Hallym University

About: Hallym University is a education organization based out in Chuncheon, South Korea. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Medicine. The organization has 10605 authors who have published 18891 publications receiving 302498 citations.

Correlation of metabolic syndrome with urinary stone composition

Abstract: Objective To determine the correlation between metabolic syndrome and the distribution of stone components in patients with urolithiasis. Methods Between January 2007 and December 2010, renal or ureteral stones were collected from 712 patients (432 males, 280 females) who underwent surgical intervention at three hospitals in South Korea. Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the latest definition of the International Diabetes Federation, using ethnicity- and sex-specific cut-off values for central obesity. Patients were assessed by factors used in metabolic syndrome. All urinary stones were analyzed using infrared spectrophotometry and categorized according to their main component. Results The patients' mean age was 55.9 years (range 19–93 years). Of the 712 patients, 347 (48.7%; 205 males, 142 females) had a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Calcium oxalate (71.5%), uric acid (15.3%), carbonate apatite (8.0%) and struvite (4.1%) calculi were found as the main stone components. Overall, the proportion of uric acid calculi was markedly higher in patients with rather than without metabolic syndrome (19.6 vs 11.2%; P = 0.002). However, the proportion of calcium oxalate, carbonate apatite and struvite calculi did not differ between the two groups. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio for uric acid calculi according to the metabolic syndrome components indicated that the presence of metabolic syndrome was associated with a 93% increased odds ratio of uric acid calculi compared with the absence of metabolic syndrome. Impaired fasting glucose and hypertriglyceridemia were independent risk factors for uric acid calculi. Conclusions Metabolic syndrome is associated with a significantly increased risk of uric acid calculi development, especially those with impaired fasting glucose and hypertriglyceridemia.

Association of socioeconomic status with successful ageing: differences in the components of successful ageing.

Abstract: This study sought to determine which factors among the indicators of socioeconomic status have the most influence on physical, mental and social functions, and on subjective well-being, all of which are components of successful ageing. A representative random sample of 1825 persons aged 65 years or older was surveyed by face-to-face interview. Socioeconomic status was measured by educational level, family household income, personal income and property ownership. The factors measured were chronic diseases, activities of daily living (ADL) for physical functioning, history of mental disease, Mini-Mental Status Examination questionnaire (MMSE) scores for mental functioning, social activity participation per week for social functioning, and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) for subjective well-being. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. Education level was the most important factor in physical and mental functioning, whereas personal income was the most important in social functioning. Educational level, household income and personal income were significantly associated with subjective well-being as assessed by PGCMS scores. Subjects who demonstrated successful ageing were more likely to have a higher education and higher personal income. The results point to the importance of focusing on disparities in each component of successful ageing, which may point to appropriate health-promotion strategies for eliminating inequality in successful ageing.

Methionine deprivation suppresses triple-negative breast cancer metastasis in vitro and in vivo

Abstract: // Hyein Jeon 1, 2, * , Jae Hwan Kim 1, 2, * , Eunjung Lee 1, 2, 3, * , Young Jin Jang 1, 2,4 , Joe Eun Son 1, 2 , Jung Yeon Kwon 5 , Tae-gyu Lim 1, 2, 6 , Sunghoon Kim 7 , Jung Han Yoon Park 8 , Jong-Eun Kim 1, 2 , Ki Won Lee 1, 2 1 Major in Biomodulation, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea 2 Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Seoul National University, Suwon, Republic of Korea 3 Traditional Alcoholic Beverage Research Team, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, Republic of Korea 4 Metabolic Mechanism Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, Republic of Korea 5 Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA 6 Division of Strategic Food Research, Korea Food Research Institute, Seongnam, Republic of Korea 7 Medicinal Bioconvergence Research Center, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea 8 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Jong-Eun Kim, email: idonlik1@snu.ac.kr Ki Won Lee, email: kiwon@snu.ac.kr Keywords: methionine, triple-negative breast cancer, metastasis, cancer therapy Received: March 25, 2016 Accepted: July 27, 2016 Published: August 25, 2016 ABSTRACT Nutrient deprivation strategies have been proposed as an adjuvant therapy for cancer cells due to their increased metabolic demand. We examined the specific inhibitory effects of amino acid deprivation on the metastatic phenotypes of the human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines MDA-MB-231 and Hs 578T, as well as the orthotopic 4T1 mouse TNBC tumor model. Among the 10 essential amino acids tested, methionine deprivation elicited the strongest inhibitory effects on the migration and invasion of these cancer cells. Methionine deprivation reduced the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, as well as the activity and mRNA expression of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, two major markers of metastasis, while increasing the mRNA expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, methionine restriction downregulated the metastasis-related factor urokinase plasminogen activatior and upregulated plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 mRNA expression. Animals on the methionine-deprived diet showed lower lung metastasis rates compared to mice on the control diet. Taken together, these results suggest that methionine restriction could provide a potential nutritional strategy for more effective cancer therapy.

Medial prefrontal default-mode hypoactivity affecting trait physical anhedonia in schizophrenia

Abstract: Anhedonia, as a deficit symptom, may be associated with default-mode hypofrontality in schizophrenia. To explore whether trait anhedonia in schizophrenia pertains to altered hypofrontal resting state brain function, resting state metabolic activities were compared and correlated with the Physical and Social Anhedonia Scale scores in 29 patients with schizophrenia and 21 healthy controls using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ((18)F-FDG-PET). In patients with schizophrenia, Physical Anhedonia Scale scores showed a trend-level negative correlation with the hypoactive dorsomedial prefrontal metabolism while Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) negative subscale scores positively correlated with hyperactive cerebellar metabolism. Voxelwise correlation analysis showed physical anhedonia correlates in resting state activities of the supplementary motor area, ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, insular gyrus, and the precuneus in patients with schizophrenia while no frontal metabolic correlates were found in healthy controls. The hypoactive dorsomedial prefrontal metabolism correlated with physical anhedonia-correlated resting state regional activities. These findings provide further evidence for the relation of functional hypofrontality to the deficit syndrome and possible involvement of the functional imbalance in the cortico-cerebellar-thalamic-cortical circuit in the resting state brain function of schizophrenia.