years were selected. After thawing the cryopreserved CB units, the total nucleated cell (TNC) count, CD34+ cell count, number of colony-forming units (CFU), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) level, cell viability, and apoptosis were analyzed. We conducted a comparative analysis to identify the presence of statistically significant differences in the recovery rates of the TNC and CD34+ cell counts and to compare the results of ALDH level, the cell viability test, the apoptosis test, and CFU analysis among groups according to the duration of cryopreservation. RESULTS: The recovery rates of the TNC count, the CD34+ cell count, and cell viability did not differ significantly according to the duration of cryopreservation. ALDH analysis, the cell viability test, and the apoptosis test did not reveal any increasing or decreasing trend according to the duration of cryopreservation. Further, the numbers of CFU-granulocyte/macrophage and CFU-granulocyte/erythrocyte/macrophage/megakaryocyte did not differ significantly according to the duration of cryopreservation. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the quality of CB is not affected by cryopreservation for up to a period of 5 years.
Aldehyde Dehydrogenase ; Apoptosis ; Cell Count ; Cell Survival ; Cryopreservation ; Fetal Blood* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Local Government ; Seoul ; Stem Cells ; Transplantation, Homologous