Incidence of gestational trophoblastic disease in South Korea: a longitudinal, population-based study

Introduction We investigated the rate and longitudinal trends of gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) incidence in the Republic of Korea between 2009 and 2015 using population-based data. Materials and Methods Data of patients diagnosed with GTD from 2009 to 2015 were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service/National Inpatient Sample (HIRA-NIS) in the Republic of Korea. The HIRA annually provides the HIRA-NIS, a collection of clinical data from over one million people. For each year, the HIRA-NIS extracted records of 13% of patients admitted at any one time during the year and 1% of all remaining patients using the weighted sample method. Results Medical records of 370,117 women with at least one pregnancy (GTD, ectopic pregnancy, abortion, or delivery) were extracted from a total of 4,476,495 records. Of these, 372 episodes of GTD were identified in women with a mean age of 35.4 ± 0.7 years. The incidence rate of GTD was 130 ± 10 cases per 100,000 pregnancies, which was classified as hydatidiform mole (HM), invasive mole, or malignant neoplasm of the placenta with incidence rates of 110 ± 10, 20 ± 0, or 10 ± 0 cases per 100,000 pregnancies, respectively. Incidence of GTD was lowest among women in their late 20 s and early 30 s. Occurrences of HM accounted for 80.3% all GTD cases. Weighted logistic analysis indicated that while age significantly affected the incidence of GTD (odds ratio (OR): 2.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.79–3.37]; P < 0.001), socioeconomic status did not (OR: 1.94; 95% CI [1.0–3.79]; P = 0.05). Conclusions In the Republic of Korea, we observed overall incidence rates of GTD and HM of 1.3 and 1.1 per 1,000 pregnancies, respectively, which are similar to those reported in recent Western population-based studies. We also noted that annual incidence rates of GTD stabilized from 2009 to 2015

Enhancement of angiogenic and vasculogenic potential of endothelial progenitor cells by haptoglobin

AbstractEndothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were transfected with the haptoglobin (Hp) gene to investigate the effect of Hp on cell function. Hp potentiated the gene expression of various pro-angiogenic factors in the EPCs. The Hp-modified EPCs also increased in vitro tube formation on Matrigel compared with control cells. In hindlimb ischaemia models, Hp–EPCs showed a greater ability for improving blood perfusion and recovery from ischaemic injury. These results indicate that Hp improves EPC function in neovasculogenesis, which suggests that ex vivo modification of EPCs with the Hp gene can be applied to the treatment of vascular damage

A Review of Suicide Risk Assessment Tools and Their Measured Psychometric Properties in Korea

While there has been a slew of review studies on suicide measurement tools until now, there were not any reviews focusing on suicide assessment tools available in Korea. This review aimed to examine the psychometric properties of tools developed in Korea or the translated versions from the original tools in their foreign language and to identify potential improvements and supplements for these tools. A literature search was done using the Korean academic information search service, Research Information Service System, to identify the suicide measures to be included in this review. Abstracts were screened to identify which measures were used to assess suicide-related factors. Based on the established inclusion and exclusion criteria, 18 tools remained and we assessed their psychometric properties. The current review indicated several major findings. First, many of the tools did not report predictive validity and even those with predictive validity were based on past suicide attempts. Second, some of the tools overlooked the interactive component for the cause of suicide. In addition, information to supplement the self-reported and clinician-administered reports by collecting reports from the subjects' families and acquaintances is needed. It is also important to develop a screening tool that examines other aspects of an individual's personal life, including unemployment, bereavement, divorce, and childhood trauma. Moreover, tools that have been studied in more diverse groups of the population are needed to increase external validity. Finally, the linguistic translation of the tools into Korean needs to consider other cultural, social, and psychological factors of the sample of interest

Engineering new bone tissue in vitro on highly porous poly(Α-hydroxyl acids)/hydroxyapatite composite scaffolds

Engineering new bone tissue with cells and a synthetic extracellular matrix (scaffolding) represents a new approach for the regeneration of mineralized tissues compared with the transplantation of bone (autografts or allografts). In the present work, highly porous poly( L -lactic acid) (PLLA) and PLLA/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite scaffolds were prepared with a thermally induced phase separation technique. The scaffolds were seeded with osteoblastic cells and cultured in vitro . In the pure PLLA scaffolds, the osteoblasts attached primarily on the outer surface of the polymer. In contrast, the osteoblasts penetrated deep into the PLLA/HAP scaffolds and were uniformly distributed. The osteoblast survival percentage in the PLLA/HAP scaffolds was superior to that in the PLLA scaffolds. The osteoblasts proliferated in both types of the scaffolds, but the cell number was always higher in the PLLA/HAP composite scaffolds during 6 weeks of in vitro cultivation. Bone-specific markers (mRNAs encoding bone sialoprotein and osteocalcin) were expressed more abundantly in the PLLA/HAP composite scaffolds than in the PLLA scaffolds. The new tissue increased continuously in the PLLA/HAP composite scaffolds, whereas new tissue formed only near the surface of pure PLLA scaffolds. These results demonstrate that HAP imparts osteoconductivity and the highly porous PLLA/HAP composite scaffolds are superior to pure PLLA scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 54: 284–293, 2001Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34419/1/16_ftp.pd

Statement on chronotherapy for the treatment of hypertension: consensus document from the Korean society of hypertension

Nocturnal blood pressure (BP) has been shown to have a significant predictive value for cardiovascular disease. In some cases, it has a superior predictive value for future cardiovascular outcomes than daytime BP. As efficacy of BP medications wanes during nighttime and early morning, control of nocturnal hypertension and morning hypertension can be difficult. As such, chronotherapy, the dosing of BP medication in the evening, has been an ongoing topic of interest in the field of hypertension. Some studies have shown that chronotherapy is effective in reducing nocturnal BP, improving non dipping and rising patterns to dipping patterns, and improving cardiovascular prognosis. However, criticism and concerns have been raised regarding the design of these studies, such as the Hygia study, and the implausible clinical benefits in cardiovascular outcomes considering the degree of BP lowering from bedtime dosing. Studies have shown that there is no consistent evidence to suggest that routine administration of antihypertensive medications at bedtime can improve nocturnal BP and early morning BP control. However, in some cases of uncontrolled nocturnal hypertension and morning hypertension, such as in those with diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and obstructive sleep apnea, bedtime dosing has shown efficacy in reducing evening and early morning BP. The recently published the Treatment in Morning versus Evening (TIME) study failed to demonstrate benefit of bedtime dosing in reducing cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension. With issues of the Hygia study and negative results from the TIME study, it is unclear at this time whether routine bedtime dosing is beneficial for reducing cardiovascular outcomes