Background/Aims: H2 receptor antagonists (H2RA) have been used to treat gastritis by inhibiting gastric acid. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are more potent acid suppressants than H2RA.However, the efficacy and safety of low-dose PPI for treating gastritis remain unclear. The aim was to investigate the efficacy and safety of low-dose PPI for treating gastritis. Methods: A double-blind, noninferiority, multicenter, phase 3 clinical trial randomly assigned 476 patients with endoscopic erosive gastritis to a group using esomeprazole 10 mg (DW1903) daily and a group using famotidine 20 mg (DW1903R1) daily for 2 weeks. The full-analysis set included 319 patients (DW1903, n=159; DW1903R1, n=160) and the per-protocol set included 298 patients (DW1903, n=147; DW1903R1, n=151). The primary endpoint (erosion improvement rate) and secondary endpoint (erosion and edema cure rates, improvement rates of hemorrhage, erythema, and symptoms) were assessed after the treatment. Adverse events were compared. Results: According to the full-analysis set, the erosion improvement rates in the DW1903 and DW1903R1 groups were 59.8% and 58.8%, respectively. According to the per-protocol analysis, the erosion improvement rates in the DW1903 and DW1903R1 groups were 61.9% and 59.6%, respectively. Secondary endpoints were not significantly different between two groups except that the hemorrhagic improvement rate was higher in DW1903 with statistical tendency. The number of adverse events were not statistically different. Conclusions DW1903 of a low-dose PPI was not inferior to DW1903R1 of H2RA. Thus, lowdose PPI can be a novel option for treating gastritis (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05163756).

Ribosomal protein L21 (RPL21) is a structural component of the 60S subunit of the eukaryotic ribosome. This protein has an important role in protein synthesis and the occurrence of hereditary diseases. Pig is a common laboratory model, however, to the best of our knowledge, its RPL21 gene has not been cloned to date. In this study, we cloned and identified the full-length sequence of the pig RPL21 gene for the first time. In addition, we examined its expression pattern and function by using overexpression or knockdown approaches. As a result, we obtained a 604 bp segment that contains a 483 bp open reading frame encoding 160 amino acids. The pig RPL21 gene is located in the “+” strand of chromosome 11, which spans 2167 bp from 4199792 to 4201958. Pig RPL21 protein has nine strands and two helices in its secondary structure. Pig RPL21 is predominantly expressed in ovary and lung, at lower levels in kidney, small intestine, and skin, and at the lowest levels in heart and liver. Furthermore, RPL21 expression is closely connected with cell proliferation and cell cycle arrest. The results are intended to provide useful information for the further study of pig RPL21.
Amino Acids ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Cell Proliferation ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Molecular* ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; Heart ; Intestine, Small ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Open Reading Frames ; Ovary ; Ribosomal Proteins* ; Ribosomes ; Skin ; Sus scrofa

PURPOSE: Reexpansion pulmonary edema (REPE) is a rare but potentially lethal complication of treatment for pneumothorax. This study was designed to compare the frequency of REPE after treatment of primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) with 6 French (Fr) small bore catheterization and 14-20 Fr chest tube thoracostomy. METHODS: The medical records of PSP patients treated with thoracostomy from January 2010 to May 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. We compared the group treated using a 6 Fr small bore catheter with the group treated using a 14-20 Fr chest tube for clinical and demographic factors. The main outcome was the frequency of REPE between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 196 patients were enrolled. No significant differences in catheter indwelling time, lengths of hospital stay, and treatment failures were observed between the two groups. REPE developed in 21 patients (10.7%). The frequencies of REPE after 6 Fr small bore catheter and 14-20 Fr chest tube were 6.0% (7 of 114 patients) and 17.1% (14 of 82 patients), respectively (p=0.015). In logistic regression analysis, drainage via 14-20 Fr chest tube showed significant correlation with the occurrence of REPE (odds ratio=3.03, p=0.038). CONCLUSION: A 6 Fr small bore catheter offers a safe and effective alternative to a chest tube for treatment of pneumothorax. We suggest that drainage via a small bore catheter should be considered as the initial treatment of choice for PSP patients in terms of frequency of development REPE.
Catheterization* ; Catheters* ; Chest Tubes* ; Demography ; Drainage ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Pneumothorax* ; Pulmonary Edema* ; Retrospective Studies ; Thoracostomy* ; Thorax* ; Treatment Failure

