The association between prescription drugs and colorectal cancer prognosis: a nationwide cohort study using a medication-wide association study

Background With the availability of health insurance claim data, pharmacovigilance for various drugs has been suggested; however, it is necessary to establish an appropriate analysis method. To detect unintended drug effects and to generate new hypotheses, we conducted a hypothesis-free study to systematically examine the relationship between all prescription nonanticancer drugs and the mortality of colorectal cancer patients. Methods We used the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort database. A total of 2,618 colorectal cancer patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were divided into drug discovery and drug validation sets (1:1) through random sampling. Drugs were classified using the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system: 76 drugs classified as ATC level 2 and 332 drugs classified as ATC level 4 were included in the analysis. We used a Cox proportional hazard model adjusted for sex, age, colorectal cancer treatment, and comorbidities. The relationship between all prescription nonanticancer drugs and the mortality of colorectal cancer patients was analyzed, controlling for multiple comparisons with the false discovery rate. Results We found that one ATC level-2 drug (drugs that act on the nervous system, including parasympathomimetics, addictive disorder drugs, and antivertigo drugs) showed a protective effect related to colorectal cancer prognosis. At the ATC level 4 classification, 4 drugs were significant: two had a protective effect (anticholinesterases and opioid anesthetics), and the other two had a detrimental effect (magnesium compounds and Pregnen [4] derivatives). Conclusions In this hypothesis-free study, we identified four drugs linked to colorectal cancer prognosis. The MWAS method can be useful in real-world data analysis. Keywords Colorectal cancer, Medication-wide association study, Pharmacovigilance, Hypothesis free, Agnostic, Korean populationThis work was supported by the Bisa Research Grant of Keimyung University in 2022 and the National Research Foundation of Korea (2017R1A2B4009233). The funding organizations had no role in the design or conduct of this research

A Low-Profile WLAN Antenna with Inductor and Tuning Stub for Broadband Impedance Matching

This paper presents a low-profile multiband antenna suitable for wireless local area networks (WLANs), using a chip inductor and tuning stub for broadband impedance matching. The proposed antenna is compact 12×10×1 mm3 and covers three bands: 2.4-GHz (2.400–2.484 GHz), 5.2-GHz (5.150–5.350 GHz), and 5.8-GHz (5.725–5.825 GHz). The measured 10-dB bandwidths are 12.0% (2.28–2.57 GHz) in the lower band for 2.4-GHz WLANs and 39.1% (4.81–7.15 GHz) in the upper band for 5 GHz-WLANs. The measured peak gain of the antenna is between 2.7 and 4.39 dBi and the radiation patterns are omnidirectional

Low-Profile Dual-Wideband MIMO Antenna with Low ECC for LTE and Wi-Fi Applications

This paper presents a low-profile dual-wideband multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna with low envelop correlation coefficient (ECC) for long-term evolution (LTE) and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) applications. The antenna covers LTE band 7 and Wi-Fi as well as wireless broadband (Wibro) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) (except for the 3.5-GHz band). To aid with integration of a practical mobile terminal, the MIMO antenna elements are placed at appropriate locations by analyzing the surface current distribution and without using any additional isolation techniques. The measured bandwidths with reflection coefficients of <−10 dB are 36.8% in the range 2.02–2.93 GHz and 23.4% in the range 5.10–6.45 GHz. Isolation is satisfied to be >20 dB in the operating frequency ranges of both LTE band 7 and Wi-Fi. Additionally, the calculated ECC is in the range 0.005<ρ<0.025, which is considerably lower than the ρ<0.5 required for MIMO applications. The measured radiation patterns are appropriate for mobile terminals, and omnidirectional radiation patterns are obtained

Autoimmune Hypoglycemia in a Patient with Characterization of Insulin Receptor Autoantibodies

BackgroundType B insulin resistance syndrome is a manifestation of autoantibodies to the insulin receptor that results in severe hyperglycemia and acanthosis nigricans. However, the mechanisms by which these autoantibodies induce hypoglycemia are largely unknown. In this paper, we report the case of patient with type B insulin resistance syndrome who presented with frequent severe fasting hypoglycemia and acanthosis nigricans.MethodsTo evaluate the mechanism of hypoglycemia, we measured the inhibition of insulin binding to erythrocytes and IM9 lymphocytes in a sample of the patient's dialyzed serum before and after immunosuppressive therapy.ResultsIn the patient's pre-treatment serum IgG, the binding of 125I-insulin to erythrocytes was markedly inhibited in a dose-dependent manner until the cold insulin level reached 10-9 mol/L. We also observed dose-dependent inhibition of insulin binding to IM9 lymphocytes, which reached approximately 82% inhibition and persisted even when diluted 1:20. After treatment with glucocorticoids, insulin-erythrocyte binding activity returned to between 70% and 80% of normal, while the inhibition of insulin-lymphocyte binding was reduced by 17%.ConclusionWe treated a patient with type B insulin resistance syndrome showing recurrent fasting hypoglycemia with steroids and azathioprine. We characterized the patient's insulin receptor antibodies by measuring the inhibition of insulin binding

A highly active and redox stable novel ceramic anode with in-situ exsolution of nanocatalysts

