Patterns of Obesity during Anti-cancer Chemotherapy in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia / 대한혈액학회지

BACKGROUND: We evaluated the pattern as well as the predictive factors of obesity in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) according to body mass index (BMI) changes that occur during anticancer chemotherapy. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 58 patients who were diagnosed with ALL between 1995 and 2006 at the Department of Pediatrics at Hanyang University Hospital and Dong-A University Hospital. Five relapsed cases were excluded. The heights and weights of 55 children were measured at diagnosis, after induction, after consolidation, before maintenance and at the end of therapy. We analyzed the body mass index (BMI, kg/m(2)) for each treatment phase and evaluated the BMI differences for patients who received or did not receive cranial radiotherapy. RESULTS: The BMI increased in five children (10.4%) among the 48 children who were not obese at diagnosis. According to the treatment phase, the BMI of study patients significantly increased during induction and during chemotherapy. Even though the BMI also significantly increased according to the treatment phases in the children who underwent cranial radiotherapy, the BMI differences between patients that received or did not receive cranial radiotherapy were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the risk for obesity in children with ALL should be considered even during chemotherapy. Physical activities, including physiotherapy, should be encouraged to prevent obesity, particularly during the long-term use of corticosteroids and during hospital admission.

Evaluation of Allergenicity to Genetically Modified Organic Foods / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSES: The aim of this study was to clarify whether genetically modified organic (GMO) foods cause any allergic reactions in patients with food allergy, by means of their serum tests. In addition, it was also attempted to perform follow-up observation on targeting proteins contained in GMO food, using the serum of patients with food allergy, and to show the improvement for evaluating GMO food as allergens. METHODS: To identify the targeting proteins in GMO food and to evaluate their allergenic risks, several genes including CP4 EPSPS in genetically modified soybean, and Cry1f, Cry1Ab and Pat in genetically modified corn were cloned. The genes were transformed to synthesize proteins to induce protein expression of their target genes. The serums were divided allergy-positive and allergy-negative to soybean and corn, and SDS-PAGE and Western blotting were conducted, and finally allergenic risks were evaluated. RESULTS: This study showed that the allergenic risks of 4 targeting proteins were insignificant. Although some non-specific bands appeared, it was considered that they were not associated with allergenic risk as they often appeared in other proteins. Additionally, as a result of analyzing DNA sequences for each targeting protein with the intention of protein identification, they perfectly matched. CONCLUSION: As a way to evaluate the allergenic risk of GMO food, it is reasonable to use the purified serum proteins of allergic patients as performed in this study. However, this evaluation method is carefully applied to the future practice.