Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Sculpting ears for children with deformities

/ Korea TimesBy Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chulWe take many things for granted ― like having two regular ears.But one out of every 7,000 babies is born with microtia, a congenital malformation in which the pinna (external ear) is underdeveloped. Some babies are born with anotia, a congenital malformation in which the pinna is completely missing.Children with microtia may have a hearing impairment, albeit in most cases, the impairment is not serious. A bigger challenge for them rather is the psychological problems associated with having a physical deformity, according to Park Chul, director of the Seoul Center for Developmental Ear Anomalies at Korea University Anam Hospital.“The reason they want surgery is to feel complete as a person. It is not about mitigating a physical inconvenience,” Park, 67, said in an interview. “Most children with microtia do not have hearing difficulties because they still have one good ear as well as the microtia-affected ear that works to a certain extent.”Microtia, which is much more common than anotia, can affect one or both ears

Mar 13, 2016

Sculpting ears for children with deformities

3 cups of sugar-free coffee a day helps prevent diabetes: study

Drinking three cups of coffee with no sugar or cream added per day may help prevent diabetes, South Korean experts said Sunday, providing a tip to the increasing number of patients in the country.Based on a research conducted on 3,497 potential patients of diabetes, a team of doctors at Gangneung Asan Medical Center said the group which drank more black coffee saw fewer outbreaks of the disease.The team said the group that consumed more than two cups of coffee posted an outbreak rate of 9.9 percent, hovering below the 12.1 percent held by those who drank less than a cup a day.The number of patients under treatment for diabetes came to 2.58 million in 2014, data compiled by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service showed, up 19 percent from the 2.17 million reported in 2010.People with a glycated hemoglobin level of between 5.7 percent and 6.4 percent are considered vulnerable to diabetes. Those with a figure hovering above 6.5 percent are considered to have diabetes.While similar studies were also conducted in the United States, the team said the latest findings are signifi

Mar 6, 2016

'Asia must take leadership in liver disease research'

/Korea TimesBy Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chulThe human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may be the best-known virus in the world, but not the most lethal for Asia.While HIV kills about 250,000 Asians every year, liver cancer, which is mainly caused by viral hepatitis, kills 360,000 people in East Asia alone.Yet research for liver diseases does not receive the attention and funding it deserves, and the work is largely controlled by doctors and pharmaceutical companies from Western countries, Professor Han Kwang-hyub at Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital said.“Asian doctors should take the leadership in solving the problem that is affecting mostly the people in Asia,” Han, 61, said in an interview.He believes stronger and more frequent collaboration among Asian doctors can bring much-needed attention and investment to liver disease research.“Together, they can achieve a lot,” he said. “They need to share more research information about liver diseases, discuss their visions and set new directions for future studies.”This belief led him to host the in

Mar 6, 2016

'Asia must take leadership in liver disease research'

(304) Rationality of irrationality

By Janet Shin Humans are described in various ways. Homo sapiens may be the general and representative term for humans as a wise and thinking species, differentiated from others. There are many other terms to identify humans, such as homo faber which denotes humans in control of their fates and environment through the use of tools. One intriguing term is homo oracle, as named by Lim Chaewoo, a professor at the University of Brain Education, Korea, which implies that humans are born to practice divination. Among all creatures in the universe, only humans try to prognosticate. This should be distinguished from the instinct of other animals as it is a peculiar behavior using intuition instead of acquired knowledge.Some may even want to associate it with gambling. But I argue that they must be separated. Divination is derived from irregularity and based on accidental chance. It was inevitable for humans to try divination in times of uncertainty and inconsistency. Gambling, on the contrary, is a distorted means of opportunism seeking for ways to profit by sometimes even deceiving oth

Mar 3, 2016

Toddlers change in every way

   By Jane HanIt's been a while. Six months to be exact.In toddler time, a lot ― and I mean a lot ― can happen in just six hours or, better yet, even six minutes, so trying to recap six months worth of happenings in this house of three kids under three is close to impossible.But allow me introduce the biggest events.In September, Ellen and Ann, the twins, dropped their beloved pacifiers once and for all.We thought the day would never come, but it did ― and surprisingly ― unbelievably easily.If you're struggling to wean your little one off the binky, try showing him a horrific picture of cavity-ridden teeth.Just one freaky photo. That's all it takes.Of course some explanation as to the connection between pacifiers and cavities is necessary, but really, it was as simple as that and it worked for me. Since that historic day in September, my husband and I have been getting uninterrupted good night sleep.Which, theoretically, should give us more energy to care for the twins and our one-year-old Lauren.Oh, Lauren, my sweet little girl who turned one in January.There was

