Age-related Clinical Analysis of Bacterial Keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong Provinces: a Multicenter Study

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to investigate the age-related clinical features, risk factors, and prognoses of bacterial keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces and the patterns and trends of fluoroquinolone antibiotic susceptibility. @*Methods@#Medical records of 433 patients (433 eyes) who visited one of the five university hospitals in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces and were diagnosed as culture-positive bacterial keratitis between January 2000 to December 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into younger and older groups based on an age of 60 years. Predisposing factors, prognostic factors, treatment method, causative organisms, and susceptibility to fluoroquinolone were analyzed. @*Results@#Two hundred seventy three males (63.0%) and 160 females (37.0%) were included. The most common risk factors in the younger group were contact lens wear (27.5%) and trauma and foreign body (27.0%). The most common risk factors in the older group were trauma and foreign body (30.5%). Staphylococcus species was the most common causative Gram-positive bacteria, regardless of age, and Pseudomonas species was the most common among Gram-negative bacteria. The older group tended to have more severe keratitis required more surgical treatment and had a worse visual outcome than the younger group (p 0.05). @*Conclusions@#Bacterial keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces indicated more severe clinical aspects and worse prognoses in older patients showing similar results from previous studies. Caution regarding trauma and foreign bodies and managing previous ocular disease is necessary for all age groups. Education regarding adequate contact lens care and hygiene is required for younger (<60 years) patients.

Age-related Clinical Analysis of Bacterial Keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong Provinces: a Multicenter Study

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to investigate the age-related clinical features, risk factors, and prognoses of bacterial keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces and the patterns and trends of fluoroquinolone antibiotic susceptibility. @*Methods@#Medical records of 433 patients (433 eyes) who visited one of the five university hospitals in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces and were diagnosed as culture-positive bacterial keratitis between January 2000 to December 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were divided into younger and older groups based on an age of 60 years. Predisposing factors, prognostic factors, treatment method, causative organisms, and susceptibility to fluoroquinolone were analyzed. @*Results@#Two hundred seventy three males (63.0%) and 160 females (37.0%) were included. The most common risk factors in the younger group were contact lens wear (27.5%) and trauma and foreign body (27.0%). The most common risk factors in the older group were trauma and foreign body (30.5%). Staphylococcus species was the most common causative Gram-positive bacteria, regardless of age, and Pseudomonas species was the most common among Gram-negative bacteria. The older group tended to have more severe keratitis required more surgical treatment and had a worse visual outcome than the younger group (p 0.05). @*Conclusions@#Bacterial keratitis in Daejeon and Chungcheong provinces indicated more severe clinical aspects and worse prognoses in older patients showing similar results from previous studies. Caution regarding trauma and foreign bodies and managing previous ocular disease is necessary for all age groups. Education regarding adequate contact lens care and hygiene is required for younger (<60 years) patients.

Application and Effect of Mobiletype-Bone Health Intervention in Korean Young Adult Women with Low Bone Mass: A Randomized Control Trial

PURPOSE: This randomized control trial was designed to examine the effect on the self-managing ability for promoting bone health of mobile typeebone health intervention (mobile typeeBHI). METHODS: The mobile typeeBHI consisted of amobile application called “Strong bone, Fit body” (SbFb) and group education. A total of 82 college women with low bone mass (Z score <−1) participated. They were assigned randomly to three groups, experimental group I, (n = 28), experimental group II (n = 32), and control group (n = 22). This study ran from June 2014 to January 2015. The outcome variables were bone mineral density, minerals related to bone metabolism (calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D), biochemical markers related to bone remodeling (osteocalcin, C-terminal telopeptide, sclerostin), food intake diary by 24 hours recall, and psychosocial variables related to bone health (knowledge, health belief and selfefficacy). Data were analyzed using SAS program and a computer aided nutritional analysis program. RESULTS: Both the experimental group I, who used mobile typeeBHI, and experimental group II, who only received group education, showed outcomes regarding knowledge of the benefits of exercise and calcium as compared with the control group. The two experimental groups also demonstrated results in the serum levels of calcium, vitamin D, and sclerostin compared to those of the control group. CONCLUSION: Although both experimental groups exhibited positive outcomes in regards to the promotion of bone health, this study did not show an additional effect of the mobile application on selfmanagement ability for the promotion of bone health. Nonetheless, the SbFb application is very meaningful as it is the first application developed with the aim of improving women's bone health.

