Polyclinic_Issue 1

POLYCLINIC VOL. 1

01 03 05 07

SURGERY Written by Chaeyeoun Min Designed by Yoorim Park

MERS Written by Kelly Min Designed by Tae Hyun Kim

ANXIETY DISORDER Written by Junbeom Kim Designed by Jaehyun Shin

DEPRESSION IN SOUTH KOREA & THE INFLUX OF DANCE THERAPY Written by Hyojeong Lee Designed by Jaehyun Shin

PERSONALISED MEDICINE Written by Heesoo Lee Designed by Yoorim Park

HEMATOPOIETIC STEM DONATION Written by Yuna Kim Designed by Siwon Kim

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

Written by Ava Kim Designed by Siwon Kim

02 04 06

Surgery

Surgery. A typical image of surgery would be people in green costumes splashed with blood, under a serious ambience. Some people might call it a sacred act and some others may consider it rather grotesque. Other than what is shown through the media, the field of surgery is quite an uncharted territory to most people. Although every specific type of surgery cannot be discussed altogether, typical and essential elements that are generally included in many surgeries, from preoperative preparations to after measures, will be introduced throughout the series of articles.

Surgery, by definition, is "a branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions requiring or amenable to operative or manual procedures". The common misconception is that surgery is necessary at times of emergency or extreme conditions. In fact, the purpose varies immensely, from diagnosis of medical conditions, taking a biopsy of a suspicious lump, to removing an obstruction or diseased tissues or organs, repositioning and redirecting structures, as well as transplant and implant.

Chaeyeoun Min

There are 4 different types of surgery in general: elective, emergency, inpatient, and outpatient.

ELECTIVE SURGERY

INPATIENT SURGERY

An elective surgery is the type of surgery that can be scheduled in advance. The surgery can either be aiming to treat a life-threatening condition such as cancer or rather be an "optional" which patients choose to have for a better quality of life, for example, plastic surgery.

Some intensive surgeries requires patients to stay in the hospital. The time period can vary depending on the expected recovery time, possible complications, the extent of condition monitoring required. This allows the clinical staffs to provide adequate medical service to necessity.

URGENT OR EMERGENCY SURGERY

OUTPATIENT SURGERY

Known as either emergency surgery or urgent surgery, as the name hints, this surgery is done to treat an urgent medical condition that requires immediate attention, such as acute appendicitis. Unlike an elective surgery, often the performance of the surgery is decided quickly at the spot followed by an unexpected presentation of the patient.

Opposite to the inpatient surgery, outpatient surgery does not require patients to stay in hospitals for the surgery overnight. Patients can leave hospital right after the surgery. This is often the case as advances in surgical procedures and anaesthesia allowed fast recovery and less medical attention. Outpatient surgery is better than inpatient surgery in terms of reduced time, costs and stress, although whether to undergo or not is heavily based on the doctor's judgement. Such surgery is usually less complicated than inpatient surgery.

Outpatient surgery is also known as same-day surgery, in-and-out surgery and ambulatory surgery which is performed in 'specialty surgical centres', where the surgery site may not necessarily be located in the hospital, but somewhere else such as personal office settings. For example, LASIK surgery in ophthalmology is commonly performed in an office of a clinic. These specialty centres are comprehensive in their care and as most outpatient centres are affiliated with hospitals, patients can be admitted if necessary after surgery.

As with any type of surgery, there are certain preparations that need to take place. The necessary preparation will depend on what type of surgery to undergo and the type of anaesthesia that will be used. Preparation can be largely divided into two aspects: individual measures and hospital measures.

As an individual, patients should inform any prior medication taken before the surgery, any prosthetic device, as well as the history of illnesses including chronic and allergies. Smoking is obviously strictly restricted before and after surgery for a certain period of time, and drinking and eating can also apply but its extent depends on the type of surgery.

Specific instructions may be ordered, from cleaning such as bating, shaving to medications and appointments. On the day of the surgery, eye contacts and makeup, even nail polish are to be removed.

Insurance must be arranged

adequately, ensuring that the insurance actually covers the exact type of surgery the patient receives.

at such occasions the number of white blood cells increase. It can also find out if a person is using medicines that affect white blood counts.

