Legionella species are abundant in the built environment and are increasingly recognized as a cause of Legionnaires' disease (LD). As the number of cases of Legionnaires' disease acquired by local communities in the Seoul metropolitan area in Korea has been increased, there was concern that changes in environmental factors could affect disease outbreaks. We described the association between climatic variables and occurrence of legionellosis in Korea and Legionella detection rate in Seoul area. A total of 418 cases of legionellosis were reported between 2014 and 2017. There was a seasonal peak in summer. LD continuously occurred from early spring to winter every year and rapidly increased in summer. In the regression analysis, the primary variables of interest- PM2.5 (µg/m³), NO₂ (ppb), and a number of the date of issue O₃ warning were not significant except for average temperature (R²=0.8075). The Legionella detection rate in Seoul, Korea showed a trend similar to precipitation (P=0.708, ANOVA). A relatively high proportion of Legionella detection rate was shown, especially cooling tower (17.7%) and public bath (19.3%). This finding is in line with current understanding of the ecological profile of this pathogen and supports the assertion that legionellosis occurs through contamination of water sources.
Baths ; Disease Outbreaks ; Epidemiology ; Korea ; Legionella ; Legionellosis ; Legionnaires' Disease ; Regression Analysis ; Seasons ; Seoul ; Water

PURPOSE: Genexol-PM is a Cremophor EL–free formulation of low-molecular-weight, non-toxic, and biodegradable polymeric micelle-bound paclitaxel. We conducted a phase III study comparing the clinical efficacy and toxicity of Genexol-PM with conventional paclitaxel (Genexol). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive Genexol-PM 260 mg/m² or Genexol 175 mg/m² intravenously every 3 weeks. The primary outcome was the objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: The study enrolled 212 patients, of whom 105 were allocated to receive Genexol-PM. The mean received dose intensity of Genexol-PM was 246.8±21.3 mg/m² (95.0%), and that of Genexol was 168.3±10.6 mg/m² (96.2%). After a median follow-up of 24.5 months (range, 0.0 to 48.7 months), the ORR of Genexol-PM was 39.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 31.2 to 46.9) and the ORR of Genexol was 24.3% (95% CI, 17.5 to 31.1) (p(non-inferiority)=0.021, p(superiority)=0.016). The two groups did not differ significantly in overall survival (28.8 months for Genexol-PM vs. 23.8 months for Genexol; p=0.52) or progression-free survival (8.0 months for Genexol-PM vs. 6.7 months for Genexol; p=0.26). In both groups, the most common toxicities were neutropenia, with 68.6% occurrence in the Genexol-PM group versus 40.2% in the Genexol group (p < 0.01). The incidences of peripheral neuropathy of greater than grade 2 did not differ significantly between study treatments. CONCLUSION: Compared with standard paclitaxel, Genexol-PM demonstrated non-inferior and even superior clinical efficacy with a manageable safety profile in patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neutropenia ; Paclitaxel* ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases ; Polymers* ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Because of the heterogeneity of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), methods for cell expansion in culture and the effects on gene expression are critical factors that need to be standardized for preparing MSCs. We investigated gene expression patterns of MSCs with different seeding densities and culture times. METHODS: Bone marrow-derived MSCs were plated at densities from 200 cells/cm2 to 5,000 cells/cm2, and the gene expression patterns were evaluated over time using a reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: The mRNA levels of factors that play a critical role in cell migration and tissue regeneration, such as podocalyxin-like protein (PODXL), alpha4-integrin, alpha6-integrin, and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), were higher in MSCs plated at 200 cells/cm2 than in MSCs plated at 5,000 cells/cm2. The mRNA levels of these factors gradually increased for 10 days and then decreased by day 15 in culture. MSCs seeded at 200 cells/cm2 that were cultured for 10 days expressed high levels of Oct-4 and Nanog. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1, and hepatocyte growth factor expression were upregulated in the presence of the proinflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma in these cells. CONCLUSION: We found differences in the gene expression patterns of MSCs under different culture conditions. MSCs from 10-day cultures seeded at a low density were efficiently expanded, expressed PODXL, alpha6-integrin, alpha4-integrin, and LIF, and maintained properties like stemness and immunomodulation. Therefore, ex vivo expansion of MSCs maintained for an adequate culture time after plating at low cell density can provide an effective regenerative medicinal strategy for cell therapies using MSCs.
Cell Count ; Cell Movement ; Cyclooxygenase 1 ; Gene Expression ; Hepatocyte Growth Factor ; Humans ; Immunomodulation ; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase ; Interferon-gamma ; Leukemia Inhibitory Factor ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Population Characteristics ; Regeneration ; RNA, Messenger ; Seeds ; Tissue Therapy

As the usage of biologics for rheumatic diseases increases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, various cutaneous adverse events are also being increasingly reported. We experienced a case of development of vitiligo during a TNF-alpha antagonist therapy in a 22-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis. The patient was presented with vitiligo lesions on the dorsum of both hands after 1 month of treatment with etanercept. Vitiligo improved with topical tacrolimus ointment and excimer laser treatment without the discontinuation of etanercept. No clearly defined mechanism for vitiligo induced by TNF-alpha antagonist exits. However, considering that vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder, the development of this skin lesion in association with the TNF-alpha antagonist could be explained by a paradoxical induction of the autoimmune process.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Biological Agents ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Lasers, Excimer ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Skin ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; Tacrolimus ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vitiligo ; Young Adult ; Etanercept

BACKGROUND: The value of metabolic syndrome (MetS) evaluation in predicting cardiovascular disease is recently criticized. We investigated, in hypertensive patients without diabetes mellitus, the influence of MetS on the target organ damage. METHODS: Data from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey performed in 2008 were analyzed. Metabolic syndrome is defined by the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program-Third Adult Treatment Panel guideline. The category of hypertension is defined following the seventh report of the Joint National Commitee-7 guideline. RESULTS: The prevalence of target organ damage (TOD), defined as history of myocardial infarction/angina/stroke/chronic renal disease as well as the presence of macroalbuminuria, was increased according to blood pressure; 8.5% in the population of normal blood pressure, 12.5% in those of prehypertensive range, and 20.5% in hypertensive population. Hypertensive population associated with MetS showed greater prevalence of TOD than those without MetS even excluding diabetic population. The presence of MetS in hypertensive population showed 2.2 fold increased risk for TOD. Any single parameter of MetS diagnostic criteria as well as obesity did not show the comparable range of risk prediction as MetS. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate a strong relationship of Mets with TOD in hypertensive population. Evaluating the metabolic components in hypertensive population is necessary in establishing management strategies for overall risk.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Joints ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the 'Mental Fitness'Scale, which was designed to measure the characteristics of being mentally fit or positive mental health. METHODS: Interviews using open-ended questions were conducted on 105 healthy adults between 20 and 65 years of age to obtain the 25 candidate items of the 'Mental Fitness' Scale. To evaluate the validity of the new scale, these items and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale(ESS) were administered to 212 healthy adults. To assess test-retest reliability, the preliminary 'Mental Fitness' Scale items were administered two weeks later to 47 healthy subjects selected by random sampling. A comparison was made between the 212 healthy subjects and 42 psychiatric patients with depressive or anxiety disorders. RESULTS: Factor analysis yielded four subscales (mental energy, empathic communication, flexibility, and self-assurance). Five items were excluded due to their low factor loadings. The test-retest reliability coefficients were significantly high, ranging between 0.57-0.76. Internal consistency was computed, and Cronbach's alpha for four subscales ranged between 0.66-0.88, and was 0.90 for the total score. Concurrent validity was assessed by correlating the four subscales and the total score with total scores on the BDI, PANAS, and ESS. The correlations were all at significant levels. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that the 'Mental Fitness' Scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing positive mental health.
Adult ; Anxiety ; Depression ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Pliability

