Background: The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying the post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (PASC) are not well understood.Our study aimed to investigate various aspects of theses mechanisms, including viral persistence, immunological responses, and laboratory parameters in patients with and without PASC. Methods: We prospectively enrolled adults aged ≥ 18 years diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) between August 2022 and July 2023. Blood samples were collected at three time-points: within one month of diagnosis (acute phase) and at 1 month, and 3 months post-diagnosis. Following a recent well-designed definition of PASC, PASC patients were defined as those with a questionnaire-based PASC score ≥ 12 persisting for at least 4 weeks after the initial COVID-19 diagnosis. Results: Of 57 eligible COVID-19 patients, 29 (51%) had PASC, and 28 (49%) did not. The PASC group had significantly higher nucleocapsid protein (NP) antigenemia 3 months after COVID-19 diagnosis (P = 0.022). Furthermore, several cytokines, including IL-2, IL-17A, VEGF, RANTES, sCD40L, IP-10, I-TAC, and granzyme A, were markedly elevated in the PASC group 1 and/or 3 month(s) after COVID-19 diagnosis. In contrast, the median values of several serological markers, including thyroid markers, autoimmune indicators, and stress-related hormones, were within the normal range. Conclusion Levels of NP antigen and of various cytokines involved in immune responses become significantly elevated over time after COVID-19 diagnosis in PASC patients compared to non-PASC patients. This suggests that PASC is associated with prolonged immune dysregulation resulting from heightened antigenic stimulation.

Excessive accumulation of beta-amyloid peptide (Abeta) is one of the major mechanisms responsible for neuronal death in Alzheimer's disease. Flavonoids, primarily antioxidants, are a group of polyphenolic compounds synthesized in plant cells. The present study aimed to identify flavonoid compounds that could inhibit Abeta-induced neuronal death by examining the effects of various flavonoids on the neurotoxicity of Abeta fragment 25-35 (Abeta25-35) in mouse cortical cultures. Abeta25-35 induced concentration- and exposure-time-dependent neuronal death. Neuronal death induced by 20 microM Abeta25-35 was significantly inhibited by treatment with either Trolox or ascorbic acid. Among 10 flavonoid compounds tested [apigenin, baicalein, catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), kaempferol, luteolin, myricetin, quercetin, and rutin], all except apigenin showed strong 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity under cell-free conditions. The flavonoid compounds except apigenin at a concentration of 30 microM also significantly inhibited neuronal death induced by 20 microM Abeta25-35 at the end of 24 hours of exposure. Epicatechin, EGCG, luteolin, and myricetin showed more potent and persistent neuroprotective action than did the other compounds. These results demonstrated that oxidative stress was involved in Abeta-induced neuronal death, and antioxidative flavonoid compounds, especially epicatechin, EGCG, luteolin, and myricetin, could inhibit neuronal death. These findings suggest that these four compounds may be developed as neuroprotective agents against Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer Disease ; Animals ; Antioxidants ; Apigenin ; Ascorbic Acid ; Catechin ; Flavonoids ; Luteolin ; Mice ; Neurons ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Oxidative Stress ; Plant Cells ; Quercetin