As for measures taken by the hospital, many surgeons order routine lab tests before hospitalisation or before certain outpatient procedures. The tests help find possible problems that might complicate surgery if not found and treated early.

- Blood glucose levels.

Electrolytes in the blood such as potassium and sodium. These chemicals contribute to body functions such as heart rhythm regulations.

Below is a list of some most common preoperative examinations.

- Complete blood count (CBC) checks for a low number of red blood cells (anaemia) and infection.

Chest X-rays

- Coagulation studies (PT/PTT) find out how well your blood clots.

X-rays can help diagnose respiratory problems- causes of shortness of breath, chest pain, cough, and certain fevers. They can also help diagnose circulatory problems such as abnormal heart, breathing, and lung sounds.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) This test specifically focuses on heart activity. It records the electrical activity of the heart which shows arrhythmias or dysrhythmias (abnormal rhythms), heart muscle damage and palpitation (fluttering heartbeats), heart murmurs, and helps find the cause of chest pain.

Urinalysis This test uses urine to diagnose kidney and bladder infections, and diabetes. Certain types of urinalysis can also find illegal drugs in the body.

Types of blood tests include: - White blood count help diagnose certain fevers and infections as

There are much to be done even before the surgery happens.

Intraoperative and postoperative management within surgery will be explained over the next articles in the series.

MERS.

Kelly Min

This is a word that would give every Korean a shiver. MERS stands for the “Middle East respiratory syndrome.

It is basically a disease caused by a virus called “MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV)” which attacks the respiratory system. The main symptoms are very similar to those of common cold: fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Since 2012, the disease spread mainly over the Middle East Arabia peninsula and infected 2229 people according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Out of this number, approximately 35% have died.

Why is it so fatal when the symptoms are so similar to those of common cold? The answer is that its symptoms are much more severe and it can lead to pneumonia and kidney failure.

General hygiene measures would definitely help prevent the transmission of MERS. Other possible prevention methods would be avoiding contacts, such as transmission of bodily fluid and visiting farms or places where dromedary camels are present.

Preventing consumptions of raw or undercooked animal products and avoiding cross-contamination between food will also help.

The first outbreak in Korea began on May 20th of 2015 and killed 38 out of 186 infected, resulting in a mortality rate of over 20%. This ranked South Korea second in the number of infections in the world following Saudi Arabia. Although in less than a month the number of deaths exceeded 100, the Korean government

It is believed that it may have originated in bats and was transmitted to camels sometime in the distant past according to the analysis of different virus genomes. MERS is a zoonotic virus, meaning that it is transmitted between animals and people. Direct or indirect contact with infected dromedary camels and patients are the main transmission routes. Drinking camel milk may transmit the virus as well.

Unfortunately, there is no vaccine yet. Since it is a viral disease, neither can it be treated with antibiotics. There are not much hospitals can do about the disease; their only hope is to try to keep patients breathing until their own immune systems can defeat the virus.

decided to keep the names of hospitals where MERS patients stayed. This outbreak was called to an official end on December 23rd, 2015, 217 days after the breakout. The government received harsh criticism on how it controlled the spread of disease including one from the World Health Organization (WHO) Joint Mission Messages to Public, blaming the government for opening the information to tvhe public late, resulting in a failure of early MERS. Three years later, the virus decided to visit Korea again.

This year, it was different. In less than four hours after the first patient landed on Incheon International Airport, he was hospitalized and isolated in a negative pressure isolation room (NPIR) in Seoul national university hospital.

He was tested positive on September 8th. After 10 days of hospitalization, this patient was officially announced free from the virus and was free from isolation on 18th of September, 10 days after he was diagnosed with MERS. All of the possible transmission routes were carefully monitored, including passengers who sat 3 rows in front or behind the patient. This year’s outbreak was officially announced to have ended on the October 16th.

From this outbreak, South Korea has shown that it has the ability to control such lethal infectious diseases. To prevent more tragedies, it should not stop here but to consistently think about ways to improve disease control.

