Yonsei medical journal
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Yonsei medical journal · Feb 2009
How well does the target INR level maintain in warfarin-treated patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation?
Although warfarin is an effective oral anticoagulation (OAC) drug to reduce the risk of thromboembolism in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), long term follow-up data are scarce to be certain whether the target INR level is maintained in warfarin-treated patients in Korea. The aim of this study was to evaluate how well INRs are maintained within the target range using a new index, INR stability (= 100 x number of INRs within target range/total number of INR measurements) which we made, and to find out any correlation between thromboembolic events and INR stability. ⋯ The present study showed that it was not enough to maintain INR values within the target range in warfarin-treated patients with NVAF even at a tertiary hospital. Noncompliance is an important problem which interferes with maintaining target INR range.
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Yonsei medical journal · Feb 2009
Polymorphism of haptoglobin in patients with premature rupture of membrane.
To investigate whether allelic polymorphism of haptoglobin (Hp) is associated with premature rupture of membrane (PROM), the Hp phenotypes of pregnant women with PROM were analyzed. ⋯ These findings suggest that pregnant Korean women who possess Hp(1) allele (expressed as Hp 1-1 phenotype) have higher incidence of PROM than women with Hp(2) allele (expressed as Hp 2-2 phenotype). This is the first study that evaluated the significance of Hp polymorphism with respect to the development of PROM.
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Yonsei medical journal · Feb 2009
Clinical TrialLaparoscopic Nissen fundoplication in Korean patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Although the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is relatively low in Korean population, the number is increasing. The aim of this study is to analyze our experience with laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. ⋯ In our series, 93.5% of patients had either complete or partial remission of symptom after laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication. Atypical symptoms were more predominant in our Korean patients. Laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication is an efficacious method of controlling symptoms of GERD, even for those who have atypical symptoms.
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Yonsei medical journal · Feb 2009
The expression of folate sensitive fragile sites in patients with bipolar disorder.
Genetic factors are known to be important in the etiology of bipolar disorder (BD). The fragile sites (FSs) are a very interesting subject for the study of clinical disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate fragile sites seen in patients with bipolar disorder and find a correlation between some fragile sites and bipolar disorder. ⋯ These regions can be the most active of hot spots in the genomes of bipolar patients, and may harbor important genes associated with BD.
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Yonsei medical journal · Feb 2009
Identification of differentially expressed genes in papillary thyroid cancers.
Techniques designed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in tumors have become important in modern pathology. Genefishing technique using the annealing control primer (ACP) system has recently been developed to screen for DEG transcripts. We tried to identify DEGs involved in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) by using Genefishing technique. ⋯ We confirmed 2 DEGs in PTCs as DC-STAMP and type I collagen A1 by using Genefishing technique. Although the detailed functions of those 2 genes and their products remain to be determined, the genes will provide insights into mechanisms of carcinogenesis or tumor progression in PTCs.