Frailty in Patients With Parkinson's Disease in Community and Clinical Settings: A Scoping Review.

Background: Frailty and Parkinson's disease share overlapping clinical features, making it challenging to distinguish between the two. Therefore, it is important to understand the characteristics of frailty in people with Parkinson's disease (PwP) to prevent the progression of frailty.

Aims: We sought to understand existing evidence on frailty in PwP.

Functional evaluation of fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition as an in vitro screening tool for pulmonary fibrosis.

Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG), a major component of humidifier disinfectants (HDs) linked to fatal lung injuries, has been implicated in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. However, most previous studies have primarily focused on epithelial injury, with limited attention to fibroblast activation - a central mechanism in fibrogenesis. In this study, we present an integrated testing strategy (ITS) designed for the early in vitro screening of fibrogenic agents, centered on fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition (FMT) as a core functional and mechanistic endpoint.

Ocrelizumab-Induced B-Cell Depletion in a Newborn.

Ocrelizumab (OCR) is an IgG1 humanized monoclonal antibody directed against CD20. Due to its B-cell-depleting ability, it is used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, a disease that affects women of childbearing age. Although OCR use is not recommended in pregnancy, in utero exposure has occurred and resulted in normal to absent B cells at birth.

Precision generalized phase I-II designs.

A new family of precision Bayesian dose optimization designs, PGen I-II, based on early efficacy, early toxicity, and long-term time to treatment failure is proposed. A PGen I-II design refines a Gen I-II design by accounting for patient heterogeneity characterized by subgroups that may be defined by prognostic levels, disease subtypes, or biomarker categories. The design makes subgroup-specific decisions, which may be to drop an unacceptably toxic or inefficacious dose, randomize patients among acceptable doses, or identify a best dose in terms of treatment success defined in terms of time to failure over long-term follow-up.

Sparse Bayesian Group Factor Model for Feature Interactions in Multiple Count Tables Data.

Group factor models have been developed to infer relationships between multiple co-occurring multivariate continuous responses. Motivated by complex count data from multi-domain microbiome studies using next-generation sequencing, we develop a sparse Bayesian group factor model (Sp-BGFM) for multiple count table data that captures the interaction between microorganisms in different domains. Sp-BGFM uses a rounded kernel mixture model using a Dirichlet process (DP) prior with log-normal mixture kernels for count vectors.

Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Contributing to patient Self-Care (CSE-CSC) scale: Psychometric testing in a population of caregivers of Parkinson's disease in the Republic of Korea.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Contributing to patient Self-Care (CSE-CSC) scale among caregivers of people with Parkinson's disease (PwP).

Background: Caregivers' contributions to patients' self-care can improve PwP health outcomes, and caregiver self-efficacy is associated with caregiver contributions. The CSE-CSC scale was developed to measure caregiver self-efficacy in multiple chronic conditions.

Sinhyotaklisan as a Potential Therapeutic for Psoriasis: Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation.

Sinhyotaklisan (SHTLS) is a traditional herbal prescription composed of , , , and , commonly used to treat skin disorders. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects and underlying mechanisms of SHTLS in psoriasis through the network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation in vitro and in vivo. Bioactive compounds and molecular targets were identified using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, and key protein-protein interaction networks were analyzed via STRING and Cytoscape.

Timing of repeat epinephrine to inform paediatric anaphylaxis observation periods: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Children presenting to the emergency department with anaphylaxis typically receive at least one dose of epinephrine and are observed in the emergency department or monitored for recurrent (biphasic anaphylaxis) or persistent symptoms on hospital wards for variable durations before discharge is considered safe. We aimed to calculate the incidence rate and timing of repeat epinephrine dosing to determine the observation threshold at which the cumulative incidence of repeat epinephrine was less than 2% for every 1 h increase in observation time.

