Purpose: Due to chronic toxicity, tacrolimus-sparing is an important issue in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Several studies have shown that bisphosphonate use is associated with favorable graft outcomes in KTRs. We investigated whether the association between tacrolimus trough levels (TTLs) and graft outcomes differed according to bisphosphonate use in KTRs. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study encompassing 1441 KTRs who were administered tacrolimus-based immunosuppressants. The primary exposure was a time-dependent cross-product of TTLs (low TTLs vs. normal-high TTLs with a reference of 6 ng/mL) and bisphosphonate use. Two primary outcomes were evaluated: overall graft loss (death or conversion to kidney replacement) and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <30 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . Results: During the median follow-up of 6.1 (3.4–9.7) years, overall graft loss occurred in 157 (10.9%) patients. Cox regression revealed that normal-high TTLs without bisphosphonate use were associated with a reduced risk of overall graft loss [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45–0.95] compared to low TTLs without bisphosphonate use. The use of bisphosphonate in conjunction with normal-high TTLs correlated with an even lower risk of overall graft loss (aHR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.08–0.80) compared with low TTLs without bisphosphonate use. In patients with low TTLs, bisphosphonate use was associated with a reduced risk of overall graft loss compared with non-use (aHR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.09–0.43). Similar trends were observed in the eGFR outcome. Conclusion The use of bisphosphonate was associated with favorable graft outcomes, even with low TTLs. Incorporating bisphosphonate into a conventional immunosuppressant regimen may potentially reduce tacrolimus requirement.

In cases where a palatal defect resulting from oral cancer surgery is reconstructed using a free flap, dentures placed on the grafted site, lacking bone support, may experience stability problems due to insufficient support. This case report presents a 41-year-old male patient who underwent a sinus resection due to maxillary sinus carcinoma. The defect was reconstructed using a lateral thigh free flap.After a three-month interim prosthesis phase, a conventional removable partial denture was fabricated. Considering the condition of the remaining teeth and the patient’s age, natural tooth alteration was performed and lingual undercuts of the right posterior teeth were incorporated into the design to compensate for the lack of bone support. Digital occlusal analysis devices and 3D facial scanning were utilized to evaluate changes in occlusion and facial form, and the visualized results were presented to the patient to enhance understanding.

Background: We evaluated severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific humoral and cellular responses for up to 6 months after the 3rd dose of ancestral coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination in people living with HIV (PLWH) and healthy controls (HCs) who were not infected with COVID-19. Methods: Anti-spike receptor-binding domain IgG (anti-RBD IgG) concentrations using chemiluminescence immunoassay and neutralizing antibodies using focus reduction neutralization test (FRNT) were assessed at 1 week after each dose of vaccination, and 3 and 6 months after the 3rd dose in 62 PLWH and 25 HCs. T-cell responses using intracellular cytokine stain were evaluated at 1 week before, and 1 week and 6 months after the 3rd dose. Results: At 1 week after the 3rd dose, adequate anti-RBD IgG (> 300 binding antibody unit /mL) was elicited in all PLWH except for one patient with 36 CD4 T-cell count/mm3 . The geometric mean titers of 50% FRNT against wild type (WT) and omicron BA.5 strains of SARS-CoV-2 in PLWH with CD4 T-cell count ≥ 500 cells/mm3(high CD4 recovery, HCDR) were comparable to HC, but they were significantly decreased in PLWH with CD4 T-cell count < 500/mm3 (low CD4 recovery, LCDR). After adjusting for age, gender, viral suppression, and number of preexisting comorbidities, CD4 T-cell counts < 500/mm3 significantly predicted a poor magnitude of neutralizing antibodies against WT, omicron BA.5, and XBB 1.5 strains among PLWH. Multivariable linear regression adjusting for age and gender revealed that LCDR was associated with reduced neutralizing activity (P = 0.017) and interferon-γ-producing T-cell responses (P = 0.049 for CD T-cell; P = 0.014 for CD8 T-cell) against WT, and strongly associated with more decreased cross-neutralization against omicron BA.5 strains (P < 0.001). Conclusion HCDR demonstrated robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses after a booster dose of ancestral SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, whereas LCDR showed diminished immune responses against WT virus and more impaired cross-neutralization against omicron BA.5 strain.

