Background: It is well known that a large number of patients with diabetes also have dyslipidemia, which significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination drugs consisting of metformin and atorvastatin, widely used as therapeutic agents for diabetes and dyslipidemia. Methods: This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group and phase III multicenter study included adults with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels >7.0% and <10.0%, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) >100 and <250 mg/dL. One hundred eighty-five eligible subjects were randomized to the combination group (metformin+atorvastatin), metformin group (metformin+atorvastatin placebo), and atorvastatin group (atorvastatin+metformin placebo). The primary efficacy endpoints were the percent changes in HbA1c and LDL-C levels from baseline at the end of the treatment. Results: After 16 weeks of treatment compared to baseline, HbA1c showed a significant difference of 0.94% compared to the atorvastatin group in the combination group (0.35% vs. −0.58%, respectively; P<0.0001), whereas the proportion of patients with increased HbA1c was also 62% and 15%, respectively, showing a significant difference (P<0.001). The combination group also showed a significant decrease in LDL-C levels compared to the metformin group (−55.20% vs. −7.69%, P<0.001) without previously unknown adverse drug events. Conclusion The addition of atorvastatin to metformin improved HbA1c and LDL-C levels to a significant extent compared to metformin or atorvastatin alone in diabetes and dyslipidemia patients. This study also suggested metformin’s preventive effect on the glucose-elevating potential of atorvastatin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, insufficiently controlled with exercise and diet. Metformin and atorvastatin combination might be an effective treatment in reducing the CVD risk in patients with both diabetes and dyslipidemia because of its lowering effect on LDL-C and glucose.

BACKGROUND: While demand for cardiovascular surgery is expected to increase gradually along with the rapid increase in cardiovascular diseases with respect to the aging population, the supply of thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons has been continuously decreasing over the past 10 years. Consequently, this study aims to achieve guidance in establishing health care policy by analyzing the supply and demand for cardiovascular surgeries in the medical service area of Korea. METHODS: After investigating the actual number of cardiovascular surgeries performed using the National Health Insurance claim data of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, as well as drawing from national statistics concerning the elderly population aged 65 and over, this study estimated the number of future cardiovascular surgeries by using a cell-based model. To be able to analyze the supply and demand of surgeons, the recent status of new surgeons specializing in thoracic and cardiovascular surgeries and the ratio of their subspecialties in cardiovascular surgeries were investigated. Then, while taking three different scenarios into account, the number of cardiovascular surgeons expected be working in 5-year periods was projected. RESULTS: The number of cardiovascular surgeries, which was recorded at 10,581 cases in 2014, is predicted to increase consistently to reach a demand of 15,501 cases in 2040—an increase of 46.5%. There was a total of 245 cardiovascular surgeons at work in 2014. Looking at 5 year spans in the future, the number of surgeons expected to be supplied in 2040 is 184, to retire is 249, and expected to be working is 309—an increase of −24.9%, 1.6%, and 26.1%, respectively compared to those in 2014. This forecasts a demand-supply imbalance in every scenario. CONCLUSION: Cardiovascular surgeons are the most central resource in the medical service of highly specialized cardiovascular surgeries, and fostering the surgeons requires much time, effort, and resources; therefore, by analyzing the various factors affecting the supply of cardiovascular surgeons, an active intervention of policies can be prescribed for the areas that have failed to meet the appropriate market distributions.
Aged ; Aging ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Delivery of Health Care ; Economics, Medical ; Foster Home Care ; Health Policy ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Surgeons* ; Thoracic Surgery

PURPOSE: Genetic variations among prostate cancer (PCa) patients who underwent radical prostatectomy (RP) and pelvic lymph node dissection were evaluated to predict lymph node invasion (LNI). Exome arrays were used to develop a clinicogenetic model that combined clinical data related to PCa and individual genetic variations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We genotyped 242,186 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by using a custom HumanExome BeadChip v1.0 (Illumina Inc.) from the blood DNA of 341 patients with PCa. The genetic data were analyzed to calculate an odds ratio as an estimate of the relative risk of LNI. We compared the accuracies of the multivariate logistic model incorporating clinical factors between the included and excluded selected SNPs. The Cox proportional hazard models with or without genetic factors for predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) were analyzed. RESULTS: The genetic analysis indicated that five SNPs (rs75444444, rs8055236, rs2301277, rs9300039, and rs6908581) were significant for predicting LNI in patients with PCa. When a multivariate model incorporating clinical factors was devised to predict LNI, the predictive accuracy of the multivariate model was 80.7%. By adding genetic factors in the aforementioned multivariate model, the predictive accuracy increased to 93.2% (p=0.006). These genetic variations were significant factors for predicting BCR after adjustment for other variables and after adding the predictive gain to BCR. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of the exome array, the selected SNPs were predictors for LNI. The addition of individualized genetic information effectively enhanced the predictive accuracy of LNI and BCR among patients with PCa who underwent RP.
Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor/*genetics ; Biopsy ; DNA, Neoplasm/genetics ; Exome ; Gene Frequency ; Genome ; Genotype ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes/pathology ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Models, Genetic ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prospective Studies ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms/*genetics/pathology/surgery

