Do expressive writing interventions have positive effects on Koreans?: a meta-analysis

IntroductionExpressive Writing (EW) is an intervention that focuses on individuals’ writing down their thoughts and feelings about trauma or stressful events. Meta-analyses on EW studies have confirmed that EW has a positive effect. However, the heterogeneity of studies is high, so many studies have investigated boundary conditions and moderators. One of these moderators is the cultural difference in emotional suppression. Since EW focuses on the expression of suppressed thoughts and emotions, its effect might be slightly different for people in Asian cultures who show a high tendency to suppress their emotions. This study attempted to confirm the effect size of the EW interventions in Korea and examine whether these studies have different effect size from those based on Western cultures.MethodA total of 29 studies published in Korea until 2021 were analyzed. The effect size was calculated using the “dmetar,” “meta,” and “metafor” packages of the statistical program R 4.0.4.ResultsThe results were as follows. First, the effect size of EW intervention was 0.16, and we found that studies in the Korean context showed no significant difference from studies based on western meta-analysis. Second, the moderating variables that influenced the EW intervention were the writing type, the number of sessions, the time per session, and the measurement time.DiscussionThe results of this study suggest that EW interventions benefit Koreans. And it is at least harmless and has a positive effect considering the efficiency and conciseness of interventions. Furthermore, the finding shows that EW interventions can be helpful even in the general population without apparent psychological problems. By considering moderators, we could structure more effective form of EW interventions for Koreans

Therapeutic Phytogenic Compounds for Obesity and Diabetes

Natural compounds have been used to develop drugs for many decades. Vast diversities and minimum side effects make natural compounds a good source for drug development. However, the composition and concentrations of natural compounds can vary. Despite this inconsistency, half of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmaceuticals are natural compounds or their derivatives. Therefore, it is essential to continuously investigate natural compounds as sources of new pharmaceuticals. This review provides comprehensive information and analysis on natural compounds from plants (phytogenic compounds) that may serve as anti-obesity and/or anti-diabetes therapeutics. Our growing understanding and further exploration of the mechanisms of action of the phytogenic compounds may afford opportunities for development of therapeutic interventions in metabolic diseases.1

Intraosseous Hemangioma of the Middle Turbinate Misdiagnosed As a Nasal Polyp

Intraosseous hemangiomas account for 1% of all bone tumors and primarily originate from the vertebral column and skull bones. However, intraosseous hemangiomas of the nasal cavity are extremely rare. Here, we report a case of intraosseous hemangioma with a cavernous pattern arising from the middle turbinate that was preoperatively misdiagnosed as chronic rhinosinusitis with polyps. Except for nasal obstruction, there were no specific rhinologic symptoms. The tumor was excised en bloc by the endoscopic endonasal approach without preoperative embolization

Coexistent Actinomycosis and Fungus Ball in the Maxillary Sinus: A Case Report

Actinomycosis is rarely accompanied by fungus balls. It is difficult to distinguish between actinomycosis and a fungus ball due to their similar clinical and computed tomography scan results. Thus, a meticulous histopathological examination is required for definite diagnosis. We report a case of actinomycosis accompanied by a fungus ball, found incidentally in a patient without rhinologic symptoms. The patient was successfully treated with endoscopic sinus surgery, followed by short-term antibiotic therapy. We suggest that shortterm antibiotic therapy may be more appropriate than long-term antibiotic therapy based on our case study as well as several other studies

Methionine deprivation suppresses triple-negative breast cancer metastasis in vitro and in vivo

Nutrient deprivation strategies have been proposed as an adjuvant therapy for cancer cells due to their increased metabolic demand. We examined the specific inhibitory effects of amino acid deprivation on the metastatic phenotypes of the human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines MDA-MB-231 and Hs 578T, as well as the orthotopic 4T1 mouse TNBC tumor model. Among the 10 essential amino acids tested, methionine deprivation elicited the strongest inhibitory effects on the migration and invasion of these cancer cells. Methionine deprivation reduced the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, as well as the activity and mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, two major markers of metastasis, while increasing the mRNA expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, methionine restriction downregulated the metastasis-related factor urokinase plasminogen activatior and upregulated plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 mRNA expression. Animals on the methionine-deprived diet showed lower lung metastasis rates compared to mice on the control diet. Taken together, these results suggest that methionine restriction could provide a potential nutritional strategy for more effective cancer therapy

Characteristics of second primary breast cancer after ovarian cancer: a Korea central cancer registry retrospective study

BackgroundSecond primary cancer has become an important issue among cancer survivors. This study sought to determine the differences in clinicopathologic outcomes between second primary breast cancer (SPBC) after ovarian cancer and primary breast cancer (PBC) in the Republic of Korea.Methods and materialsWe searched the Korea Central Cancer Registry and identified 251,244 breast cancer cases that were diagnosed between 1999 and 2017. The incident rate and standardized incidence ratio (SIR) were calculated. Demographic and clinical characteristics and overall survival (OS) rates were estimated according to age, histological type, and cancer stage.ResultsAmong the 228,329 patients included, 228,148 were patients with PBC, and 181 patients had SPBC diagnosed after ovarian cancer (OC). The mean ages at diagnosis were 56.09 ± 10.81 years for SPBC and 50.65 ± 11.40 years for PBC. Patients with SPBC were significantly less likely than patients with PBC to receive adjuvant radiotherapy (14.92% vs. 21.92%, p = 0.02) or adjuvant chemotherapy (44.75% vs. 55.69%, p < 0.01). Based on the age-standardized rate (ASR), the incidence of SPBC after OC was 293.58 per 100,000 ovarian cancer patients and the incidence of PBC was 39.13 per 100,000 women. The SIR for SPBC was 1.27 (1.09-1.46, 95% Confidence interval) in the patients overall. The 5-year OS rates were 72.88% and 89.37% for SPBC and PBC (p < 0.01). The OS rate in SPBC decreased significantly with advanced stage and older age.ConclusionThe incidence of breast cancer is about 1.27 times higher in ovarian cancer patients than in healthy people. The survival outcomes were worse for SPBC than for PBC and were related to older age and advanced stage. Active screening for breast cancer is necessary in ovarian cancer patients