Background: Cudrania tricuspidata is a perennial plant, and Sargassum fusiforme is a brown seaweed with numerous potential benefits, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities. However, the efficacies of C. tricuspidata and S. fusiforme on hair growth have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of C. tricuspidata and S. fusiforme extracts on hair growth in C57BL/6 mice. Results: ImageJ demonstrated that drinking and skin application of C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts significantly increased the hair growth rate in the dorsal skin of C57BL/6 mice compared to the control group. Histological analysis confirmed that drinking and skin application of C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts for 21 days significantly increased the length of hair follicles on the dorsal skin of treated C57BL/6 mice compared to that in the control mice. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that hair growth cycle-related factors (anagen factors) such as Catenin Beta 1 (Ctnnb1) and platelet-derived growth factor (Pdgf) were upregulated (> twofold) only by C. tricuspidata extracts, whereas vascular endothelial growth factor (Vegf) and Wnts were upregulated by both C. tricuspidata or S. fusiforme applications in treated mice (compared to the control mice). In addition, oncostatin M (Osm, a catagen-telogen factor) was downregulated (< 0.5 fold) by C. tricuspidata when administered via both skin and drinking mode in treated mice compared to that in control mice. Conclusions Our results suggest that C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts show potential hair growth efficacy by upregulating anagen factor genes, including β-catenin, Pdgf, Vegf, and Wnts, and downregulating catagen-telogen factor genes, including Osm, in C57BL/6 mice. The findings suggest that C. tricuspidata and/or S. fusiforme extracts are potential drug candidates to treat alopecia.

BACKGROUND: Although the overall survival of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) approaches 85-90%, the prognosis of relapsed or refractory (R/R) ALL is grave. This study aimed to identify the treatment pattern, treatment response, and overall survival of these patients.METHODS: We reviewed data of 64 patients with R/R ALL whose initial diagnosis of ALL had been made between 1 and 21 years of age. Patients who received clofarabine as part of an induction regimen were excluded. Relapsed patients were limited to those who relapsed after ≥2 prior induction regimens. Treatment patterns, response rates, and overall survival were analyzed.RESULTS: Patients' median age was 15.0 years (range, 6.0-25.0) at the diagnosis of R/R ALL. The most frequently used agents other than steroid were vincristine (54.0%), cytarabine (44.6%), and idarubicin (36.5%), while L-asparaginase was used in only one patient. The complete remission (CR) and overall response (OR) rates were 38.1 and 42.9%, respectively. Sixteen patients (25.4%) underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The 5-year overall survival was 6.7%. The survival of patients with HSCT was significantly higher compared with those without HSCT (35.2% vs 0%, P=0.0097). Among 14 patients who achieved CR or CR without platelet recovery (CRp) before HSCT, the 3-year survival was 46.9%.CONCLUSION: The survival of Korean patients with R/R childhood ALL was dismal despite a reasonable CR rate, whereas that of those who received HSCT after CR or CRp was excellent. More treatment options are needed to improve the overall outcome of R/R childhood ALL.
Blood Platelets ; Cytarabine ; Diagnosis ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Idarubicin ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Vincristine

Brugada syndrome is characterized by sudden cardiac death associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmia in patients without structural heart disease. We recently observed a case of concealed Brugada ECG pattern, which appeared after oral propafenone administration for atrial fibrillation. A 34-year-old male patient who experienced syncope was admitted to the emergency department with acute atrial fibrillation (AF). Three hundred milligrams of propafenone that were administered to convert AF to sinus rhythm unmasked the Brugada ECG pattern that had remained concealed. The patient showed a type 1 Brugada ECG pattern after taking propafenone.
Adult ; Atrial Fibrillation* ; Brugada Syndrome ; Death, Sudden, Cardiac ; Electrocardiography* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Male ; Propafenone* ; Syncope ; Tachycardia

