Background/Aims: Fexuprazan is a novel potassium-competitive acid blocker that could be of benefit to patients with gastric mucosal injury. The aim of this study was to assess the 2-week efficacy and safety of fexuprazan in patients with acute or chronic gastritis. Methods: In this study, 327 patients with acute or chronic gastritis who had one or more gastric erosions on endoscopy and subjective symptoms were randomized into three groups receiving fexuprazan 20 mg once a day (q.d.), fexuprazan 10 mg twice a day (b.i.d.), or placebo for 2 weeks. The posttreatment assessments were the primary endpoint (erosion improvement rate), secondary endpoints (cure rates of erosion and edema and improvement rates of redness, hemorrhage, and subjective symptoms), and drug-related adverse events. Results: Among the patients, 57.8% (59/102), 65.7% (67/102), and 40.6% (39/96) showed erosion improvement 2 weeks after receiving fexuprazan 20 mg q.d., fexuprazan 10 mg b.i.d., and placebo, respectively. Both fexuprazan 20 mg q.d. and 10 mg b.i.d. showed superior efficacy to the placebo (p=0.017 and p<0.001, respectively). Likewise, both fexuprazan 20 mg q.d. and 10 mg b.i.d. also showed higher erosion healing rates than the placebo (p=0.033 and p=0.010, respectively). No difference was noted in the edema healing rate and the improvement rates for redness, hemorrhage, and subjective symptoms between the fexuprazan and placebo groups.No significant difference was noted in the incidence of adverse drug reactions. Conclusions Fexuprazan 20 mg q.d. and 10 mg b.i.d. for 2 weeks showed therapeutic efficacy superior to that of placebo in patients with acute or chronic gastritis (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04341454).

Osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures cause socioeconomic concerns, and medical system and policies appear insufficient to prepare for these issues in Korea, where the older adult population is rapidly increasing. Many countries around the world are already responding to osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures by adopting fracture liaison service (FLS), and such an attempt has only begun in Korea. In this article, we introduce the operation methods for institutions implementing FLS and characteristics of services, and activities of the FLS Committee for FLS implementation in the Korean Society for Bone and Mineral Research. In addition, we hope that the current position statement will contribute to the implementation of FLS in Korea and impel policy changes to enable a multidisciplinary and integrated FLS operated under the medical system.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and verify the effectiveness of the home-based exercise program for prevention of sarcopenia in hemiplegic disorder patients. Methods: The participants consisted of 26 experimental group and 26 control group with hemiplegic disorders. The home-based exercise program to prevent sarcopenia was conducted twice a week and for six weeks from 11 January 2021 to 19 April 2021, measuring muscle mass, muscular strength, daily life movements, balance, dynamic posture control ability and quality of life. Results: The results showed the effectiveness of the home-based exercise program for hemiplegic patients.There were statistically significant differences between the control group and experimental group in patients’ muscle mass (F=8.26, p=.006), muscle strength (F=7.99,p=.007) and quality of life (F=12.19, p=.001). But, there were not statistically significant in patients’ daily life movements (F=0.33, p=.565), balance (F=0.04, p=.841) and dynamic posture control ability (F=3.48, p=.068). Conclusion In conclusion, the home-based exercise program was effective in improving muscle mass, muscle strength and quality of life in hemiplegic patients. Therefore, it is expected that the home-based exercise program developed in this study will be applied as an intervention for prevention of sarcopenia in hemiplegic patients and will be effective.

Since a novel beta-coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in December 2019, there has been a rapid global spread of the virus. Genomic surveillance was conducted on samples isolated from infected individuals to monitor the spread of genetic variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Korea. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency performed whole genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in Korea for 1 year (January 2020 to January 2021). A total of 2,488 SARSCoV-2 cases were sequenced (including 648 cases from abroad). Initially, the prevalent clades of SARSCoV-2 were the S and V clades, however, by March 2020, GH clade was the most dominant. Only international travelers were identified as having G or GR clades, and since the first variant 501Y.V1 was identified (from a traveler from the United Kingdom on December 22 nd , 2020), a total of 27 variants of 501Y.V1, 501Y.V2, and 484K.V2 have been classified (as of January 25 th , 2021). The results in this study indicated that quarantining of travelers entering Korea successfully prevented dissemination of the SARS-CoV-2 variants in Korea.

