Background and objectives: This study aimed to analyze and present updated trends in atrial fibrillation (AF) epidemiology within the Korean population, providing a foundation for planning and implementing appropriate management and treatment strategies for patients with AF. Patients and methods: We used the Korean National Health Insurance Service database to evaluate the prevalence, incidence, comorbidities, and clinical adverse outcomes of patients with AF in Korea between 2013 and 2022. Results: AF prevalence in Korean adults aged ≥ 20 years doubled (1.1 to 2.2%) between 2013 and 2022, with significant increases observed across various sex and age groups. Similarly, the number of newly diagnosed patients with AF per year increased steadily, with the incidence rising from 184 to 275 per 100,000 person-years, particularly among older populations. Over this period, the mean age of patients with AF increased from 67.7 to 70.3 years, and comorbidities prevalence and CHA2DS2-VASc score rose significantly, indicating a higher stroke risk. Compared with patients without AF, AF was associated with an increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.78), ischemic stroke (HR: 2.39), major bleeding (HR: 2.10), myocardial infarction (HR: 1.44), and heart failure admission (HR: 2.42). Conclusion AF prevalence and incidence have steadily increased between 2013 and 2022, with a more pronounced increase in older patients. Patients with AF are increasingly becoming a high-risk population and are at increased risk of clinical adverse outcomes compared to non-AF patients. Therefore, a sustained national effort to improve AF awareness and comprehensive care quality for patients with AF is required.

Background: Recently, mesenchymal stem cells therapy has been performed in dogs, although the outcome is not always favorable. Objectives: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) using dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) matching between the donor and recipient in vitro. Methods: Canine adipose-derived MSCs (cA-MSCs) isolated from the subcutaneous tissue of Dog 1 underwent characterization. For major DLA genotyping (DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from two dogs (Dogs 1 and 2) were analyzed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. The cA-MSCs were co-cultured at a 1:10 ratio with activated PBMCs (DLA matching or mismatching) for 3 days and analyzed for immunosuppressive ( IDO, PTGS2, and PTGES ), inflammatory (IL6 and IL10 ), and apoptotic genes (CASP8, BAX, TP53, and BCL2) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR. Results: cA-MSCs were expressed cell surface markers such as CD90+/44+/29+/45- and differentiated into osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes in vitro. According to the Immuno Polymorphism Database, DLA genotyping comparisons of Dogs 1 and 2 revealed complete differences in genes DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1. In the co-culturing of cA-MSCs and PBMCs, DLA mismatch between the two cell types induced a significant increase in the expression of immunosuppressive (IDO/PTGS2) and apoptotic (CASP8/BAX) genes. Conclusions The administration of cA-MSCs matching the recipient DLA type can alleviate the need to regulate excessive immunosuppressive responses associated with genes, such as IDO and PTGES. Furthermore, easy and reliable DLA genotyping technology is required because of the high degree of genetic polymorphisms of DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1 and the low readability of DLA 88.

Background: Recently, mesenchymal stem cells therapy has been performed in dogs, although the outcome is not always favorable. Objectives: To investigate the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) using dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) matching between the donor and recipient in vitro. Methods: Canine adipose-derived MSCs (cA-MSCs) isolated from the subcutaneous tissue of Dog 1 underwent characterization. For major DLA genotyping (DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1), peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from two dogs (Dogs 1 and 2) were analyzed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. The cA-MSCs were co-cultured at a 1:10 ratio with activated PBMCs (DLA matching or mismatching) for 3 days and analyzed for immunosuppressive ( IDO, PTGS2, and PTGES ), inflammatory (IL6 and IL10 ), and apoptotic genes (CASP8, BAX, TP53, and BCL2) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR. Results: cA-MSCs were expressed cell surface markers such as CD90+/44+/29+/45- and differentiated into osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes in vitro. According to the Immuno Polymorphism Database, DLA genotyping comparisons of Dogs 1 and 2 revealed complete differences in genes DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1. In the co-culturing of cA-MSCs and PBMCs, DLA mismatch between the two cell types induced a significant increase in the expression of immunosuppressive (IDO/PTGS2) and apoptotic (CASP8/BAX) genes. Conclusions The administration of cA-MSCs matching the recipient DLA type can alleviate the need to regulate excessive immunosuppressive responses associated with genes, such as IDO and PTGES. Furthermore, easy and reliable DLA genotyping technology is required because of the high degree of genetic polymorphisms of DQA1, DQB1, and DRB1 and the low readability of DLA 88.

BACKGROUND: Enhancement and maintenance of the stemness of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is one of the most important factors contributing to the successful in vivo therapeutic application of these cells. In this regard, three-dimensional (3D) spheroid formation has been developed as reliable method for increasing the pluripotency of MSCs. Moreover, using a new protocol, we have previously shown that dental tissues of extracted wisdom teeth can be effectively cryopreserved for subsequent use as a source of autologous stem cells. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the stemness and in vitro osteogenic differentiation potential of 3D spheroid dental MSCs compared with conventional monolayer cultured MSCs. METHODS: In this study, MSC-characterized stem cells were isolated and cultured from long-term cryopreserved dental follicles (hDFSCs), and then 2D hDFSCs were cultured under 3D spheroid-forming conditions using a newly designed microchip dish. The spheroids (3D hDFSCs) thus produced were investigated and characterized with respect to stemness, MSC marker expression, apoptosis, cell cycle analysis, extracellular matrix (ECM) production, and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation properties. RESULTS: In terms of MSC and senescence markers, spheroid cells showed no difference when compared with 2D hDFSCs; however, 3D hDFSCs were observed to have a higher proportion of cell cycle arrest and a larger number of apoptotic cells. Moreover, spheroids showed substantially increased levels of pluripotency marker (early transcription factors) and ECM protein expression. Compared with 2D hDFSCs, there was also a notable enhancement in the osteogenic induction potential of spheroids, although no differences were observed with respect to in vitro adipogenesis. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the application of a spheroid culture system for dental follicle-derived stem cells using a microchip dish. Although further studies are needed, including in vivo transplantation, the results obtained in this study indicate that spheroid hDFSCs derived from cryopreserved dental follicle tissues could be used as a valuable source of autologous stem cells for bone tissue regeneration.
Adipogenesis ; Aging ; Apoptosis ; Bone and Bones ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Cycle Checkpoints ; Dental Sac ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Methods ; Molar, Third ; Osteogenesis ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells

PURPOSE: This randomized phase III study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of irinotecan plus cisplatin (IP) over etoposide plus cisplatin (EP) in Korean patients with extensive-disease small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive IP, composed of irinotecan 65 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1 and 8+cisplatin 70 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1 every 3 weeks, or EP, composed of etoposide 100 mg/m2 intravenously on days 1, 2, 3+cisplatin 70 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, every 3 weeks for a maximum of six cycles, until disease progression, or until unacceptable toxicity occurred. The primary endpoint was overall survival. RESULTS: A total of 362 patients were randomized to IP (n=173) and EP (n=189) arms. There were no significant differences between IP and EP arms for the median overall survival (10.9 months vs. 10.3 months, p=0.120) and the median progression-free survival (6.5 months vs. 5.8 months, p=0.115). However, there was a significant difference in response rate (62.4% vs. 48.2%, p=0.006). The pre-planned subgroup analyses showed that IP was associated with longer overall survival in male (11.3 months vs. 10.1 months, p=0.036), < 65 years old (12.7 months vs. 11.3 months, p=0.024), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0/1 (12.4 months vs. 10.9 months, p=0.040) patient groups. The severity of treatment-related adverse events such as grade 3/4 anemia, nausea and diarrhea was more frequent in patients treated with IP. CONCLUSION: The IP chemotherapy did not significantly improve the survival compared with EP chemotherapy in Korean patients with extensive-disease SCLC.
Anemia ; Arm ; Cisplatin* ; Diarrhea ; Disease Progression ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Etoposide* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Nausea ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the predictive factors for improvement of atrophic gastritis (AG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 778 subjects were prospectively enrolled and followed up for 10 years. Histological analysis of AG and IM was performed by using the updated Sydney system. To find the predictive factors for reversibility of AG and IM, 24 factors including genetic polymorphisms and bacterial and environmental factors were analyzed. RESULTS: In all subjects, the predictive factor by multivariate analysis for improvement of both antral and corpus AG was successful eradication. The predictive factors for improvement of antral IM were age and successful eradication. The predictive factor for improvement of corpus IM was successful eradication. In patients with Helicobacter pylori infection, age and cagA were predictive factors for improvement of AG and IM. In patients with H. pylori eradication, monthly income and cagA were predictive factors for improvement of AG and IM. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori eradication is an important predictive factor of regression of AG and IM and would be beneficial for the prevention of intestinal-type gastric cancer. Young age, high income, and cagA are additional predictive factors for improving AG and IM status. Thus, various factors affect the improvement of AG and IM.
Clinical Study ; Gastritis, Atrophic ; Helicobacter pylori ; Humans ; Metaplasia ; Multivariate Analysis ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

BACKGROUND: Several injectable hydrogels have been developed extensively for a broad range of biomedical applications. Injectable hydrogels forming in situ through the change in external stimuli have the distinct properties of easy management and minimal invasiveness, and thus provide the advantage of bypassing surgical procedures for administration resulting in better patient compliance. METHODS: The injectable in situ-forming hydrogels can be formed irreversibly or reversibly under physiological stimuli. Among several external stimuli that induce formation of hydrogels in situ, in this review, we focused on the electrostatic interactions as the most simple and interesting stimulus. RESULTS: Currently, numerous polyelectrolytes have been reported as potential electrostatically interactive in situ-forming hydrogels. In this review, a comprehensive overview of the rapidly developing electrostatically interactive in situ-forming hydrogels, which are produced by various anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes such as chitosan, celluloses, and alginates, has been outlined and summarized. Further, their biomedical applications have also been discussed. CONCLUSION: The review concludes with perspectives on the future of electrostatically interactive in situ-forming hydrogels.
Alginates ; Chitosan ; Hydrogel* ; Hydrogels* ; Patient Compliance ; Regenerative Medicine

PURPOSE: Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signals are important in carcinogenesis and progression of prostate cancer. Dovitinib is an oral, pan-class inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR). We evaluated the efficacy and toxicity of dovitinib in men with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a single-arm, phase II, open-label, multicenter trial of dovitinib 500 mg/day (5-days-on/2-days-off schedule). The primary endpoint was 16-week progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS), toxicity and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate. Biomarker analyses for VEGFR2, FGF23, and FGFR2 using multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed. RESULTS: Forty-four men were accrued from 11 hospitals. Eighty percent were post-docetaxel. Median PSA was 100 ng/dL, median age was 69, 82% had bone metastases, and 23% had liver metastases. Median cycles of dovitinib was 2 (range, 0 to 33). Median PFS was 3.67 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.36 to 5.98) and median OS was 13.70 months (95% CI, 0 to 27.41). Chemotherapy-naïve patients had longer PFS (17.90 months; 95% CI, 9.23 to 28.57) compared with docetaxel-treated patients (2.07 months; 95% CI, 1.73 to 2.41; p=0.001) and the patients with high serum VEGFR2 level over median level (7,800 pg/mL) showed longer PFS compared with others (6.03 months [95% CI, 4.26 to 7.80] vs. 1.97 months [95% CI, 1.79 to 2.15], p=0.023). Grade 3 related adverse events were seen in 40.9% of patients. Grade 1-2 nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, anorexia, and all grade thrombocytopenia are common. CONCLUSION: Dovitinib showed modest antitumor activity with manageable toxicities in men with mCRPC. Especially, patients who were chemo-naïve benefitted from dovitinib.
Anorexia ; Biomarkers ; Carcinogenesis ; Castration ; Diarrhea ; Disease-Free Survival ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Fatigue ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; Humans ; Liver ; Male ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Nausea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Prostatic Neoplasms, Castration-Resistant ; Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor ; Receptors, Platelet-Derived Growth Factor ; Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor ; Thrombocytopenia

PURPOSE: We aimed to evaluate the difference in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake in sedated healthy subjects after they underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and colonoscopy procedures.METHODS: The endoscopy group (n = 29) included healthy subjects who underwent screening via F-18 FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) after an EGD and/or colonoscopy under sedation on the same day. The control group (n = 35) included healthy subjects who underwent screening via PET/CT only. FDG uptake in the tongue, uvula, epiglottis, vocal cords, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, liver, cecum, colon, anus, and muscle were compared between the two groups.RESULTS: Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in the tongue, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus did not significantly differ between the endoscopy and control groups. In contrast, mean SUVmax in the whole stomach was 18 % higher in the endoscopy group than in the control group (SUVmax: 2.96 vs. 2.51, P = 0.010). In the lower gastrointestinal track, SUVmax from the cecum to the rectum was not significantly different between the two groups, whereas SUVmax in the anus was 20% higher in the endoscopy group than in the control group (SUVmax: 4.21 vs. 3.50, P = 0.002). SUVmax in the liver and muscle was not significantly different between the two groups. Mean volume of the stomach and mean cross section of the colon was significantly higher in the endoscopy group than in the control group (stomach: 313.28 cm³ vs. 209.93 cm³, P < 0.001, colon: 8.82 cm² vs. 5.98 cm², P = 0.001).CONCLUSIONS: EGD and colonoscopy under sedation does not lead to significant differences in SUVmax in most parts of the body. Only gastric FDG uptake in the EGD subjects and anal FDG uptake in the colonoscopy subjects was higher than uptake in those regions in the control subjects.
Anal Canal ; Cecum ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Duodenum ; Electrons ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Epiglottis ; Esophagus ; Healthy Volunteers ; Larynx ; Liver ; Mass Screening ; Pharynx ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Rectum ; Stomach ; Tongue ; Uvula ; Vocal Cords

No abstract available.
Cellulitis ; Humans ; Lymphedema