Comprehensive evaluation of coronary arteries by multidetector-row cardiac computed tomography according to the glucose level of asymptomatic individuals.

Background: Early detection of atherosclerosis in individuals with diabetes is important because of high cardiovascular mortality in this population. We performed multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in asymptomatic individuals to investigate the status of coronary artery stenosis and plaque characteristics depending on the glucose level.

Methods And Results: The plaque burden (number of diseased coronary segments), severity of stenosis, plaques characteristics, and coronary artery calcium score (CACS) were assessed by MDCT in 1043 asymptomatic individuals.

Effect of ginsam, a vinegar extract from Panax ginseng, on body weight and glucose homeostasis in an obese insulin-resistant rat model.

Extracts of ginseng species show antihyperglycemic activity. We evaluated the antihyperglycemic and antiobesity effects of ginsam, a component of Panax ginseng produced by vinegar extraction, which is enriched in the ginsenoside Rg3. Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats, an obese insulin-resistant rat model, were assigned into 1 of 3 groups (n = 8 each): controls (isotonic sodium chloride solution, 5 mL/d), rats given 300 mg/(kg d) ginsam, and rats given 500 mg/(kg d) ginsam.

Derivation of a new equation for estimating creatinine clearance by using fat-free mass and serum creatinine concentration in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: Equations to predict creatinine clearance (Ccr) or glomerular filtration rate have limitations in applying to a wide range of ethnicities with different fat-free mass (FFM). We aimed to determine the serum creatinine (Scr) concentrations that indicate renal insufficiency and formulate a new equation to estimate Ccr by a function of FFM in Korean type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods: Ccr was measured in 283 type 2 diabetic patients by 24-h urine collection.

Efficacy and safety of exenatide in patients of Asian descent with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin or metformin and a sulphonylurea.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of exenatide in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) inadequately controlled with oral agents.

Methods: Patients taking metformin (MET) alone or with a sulphonylurea (SU) were randomly assigned to exenatide 5 microg then 10 microg twice-daily for 4 and 12 weeks, respectively, or placebo. The primary endpoint was baseline to endpoint HbA(1c) change.

Ubiquitous healthcare service using Zigbee and mobile phone for elderly patients.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of a u-healthcare service using Zigbee and mobile phone for elderly patients with diabetes mellitus or heart diseases.

Materials And Methods: From July to October, 2005, 29 patients were enrolled in our study. Two selected u-healthcare items, ECG and blood glucose measurement, were monitored.

Two cases of ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome with olfactory neuroblastoma and literature review.

Olfactory neuroblastomas are rare, slow-growing malignant tumors, usually diagnosed at advanced stages. Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome caused by an olfactory neuroblastoma is extremely rare. We reported two Korean women who suffered from ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS) caused by olfactory neuroblastomas.

Polymorphisms of ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2 are associated with phenotypes of type 2 diabetes in Koreans.

Objective: Adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 (ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2) are considered as candidate genes for type 2 diabetes because they mediate the metabolic effects of adiponectin on target tissues. We investigated whether common polymorphisms of ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2 are associated with type 2 diabetes or its related phenotypes in Koreans.

Design And Patients: By sequencing of the DNA samples from 24 unrelated Korean subjects, we selected seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from ADIPOR1 and four SNPs from ADIPOR2 for genotyping in 757 type 2 diabetic patients and 644 nondiabetic subjects.

A report on the diagnosis of intermediate hyperglycemia in Korea: A pooled analysis of four community-based cohort studies.

Many studies show poor agreement between fasting plasma glucose (FPG)-based and 2-h postchallenge glucose (2-h PG)-based criteria to assess glucose metabolism. We examined the rate of agreement between FPG- and 2-h PG-based criteria in the diagnosis of intermediate hyperglycemia in four representative cohort studies in South Korea and compared the clinical characteristics and biochemical parameters in subjects with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) according to their FPG values. Of 6234 subjects from four population-based studies performed from 1993 to 2000, 4610 individuals with data from a 75g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and no previous history of diabetes were selected.

Insulin-sensitizing effects of exercise on adiponectin and retinol-binding protein-4 concentrations in young and middle-aged women.

Context: Exercise training enhances insulin sensitivity. Changes in retinol-binding protein-4 (RBP4) and adiponectin levels are linked to insulin resistance.

Objective: We tested whether the insulin-sensitizing effect of exercise is associated with age-related changes in circulating RBP4 and adiponectin levels in women.

Diagnostic value of galectin-3, HBME-1, cytokeratin 19, high molecular weight cytokeratin, cyclin D1 and p27(kip1) in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

The distinction between benign and malignant thyroid tumors is critical for the management of patients with thyroid nodules. We applied immunohistochemical staining for galectin-3, HBME-1, cytokeratin 19 (CK19), high molecular weight cytokeratin (HMWCK), cyclin D1 and p27(kip1) in 295 thyroid lesions to determine their diagnostic accuracy. The expression of all markers was significantly associated with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC).

Analysis of differential BRAF(V600E) mutational status in multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma: evidence of independent clonal origin in distinct tumor foci.

Background: Papillary thyroid cancers often occur as multiple foci. Multifocal cancers have been considered to have a poor prognosis because they are thought to be the consequence of intrathyroidal spread of the papillary cancer. However, to the authors' knowledge there has been little investigation into whether multifocal thyroid papillary carcinomas arise from the intrathyroidal spread of a single carcinoma or from independent primary tumors.

Polymorphisms in the ghrelin gene are associated with serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level and not with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Koreans.

Context: Ghrelin is known to play a role in glucose metabolism and in beta-cell function. There are controversies regarding the role of ghrelin polymorphisms in diabetes and diabetes-related phenotypes.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine polymorphisms of the ghrelin gene in a Korean cohort and investigate associations between them and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes and its related phenotypes.

Rapidly increasing diabetes-related mortality with socio-environmental changes in South Korea during the last two decades.

Diabetes mellitus is the result of complex interactions involving many genes and environmental factors, and rapid socio-environmental changes have been strongly associated with the development of diabetes. In this study, we examined the trends in diabetes mortality and associated socio-environmental changes that have occurred in South Korea over the last 20 years. Data from a national database and government reports for the years from 1983 to 2001 were analyzed.

The relationship between body fat and C-reactive protein in middle-aged Korean population.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) has been identified as a strong independent risk factor of cardiovascular events. However, few data are available on hsCRP levels and their relationship with body fatness in Asian populations. We evaluated the relationships between hsCRP and various obesity indices: weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass (FM), fat percent (F, %), waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and subscapular and suprailiac skinfold thicknesses in a community-based Korean cohort with hsCRP < or = 10 mg/l (n = 9773, age = 40-69 years, a rural and an urban community was selected).

A common mutation in cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene and plasma HDL cholesterol level before and after hormone replacement therapy in Korean postmenopausal women.

Background: Plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) functions to transfer cholesteryl ester from HDL to triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and regulates plasma HDL cholesterol level. A common mutation, the exon 15 A to G substitution at codon 442 (D442G) results in reduced plasma CETP activity and increased plasma HDL cholesterol level. Meanwhile, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in postmenopausal women increases plasma HDL cholesterol level.