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Lymph node (LN) metastasis occurs in 30-80% of patients presenting for initial treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). The presence of LN metastasis is an independent risk factor for recurrence, which can add significant treatment morbidity. The LN ratio (LNR) and extranodal extension (ENE) have been shown to be important prognostic factors in PTC. The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristic features of LNR and ENE. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: We undertook a retrospective study of 411 patients treated between January, 2011 and December, 2013 for central compartment node-positive PTC by thyroidectomy and central compartment neck dissection (CCND) at our institution. We compared various clinicopathologic parameters such as age, gender, tumor size, multifocality, bilaterality, local invasion, extrathyroidal extension and aggressive variants between LNR and ENE. RESULTS: The significant associated factors for high LNR (defined as higher than 0.5) in multivariate analysis were gender (p=0.001, odds ratio=2.285) and multifocality (p=0.027, odds ratio=2.092). On the other hand, the significant associated factors for ENE in multivariate analysis were primary tumor size (p=0.023, odds ratio=1.965) and local invasion (p=0.043, odds ratio=1.870). CONCLUSION: Being male, multifocality, large primary tumor size (defined as larger than 1 cm) and local invasion were revealed as associated factors for LNR and ENE. Therefore, elective CCND should be considered for patients with PTC, for whom a thorough investigation of associative factors should be made before surgery.
Carcinoma, Papillary ; Hand ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features and risk factors of ischemic third, fourth, sixth cranial nerve palsy. METHODS: Retrospectively, we reviewed the medical records of 46 eyes of 46 patients who were diagnosed with ischemic third, fourth, sixth nerve palsy alone such as age of onset, risk factors, recovery rate and recovery time. RESULTS: The mean age of onset was 64.9 years. Of the 46 patients, 15 patients (32.6%) in third cranial nerve palsy group, 15 patients (32.6%) in fourth cranial nerve palsy group, 16 patients (34.8%) in sixth cranial nerve palsy group. The risk factor of hypertension in 30 patients (65.2%) was the most common than other risk factors such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, elevated blood hematocrit, ischemic heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, smoking. The mean number of risk factors was 2.3 +/- 0.5 in third cranial nerve palsy group, 1.6 +/- 1.1 in sixth cranial nerve palsy group, 1.4 +/- 1.1 in fourth cranial nerve palsy group. Of the 46 patients, 42 patients (91.3%) were recovered. There was no significant difference in recovery rate by cranial nerve palsy. Recovery time of intracranial abnormalities group (10.5 +/- 2.9 weeks) in brain imaging study was late as compared with that of no intracranial abnormalities group (7.5 +/- 5.1 weeks). CONCLUSIONS: The overall recovery rate of isolated ischemic third, fourth, sixth cranial nerve was high. But if there are intracranial abnormalities in imaging study, it took a long time to recover. Also ischemic third cranial nerve palsy had multiple risk factors characteristically.
Abducens Nerve ; Abducens Nerve Diseases ; Age of Onset ; Cranial Nerve Diseases* ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Medical Records ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Neuroimaging ; Oculomotor Nerve ; Paralysis ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Trochlear Nerve Diseases