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictors of nonsentinel lymph node (NSLN) metastasis in breast cancer and to evaluate the usefulness of the scoring systems and nomograms. METHODS: In this analysis, we reviewed the clinicopathologic features of 70 patients who had undergone sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy and axillary lymph node dissection. The clinical features of patients, histologic parameters and hormonal receptor status of primary tumor and histopathologic features of SLN metastasis were noted retrospectively. Furthermore, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was calculated to assess the discriminative power of the scoring systems and nomograms. RESULTS: The metastatic tumor size in SLN (P<0.001), extracapsular invasion (P=0.002), percentage of positive SLNs among the removed SLNs (P=0.011), primary tumor size (P=0.038) were associated significantly with NSLN metastasis, statistically, in univariate analysis. Based on multivariate logistic regression, the metastatic tumor size was the only prognostic factor of NSLN metastasis (P=0.012). The AUC of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center scoring system was greater than other systems, significantly (P=0.004). CONCLUSION: We have shown in this study that it would be possible to predict NSLN status based on the metastatic tumor size in SLN. Although the significance was not achieved in multivariate analysis, the size of primary tumor, extracapsular invasion of metastasis in SLN, percentage of positive SLNs among the removed SLNs had the potential to be a predictive factor of NSLN metastasis. MSKCC scoring system appears to be more effective and accurate than other scoring systems for selecting patients for whom axillary lymph node dissection can be avoided.
Area Under Curve ; Biopsy ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Nitriles ; Nomograms ; Pyrethrins ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Propofol is an effective sedative drug in endoscopic procedures, but it has potentially serious adverse effects, so close monitoring of the vital signs should be performed during endoscopy. This study was undertaken to determine the adequate induction dose of propofol for safe and effective sedation during esophagogastrodudenoscopy (EGD) in persons 60 years or older. METHODS: Three hundred patients who visited our hospital for EGD were randomly assigned to three groups (A,B and C). An initial induction dose of 0.5 mg/kg, 0.75 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg of propofol was allocated to groups A, B and C, respectively. RESULTS: The 0.5 mg/kg, 0.75 mg/kg and, 1 mg/kg dose of propofol were all safe as an initial dose of propofol for achieving sedation during EGD in persons 60 years or older. There was no difference in the total amount of propofol among the three groups. Group C had a significantly shorter induction time and a lower dose was required for an additional injection of propofol without increasing adverse events, as compared to the two other groups. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that 1 mg/kg of propofol is an effective induction dose for sedation during EGD in persons 60 years or older.
Aged ; Conscious Sedation ; Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Humans ; Propofol ; Vital Signs

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Propofol sedation is increasingly being used when performing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy because of its rapid onset and good recovery profile. For achieving safe sedation during endoscopy, close monitoring of the vital signs is necessary because of the sedation's potentially serious adverse effects. There are only a few studies on the induction of sedation with using propofol for endoscopy in Korea. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the adequate initial injected dose of propofol for achieving safe and effective sedation when performing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Koreans. METHODS: From March 2008 to July 2008, 150 subjects who visited Kwangju Christian Hospital were randomized into 3 groups. An initial bolus dose of 0.5 mg/kg, 1.0 mg/kg and 1.5 mg/kg of propofol was allocated to groups A, B and C, respectively. The effectiveness and safety profiles of each injected dose of propofol were prospectively assessed by measuring various parameters of the vital signs and the adverse events. RESULTS: Group C had a significantly shorter induction time and the patients in group C did not require additional injections of propofol without increasing adverse events, as compared to that of the other 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: 1.5 mg/kg of propofol was found to be more appropriate than 0.5 mg/kg or 1.0 mg/kg of propofol as the initial injected dose for induction of sedation during performance of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Koreans.
Endoscopy ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Humans ; Korea ; Propofol ; Prospective Studies ; Vital Signs

OBJECTIVES: We conducted this study to investigate the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index (BMI), in Korean children. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data collected on 3,639 boys and girls (aged 7-12) in Daegu, Korea. The data included each child's age, sex, weight, height, extracurricular activities, bedtime, wake-up time, sleep latency, total sleep duration, parents' occupations, and parents' educational levels. The relationship between sleep duration and each variable was examined via analysis of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: The analysis showed an association between short sleep duration and high BMI. Boys showed a graded inverse relationship between sleep duration and BMI. However, there was no significant corresponding result for girls. In the total sample, hours of computer use, time when the computer was turned off, time when the television was turned off, mother's bedtime, and hours of extracurricular activity were associated with longer sleep duration. No association was found between sleep duration and hours of watching television, child's wake-up time, or educational level of the parents. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show an inverse relationship between a child's sleep duration and BMI;thus, children with shorter sleep duration tend to have higher BMIs.
Body Mass Index ; Child ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Occupations ; Television