Anxiety Disorder Junbeom Kim Anxiety disorder, a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear,(​1 )​ is known to be suffered by around 40 million adults in the United States alone; this accounts for 18.1% of the national population.(​2)​ It is also the most prevalent among list of mental illness in Korea.(​3)​While it is normal for everyone to feel anxious, people with anxiety disorder are hindered from carrying out their daily routine. They find this difficult because they, on a daily basis, suffer from panic, fear and uneasiness,leading to shortness of breath and inability to stay calm and still. Other common symptoms of the disorder include sleeping problems which could possible develop into insomnia, heart palpitations, dry mouth, tense muscles, dizziness, and cold, sweaty, numb or tingling hands or feet.(​4 )​ It is strongly believed that there is a correlation between aggravation of anxiety disorder and increased level of depression. Since the patients are nervous and anxious most of the time, they find it difficult to concentrate on one thing and often are lethargic for the most part of the day.

Like most other mental illnesses, one of the most paramount factors for the cure of the disorder is the mindset of the patients themselves. It is important for them to stay positive, think that there is nothing to worry about and believe that they are not alone.

Sometimes, however, strong beliefs alone are not enough. Patients often need help from external sources, one of the most common and efficient form of which is the usage of medication, or ‘drugs.’

There are many different types of drugs that are used for anxiety disorder such as benzodiazepines, buspirone, SSRI, tricyclics and many others.

Among these drugs, benzodiazepines and SSRI are the most widely used drugs globally.

Benzodiazepines Increases the amount of GABA Benzodiazepines are sedatives that can help relax your muscles and calm your mind. They work by enhancing the action of the neurotransmitter called GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) which function to slow and calm down the nervous system.(​ 5) Benzodiazepines are typically used for shortterm treatment not only because they can increase drowsiness and cause problems with balance and memory but also because they have high dependency. There are also several unwanted side effects. This includes confusion, stomach upset, headache, concentrating problem, brain swelling or in the worst case, uncontrollable suicidal impulse.

In addition, according to the FDA, benzodiazepines could actually make depression worse and might cause serious emotional problems. Despite these unwanted side effects, since benzodiazepines are the most fast acting and effective medication for the immediate effect, they are often used when the patients feel sudden shock or extreme pain.(​6)

Anxiety disorder, a group of mental disorders characterized by significant feelings of anxiety and fear,​is known to be suffered by around 40 million adults in the United States alone; this accounts for 18.1% of the national population. It is also the most prevalent among list of mental illness in Korea. While it is normal for everyone to feel anxious, people with anxiety disorder are hindered from carrying out their daily routine. They find this difficult because they, on a daily basis, suffer from panic, fear and uneasiness,leading to shortness of breath and inability to stay calm and still. Other common symptoms of the disorder include sleeping problems which could possible develop into insomnia, heart palpitations, dry mouth, tense muscles, dizziness, and cold, sweaty, numb or tingling hands or feet.​It is strongly believed that there is a correlation between aggravation of anxiety disorder and increased level of depression. Since the patients are nervous and anxious most of the time, they find it difficult to concentrate on one thing and often are lethargic for the most part of the day.

Like most other mental illnesses, one of the most paramount factors for the cure of the disorder is the mindset of the patients themselves. It is important for them to stay positive, think that there is nothing to worry about and believe that they are not alone. Sometimes, however, strong beliefs alone are not enough. Patients often need help from external sources, one of the most common and efficient form of which is the usage of medication, or ‘drugs.’

There are many different types of drugs

that are used for anxiety disorder such as benzodiazepines, buspirone, SSRI, tricyclics and many others. Among these drugs, benzodiazepines and SSRI are the most widely used drugs globally.

Benzodiazepines are sedatives that can help relax your muscles and calm your mind. They work by enhancing the action of the neurotransmitter called GABA (Gamma Amino Butyric Acid) which function to slow and calm down the nervous system.

Benzodiazepines are typically used for short-term treatment not only because they can increase drowsiness and cause problems with balance and memory but also because they have high dependency. There are also several unwanted side effects. This includes confusion, stomach upset, headache, concentrating problem,

brain swelling or in the worst case, uncontrollable suicidal impulse.

