Young Ho Lee

AIMS: This study aimed to assess all-cause and cause-specific standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: We surveyed studies examining all-cause and/or cause-specific SMR in patients with SLE compared to the general population using PUBMED, EMBASE and Cochrane databases and manual searches. We performed a meta-analysis of all-cause, sex-specific, ethnicity-specific, and cause-specific SMRs in SLE patients. RESULTS: Fifteen reports including

This meta-analysis demonstrates that the PTPN22 1858T allele confers susceptibility to RA, SLE, GD, T1D and JIA, supporting evidence of association of the PTPN22 gene with subgroup of autoimmune diseases.

Magnaporthe grisea, the causal agent of rice blast, is one of the most destructive fungal pathogens of rice throughout the world. Infection of rice by M. grisea requires the formation of an appressorium, a darkly pigmented, dome-shaped structure. The germ tube tip differentiates into an appressorium following germination of conidia on a leaf surface. When conidia germinate on growth medium or other noninductive surfaces, the emerging germ tube does not differentiate and continues to grow vegetat

The number of medical studies being published is increasing exponentially, and clinicians must routinely process large amounts of new information. Moreover, the results of individual studies are often insufficient to provide confident answers, as their results are not consistently reproducible. A meta-analysis is a statistical method for combining the results of different studies on the same topic and it may resolve conflicts among studies. Meta-analysis is being used increasingly and plays an i

OBJECTIVE: Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) enhances opsonization and activates complement. Dysfunctional alleles of MBL have been associated with low plasma concentrations of MBL and increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but genotyping studies have shown inconsistent results. We performed case-control studies of the MBL polymorphisms in 2 Caucasian cohorts and a meta-analysis incorporating all published results of MBL genotyping in SLE to explore whether the MBL functional variants

The object of this review is to help readers to understand meta-analysis of genetic association study. Genetic association studies are a powerful approach to identify susceptibility genes for common diseases. However, the results of these studies are not consistently reproducible. In order to overcome the limitations of individual studies, larger sample sizes or meta-analysis is required. Meta-analysis is a statistical tool for combining results of different studies on the same topic, thus incre

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the effects of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents on hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative and anti-hepatitis B core (HBc)-positive patients (HBV occult carriers) with rheumatic diseases. METHODS: Evidence of HBV reactivation after anti-TNF therapy in HBV occult carriers with a rheumatic disease was studied by summarising results and by performing meta-analysis analysis. RESULTS: A total of 468 H

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the correlation between serum vitamin D level and RA activity. METHODS: We searched the PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases and performed a meta-analysis examining the vitamin D level and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with RA compared to healthy controls and the correlation coefficients between the vitamin D level and disease activity sco