Layered perovskite novel ceramic anode (referred to as SGNM) phases were evaluated for use in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) analysis of the SGNM materials revealed that significant exsolution of Ni nanoparticles occurred. Consistently, the SGNM on the LSGM electrolyte showed low electrode polarization resistance in H2 at 800 °C. Moreover, after 10 redox cycles at 750 °C, the electrode area specific resistance of the SGNM anode in H2 slightly increased during cycle, indicating excellent redox stability in both reducing and oxidizing atmospheres. An LSGM-electrolyte supported SOFC employing an SGNM-based anode yielded a high power density of ~1 W cm-2 at 800 °C, which is the best performance among the any SOFCs with Ruddlesden-Popper based ceramic anodes to date. After performance measurement, we observed that metallic Ni nanoparticles (~ 25 nm) were grown in situ and homogeneously distributed on the SGNM anode surface. These exsolved nanocatalysts are believed to significantly enhance the hydrogen oxidation activity of the SGNM material. These results demonstrate that the novel SGNM material is promising as a high catalytically active and redox-stable anode for SOFCs.. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A modified method for inducing periodontitis in dogs using a silk-wire twisted ligature

This study was designed to assess the effectiveness of a modified silk ligature twisted with wire for inducing advanced periodontitis. Periodontitis was induced in five premolars and one molar of 20 healthy dogs over a 60-day period. The dogs were divided into four groups according to the ligature-inducing materials used: soft moistened food only, wire ligature (WL), silk ligature (SL) and twisted ligature with silk and wire (SWL). Periodontal indices were recorded, and dental radiographs were taken before and after 60 days of ligation. The ligatures were checked daily and the day the ligature fell out was noted. The period during which the ligatures were maintained was significantly shorter for the SL group compared to the SWL group (p < 0.05). Results of the clinical examination showed that almost all periodontal status parameters including the plaque index, gingival index, clinical attachment level, and bleeding on probing were significantly exacerbated in the SWL group compared to the other groups (p < 0.05). Radiographic evaluation demonstrated that alveolar bone levels were significantly lower in the SWL group than the other groups on day 60 (p < 0.05). These results suggested that experimental periodontitis induced by SWL could be an effective method for investigating periodontitis in canine models.OAIID:oai:osos.snu.ac.kr:snu2012-01/102/0000004182/3SEQ:3PERF_CD:SNU2012-01EVAL_ITEM_CD:102USER_ID:0000004182ADJUST_YN:YEMP_ID:A075461DEPT_CD:551CITE_RATE:1.161FILENAME:첨부된 내역이 없습니다.DEPT_NM:수의학과EMAIL:[email protected]_YN:YCONFIRM:

Neuroprotective effects of erythropoietin against hypoxic injury via modulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway and apoptosis

PurposeHypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a significant cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. Erythropoietin (EPO) is emerging as a therapeutic candidate for neuroprotection. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the neuroprotective role of recombinant human EPO (rHuEPO) and the possible mechanisms by which mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway including extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2), JNK, and p38 MAPK is modulated in cultured cortical neuronal cells and astrocytes.MethodsPrimary neuronal cells and astrocytes were prepared from cortices of ICR mouse embryos and divided into the normoxic, hypoxia (H), and hypoxia-pretreated with EPO (H+EPO) groups. The phosphorylation of MAPK pathway was quantified using western blot, and the apoptosis was assessed by caspase-3 measurement and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling assay.ResultsAll MAPK pathway signals were activated by hypoxia in the neuronal cells and astrocytes (P<0.05). In the neuronal cells, phosphorylation of ERK-1/-2 and apoptosis were significantly decreased in the H+EPO group at 15 hours after hypoxia (P<0.05). In the astrocytes, phosphorylation of ERK-1/-2, p38 MAPK, and apoptosis was reduced in the H+EPO group at 15 hours after hypoxia (P<0.05).ConclusionPretreatment with rHuEPO exerts neuroprotective effects against hypoxic injury reducing apoptosis by caspase-dependent mechanisms. Pathologic, persistent ERK activation after hypoxic injury may be attenuateed by pretreatment with EPO supporting that EPO may regulate apoptosis by affecting ERK pathways

Comparison of the Efficacy of Glimepiride, Metformin, and Rosiglitazone Monotherapy in Korean Drug-Naïve Type 2 Diabetic Patients: The Practical Evidence of Antidiabetic Monotherapy Study

BackgroundAlthough many anti-diabetic drugs have been used to control hyperglycemia for decades, the efficacy of commonly-used oral glucose-lowering agents in Korean type 2 diabetic patients has yet to be clearly demonstrated.MethodsWe evaluated the efficacy of glimepiride, metformin, and rosiglitazone as initial treatment for drug-naïve type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in a 48-week, double-blind, randomized controlled study that included 349 Korean patients. Our primary goal was to determine the change in HbA1c levels from baseline to end point. Our secondary goal was to evaluate changes in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels, body weight, frequency of adverse events, and the proportion of participants achieving target HbA1c levels.ResultsHbA1c levels decreased from 7.8% to 6.9% in the glimepiride group (P<0.001), from 7.9% to 7.0% in the metformin group (P<0.001), and from 7.8% to 7.0% (P<0.001) in the rosiglitazone group. Glimepiride and rosiglitazone significantly increased body weight and metformin reduced body weight during the study period. Symptomatic hypoglycemia was more frequent in the glimepiride group and diarrhea was more frequent in the metformin group.ConclusionThe efficacy of glimepiride, metformin, and rosiglitazone as antidiabetic monotherapies in drug-naïve Korean type 2 diabetic patients was similar in the three groups, with no statistical difference. This study is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy of commonly-used oral hypoglycemic agents in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. An additional subgroup analysis is recommended to obtain more detailed information