Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2023
Multicenter StudyGender Difference of Blood Pressure Control Rate and Clinical Prognosis in Patients With Resistant Hypertension: Real-World Observation Study.
There are several differences in the clinical course of hypertension due to the biological and social differences between men and women. Resistant hypertension is an advanced disease state, and significant gender difference could be expected, but much has not been revealed yet. The purpose of this study was to compare gender differences on the current status of blood pressure (BP) control and clinical prognosis in patients with resistant hypertension. ⋯ In resistant hypertension, men were younger than women, but end-organ damage was more common and the risk of cardiovascular event was higher. More intensive cardiovascular prevention strategies may be required in male patients with resistant hypertension.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2023
Multicenter StudyTwenty-Five Year Trend Change in the Etiology of Pediatric Invasive Bacterial Infections in Korea, 1996-2020.
The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has contributed to the change in the epidemiology of many infectious diseases. This study aimed to establish the pre-pandemic epidemiology of pediatric invasive bacterial infection (IBI). ⋯ In the proportion of IBIs over a 24-year period between 1996 and 2019, we observed a decreasing trend for S. pneumoniae and H. influenzae and an increasing trend for S. aureus, S. agalactiae, and S. pyogenes in children > 3 months of age. These findings can be used as the baseline data to navigate the trend in the epidemiology of pediatric IBI in the post COVID-19 era.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2023
Anti-Alpha-Toxin Antibody Responses and Clinical Outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia.
Alpha-toxin (AT), a major virulence factor of Staphylococcus aureus, is an important immunotherapeutic target to prevent or treat invasive S. aureus infections. Previous studies have suggested that anti-AT antibodies (Abs) may have a protective role against S. aureus bacteremia (SAB), but their function remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between serum anti-AT Ab levels and clinical outcomes of SAB. ⋯ The study findings suggest that lower anti-AT Ab responses before and during SAB, reflective of immune dysfunction, are associated with more severe clinical presentations of infection.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2023
Differential Expression of NME4 in Trophoblast Stem-Like Cells and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells of Normal Pregnancy and Preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia (PE) is known to arise from insufficient trophoblast invasion as uterine spiral arteries lack remodeling. A significant reduction in placental perfusion induces an ischemic placental microenvironment due to reduced oxygen delivery to the placenta and fetus, leading to oxidative stress. Mitochondria are involved in the regulation of cellular metabolism and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). NME/NM23 nuceloside diphosphate kinase 4 (NME4) gene is known to have the ability to supply nucleotide triphosphate and deoxynucleotide triphosphate for replication and transcription of mitochondria. Our study aimed to investigate changes in NME4 expression in PE using trophoblast stem-like cells (TSLCs) from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a model of early pregnancy and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) as a model of late preterm pregnancy. ⋯ Our study showed that the expression of the NME4 differed between models of early and late preterm pregnancy of PE, and suggests that this expression pattern may be a potential biomarker for early diagnosis of PE.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2023
Relevance Index Regional Variation by Each Disease and Its Essential Medical Field: A Retrospective Data Analysis From 2016-2020 in Korea.
To precisely build a healthcare delivery system at regional levels, local patients' healthcare service utilization patterns must be examined. Hence, this study utilized trend analysis of the relevance index of each disease of each essential medical service field at the municipal and provincial levels. ⋯ The relevance index of major diseases of each essential medical service field calculated in this study can provide good indicators for monitoring the level of an independent regional healthcare delivery system.