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features and risk factors of ischemic third, fourth, sixth cranial nerve palsy. METHODS: Retrospectively, we reviewed the medical records of 46 eyes of 46 patients who were diagnosed with ischemic third, fourth, sixth nerve palsy alone such as age of onset, risk factors, recovery rate and recovery time. RESULTS: The mean age of onset was 64.9 years. Of the 46 patients, 15 patients (32.6%) in third cranial nerve palsy group, 15 patients (32.6%) in fourth cranial nerve palsy group, 16 patients (34.8%) in sixth cranial nerve palsy group. The risk factor of hypertension in 30 patients (65.2%) was the most common than other risk factors such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, elevated blood hematocrit, ischemic heart disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, smoking. The mean number of risk factors was 2.3 +/- 0.5 in third cranial nerve palsy group, 1.6 +/- 1.1 in sixth cranial nerve palsy group, 1.4 +/- 1.1 in fourth cranial nerve palsy group. Of the 46 patients, 42 patients (91.3%) were recovered. There was no significant difference in recovery rate by cranial nerve palsy. Recovery time of intracranial abnormalities group (10.5 +/- 2.9 weeks) in brain imaging study was late as compared with that of no intracranial abnormalities group (7.5 +/- 5.1 weeks). CONCLUSIONS: The overall recovery rate of isolated ischemic third, fourth, sixth cranial nerve was high. But if there are intracranial abnormalities in imaging study, it took a long time to recover. Also ischemic third cranial nerve palsy had multiple risk factors characteristically.
Abducens Nerve ; Abducens Nerve Diseases ; Age of Onset ; Cranial Nerve Diseases* ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Medical Records ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Neuroimaging ; Oculomotor Nerve ; Paralysis ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Trochlear Nerve Diseases

PURPOSE: Muscle-derived stem cells (MDSCs) harvested from skeletal muscles have the advantage of providing easier access and do not pose the immunogenic risks of embryonic stem cells. We investigated the effect of intracavernosal transplantation of MDSCs on erectile function in rats with bilateral cavernous nerve injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male white rats underwent experimentation in 3 groups: group I, sham operation; group II, bilateral cavernous nerve injury; group III, bilateral cavernous nerve injury with MDSC injection. MDSCs were harvested from the femoral muscle of rats and were then injected into the cavernosum. Survival of MDSCs and measurement of erectile function was studied after 4 weeks. We checked the intracavernosal pressure (ICP) and obtained penile tissue. The expression of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) was analyzed. RESULTS: Four weeks after transplantation, PKH-26-labeled MDSCs were identified in the cavernosal tissues of group III. Peak ICP and the drop rate of group II were 52+/-8.7 mmHg and 34+/-6.5 mmHg/min, respectively, whereas peak ICP and the drop rate of group III were 97+/-15.6 mmHg and 17+/-4.9 mmHg/min, respectively, showing that erectile function improved after MDSC transplantation (p<0.05). The expression of cGMP was significantly lower in group II (21.9+/-5.8 fmol/well) than in group I and group III (70.2+/-10.3 and 58.9+/-10.5 fmol/well, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In a cavernous nerve injury rat model, intracavernosal transplantation of MDSCs showed acceptable survival of MDSCs as well as improvement of erectile function.
Adult ; Animals ; Caves ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Guanosine Monophosphate ; Humans ; Imidazoles ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Muscles ; Nitro Compounds ; Rats ; Salicylamides ; Stem Cells ; Transplants

