The submandibular displacement of a mandibular third molar residual root presents major challenges to oral and maxillofacial surgeons due to the proximity to critical anatomical structures such as the lingual nerve and sublingual artery. Preoperative imaging can approximate the location of the residual tooth root; however, accurately determining its exact position is difficult because of the dynamic nature of the mandible and the difficulty of realtime synchronization of imaging. This study presents the successful extraction of a residual mandibular third molar root in a 67-year-old female patient achieved using a magnetic field-based navigation system. The sublingually-displaced residual root was localized using the navigation system, marked using a virtual implant placement, and positioned by a hand piece using synchronized real-time sensor data. The root was successfully removed with a minimally-invasive approach. No complications occurred postoperatively, and follow-up showed no major issues. Due to the small size of the marker, ease of calibration, and independence from visual obstacles, magnetic field-based navigation systems are a promising tool for the removal of residual roots displaced into adjacent soft tissue.

The submandibular displacement of a mandibular third molar residual root presents major challenges to oral and maxillofacial surgeons due to the proximity to critical anatomical structures such as the lingual nerve and sublingual artery. Preoperative imaging can approximate the location of the residual tooth root; however, accurately determining its exact position is difficult because of the dynamic nature of the mandible and the difficulty of realtime synchronization of imaging. This study presents the successful extraction of a residual mandibular third molar root in a 67-year-old female patient achieved using a magnetic field-based navigation system. The sublingually-displaced residual root was localized using the navigation system, marked using a virtual implant placement, and positioned by a hand piece using synchronized real-time sensor data. The root was successfully removed with a minimally-invasive approach. No complications occurred postoperatively, and follow-up showed no major issues. Due to the small size of the marker, ease of calibration, and independence from visual obstacles, magnetic field-based navigation systems are a promising tool for the removal of residual roots displaced into adjacent soft tissue.

The submandibular displacement of a mandibular third molar residual root presents major challenges to oral and maxillofacial surgeons due to the proximity to critical anatomical structures such as the lingual nerve and sublingual artery. Preoperative imaging can approximate the location of the residual tooth root; however, accurately determining its exact position is difficult because of the dynamic nature of the mandible and the difficulty of realtime synchronization of imaging. This study presents the successful extraction of a residual mandibular third molar root in a 67-year-old female patient achieved using a magnetic field-based navigation system. The sublingually-displaced residual root was localized using the navigation system, marked using a virtual implant placement, and positioned by a hand piece using synchronized real-time sensor data. The root was successfully removed with a minimally-invasive approach. No complications occurred postoperatively, and follow-up showed no major issues. Due to the small size of the marker, ease of calibration, and independence from visual obstacles, magnetic field-based navigation systems are a promising tool for the removal of residual roots displaced into adjacent soft tissue.

Thyroid nodules represent a prevalent condition that is detectable via palpation or ultrasound. In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift toward enhanced diagnostic precision and less aggressive therapeutic approaches, highlighting the growing necessity for tailored clinical recommendations to optimize patient outcomes. The Korean Thyroid Association (KTA) has developed guidelines for managing patients with thyroid nodules, following a comprehensive review by task force members of the relevant literature identified via electronic database searches. The recommendations are provided with a level of recommendation for each section. The guidelines encompass thyroid cancer screening in high-risk groups, appropriate diagnostic methods for thyroid nodules, role of pathologic and molecular marker testing in making a diagnosis, long-term follow-up and treatment of benign thyroid nodules, and special considerations for pregnant women. The major revisions that were made in the 2023 guidelines were the definition of high-risk groups for thyroid cancer screening, application of the revised Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS), addition of the role of core needle biopsy and molecular marker tests, application of active surveillance in patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, and updated indications for nonsurgical treatment of benign thyroid nodules. In the 2024 revision of the KTA guidelines for thyroid cancer, the evidence for some recommendations has been updated to address the tumor size in the context of active surveillance in patients with low-risk thyroid cancer and the surgical size cutoff. These evidence-based recommendations serve to inform clinical decision-making in the management of thyroid nodules, thereby facilitating the delivery of optimal and efficacious treatments to patients.

Differentiated thyroid cancer demonstrates a wide range of clinical presentations, from very indolent cases to those with an aggressive prognosis. Therefore, diagnosing and treating each cancer appropriately based on its risk status is important. The Korean Thyroid Association (KTA) has provided and amended the clinical guidelines for thyroid cancer management since 2007. The main changes in this revised 2024 guideline include 1) individualization of surgical extent according to pathological tests and clinical findings, 2) application of active surveillance in low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, 3) indications for minimally invasive surgery, 4) adoption of World Health Organization pathological diagnostic criteria and definition of terminology in Korean, 5) update on literature evidence of recurrence risk for initial risk stratification, 6) addition of the role of molecular testing, 7) addition of definition of initial risk stratification and targeting thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations according to ongoing risk stratification (ORS), 8) addition of treatment of perioperative hypoparathyroidism, 9) update on systemic chemotherapy, and 10) addition of treatment for pediatric patients with thyroid cancer.