BACKGROUND: Social interests and the prevalence of skin disease have increased rapidly along with social development and improvement of life quality. Information on skin diseases and aesthetics are available through the internet and mass media. However, there have been few studies on the value of this information and the treatment-seeking behavior of patients. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the recognition of skin health and diseases in patients who visit dermatology clinics and to improve the role of dermatologists in the process. METHODS: From March, 2008, to April, 2008, 1901 patients were asked to complete a questionnaire in 62 dermatologic hospitals. The questions covered: purposes of visiting the clinic; duration of skin disease; treatment-seeking behavior; recognition of the prescribed medicine; compliance and common sense about representative skin problems. RESULTS: Patients visited the dermatologic clinic because of skin disease for 67.39% of patients, esthetic treatment in 22.88% of patients, and both in 9.73% of patients. For visits to a dermatology clinic for skin problems, 61.28% of patients visited a clinic but 38.72% did not. Most (81.38%) patients followed the doctor's prescription. Most negative responses to prescribed medicine were due to the internet and mass media or wrong information from pharmacists (52.24%). Moreover, patients who learned about skin diseases and prescription medicines through the internet usually lacked compliance and common sense regarding their skin problems. CONCLUSION: The internet can provide good information about healthy skin and skin diseases, but we have to consider its disadvantages of exaggeration and misbelief. The effects of this tool have been overstated and excessively publicized in comparison to actual established clinical results. Use of the internet may delay diagnosis and decrease compliance. Consequently, dermatologists have to provide correct information to minimize the disadvantages of internet information. Patients who have abnormal skin problems should visit dermatologic clinics to be evaluated and treated appropriately.
Compliance ; Dermatology ; Esthetics ; Humans ; Internet ; Mass Media ; Outpatients ; Pharmacists ; Prescriptions ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Social Change ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: The standard treatment of locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer is a concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), and cisplatin has been used as the most popular chemotherapeutic agent. But many different doses and schedules for cisplatin administration such as daily, weekly and 3 week cycles have been proposed. We compared and analyzed the tumor response, the overall survival, the toxicity and the chemotherapy dose intensity in the patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer who were treated with CCRT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective study on 55 patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer, and they were treated with CCRT as a front-line treatment from Jan 1996 to Jun 2007 at Kangnam Saint Mary's Hospital. RESULTS: The patients had a median age of 53 years (range: 19~75 years). Of the total 55 patients, a 3-week cycle of 100mg cisplatin was administered in 31 patients and 30 mg weekly cisplatin was administered in 24 patients combined with radiotherapy. Twenty one patients had a complete response and four patients had a partial response for a response rate of 71.4% (95% CI: 59.5~83.3) after CCRT and followed by adjuvant chemo-therapy. The complete response rates for the 30 mg and 100 mg cisplatin groups were 72.7% (95% CI: 54.9~90.5) and 54.2% (95% CI: 36.7~71.7), respectively (p= 0.23). The duration of CCRT in the 100mg cisplatin group was significantly longer than that of the 30mg cisplatin group (11.1+/-2.9 weeks vs. 9.0+/-1.2 weeks, p= 0.003). The major deviation group, which was defined as prolongation of the radiotherapy duration for more than 2 weeks, had a significantly lower objective response rate than did the non-deviation group (56.3% vs 84.2%, respectively, p= 0.002). The major severe toxicities were leucopenia (49.1%), pharyngoesophagitis (49.1%), anorexia (43.6%), nausea (41.8%) and vomiting (40%). CONCLUSIONS: Weekly 30mg cisplatin-based CCRT is a practical, feasible cisplatin schedule for the patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer in regard to decreasing the interruption of radiation treatment and decreasing the treatment-related acute toxicities.
Anorexia ; Appointments and Schedules ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Cisplatin ; Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; Nausea ; Retrospective Studies ; Saints ; Treatment Outcome ; Vomiting

Castleman's disease is a rare non-neoplastic lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. It is divided into three histologic subtypes; hyaline-vascular(HV), plasma cell(PC) type and mixed type (HV-PC). It has two clinical expressions. The localized form, which presents as a slow growing mass, has a relatively benign clinical course. The multicentric form is multilocated and holds significant morbidity. The mainstay of treatment of the localized form is surgical resection. The multicentric form requires medical treatment comprising prednisolone and other immunosuppressor drugs. The disease in children seems to have a more favorable course than in adults. We report a 13-year- old boy with Castleman's disease of multicentric form who was successfully treated with prednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin.
Adult ; Child* ; Giant Lymph Node Hyperplasia* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; Male ; Plasma ; Prednisolone*

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is still one of the most seriously threatening infections in Korea, because of multidrug resistant tuberculosis. Results of antituberculosis drug susceptibility test can provide clinicians very important informations for selection of proper regimens for treatment. METHODS: In this study the results of antituberculosis drug susceptibility test of 298 cases at Kyunghee Medical Center from 2000 to 2003 were retrospectively analysed to evaluate the trend of antituberculosis drug susceptibility. The procedure of drug susceptibility test was based on the absolute concentration method using Lowenstein-Jensen solid media. RESULTS: The resistance rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to one or more drugs was increased from 29.3% in 2000 to 48.2% in 2003, and the rates of multiple resistance to two or more drugs increased from 13.3% in 2000 to 20.5% in 2003. The increase in resistance rate to individual drug during study period were 20.0% to 24.1% in isoniazid, 9.3% to 19.3% in rifampicin, 5.3% to 15.7% in ethambutol, 4.0% to 10.8% in para-aminosalicylic acid, 2.7% to 6.0% in kanamycin, 1.3% to 7.2% in ethionamide, 1.3% to 6.0% in capreomycin, 1.3% to 7.2% in prothionamide, 0.0% to 12.1% in ofloxacin, 6.7%to 3.6% in streptomycin, 6.7% to 7.2% in cycloserine, 10.7% to 8.4% in pyrazinamide, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The resistance rate of M. tuberculosis has been increased with years and multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis was commonly encountered in the specimens from the patients visited Kyunghee Medical center.
Aminosalicylic Acid ; Capreomycin ; Cycloserine ; Ethambutol ; Ethionamide ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Kanamycin ; Korea ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Ofloxacin ; Prothionamide ; Pyrazinamide ; Retrospective Studies ; Rifampin ; Streptomycin ; Tuberculosis