Endocrine Disorders in Patients With Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Background: Human inborn errors of immunity (IEIs) include disorders characterized by aberrant function or development of the immune system. Recently, interest in the immune and endocrine systems has increased. We aimed to investigate endocrine disorders in patients with IEIs.

Antibody Responses to Meningococcal Vaccine in Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Recipients with Veno-Occlusive Disease Treated with Eculizumab.

Treatment with eculizumab increases the risk of invasive meningococcal infection (IMI). We evaluated tetravalent meningococcal vaccine responses in pediatric hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients with eculizumab for veno-occlusive disease (eculizumab group, n=4) and compared to patients with asplenia/polysplenia (asplenia/polysplenia group, n=2). Among the eculizumab group, two patients had a partial and full antibody response, respectively; two had no response.

Prolonged progression-free survival achieved by gemcitabine, cisplatin, and albumin-bound paclitaxel for the treatment of advanced biliary tract cancers.

Background: A regimen of gemcitabine, cisplatin, and nab-paclitaxel (GPA) has shown promising results in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer (aBTC).

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the benefit of GPA compared to a regimen of gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GP) in patients with aBTC.

Design: Retrospective study.

Case Report of COVID-19 and Pneumocystis coinfection in a pediatric patient with a history of receiving high dose steroid therapy.

We report the first case of a critically ill pediatric patient coinfected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP). Instances of coinfection of COVID-19 and PCP are being increasingly reported as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Because the combination can be life-threatening, timely diagnosis and treatment for PCP is necessary in cases where an immunocompromised patient contracts COVID-19.

Susceptibility to Fosfomycin and Nitrofurantoin of ESBL-Positive and Isolated From Urine of Pediatric Patients.

Background: Pediatric urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-positive gram-negative bacilli (GNB) has limited options for oral antibiotic treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the susceptibility of ESBL-positive and isolates from pediatric urine samples to two oral antibiotics (fosfomycin and nitrofurantoin).

Methods: From November 2020 to April 2022, ESBL-positive and isolates from urine samples were collected at Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Complications of the Central Nervous System in Pediatric Patients With Common Cold Coronavirus Infection During 2014-2019.

Background: In pediatric patients, the common cold coronavirus (ccCoV) usually causes mild respiratory illness. There are reports of coronavirus causing central nervous system (CNS) infection in experimental animal models. Some immunocompromised patients have also been reported to have fatal CNS infections with ccCoV.

LC-MS/MS-based serum proteomics reveals a distinctive signature in a rheumatoid arthritis mouse model after treatment with mesenchymal stem cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are known to be able to modulate immune responses, possess tissue-protective properties, and exhibit healing capacities with therapeutic potential for various diseases. The ability of MSCs to secrete various cytokines and growth factors provides new insights into autoimmune-diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is a systemic autoimmune disease that affects the lining of synovial joints, causing stiffness, pain, inflammation, and joint erosion.

Immunomodulatory Effect of Epidermal Growth Factor Secreted by Human Umbilical Cord Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Atopic Dermatitis.

Background And Objectives: Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging as a treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin disorder that affects a large number of people across the world. Treatment of AD using human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (hUCB-MSCs) has recently been studied. However, the mechanism underlying their effect needs to be studied continuously.

Translation and validation of the Korean Version of the Reflux Symptom Score.

Objectives: To assess the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the reflux symptom score (K-RSS).

Materials And Methods: The English version of the RSS was translated into Korean and completed by 77 people (44 and 33 people in the patient group and control group, respectively). They completed the K-RSS (K-RSS-1) and reflux symptom index (RSI) questionnaires and answered questions about age, sex, underlying disease, smoking history, and alcohol and coffee consumption.

Pimecrolimus interferes the therapeutic efficacy of human mesenchymal stem cells in atopic dermatitis by regulating NFAT-COX2 signaling.

Background: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) therapy has recently been considered a promising treatment for atopic dermatitis (AD) due to their immunomodulation and tissue regeneration ability. In our previous studies, we demonstrated that hMSCs alleviate allergic inflammation in murine AD model by inhibiting the activation of mast cells and B cells. Also our phase I/IIa clinical trial showed clinical efficacy and safety of hMSCs in moderate-to-severe adult AD patients.

Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Myocarditis/Pericarditis before the Introduction of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Korean Children: a Multicenter Study.

Background: Korean health authority plans to vaccinate adolescents against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) starting high school seniors during the summer vacation of 2021. However, the myocarditis/pericarditis following COVID-19 vaccine has been reported recently in adolescents and young adults. This study was performed to answer the urgent questions about the basic epidemiology and clinical course of myocarditis/pericarditis in hospitalized patients prior to the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines in pediatric population.

Stepwise School Opening and an Impact on the Epidemiology of COVID-19 in the Children.

Background: Data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 transmission from a pediatric index patient to others at the school setting are limited. Epidemiological data on pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases after school opening are warranted.

Methods: We analyzed data of the pediatric patients with COVID-19 collected from the press release of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Childcare Exposure to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 for 4-Year-Old Presymptomatic Child, South Korea.

Data on transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from preschool-age children to children and adults are limited. We investigated SARS-CoV-2 exposure at a childcare center in South Korea. A 4-year-old child, probably infected by his grandmother, attended the center during the presymptomatic period (February 19-21, 2020).

Gut microbiota Modulated by Probiotics and Garcinia cambogia Extract Correlate with Weight Gain and Adipocyte Sizes in High Fat-Fed Mice.

Results of recent studies on gut microbiota have suggested that obesogenic bacteria exacerbate obesity and metabolic dysfunction in the host when fed a high fat diet (HFD). In order to explore obesity-associated bacterial candidates and their response to diet, the composition of faecal bacterial communities was investigated by analyzing 16S rRNA gene sequences in mice. Dietary intervention with probiotics and Garcinia cambogia extract attenuated weight gain and adipocyte size in HFD-fed mice.

Characterization of the Nanog 5'-flanking Region in Bovine.

Bovine embryonic stem cells have potential for use in research, such as transgenic cattle generation and the study of developmental gene regulation. The Nanog may play a critical role in maintenance of the undifferentiated state of embryonic stem cells in the bovine, as in murine and human. Nevertheless, efforts to study the bovine Nanog for pluripotency-maintaining factors have been insufficient.