In addition, according to the FDA, benzodiazepines could actually make depression worse and might cause serious emotional problems. Despite these unwanted side effects, since benzodiazepines are the most fast acting and effective medication for the immediate effect, they are often used when the patients feel sudden shock or extreme pain. There are different types of benzodiazepines. Most commonly used ones are diazepam, lorazepam also known as ativan and alprazolam.

The major differences between them are the time taken for the drug to start working, the duration of the drug and the type of the anxiety disorder. First of all, diazepam is the fast onset one that usually starts to work within 30 to 60 minutes.

Diazepam is not recommended for the people who are allergic to the drug or if they have severe liver disease since the drug itself can put strain on the liver. Furthermore, lorazepam is also a type of benzodiazepines that works within 30 to 60 minutes. The most important difference between these two different types of benzodiazepines is that lorazepam must not be taken if the patient is pregnant since it can cause birth defects or life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in a newborn.

SSRIs Block serotonin from being reuptaken Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are also known as the SSRIs, work by

increasing the level of serotonin in the neurons.

In order to fully understand how SSRIs help to cure anxiety disorder, it is necessary to understand the function of serotonin and how do SSRIs increase the level of serotonin in the neurons. To start off with the function of serotonin, serotonin is a chemical that controls the level happiness and wellbeing and hence, it is also known as the ‘happy chemical.’ Apart from those main functions, it is also believed that serotonin helps to regulate the social behaviour, appetite and digestion, sleep, memory and sexual desire.​ Although there are lots of other functions, we only need to focus on the fact that the serotonin impacts the level of anxiety. It can be said that the

'it is the will of the patients that overcomes the disorder' level of serotonin and the degree of anxiety is inversely proportional to each other. What this means is that as the level of serotonin falls, the degree of anxiety increases.

Moving on, we now need to understand how do SSRIs actually take in role to increase the level of serotonin. Like any other neurotransmitters, serotonin is also diffused between the neurons. It is diffused from the presynaptic neuron (neuron which the serotonin is secreted) to the postsynaptic neuron (neuron which the secreted serotonin is received) After the diffusion happens, a process called ‘reuptake’ happens between the neurons. This process is basically taking back the unaccepted serotonin back to the presynaptic neuron in order to create

concentration gradient for the next diffusion.

SSRIs prevent this process from happening.

They work by blocking the reabsorption hence, leaving the serotonin longer on the surface of the postsynaptic neuron. As a result, larger amount of serotonin can be accepted therefore, the level of serotonin increases.

Given all this, it might seem like the drug itself could be the panacea for anxiety disorder and all of the other mental disorders. However, most psychiatrists agree on that drugs for anxiety disorder is not the ultimate cure; instead there are the substances that guide the patients to cure themselves. This idea draws the attention to the previous statement that it is the will of the patients that overcomes the disorder.

“FEAR IS INEVITABLE, I HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT, BUT I CANNOT ALLOW IT TO PARALYZE ME” Isabel Allende

Depression in South Korea & the Influx of Dance Therapy Hyojeong Lee Amongst the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, South Korea has the highest suicide rate (World Health Organization, n.d.) The numbers are particularly high amongst teenagers. the majority of Korean researchers agree that depression is the cordial issue that contributes to Korean adolescents’ suicidal behaviour, which is substantiated by the fact that 87% of adolescent patients in emergency rooms for suicidal attempts had depressive symptoms.

In general, the major cause of youth depression is not found in the individual himself/herself but in the social surroundings and other factors such as academics, family relationships, peer support, schools, and substance uses.

In Korea, success is equated to academic achievements; therefore, parents place significant pressure on their children to perform well in academics. From this it can be inferred that academic underachievement is deemed failure, leading to sadness, low self-esteem and eventually depression, when children do not meet parental or societal standards for academic success. Parents who had received education from prestigious universities had higher academic expectations for their children. Also, the negative relationship between a parent and a child greatly contributes to the child’s mental

health. It is found that parental support correlates with child’s depressive symptoms; for instance, children who had no/ single parent or studied abroad on their own revealed higher depressive symptoms. The more peer support one had, the healthier their mental healths were, elucidating that lack of peer support can also be a contributor to depression. Korean female adolescents who attended inter-gender schools tend to have more depression than those who attend girls-only schools, and those who had substances uses, and alcohol and drugs intake also had higher depression rate.