In cases where a palatal defect resulting from oral cancer surgery is reconstructed using a free flap, dentures placed on the grafted site, lacking bone support, may experience stability problems due to insufficient support. This case report presents a 41-year-old male patient who underwent a sinus resection due to maxillary sinus carcinoma. The defect was reconstructed using a lateral thigh free flap.After a three-month interim prosthesis phase, a conventional removable partial denture was fabricated. Considering the condition of the remaining teeth and the patient’s age, natural tooth alteration was performed and lingual undercuts of the right posterior teeth were incorporated into the design to compensate for the lack of bone support. Digital occlusal analysis devices and 3D facial scanning were utilized to evaluate changes in occlusion and facial form, and the visualized results were presented to the patient to enhance understanding.

In cases where a palatal defect resulting from oral cancer surgery is reconstructed using a free flap, dentures placed on the grafted site, lacking bone support, may experience stability problems due to insufficient support. This case report presents a 41-year-old male patient who underwent a sinus resection due to maxillary sinus carcinoma. The defect was reconstructed using a lateral thigh free flap.After a three-month interim prosthesis phase, a conventional removable partial denture was fabricated. Considering the condition of the remaining teeth and the patient’s age, natural tooth alteration was performed and lingual undercuts of the right posterior teeth were incorporated into the design to compensate for the lack of bone support. Digital occlusal analysis devices and 3D facial scanning were utilized to evaluate changes in occlusion and facial form, and the visualized results were presented to the patient to enhance understanding.

In cases where a palatal defect resulting from oral cancer surgery is reconstructed using a free flap, dentures placed on the grafted site, lacking bone support, may experience stability problems due to insufficient support. This case report presents a 41-year-old male patient who underwent a sinus resection due to maxillary sinus carcinoma. The defect was reconstructed using a lateral thigh free flap.After a three-month interim prosthesis phase, a conventional removable partial denture was fabricated. Considering the condition of the remaining teeth and the patient’s age, natural tooth alteration was performed and lingual undercuts of the right posterior teeth were incorporated into the design to compensate for the lack of bone support. Digital occlusal analysis devices and 3D facial scanning were utilized to evaluate changes in occlusion and facial form, and the visualized results were presented to the patient to enhance understanding.

Background: Because of the low prevalence of inherited retinal diseases, reports on the distribution of retinitis pigmentosa (RP)-related genes in Korean patients are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the mutation spectrum and allele frequency and observe the final diagnoses in a Korean cohort clinically diagnosed with RP. Methods: We used whole-exome sequencing (WES) to analyze a Korean cohort of 100 unrelated patients clinically diagnosed with RP. The possible pathogenicity of each variant was assessed based on the guidelines of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and Association for Molecular Pathology, in-silico prediction tools, known clinical phenotypes, and inheritance patterns. Results: Definite causative genes were detected in 60/100 patients (60.0%). Of these 60 cases, USH2A was the most common causative gene (14/60, 23.3%), followed by EYS (13/60, 21.7%) and RP1 (6/60, 10.0%). The clinical diagnosis was redefined in 9 of the 60 probands (15.0%) with causative genes after WES. Five of the 60 patients (8.3%) carried a causative variant in CHM, and the clinical diagnosis was redefined as choroideremia. Leber congenital amaurosis was diagnosed in 2/60 probands (3.3%), and RDH12 and RPGRIP1 were the causative genes in each patient. One patient (1/60, 1.7%) was diagnosed with Bietti’s crystalline dystrophy, with CYP4V2 identified as the causative gene. In another patient (1/60, 1.7%), ABCA4 variants were detected with clinical findings suggestive of cone-rod dystrophy. Conclusion This study reports the mutational spectrum of a cohort of Korean patients with a clinical diagnosis of RP who were referred for genetic testing. This study adds valuable data regarding the frequency of genes as well as their relation to the age of symptom onset and relation to other inherited retinal degenerations.