Background: In the era of nucleoside analogs (NA), we investigated the safety of using hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive grafts in liver transplantation (LT) using nationwide KOTRY data. Methods: Among 4,265 adult LTs in the KOTRY registry (April 2014–January 2020), 20 (0.5%) used HBsAg(+) grafts. The S(+) group was compared with HBsAg-nega-tive groups, both HBcAb(+) (C[+]) and HBcAb(−) (SC[−]), using 1:1 propensity scorematching. Patient and graft survival were evaluated using Kaplan–Meier analysis.Cox regression was used to identify prognostic factors. Results: No significant differences were observed in patient or graft survival be-tween S(+) and C(+) or SC(−) groups. Key prognostic factors for patient survivalincluded age, HCC, MELD score, ascites, and encephalopathy. For graft survival, HCC, preoperative HCC treatment, MELD score, ascites, and encephalopathy were significant. HBV recurrence occurred in the S(+) group, but did not compromise outcomes. Conclusion In HBV-endemic regions, HBsAg(+) liver grafts can be safely used to expand the donor pool without compromising LT outcomes when combined with appropriate prophylaxis.

Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors have emerged as paradigm-shifting therapeutics that extend beyond glycemic regulation, to conferring profound hepatometabolic benefits. This review delineates the multifaceted mechanisms underlying metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), with an emphasis on systemic metabolic remodeling, mitochondrial protection, and intracellular calcium restoration. By promoting glucosuria-induced energy depletion, SGLT2 inhibition alleviates insulin resistance, suppresses hepatic lipogenesis, and activates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)–sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)–peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) coactivator-1α pathways that reprogram hepatocellular metabolism toward achieving lipid oxidation and autophagy. Mechanistically, SGLT2 inhibitors restore intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis via sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase 2 (SERCA2) activation, mitigating endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and normalizing Ca2+–phosphoinositide (PIP)–protein kinase B (AKT) signaling, collectively reinforcing insulin responsiveness and ER-mitochondrial crosstalk. Clinically, these effects translate into consistently reducing hepatic fat, aminotransferases, and fibrosis markers in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients with MASLD. Furthermore, SGLT2 inhibitors uniquely integrate renal energy regulation with hepatic resilience through the Ca2+–PIP–SERCA axis, positioning them as prototype systemic modulators of metabolic homeostasis. Future translational efforts should refine patient stratification using metabolomic and Ca2+-imaging biomarkers to delineate therapeutic responders and advance next-generation SGLT2 analogs targeting Ca2+-dependent metabolic signaling. Collectively, SGLT2 inhibitors represent a new metabolic therapeutic class that unify glucose, lipid, and Ca2+ regulation to restore hepatocellular functions in metabolic liver diseases.

Background: s: Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) is currently a major indication for liver transplantation (LT) in South Korea. Alcoholic recidivism is a primary concern after LT for ALD. However, it is unclear how patients who have received LT for ALD are managed regarding medical and psychological issues. Furthermore, management approaches vary across centers. This study aims to investigate how these management approaches differ among centers. Methods: We conducted a survey of 19 liver transplant centers in South Korea to gather detailed information on the management protocols and related issues of ALD in LT patients. Results: All 19 centers that responded to the survey had been performing LT for patients with ALD for more than 5 years. Nine out of the 19 centers (47%) stated that a minimum abstinence period of 1–6 months from alcohol was required before evaluating LT and enrolling on the transplant waiting list. Only 2 (10%) and 5 (26%) centers had protocols for assessing alcohol consumption while awaiting LT or for treating alcohol consumption after transplantation, respectively. Monitoring abstinence from drinking before and after LT mostly relied on direct interviews, and alcohol biomarkers were not used. Conclusion Our findings emphasize the importance of consistent patient management guidelines for ALD-LTs in South Korea.

Alternative complement pathway dysregulation plays a key role in glomerulonephritis (GN) and is associated with C3 deposition. Herein, we examined pathological and clinical differences between cases of primary GN with C3-dominant (C3D-GN) and nondominant (C3ND-GN) deposition. Methods: We extracted primary GN data from the Korean GlomeruloNEphritis sTudy (KoGNET). C3D-GN was defined as C3 staining two grades greater than C1q, C4, and immunoglobulin via immunofluorescence analysis. To overcome a large difference in the number of patients between the C3D-GN and C3ND-GN groups (31 vs. 9,689), permutation testing was used for analysis. Results: The C3D-GN group exhibited higher serum creatinine (p ≤ 0.001), a greater prevalence of estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/1.72 m2 (p ≤ 0.001), higher (but not significantly so) C-reactive protein level, and lower serum C3 level (p ≤ 0.001). Serum albumin, urine protein/creatinine ratio, number of patients who progressed to end-stage renal disease, and all-cause mortality were comparable between groups. Interstitial fibrosis and mesangial cellularity were greater in the C3D-GN group (p = 0.04 and p = 0.01, respectively) than in the C3ND-GN group. C3 deposition was dominant in the former group (p < 0.001), in parallel with increased subendothelial deposition (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: Greater progression of renal injury and higher mortality occurred in patients with C3D-GN than with C3ND-GN, along with pathologic differences in interstitial and mesangial changes.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of repeated sodium polynucleotide (Conjuran Ⓡ ) treatments in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: The study was conducted by retrospectively examining 45 patients who repeated the treatment course of 5 injections of Conjuran Ⓡ twice within 6 months. For each course, pain reduction by the change of 100-mm Weight-Bearing-Pain Visual-Analog-Scale was compared with before administration until 6 months after administration. Improvement by Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and Patient Global Impression (PGI) were also investigated, as well as adverse reactions. Results: Pain analysis after administration of Conjuran Ⓡ confirmed that VAS decreased by 51.6% until 6 months (p＜0.001), and after that the effect was lost and was repeat for the 2 nd course. In the 2 nd , VAS continued to decrease by 58.7% compared to before the 1 st course (p＜0.001). Analysis of CGI, 88.9% of patients improved after the 1 st and 84.4% of patients improved after the 2 nd . In the PGI results, symptoms improved in 86.7% of patients after the 1 st and 82.2% after the 2 nd . No significant adverse event was reported. Conclusion The safety and efficacy results of patients receiving Conjuran Ⓡ for 2 nd treatment courses were similar to those for 1 st treatment course. In addition, the effect lasts for up to 6 months after administration, and the pain reduction effect is lost thereafter, so it is recommended to apply it at 6-month intervals if additional treatment is needed. Conjuran Ⓡ is an intra-articular injection that is effective in reducing knee pain and can be used repeatedly without adverse reactions.

