Sang Won Lee

PURPOSE: To retrospectively compare the accuracy of visual grading and the liver attenuation index in the computed tomographic (CT) diagnosis of 30% or higher macrovesicular steatosis in living hepatic donors, by using histologic analysis as the reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional review board approval was obtained with waiver of informed consent. Of 703 consecutive hepatic donor candidates, 24 patients (22 men and two women; mean age +/- standard deviation, 36.3 years +/- 9

OBJECTIVE: Adiponectin (AD) is considered an inflammation modulator. In this study, we investigated the effect of AD on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model and RA synovial fibroblasts (RASF). METHODS: Fifteen DBA/1 mice were divided into three groups. All mice, except the control group, were injected with type II collagen. AD was intra-articularly injected in the left hind legs after arthritis development (the AD-treated group). The severity of the arth

The translaminar screw method avoided damaging vascular structures, especially when the vertebral artery courses in the C7 transverse foramen, and it maintains solid stabilization of the subaxial cervical spine. This technique has 2 important advantages to currently used techniques: it is simpler and is not limited by the position of vascular structures. Therefore, it may be applicable to a wider number of patients, especially as it may be used in the subaxial cervical spine.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether serum leptin levels are elevated in men with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and whether the levels correlate with serum cytokine profiles and disease activity of AS. METHODS: Forty-two male patients with newly diagnosed AS were enrolled. Their Bath AS Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), body mass index (BMI), and acute phase reactants, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, were assessed. Serum leptin levels were determined usi

OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) at diagnosis can estimate the cross-sectional high activity and predict the poor outcomes in immunosuppressive drug-naïve patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis (AAV). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 163 patients with AAV and obtained clinical and laboratory data. We calculated Birmingham vasculitis activity score (BVAS) as well as five-factor score (FFS) (200

INTRODUCTION: We identified silent liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using transient elastography, and investigated medication that correlated with abnormal liver stiffness measurement (LSM) values. METHODS: We consecutively enrolled 105 patients with RA taking methotrexate over 24 weeks with normal liver functions and no history of underlying chronic liver disease. Blood tests were performed, and body mass index and metabolic syndrome were assessed. We checked LSM values

AIM: Several studies have implicated increased risk of malignancy in patients with immunoglobulin G4-related disease (IgG4-RD). Hence, we first evaluated the risk and the type of malignancy in Korean IgG4-RD patients. METHOD: Clinical and laboratory results of patients fulfilling the comprehensive diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD were retrospectively collected between January 2006 and November 2015. One hundred and eighteen patients were included, and 35 were classified as having definite, 83 as

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) was introduced to predict poor prognosis in various diseases, but not all variants of ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether NLR at diagnosis can estimate vasculitis activity at diagnosis and poor prognosis during follow-up in patients with AAV. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 160 patients with AAV. We collected clinical and laboratory data at diagnosis and obtained remission an

PIIV at diagnosis exceeding the optimal cut-off for death could predict all-cause mortality during follow-up in AAV patients comparable to male gender and FFS at diagnosis.

Fever is a common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and because of this it is difficult to discriminate between SLE flare and infection. The delta neutrophil index (DNI), automatically determined by the ADVIA 2120 electronic cell analyzer, has been reported to reflect the fraction of circulating immature granulocytes and to be associated with the presence of infection. In this study, we investigated the utility of DNI in discriminating infections from SLE flares in febrile SLE patie

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and the common type of malignancies in Korean patients with polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) and to evaluate the differences of clinical and laboratory findings between patients with malignancy and those without malignancy. Forty-one Korean patients, who were diagnosed as PM or DM, were enrolled in this study. They fulfilled the Bohan and Peter's criteria for a definite diagnosis of PM and DM. Patients with PM were 25 and those with DM

<b>Objectives:</b> Comorbidities and conventional risk factors influence the prognosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated whether liver fibrosis burden is associated with all-cause mortality in patients with RA.<b>Methods:</b> A total of 2812 patients with RA were retrospectively selected and reviewed. Liver fibrosis was assessed using the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) [age (years)× aspartate aminotransferase level (IU/L)/platelet count (10⁹/L)/√alanine aminotransf