BACKGROUND/AIMS: The etiology of colon diverticulosis is related to a range of genetic, biological, and environmental factors, but the risk factors for asymptomatic diverticulosis of the colon are unclear. This study examined the risk factors for asymptomatic colon diverticulosis. METHODS: This retrospective study included examinees who underwent a colonoscopy for screening at the health check-up center of SAM Hospital between January 2016 and December 2016. The examinees with colon diverticulosis found by colonoscopy were compared with those without diverticulosis. The comparison factors were age, gender, alcohol consumption, smoking status, medical history, lipid profile, body mass index, visceral fat area, waist-hip ratio, and severity of a fatty liver. RESULTS: This study included 937 examinees and the overall prevalence of diverticulosis was 8.1% (76/937). Fatty liver was found in 69.7% (53/76) in cases of colon diverticulosis and 50.3% (433/861) in the control group (p=0.001). The average waist-hip ratio was 0.92±0.051 in colon diverticulosis and 0.90±0.052 in the control group (p=0.052). Multivariate analysis revealed the waist-hip ratio (OR=1.035, 95% CI 1.000–1.070, p=0.043), moderate fatty liver (OR=2.238, 95% CI 1.026–4.882, p=0.043), and severe fatty liver (OR=5.519, 95% CI 1.236–21.803, p=0.025) to be associated with an increased risk of asymptomatic colon diverticulosis. CONCLUSIONS: The waist-hip ratio, moderate fatty liver, and severe fatty liver are risk factors for asymptomatic colon diverticulosis. Central obesity, which can be estimated by the waist-hip ratio, and fatty liver might affect the pathogenesis of asymptomatic colon diverticulosis.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Diverticulum ; Fatty Liver ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mass Screening ; Multivariate Analysis ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist-Hip Ratio

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The etiology of colon diverticulosis is related to a range of genetic, biological, and environmental factors, but the risk factors for asymptomatic diverticulosis of the colon are unclear. This study examined the risk factors for asymptomatic colon diverticulosis.METHODS: This retrospective study included examinees who underwent a colonoscopy for screening at the health check-up center of SAM Hospital between January 2016 and December 2016. The examinees with colon diverticulosis found by colonoscopy were compared with those without diverticulosis. The comparison factors were age, gender, alcohol consumption, smoking status, medical history, lipid profile, body mass index, visceral fat area, waist-hip ratio, and severity of a fatty liver.RESULTS: This study included 937 examinees and the overall prevalence of diverticulosis was 8.1% (76/937). Fatty liver was found in 69.7% (53/76) in cases of colon diverticulosis and 50.3% (433/861) in the control group (p=0.001). The average waist-hip ratio was 0.92±0.051 in colon diverticulosis and 0.90±0.052 in the control group (p=0.052). Multivariate analysis revealed the waist-hip ratio (OR=1.035, 95% CI 1.000–1.070, p=0.043), moderate fatty liver (OR=2.238, 95% CI 1.026–4.882, p=0.043), and severe fatty liver (OR=5.519, 95% CI 1.236–21.803, p=0.025) to be associated with an increased risk of asymptomatic colon diverticulosis.CONCLUSIONS: The waist-hip ratio, moderate fatty liver, and severe fatty liver are risk factors for asymptomatic colon diverticulosis. Central obesity, which can be estimated by the waist-hip ratio, and fatty liver might affect the pathogenesis of asymptomatic colon diverticulosis.
Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Colon ; Colonoscopy ; Diverticulum ; Fatty Liver ; Intra-Abdominal Fat ; Mass Screening ; Multivariate Analysis ; Obesity, Abdominal ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Waist-Hip Ratio

OBJECTIVES: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is known to be related to stress and the serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) that is known to be associated with stress and has been studied to affect various psychiatric illness outbreaks. We tried to examine the relationship between stress, 5-HTTLPR and IGD. METHODS: A total of 59 participants with IGD, diagnosed according to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria and 67 normal controls (NC) were enrolled. The IGD group and the NC were compared using chisquare test and independent sample t-test, and logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between stress, the 5-HTTLPR, and IGD. RESULTS: The mean scores for anxiety, impulsivity and stress were significantly higher in the IGD group than in the NC. In addition, there was a significant association between stress and IGD [odds ratio (OR) = 1.172, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.008–1.362]. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that stress would affect IGD. Therefore, the evaluation and management of stress should be included in the diagnosis and treatment of IGD.
Adult* ; Anxiety ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin D ; Impulsive Behavior ; Internet* ; Logistic Models

