Background: Laboratory animals remain critical to biomedical research, despite the increasing availability of alternative approaches. Indeed, scientists strive to reduce and refine and replace the use of laboratory animals, even in the face of public calls for ever-more stringent regulation for the protection and care of animals in research. This report outlines the current status and legal regulatory issues with regard to the procurement and use of animals for research in Korea. Results: The number of animals used for education and research purposes was increased nationwide, from 2.5 to 4.9 million in 2015 and 2021, respectively. When compared with figures from the UK, institutions in Korea were found to use more mammals such as mice and dogs. In our research, we identified three major issues concerning recent animal supply in Korea, particularly: (1) Purchase of dogs from unregistered animal supplier for a dog cloning project; (2) Purchase of dogs from an unclear source for veterinary education and training; (3) Illegal cat experiments using cats obtained from unauthorized routes. Conclusions Our findings support the notion that alternatives to laboratory animal research should be implemented. We conclude that improvements in the regulations and guidelines for animal suppliers, together with the recent introduction of legislation will improve animal safety and wellbeing of animals in laboratory research in Korea.

Korean Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) is currently facing some operational pressing issues. 1) Review of the animal protocol containing controversial technology. 2) Review of the multi-institution animal protocol. 3) Review of veterinary clinical trials for client-owned animals. 4) Delay in the review process in large institutions with a single IACUC. Here, the following three solutions are proposed to address the above issues. 1) Establishment of public IACUC. 2) Establishment of the Veterinary Clinical Study Committee as an advisory body to the IACUC. 3) Operating multiple committees rather than increasing the number of committee members on a single committee.

Background: The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) became compulsory in 2008 by the Animal Protection Act in Korea. Seoul National University (SNU), which conducts 5% of Korea’s total animal protocol reviews and uses 10% of national laboratory animal usage, has been influential in the review of animal protocols and management of animal facilities. This study was undertaken to suggest the operational improvement of the IACUC. It focused on the case of SNU. Results: The methodological framework consists of a qualitative approach. In particular, this study is focused on the grounded theory approach and sixty people were surveyed through purposeful sampling. Through this study, we found that various practical educations are necessary such as: (1) education for researchers on how to write a protocol, (2) standardization of screening criteria for various animal experiments by presenting various cases, (3) training on a detailed understanding of relevant laws and policies. In particular, an integrated management system, making it possible to share information among the related committees, would be essential for smoother operation of the IACUC. Conclusions If various levels of education and the integrated management system are established, it will be possible to enhance the excellence of researchers and to better manage the operation of the IACUC.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infectious disease and are mainly caused by Escherichia coli. In this review, we introduce the current concept of recurrent UTI (rUTI) based on recent research dealing with pathophysiology of the disease. Although urine is considered sterile, recent studies dealing with microbiome have proposed different ideas. UTIs have typically been considered as extracellular infections, but recently, uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) has been shown to bind and replicate in the urothelium to make intracellular bacterial communities. Binding UPECs might proceed in many ways including extracellular expulsion for clearance or survival and quiescent intracellular reservoirs that can cause rUTI. Moreover, it is also suggested that other important factors, such as lipopolysaccharide and multimicrobial infection, can be the cause of rUTI. This review article reveals a key mechanism of recurrence and discusses what makes a pathway of resolution or recurrence in a host after initial infection.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infectious disease and are mainly caused by Escherichia coli. In this review, we introduce the current concept of recurrent UTI (rUTI) based on recent research dealing with pathophysiology of the disease. Although urine is considered sterile, recent studies dealing with microbiome have proposed different ideas. UTIs have typically been considered as extracellular infections, but recently, uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) has been shown to bind and replicate in the urothelium to make intracellular bacterial communities. Binding UPECs might proceed in many ways including extracellular expulsion for clearance or survival and quiescent intracellular reservoirs that can cause rUTI. Moreover, it is also suggested that other important factors, such as lipopolysaccharide and multimicrobial infection, can be the cause of rUTI. This review article reveals a key mechanism of recurrence and discusses what makes a pathway of resolution or recurrence in a host after initial infection.

OBJECTIVE: Previous findings suggest that hand movement laterality is reversed during sleep. The present study aimed to verify this phenomenon and evaluate whether the extent of reversal is correlated with the severity of sleep apnea. METHODS: A total of 184 participants (mean age: 44.5±13.0 years; 81.5% males) wore actigraphs on both hands during sleep, and nocturnal polysomnography was simultaneously performed. RESULTS: Actigraphic indices of hand movement were significantly higher for the left hand than those for the right hand (p < 0.001), including total activity score, mean activity score, mean score in active periods and fragmentation index. Additionally, calculated differences between the fragmentation index for the left versus right hands were significantly correlated with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI, r=0.149, p=0.032). The AHI was not significantly correlated with differences in hand movement between both hands movement assessed by total activity score (r=0.004, p=0.957), mean activity score (r=0.011, p=0.876), mean score in active periods (r=-0.080, p=0.255). CONCLUSION: More severe symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea was associated with larger degree of hand movement reversal at night. This result support the theory that homeostatic deactivation occurs in the dominant hemisphere during sleep.
Hand* ; Humans ; Polysomnography ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive*