The treatments to depression and other mental illness include medication, therapies and many more. Among the different types of therapies, which includes drama, music, food, etc., dance therapy is the one that is a very foreign idea in Korea but known to be very effective.

In the West, commenced by the spread American Dance Association(ADTA), the expansion of dance/movement therapy (DMT) is continuing until now. Since the 1940s, dance therapy developed throughout continuously and popularized in the 21st century so much that there are 1200 members and sponsors now in the ADTA. DMT promotes “psychological and physical improvements” which are

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the body as a form of expression

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“categorized into five areas: resocialization and integration within a larger group system; nonverbal creative expression for emotional expression; total self- and body-awareness and enhanced self-esteem; muscular coordination, broader movement capabilities and tension release; and enjoyment through relaxation.”

Although there isn’t much statistical data, a number of studies provide qualitative evidence for the effectiveness of dance therapy. The studies evaluating the effect of dance movement therapy on children specifically report two main effects. Dance movement therapy develops patient’s control over the body, which can be substantiated with Chin who applied dance therapy to handicapped children, and by Goodill(1987) who said children can “regain a sense of control and ownership of their own bodies”. Children also showed improved motor skills that includes balance skills.

Kavaler, in 1974, also found improved body awareness and self-Another effect of dance therapy on children that was found from studies was spatial awareness — control over space. Kreb discovered improved spatial awareness from patients with visual impairments who went through the therapy in 1979. In general, children “emphasizes the body as a form of expression, and

movement of the body as a medium of expression” according to Duel as they receive dance therapy.

In 2004, 6 professors of Republic of South Korea did a study in which 40 adolescents girls with mild depression underwent dance therapy for 12 weeks. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of dance therapy on adolescents’ level of neurohormones and psychological symptoms.

To do this, middle school students’ neurohormones (dopamine and serotonin) and psychological distress were measured. As a result, “the significant improvements in negative psychological symptoms such as somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism,” and the concentration of blood serotonin increased when dopamine decreased: the results suggested that dance therapy has a possible therapeutic effect.

Dance is a popular hobby in South Korea, and therefore seeking dance or movement therapy would be perceived as less taboo than seeking out a therapist. While DMT is most effective when accompanied by regular therapy sessions, any kind of support could reduce the numbers of South Korean teenagers that commit suicide each year.

Heesoo Lee

PERSONALISED MEDICINE

Personalised medicine is based on the specificity of individuals.

Rather than providing the ‘one size fits all’ approach to the diagnosis and treatment of a ‘standard patient’, personalised medicine acknowledges the fact that we are all unique.

The genetic script, or the genome, is what personalised medicine focuses most on. The genome is commonly referred to as the ‘blueprint of life’ as it is the complete set of genes in an organism that instructs the building of proteins and development of cells. Genes are lengths of DNA that code for proteins, which is responsible for most of the chemical reactions of the body. They can instruct the body how to interact and function on a cellular level and also influence a person’s response to medication. Therefore, it is very important to look for differences in the genome between individuals.

Personalised medicine offers multiple features when approaching a patient. Genetic testings can reveal predispositions to certain diseases, and therefore provide guidelines for prevention before the development of the disease. For instance, Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of developing breast cancer after tests showed she carried BRCA1 gene, a genetic marker for breast cancer. Genetic testings can also be used for accurate diagnosis, which then enables considering individualised treatment strategies with reduced side effects.

Application

stephanie Dunn Haney is a stage IV lung cancer survivor who benefitted from personalised medicine. Diagnosed in 2007, she began receiving regular chemotherapy and taking Tarceva (erlotinib), a drug prescribed for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. The first approach gave her most of the common side effects but managed to control tumor growth, only for about three years.

Suggested by physicians and her friends, she had genetic testing on her tumor specimen and found out that she was ALK -positive. This

major founding enabled physicians to provide a treatment plan that is specific to ALK-positive lung cancer. She then started taking Xalkori (crizotinib), a drug designed specifically for ALK-positive lung cancer and lived symptomfree. Three years later, her tumors were barely visible.