Post-stroke spasticity is a common complication that causes limitations of function, pain and decrement of the quality of life. Although botulinum toxin injection and anti-spastic medications are effective and widely used for the management of post-stroke spasticity, clinical applications are often limited in stroke patients because of their invasiveness and systemic side effects. Alternatively, we performed upper limb muscle-belly extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) to resolve problematic spasticity in two subacute stroke patients. Serial quantitative ultrasonographic measurements of spastic muscle were conducted to investigate the rheological changes in chronological order by echogenicity comparison. After 4 sessions of weekly ESWT, gradual decrements of clinical spasticity parameters and muscle echogenicity were observed and lasted for 1 week after the cessation of the therapy. ESWT may be a useful alternative management for treating post-stroke spasticity.
Botulinum Toxins ; Humans ; Muscle Spasticity ; Quality of Life ; Shock ; Stroke ; Ultrasonography ; Upper Extremity

PURPOSE: The major problem in producing artificial livers is that primary hepatocytes cannot be cultured for many days. Recently, 3-dimensional (3D) printing technology draws attention and this technology regarded as a useful tool for current cell biology. By using the 3D bio-printing, these problems can be resolved. METHODS: To generate 3D bio-printed structures (25 mm × 25 mm), cells-alginate constructs were fabricated by 3D bio-printing system. Mouse primary hepatocytes were isolated from the livers of 6–8 weeks old mice by a 2-step collagenase method. Samples of 4 × 10⁷ hepatocytes with 80%–90% viability were printed with 3% alginate solution, and cultured with well-defined culture medium for primary hepatocytes. To confirm functional ability of hepatocytes cultured on 3D alginate scaffold, we conducted quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence with hepatic marker genes. RESULTS: Isolated primary hepatocytes were printed with alginate. The 3D printed hepatocytes remained alive for 14 days. Gene expression levels of Albumin, HNF-4α and Foxa3 were gradually increased in the 3D structures. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that the primary hepatocytes produced hepatic-specific proteins over the same period of time. CONCLUSION: Our research indicates that 3D bio-printing technique can be used for long-term culture of primary hepatocytes. It can therefore be used for drug screening and as a potential method of producing artificial livers.
Animals ; Collagenases ; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Gene Expression ; Hepatocytes* ; Liver ; Liver, Artificial ; Methods ; Mice* ; Printing, Three-Dimensional ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

