Background/Aims: Although there is growing interest in hospice-palliative care, little information is available on the effects of such care in South Korea. Addressing this research gap, i.e., determining the cost-effectiveness of hospice-palliative care in South Korea, will help guide policy. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness analysis of hospice-palliative care in adults diagnosed with terminal cancer. Methods: We used a Markov model to construct a decision tree, for an analysis comparing the general ward with the hospice-palliative ward in terms of patient quality of life and cost-effectiveness. Cost and quality of life were estimated based on published Korean studies. Cost-effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost relative to the incremental effect. Additionally, a one-way sensitivity analysis was performed to test the robustness of the results. Results: Hospice-palliative ward care was more cost-effective than general ward care. The incremental cost was 290,401 Korean won (KRW) and the incremental effect was-0.25. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was-1,174,045 KRW. A similar pattern of results was obtained in the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: Our results suggest that hospice-palliative ward care is more cost-effective than general ward care.

Demineralized bone particle (DBP) is a biomaterial used widely in the field of tissue engineering. In this study, in order to study the effect of DBP/poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffold on disc regeneration in vivo environment, we prepared the porous DBP/PLGA hybrid scaffold. Disc defect was induced by removing the nucleus pulposus tissue after incision the annulus fibrosus tissue in half and scaffolds were transplanted. After 1, 2 and 3 months later, the extracted discs were confirmed by collagen synthesis and glycosaminoglycan (sGAG). We conducted histology (H&E, Safranin-O, Alcian blue, Type I Collagen, Type II Collagen). From the results, it was confirmed that collagen and sGAG content were high in DBP/PLGA scaffold, and the regeneration of intervertebral disc was possible.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of rice contatining Aspergillus terreus (Hwangkuk, HK) on lipid metabolism in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) for 8 weeks. SD rats were divided into five groups: Normal, [Negative Control (HCD), Positive Control (lovastatin)], [HK 0.5 g/kg and HK 2 g/kg]. Hepatic total lipids significantly decreased following treatment with rice contatining Asp. terreus. Furthermore, this treatment led to higher expression levels of HMG-CoA reductase, LDL receptor and SREBP2 mRNA in the liver compared with the HCD group. In addition, histopathologic evaluation showed that feeding rats with rice containing Asp. terreus suppressed hepatic steatosis. These results suggest that rice containing Asp. terreus may be able to regulate of cholesterol synthesis and prevent hyperlipidemia.

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This study was designed to find an appropriate biomaterial to proliferate Schwann cell (SC). Poly(lactic-coglycolic acid) (PLGA) films mixed with demineralized bone particle (DBP), small intestine submucosa (SIS), and silk were fabricated by a solvent casting method. Analysis of MTT, SEM and RT-PCR were performed to confirm adhesion and proliferation of SC. Contact angle of films was assayed for hydrophilicity of films. We confirmed that PLGA/DBP 20% film showed higher hydrophilicity, promoted adhesion and proliferation of SC than other films. It was concluded that PLGA/DBP film can be applied for the scaffold biomaterials for the regeneration of central nerve system. Keywords: schwann cell, demineralized bone particle (DBP), small intestine submucosa (SIS), silk, PLGA hybridized film. 서 론