Methods: This multicentre, retrospective cohort study across 30 emergency departments in the USA and one emergency department in Canada included children aged 6 months to 17 years who, according to electronic medical records, presented to one of the participating emergency departments with an acute allergic reaction that was treated with intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intravenous epinephrine before arrival at the emergency department or in the emergency department between Jan 1, 2016, and Dec 31, 2019.

Core domains for pre-registered nurses based on program outcomes and licensing competencies.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify core domains for pre-registered nurses by comparing licensing competencies with program outcomes (POs) in undergraduate nursing education. This was accomplished in preparation for the transition of the Korean Nurse Licensing Examination (KNLE) from a tradition seven-subject format to a newly integrated, competency-based single-subject format that reflects current trends in nursing assessment.

Methods: A literature review and survey were conducted.

Assessing Allergist Supervised Pediatric Oral Food Challenge Outcomes Based on Race and Ethnicity.

Background: Research has shown evidence of differences in the prevalence and management of food allergies based on race and ethnicity. Previous epidemiologic studies have focused on patient-reported food allergies, which may be skewed due to subject recall bias, health literacy regarding the different types of adverse food reactions, and access to allergists/immunologists.

Objective: The primary objective was to evaluate for differences in oral food challenge (OFC) outcomes by race and ethnicity.

Perioperative Anaphylaxis: A Systematic Approach to Evaluate High-Risk Drug Allergy.

Determining the etiology of perioperative anaphylaxis is a challenging task, as multiple medications are often administered simultaneously during anesthesia. This is compounded by the paucity of validated skin testing. While drug challenges are the definitive means of assessing for IgE-mediated drug allergy, they must be weighed with the risk of severe reaction.

Erratum: Korean Gastric Cancer Association-Led Nationwide Survey on Surgically Treated Gastric Cancers in 2023.

This corrects the article on p. 115 in vol. 25, PMID: 39822171.

The Influence of Lifestyle Behaviors and Body Mass Index Changes on Long-term Outcomes After Gastric Cancer Surgery: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Purpose: The present study investigated the impact of lifestyle behaviors and body mass index (BMI) on late recurrence, gastric remnant cancer (GRC), and long-term survival after curative gastrectomy.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study utilized data from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database. Among 71,014 patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative gastrectomy between January 2009 and December 2012, 23,359 remained cancer-free for five years.

Effect of the Yon PD App on the Management of Self-Care in People With Parkinson Disease: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: As the percentage of the older population increases, it is accompanied by an increase in the prevalence of Parkinson disease (PD). People with PD experience a range of nonmotor symptoms, including pain, constipation, dysphagia, sleep disturbances, and fatigue. Improving self-care is necessary for people with PD because it is a chronic disease that requires lifelong management.

Generation of prostate cancer assembloids modeling the patient-specific tumor microenvironment.

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among men and contributes significantly to cancer-related mortality. While recent advances in in vitro PC modeling systems have been made, there remains a lack of robust preclinical models that faithfully recapitulate the genetic and phenotypic characteristics across various PC subtypes-from localized PC (LPC) to castration-resistant PC (CRPC)-along with associated stromal cells. Here, we established human PC assembloids from LPC and CRPC tissues by reconstituting tumor organoids with corresponding cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), thereby incorporating aspects of the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Potential of histone deacetylase 6 inhibitors in alleviating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Background: Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), belonging to class IIb of histone deacetylases, regulates the acetylation of the cytoplasmic protein α-tubulin. The overexpression of HDAC6 is linked to the development of tumors, and inhibiting HDAC6 is known to trigger apoptosis in multiple myeloma cells. In addition to its application in cancer treatment, bortezomib, a proteasome inhibitor, is widely used in managing multiple myeloma and has shown effectiveness in patients with both newly diagnosed and relapsed disease.

Educational Needs of Patient Safety Care Among Nurses in General Hospitals.

Background: Education is one of the effective strategies to improve patient safety care in healthcare. For better education, it is essential to identify areas where intervention is needed.

Objective: This study was designed to analyze nurses' educational needs by comparing the perceived importance and performance of patient safety care in general hospitals in Korea.

