Jae Sung Ko

Background Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) varies significantly in incidence and prevalence across countries and regions. We aimed to examine global, regional, and national trends in incidence and prevalence of AIH from 1970 to 2022. Methods We conducted a thorough search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases from database inception to August 9, 2023, using the search term "autoimmune hepatitis" in combination with "incidence," "prevalence," or "trend." Only ge

AIM: To determine whether Lactobacillus plantarum can modify the deleterious effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on intestinal epithelial cells. METHODS: Caco-2 cells were incubated with TNF-alpha alone or in the presence of L. plantarum. Transepithelial electrical resistance was used to measure epithelial barrier function. Interleukin 8 (IL-8) secretion by intestinal epithelial cells was measured using an ELISA. Cellular lysate proteins were immunoblotted using the anti-extracell

Tufting enteropathy is a rare autosomal recessive disorder presenting with early-onset severe intractable diarrhea. The epithelial cell adhesion molecule gene (EpCAM) has recently been identified as the gene responsible for tufting enteropathy. Based on histology, a diagnosis of tufting enteropathy was made in two Korean siblings. They developed chronic diarrhea and failure to thrive. They had a broad nasal bridge and micrognathia. Duodenal and colonic biopsies showed villous atrophy, disorganiz

Fibropolycystic liver disease includes CHF, Caroli's syndrome, and Caroli's disease. Patients with Caroli's disease and Caroli's syndrome have an increased risk of recurrent cholangitis, intrahepatic calculi, biliary cirrhosis, and cholangiocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to examine the post-transplantation outcomes of children with fibropolycystic liver disease. Of the 158 children transplanted at Seoul National University Hospital, there were four patients with Caroli's syndrome, two pati

BACKGROUND: Several putative virulence factors for Helicobacter pylori have been identified including cagA, vacA, and iceA. The aims of the present study were to study the distribution of cagA, vacA, and iceA genotypes in children with H. pylori gastritis and to examine the association of genotypes with severity of gastritis. METHODS: H. pylori DNA was extracted from antral biopsy specimens from 33 children with H. pylori gastritis. Specific polymerase chain reaction assays were used for three g

BACKGROUND: An elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level is a surrogate marker of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common liver disorder in adolescents. The majority of previous NAFLD studies in adolescents were performed in selected obese populations or had a cross-sectional design without a time-trend analysis. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and time trends of elevated ALT levels in a general adolescent population and to identify factors associa

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to develop a new prognostic score based on changes in serial laboratory data from patients with pediatric acute liver failure (PALF). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data on 146 patients with PALF at the Seoul National University Children Hospital (SNUCH) and the Asan Medical Center (AMC). Daily morning laboratory records were obtained for up to 7 days after diagnosis of PALF: total bilirubin (TB) (mg/dL), international normalized ratio for prothrombin time (INR)

BACKGROUND: Although genetic variants of PNPLA3, TM6SF2 and SAMM50 have been reported to increase the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), no pediatric studies have evaluated the association between SAMM50 and NAFLD. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the risk factors, including genetic variants, of pediatric NAFLD. METHODS: NAFLD was defined as the presence of hepatic steatosis on ultrasound. We included 228 patients with NAFLD (body mass index-Z [BMI-Z] = 2.51 ± 1.01) and

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, and is commonly associated with obesity. The spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and cirrhosis. Fructose ingestion, visceral obesity, and metabolic syndrome are risk factors for liver fibrosis. NAFLD is characterized by two steps of liver injury: intrahepatic lipid accumulation in the setting of insulin resistance, and inflammatory progression to NASH by oxidativ

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. The global prevalence of pediatric NAFLD from general populations is 7.6%. In obese children, the prevalence is higher in Asia. NAFLD has a strong heritable component based on ethnic difference in the prevalence and clustering within families. Genetic polymorphisms of patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (<i>PNPLA3</i>), transmembrane 6 superfamily member 2, and glucokinase r

Citrin is a liver-type mitochondrial aspartate-glutamate carrier encoded by the SLC25A13 gene, and its deficiency causes adult-onset type II citrullinemia and neonatal intrahepatic cholestasis caused by citrin deficiency (NICCD). Here, the authors investigated clinical findings in Korean infants with NICCD and performed mutation analysis on the SLC25A13 gene. Of 47 patients with neonatal cholestasis, three infants had multiple aminoacidemia (involving citrulline, methionine, and arginine) and ga

Interferon-alpha treatment of chronic hepatitis C in children with hemophilia was safe and effective in producing sustained responses. The pretreatment serum HCV RNA level and viral genotype may be predictive factors for sustained response to interferon therapy.