Mar 1, 2016

Oriental treatment available for auto accident injuries

By Lee Seung-hun A recent survey by the Korea Insurance Development Institute has shown that in the past five years (2010 through 2014) more automobile accidents occurred and also more emergency on-site services were requested during the winter season.It can be assumed that slippery roads from snow and ice produced by low temperatures significantly contributed to the increase of road accidents during the season.As most automobile accidents are minor collisions, the injuries suffered during them do not show up on x-ray images or MRI scans other than the patient complaining of slight discomfort and pain.Unlike symptoms from exercise-related injuries or from direct external wounds such as falling on the ground, pain from an automobile accident can differ as the external impact is transferred via the vehicle to the body.Patients can appear and feel normal immediately after the accident, but after some time (usually within a week) they will start to complain of pain in various muscles and joints that were exposed to the impact.Symptoms can fluctuate between almost non-existent to sev

Mar 1, 2016

Oriental treatment available for auto accident injuries

'Medical Korea' as a single brand

Suh, who has performed about 1,700 liver transplants, is one of Korea’s best and most prolific liver transplant surgeons, whose reputation reaches far beyond the nation’s borders. /Korea TimesRenowned liver transplant surgeon to establish national standardsBy Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chulWhen it comes to liver transplantation, Korea has some of the world’s finest hospitals such as Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), which has a near-perfect success rate over the past decade.The next step the country should take is to promote “Medical Korea” as a brand by establishing national quality standards for liver transplantation and beyond, Professor Suh Kyung-suk at SNUH said.“I’m planning to create a system for quality control so that patients can get standardized, quality-approved medical services anywhere they go,” Suh, 56, said in an interview. “A stable system will save more lives and make foreign patients trust the nation’s medical services as a whole.”The world’s renowned liver transplant surgeon has alread

Feb 28, 2016

Beware of health disorders from use of smartphones, PCs

While cancer still looms large as the main cause of death in Korea, some new chronic illnesses have taken a hold in our lives. This is the first of a series of articles on what plagues modern Koreans these days. ― ED. By Kim Da-hee, Lee Han-sooYang Yeo-sun, 29, always packs a vial of artificial tears in her bag. To Yang, who works at a nongovernmental organization, “dry eyes” are more common than a cold. Dry eyes is a condition in which tear ducts are unable to keep the eyes moist and lubricated.“I can’t recall when I started having dry eyes, but I think staring at computer screens and my smartphone all day has contributed much to it.”She is not alone. Surrounded by computers, smartphones and other electronic devices that strain our eyes, many people today suffer from dry eyes.“Almost all of my friends use artificial tears because of dry eyes,” said Lim Ha-kyung, a 23-year-old university student. “I think people today have chronic dry eyes because we spend a lot of time on smartphones and computers.”Indeed, the number of

Feb 23, 2016

Beware of health disorders from use of smartphones, PCs

Tailored treatment just for you

 Gene-sequencing company leads advances in precision medicineBy Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chulDuring his State of the Union address in January, U.S. President Barack Obama called on his nation to conquer cancer.During his speech, Obama mentioned the Precision Medicine Initiative, a research project he launched a year ago in order to revolutionize the modern healthcare system altogether.The United States is not alone in striving for what he described as a medical “moonshot.” As the world moves toward the new era of personalized genomic medicine, Macrogen, a Korean company that offers genome sequencing services, is drawing international attention for its huge potential to become a major player.In September last year, U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins visited the office of Macrogen Chairman Seo Jeong-sun in Seoul to discuss possible ways to collaborate on the Precision Medicine Initiative.“Thanks to technological advances, treatments will be more tailored to maximize the effect for each patient,” Seo, 63, said in an interview. “We

Feb 21, 2016

Tailored treatment just for you

Gene-sequencing company leads advances in precision medicineBy Jung Min-ho, Kim Eil-chulDuring his State of the Union address in January, U.S. President Barack Obama called on his nation to conquer cancer.During his speech, Obama mentioned the Precision Medicine Initiative, a research project he launched a year ago in order to revolutionize the modern healthcare system altogether.The United States is not alone in striving for what he described as a medical “moonshot.” As the world moves toward the new era of personalized genomic medicine, Macrogen, a Korean company that offers genome sequencing services, is drawing international attention for its huge potential to become a major player.In September last year, U.S. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins visited the office of Macrogen Chairman Seo Jeong-sun in Seoul to discuss possible ways to collaborate on the Precision Medicine Initiative.“Thanks to technological advances, treatments will be more tailored to maximize the effect for each patient,” Seo, 63, said in an interview. “We are en

Feb 21, 2016

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Others

Sculpting ears for children with deformities

3 cups of sugar-free coffee a day helps prevent diabetes: study

'Asia must take leadership in liver disease research'

(304) Rationality of irrationality

Toddlers change in every way

Oriental treatment available for auto accident injuries

'Medical Korea' as a single brand

Beware of health disorders from use of smartphones, PCs

Tailored treatment just for you

Tailored treatment just for you

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