Young A Park

Relationship between Sputum Clusterin Levels and Childhood Asthma

Clusterin is a sensitive cellular biosensor of oxidative stress and has been studied as a biomarker for inflammation‐associated diseases. Clusterin levels in childhood asthma have not been evaluated.

Serum clusterin level in children with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Clusterin is a sensitive cellular biosensor of oxidative stress and has been studied as a marker to assess inflammatory diseases. The clusterin levels in AD have not been evaluated thus far. OBJECTIVE We evaluated serum clusterin levels in children with AD and assessed the relationship between serum clusterin levels and the severity of AD. METHOD The study enrolled a total 140 children, of whom 100 had AD (n = 100) and 40 were healthy (n = 40). The severity of AD was scored by using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD). Total serum immunoglobulin E and specific immunoglobulin E levels against egg whites, cows milk, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, and Dermatophagoides farinae were measured. Clusterin levels in serum were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS The mean (interquartile range) age of the children was 5.1 years (1.3-8.4 years), and 92 (69.3%) of the children were boys. The mean (standard deviation) SCORAD index was 50.4 ± 17. The mean (standard deviation) clusterin level of children with AD was higher than that in the healthy control group children (148.13 ± 4.3 pg/mL versus 144.85 ± 5.1 pg/mL; p = 0.001). Serum clusterin levels were correlated with the SCORAD index (r = 0.327, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS The serum clusterin level was higher in children with AD than in the healthy control group and increased with the severity of AD. Serum clusterin may be a candidate molecule that reflects AD and its severity.

Long-Term Prognosis of Patients with an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Korea

Purpose The objective of this study was to elucidate the long-term prognosis of patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in Korea. Materials and Methods We enrolled 405 patients (age, 57.7±16.7 years; 311 men) who had undergone ICD implantation. The patients were divided into three groups: heart failure (HF) and ICD for primary (group 1, n=118) and secondary prevention (group 2, n=93) and non-HF (group 3, n=194). We compared appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapy delivery among the groups and between high- (heart rate ≥200 /min) and low-rate (<200 /min) ICD therapy zones. Results During the follow-up period (58.9±49.8 months), the annual appropriate ICD therapy rate was higher in group 2 (10.4%) than in groups 1 and 3 (6.1% and 5.9%, respectively, p<0.001). There were no significant differences in annual inappropriate ICD therapy rate among the three groups. In group 1, the annual appropriate ICD therapy rate was significantly lower in patients with a high-rate versus a low-rate therapy zone (4.5% and 9.6%, respectively, p=0.026). In group 3, the annual inappropriate ICD therapy rate was significantly lower in patients with a high-rate versus a low-rate therapy zone (3.1% and 4.0%, respectively, p=0.048). Conclusion Appropriate ICD therapy rates are not low in Korean patients with ICD, relative to prior large-scale studies in Western countries. Appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapy could be reduced by a high-rate therapy zone in patients with HF and ICD for primary prevention, as well as non-HF patients, respectively.

Clinical implication of exhaled breath temperature measurement in pediatric asthma

Correspondence to: Yoon Hee Kim https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2149-8501 Department of Pediatrics, Gangnam Severance Hospital, 211 Eonju-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06273, Korea Tel: +82-2-2019-3350, Fax: +82-2-3461-9473, E-mail: YHKIM@yuhs.ac • This research was supported by Kuhnil academic research fund. Received: September 6, 2016 Revised: October 13, 2016 Accepted: October 15, 2016