PURPOSE: To investigate the care patterns for radiation therapy and to determine inter-hospital differences for patients with laryngeal carcinoma in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 237 cases of laryngeal carcinoma (glottis, 144; supraglottis, 93) assembled from 23 hospitals, who underwent irradiation in the year of 1998 and 1999, were retrospectively analyzed to investigate inter-hospital differences with respect to radiotherapy treatment. We grouped the 23 hospitals based on the number of new patients annually irradiated in 1998; and designated them as group A (> or =900 patients), group B (> or =400 patients and <900 patients), and group C (<400 patients). RESULTS: The median age of the 237 patients was 62 years (range, 25 to 88 years), of which 216 were male and 21 were female. The clinical stages were distributed as follows: for glottis cancer, I; 61.8%, II; 21.5%, III; 4.2%, IVa; 11.1%, IVb; 1.4%, and in supraglottic cancer, I; 4.3%, II; 19.4%, III; 28.0%, IVa; 43.0%, IVb; 5.4%, respectively. Some differences were observed among the 3 groups with respect to the dose calculation method, radiation energy, field arrangement, and use of an immobilization device. No significant difference among 3 hospital groups was observed with respect to treatment modality, irradiation volume, and median total dose delivered to the primary site. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that radiotherapy process and patterns of care are relatively uniform in laryngeal cancer patients in Korean hospitals, and we hope this nationwide data can be used as a basis for the standardization of radiotherapy for the treatment of laryngeal cancer.
Female ; Glottis ; Humans ; Immobilization ; Korea ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Triple anti-platelet therapy may produce more potent inhibition of platelet aggregation in patients undergoing coronary stent implantation. We tested whether this effect could be maintained in diabetic patients, where platelet reactivity is increased and the risk of stent thrombosis is higher. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty five type 2 diabetic patients who had undergone drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation and chronic anti-platelet therapy (>1 month) were stratified according to the status of anti-platelet therapy. Platelet aggregation after adenosine diphosphate (ADP; 10 micronmol/L and 20 micronmol/L) stimulation was compared using light transmittance aggregometry between dual (aspirin plus clopidogrel, n=34) and triple therapy (aspirin, clopidogrel plus cilostazol, n=21) groups. RESULTS: The 2 groups had similar clinical and procedural characteristics. Maximal ADP-induced platelet aggregation was significantly lower in the triple therapy group than the dual therapy group (ADP 10 micronmol/L, 37.1+/-15.4 vs. 28.3+/-11.8, p=0.03; ADP 20 micronmol/L, 63.1+/-15.0 vs. 49.1+/-15.1, p=0.01), but there were no differences in diabetic treatment (oral hypoglycemic agent vs. insulin) or diabetic control {hemoglobin Alc (HbA1c)< or =7 vs. HbA1c >7}. CONCLUSION: Triple anti-platelet therapy showed more potent inhibition of maximal ADP induced platelet aggregation in type 2 diabetic patients receiving chronic anti-platelet therapy. This finding suggests that triple antiplatelet therapy may be more effective in preventing thrombotic complications after DES implantation in type 2 diabetic patients.
Adenosine Diphosphate ; Blood Platelets ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Humans ; Light ; Platelet Aggregation ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Stents ; Tetrazoles ; Thrombosis ; Ticlopidine

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fentanyl-TTS in the management of radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was open labelled prospective phase IV multi-center study. the study population included patients with more 4 numeric rating scale(NRS) score pain although managed with other analgesics or more than 6 NRS score pain without analgesics. Patients divided into two groups; patients with radiotherapy induced pain (Group A) and patients with cancer pain treated with radiotherapy (Group B). All patients received 25 ug/hr of fentanyl transdermal patch. Primary end point was pain relief; second end points were change in patient quality of life, a degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician, side effects. RESULTS: Between March 2005 and June 2005, 312 patients from 26 participating institutes were registered, but 249 patients completed this study. Total number of patients in each group was 185 in Group A, 64 in Group B. Mean age was 60 years and male to female ratio was 76:24. Severe pain NRS score at 2 weeks after the application of fentanyl was decreased from 7.03 to 4.01, p=0.003. There was a significant improvement in insomnia, social functioning, and quality of life. A degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician was very high. The most common reasons of patients' satisfactions was good pain control. Ninety six patients reported side effect. Nausea was the most common side effect. There was no serious side effect. CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-TTS was effective in both relieving pain with good tolerability and improving the quality of life for patients with radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. The satisfaction of the patients and doctors was good. There was no major side effect.
Academies and Institutes ; Acute Pain ; Analgesics ; Female ; Fentanyl* ; Humans ; Male ; Nausea ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Transdermal Patch*