Lecanemab (product name Leqembi ® ) is an anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody treatment approved for use in Korea for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The Korean Dementia Association has created recommendations for the appropriate use of lecanemab to assist clinicians. These recommendations include selecting patients for administration, necessary pre-administration tests and preparations,administration methods, monitoring for amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), and communication with patients and caregivers. Lecanemab is recommended for patients with MCI or mild dementia who confirmed positive amyloid biomarkers, and should not be administered to patients with severe hypersensitivity to lecanemab or those unable to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. To predict the risk of ARIA before administration, apolipoprotein E genotyping is conducted, and regular brain MRI evaluations are recommended to monitor for ARIA during treatment. The most common adverse reactions are infusion-related reactions, which require appropriate management upon occurrence. Additional caution is needed when co-administering with anticoagulants or tissue plasminogen activator due to the risk of macrohemorrhage. Clinicians should consider the efficacy and necessary conditions for administration, as well as the safety of lecanemab, to make a comprehensive decision regarding its use.

Lecanemab (product name Leqembi ® ) is an anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody treatment approved for use in Korea for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The Korean Dementia Association has created recommendations for the appropriate use of lecanemab to assist clinicians. These recommendations include selecting patients for administration, necessary pre-administration tests and preparations,administration methods, monitoring for amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), and communication with patients and caregivers. Lecanemab is recommended for patients with MCI or mild dementia who confirmed positive amyloid biomarkers, and should not be administered to patients with severe hypersensitivity to lecanemab or those unable to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. To predict the risk of ARIA before administration, apolipoprotein E genotyping is conducted, and regular brain MRI evaluations are recommended to monitor for ARIA during treatment. The most common adverse reactions are infusion-related reactions, which require appropriate management upon occurrence. Additional caution is needed when co-administering with anticoagulants or tissue plasminogen activator due to the risk of macrohemorrhage. Clinicians should consider the efficacy and necessary conditions for administration, as well as the safety of lecanemab, to make a comprehensive decision regarding its use.

Lecanemab (product name Leqembi ® ) is an anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody treatment approved for use in Korea for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The Korean Dementia Association has created recommendations for the appropriate use of lecanemab to assist clinicians. These recommendations include selecting patients for administration, necessary pre-administration tests and preparations,administration methods, monitoring for amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), and communication with patients and caregivers. Lecanemab is recommended for patients with MCI or mild dementia who confirmed positive amyloid biomarkers, and should not be administered to patients with severe hypersensitivity to lecanemab or those unable to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. To predict the risk of ARIA before administration, apolipoprotein E genotyping is conducted, and regular brain MRI evaluations are recommended to monitor for ARIA during treatment. The most common adverse reactions are infusion-related reactions, which require appropriate management upon occurrence. Additional caution is needed when co-administering with anticoagulants or tissue plasminogen activator due to the risk of macrohemorrhage. Clinicians should consider the efficacy and necessary conditions for administration, as well as the safety of lecanemab, to make a comprehensive decision regarding its use.

Lecanemab (product name Leqembi ® ) is an anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody treatment approved for use in Korea for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The Korean Dementia Association has created recommendations for the appropriate use of lecanemab to assist clinicians. These recommendations include selecting patients for administration, necessary pre-administration tests and preparations,administration methods, monitoring for amyloid related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), and communication with patients and caregivers. Lecanemab is recommended for patients with MCI or mild dementia who confirmed positive amyloid biomarkers, and should not be administered to patients with severe hypersensitivity to lecanemab or those unable to undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation. To predict the risk of ARIA before administration, apolipoprotein E genotyping is conducted, and regular brain MRI evaluations are recommended to monitor for ARIA during treatment. The most common adverse reactions are infusion-related reactions, which require appropriate management upon occurrence. Additional caution is needed when co-administering with anticoagulants or tissue plasminogen activator due to the risk of macrohemorrhage. Clinicians should consider the efficacy and necessary conditions for administration, as well as the safety of lecanemab, to make a comprehensive decision regarding its use.

Background: It is well known that physical activity has various health benefits. Therefore, this study was conducted to demonstrate the association between physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among Korean patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: Our study is based on VI phases (2014–2015) of the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Subjects were divided into two groups according to high and low levels of physical activity. HRQoL was measured by using the Euro quality of life-5 dimension (EQ-5D). Impaired HRQoL was defined as the score within the lowest 20% of the EQ-5D index and some or extreme problems in the EQ-5D domains. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) for the effects of physical activity on impaired HRQoL. Results: The adjusted OR for impaired HRQoL for individuals that were more physically active compared to those who were less physically active was higher for the EQ-5D index (OR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.82–4.44). Furthermore, compared to less physically active individuals, the adjusted ORs were higher for more physically active individuals in mobility (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.28–3.02), self-care (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.20–4.03), usual activities (OR, 2.83; 95% CI, 1.81–4.45), and pain/discomfort (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.19–2.57) among the various EQ-5D domains. Conclusion A lack of physical activity is associated with lower HRQoL among Korean patients with diabetes, particularly when compared with Koreans engaged in frequent physical activity.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have reported that fasting insulin and blood glucose levels are higher in postmenopausal than in premenopausal women and that insulin resistance was more serious in postmenopausal women. The effects of menopause on glucose metabolism have been well studied, but it is unclear whether age at menopause onset is associated with fasting blood sugar and HbA1c levels. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of menopause age on diabetes and prediabetes.METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data from the Sixth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013–2015). The participants were 2,156 naturally menopausal women, except diabetes, stroke, coronary artery disease and cancer patients. The study population was divided into four groups according to the age of natural menopause onset ( < 40, 40–44, 45–55, and ≥56 years). Diagnosis of diabetes and prediabetes was based on the American Diabetes Association guideline. The association between menopause age and diabetes or prediabetes was analyzed by multiple logistic regression.RESULTS: Women reaching menopause at 40–44 years were 4.901 times more likely to have diabetes (odds ratio [OR], 4.901; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.353–17.756, P=0.016) than those who reached menopause at an age of ≥56 years. Women with menopause at age < 40 years were 2.839 times more likely to have diabetes or prediabetes (OR, 2.839; 95% CI, 1.012–7.968, P=0.047).CONCLUSION: Women with premature menopause (< 40 years) have high risk of developing diabetes or prediabetes, and women with a menopause age of 40–44 years have high risk of developing diabetes.
Blood Glucose ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Fasting ; Female ; Glucose ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Menopause ; Menopause, Premature ; Metabolism ; Nutrition Surveys ; Prediabetic State ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke

BACKGROUND: The rising popularity of one-person households makes the health hazards they are prone to, highly relevant in epidemiological studies. This study aimed at comparing health-related characteristics like the socioeconomic status, health behavior, and metabolic syndrome of one-person households, to multi-person households in Korea.METHODS: The participants required for this study included 9,423 Koreans aged 19 and above, who took the Sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The household types were classified into “one-person” and “multi-person.” The differences between the two, based on their annual socioeconomic status, health behavior, anthropometric variables, and blood test results were analyzed.RESULTS: The percentage of men and women in one-person households was 7.2% and 10.5%, respectively. Such households had a lower annual income and education than multi-person households. The odds ratios (OR) for alcohol consumption (OR, 1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.46) and smoking (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.77–5.95) were significantly higher for one-person households of women, aged 60 and above, compared to multiperson households. The OR for metabolic syndrome was considerably higher in one-person households of middle-aged people in contrast to multiperson households for both men (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.14–2.95) and women (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.21–2.99).CONCLUSION: The socioeconomic status was lower, and the health behaviors were worse in one-person households as compared to multi-person households. Considering the growing popularity of one-person households, it is suggested that medical plans be customized to suit the characteristics of the specific group.
Alcohol Drinking ; Education ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Health Behavior ; Hematologic Tests ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Odds Ratio ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Social Class

BACKGROUND: The verbal fluency test consists of two separate tests of semantic fluency and phonemic fluency. The performance patterns of these tests differ with the type of dementia. We studied the patterns of verbal fluency between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD), and assessed the clinical utility of these tests. METHODS: The 1,475 selected participants comprised 73 normal control subjects, 673 patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), 535 AD patients, 42 patients with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI), and 152 SVaD patients. We analyzed the z-score for the total number of animal items as a semantic fluency index and the z-score of the phonemic total score as a phonemic fluency index. RESULTS: The performance of semantic fluency was lower than that of phonemic fluency in all groups. The SVaD group showed the worst scores and abnormal performances on both tests, while the AD group presented abnormal performance only for semantic fluency. Dividing the patients with dementia according to severity revealed a different pattern between AD and SVaD for the clinical dementia rating (CDR) stage of 0.5. The performance of the AD group declined gradually with CDR. However, the SVaD group performed very poorly in both tests even for very mild dementia (CDR stage of 0.5). The aMCI and svMCI groups exhibited similar performance patterns. CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of semantic and phonemic fluency was not clinically useful at the MCI stage, but it could be helpful in differentiating AD and SVaD in the early stage of dementia.
Alzheimer Disease* ; Animals ; Dementia* ; Dementia, Vascular* ; Humans ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Semantics ; Task Performance and Analysis*

BACKGROUND: Activities daily living (ADL) disability has a direct influence on the patients' quality of life and on the amount of care needed. It is major factor of care in dementia patients. So Korean Dementia Association suggested guideline about activities of daily living in dementia patients in 2013. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of this. METHODS: A total of 110 subjects were enrolled. Assessments included age, sex, education level of patients and caregiver, the duration of disease, pattern of family, economic status. We divided "active practice" group and "passive practice" group by recognition of guideline contents after study. We compared two groups before and after by Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Short form of Geriatric Depression Scale-Korean version (S-GDS), Korean version of Zarit's Burden Interview (ZBI-K), Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living scale (ADCS-ADL). Finally, we investigate the level of satisfaction about our guideline. RESULTS: Age of patients, the duration of disease was lower and education level of caregiver and economic status was higher in "active practice group". The pattern of family also differed from two groups. It was observed distinct difference between the variations of two groups in S-GDS, ZBI-K, and ADCS-ADL. The level of satisfaction about our guideline was very high. CONCLUSION: Considering these results, our guideline about activities of daily living is effective to manage dementia patient. Active application of it is needed in clinic or center for dementia.
Activities of Daily Living* ; Alzheimer Disease ; Caregivers ; Dementia* ; Depression ; Education ; Humans ; Quality of Life

BACKGROUND: Disability of Activities of daily living (ADL) is the most important factor for care of dementia patients. So Korean Dementia Association has prepared the survey for current state and cognition of active daily living in Korean dementia patients. METHODS: A total of 100 subjects were interviewed. Structured open and closed questions about ADL for dementia were asked. They are main caregivers of dementia patients who working over 5hours per day. Assessments included age, sex, education level, economic status, severity of dementia patients, pattern of the care-giving, current state and cognition of ADL, and needs of the caregivers. RESULTS: The cognition of ADL was very low (51%) and this is correlated with economic status. Increasing of care-giving time is the most stressful for caregivers, they frequently suffered from disability of outgoing and personal hygiene. Dementia patient's ADL disability causes serious economic losses, need of the caregivers about guide lines or education program was very high. CONCLUSION: Considering these results, we should design more detailed study about dementia patient's ADL disability and prepare guide line or program for it.
Activities of Daily Living ; Caregivers ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Humans ; Hygiene