Clarithromycin resistance of H. pylori, which determined the efficacy of H. pylori eradication of proton pump inhibitor triple regimen, was found to be increased in a single center study. A2143G was an important 23S rRNA mutation associated with clarithromycin resistance and affected the H. pylori eradication efficacy.

Two-week bismuth-containing quadruple therapy was more effective than the 1-week treatment, and should be considered for second-line treatment in Korea.

The 7-day moxifloxacin-containing triple therapy produced an unacceptably low eradication rate. Increasing the duration of therapy was expected to increase the eradication rate, but the expected increased did not materialize, most likely because of coincident marked increase in the prevalence of resistance to moxifloxacin. Tailored treatment based on antibiotic susceptibility testing might be more effective in the achievement of high eradication rate when rapid antibiotic resistance such as moxifloxacin is occurring.

Purpose: Adenosine A_2A receptor agonist polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) possesses an anti-inflammatory effect and suppress apoptotic cell death in several disorders. In this current study, the effect of PDRN on inflammation and apoptosis in rats with Achilles tendon injury was investigated.Methods: von Frey filament test and plantar test were conducted for the determination of pain threshold. Analysis of histological alterations was conducted by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Immunohistochemistry for cleaved caspase-3-positive cells and cleaved caspase-9-positive cells was done. Enzyme-linked immunoassay was used to detect the concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and cyclic adenosine-3’,5’-monophosphate (cAMP). Western blot was conducted to detect the protein levels of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), protein kinase A (PKA), Bcl-2-associated X (Bax), and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2).Results: PDRN treatment relieved mechanical allodynia and alleviated thermal hyperalgesia after Achilles tendon injury. TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations were decreased by PDRN application. PDRN injection significantly enhanced cAMP concentration and phosphorylated CREB versus CREB ratio, showing cAMP-PKA-CREB pathway was activated by PDRN application. PDRN treatment inhibited percentages of cleaved caspase-3-positive cells and caspase-9-posiive cells and the suppressed Bax versus Bcl-2 ratio in Achilles tendon injury rats.Conclusions: PDRN is probably believed to have a good effect on pain and inflammation in the urogenital organs. PDRN may be used as a new treatment for Achilles tendon injury.

A 39-year-old man with progressive peripheral neuropathy and autonomic failure showed amyloid deposition on sural nerve biopsy. Direct DNA sequencing of the TTR gene revealed a G to T mutation, causing a Lys to Asn substitution at position 35. This is the first FAP case in Korea which was diagnosed by a DNA test.

Background:Plasmodium vivax malaria accounts for more than half of all malaria cases in Asia and Latin America. Despite the high prevalence of disease caused by this parasite, research into its effects (especially its renal effect) has lagged disproportionately. To investigate predictors of vivax malaria-induced nephropathy, we analyzed the cases of vivax malaria-induced nephropathy in young Korean men. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of P. vivax patients with acute nephropathy (all males, n = 75), defined by an absolute increase in serum creatinine of 0.3 mg/dl or more (equal to an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <80 ml/min) (group 1, n = 31) or proteinuria (group 2, n = 44), between January 2004 and December 2007. The eGFR was calculated using a simplified Modification of Renal Disease (MDRD) equation. None of the patients had a history of traveling abroad, drug abuse or blood transfusion. The clinical manifestations, laboratory abnormalities and predictors of nephropathy were reviewed. Results: Out of 398 cases of vivax malaria, 75 patients (all males) suffered from to vivax malaria-induced acute nephropathy. The mean age of the patients who were divided into two groups was 22.8 ± 3.7 and 21.6 ± 1.8 years, respectively (p = 0.089). In group 1, the total serum bilirubin significantly correlated with serum creatinine and eGFR (p = 0.004 and 0.035, correlation coefficient = 0.508 and –0.387, respectively). In group 2, 24-hour proteinuria significantly correlated with hemoglobin (p = 0.004, correlation coefficient = –0.424). Conclusion: Total serum bilirubin (group 1, an absolute increase in serum creatinine of 0.3 mg/dl or more (equal to an eGFR <80 ml/min)) and hemoglobin (group 2, proteinuria) are useful to predict vivax-induced nephropathy.

Intermittent compression stress relaxation (CSR) testing was used to examine the degradation of a large scale chloroprene rubber (CR) O-ring, rather than a reduced scale copy, as well as predict its life-time. An intermittent CSR jig was designed by considering the O-ring's environment during use. The testing allowed the observation of the effects of friction, heat loss and stress relaxation by the Mullins effect. Degradation of O-rings by thermal aging was observed between 40 and 120 o C. In the high temperature range of 80-120 o C, the O-rings exhibited linear degradation behavior and satisfied the Arrhenius relationship. The activation energy was approximately 72.7 kJ/mol. From the Arrhenius plots, the predicted life-times were 22.8 years and 34.5 years for the 50% and 40% failure conditions, respectively. Using the time-temperature superposition (TTS) principle, full predictions of failure at 40 o C could be made, saving considerable testing time. Between 40 and 80 o C, the activation energy decreased to 58.9 kJ/ mol. William-Landel-Ferry (WLF) plotting confirmed that the O-rings show non-linear degradation behavior under 80 o C. The life-time of the O-rings predicted by the TTS principle was 11.1 years and 18.1 years for each failure condition. The life-time predicted by the TTS principle was more conservative than that from the Arrhenius relationship.

PEG 2 L with NaP 90 mL method seems to be more effective bowel preparation than PEG 4 L method.