Chirality-Controlled Lipid Nanoparticles for mRNA Delivery.

mRNA therapeutics present a promising strategy for the treatment of human diseases, which requires a carrier to protect the mRNA and ensure its effective cellular delivery. However, research on how the surface physicochemical properties of the mRNA carriers affect the efficiency of delivery of mRNA into cells has been limited thus far. Here, we report that chirality control of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) can enhance the delivery and transfection efficiency of cargo mRNA into cells.

Comparison of the Characteristics of Korean Older Adults Who Returned to the Emergency Department Within 30 Days Before and During COVID-19: A Retrospective Study.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic prompted significant alterations in emergency department accessibility owing to government-imposed health policies. These changes influenced the frequency of return emergency department visits among older adults, but empirical investigations on this topic remain scarce. This study aimed to examine trends in emergency department return visits among older adults in South Korea during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Sinhyotaklisan alleviates inflammation in LPS-activated macrophages by modulating the heme oxygenase pathway.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Shinhyotaklisan (SHTLS) is a time-honored traditional Korean herbal formula composed of four key herbs: Lonicerae Flos, Astragali Radix, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma. It has been extensively used to treat inflammatory diseases by expelling excessive heat, detoxifying the body, and promoting the drainage of pus from abscesses.

Aim Of The Study: This study examines the therapeutic effects of SHTLS and elucidates its mechanisms of action in alleviating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in vitro.

Palliative Care and Hospice for Heart Failure Patients: Position Statement From the Korean Society of Heart Failure.

Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in South Korea, imposing substantial physical, emotional, and financial burdens on patients and society. Despite the high burden of symptom and complex care needs of HF patients, palliative care and hospice services remain underutilized in South Korea due to cultural, institutional, and knowledge-related barriers. This position statement from the Korean Society of Heart Failure emphasizes the need for integrating palliative and hospice care into HF management to improve quality of life and support holistic care for patients and their families.

Korean Gastric Cancer Association-Led Nationwide Survey on Surgically Treated Gastric Cancers in 2023.

Purpose: Since 1995, the Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has been periodically conducting nationwide surveys on patients with surgically treated gastric cancer. This study details the results of the survey conducted in 2023.

Materials And Methods: The survey was conducted from March to December 2024 using a standardized case report form.

Smartphone App for Improving Self-Awareness of Adherence to Edoxaban Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (ADHERE-App Trial): Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Adherence to oral anticoagulant therapy is essential to prevent ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether smartphone app-based interventions improve medication adherence in patients with AF.

Methods: This open-label, multicenter randomized controlled trial (ADHERE-App [Self-Awareness of Drug Adherence to Edoxaban Using an Automatic App Feedback System] study) enrolled patients with AF treated with edoxaban for stroke prevention.

-targeted, stable expression of ChR2 in human brain organoids for consistent optogenetic control.

Self-organizing brain organoids provide a promising tool for studying human development and disease. Here we created human forebrain organoids with stable and homogeneous expression of channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) by generating safe harbor locus-targeted, ChR2 knocked-in human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), followed by the differentiation of these genetically engineered hPSCs into forebrain organoids. The resulting ChR2-expressing human forebrain organoids showed homogeneous cellular expression of ChR2 throughout entire regions without any structural and functional perturbations and displayed consistent and robust neural activation upon light stimulation, allowing for the non-virus mediated, spatiotemporal optogenetic control of neural activities.

Discrepancies between home blood pressure and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in apparent treatment-resistant hypertension: analysis from the Korean resistant hypertension cohort.

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of out-of-office blood pressure (BP) measurements in patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension (aRH) enrolled from 15 tertiary care centers in South Korea. aRH was defined as having uncontrolled office BP ≥ 130/80 mmHg despite receiving three classes of antihypertensive medication or any level of BP despite receiving ≥4 classes of antihypertensive medication. Patients with complete data for office BP, 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), and home BP measurements at baseline were included.