BACKGROUND: The accumulation of lipoprotein and monocyte in the intima of the arterial wall is the most important step of the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) plays an anti-atherogenic role by lipolysis of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins, but, it may also act as a receptor of some lipoproteins and monocyte at the arterial wall and act as a atherogenic molecule. Previous studies showed somewhat contradictory results about the association of CAD and LPL polymorphisms and mutations. Racial and dietary difference may contribute to these contradictory results. In this study, we tried to find out the association of CAD and the genetic variation of the LPL (PvuII RFLP in intron 6, HindIII RFLP in intron 8 and Ser 447 Ter mutation in exon 9) in Korean population. METHOD AND RESULT: CAD patients (n=146), confirmed by coronary angiography and healthy Korean adult volunteers (n=110) were genotyped for PvuII/HindIII RFLP and Ser447Ter mutation of the LPL gene by PCR-digestion method. Between two groups, the genotype frequency of these genetic variations was not different. But, the genetic variations showed different effect on lipid profile and body mass index (BMI) in the CAD group and in the control group. In the CAD group, P1 allele carriers showed higher total cholesterol (P1P1+P1P2:P2P2=216+-51 mg/dl:198+/-38 mg/dl, p=0.039) and higher LDL cholesterol level (P1P1+P1P2:P2P2=143+/-46 mg/dl:126+/-36 mg/dl, p=0.047), and H1 allele carriers had lower Body mass index than non-carriers (23.8+/-2.3 kg/m2 :24.8+/-2.9 kg/m2 , p=0.047). In the control group, the Ser447Ter mutation carriers had higher HDL cholesterol level than non-carriers (59+/-10mg/dl versus 53+/-11mg/dl, p=0.049) and patients with P1 allele showed lower body mass index (P1P1+P1P2: P2P2=23.1+/-2.6 kg/m 2 :24.5+/-2.6 kg/m2 , p=0.006). CONCLUSION: In Korean, PvuII/HindIII RFLP and Ser447Ter mutation was not associated with CAD, and they showed different effect on the lipid profile and on the body mass index according to the study group. These results suggests that the phenotypic characteristics of the LPL gene of the Korean people are different from those of occidental people.
Adult ; Alleles ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Exons ; Genetic Variation ; Genotype ; Humans ; Introns ; Lipolysis ; Lipoprotein Lipase* ; Lipoproteins* ; Monocytes ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Volunteers

Purpose: We investigated the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) treatment during half-time break on performance related physiological indices during second half soccer match. Methods: Twenty-two collegiate soccer players participated in the study. Subjects undertook 3 minutes head out seated with whole body immersion at 19 o C to 21 o C. Total four venous blood samples were collected and analyzed for markers of ionic regulations and inflammatory (interleukin [IL]-1b, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α , and vascular endothelial growth factor) and immune functions (immunoglobulin [Ig] G, IgG2, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA, and IgM). Results: Partial oxygen concentration and %SO 2 level was lowered in CWI. Hemoglobin and hematocrit values were not significantly different between experimental groups. While there was no notable effect was shown in Na ＋ and Ca 2＋ , K ＋ concentration was higher in CWI during second half match. There were no effects in any of inflammatory and/or anti-inflammatory cytokines and Ig. Conclusion These results suggest that CWI during half time break exert positively affects in buffering capacity and promote oxygen delivery to the actively recruited skeletal muscle, possibly results in improve soccer performance during second half match.

In an epidemiological study of metal workers exposed to metalworking fluids(MWF), the prevalence time of evoultion, seasonal occurrence and clinical type of contact dermatitis were investigated. Composinal analyses of MWF with HPLC, dermatological examination and two consecutive questionnaire surveys were conducted. Study population was divided into two groups ; workers contact to cutting oil and workers contact to rust preventive oil. In the analysis of MWF, aliphatic hydrocarbons, having 12-20 carbons, was most common composition(49.04%) of cutting oil otherwise, major contents (90.99%) of the rust preventives oil were aliphatic hydrocarbons composed of 6-9 carbons. The frequency (point prevalence) of contact dermatitis(CD) was 7(12.7 per 100 subjects) in the dermatological examination of 55 workers. As the result of second survey for contact dermatitis, cumulative prevalence of oil working full-time and recent 1 year prevalence in two groups were 28.0, 16.7 and 15.1, 12.5 per 100 subjects. There were no difference in the prevalence of CD by oil, age, oil contact duration. Summer is the most common evolution season in workers exposed to cuttiogs, but not in workers exposed to rust preventive oil. Major clinical type of CD was erythematous papules in both groups. It presents the importance of preventive measures that 51.1% suffer from contact dermatitis had medical care at their own expense, and 47.1% of them felt serious about their contact dermatitis. From the fact that 68.6% think cotton gloves protective apparatus, we emphasize the need for health education.
Carbon ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Health Education ; Humans ; Hydrocarbons ; Male* ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Seasons

