• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2019

Objectives: Insomnia is not only the most common sleep-related disorder, but also is one of the most important. Knowledge of the comorbidities of insomnia is essential for proper treatment including pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods to prevent disease chronification. This study aimed to determine sleep clinic patients' knowledge of insomnia. Methods: This study recruited 44 patients (24 males and 20 females; mean age $54.11{\pm}16.30years$) from the sleep clinic at National Center for Mental Health. All subjects were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire about their reasons for visiting a sleep clinic and about their knowledge of treatment and comorbidities of insomnia. Results: The reasons for visiting the sleep clinic were insomnia symptoms of daytime sleepiness, irregular sleeping time, nightmares, snoring, and sleep apnea, in that order. Of the responders, 72.7% had a comorbidity of insomnia, and 22.7% showed high-risk alcohol use. In addition, 70.5% of responders chose pharmacological treatment of insomnia as the first option and reported collection of information about treatment of insomnia mainly from the internet and medical staff. More than half (52.3%) of the respondents reported that they had never heard about non-pharmacological treatments of insomnia such as cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT-I) or light therapy. The response rate about comorbidities of varied, with 75% of responders reporting knowledge of the relation between insomnia and depression, but only 38.6% stating awareness of the relation between insomnia and alcohol use disorder. Of the total responders, 68.2% were worried about hypnotics for insomnia treatment, and 70% were concerned about drug dependence. Conclusion: This study showed that patients at a sleep clinic had limited knowledge about insomnia. It is necessary to develop standardized insomnia treatment guidelines and educational handbooks for those suffering from insomnia. In addition, evaluation of alcohol use disorders is essential in the initial assessment of sleep disorders.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.849-855
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• 2021

Recently, as nanotechnology has been introduced and used in various fields, the development of new drugs has been accelerating. Nanoparticles have maintained blood drug concentration for extended periods of time with a single administration of the drug. The drug can then be selectively released only at the pathological site, thereby reducing side effects to other non-pathological sites. In addition, nanoparticles can be modified for selective target sites delivery for other specific diseases, with polymers being widely used in the manufacture of these nanoparticles. Poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid ) (PLGA) is one of the most extensively developed biodegradable polymers. PLGA is widely used in drug delivery for a variety of applications. It has also been approved by the FDA as a drug delivery system and is widely applied in controlled release formulations, such as in gene therapy treatments. PLGA nanoparticles have been developed as delivery systems with high efficiency to specific cell types by using passive and active targeting methods. After the development of a drug delivery system using PLGA nanoparticles, the drug is selectively delivered to the target site, and the effective blood concentration for extended periods of time is optimized according to the disease. In this review paper, we focus on ways to improve cell-specific treatment outcomes by examining the development of astrocyte selective nanoparticles based on PLGA nanomaterials for gene therapy.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.55 no.6
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• pp.472-486
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• 2020

Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease with chronic progress, but the recent rapid developments of drug treatments have led many patients to gain control of their disease activity. As a result, surgery has been performed less commonly on the wrist or hand than in the past. On the other hand, surgical treatment is still essential to patients who do not respond to those medications. For the successful treatment of symptomatic deformed joints or functional disability, surgeons should understand that the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis proceeds differently in every patient. Furthermore, because rheumatoid arthritis often invades multiple joints in the hand and wrist, the patients often require multiple operations simultaneously. This paper summarizes the current concepts of surgical treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in the hand and wrist based on more than 30 years' experience of our senior surgeon and a literature review.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.112-117
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• 2001

