고려대학교 의과대학 및 의과학연구지원센터 구성원이 아닌 경우에는 본인인증을 통하여 글을 작성할 수 있습니다.
- 본인인증 후 글을 작성할 수 있습니다.
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내 명의의 휴대전화로 비밀번호를 재설정 할 수 있습니다.
Development of Electroceuticals that Can Dramatically Decrease Preterm Delivery
A team (Researcher Eun Jin Wang and Hee Youn Kim) led by Professor Ki Hoon Ahn of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Korea University Anam Hospital developed non-invasive electroceuticals that enable early detection and treatment of preterm labor with a research team led by Dr. Soo Hyun Lee of KIST Brain Science Institute and a team led by Dr. Jeong Ho Hwang of Korea Institute of Toxicology.
Various mechanisms can cause preterm birth, such as preterm labor and premature rupture of membranes, but one common symptom is irregular uterine contractions. The research team developed a donut-shaped electrode for the non-invasive monitoring of uterine contraction in real time as a diagnostic tool for preterm labor. Moreover, it can apply electrical stimulation that can activate sympathetic nerves after detecting contraction signals. It can function as electroceuticals that can inhibit uterine contraction as activation of a sympathetic nerve can relax the uterine muscle.
After verifying the safety and effectiveness of the pharmaceuticals from diagnosis to treatment in preterm delivery rat and pig model, the team confirmed that electroceuticals’ electrical stimulation can delay and inhibit uterine contractions.
“Around the world, new tocolytic medications are being developed. However, due to their minimal efficacy and high incidence of adverse effects, there was a clinical need to develop a medical device of a new mechanism. That is why we undertook this research,” Professor Ki Hoon Ahn of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Korea University Anam Hospital said. “It is expected that infant mortality and complications of preterm delivery can be drastically reduced through the first-developed uterine contraction control medical device.”
“This donut-shaped electroceutical medical device uses electrical signals that can inhibit uterine contractions. It is not a conventional pharmaceuticals-based treatment. This can be a gamechanger in medical technology's development,” Dr. Soo Hyun Lee of KIST said. “This study was initiated as a project of KIST and Korea University Anam Hospital’s translational research center. We plan to carry out clinical research with government support such as Korea Medical Device Development Fund.”
This research was conducted as a project of Korea University Anam Hospital and KIST Translational Research Center, and supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Kiyoung Choi). The research article was published in the recent issue of IEEE-Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, an international journal inbiomedical engineering.
KU College of Medicine Receives Accreditation from Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation for the Highest Grade
Korea University College of Medicine (Dean Young-Wook Yoon) received the highest level of accreditation, which is valid for 6 years, after passing medical education and evaluation for 2020 conducted by the Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation (KIMEE). The accreditation is valid from this March to February 2027.
Korea University College of Medicine formed a self-study committee composed of members of the College including professors and administrative staff and performed general analysis and conducted meetings on the operation of the College to prepare for the evaluation. Based on the results of the self-analysis, it submitted a self-study report to KIMEE for document review and received a site visit from site visitors for four days from 10th to 12th November. What is notable is that among the 12 medical schools that received the evaluation in 2020, the validity period of accreditation of only Korea University College of Medicine has increased.
Accreditation Standards of KIMEE 2019 (ASK2019) which was adopted in 2019 was used for the evaluation. ASK2019 was developed based on the Basic Medical Education WFME Global Standards presented by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and taking into consideration the circumstances of basic medical education in Korea. It consists of 9 evaluation areas which are subdivided into 36 sub-areas: 1. Mission and Performance, 2. Education Program, 3. Student Evaluation, 4. Student, 5. Faculty, 6. Education Resource, 7. Education Evaluation, 8 University Operation System and Administration, and 9. Continuous Improvement.
“Along with KIMEE’s accreditation evaluation, we have voluntarily taken WFME evaluation for the first time in Korea. We continuously improve the education environment and reorganize a curriculum in line with our vision, pulling out all the stops,” Dean Yoon stated. “It is a pleasure to see our efforts come to fruition. Continued management and inspection will bridge us toward a higher level of medical education.”
Korean Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation's medical education evaluation accreditation was introduced to take social responsibility and improve the quality of medical education by evaluating medical education institutions, providing consultation on how to advance medical schools, and publishing the results of evaluations. Under the Higher Education Act, medical schools in Korea are subject to be evaluated and accredited by the KIMEE. Only those graduated from a school that has been accredited can take a doctoral license examination in accordance with Article 5 of the Medical Service Act.
A team led by Prof. Man-Seong Park, Department of Microbiology of the KUCM, identified that the transmissibility of COVID-19 lasts a maximum of 12 days following the onset of symptoms
- Analyzed how long patients with COVID-19 emit viable virus in a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory.
- Offered scientific evidence for guiding isolation periods for patients with COVID-19 and estimating the risk of secondary transmission among close contacts.
- Published the results in the "The New England Journal of Medicine."
Teams led by Prof. Man-Seong Park of the Biosafety Center of the Korea University College of Medicine and Prof. Jin-Won Jeong of the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Chung-Ang University College of Medicine studied patients with mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and announced that the virus can be transmitted for a maximum duration of 12 days following the onset of symptoms.
The teams directly cultured severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal samples obtained from 21 patients with mild-to-moderate levels of symptoms and analyzed the duration of transmissibility of viable virus.
They found out that the median time from symptom onset to viral clearance in culture was seven days while the median time from symptom onset to viral clearance on real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing was 34 days, while the longest period of time a positive viral culture was found was 12 days after symptom onset. With these results, the study identified that the median and maximum durations of viable virus shedding from patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 was 7 and 12 days, respectively, after the onset of symptoms.
Furthermore, the teams identified that about half of patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 tested positive on RT-PCR screenings for more than one month following the onset of symptoms. In culture, however, viable virus was cleared within a week following symptom onset.
Prof. Park, who led this study, stated, "Our findings may offer scientific evidence for guiding isolation periods for patients with COVID-19 while estimating the risk of secondary transmission among close contacts."
Meanwhile, the results of this study were published in the latest issue of the world's most prestigious medical journal, the "The New England Journal of Medicine (IF=74.699)" under the title "Duration of Culturable SARS-CoV-2 in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19."
<Figure 1> Shedding periods of viable virus in patients with COVID-19
Signed business agreement between KUCM and NIPS
The Korea University College of Medicine (KUCM) signed its 5th business agreement with the National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS) at 10 AM on the 17th of February 2021.
The signing ceremony was held virtually as a preventative measure against the transmission of COVID-19. Prof. Young-Wook Yoon, Dean of KUCM, Prof. Ho-Kyung Yoon, Associate Dean for E Affairs, Prof. Im-Joo Rhyu, Chief (Anatomy Dept.) and Prof. Sun-Wook Hwang, Vice Chief (KUCM Graduate School) of the Korea University Medical Science Center for Convergent Translational Research, KUCM attended the ceremony with Prof. Junichi Nabekura, Director-General and Prof. Atsushi Nambu, Director of NIPS.
As part of the BK21 PLUS project in 2001, the KUCM signed a business agreement with NIPS. Both parties have since maintained cooperative relationships over 20 years through visitations to renew agreements on a five-year basis. In particular, this partnership has led to fundamental exchanges and advancement of knowledge between Korea and Japan through the exchange of medical researchers to each country while jointly conducting research. In 2019, the international joint symposium, hosted by the KUCM, was successfully held and attended by over 200 preclinical medical researchers from Korea and overseas.
Through this agreement, both parties mutually agreed on the following agendas: (i) supporting research and lectures, (ii) sharing academic materials, publications, and other information; and (iii) promoting joint research while holding academic seminars.
Prof. Yoon, Dean of the KUCM stated, "It is a great pleasure to continue a 20-year solid relationship and rebuild cooperation with the NIPS, the mecca of preclinical medicine in Japan. I believe today's business agreement will bring to fruition more practical discussions and play a significant role in securing the growth engine for medicine and science of the future."