Background and Objectives: De-escalation of dual-antiplatelet therapy through dose reduction of prasugrel improved net adverse clinical events (NACEs) after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), mainly through the reduction of bleeding without an increase in ischemic outcomes. Whether the benefits of de-escalation are sustained in highly thrombotic conditions such as ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is unknown. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of de-escalation therapy in patients with STEMI or non-STsegment elevation ACS (NSTE-ACS). Methods: This is a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the HOST-REDUCE-POLYTECH-ACS trial. ACS patients were randomized to prasugrel de-escalation (5 mg daily) or conventional dose (10 mg daily) at 1-month post-percutaneous coronary intervention. The primary endpoint was a NACE, defined as a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, clinically driven revascularization, stroke, and bleeding events of grade ≥2 Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria at 1 year. Results: Among 2,338 patients included in the randomization, 326 patients were diagnosed with STEMI. In patients with NSTE-ACS, the risk of the primary endpoint was significantly reduced with de-escalation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48– 0.89; p=0.006 for de-escalation vs. conventional), mainly driven by a reduced bleeding. However, in those with STEMI, there was no difference in the occurrence of the primary outcome (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.48–2.26; p=0.915; p for interaction=0.271). Conclusions Prasugrel dose de-escalation reduced the rate of NACE and bleeding, without increasing the rate of ischemic events in NSTE-ACS patients but not in STEMI patients.

Organ crosstalk between the kidney and the heart has been suggested. Acute kidney injury (AKI) and acute heart failure (AHF) are well-known independent risk factors for mortality in hospitalized patients. This study aimed to investigate if these conditions have an additive effect on mortality in hospitalized patients, as this has not been explored in previous studies. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 101,804 hospitalized patients who visited two tertiary hospitals in the Republic of Korea over a period of 5 years. AKI was diagnosed using serum creatinine-based criteria, and AHF was classified using International Classification of Diseases codes within 2 weeks after admission. Patients were divided into four groups according to the two conditions. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: AKI occurred in 6.8% of all patients (n = 6,920) and AHF in 1.2% (n = 1,244). Three hundred thirty-one patients (0.3%) developed both conditions while AKI alone was present in 6,589 patients (6.5%) and AHF alone in 913 patients (0.9%). Among the 5,181 patients (5.1%) who died, 20.8% died within 1 month. The hazard ratio for 1-month mortality was 29.23 in patients with both conditions, 15.00 for AKI only, and 3.39 for AHF only. The relative excess risk of interaction was 11.85 (95% confidence interval, 2.43–21.27), and was more prominent in patients aged <75 years and those without chronic heart failure. Conclusion: AKI and AHF have a detrimental additive effect on short-term mortality in hospitalized patients.

Purpose: The present study was performed to investigate the effects of local complications (LC) on long-term survival and cancer recurrence in patients undergoing curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer. Methods: We analyzed 2,627 patients after curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer between January 2001 and December 2006. Patients were classified into groups no complications (NC), LC, or systemic complications (SC). Results: Among the 2,627 patients, 475 patients developed complications (LC group [n=374, 14.2%] and SC group [n=101, 3.9%]). The 5-year cancer-specific survival rate was significantly poorer in the LC group compared to the NC and SC groups (LC, 78.0%; NC, 85.4%; SC, 80.2%; P=0.007). The occurrence of LC was identified as a significant independent prognostic factor for overall and cancer-specific survival (hazard ratio [HR], 2.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46–2.97; P=0.001 and HR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.12–2.81; P=0.015). The tumor recurrence rates were higher in the LC group than the in other two groups (LC, 23.5%; NC, 15.4%; SC, 15.8%; P<0.001). The occurrence of LC was an independent predictor of tumor recurrence in patients undergoing curative gastrectomy for gastric cancer (HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.11–2.17; P=0.011). Conclusion LC are associated with adverse long-term outcomes in patients after curative gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer.