Cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide; therefore there is a need to discover new therapeutic modules with improved efficacy and safety. Immune-(cell) therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of intractable cancers. The effectiveness of certain chemotherapeutics in inducing immunogenic tumor cell death thus promoting cancer eradication has been reported. Ginsenoside Rg3 is a ginseng saponin that has antitumor and immunomodulatory activity. In this study, we treated tumor cells with Rg3 to verify the significance of inducing immunogenic tumor cell death in antitumor therapy, especially in DC-based immunotherapy. Rg3 killed the both immunogenic (B16F10 melanoma cells) and non-immunogenic (LLC: Lewis Lung Carcinoma cells) tumor cells by inducing apoptosis. Surface expression of immunogenic death markers including calreticulin and heat shock proteins and the transcription of relevant genes were increased in the Rg3-dying tumor. Increased calreticulin expression was directly related to the uptake of dying tumor cells by dendritic cells (DCs): the proportion of CRT+ CD11c+ cells was increased in the Rg3-treated group. Interestingly, tumor cells dying by immunogenic cell death secreted IFN-gamma, an effector molecule for antitumor activity in T cells. Along with the Rg3-induced suppression of pro-angiogenic (TNF-alpha) and immunosuppressive cytokine (TGF-beta) secretion, IFN-gamma production from the Rg3-treated tumor cells may also indicate Rg3 as an effective anticancer immunotherapeutic strategy. The data clearly suggests that Rg3-induced immunogenic tumor cell death due its cytotoxic effect and its ability to induce DC function. This indicates that Rg3 may be an effective immunotherapeutic strategy.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Calreticulin ; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung ; Cell Death* ; Dendritic Cells ; Heat-Shock Proteins ; Immunotherapy* ; Melanoma ; Mortality ; Panax ; Saponins ; T-Lymphocytes

BACKGROUND/AIMS: It is unknown whether pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is an effective intervention to manage coal-worker pneumoconiosis (CWP). We evaluated the efficacy and safety of an individualized PR program in 53 patients with CWP hospitalized in two medical institutions. METHODS: The PR program consisted of upper and lower extremity exercises to improve exercise endurance and skeletal musculoskeletal strength. All subjects performed treadmill and ergometer exercise with steady loading weights three times/week for 12 weeks. The following tests were performed before and after the study to investigate the efficacy of the PR program: modified Borg scale, pulmonary function test, mid-thigh circumference, maximum muscular strength, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), and the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), Korean version. RESULTS: Forty patients (75.5%) completed their PR programs. They improved significantly on the modified Borg scale, mid-thigh circumference, maximum muscular strength, 6MWD (all p < 0.000), and SGRQ (p = 0.007); however, no significant improvement was observed on the pulmonary function test. A significant improvement in dyspnea (p = 0.004) and 6MWD (p = 0.002) was observed in 12 patients with forced expiratory volume in 1 sec < 60%. The PR program with smoking cessation resulted in significantly more improvement on the 6MWD (p < 0.0001) and the SGRQ score (p = 0.002), as compared to those of patients who did not quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that an individualized 12-week PR program improves exercise capacity and quality of life for patients with CWP.
Dyspnea ; Exercise ; Exercise Therapy ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation* ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Smoking Cessation ; Weights and Measures

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of occult HBV infection (OBI) in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Korea has not been reported. Additionally, it is unclear whether OBI influences treatment outcome in CHC patients. We investigated the prevalence of OBI and its impact on treatment outcome in patients with CHC. METHODS: Seventy-six patients with CHC were enrolled and treated with pegylated or conventional interferon and ribavirin. Hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Among the 68 patients who completed treatment and follow-up, HBV DNA was detected in serum from nine (13.2%) patients, liver tissue from 10 (14.7%), and serum or liver tissue from 15 (22.1%). OBI was diagnosed in nine (12.7%) control subjects. No difference in the prevalence of OBI between patients with CHC and controls was observed (13.2 vs. 12.0%; p = 0.92). No significant differences in age, sex, genotype 1 frequency, amount of hepatitis C virus RNA, anti-hepatitis B surface antigen/anti-hepatitis B core-IgG seropositivity, staging, or histology grading were observed in patients with or without HBV DNA. Sustained virological response was achieved in 73.3% of patients with OBI and 83.0% without OBI (p = 0.46). CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate that a significant proportion of patients with CHC have occult HBV infection and that OBI does not affect treatment outcome in patients with CHC.
DNA ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genotype ; Hepacivirus ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Interferons ; Korea ; Liver ; Prevalence ; Ribavirin ; RNA ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: The use of automated techniques reduces the impact of human errors in blood banking and it improves the standardization and the quality of the achieved results. Erythrocyte Magnetized Technology (EMT) is now being widely used due to its simplicity and efficiency for detecting alloantibody. We evaluated the antibody screening test of the QWALYS-3 (DIAGAST, Loos Cedex, France). METHODS: The evaluation focused on antibody screening using the QWALYS-3 as compared to the standard manual tube method and the Ortho BioVue system in clinical samples (n=100) and frozen stored samples (n=64), which had RBC alloantibody. RESULTS: Using the manual tube method, the sensitivity of antibody screening was 100% by the QWALYS-3 and 42.8% by the Ortho BioVue in the clinical samples (n=7) and 2 results were discrepant by the QWALYS-3 for negative samples. For the known antibodies from the frozen stored samples (n=64) this correspondence rate amounted to 93.7% (n=60). CONCLUSION: The QWALYS-3 system displayed a good match rate with the Ortho BioVue system (92%). It also showed reliable results for the general accuracy when compared to the manual method (concordance rate: 98%). The QWALYS-3 system will facilitate the automation of routine antibody screening with high reliability, sensitivity and specificity compared to the standard manual methods.
Antibodies ; Automation ; Blood Banks ; Cephalosporins ; Erythrocytes ; Humans ; Magnets ; Mass Screening ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence and clinical features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korea. METHODS: Web-based (www.armd-nova.or.kr) registration was conducted for AMD patients aged 50 or more who were newly diagnosed by retinal specialists in Korea from August 20, 2005 to August 20, 2006. Patient data including ophthalmologic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiogram and/or indocyanin green angiogram (ICG), past medical history, behavioral habit, combined systemic diseases were up-loaded. RESULTS: Among finally enrolled 1,141 newly diagnosed AMD patients, 690 patients (60.5%) were male and 451 patients (39.5%) were female. The average age of AMD patients was 69.7+/-8.0. Early AMD was observed in 190 patients and 951 patients had late AMD. Classic choroidal neovascular membrane (CNVM) was observed in 18.6% of exudative AMD patients and 63.4 % had occult CNVM. Subfoveal CNVM was observed in 80.4% of the patients with CNVM. Among the 580 exudative AMD eyes that performed indocyanin green angiography (ICG), 184 eyes (31.7%) had polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and 36 eyes (6.2%) showed retinal angiomatous proliferation (RAP). Age, male gender, smoking, diabetes and hypertension significantly increased the risk of the AMD among Koreans. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the low rate of participation by retinal specialists, definite incidence of AMD was not obtainable. However, the estimated 1-year AMD incidence in the Pusan area of Korea is at least 0.4%. In contrast to Western people, 31.7% of exudative AMD cases were revealed to be PCV and 6.2% were revealed to be RAP. This discrepancy between ethnic groups should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment modality selection of Korean AMD patients.
Aged ; Angiography ; Choroid ; Ethnic Groups ; Eye ; Female ; Fluorescein ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Incidence ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration ; Male ; Membranes ; Photography ; Retinaldehyde ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Specialization

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of repeated photodynamic therapy (PDT) for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in Korean patients. METHODS: Clinical data of patients who were treated with repeated (3 times or more) PDT for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to AMD and followed up for more than 6 months were collected from 17 hospitals around the country. Visual outcomes at 12 and 24 months, follow-up were compared between subtypes of choroidal neovascularization. The factors related to final visual prognosis and PDT-related adverse effects were evaluated. RESULTS: 244 patients (244 eyes) were recruited (male: 60%, age: 67.7+/-9.1 years). The portion of patients with predominantly classic, minimally classic, and occult without classic choroidal neovascularization was 57%, 13%, and 24%, respectively and that of patients with visual improvements or less than moderate visual loss at 24 months follow-up were 28%, 38%, 30% and 47%, 56%, and 65%, respectively. Baseline visual acuity and age were significantly related to the final visual prognosis (p<0.05). PDT-related adverse events developed in 15 (6.1%) patients, but most were mild and transient. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated PDT for subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to AMD has effects comparable to those of previous prospective, controlled trials without any significant safety concerns in Korea.
Choroid* ; Choroidal Neovascularization* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Macular Degeneration* ; Photochemotherapy* ; Prognosis ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to evaluate the change of [18F]fluoromisonidazole ([18F]FMISO) uptake in C3H mouse squamous cell carcinoma-VII (SCC-VII) treated with mild hyperthermia (42oC) and nicotinamide and to assess the biodistribution of the markers in normal tissues under similar conditions. METHODS AND MATERIALS: [18F]FMISO was producedby our hospital. Female C3H mice with a C3H SCC-VII tumor grown on their extremities were used. Tumors were size matched. Non-anaesthetized, tumor-bearing mice underwent control or mild hyperthermia at 42oC for 60 min with nicotinamide (50 mg/kg i.p. injected) and were examined by gamma counter, autoradiography and animal PET scan 3 hours after tracer i.v. injected with breathing room air. The biodistribution of these agents were obtained at 3 h after [18F]FMISO injection. Blood, tumor, muscle, heart, lung, liver, kidney, brain, bone, spleen, and intestine were removed, counted for radioactivity and weighed. The tumor and liver were frozen and cut with a cryomicrotome into 10-micrometer sections. The spatial distribution of radioactivity from the tissue sections was determined with digital autoradiography. RESULTS: The mild hyperthermia with nicotinamide treatment had only slight effects on the biodistribution of either marker in normal tissues. We observed that the whole tumor radioactivity uptake ratios were higher in the control mice than in the mild hyperthermia with nicotinamide treated mice for [18F]FMISO (1.56+/-1.03 vs. 0.67+/-0.30; p=0.063). In addition, autoradiography and animal PET scan demonstrated that the area and intensity of [18F]FMISO uptake was significantly decreased. CONCLUSION: Mild hyperthermia and nicotinamide significantly improved tumor hypoxia using [18F]FMISO and this uptake reflected tumor hypoxic status.
Animals ; Anoxia* ; Autoradiography ; Brain ; Extremities ; Female ; Fever* ; Humans ; Intestines ; Kidney ; Liver ; Lung ; Mice* ; Mice, Inbred C3H ; Myocardium ; Niacinamide ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radioactivity ; Respiration ; Spleen

Renal osteodystrophy is a leading cause of morbidity in patients with end stage renal disease(ESRD), including a diverse clinical spectrum and histologic lesions. Since the invasiveness and practical limitations of bone biopsy to diagnose the exact nature of bone disease in ESRD patients, many attempts have been made to investigate the biologic markers of bone disease. Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase(bAP) is localized in the plasma membrane of osteoblast to be involved in bone formation and skeletal mineralization. This study was undertaken to evaluate the value of bAP in the diagnosis of renal osteodystrophy and to examine the correlation between bAP (Immunoassay, Metra, U.S.A.) and other known markers of bone turn-over, total alkalilne phosphatase (tAP), intact parathyroid hormone(iPTH) and osteocalcin in 49 HD patients(M:F 29:20, mean age 51 years, mean HD duration 57 months). We also evaluated the impact of metabolic acidosis, which is known to stimulate the osteoclastic activity and bone resorption, on plasma levels of these bone markers. The median value of bAP in HD patients was 30.1ng/ml with a distribution of 8.8-140.1ng/ml (normal 12-23ng/ml). There was a significant positive correlation between the duration of HD and plasma levels of tAP, bAP, iPTH and osteocalcin. Significant positive correlaton was also observed between iPTH and other markers of bone turn- over-bAP, tAP and osteocalcin. bAP was correlated better with iPTH(r=0.8483, P<0.001) than tAP(r= 0.7588, P<0.01). In the patients group whose arterial blood bicarbonate below 20mEq/L(30 cases), plasma iPTH and bAP were significantly higher compared to the patients with arterial bicarbonate higher than 20mEq/L(19 cases). In conclusion, high bAP can be an useful marker of increased bone turn-over in HD patients. Increased concentrations of iPTH and bAP in patients with metabolic acidosis(arterial bicarbonate below 20 mEq/L) may reflect an increased bone resorption with resultant increase in osteoblast activity. However, a prospective study with alkali supplementation and bone biopsy will be necessary to define the exact role of metabolic acidosis in the development and progression of renal osteodystrophy.
Acidosis* ; Alkalies ; Alkaline Phosphatase* ; Biomarkers ; Biopsy ; Bone Diseases ; Bone Resorption ; Cell Membrane ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocalcin ; Osteoclasts ; Osteogenesis ; Plasma ; Renal Dialysis* ; Renal Osteodystrophy

PURPOSE: Because vascular access sites in neonates are limited, intravenous (IV) medications must often be mixed with maintenance fluids, including parenteral nutrient (PN) solutions. This study was done to determine whether IV medications commonly prescribed in the neonatal in- tensive care unit (NICU) are compatible with the two neonatal PN solutions. METHODS: The compatibility of neonatal PN solutions and selected other drugs during Y-site delivery was evaluated. Secondary drugs were administered at selected concentrations, rates and delivery by method commonly used at the NICU. Drugs administered by syringe pump over 30min : amikacin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, piperacillin, phenytoin, aminophylline, ceftazidime, fluconazole, indomethacin. Drugs administered by IV push : ampicillin+sulbactam, penicillin G potassium, NaHCO3, ranitidine, epinephrine, furosemide, dexamethasone. Drugs administered by IV infusion for at least 60min : acyclovir, amphotericin B, vancomycin, dobutamine, dopamine, doxapram. After each test, the Y injection site and tube below the Y injection site were visually inspected for precipitation and color change. If no particles or color change was detected, the solution was tested and analyzed by a liquid borne particle analyzer (LBPA). RESULTS: White precipitate formed immediately after Y-site administration : phenytoin, aminophylline (undiluted solution), ampicillin+sulbactam (undiluted solution). Number of particles observed with LBPA exceeded the KP guideline limit immediately after Y-site administration and white precipitate formed after 3-4 hour : ceftriaxone, NaHCO3 (1 : 2 diluted solution). CONCLUSION: These results revealed that several lV drugs prescribed in NICU formed precipitate and had a color change, when mixed with neonatal TPN solutions.
Acyclovir ; Amikacin ; Aminophylline ; Amphotericin B ; Cefotaxime ; Ceftazidime ; Ceftriaxone ; Dexamethasone ; Dobutamine ; Dopamine ; Doxapram ; Epinephrine ; Fluconazole ; Furosemide ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Infant, Newborn ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Penicillin G ; Phenytoin ; Piperacillin ; Ranitidine ; Syringes ; Vancomycin

PURPOSE: Because vascular access sites in neonates are limited, intravenous (IV) medications must often be mixed with maintenance fluids, including parenteral nutrient (PN) solutions. This study was done to determine whether IV medications commonly prescribed in the neonatal in- tensive care unit (NICU) are compatible with the two neonatal PN solutions. METHODS: The compatibility of neonatal PN solutions and selected other drugs during Y-site delivery was evaluated. Secondary drugs were administered at selected concentrations, rates and delivery by method commonly used at the NICU. Drugs administered by syringe pump over 30min : amikacin, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, piperacillin, phenytoin, aminophylline, ceftazidime, fluconazole, indomethacin. Drugs administered by IV push : ampicillin+sulbactam, penicillin G potassium, NaHCO3, ranitidine, epinephrine, furosemide, dexamethasone. Drugs administered by IV infusion for at least 60min : acyclovir, amphotericin B, vancomycin, dobutamine, dopamine, doxapram. After each test, the Y injection site and tube below the Y injection site were visually inspected for precipitation and color change. If no particles or color change was detected, the solution was tested and analyzed by a liquid borne particle analyzer (LBPA). RESULTS: White precipitate formed immediately after Y-site administration : phenytoin, aminophylline (undiluted solution), ampicillin+sulbactam (undiluted solution). Number of particles observed with LBPA exceeded the KP guideline limit immediately after Y-site administration and white precipitate formed after 3-4 hour : ceftriaxone, NaHCO3 (1 : 2 diluted solution). CONCLUSION: These results revealed that several lV drugs prescribed in NICU formed precipitate and had a color change, when mixed with neonatal TPN solutions.
Acyclovir ; Amikacin ; Aminophylline ; Amphotericin B ; Cefotaxime ; Ceftazidime ; Ceftriaxone ; Dexamethasone ; Dobutamine ; Dopamine ; Doxapram ; Epinephrine ; Fluconazole ; Furosemide ; Humans ; Indomethacin ; Infant, Newborn ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Penicillin G ; Phenytoin ; Piperacillin ; Ranitidine ; Syringes ; Vancomycin