Minjung Lee

UNLABELLED: Quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen (qHBsAg) and quantitative hepatitis B e antigen (qHBeAg) titers are emerging as useful tools for measuring viral loads and for predicting the virological response (VR) and serological response (SR) to pegylated interferon therapy. However, the clinical utility of these assays in patients taking entecavir (ETV) is largely unknown. Treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who were taking ETV for 2 years were enrolled. The qHBsAg a

Compared with TACE or sorafenib, HR may prolong the survival of patients with HCC in cases of CTP class A, type I PVTT or unilobar-involved HCC.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) have shown clinical activity in patients with germline BRCA1/2 mutation (gBRCAm)-associated breast and ovarian cancers. Accumulating evidence suggests that PARPi may have a wider application in the treatment of cancers defective in DNA damage repair pathways, such as prostate, lung, endometrial, and pancreatic cancers. Several PARPi are currently in phase I/II clinical investigation, as single-agents and/or combination therapy in these solid tumors.

Synthesis of a polymer composed of a large discrete number of chemically distinct monomers in an absolutely defined aperiodic sequence remains a challenge in polymer chemistry. The synthesis has largely been limited to oligomers having a limited number of repeating units due to the difficulties associated with the step-by-step addition of individual monomers to achieve high molecular weights. Here we report the copolymers of α-hydroxy acids, poly(phenyllactic-co-lactic acid) (PcL) built via the

Recently, the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) project revealed decreased functional connectivity in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) relative to the typically developing controls (TDCs). However, it is still questionable whether the source of functional under-connectivity in subjects with ASD is equally contributed by the ipsilateral and contralateral parts of the brain. In this study, we decomposed the inter- and intra-hemispheric regions and compared the functional c

BACKGROUND: Large clinical studies assessing long-term adefovir dipivoxil salvage monotherapy in patients with lamivudine-resistant chronic hepatitis B (CHB) are lacking, particularly in patients positive for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg). We assessed the efficacy and resistance profile of adefovir dipivoxil monotherapy for up to 5 years in a large cohort of Korean patients with lamivudine-resistant CHB. METHODS: A total of 320 patients (81.3% HBeAg-positive; 100% genotype C) with confirmed geno

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is produced and secreted through a complex mechanism that is still not fully understood. In clinical fields, HBsAg has long served as a qualitative diagnostic marker for hepatitis B virus infection. Notably, advances have been made in the development of quantitative HBsAg assays, which have allowed viral replication monitoring, and there is an opportunity to make maximal use of quantitative HBsAg to elucidate its role in clinical fields. Yet, it needs to be un

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent studies have shown that the genotype of hepatitis B virus (HBV) may correlate with the disease natural history and treatment outcome. However, several of these studies used low sensitivity assays in a small number of patients, and this has precluded an accurate evaluation of Korean HBV genotypes. We analyzed Korean HBV genotypes in a large population by employing a new technology, restriction fragment mass polymorphism (RFMP) using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, in a sensit

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Colonoscopy has a significant miss rate for colorectal polyp screening. The present study hypothesized that reduced colonic spasm with antispasmodic agents might yield a better visual field to result in enhanced polyp detection rate. METHODOLOGY: In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study design, muscle spasm was recorded during insertion and withdrawal during routine colonoscopy, and the number of polyps detected were compared between two groups of 58 patients characteriz

Conducting core−shell poly(styrene/pyrrole) (poly(St/Py)) particles were successfully prepared by a one-step solution route in soap-free emulsion polymerization. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and a trace of ferric chloride (FeCl 3 ) were used as an initiator couple to carry out Fe 3+ -catalyzed oxidative polymerization. The average particle size of the particle was approximately 250 nm and its core−shell morphology (shell thickness ∼20−30 nm) was proved with transmission electron microscopy. The

BACKGROUND: The efficacy of adefovir dipivoxil (ADV) or entecavir (ETV) rescue monotherapy has not been directly compared in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients with lamivudine (3TC)-resistant chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We compared the efficacy of ADV and ETV rescue monotherapy in HBeAg-positive patients with confirmed genotypic 3TC resistance. METHODS: A total of 160 HBeAg-positive patients with confirmed 3TC resistance underwent switch therapy (91 ADV and 59 ETV). Parameters assess