Patients suffering from rare diseases can also benefit from personalised medicine. Nicholas Volker, at the age of two, started to suffer from intestinal inflammation whenever he ate food and developed large holes in his intestine that lead to leakage and serious infections.

The physicians diagnosed Nic with a disease that shows similar symptoms to Nic’s and provided treatments accordingly. However, Nic made minor progressions and his physicians began providing a wide range of treatments with the method of ‘trial and error’. Then, one physician suggested a genetic testing and by going through intensive tracing of his genome, a single mutation was found to have caused his disease.

When he was diagnosed accurately, he received a treatment specific to his disease and fully recovered from the illness.

Limitations and Improvements Although personalised medicine is promising in predisposition, diagnosis, and treatment of certain diseases, it is important to recognise

the limitations of it before deciding to implement it. The accuracy and reliability of predictions made by genetic testing remain low for many diseases that have a limited amount of research done on the genetic aspect of it. In addition, the risk of developing a disease is highly dependent on environmental factors, which is often not taken into account when predicting diseases. Genetic testings can also be expensive and time-consuming.

Successful implementation of personalised medicine will require large amounts of data regarding the genetic factors that contribute to the development of a certain disease.

A high level of collaboration and interdisciplinary research between specialists should be achieved to make sensible conclusions from the data, and high accessibility to the technology used for genetic testings and molecular analysis is required to make personalised medicine available to a large population.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Donation Yuna Kim Have you ever heard of bone marrow donation?

Probably, most of you have heard of this at least once in media, newspapers and any other sources. If you are familiar with bone marrow donation, have you heard of the phrase ‘hematopoietic stem cell donation?’

Hematopoietic stem cell, also known as mother cell produces all the blood cells in our body. These stem cells are included in bone marrow, peripheral blood and cord blood. The stem cell transplant is performed when a person’s marrow isn’t healthy enough to function properly. This could be due to chronic infections, disease, or cancer treatments. Leukaemia is the most common disease that requires hematopoietic stem cell transplant to completely cure. Other conditions treated with the hematopoietic stem cell transplant are solid tumour cancers, phagocyte disorders, viral diseases, metabolic disorders and many more.

According to Global Registration Identifiers for Donors(GRID) of hematopoietic stem cells, 10,730,712 donors worldwide registered for hematopoietic stem cell donation. Some might be curious, why are people still suffering from blood cancer if there are so many donors? The answer is due to different HLA tissue type.

chance of donating to a patient is challenging.

If a registrant has a relatively common tissue type, then the registrant might be one of many who could match a searching patient. If a registrant an uncommon tissue type, he may never match a patient, or might be the only one out of more than 13.5 million potential donors on the registry who can save a person's life.

On average the percentage of a registrant and a patient being a perfect match is only 0.002%.

This means that if a registrant with a perfect match with a patient rejects to donate, the patient would probably fail to find another perfect match and keep suffering from their diseases.

"ACT OF SHARING LOVE" Doctors have to look for a donor who matches their patient's tissue type, specifically their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) tissue type.

HLAs are proteins or markers found on most cells in our body. Our immune system uses these markers to recognize which cells belong in our body and which do not. The closer the match between the patient's HLA markers and a certain registrant, the better chance for the patient to be cured.

Because of the vast variation in tissue types, predicting an individual registry member's

There are two ways for hematopoietic stem cell donation which are collecting from the back of the hip bones or peripheral blood stem cell donation. Only 10% of people are asked to donate from the bone marrow itself. However, because it takes place under general anaesthetic it won’t cause a lot of agonies. 90% of people donate directly from their bloodstream, which is called Peripheral Blood Stem Cell donation, known as PBSC. PBSC donation is a nonsurgical procedure, called apheresis. The donation takes place at an experienced blood centre.

The steps for PBSC is very simple.

Before donation, a donor takes injections of a drug called filgrastim to move more bloodforming cells out of the marrow and into the bloodstream. Then the donor's blood is removed through a needle in one arm and passed through a machine that separates out

the blood-forming cells.The remaining blood is returned to the donor through the other arm. PBSC donation is done through a process called apheresis, which is similar to donating plasma. 90% of all PBSC donations are completed in 1 apheresis session, which may take up to 8 hours. The remaining 10% of the donations are completed in 2 apheresis sessions, which will take 4 to 6 hours each.