A variety of clonal cytogenetic abnormalities have been reported in aggressive natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma and leukemia. Recent chromosomal microarray studies have shown both gain and loss of 1q and loss of 7p as recurrent abnormalities in aggressive NK-cell leukemia. Here, we report a case of aggressive NK-cell leukemia with complex chromosomal gains and losses, as confirmed by chromosomal microarray analysis. The patient showed an aggressive clinical course, which was complicated by hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Conventional cytogenetic analysis revealed trisomy 3 and 1q gain only. However, chromosomal microarray analysis detected an additional gain of 1q21.1–q24.2 and a loss of 1q24.2–q31.3. These abnormal lesions might play a role in the pathogenesis of aggressive NK-cell leukemia by inactivating tumor suppressor genes or by activating oncogenes. These results suggest that chromosomal microarray analysis may be used to provide further genetic information for patients with hematological malignancies, including aggressive NK-cell leukemia.
Chromosome Aberrations ; Cytogenetic Analysis ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic ; Lymphoma ; Microarray Analysis ; Oncogenes ; Trisomy

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of allergic disease in offsprings delivered via the delivery modes of vaginal delivery vs. planned Cesarean section vs. Cesarean section with labor. METHODS: This study included 175 mother-neonate pairs from Severance Hospital who were enrolled in the Cohort for Childhood Origin of Asthma and allergic diseases study. Information regarding prenatal environmental factors, delivery, and diagnosis of allergic diseases was obtained from a questionnaire and medical record review. Patients with at least 3 years of follow-up data were included in this study. Results were adjusted for sex, birth weight, gestational age at birth, season of birth, neonatal intensive care unit admission, parity, breastfeeding, and maternal factors. RESULTS: A total of 175 offsprings were eligible for analysis. Among the subjects, 52.0% were delivered by vaginal delivery, 34.3% by planned Cesarean section, and 16.6% by Cesarean section with labor. Fifty-nine offsprings (33.7%) were diagnosed with allergic disease at a median age of 1 year (range 0.5–3 years). The prevalence of allergic disease was not associated with delivery mode after adjusting for confounding variables. Time period from membrane rupture to delivery, duration of the active phase, and the beginning of the pelvic division prior to Cesarean section were not associated with allergic disease development in offsprings. CONCLUSION: Cesarean section, irrespective of the occurrence of labor before surgery, did not increase the prevalence of allergic disease in infants up to 3 years of age.
Asthma ; Birth Weight ; Breast Feeding ; Cesarean Section* ; Cohort Studies ; Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Medical Records ; Membranes ; Parity ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Prevalence* ; Rupture ; Seasons

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to analyze the trend of the prevalences of atrophic gastritis (AG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) from 2011 to 2016~2017 in Korea. And, the risk factors of AG and IM were compared between 2011 and 2016~2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 4,023 subjects in 2011 and 2,506 subjects in 2016~2017 were enrolled. AG and IM were diagnosed on the basis of endoscopic findings. Multivariate analysis was performed for risk factors of AG and IM. Seventeen factors were analyzed. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori decreased from 2011 (59.8%; 2,407/4,023) to 2016~2017 (51.6%; 1,293/2,506; P < 0.001). The prevalence of AG decreased from 2011 to 2016~2017 (P=0.018), but that of IM increased (P < 0.001). The risk factors of AG in 2011 were male sex, old age, H. pylori immuoglobulin G (IgG) positivity, family history of gastric cancer (GC), and high-salt diet. For IM in 2011, the risk factors were male sex, old age, H. pylori IgG positivity, and family history of GC. Risk factors of AG in 2016~2017 were old age, H. pylori IgG positivity, and country of residence. For IM in 2016~2017, the risk factors were male sex, old age, family history of GC, high fasting glucose level (≥126 mg/dL), H. pylori IgG positivity, and low income level. CONCLUSIONS: The difference in prevalence trends of AG and IM between 2016~2017 and 2011 could be the result of the different risk factors of AG and IM, such as decreased prevalence of H. pylori infection.
Diet ; Fasting ; Gastritis, Atrophic ; Glucose ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Korea ; Male ; Metaplasia ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