International index of erectile function (IIEF) has a high sensitivity and specificity for the evaluating treatment of erectile dysfunction. IIEF was used to evaluate on an international level the effectiveness of red ginseng on patients with erectile dysfunction and determine its possible development as a natural drug. 50 patients with erectile failure who were 20 years or older and without organic cause were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1(25 patients) received red ginseng 600mg three times a day and group 2 (25 patients) received placebo in the same fashion for 8 weeks. Each group was evaluated with IIEF at the start and end of therapy. Of the 50 patients 47 (group 1 24, group 2 23) who completed the 8 week therapy were evaluated. The mean age and symptom duration of the patients was 45.7$\pm$8.7 (27-68) and 6.2$\pm$5.6(1-29) years, respectively. Patient age, symptom duration. marriage status, marriage duration, partner age were not statistic significance between the two groups (p>0.05). Blood chemistry, urinalysis, and hormonal assay did not reveal difference between the two groups. primary efficacy (erectile rigidity and its maintenance) and all domains in secondary efficacy were significantly better after therapy in group 1 compared to those of group 2 (p<0.05) except for frequency of sexual desire, degree of sexual desire, and frequency of intercourse trial (p>0.05). Group 1 patients were significantly more satisfied after treatment compared to group 2 patients with 58.3% (14/24)and 26.1%(6/23) satisfaction rates, respectively. There were no adverse reactions or complications with ginseng adiminstration. Further study into the effects of saponin and ginsenoside that are the main substances in ginseng for erectile dysfunction is needed. In addition, its possible additive effect with ginseng and sildenafil should be elucidated in the future.

• The Zoological Society Korea : Newsletter
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.6-11
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• 2001

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor $\alpha$ (PPAR$\alpha$)에 대한 본격적인 연구는 고지혈증 치료제인 fibrate류의 약물들이 PPAR$\alpha$ activator로 작용한다는 사실이 밝혀짐으로써 크게 증대되었다. PPAR$\alpha$는 fibrate를 포함한 다양한 종류의 peroxisome proiferator (PP)에 의해 활성화되는데 이들을 쥐에 단기간 투여할 경우 간의 peroxisome수와 지 방산 산화효소의 유전자발현이 증가되고 장기간 투여 할 경우 간암을 발생시키지만, fibrate류의 약물들을 고지혈증 환자에게 투여 할 경우 간암을 발생시키지 않으므로써 PP에 대한 반응성에 있어서 species difference를 나타낸다 PPAR$\alpha$는 핵에 존재하는 orphan receptor로서 PP에 의해 활성화되어 9-cis-retinoic acid receptor(RXR)와 heterodimer를 이룬 후 target gene들의 upstream에 있는 peroxisome proliferator response element (PPRE)에 결합하여 target gene들의 발현을 조절한다. 지금까지 연구된 PPAR$\alpha$의 target gene들은 모두 lipid와 lipoprotein 대사를 조절하는 것으로 알려져 있으며, 이러 한 결과들을 기초로 lipid 대사 및 energy balance와 관련된 질병들 - 동맥경화증, 관상동맥질환, 비만, 제 2형 당뇨병 등에서 PPAR$\alpha$의 역할이 집중적으로 연구되고 있다. PPAR$\alpha$가 활성화되면 lipoprotein lipase와 HDL이 증가되고 apo C-III가 감소됨으로써 동맥경화증에 대한 예방적 기능을 나타내고, 몸무게를 감소시킴으로써 비만을 방지할 수 있으며, 인슐린 감수성을 증가시켜 제 2형 당뇨병의 치료효과를 가지는 것으로 보인다. 그러나 PPAR$\alpha$-null mouse에서는 이러한 효과들이 나타나지 않는 것으로 보아 이들 질병에서 PPAR$\alpha$가 중요한 역할을 하는 것으로 생각된다.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.226-233
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• 2006

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders. Some characteristics of depression in Korea were elucidated. The tendency to express depressive feeling through somatic complaints is more prominent in Korea than in Western countries. Careful studies on depressive symptoms suggest that guilt and suicidal idea are apparent among Korean depressive patients as well as among Western subjects. But most depressive patients in Korea are reluctant to express suicidal idea, which is hidden under the somatic complaints. We should remember the possibility of research artifacts or cultural bias with regard to the evaluation of depressive symptoms of a country in comparison with other countries. Non-pharmacological treatment of depression includes dynamic psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, self-care treatment, etc. Some kinds of Korean culture relevant psychotherapies are introduced: Tea therapy, Imago therapy, Tao psychotherapy, and combined approach. Interest in the aged people is growing recently, and the research about the factors which affect the depressive disorders in older patients and treatment strategy for them is ongoing.