PURPOSE: The definite indications of laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) and the limitations of minimally invasive surgery have yet to be determined. To verify the benefit and safety of LA, we compared the results of LA with those of open adrenalectomy (OA) and we further analyzed the clinical results of LA in accordance with the time period of performing this surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 69 patients who received adrenalectomy between 1997 and 2008. We compared LA with OA. The LA was divided into subsets of the early and late groups, and the transperitoneal approach and retroperitoneal approach groups, and we compared and analyzed the results of each group, along with the results of the OA and LA groups. For each of the groups, we analyzed the following factors; age, gender, tumor size, tumor location, the operative time, the time under anesthesia, the amounts of blood loss and transfusion, the time to first oral intake, the length of the postoperative hospital stay and the complications. RESULTS: LA (25 cases), as compared to OA (20 cases), showed better results for the amount of transfusion, the time to first oral intake, the length of the postoperative hospital stay and the complication rates (p=0.032; p=0.017; p=0.02). As for CA (4 cases), the time to first oral intake and the length of the postoperative hospital stay were significantly longer than that of LA (p=0.001; p=0.021). LA done in the late period demonstrated less blood loss and a shorter time to first oral intake as compared to the LA of the early period (p=0.032; p=0.019). There were no significant statistical differences between the results of the peritoneal or retroperitoneal approaches. CONCLUSION: LA has the merits of a shortening hospital stay and decreased complication. Furthermore, as the experience with this type of surgery accumulates, these merits are likely to become stronger. Thus, surgeons are expected to carefully decide on choosing the surgical methods by fully understanding the benefits and indications of LA.
Adrenal Gland Neoplasms ; Adrenalectomy ; Anesthesia ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies

Anisakiasis in the gastrointestinal tract is caused by the ingestion of raw marine fish that contain Anisakis lavae. In rare cases, Anisakiasis is found as an eosinophilic granuloma that mimics a submucosal tumor. The diagnosis is usually made after surgical resection. Several cases of gastric anisakiasis imitating a submucosal lesion have been reported. However, colonic anisakiasis forming a submucosal lesion is very rare and only a few cases have been reported. All of the cases were confirmed after surgery. Recently, we encountered a male patient with a submucosal lesion on the ascending colon during a health screening. Several biopsies were performed on the same site as the lesion. The pathological finding was eosinophilic granuloma. We tentatively diagnosed the patient with eosinophilic granuloma due to Anisakis as the patient consumed raw seafood and eosinophilia was detected on a laboratory test. We decided not to perform any procedure. One month later, the eosinophilic granuloma disappeared as seen on a follow-up colonoscopy.
Anisakiasis ; Anisakis ; Biopsy ; Colon ; Colon, Ascending ; Colonoscopy ; Eating ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophilic Granuloma ; Eosinophils ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Seafood

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of fentanyl-TTS in the management of radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was open labelled prospective phase IV multi-center study. the study population included patients with more 4 numeric rating scale(NRS) score pain although managed with other analgesics or more than 6 NRS score pain without analgesics. Patients divided into two groups; patients with radiotherapy induced pain (Group A) and patients with cancer pain treated with radiotherapy (Group B). All patients received 25 ug/hr of fentanyl transdermal patch. Primary end point was pain relief; second end points were change in patient quality of life, a degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician, side effects. RESULTS: Between March 2005 and June 2005, 312 patients from 26 participating institutes were registered, but 249 patients completed this study. Total number of patients in each group was 185 in Group A, 64 in Group B. Mean age was 60 years and male to female ratio was 76:24. Severe pain NRS score at 2 weeks after the application of fentanyl was decreased from 7.03 to 4.01, p=0.003. There was a significant improvement in insomnia, social functioning, and quality of life. A degree of satisfaction for patients and clinician was very high. The most common reasons of patients' satisfactions was good pain control. Ninety six patients reported side effect. Nausea was the most common side effect. There was no serious side effect. CONCLUSION: Fentanyl-TTS was effective in both relieving pain with good tolerability and improving the quality of life for patients with radiotherapy induced acute pain and cancer pain treated with radiotherapy. The satisfaction of the patients and doctors was good. There was no major side effect.
Academies and Institutes ; Acute Pain ; Analgesics ; Female ; Fentanyl* ; Humans ; Male ; Nausea ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy* ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders ; Transdermal Patch*