BACKGROUND: A1chieve(R) was a noninterventional study evaluating the clinical safety and efficacy of biphasic insulin aspart 30, insulin detemir, and insulin aspart. METHODS: Korean type 2 diabetes patients who have not been treated with the study insulin or have started it within 4 weeks before enrollment were eligible for the study. The patient selection and the choice of regimen were at the discretion of the physician. The safety and efficacy information was collected from the subjects at baseline, week 12, and week 24. The number of serious adverse drug reactions (SADRs) was the primary endpoint. The changes of clinical diabetic markers at week 12 and/or at week 24 compared to baseline were the secondary endpoints. RESULTS: Out of 4,058 exposed patients, 3,003 completed the study. During the study period, three SADRs were reported in three patients (0.1%). No major hypoglycemic episodes were observed and the rate of minor hypoglycemic episodes marginally decreased during 24 weeks (from 2.77 to 2.42 events per patient-year). The overall quality of life score improved (from 66.7+/-15.9 to 72.5+/-13.5) while the mean body weight was slightly increased (0.6+/-3.0 kg). The 24-week reductions in glycated hemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose and postprandial plasma glucose were 1.6%+/-2.2%, 2.5+/-4.7 mmol/L, and 4.0+/-6.4 mmol/L, respectively. CONCLUSION: The studied regimens showed improvements in glycemic control with low incidence of SADRs, including no incidence of major hypoglycemic episodes in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes.
Biphasic Insulins ; Body Weight ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Drug Toxicity ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insulin ; Insulin Aspart ; Insulin, Isophane ; Insulin, Long-Acting ; Patient Selection ; Plasma ; Quality of Life ; Republic of Korea ; Treatment Outcome ; Insulin Detemir

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

Recently, an increasing number of bisphosphonate related osteonecrosis of the jaw(BRONJ) is being reported. A guideline has been already established in the US, but it does not seem to be fully recognized by clinicians in Korea. Therefore, a survey study was done to inform and have clinicians realize the seriousness of BRONJ. 1,341 practitioners were randomly selected out of 13,405 practitioners(by Feb of 2008, KDA) in Korea. A questionnaire was given to them between May to July in 2008. Questions were designed to investigate each respondent's experience term years in the clinic, occupation, speciality, awareness on risk of bisphosphonate, experience on treating osteonecrosis patients, awareness about the guideline on BRONJ suggested by AAOMS and whether if they ask about bisphosphonate medication history to patients before invasive treatment. 45.1% of the clinicians have reported on experiencing delayed healing on bone exposed site after extraction both in the maxilla and the mandible. However, clinicians have asked the patients whether if they are on bisphosphonate or not in only 15.1% of these cases. 56.5% of the clinicians simply knew about BRONJ but only 28.9% of the clinicians were aware that bisphosphonate can cause osteonecrosis after invasive dental treatment. Only 19.3% knew about the contents of guideline on BRONJ and 57.2% were aware of the seriousness of BRONJ. Clinicians with shorter clinical experience term were more aware of BRONJ and the guideline on BRONJ than the experienced clinicians. But awareness of the possibility of BRONJ after invasive dental treatment were about the same regardless of their clinical experience. The results show that Korean clinicians need to be more aware about BRONJ. Data on BRONJ cases in Korea should be collected and provided with additional education to let Korean clinicians know and be more aware about BRONJ
Bisphosphonate-Associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw ; Dentists ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Mandible ; Maxilla ; Occupations ; Osteonecrosis ; Surveys and Questionnaires

