Frailty is a condition marked by a progressive decline in physiological functioning due to aging, leading to increased disease morbidity and rising healthcare costs. Therefore, it is important to prevent frailty through proper management. Not only does a lack of physical activity contribute to frailty, but inadequate dietary intake, resulting from decreased appetite and malabsorption, is also a significant risk factor. This study aimed to develop a 16-week algorithm to assess the nutritional risks associated with frailty, provide personalized nutritional solutions, and manage frailty risk factors through continuous monitoring and periodic reassessment. A total of 20 indicators were selected to create a nutritional health score. The selected indicators encompassed nutritional risk factors for frailty, disease history, and hematological factors. Reassessments were designed to occur at four-week intervals to revise personalized management goals and adjust solutions. Metrics were prioritized to provide a personalized solution. A user-friendly monitoring system was developed that leveraged voice recognition technology to determine compliance. It is anticipated that the algorithm will serve several purposes. First, this outcome will allow us to help prevent and delay the onset of frailty by utilizing a mobile app. Second, it will reduce the time and economic costs associated with nutritional management. Finally, it will facilitate future professional counseling and monitoring.

Purpose: To investigate whether a new phospholipid-releasing soft contact lens can improve symptoms of dry eyes. Methods: The study used 2.5-3.0 kg New Zealand rabbits including both normal non-dry eye rabbits and dry eye rabbits, the latter having undergone electrocauterization of the meibomian glands to block the gland orifices. Each rabbit wore a control contact lens on one eye and a phospholipid-releasing contact lens on the other eye daily. Phospholipid-releasing and control contact lenses were provided by NEOVISION Co., Ltd. The parameters assessed included tear film break-up time, tear osmolarity, ocular surface staining, and central corneal thickness. After the experiment, the rabbits were euthanized and their conjunctival tissue was stained with Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) to observe conjunctival goblet cells. Results: In both dry eye and normal non-dry eye rabbits, tear film break-up time was longer and tear osmolarity was lower when using the phospholipid-releasing contact lens compared to the control contact lens. The ocular surface remained unstained in normal non-dry eye rabbits while staining was observed in dry eye rabbits. There was no significant difference in central corneal thickness between the control and phospholipid-releasing contact lenses in either group. PAS staining showed no difference in conjunctival goblet cell density between the two lens types in normal non-dry eye rabbits. However, in dry eye rabbits, the conjunctival goblet cell density tended to be slightly higher with the phospholipid-releasing contact lens compared to the control lens. Conclusions Phospholipid-releasing contact lenses may help reduce dry eye symptoms and minimize contact lens-related complications by stabilizing the tear film and lowering tear osmolarity.

Background: and Purpose: Amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques are key in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), with Aβ positron emission tomography imaging enabling non-invasive quantification.To address regional Aβ deposition, we developed regional Centiloid scales (rdcCL) and commercialized them through the computed tomography (CT)-based BeauBrain Amylo platform, eliminating the need for three-dimensional T1 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Objective: We aimed to establish robust regional Aβ cutoffs using the commercialized BeauBrain Amylo platform and to explore the prevalence of subgroups defined by global, regional, and striatal Aβ cutoffs across cognitive stages. Methods: We included 2,428 individuals recruited from the Korea-Registries to Overcome Dementia and Accelerate Dementia Research project. We calculated regional Aβ cutoffs using Gaussian Mixture Modeling. Participants were classified into subgroups based on global, regional, and striatal Aβ positivity across cognitive stages (cognitively unimpaired [CU], mild cognitive impairment, and dementia of the Alzheimer’s type). Results: MRI-based and CT-based global Aβ cutoffs were highly comparable and consistent with previously reported Centiloid values. Regional cutoffs revealed both similarities and differences between MRI- and CT-based methods, reflecting modality-specific segmentation processes. Subgroups such as global(−)regional(+) were more frequent in non-dementia stages, while global(+)striatal(−) was primarily observed in CU individuals. Conclusions Our study established robust regional Aβ cutoffs using a CT-based rdcCL method and demonstrated its clinical utility in classifying amyloid subgroups across cognitive stages. These findings highlight the importance of regional Aβ quantification in understanding amyloid pathology and its implications for biomarker-guided diagnosis and treatment in AD.

OBJECTIVES: Gender is a major determinant of health behaviors that influences cancer prevention awareness and practices. This study investigated the relationship of the awareness and practice rates of cancer prevention recommendations with gender and socioeconomic status. METHODS: We used data from the Korean National Cancer Prevention Awareness and Practice Survey (2023). The sample included 4,000 men and women aged 20-74 years. We conducted multiple logistic regression analyses to evaluate associations with the awareness and practices of cancer prevention, and a joinpoint regression analysis using age-standardized rates to analyze trends in awareness and practice rates from 2007 to 2023. RESULTS: The awareness rates were 79.4% and 81.2% for men and women, respectively. The overall practice rates were substantially lower (43.1% for men and 48.9% for women). For men, awareness rates did not differ significantly by socio-demographic characteristics, but practice rates increased with age (20-29: 15.9%; 60-74: 53.8%). For women, both awareness (20-29: 73.0%; 60-74: 85.7%) and practice (20-29: 16.8%; 60-74: 67.5%) rates increased with age. The easiest recommendations to follow were “reducing salt intake and avoiding burnt or charred foods” (men: 29.9%; women: 28.4%), whereas the most difficult recommendation was “engaging in regular physical activity” (men: 32.5%; women: 34.4%). CONCLUSIONS While awareness of cancer prevention recommendations was high, the practice of these recommendations was low. Gender influenced changes in awareness and practice rates over time, reflecting a large gap in practice. Future research should explore appropriate intervention points for cancer prevention practices and the development of more effective cancer prevention policies.