Classification of Colon Cancer Patients Based on the Methylation Patterns of Promoters

Diverse somatic mutations have been reported to serve as cancer drivers. Recently, it has also been reported that epigenetic regulation is closely related to cancer development. However, the effect of epigenetic changes on cancer is still elusive. In this study, we analyzed DNA methylation data on colon cancer taken from The Caner Genome Atlas. We found that several promoters were significantly hypermethylated in colon cancer patients. Through clustering analysis of differentially methylated DNA regions, we were able to define subgroups of patients and observed clinical features associated with each subgroup. In addition, we analyzed the functional ontology of aberrantly methylated genes and identified the G-protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway as one of the major pathways affected epigenetically. In conclusion, our analysis shows the possibility of characterizing the clinical features of colon cancer subgroups based on DNA methylation patterns and provides lists of important genes and pathways possibly involved in colon cancer development.

Clinico-serologic Manifestation and Serologic Response to Treatment of Syphilis / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been an increase in the prevalence of syphilis in Korea and in case reports of treatment failures of syphilis. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to explicate the clinical and laboratory features of syphilis, underlying diseases of the VDRL false-positive group, and responses to treatment of patients with syphilis. METHODS: Between January 2001 and June 2010, we selected 115 patients with reactive results on the VDRL test. We evaluated several characteristics including their age, gender, clinical stage, skin lesion, serologic result, the rate and the underlying diseases of the VDRL false-positive group, and their serologic responses to syphilis treatment. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the incidence of syphilis by gender except in the case of primary syphilis. The annual incidence of syphilis has shown a significant upward trend, especially in the younger age group (10~39 years). Using a serum VDRL titer of 8 as a cut-off value, we found a significant difference between early and latent syphilis. The rate for the VDRL false-positive group was 24.3%. Treatment failures were not reported and the median time to a successful serological response for patients with early syphilis treated with penicillin was 106 days. The Jarish-Herxheimer reaction occurred in 13.7%, and these symptoms were self-limited without any treatment. CONCLUSION: The annual incidence of syphilis in Korea has shown a significantly upward trend, especially in the younger age group. All responses evaluated were reported for those treated successfully without having any significant adverse effects. Thus, continued surveillance and adequate treatment of syphilis is important not only to enhance disease control but also to improve public health.

Three Cases of Plasma Cell Cheilitis Treated by Topical Tacrolimus / 대한피부과학회지

Plasma cell cheilitis, an idiopathic benign inflammatory disorder of the lip, is characterized by dense plasma cell infiltration in the upper dermis. It usually presents as circumscribed erosive patches or plaques on the lower lip of an elderly person. The cause of plasma cell cheilitis is unknown, and the treatment is often disappointing. Tacrolimus is one of the newer immunomodulators which inhibit T-cell activation and inflammatory cytokine release. It is approved for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, and several reports have found topical tacrolimus to also be effective and well tolerated in other skin disorders, including other types of eczema, papulosquamous disorders, vesiculobullous diseases, vitiligo and connective tissue diseases. Herein, we report 3 cases of plasma cell cheilitis treated by topical tacrolimus ointment.

The Effect of 650 nm Red Light Phototherapy on Acne Vulgaris / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: With the emergence of problems with conventional acne vulgaris treatments, the demand for safe and effective treatment has been increasing. Recently, many studies have shown that phototherapy can be an alternative treatment for acne. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of red light phototherapy for mild to moderate acne vulgaris. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris were recruited. The patients were instructed to use an ordinary light emitting diode (LED)-attached device on left facial acne and a red light-emitting device on right facial acne for 16 minutes, twice a day, for 6 weeks. Acne was assessed at baseline and at weeks 2, 4, and 6. RESULTS: A significant reduction of Burton scale and lesion count was observed on the red light emitting side, compared with the LED-emitting side. Improvement of satisfaction of patients and efficacy assessment on the red light emitting side were 82.05% and 84.62%, respectively, compared with 41.03% and 38.46%, respectively, on the LED emitting side. One patient complained of cheilitis, but it was temporary. CONCLUSION: This study shows that 650 nm red light therapy can be an effective and safe treatment for mild to moderate acne vulgaris.

Biological Object Downloader (BOD) Service for Easy Download and Management of Biological Databases

BOD is an FTP service management tool on the Internet. It was developed for biological researchers in South Korea. It enables easier and faster access of bioinformation without having to go through foreign FTP sites. BOD includes an automatic downloader with a management and email alert service from which the user can easily select and schedule any biological database. Once listed in BOD, the user can check and modify the download status and data from an additional email alert service.