However, lack of education and prejudice about hematopoietic stem cell donation led to a misunderstanding amongst people that they have to donate their own bone marrow.

People think that hematopoietic stem cell donation is dangerous, painful which requires heavy surgery and have a lot of side effects.

This is not true at all.

In reality, although donors may experience headaches or muscle pain for several days, these side effects disappear shortly after donation. Fewer than 1% of PBSC donors experienced a serious side effect from the donation process. In fact, the majority of PBSC donors report a full recovery within 7 to 10 days of donation. Also, bone marrow donation is done under general or regional anaesthesia so the donor experiences no pain during the collection procedure. The risk of side effects of anaesthesia during marrow donation is similar to that during other surgical procedures.

Not only this, the amount of marrow donated will not weaken your own body or immune system. The average amount of marrow and blood donated is about one quart, less if the

patient is a baby or child. This is only a fraction of your total marrow. Most donors are back to their usual routine in a few days, and their marrow naturally replaces itself within four to six weeks.

You can register for hematopoietic stem cell donation by visiting nearby blood centre in Korea. Further details can be seen in Korean when you visit Catholic Hematopoietic Stem Cell donation Bank. Please remember, your small attention will change one’s life.

F O U N T A I N

O F

YOUTH Do you prefer vitality or aged?

E Jung Kim

THE SENIOR PARTNERS held a

survey on the desire to rejuvenate the skin.

The company surveyed people aged 40 and above regarding the skin improvements they want to make. Approximately 30% of the respondents wanted to eliminate their fine lines, 16% age spots, 15% dark circles, and 11% freckles.

Skin-ageing is a biological process resulting in the deterioration of cells due to either endogenous or exogenous factors. Endogenous factors are factors which comes from the internal system, whereas exogenous factors are from external influences such as sun exposure or smoking resulting in the generation of free radicals.

Scientists believe that free radicals such as superoxide (O2-), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), or peroxynitrite (OONO-), are the leading causes of ageing. These molecules steal electrons from the surrounding substances causing a dramatic alteration in cell structure and function. The domination of free radicals causes a state of oxidative stress. This will alter the lipids, proteins, and DNA triggering the biological process of ageing. Fine lines, age spots, and dark circles are the evidence for such process.

The public needed a product which can satisfy their desire to look young. This produced various anti-ageing cosmetic products today, in our society. The one we will be focusing on is the antiageing cream. What is an anti-ageing cream? A magical cream which makes you appear younger by merely applying it on your skin? To some extent, yes. The main component of anti-ageing cream, the antioxidants, are the ones responsible for ‘reversing the skin age’.

Antioxidants are the substances that inhibit oxidation. It works by providing electrons to free radicals so that they do not steal the electrons of

other surrounding substances. This extra electron makes the free radicals in a stable form preventing them to cause further harms to the cells.

Matrixyl 3000 is the typical example of an antioxidant. It is composed of 2 anti-aging peptides palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7. This antioxidant is responsible for promoting the production of collagen and elastin beneath the skin layer. As we get older, the capacity of skin cell restoring collagen layers deplete which forms the fine lines and wrinkles.

Clinical trials proved that matrixyl 3000 led to a 33% decrease in wrinkle density, a 23% decrease in the volume of wrinkles, and a 20% decrease in the depth of wrinkles. This allows your skin to look full and plump.

Polyphenol, also known as polyhydroxy-phenols, is a group of 4,000 antioxidants naturally found in wine, chocolate, grapes and vegetables. Either applying or intaking this substance protects the skin from free radical damages, preventing skin cancer and various type of sun damages. Further, reverses the signs of ageing such as age spots, fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles.

In this article, we have explored the 2 main chemical components of anti-ageing cream: Matrixyl 3000 and Polyphenol. If you want to rejuvenate your skin, do not use any anti-ageing product, be a smart consumer! Fulfil your skin with collagen and elastin. Reverse your skin age by applying the appropriate product.

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