• Journal of Digestive Cancer Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.16-24
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• 2018

Gastric cancer is not a single, uniform disease, but rather heterogeneous in nature. It is generally not possible to cure patients with inoperable advanced or metastatic stomach cancer. In the absence of chemotherapy, the median survival time is 3 to 6 months. Therefore, several studies have confirmed the superiority of chemotherapy to the best supportive treatment, in terms of improving the quality of life and prolonging life. Various chemotherapies have been used in the past to treat advanced gastric cancer. Recently, various target therapies and immunotherapy have been introduced. However, compared to other malignancies, the quality of life and life expectancy remain relatively poor in patients with gastric cancer. We expect to overcome these difficulties in the future, with better elucidation of the molecular biology of gastric cancer.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.213-224
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• 2020

Purpose: This study is a descriptive and secondary analytical study that uses panel data to identify the factors of medication adherence to improve life care of hypertensive patients. Methods: The subjects of this study were 2,484 patients who were taking medication after hypertension using Korea Medical Panel 2015 data (β-version 1.0). Data analysis was performed using Chi-Square, Scheffe's test, and logistic regression using SPSS/win 22.0. Results: The level of medication adherence in patients with hypertension was 94.2%. The factors of medication adherence were gender and age in Model I of demographic factors, and the presence of disability, smoking, and drinking in Model II. Model III, which added drug use factors, was identified as drinking, drug duration, side effects, drug satisfaction, and payment of drug costs. Conclusion: In order to improve life care for hypertension patients, education and interventions on the importance of take medication and side effects of medications and how to take them will be needed in the early stages of diagnosis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
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• 1993.04a
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• pp.112-112
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• 1993

바이러스 치료제 개발을 위하여 합성된 핵산유도체 11개에 대한 in vitro 항바이러스 약효검색을 수행하였다. 검색대상 바이러스로서 외피보유 DNA 바이러스인 human herpesvirus에 속하는 herpes simplex virus type 1과 type 2에 대해서는 Vero 세포체계에서 3일 후 CPE 저해정도를 MTT 검색법으로 cytomegalovirus에 대해서는 HEL 세포체계에서 7일 후 Giemsa 염색법으로 약효를 측정하였다. 외피비보유 RNA 바이러스인 picornavirus에 속하는 poliovirus type 1과 type 3과 coxsackie B virus type 3에 대한 약효를 HeLa 세포체계에서 2일 후 CPE 저해정도를 MTT 검색법으로 측정하였다. 아울러 selectivity index를 구하기 위하여 Vero와 HeLa 세포에 대한 약물자체의 독성인 cytocidal effect를 MIT 검색법으로 측정하였다. 그 결과 항 herpesvirus 약효는 어떤 물질에서도 발견되지 않았으나 한 물질이 poliovirus type 1과 3에 대하여 selectivity index 10정도 (CC$_{60}$ 38 ug/ml, EC$_{50}$ 1-4 ug/ml)를 나타내었고 자세한 기작은 좀 더 조사할 필요가 있다.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.219-233
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• 2002

스테로이드성 소염진통제인 트리암시놀론 겔의 피부투과도를 향상시키기 위하여 초음파를 조사하여 약물의 투과도에 미치는 영향을 비교하였다. 트리암시놀론을 함유한 수용성 겔을 제조하여 물리화학적 시험을 실시하였으며 carbopol을 기제로한 겔이 우수한 제제학적 특성을 보였다. 초음파 조사가 약물의 투과도에 미치는 영향을 알아보기 위하여 hairless mouse의 적출 피부에 대한 in vitro 흡수 실험을 실시하였다. 트리암시놀론 겔 음파영동군이 트리암시놀론겔 단독 처치군에 비하여 투과도가 유의적으로 향상되었다. 특히 주파수가 1MHz인 지속초음파를 고 강도로 적용시 피부투과도의 향상이 더욱 두드러졌다. 따라서 트리암시놀론 겔 도포 후 초음파를 이용한 음파영동 경피흡수가 단독의 겔 처치보다 피부투과에 유용할 것으로 사료된다.