γ-Radiation resistance is a major obstacle to the success of radiotherapy in colorectal cancer. Antioxidant-related factors contribute to resistance to radiation therapy and, therefore, are targets for improving the therapeutic response. In this study, we evaluated the molecular mechanisms underlying γ-radiation resistance using the colorectal cancer cell line SNUC5 and γ-radiation-resistant variant SNUC5/RR, including analyses of the role of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), a transcription factor that regulates antioxidant enzymes, and related epigenetic regulators. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, antioxidant enzyme expression, NRF2 expression, and nuclear translocation were higher in SNUC5/RR cells irradiated with or without 8 Gy than in SNUC5 cells. The DNA demethylase ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) expression and TET1 binding to the NRF2 promoter in SNUC5/RR cells were stronger than those in SNUC5 cells, indicating lower methylation of CpG islands in the NRF2 promoter.TET1 knockdown in SNUC5/RR cells suppressed NRF2 expression significantly. Additionally, histone mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL), a histone methyltransferase, was upregulated, leading to increased trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 4, whereas enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a histone methyltransferase, was downregulated, leading to decreased trimethylation of histone H3 lysine 27. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) and histone acetyltransferase (HAT) levels were lower and higher in SNUC5/RR cells than in SNUC5 cells, respectively. MLL and HAT knockdown in SNUC5/RR cells irradiated with or without 8 Gy decreased levels of NRF2 and heme-oxygenase 1, resulting in enhanced γ-radiation sensitivity. These findings support NRF2 as a target for improving the response to radiotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer.

Frailty is a condition marked by a progressive decline in physiological functioning due to aging, leading to increased disease morbidity and rising healthcare costs. Therefore, it is important to prevent frailty through proper management. Not only does a lack of physical activity contribute to frailty, but inadequate dietary intake, resulting from decreased appetite and malabsorption, is also a significant risk factor. This study aimed to develop a 16-week algorithm to assess the nutritional risks associated with frailty, provide personalized nutritional solutions, and manage frailty risk factors through continuous monitoring and periodic reassessment. A total of 20 indicators were selected to create a nutritional health score. The selected indicators encompassed nutritional risk factors for frailty, disease history, and hematological factors. Reassessments were designed to occur at four-week intervals to revise personalized management goals and adjust solutions. Metrics were prioritized to provide a personalized solution. A user-friendly monitoring system was developed that leveraged voice recognition technology to determine compliance. It is anticipated that the algorithm will serve several purposes. First, this outcome will allow us to help prevent and delay the onset of frailty by utilizing a mobile app. Second, it will reduce the time and economic costs associated with nutritional management. Finally, it will facilitate future professional counseling and monitoring.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive treatment modality used as an alternative to surgery in patients with benign thyroid nodules, recurrent thyroid cancers (RTCs), and primary thyroid microcarcinomas. The Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology (KSThR) initially developed recommendations for the optimal use of RFA for thyroid tumors in 2009 and revised them in 2012 and 2017. As new meaningful evidence has accumulated since 2017 and in response to a growing global interest in the use of RFA for treating malignant thyroid lesions, the task force committee members of the KSThR decided to update the guidelines on the use of RFA for the management of RTCs based on a comprehensive analysis of current literature and expert consensus.

Objective: To establish local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for pediatric neck CT based on age, weight, and water-equivalent diameter (WED) across multiple university hospitals in South Korea. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed pediatric neck CT examinations from nine university hospitals, involving patients aged 0–18 years. Data were categorized by age, weight, and WED, and radiation dose metrics, including volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product, were recorded. Data retrieval and analysis were conducted using a commercially available dose-management system (Radimetrics, Bayer Healthcare). Local DRLs were established following the International Commission on Radiological Protection guidelines, using the 75th percentile as the reference value. Results: A total of 1159 CT examinations were analyzed, including 169 scans from Institution 1, 132 from Institution 2, 126 from Institution 3, 129 from Institution 4, 128 from Institution 5, 105 from Institution 6, 162 from Institution 7, 127 from Institution 8, and 81 from Institution 9. Radiation dose metrics increased with age, weight, and WED, showing significant variability both within and across institutions. For patients weighing less than 10 kg, the DRL for CTDIvol was 5.2 mGy. In the 10–19 kg group, the DRL was 5.8 mGy; in the 20–39 kg group, 7.6 mGy; in the 40–59 kg group, 11.0 mGy; and for patients weighing 60 kg or more, 16.2 mGy. DRLs for CTDIvol by age groups were as follows: 5.3 mGy for infants under 1 year, 5.7 mGy for children aged 1–4 years, 7.6 mGy for ages 5–9 years, 11.2 mGy for ages 10–14 years, and 15.6 mGy for patients 15 years or older. Conclusion Local DRLs for pediatric neck CT were established based on age, weight, and WED across nine university hospitals in South Korea.