Mucormycosis is a highly aggressive and fatal fungal infection. Due to its rapid progression, combination of early wide surgical debridement with administration of antifungal agent is extremely crucial. European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and European Confedration of Medical Mycology recommended amphotericin B as the first-line of treatment and posaconazole as the salvage agent for mucormycosis. We report a case of rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis successfully treated by changing antifungal agent from the first-line amphotericin B to the salvage agent posaconazole. A 57-years-old female with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus was presented with foot abscess and rhino-orbital-cerebral mucormycosis. The infection was intractable despite orbital orbital exenteration with surgical debridement and 2 months of antibiotics treatment including amphotericin B. Changing amphotericin B to posaconazole resulted in clinical improvement within the first week. Conclusively the newly administered antifungal agent, posaconazole is expected to be an effective salvage treatment option for mucormycosis after failure of initial treatment of amphotericin B with surgical management.
Abscess ; Amphotericin B ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Communicable Diseases ; Debridement ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Mucormycosis* ; Mycology ; Orbit

BACKGROUND: Fungal infections are frequent encountered conditions presented in various clinical forms. The prevalence of fungal infection is gradually growing because of the increase in aged population and immune-compromised host which is susceptible factor of fungal infection. Broad array of studies of fungal infection have been published in Korea. However, epidemiologic study of fungal infection in admitted patients via emergency department has not been conducted. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to generate background data for emergency department visits in relation to fungal infection for developing a subsequent management and control system. METHODS: The data was collected from National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS) in Korea from 2011 to 2013. Data analysis was done to evaluate the age distribution of admission, regional variance and sex of the patients with fungal infection. RESULTS: The patients were divided into five groups according to their primary diagnosis which were skin fungal infection, subcutaneous mycoses, opportunistic mycoses, systemic mycoses and other mycoses. The annual admission ratio of general fungal infections increased from 2.15 persons per 100,000 in 2011 to 2.46 persons per 100,000 in 2013. The highest admission ratio was seen in opportunistic mycoses group followed by cutaneous fungal infections, other mycoses, subcutaneous mycoses and systemic mycoses groups. CONCLUSION: This study provides a basic set of data pertaining to fungal infections in emergency departments. Therefore, more systemically approached researches are required to implement sounder management and control systems of fungal infections presented in emergency departments.
Age Distribution ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology* ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea* ; Mycoses ; Prevalence ; Skin ; Statistics as Topic

Eosinophils have long been recognized as a central effector cell in the lungs of asthmatic patients. They contribute to airway inflammation and remodeling through releasing several molecules such as cytokines, granule proteins, lipid mediators and extracellular traps/vesicles. Repeated evidence reveals that intense eosinophil infiltration in upper and lower airway mucosae contributes to the pathogenesis of aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD). Persistent eosinophilia is found to be associated with type 2 immune responses, cysteinyl leukotriene overproduction and eosinophil-epithelium interactions. This review highlights recent findings about key mechanisms of eosinophil activation in the airway inflammation of AERD. In addition, current biologics (targeting type 2 immune responses) were suggested to control eosinophilic inflammation for AERD patients.

Asthma is commonly recognized as a heterogeneous condition with a complex pathophysiology. With advances in the development of multiple medications for patients with asthma, most asthma symptoms are well managed. Nevertheless, 5% to 10% of adult asthmatic patients (called severe asthma) are in uncontrolled or partially controlled status despite intensive treatment. Especially, severe eosinophilic asthma is one of the severe asthma phenotypes characterized by eosinophilia in sputum/blood driven by type 2 immune responses. Eosinophils have been widely accepted as a central effector cell in the lungs. Some evidence has demonstrated that persistent eosinophilia in upper and lower airway mucosa contributes to asthma severity by producing various mediators including cytokines, chemokines and granule proteins. Moreover, extracellular traps released from eosinophils have been revealed to enhance type 2 inflammation in patients with severe asthma. These novel molecules have the ability to induce airway inf lammation and hyperresponsiveness through enhancing innate and type 2 immune responses. In this review, we highlight recent insight into the function of eosinophil extracellular traps in patients with severe asthma. In addition, the role of eosinophil extracellular vesicles in severe asthma is also proposed. Finally, current biologics are suggested as a potential strategy for effective management of severe eosinophilic asthma.

Background/Aims: Sensitization to staphylococcal superantigens (SAgs) could contribute to asthma severity. However, its relevance with eosinophilic phenotype has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to investigate associations between serum specific IgE levels to SAg and eosinophilic airway inflammation in adult asthmatics. Methods: The serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs, including staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) and B (SEB), and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) were measured by ImmunoCAP in 230 adult asthmatic patients and 50 healthy controls (HCs). Clinical characteristics and laboratory parameters, including serum total/free IgE, and 2 eosinophil-activation markers, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), were analyzed according to blood eosinophil counts (BEC; 150 cells/μL) and serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs (0.35 kU/L). Results: Asthmatic patients showed higher serum specific IgE levels to 3 SAgs than HCs (p < 0.05 for all). The serum total/clinfree IgE levels were significantly higher in asthmatics with positive IgE responses to 3 SAgs than those without (p < 0.05 for all). There were no significant differences in clinical parameters including age, asthma severity, comorbidities, or smoking according to IgE responses to 3 SAgs. Patients with positive IgE responses to SEB (not to SEA/TSST-1) had higher serum specific IgE levels to house dust mites and ECP/EDN as well as higher BEC with positive correlations between serum SEB-specific IgE levels and BEC/ECP/EDN (p < 0.05 for all). Conclusions These findings suggest that serum SEB-specific IgE levels could contribute to eosinophil activation as well as IgE production in adult asthma.