Sok Lee

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA) is a hair follicle-specific autoimmune disorder. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with various autoimmune disorders for its immunomodulatory effects. However, in previous studies, there had been inconsistent association found between AA and vitamin D deficiency. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the differences of the mean serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and prevalence of vitamin D deficiency between AA patients and non-AA population. METHODS: A systematic review

The in situ diagnosis of cardiac activities with simultaneous therapeutic electrical stimulation of the heart is key to preventing cardiac arrhythmia. Here, we present an unconventional single-device platform that enables in situ monitoring even in a wet condition and control of beating heart motions without interferences to the recording signal. This platform consists of the active-matrix array of pressure-sensitive transistors for detecting cardiac beatings, biocompatible, low-impedance electr

A 43-year-old woman was diagnosed with an intravenous leiomyomatosis at a previous hospital and transferred to our hospital to undergo surgical treatment. Emergency one-stage operation for coincidental removal of intra-abdominal, right atrial, and intravenous masses were planned. Upon arriving at the operating room, she suffered a sudden onset of severe dyspnea and showed hemodynamic instability. Intraoperative TEE showed pulmonary embolization of a right atrial mass. Removal of the pulmonary ar

Surgical treatment for active endocarditis with aortic root abscess is still challenging, and was associated with high operative mortality. Nevertheless, long-term survival was excellent with good functional capacity after recovery from the early postoperative period.

The 90% CIs of GMRs for the pharmacodynamic parameters chosen for bioequivalence evaluation of two formulations of acarbose did not meet the commonly accepted regulatory criteria for bioequivalence (0·80-1·25).

LS can be overestimated in patients with VHD due to hepatic congestion. However, LS can be dynamically reversed during the perioperative period reflecting the restoration of cardiac function after a successful operation.

Necrotizing aortitis is a rare and life-threatening complication of local or generalized bacterial infections and most commonly affects the abdominal aorta. We described a case of a 79-year-old man with an acupuncture-induced bacterial aortitis associated with pseudoaneurysm formation causing near rupture. The patient underwent emergent explolapartomy, resection of the infected aorta, wide debridement of surrounding infected tissues, and extra-anatomic axillary to bifemoral graft bypass. The mic

BACKGROUND: An association of mitral regurgitation (MR) with ischemic cardiomyopathy (I-CMP) increases the risk of heart failure and its surgical management remains controversial. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between July 2001 and June 2006, a total of 49 patients with I-CMP underwent surgical ventricular restoration (SVR) and coronary revascularization with or without concomitant mitral annuloplasty (MAP). The mean age was 59.8 years, and all patients had New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or

BACKGROUND: Prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM) is characterised by the effects of inadequate prosthesis size relative to body surface area (BSA).The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of PPM on late clinical outcomes after mitral valve replacement (MVR) in rheumatic population. METHODS: . Clinical and echocardiographic follow-up (mean follow up 8.7 ± 4.0 years) results were compared. RESULTS: 37% of patients (n = 165) had PPM. There were no significant differences in baseline and o