PURPOSE: Deficiencies of the abdominal wall can be the a result of infection, surgery, trauma, or primary herniation. For abdominal wall reconstruction, synthetic materials have been shown to provide a better long-term success rate than primary fascial repair. But, synthetic materials cannot elicit angiogenesis or produce growth factor and are therefore plagued by an inability to clear infection. As a result of the inherent drawbacks of synthetic, significant effort has been spent on the identification of new bioprosthetic materials. The aim of our study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a synthetic material(PROCEED(R)) and an ADM(SureDerm(TM)) to repair abdominal wall defects in a rabbit models. METHODS: We measured the tensile strength of the SureDerm(TM) and PROCEED(R) by a Tension meter(Instron 4482). 16 Rabbit models were assigned to this study for abdominal wall reconstruction. Abdominal defect of 8 rabbits were reconstructed by PROCEED(R) and the rest were reconstructed by SureDerm(TM). We assessed gross and histologic examinations for the reconstructed abdominal wall. RESULTS: The tensile strenth of SureDerm(TM) and Gore Tex(R) is 14.64+/-0.51 Mpa, 8.54+/-0.45 Mpa. PROCEED(R) was estimated above the limits of measurement. Inflammatory reaction of PROCEED(R) persisted for 32weeks, but SureDerm(TM) decreased after 16weeks. Vascular ingrowth into the SureDerm(TM) was seen after 32 weeks. The basement membrane of SureDerm(TM) changed into a form of pseudoperitoneum. In PROCEED(R), it seemed like pseudoepithelial lining was made from the fibrosis around the mesh. CONCLUSION: In our study, the SureDerm(TM) not only have less inflammatory reaction and presented more angiogenesis than the PROCEED(R), but also have pseudoperitoneum formation. It is expected that SureDerm(TM) is useful for abdominal wall reconstruction. However, a long-term study of its usage consequences are thought to be needed.
Abdominal Wall ; Acellular Dermis ; Basement Membrane ; Fibrosis ; Rabbits ; Tensile Strength

A 36-year-old male patient with no remarkable medical history was admitted to our hospital for a health check up. On chest radiography, bilateral aortic notches at the level of aortic arch were shown suggesting aortic arch anomaly without any clinical symptoms. Two aortic arches were almost same-in-size on suprasternal view of transthoracic echocardiography. In addition, multidetector computed tomography showed balanced type double aortic arch forming a complete vascular ring which encircled the trachea and esophagus. The trachea was slightly compressed by the vascular ring whereas the esophagus was intact. Nevertheless, the pulmonary function test was normal. The patient was discharged from hospital with instructions for periodic follow-up.
Adult ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Echocardiography ; Esophagus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Thorax ; Trachea

We investigated the outcome of idarubicin plus N4-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl cytosine (BHAC)-based chemotherapy (BHAC group, n=149) compared to idarubicin plus cytarabine-based chemotherapy (cytarabine group, n=191) for childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Between January 1996 and December 2005, 340 children with AML from 5 university hospitals in Korea received the BHAC-based or cytarabine-based chemotherapy, with or without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. After induction therapy, 264 (77.6%) of 340 children achieved a complete remission (CR) and 43 (12%) achieved a partial remission (PR). The CR rate in the BHAC group was higher than in the cytarabine group (85.2% vs. 71.7%, P=0.004). However, the overall response rate (CR+PR) was not different between the two groups (93.3% vs. 87.9%, P=0.139). The 5-yr estimates of overall survival (OS) of children in the two groups were similar (54.9% for the BHAC group vs. 52.4% for the cytarabine group, P=0.281). Although the results were analyzed according to the treatment type and cytogenetic risk, the OS showed no significant difference between the BHAC group and the cytarabine group. In the present study, the clinical outcomes of the BHAC-based chemotherapy, consisting of BHAC, idarubicin, and 6-TG, are comparable to that of the cytarabine-based chemotherapy for childhood AML.
Adolescent ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Cytarabine/*analogs & derivatives/*therapeutic use ; Cytogenetics ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Idarubicin/*therapeutic use ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/*drug therapy/mortality ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Thioguanine/*therapeutic use ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the frequencies of CD4+CD25+ T cells in donor graft and peripheral blood CD4+CD25+ T cells in recipients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and their association with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). METHODS: Seventeen children who underwent HSCT were investigated. CD4+CD25+ T cells in samples from donor grafts and recipient peripheral blood were assessed by flow cytometry at 1 and 3 months after transplantation. RESULTS: CD4+CD25+ T cell frequencies in the grafts showed no significant difference between patients with and without acute GVHD (0.90% vs. 1.06%, P=0.62). Absolute CD4+CD25+ T cell number in grafts were lower in patients with acute GVHD than in those without acute GVHD (6.18x10(5)/kg vs. 25.85x10(5)/kg, P=0.09). Patients without acute GVHD showed a significant decrease in peripheral blood CD4+CD25+ T cell percentage at 3 months compared to those at 1 month after HSCT (2.11% vs. 1.43%, P=0.028). However, in patients with acute GVHD, CD4+CD25+ T cell percentage at 3 months was not different from the corresponding percentage at 1 month after HSCT (2.47% vs. 2.30%, P=0.5). CONCLUSION: The effect of frequencies of CD4+CD25+ T cells in donor grafts on acute GVHD after HSCT could not be identified, and the majority of peripheral blood CD4+CD25+ T cells in patients who underwent HSCT may be activated T cells related to acute GVHD rather than regulatory T cells. Further studies with additional markers for regulatory T cells are needed to validate our results.
Cell Count ; Child ; Flow Cytometry ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; T-Lymphocytes ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

