Hojin Choi

Questionnaires or computer-based tests for assessing activities of daily living are well-known approaches to screen for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, questionnaires are subjective and computerized tests only collect simple performance data with conventional input devices such as a mouse and keyboard. This study explored the validity and discriminative power of a virtual daily living test as a new diagnostic approach to assess MCI. Twenty-two healthy controls and 20 patients with MCI

Neurogenesis in the adult brain is important for memory and learning, and the alterations in neural stem cells (NSCs) may be an important part of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway has been suggested to play an important role in neuronal cell survival and is highly involved in adult neurogenesis. Recently, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) was found to affect the PI3K pathway. We investigated whether CoQ10 could restore amyloid β (Aβ)25-35 oligomer-inhibited pr

With the world's fastest-growing aged population, dementia care has become a major public health concern in Korea, prompting the emergence of the policy of national responsibility for dementia care. Over the past one year since the introduction of the new policy, it has shown its strengths and weaknesses. Now is the time for us to put the current status of this policy into perspective in terms of the benefits for patients and caregivers as well as the cost-effectiveness in the management of deme

Levodopa (L-DOPA) is the most commonly used drug for Parkinson's disease (PD), but its long-term use is associated with various complications, including L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID). Many studies have suggested that L-DOPA neurotoxicity and LID are associated with glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) activation. Areas covered: LID is caused by striatal dopamine (DA) denervation in PD and pulsatile L-DOPA treatment. These factors lead to dysregulated DA transmission, abnormal intracellular signa

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common disease causing dementia. Amyloid beta (Aβ) is well known to play the most important roles in the pathogenesis. Aβ induces neuronal cell death and neuroinflammation. It has been published that Aβ affects numerous intracellular signaling pathways. The phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway associated with neuronal cell survival and various neural stem cell functions. In this review, the interaction between Aβ and the PI3K pathway will be discussed

Air pollution is a current and growing global problem. It also has a major adverse effect on our health. Air pollution exposure, a powerful health risk factor, is more likely to cause disease than the commonly known modifiable disease risk factor, and impacts health life reduction and labor productivity degradation in addition to disease outbreaks and early deaths. The association between air pollution and cardiovascular or respiratory problems has been well documented. Conversely, there has bee

National dementia plans were applied in dementia support centers established in Seoul, Korea between 2007 and 2009. However, the annual incidence rates of dementia in Seoul have not been reported. We investigated this annual incidence and the characteristics of incident cases from 2003 to 2018. The customized research database of the Korean National Health Insurance Services was used. The annual crude and age-standardized incidence of dementia patients and their characteristics were analyzed. Th

Korea is becoming an aged society at an alarmingly fast rate, which suggests that dementia care may become a major public health problem in Korea. At this point in time, the new policy of national responsibility for dementia care is a well-timed strategy, but it should be assessed based on a careful consideration of several aspects. We must promote a model of dementia care in which all members of society jointly participate. We need to improve the volunteer system in dementia care, and to make v

Background: With the increasing elderly population in Korea, the number of dementia patients is estimated to reach nearly a million by 2027. To resolve this problem, centers for dementia were established in Korea since 2007 and mass screening for dementia proceeded in these center. This research was...

Cerebral infarction is one of the major causes of severe morbidity and mortality, and thus, research has focused on developing treatment options for this condition. Zinc (Zn) is an essential element in the central nervous system and has several neuroprotective effects in the brain. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effects of Zn on neural stem cells (NSCs) exposed to hypoxia. After treatment with several concentrations of Zn, the viability of NSCs under hypoxic conditions was measur