Thyroid nodules are a prevalent condition that can be detected through palpation or ultrasound. However, a small fraction of these nodules can be cancerous, and even benign nodules can cause symptoms if they grow and compress surrounding tissue. As such, it is important to monitor thyroid nodules and determine appropriate treatment options. In recent years, there has been a shift towards enhancing diagnostic accuracy and less aggressive treatment options. As a result, there is a growing need for the development of appropriate recommendations for their clinical application to ensure optimal patient outcomes. The present clinical practice guideline was developed by extracting the nodule section from the prior version of guidelines and updating it to fit the Korean circumstances. Task force members reviewed relevant studies selected after electronic database searching, and the recommendations are provided with a level of recommendation for each section. The revised guideline includes recommendations for thyroid cancer screening in high-risk groups, appropriate diagnostic methods for thyroid nodules, the role of pathological and molecular marker tests in diagnosis, long-term follow-up and treatment of benign thyroid nodules, and special considerations for pregnant women. The major changes in this revision are the definition of high-risk groups for thyroid cancer screening, the application of the revised Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (K-TIRADS), the addition of the role of core needle biopsy and molecular marker tests, the application of active surveillance in low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, and updated indications for non-surgical treatment of benign thyroid nodules. These evidence-based recommendations are expected to assist in clinical decision-making for thyroid nodule management, ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate and effective treatment options.

Objectives: : We estimated the overall and age-specific percentages of the Korean population with presumed immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as of April 2022 using the national registry. Methods: : We used the national coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and vaccination registry from South Korea, as described to define individuals with a previous history of COVID-19 infection, vaccination, or both, as persons with presumed immunity. Results: : Of a total of 53,304,627 observed persons, 24.4% had vaccination and infection, 58.1% had vaccination and no infection, 7.6% had infection and no vaccination, and 9.9% had no immunity. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant emerged at a time when the presumed population immunity ranged from 80% to 85%; however, nearly half of the children were presumed to have no immunity. Conclusion : We report a gap in population immunity, with lower presumed protection in children than in adults. The approach presented in this work can provide valuable informed tools to assist vaccine policy-making at a national level.

A pregnane steroid, 3α-hydroxy-pregn-7-ene-6,20-dione (1), was isolated from a Hydractinia-associated Cladosporium sphaerospermum SW67 by repetitive column chromatographic separation and highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purification. The planar structure of 1 was elucidated from the analysis of the spectroscopic data (1D and 2D NMR spectra) and LC-MS data. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by interpretation of ROESY spectrum of 1, together with the comparison of reported spectroscopic values in previous studies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the identification of the pregnane scaffold from C. sphaerospermum, a natural source. Compound 1 was evaluated for its effects on lipid metabolism and adipogenesis during adipocyte maturation and showed that compound 1 substantially inhibited lipid accumulation compared to the control. Consistently, the expression of the adipocyte marker gene (Adipsin) was reduced upon incubation with 1. Further, we evaluated the effects of 1 on lipid metabolism by measuring the transcription of lipolytic and lipogenic genes. The expression of the lipolytic gene ATGL was significantly elevated upon exposure to 1 during adipogenesis, whereas the expression of lipogenic genes FASN and SREBP1 was significantly reduced upon treatment with 1. Thus, our findings provide experimental evidence that the steroid derived from Hydractinia-associated C. sphaerospermum SW67 is a potential therapeutic agent for obesity.

Niacinamide (NIA) is a water-soluble vitamin that is widely used in the treatment of skin diseases. Moreover, NIA displays antioxidant effects and helps repair damaged DNA. Recent studies showed that particulate matter 2.5 (PM(2.5)) induced reactive oxygen species (ROS), causing disruption of DNA, lipids, and protein, mitochondrial depolarization, and apoptosis of skin keratinocytes. Here, we investigated the protective effects of NIA on PM(2.5)-induced oxidative stress in human HaCaT keratinocytes. We found that NIA could inhibit the ROS generation induced by PM(2.5), as well block the PM(2.5)-induced oxidation of molecules, such as lipids, proteins, and DNA. Furthermore, NIA alleviated PM(2.5)-induced accumulation of cellular Ca²⁺, which caused cell membrane depolarization and apoptosis, and reduced the number of apoptotic cells. Collectively, the findings show that NIA can protect keratinocytes from PM(2.5)-induced oxidative stress and cell damage.
Antioxidants ; Apoptosis ; Cell Membrane ; DNA ; Humans ; Keratinocytes ; Mitochondrial Proteins ; Niacinamide ; Oxidative Stress ; Particulate Matter ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Skin Diseases ; Skin ; Vitamins

PURPOSE: The discoidin domain-containing receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (DDR2) is known to contain mutations in a small subset of patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) of the lung. Studying the DDR2 mutations in patients with SCC of the lung would advance our understanding and guide the development of therapeutic strategies against lung cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We selected 100 samples through a preliminary genetic screen, including specimens from biopsies and surgical resection, and confirmed SCC by histologic examination. DDR2 mutations on exons 6, 15, 16, and 18 were analyzed by Sanger sequencing of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The functional effects of novel DDR2 mutants were confirmed by in vitro assays. RESULTS: We identified novel somatic mutations of DDR2 in two of the 100 SCC samples studied. One mutation was c.1745T>A (p.V582E) and the other was c.1784T>C (p.L595P), and both were on exon 15. Both patients were smokers and EGFR/KRAS/ALK-triple negative. The expression of the mutant DDR2 induced activation of DDR2 by the collagen ligand and caused enhanced cell growth and tumor progression. Moreover, dasatinib, a DDR2 inhibitor, showed potential efficacy against DDR2 L595P mutant–bearing cells. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that a mutation in DDR2 occurs naturally with a frequency of about 2% in Korean lung SCC patients. In addition, we showed that each of the novel DDR2 mutations were located in a kinase domain and induced an increase in cell proliferation rate.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cell Proliferation ; Collagen ; Dasatinib ; Epithelial Cells* ; Exons ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; Phosphotransferases ; Prevalence* ; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases* ; TYK2 Kinase* ; Tyrosine*