Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, status, severity, frequency, and impact on life of drooling in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A total of 74 children with cerebral palsy, aged 2-6 years (53.68±17.33 months), who exhibited drooling symptoms were assessed using the Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale (DSFS) and the Drooling Impact Scale (DIS) to determine the status, severity, frequency, and impact of drooling in drooling group and control group. The study also examined differences in drooling-related factors based on gender, age, and prematurity status. Results: The overall prevalence of drooling was 60.8%, 35.6% in those with spastic quadriplegia, and 77.8% in children at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level III-V. Significant differences were found in drooling severity based on gender, prematurity, and age. Higher scores were observed for drooling severity and frequency, frequency of wiping the mouth, and the impact of drooling on the child’s life compare to control group.Although a few had undergone drooling-related treatments, many parents expressed a desire to receive treatment. It was reported that treatment for drooling was primarily provided by occupational therapists through referrals to rehabilitation medicine, with dysphagia rehabilitation and oral motor therapy being the main interventions. Conclusion By utilizing standardized assessment tools, the severity of drooling according to the specific conditions of children with disabilities was assessed. It is believed that the necessary steps to be taken include identifying the cause of drooling and setting appropriate treatment goals, followed by the provision for a suitable intervention.

Objectives: In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, we aimed to investigate the differences in brain activation between individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) individuals during perspective taking. We also examined the association between brain activation and empathic and interoceptive abilities. Methods: During scanning, participants from the ASD (n=17) and TD (n=22) groups were shown pain stimuli and asked to rate the level of the observed pain from both self- and other-perspectives. Empathic abilities, including perspective taking, were measured using an empathic questionnaire, and three dimensions of interoception were assessed: interoceptive accuracy, interoceptive sensibility, and interoceptive trait prediction errors. Results: During self-perspective taking, the ASD group exhibited greater activation in the left precuneus than the TD group. During other-perspective taking, relative hyperactivation extended to areas including the right precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, and left amygdala. Brain activation levels in the right superior frontal gyrus while taking other-perspective were negatively correlated with interoceptive accuracy, and those in the left caudate were negatively correlated with perspective taking ability in the ASD group. Conclusion Individuals with ASD show atypical brain activation during perspective taking. Notably, their brain regions associated with stress reactions and escape responses are overactivated when taking other-perspective. This overactivity is related to poor interoceptive accuracy, suggesting that individuals with ASD may experience difficulties with the self-other distinction or atypical embodiment when considering another person’s perspective.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, status, severity, frequency, and impact on life of drooling in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A total of 74 children with cerebral palsy, aged 2-6 years (53.68±17.33 months), who exhibited drooling symptoms were assessed using the Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale (DSFS) and the Drooling Impact Scale (DIS) to determine the status, severity, frequency, and impact of drooling in drooling group and control group. The study also examined differences in drooling-related factors based on gender, age, and prematurity status. Results: The overall prevalence of drooling was 60.8%, 35.6% in those with spastic quadriplegia, and 77.8% in children at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level III-V. Significant differences were found in drooling severity based on gender, prematurity, and age. Higher scores were observed for drooling severity and frequency, frequency of wiping the mouth, and the impact of drooling on the child’s life compare to control group.Although a few had undergone drooling-related treatments, many parents expressed a desire to receive treatment. It was reported that treatment for drooling was primarily provided by occupational therapists through referrals to rehabilitation medicine, with dysphagia rehabilitation and oral motor therapy being the main interventions. Conclusion By utilizing standardized assessment tools, the severity of drooling according to the specific conditions of children with disabilities was assessed. It is believed that the necessary steps to be taken include identifying the cause of drooling and setting appropriate treatment goals, followed by the provision for a suitable intervention.

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence, status, severity, frequency, and impact on life of drooling in children with cerebral palsy. Methods: A total of 74 children with cerebral palsy, aged 2-6 years (53.68±17.33 months), who exhibited drooling symptoms were assessed using the Drooling Severity and Frequency Scale (DSFS) and the Drooling Impact Scale (DIS) to determine the status, severity, frequency, and impact of drooling in drooling group and control group. The study also examined differences in drooling-related factors based on gender, age, and prematurity status. Results: The overall prevalence of drooling was 60.8%, 35.6% in those with spastic quadriplegia, and 77.8% in children at Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level III-V. Significant differences were found in drooling severity based on gender, prematurity, and age. Higher scores were observed for drooling severity and frequency, frequency of wiping the mouth, and the impact of drooling on the child’s life compare to control group.Although a few had undergone drooling-related treatments, many parents expressed a desire to receive treatment. It was reported that treatment for drooling was primarily provided by occupational therapists through referrals to rehabilitation medicine, with dysphagia rehabilitation and oral motor therapy being the main interventions. Conclusion By utilizing standardized assessment tools, the severity of drooling according to the specific conditions of children with disabilities was assessed. It is believed that the necessary steps to be taken include identifying the cause of drooling and setting appropriate treatment goals, followed by the provision for a suitable intervention.

Background: This study explored the effect of anger on suicidality by dividing participants into a group with major depressive disorder (MDD) and a non-MDD group, and also investigated whether the anger expression affects suicidality in participants without clinical depression. Methods: A total of 1,015 residents responded to anonymous questionnaires in our survey. The survey included scales, such as the Patients Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Korean State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, and Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus. Participants were categorized into the MDD and non-MDD groups or depression group and non-depression group following the PHQ-9 score. Logistic regression analysis was performed to confirm the association between anger and suicidality in the non-MDD and non-MDD groups. Results: Anger suppression and higher PHQ-9 appeared as risk factors for suicidality in the non-MDD group. The depression level in the non-MDD group mediates the relationship between anger suppression and suicidality. Higher PHQ-9 was no longer a risk factor and anger suppression remains a risk factor in the non-depression group. Conclusion Not only depression evaluation, but also anger evaluation is important when assessing suicidality. Implementing anger management programs for people with high anger suppression can help lower suicidality in Korean society, where negative emotional expression is suppressed.

This study aimed to compare brain structural connectivity using graph theory between patients with alcohol dependence and social drinkers. The participants were divided into two groups; the alcohol group (N=23) consisting of patients who had been hospitalized and had abstained from alcohol for at least three months and the control group (N=22) recruited through advertisements and were social drinkers. All participants were evaluated using 3T magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 1000 repeated whole-brain tractographies with random parameters were performed using DSI Studio. Four hundred functionally defined cortical regions of interest (ROIs) were parcellated using FreeSurfer based on the Schaefer Atlas.The ROIs were overlaid on the tractography results to generate 1000 structural connectivity matrices per person, and 1000 matrices were averaged into a single matrix per subject. Graph analysis was performed through igraph R package. Graph measures were compared between the two groups using analysis of covariance, considering the effects of age and smoking pack years. The alcohol group showed lower local efficiency than the control group in the whole-brain (F=5.824, p=0.020), somato-motor (F=5.963, p=0.019), and default mode networks (F=4.422, p=0.042). The alcohol group showed a lower global efficiency (F=5.736, p=0.021) in the control network. The transitivity of the alcohol group in the dorsal attention network was higher than that of the control (F=4.257, p=0.046). Our results imply that structural stability of the whole-brain network is affected in patients with alcohol dependence, which can lead to ineffective information processing in cases of local node failure.

Aging has become a global problem, and the interest in healthy aging is growing. Healthy aging involves a focus on the maintenance of the function and well-being of elderly adults, rather than a specific disease. Thus, the management of frailty, which is an accumulated decline in function, is important for healthy aging. The adaptation method was used to develop clinical practice guidelines on frailty management that are applicable in primary care settings. The guidelines were developed in three phases: preparation (organization of committees and establishment of the scope of development), literature screening and evaluation (selection of the clinical practice guidelines to be adapted and evaluation of the guidelines using the Korean Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool), and confirmation of recommendations (three rounds of Delphi consensus and internal and external reviews). A total of 16 recommendations (five recommendations for diagnosis and assessment, 11 recommendations for intervention of frailty) were made through the guideline development process. These clinical practice guidelines provide overall guidance on the identification, evaluation, intervention, and monitoring of frailty, making them applicable in primary care settings. As aging and “healthy aging” become more and more important, these guidelines are also expected to increase in clinical usefulness.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between brain structure and empathy in early adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Nineteen early adolescents with ADHD and 20 healthy controls underwent 3T MRI. All the participants were assessed for different aspects of empathy using measures including the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and Empathy Quotient. Cortical thickness and subcortical structural volume based on T1-weighted scans were analyzed using FreeSurfer. Results: Cognitive empathy (t=-2.52, p=0.016) and perspective taking (t=-2.10, p=0.043) were impaired in the ADHD group compared with the control group. The cluster encompassing the left posterior insular, supramarginal, and transverse temporal cortices [cluster-wise p-value (CWP)=0.001], which are associated with emotional empathy, was significantly smaller in the ADHD group, and the volume of the left nucleus accumbens was greater than that of the control group (F=10.12, p=0.003, effect size=0.22). In the control group, the left superior temporal (CWP=0.002) and lingual cortical (CWP=0.035) thicknesses were positively associated with cognitive empathy, while the right amygdala volume was positively associated with empathic concern (Coef=14.26, t=3.92, p=0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between empathy and brain structure in the ADHD group. Conclusion The ADHD group had a smaller volume of the cortical area associated with emotional empathy than the control group, and there was no brain region showing significant correlation with empathy, unlike in the control group.

Purpose: To report a case of a successful secondary Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty in failed penetrating keratoplasty. Case summary: A 46-year-old male with keratoconus in both of his eyes underwent penetrating keratoplasty in his right eye 30 years ago and in his left eye 14 years ago. From one and a half year ago, the patient’s visual acuity decreased in his left eye due to graft failure. For treatment, secondary Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty was performed. Partial detachment of Descemet membrane was observed at 13 days after the operation, and an additional air injection was performed. At 8 months after the operation, the patient’s uncorrected visual acuity improved to 0.5 and the cornea maintained its clearance without rejection. Conclusions Secondary Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty was successfully performed in a patient with failed penetrating keratoplasty.

Objectives: To investigate the relationship between brain structure and empathy in early adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Nineteen early adolescents with ADHD and 20 healthy controls underwent 3T MRI. All the participants were assessed for different aspects of empathy using measures including the Interpersonal Reactivity Index and Empathy Quotient. Cortical thickness and subcortical structural volume based on T1-weighted scans were analyzed using FreeSurfer. Results: Cognitive empathy (t=-2.52, p=0.016) and perspective taking (t=-2.10, p=0.043) were impaired in the ADHD group compared with the control group. The cluster encompassing the left posterior insular, supramarginal, and transverse temporal cortices [cluster-wise p-value (CWP)=0.001], which are associated with emotional empathy, was significantly smaller in the ADHD group, and the volume of the left nucleus accumbens was greater than that of the control group (F=10.12, p=0.003, effect size=0.22). In the control group, the left superior temporal (CWP=0.002) and lingual cortical (CWP=0.035) thicknesses were positively associated with cognitive empathy, while the right amygdala volume was positively associated with empathic concern (Coef=14.26, t=3.92, p=0.001). However, there was no significant correlation between empathy and brain structure in the ADHD group. Conclusion The ADHD group had a smaller volume of the cortical area associated with emotional empathy than the control group, and there was no brain region showing significant correlation with empathy, unlike in the control group.