Yunjeong Kim

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) therapy in patients with rheumatic diseases in terms of the reactivation of potential hepatitis B virus (HBV) occult infection. METHODS: Patients who had taken anti-TNF-alpha for the treatment of rheumatic diseases from January 2002 to May 2008 were included in the study. In this patient group, we retrospectively investigated a series of serum aminotransferase levels, HBV serologic status, the type of anti-TNF-alpha therap

Oleuropein, an active constituent of olive leaf, has a variety of pharmacological activities associated with its capacity to scavenge reactive oxygen species. Oleuropein is also reported to have protective effects against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in vivo. In this study, gene expression profiling of hepatic tissues was examined, and transcription factors (TFs) with target genes that were modulated by oleuropein were identified to gain insights into the molecular mechanisms for th

BACKGROUND: The exosomal nucleic acid (exoNA) from the plasma and pleural fluid can potentially provide means to identify genomic changes in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who develop resistance to targeted epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor therapy. METHODS: We compared the performance of the following tools to detect EGFR mutations in 54 plasma samples and 13 pleural fluid using cfDNA, combined TNA (exoTNA + cfTNA), or total cellular DNA: droplet digital PCR (ddPCR)

Purpose: The present study aimed to compare acoustic models of speech intelligibility in individuals with the same disease (Parkinson's disease [PD]) and presumably similar underlying neuropathologies but with different native languages (American English [AE] and Korean). Method: A total of 48 speakers from the 4 speaker groups (AE speakers with PD, Korean speakers with PD, healthy English speakers, and healthy Korean speakers) were asked to read a paragraph in their native languages. Four acous

Aims This study evaluated clinical effectiveness of telemonitoring on the management of patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods We searched Ovid-Medline, Ovid-EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library to identify randomized controlled trials that compared telemonitoring and usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes. Results Thirty-eight studies (6855 patients) were included. Telemonitoring was associated with a significant decrease in glycated haemoglobin levels compared to usual care (weighted mean dif

OBJECTIVE: To determine the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) and standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for malignancy in Korean patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We enrolled 1534 patients with RA who fulfilled the American College of Rheumatology criteria, from October 2001 to December 2007. Baseline assessment included sociodemographic variables, laboratory findings including rheumatoid factor, anticitrullinated protein antibody, functional class, radiological stage, medication,

Primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) is a human herpes virus 8 (HHV8)-positive large B-cell neoplasm that presents as an effusion with no detectable tumor in individuals with human immunodeficiency virus infection or other immune deficiencies. PEL is an aggressive neoplasm with a poor prognosis. PEL cells show diverse morphologies, ranging from immunoblastic or plasmablastic to anaplastic. The immunophenotype of PEL is distinct, but its lineage can be misdiagnosed if not assessed thoroughly. PEL cell

OBJECTIVE: .Recent studies suggest that polymorphisms of interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) are significantly associated with systemic lupus erythematosus in several populations. The effect of IRF5 polymorphism on susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been investigated, and the results were inconsistent. We analyzed the genetic effects of IRF5 polymorphisms on RA in a Korean population. METHODS: Eight single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and 2 insertion-deletion polymorphisms in IR