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to assess the change of heart rate variability (HRV) at resting, upright, and psychological stress states in depressive disorder patients. METHODS: HRV was measured at resting, upright, and psychological stress states in 62 depressive disorder patients. We used visual analogue scale (VAS) score to assess tension and stress severity. Beck depression inventory (BDI) and state trait anxiety inventories I and II (STAI-I and II) were used to assess depression and anxiety severity, respectively. Differences between HRV indices and VAS score were evaluated using paired t-tests. Gender difference analysis was conducted with ANCOVA. RESULTS: SDNN (standard deviation of normal to normal intervals), LF/HF (low frequency/high frequency), and VLF (very low frequency) were significantly increased, while NN50 and pNN50 were significantly decreased in the upright position compared to resting state. SDNN, RMSSD (root mean square of the differences of successive normal to normal intervals), and VLF were significantly increased, while pNN50 was significantly decreased in the psychological stress state compared to resting state. SDNN, NN50, and pNN50 were significantly lower in an upright position compared to a state of psychological stress, and LF, HF, and LF/HF showed no significant differences CONCLUSION: The LF/HF ratio was significantly increased after physical stress in depressive disorder. However, the LF/HF ratio was not significantly increased after psychological stress, and the change in LF/HF ratio after physical stress and psychological stress did not significantly differ from each other. Significant increase in SDNN, NN50, and pNN50 in an upright posture compared to psychological stress suggests that depressive patients react more sensitively to physical stress than psychological stress.
Anxiety ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Depression ; Depressive Disorder ; Equipment and Supplies ; Heart Rate ; Heart ; Humans ; Posture ; Stress, Psychological

OBJECTIVES: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in dementia and in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). They might be a predictor of progression to dementia. This study aimed to investigate the effects of NPS on the natural course in MCI. METHODS: 306 community-dwelling Korean elderly with MCI from local dementia center were assessed for NPS using Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI). Subjects were assessed again after more than a year from baseline. 52 subjects (17.0%) were progressed to dementia. We compared baseline NPI scores between stable and deteriorated groups. RESULTS: Subjects progressing to dementia had a significantly higher prevalence of NPS (45.3% vs. 65.4%) than subjects who remained stable. Delusion (2.8% vs. 9.6%), agitation/aggression (14.6% vs. 26.9%), depression (21.7% vs. 40.4%) and disinhibition (4.3% vs. 19.2%) were more common in deteriorated group. After adjustment for other variables, on logistic regression analysis, only disinhibition at baseline was shown to be a risk factor for progression to dementia (OR=4.88, 95% CI=1.37-17.36, p=0.01, R²=302). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that NPS in MCI may be a predictor of progression to dementia. NPS may be a useful item including delusion, agitation/aggression, depression, and disinhibition. To study course and nature of NPS may lead to better understanding of Alzheimer's disease.
Aged ; Alzheimer Disease ; Delusions ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Mild Cognitive Impairment* ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVES: A supine sleep position increases sleep apneas compared to non-supine positions in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). However, supine position time (SPT) is not highly associated with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in OSAS. We evaluated the correlation among sleep-related variables and SPT in OSAS. METHODS: A total of 365 men with OSAS were enrolled in this study. We analyzed how SPT was correlated with demographic data, sleep structure-related variables, OSAS-related variables and heart rate variability (HRV). Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to investigate the factors that affected SPT. RESULTS: SPT had the most significant correlation with total sleep time (TST ; r = 0.443, p < 0.001), followed by sleep efficiency (SE ; r = 0.300, p < 0.001). Snoring time (r = 0.238, p < 0.001), time at < 90% SpO2 (r = 0.188, p < 0.001), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI ; r = 0.180, p = 0.001) and oxygen desaturation index (ODI ; r = 0.149, p = 0.004) were significantly correlated with SPT. Multiple regression analysis revealed that TST (t = 7.781, p < 0.001), snoring time (t = 3.794, p < 0.001), AHI (t = 3.768, p < 0.001) and NN50 count (t = 1.993, p = 0.047) were associated with SPT. CONCLUSION: SPT was more highly associated with sleep structure-related parameters than OSAS-related variables. SPT was correlated with TST, SE, AHI, snoring time and NN50 count. This suggests that SPT is likely to be determined by sleep structure, HRV and the severity of OSAS.
Heart Rate ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Male ; Oxygen ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive* ; Snoring ; Supine Position*

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics of patients with dementia using long-term care hospitals and the demands of their caregivers. It will provide a perspective for establishing the specialized dementia hospital and appropriate dementia services in the future. METHODS: The survey was performed to the caregivers of the dementia inpatients of 71 public long-term care hospitals and outpatients from local hospitals. We distributed the questionnaires to 3,600 caregivers. Of these, 1,572 returned and then included in the analysis. RESULTS: High number of both inpatients (85.7%) and outpatients (61.5%) were diagnosed with dementia in psychiatric or neurologic department. Time laps from onset of symptoms thought as dementia to actual diagnosis was about a year. Caregivers of dementia inpatients wanted mostly dementia related welfare and care products (85.5%), physical and exercise program (84.0%), specialized dementia ward (83.1%), behavioral management (82.1%), and cognitive rehabilitation (80.5%). CONCLUSION: It is important to provide adequate management to both the patients with dementia and the caregivers. Thus, specialized institutional arrangements and medical service improvement supported by government is needed to reduce the psychological and financial burden of caregivers. We hope these results will be used to establish the principals and standards of specialized dementia hospital.
Caregivers* ; Dementia* ; Diagnosis ; Hope ; Hospitals, General* ; Humans ; Inpatients* ; Long-Term Care* ; Outpatients* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation