Background: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dysmenorrhea and to investigate the effect of weight changes or unhealthy weight control behaviors on dysmenorrhea in young Korean women. Methods: We used large-scale data of women, aged 14 to 44 years, who participated in the Korean Study of Women’s Health-Related Issues. Dysmenorrhea was measured using a visual analog scale and was categorized as none, mild, moderate, and severe according to the severity. Weight changes and unhealthy weight control behaviors (any of the behaviors, fasting/meal skipping, drugs, the use of unapproved dietary supplements, and one-food diets) over the past year were self-reported. We used multinomial logistic regression to investigate the association between weight changes or unhealthy weight control behaviors and dysmenorrhea. Results: Of the 5,829 young women participating in the study, 5,245 (90.0%) participants experienced dysmenorrhea [2,184 (37.5%) had moderate and 1,358 (23.3%) had severe].After adjusting for confounders, the odds ratios for moderate and severe dysmenorrhea in participants with weight changes ≥ 3 kg (vs. < 3 kg) were 1.19 (95% confidence interval:1.05–1.35) and 1.25 (95% confidence interval: 1.08–1.45), respectively. The odds ratios in participants with any unhealthy weight control behaviors were 1.22 (95% confidence interval:1.04–1.42) and 1.41 (95% confidence interval: 1.19–1.67) for those with moderate and severe dysmenorrhea, respectively. Conclusion Weight changes (≥ 3 kg) or unhealthy weight control behaviors are common among young women, which may adversely affect dysmenorrhea. Therefore, attention needs to be paid to excessive weight changes and unhealthy weight control behaviors to improve dysmenorrhea in young women.

Objectives: The Regional CardioCerebroVascular Center (RCCVC) project was initiated to improve clinical outcomes for patients with acute myocardial infarction or stroke in non-capital areas of Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and issues identified by the Busan RCCVC project in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: Among the patients who were registered in the Korean Registry of Acute Myocardial Infarction for the RCCVC project between 2007 and 2019, those who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for STEMI at the Busan RCCVC were selected, and their medical data were compared with a historical cohort. Results: In total, 1161 patients were selected for the analysis. Ten years after the implementation of the Busan RCCVC project, the median door-to-balloon time was reduced from 86 (interquartile range [IQR], 64-116) to 54 (IQR, 44-61) minutes, and the median symptom-to-balloon time was reduced from 256 (IQR, 180-407) to 189 (IQR, 118-305) minutes (p<0.001). Inversely, the false-positive PCI team activation rate increased from 0.6% to 21.4% (p<0.001). However, the 1-year cardiovascular death and major adverse cardiac event rates did not change. Even after 10 years, approximately 75% of the patients had a symptom-to-balloon time over 120 minutes, and approximately 50% of the patients underwent inter-hospital transfer for primary PCI. Conclusions A decade after the implementation of the Busan RCCVC project, although time parameters for early reperfusion therapy for STEMI improved, at the cost of an increased false-positive PCI team activation rate, survival outcomes were unchanged.

Pericardial effusion is a common disease seen by echocardiography, and it is found in 3–9% of annual echocardiograms. Although moderate pericardial effusion has been reported in some cases, it is usually asymptomatic and is rarely accompanied by cardiac tamponade. A large pericardial effusion may be due to various causes, including idiopathic causes, tuberculosis, cancer, connective tissue disease, infection, and hypothyroidism. Recent advances in analytic and imaging techniques have increased our ability to diagnose the cause of pericardial effusion accurately. This information is important for determining the proper treatment based on each case’s clinical characteristics. We report a case of large, recurrent pericardial effusion accompanied by hypothyroidism with initial increased levels of tumor markers, including cancer antigen 125, carcinoembryonic antigen, and alpha-fetoprotein. The patient was treated with thyroid hormone only. In follow-up images, the pericardial effusion was resolved and all of the tumor markers were normalized.

Pericardial effusion is a common disease seen by echocardiography, and it is found in 3–9% of annual echocardiograms. Although moderate pericardial effusion has been reported in some cases, it is usually asymptomatic and is rarely accompanied by cardiac tamponade. A large pericardial effusion may be due to various causes, including idiopathic causes, tuberculosis, cancer, connective tissue disease, infection, and hypothyroidism. Recent advances in analytic and imaging techniques have increased our ability to diagnose the cause of pericardial effusion accurately. This information is important for determining the proper treatment based on each case’s clinical characteristics. We report a case of large, recurrent pericardial effusion accompanied by hypothyroidism with initial increased levels of tumor markers, including cancer antigen 125, carcinoembryonic antigen, and alpha-fetoprotein. The patient was treated with thyroid hormone only. In follow-up images, the pericardial effusion was resolved and all of the tumor markers were normalized.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Hyperglycemia-induced hepatic damage has been recognized as one of the major cause of complications in diabetes. Hepatic complications are associated with inflammation and oxidative stress in diabetes. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that gamma-tocopherol (GT) supplementation ameliorates NLRP3 inflammasome associated hepatic inflammation in diabetes. MATERIALS/METHODS: Diabetes was induced by the intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (150 mg/kg. BW) in ICR mice. All mice were fed with a control diet (AIN-76A). After diabetes was induced (fasting glucose level ≥ 250 mg/dL), the mice were treated with tocopherol-stripped corn oil or GT-supplemented (35 mg/kg) corn oil, respectively, by gavage for 2 weeks. RESULTS: GT supplementation reduced fasting blood glucose levels in diabetic mice relative to non-treated diabetic mice. Moreover, GT supplementation ameliorated hyperglycemia-induced hepatic damage by regulation of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3)-inflammasome associated inflammation represented by NLRP3, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase-recruitment domain, caspase-1, nuclear factor-κB pathway as well as oxidative stress demonstrated by nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2, NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1, catalase and glutathione-dependent peroxidase in diabetic mice. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that GT supplementation ameliorated hepatic damage by attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Taken together, GT could be a beneficial nutrient that can ameliorate inflammatory responses associated with NLRP3 inflammasome in hyperglycemia-induced hepatic damage.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a fatal and progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system. Until recently, its promising treatment and underlying mechanisms for neuronal death are poorly understood. This study was investigated to identify the molecular mechanism of neuronal death in the substantia nigra and corpus striatum of PD. METHODS: The soluble RAGE (sRAGE) secreting Umbilical Cord Blood—derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell (UCB-MSC) was generated by gene editing method using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9). These cells were transplanted into Corpus Striatum of rotenone-induced PD animal models then behavioral test, morphological analysis, and immunohistochemical experiments were performed to determine the neuronal cell death and recovery of movement. RESULTS: The neuronal cell death in Corpus Striatum and Substantia Nigra was dramatically reduced and the movement was improved after sRAGE secreting UCB-MSC treatment in PD mice by inhibition of RAGE in neuronal cells. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that sRAGE secreting UCB-MSC based therapeutic approach could be a potential treatment strategy for neurodegenerative disease including PD.
Animals ; Behavior Rating Scale ; Cell Death ; Corpus Striatum ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Methods ; Mice ; Microglia ; Models, Animal ; Nervous System ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Parkinson Disease ; Rage ; Substantia Nigra ; Umbilical Cord

OBJECTIVES: To report our experiences in pregnant patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who were treated with targeted therapy. METHODS: From 2011 to 2017, women who decided to maintain pregnancies in our PAH clinic were included. Clinical data, management, and outcomes of the mothers and fetuses were reviewed. RESULTS: Nine women with PAH and 10 deliveries were reviewed. The median maternal age was 28 (26–32) years old. The functional status of each patient was New York Heart Association functional class II or III at first visit. Sildenafil was prescribed in advance in 9 cases of delivery. Multidiscipline team approach management and intensive care were performed during the peripartum period. There was no maternal or fetal mortality. Severe cardiac events occurred in 2 patients with Eisenmenger syndrome: cardiac arrest and uncontrolled arrhythmia. Non-cardiac events occurred in 3 cases: postpartum bleeding, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia. The median gestational period at delivery was about 34 (32–38) weeks. Three cases were emergent delivery because of unexpected preterm labor. Intrauterine growth restriction developed in 4 fetuses. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy could be maintained by the introduction of targeted therapy rather more safely than the previous era in the case of maintenance of pregnancy. Intensive care and a multidisciplinary team approach can possibly improve the outcomes of the pregnant women with PAH and their babies. However, pregnancy in patients with PAH is still strongly prohibited and it can be tried in expert center where there has sufficient multidisciplinary team approach in case of inevitability.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Critical Care ; Eisenmenger Complex ; Female ; Fetal Mortality ; Fetus ; Heart ; Heart Arrest ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertension, Pulmonary ; Maternal Age ; Mothers ; Obstetric Labor, Premature ; Peripartum Period ; Pneumonia ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Sildenafil Citrate ; Urinary Tract Infections

OBJECTIVES: To report our experiences in pregnant patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who were treated with targeted therapy. METHODS: From 2011 to 2017, women who decided to maintain pregnancies in our PAH clinic were included. Clinical data, management, and outcomes of the mothers and fetuses were reviewed. RESULTS: Nine women with PAH and 10 deliveries were reviewed. The median maternal age was 28 (26–32) years old. The functional status of each patient was New York Heart Association functional class II or III at first visit. Sildenafil was prescribed in advance in 9 cases of delivery. Multidiscipline team approach management and intensive care were performed during the peripartum period. There was no maternal or fetal mortality. Severe cardiac events occurred in 2 patients with Eisenmenger syndrome: cardiac arrest and uncontrolled arrhythmia. Non-cardiac events occurred in 3 cases: postpartum bleeding, urinary tract infection, and pneumonia. The median gestational period at delivery was about 34 (32–38) weeks. Three cases were emergent delivery because of unexpected preterm labor. Intrauterine growth restriction developed in 4 fetuses. CONCLUSIONS Pregnancy could be maintained by the introduction of targeted therapy rather more safely than the previous era in the case of maintenance of pregnancy. Intensive care and a multidisciplinary team approach can possibly improve the outcomes of the pregnant women with PAH and their babies. However, pregnancy in patients with PAH is still strongly prohibited and it can be tried in expert center where there has sufficient multidisciplinary team approach in case of inevitability.

Objectives: The duration and frequency of mobile phone calls, and their relationship with various health effects, have been investigated in our previous cross-sectional study. This 2-year period follow-up study aimed to assess the changes in these variables of same subjects. Methods: The study population comprised 532 non-patient adult subjects sampled from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study. The subjects underwent a medical examination at a hospital in 2012/2013 and revisited the same hospital in 2014/2015 to have the same examination for the characteristics of mobile phone use performed. In addition, to evaluate the effects on health, the Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), Psychosocial Well-being Index-Short Form, Beck Depression Inventory, Korean-Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Perceived Stress Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and 12-item Short Form Health Survey were analyzed. For all these tests, the higher the score, the greater the effect on health. Variances between scores in all the indices in the baseline and follow-up surveys were calculated, and correlations of each index were analyzed. Results: The average duration per call and HIT-6 score of the subjects decreased significantly compared with those recorded two years ago. The results showed a slight but significant correlation between call duration changes and HIT-6 score changes for female subjects, but not for males. HIT-6 scores in the follow-up survey significantly decreased compared to those in the baseline survey, but long-time call users (subjects whose call duration was ≥5 minutes in both the baseline and follow-up surveys) had no statistically significant reduction in HIT-6 scores. Conclusions: This study suggests that increased call duration is a greater risk factor for increases in headache than any other type of adverse health effect, and that this effect can be chronic.
Activities of Daily Living ; Adult ; Cell Phones* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Depression ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Genome ; Headache ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Male ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires

65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with acute decompensated heart failure with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and severe mitral regurgitation. Electrocardiography revealed a typical left bundle branch block and atrial fibrillation. Her condition deteriorated despite administering high-doses of inotropes and vasopressors. Pending a decision to therapy, venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) was performed when the patient underwent a cardiogenic shock. Although the hemodynamic status stabilized with ECMO support, weaning the patient from ECMO was not possible. Thus, we decided to perform cardiac resynchronization with defibrillator implantation as a “rescue” therapy. Five days post-implantation, the patient was successfully weaned from ECMO.
Aged ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Bundle-Branch Block ; Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy* ; Defibrillators ; Electrocardiography ; Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation ; Female ; Heart Failure ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Shock, Cardiogenic* ; Stroke Volume ; Weaning