The original version of this article contained wrong informations of some authors which should be changed.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) have multisystem origins with heterogeneous manifestations that develop throughout the course of PD. NMS are increasingly recognized as having a significant impact on the health-related quality of life (HrQoL). We aimed to determine the NMS presentation according to PD status, and the associations of NMS with other clinical variables and the HrQoL of Korean PD patients. METHODS: We surveyed patients in 37 movement-disorders clinics throughout Korea. In total, 323 PD patients were recruited for assessment of disease severity and duration, NMS, HrQoL, and other clinical variables including demographics, cognition, sleep scale, fatigability, and symptoms. RESULTS: In total, 98.1% of enrolled PD subjects suffered from various kinds of NMS. The prevalence of NMS and scores in each NMS domain were significantly higher in the PD group, and the NMS worsened as the disease progressed. Among clinical variables, disease duration and depressive mood showed significant correlations with all NMS domains (p<0.001). NMS status impacted HrQoL in PD (rS=0.329, p<0.01), and the association patterns differed with the disease stage. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our survey suggest that NMS in PD are not simply isolated symptoms of degenerative disease, but rather exert significant influences throughout the disease course. A novel clinical approach focused on NMS to develop tailored management strategies is warranted to improve the HrQoL in PD patients.
Cognition ; Demography ; Humans ; Korea ; Movement Disorders* ; Parkinson Disease* ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Vitamin E improves the biochemical profiles and liver histology in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, but the role of vitamin E is not clearly defined in the management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) which includes both simple steatosis and steatohepatitis. Co-morbid metabolic syndrome increases the probability of steatohepatitis in NAFLD. In this study, we aimed to determine the short-term effects of vitamin E and off-treatment durability of response in a propensity-score matched cohort of NAFLD patients with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: A retrospective cohort was constructed by retrieving 526 consecutive NAFLD patients from the electronic medical record data warehouse of a tertiary referral hospital in South Korea. Among them, 335 patients (63.7%) had metabolic syndrome and were eligible for vitamin E therapy. In order to assess the effect of vitamin E, propensity score matching was used by matching covariates between control patients (n=250) and patients who received vitamin E (n=85). RESULTS: The PS-matched vitamin E group (n=58) and control group (n=58) exhibited similar baseline metabolic profiles. After 6 months of vitamin E therapy, the mean ALT levels decreased significantly compared to PS-matched control (P<0.01). The changes in metabolic profiles (body weight, lipid and glucose levels) did not differ between control and vitamin E groups during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Short-term vitamin E treatment significantly reduces ALT levels in NAFLD patients with metabolic syndrome, but metabolic profiles are not affected by vitamin E.
Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood ; Body Weight ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Lipoproteins, HDL/blood ; Lipoproteins, LDL/blood ; Liver/pathology ; Male ; Metabolic Syndrome X/*complications/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Middle Aged ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/*complications/diagnosis/*drug therapy ; Propensity Score ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamin E/*therapeutic use

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Portal-vein thrombosis (PVT) develops in 10-25% of cirrhotic patients and may aggravate portal hypertension. There are few data regarding the effects of anticoagulation on nonmalignant PVT in liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the safety, efficacy, and predictors of response to anticoagulation therapy in cirrhotic patients. METHODS: Patients with liver cirrhosis and nonmalignant PVT were identified by a hospital electronic medical record system (called BESTCARE). Patients with malignant PVT, Budd-Chiari syndrome, underlying primary hematologic disorders, or preexisting extrahepatic thrombosis were excluded from the analysis. Patients were divided into two groups (treatment and nontreatment), and propensity score matching analysis was performed to identify control patients. The sizes of the thrombus and spleen were evaluated using multidetector computed tomography. RESULTS: Twenty-eight patients were enrolled in this study between 2003 and 2014: 14 patients who received warfarin for nonmalignant PVT and 14 patients who received no anticoagulation. After 112 days of treatment, 11 patients exhibited significantly higher response rates (complete in 6 and partial in 5) compared to the control patients, with decreases in thrombus size of >30%. Compared to nonresponders, the 11 responders were older, and had a thinner spleen and fewer episodes of previous endoscopic variceal ligations, whereas pretreatment liver function and changes in prothrombin time after anticoagulation did not differ significantly between the two groups. Two patients died after warfarin therapy, but the causes of death were not related to anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: Warfarin can be safely administered to cirrhotic patients with nonmalignant PVT. The presence of preexisting portal hypertension is a predictor of nonresponse to anticoagulation.
Aged ; Anticoagulants/*therapeutic use ; Female ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/*diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Portal Vein ; Propensity Score ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Venous Thrombosis/complications/*drug therapy/pathology ; Warfarin/therapeutic use

Neuroblastoma originates in the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system, and is the most common extracranial solid malignancy in children; rarely developing in adults. Generally this primitive neuronal malignancy develops during fetal development or in early childhood. However, we have cared for one elderly patient with neuroblastoma. The 84-year-old woman suffered from several symptoms, such as general weakness, weight loss, and hematuria. Her abdominopelvic computed tomography showed an 8.5 x 8 cm mass, which originated from the right kidney. Pathological examination by explorative laparotomy indicated neuroblastoma. She was treated by radical nephrectomy. One year later, there has been no recurrence or solid organ metastasis, and the patient has been in good clinical condition.
Adult ; Aged ; Autonomic Nervous System ; Female ; Fetal Development ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Kidney ; Laparotomy ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nephrectomy ; Neuroblastoma ; Neurons ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Weight Loss