In a previous search for the differentially expressed genes in keratinocyte differentiation, we identified neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) as a calcium- induced gene. In this study, we further verified the expression of NGAL in cultured keratinocytes as well as in several skin diseases. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blot, and ELISA clearly showed that NGAL expression was markedly increased in calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation in vitro. However, in our previous report, NGAL expression was not detected in normal skin tissue except for hair follicle by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, indicating the difference of cell status between in vitro and in vitro conditions. Interestingly, NGAL expression was highly increased in psoriasis-like inflammatory disorders (lichen planus and pityriasis rubura pilaris) and skin cancers (keratoacanthoma and squamous cell carcinoma), implying that NGAL may be related with the epidermal hyperplasia. Collectively, these results reveal the potential importance of NGAL in the maintenance of skin homeostasis.
Acute-Phase Proteins/*biosynthesis ; Calcium/*metabolism ; Cell Differentiation ; Culture Media ; Culture Media, Conditioned ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Keratinocytes/enzymology ; Lipocalins/*biosynthesis ; Models, Biological ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins/*biosynthesis ; Psoriasis/enzymology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Skin/*metabolism ; Skin Neoplasms/enzymology

Congenital smooth muscle hamartomas (CSMHs) usually appear at birth as skin-colored or slightly hyperpigmented patches or plaques on the trunk or extremities and are often covered by and increased amount of vellus hair. Histopathologically, it represents a proliferation of smooth muscle bundles within the dermis(1,2). We herein report on three cases of localized CSMHs; Case 1 was a 2-month-old boy who presented with a skin-colored, 6x5cm-sized plaque with folds, hypertrichosis and pseudo- Darier's sign on the face, an unusual site. But there was no hyperpigmentation. Case 2 and 3 were both 1-month-old boys who presented with typical hyperpigmented, hairy plaques on the lateral aspect of the left thigh.
Extremities ; Hair ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Hypertrichosis ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Parturition ; Thigh

BACKGROUND: Depletion of nutritional reserves and significant weight loss can lead to an increased risk of morbidity, reduced chemotherapy response, and shorter survival in patients with cancer. Numerous methodologies are used for the assessment of nutritional status. However, it remains unclear which of these tools is the most appropriate in the setting of cancer chemotherapy. The PINI (prognostic inflammatory nutritional index) is a simple scoring system that has been used to evaluate nutritional status and prognosis in critically ill patients. The aim of this study was designed to investigate the relationship between nutritional status after the palliative chemotherapy and prognosis in advanced metastatic cancer. METHODS: This study included 130 patients with ECOG PS (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status) 1~3 in advanced metastatic cancer following the palliative chemotherapy. ECOG PS, body mass index, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, C-reactive protein, albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, protein, lactate dehydrogenase, PINI ratio, and survival time were evaluated. RESULTS: In 130 patients, the median age was 57 years. The ECOG PS was 1 68 patients, 2 43, 3 19. The mean value of PINI was PS 1 16.0+/-47.8, PS 2 55.6+/-106.9, PS 3 106.3+/-141.6. The mean survival was PS 1 144.0+/-71.8, PS 2 68.9+/-41.2, PS 3 32.0+/-6.9 days. In the PS 3 group, the mean values of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, C-reactive protein, and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly higher than in the PS 1 group. In the PS 3 group, the mean values of albumin, prealbumin, and transferrin were significantly lower than in the PS 1 group. The survival time was correlated with the ECOG PS (r=-0.602, p<0.001,), PINI (r=-0.318, p<0.001,), alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (r=-0.265, p=0.002), C-reactive protein (r=-0.345, p<0.001), albumin (r=0.324, p<0.001), prealbumin (r=0.260, p=0.003) and transferrin (r=0.277, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The PINI may be a useful scoring system for the assessment of nutritional status and prognosis in advanced metastatic cancer following palliative chemotherapy, but the ECOG PS is most strong correlation with the survival time.
Body Mass Index ; C-Reactive Protein ; Critical Illness ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutritional Status* ; Orosomucoid ; Prealbumin ; Prognosis* ; Transferrin ; Weight Loss

We report here on a case of secondary cutaneous diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that occurred in a 67-year-old man who had a 2-month history of nodular growing masses on the left cheek, plus palpable lymph nodes on the left cervical area. The histopathological findings showed a diffuse infiltration of large atypical lymphocytes with nuclear atypia throughout the entire dermis. These showed positive CD20, bcl-2 and the post-germinal center marker, MUM-1. According to the WHO (World Health Organization) classification, this lymphoma is considered to be diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the post-germinal center (GC) B-cell type with a secondary cutaneous manifestation. We treated the patient with systemic chemotherapy (CHOP) and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies. During the course of treatment, new skin lesions developed on his neck, so we changed the regimen to cytosin- arabinoside and cisplatin. But he died of pneumonia after the third cycle.
Aged ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; B-Lymphocytes* ; Cheek ; Cisplatin ; Classification ; Dermis ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphocytes ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Neck ; Pneumonia ; Skin ; World Health Organization