Orientia tsutsugamushi (O. tsutsugamushi), which is endemic to an Asia-Pacific region, has increased its incidence and caused annually around 10 thousand patients infected with scrub typhus in Korea in the past several years. In the present study, we isolated 44 O. tsutsugamushi from the patients with febrile illness accompanied with or without an eschar in Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. These isolates were characterized by genetic analysis of the major outer membrane protein, the 56-kDa type-specific antigen (tsa56), which is unique to O. tsutsugamushi. Two types of sequences of tsa56, designated by JJ1 and JJ2, were determined from 37 and 7 isolates of the 44 isolates, respectively. JJ1 and JJ2 showed 74.7~90.8% identity in nucleotide sequence and 66.1~90.5% identity in amino acid sequence with 33 reference strains except for Boryong and Kuroki. JJ1 and JJ2 had 100 and 99.9% nucleotide identity to Boryong strain, and 99.9 and 99.8% to Kuroki, which has been known to be similar to Boryong, respectively. In addition, they showed 77.9~ 81.4% nucleotide identity with the cluster of Gilliam-related genotypes, whereas they showed higher nucleotide identity (89.6~90.8%) with the cluster of Karp-related genotypes. To our knowledge, this is the first report to isolate O. tsutsugamushi and characterize their genotype as the Boryong in Jinju and West Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea, even though it has been reported that the Boryong was the predominant genotype in isolates from chiggers, domestic rodents, and patients in the southern part of Korea. Furthermore, our isolates could be useful source to study on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of scrub typhus in Korea.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Base Sequence ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Epidemiology ; Genotype ; Gyeongsangnam-do* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Membrane Proteins ; Orientia tsutsugamushi* ; Rodentia ; Scrub Typhus* ; Trombiculidae

BACKGROUND: Healthy cities of Korea have engaged in various activities regarding the Korea Healthy Cities Partnership, and research activities on healthy cities is one of the important area. In the present context, due to the current policy to pursue Sustainable Development Goals locally and globally, it is essential to emphasize the importance of healthy city. Therefore, it is important to identify the research trend related to healthy city. The aim of this study was to find out research trend of healthy city studies from 1990 to 2014 by reviewing published papers and studies systematically. Based on the finding of the study, the necessary implications on future research directions of the healthy city are obtained. METHODS: The area of this study is domestic journal (Korea), international journal, thesis, and research report focusing on healthy city from 1990 to 2014. The selection of data was performed using keyword is based on domestic and international database. The analysis criteria were divided into year of publication, type of study, subjects, study methods, and study area. RESULTS: One hundred twenty papers were selected for the analysis. Papers related to the healthy city issue were published 4.8 times in an average in a year during that the period. However, the number of papers published increased dramatically in the recent 4 years. Of total, 28 papers (44.4%) focused on the healthy city policy and urban environmental improvement, 18 papers (28.6%) focused on health promotion, and the remaining were program centered. Most papers (71 out of 120) used quantitative study methods. Of total studies, studies have conducted in Jinju city (9), Wonju city (8), Changwon city (6) and Gangnam-gu (5), respectively, as a study area of healthy city. CONCLUSION: First, domestic healthy city researches has been gradually increasing every year, over the past 10 years which has heightened interest in healthy cities. Second, the expansion of the various areas of research is required in order to contribute to future sustainable healthy city. Third, in recent years, by taking advantage of a variety of research methods, conducting the qualitative and mixed method research is considered to be a desirable change.
Gangwon-do ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Health Promotion ; Korea* ; Natural Resources ; Publications ; Research Report