PURPOSE: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical outcomes of patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) grafted from HLA-matched parents. METHODS: Seven children with acute leukemia (4 acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 3 acute myeloid leukemia) in first complete remission received allogeneic HSCT from their respective parents at the St. Marys Hospital between April, 1999 and October, 2005. The median age of patients at transplantation was 5 years (range, 1-11 years; 2 male, 5 female) and the median age of donors was 35 years (range, 30-41 years; 5 male, 2 female). We investigated the clinical outcomes such as engraftment, acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), transplant-related morbidity and mortality, relapse and survival. RESULTS: Median time from transplantation to last follow-up was 69.5 months (range, 18.8-96.5 months). All patients were successfully engrafted, with a median time of 11 days (range, 10-16 days) and 26 days (range, 13-39 days) for neutrophil and platelet recovery, respectively. Grade II acute GVHD occurred in 3, and grade III acute GVHD in 1 of 7 recipients. Extensive chronic GVHD developed in 2, and limited chronic GVHD in 1 of 7 recipients. Death from transplant-related complications occurred in 1, and relapse occurred in 1 of 7 recipients. Estimated 5-year overall survival was 83+/-15%. CONCLUSION: The clinical outcomes of recipients who underwent HSCT from HLA-matched parents were comparable to those of patients who received HSCT grafted from HLA-matched sibling donors in childhood leukemia. HLA typing of parents, as well as siblings will increase the likelihood of finding an HLA-matched family donor for patients who need HSCT.
Blood Platelets ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Histocompatibility Testing ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Male ; Neutrophils ; Parents ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Siblings ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: Recently, many Korean people travel abroad where malaria is prevalent. However, in Korea, relatively little is known about compliance of chemoprophylaxis against malaria. This study was performed to determine the factors influencing compliance of chemoprophylaxis against malaria in Korean travelers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Face to face interview, telephone interview and e-mail correspondence were performed to 241 people who were prescribed with atovaquone-proguanil at the international travelers' clinic of National Medical Center between February 2007 and October 2007. RESULTS: Total of 55 people out of 235 reported one or more events of adverse reactions after chemoprophylaxis (total 76 events). However, in 38 adverse events the link between chemoprophylaxis and adverse events were very weak. Compliance of malaria chemoprophylaxis with atovaquone-proguanil was 53.9% in the study group. The predictive factors for non-compliance were package tour, travel of business affair and young age group. Conclusions: Compliance of malaria chemoprophylaxis in Korea travelers was low compared with Dutch and French studies. More efforts to increase compliance are needed, especially in travelers on package tour, business travel and people under age 40.
Aluminum Hydroxide ; Atovaquone ; Carbonates ; Chemoprevention ; Commerce ; Compliance ; Drug Combinations ; Electronic Mail ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Malaria ; Proguanil

BACKGROUND: Recently, many Korean people travel abroad where malaria is prevalent. However, in Korea, relatively little is known about compliance of chemoprophylaxis against malaria. This study was performed to determine the factors influencing compliance of chemoprophylaxis against malaria in Korean travelers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Face to face interview, telephone interview and e-mail correspondence were performed to 241 people who were prescribed with atovaquone-proguanil at the international travelers' clinic of National Medical Center between February 2007 and October 2007. RESULTS: Total of 55 people out of 235 reported one or more events of adverse reactions after chemoprophylaxis (total 76 events). However, in 38 adverse events the link between chemoprophylaxis and adverse events were very weak. Compliance of malaria chemoprophylaxis with atovaquone-proguanil was 53.9% in the study group. The predictive factors for non-compliance were package tour, travel of business affair and young age group. Conclusions: Compliance of malaria chemoprophylaxis in Korea travelers was low compared with Dutch and French studies. More efforts to increase compliance are needed, especially in travelers on package tour, business travel and people under age 40.
Aluminum Hydroxide ; Atovaquone ; Carbonates ; Chemoprevention ; Commerce ; Compliance ; Drug Combinations ; Electronic Mail ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Malaria ; Proguanil