• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.161-167
• /
• 2015

These commensal intestinal bacteria can enhance the immune system and aid in nutrient absorption but can also act as opportunistic pathogens. Among these intestinal bacteria, the anaerobic Bacteroides fragilis are divided into enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (ETBF) which secrete the B. fragilis toxin (BFT) and non-enterotoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) which do not secrete BFT. ETBF can cause diarrhea and colitis in both humans and livestock but can also be found in asymptomatic individuals. ETBF is predominantly found in patients with inflammatory diarrheal diseases and traveller's diarrhea. Several clinical studies have also reported an increased prevalence of ETBF in human patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis and colorectal cancer. In small animal models (C57BL/6 wild-type mice, germ-free mice, multiple intestinal neoplasia (Min) mice, rabbits and Mongolian gerbils), ETBF have been found to initiate and/or aggravate IBD, colitis and colorectal cancer. BFT induces E-cadherin cleavage in intestinal epithelial cells resulting in loss of epithelial cell integrity. Subsequent activation of the ${\beta}$-catenin pathway leads to increased cellular proliferation. In addition, ETBF causes acute and chronic colitis in wild-type mice as well as enhances tumorigenesis in Min mice via activation of the Stat3/Th17 pathway. Currently, ETBF can be detected using a BFT toxin bioassay and by PCR. Advances in molecular biological techniques such as real-time PCR have allowed both researchers as well as clinicians to rapidly detect ETBF in clinical samples. The emergence of more sensitive techniques will likely advance molecular insight into the role of ETBF in colitis and cancer.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.30-35
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Infectious ileocecitis is an infection confined to the ileocecal area and one of the most common causes of pediatric abdominal pain. This study was performed to demonstrate the clinical features of infectious ileocecitis in children. Methods: The medical records and radiologic findings of 37 patients with ileocecitis diagnosed by ultrasonography and/or computed tomography, who were admitted to Pusan National University Hospital from January 2004 and July 2008, were reviewed retrospectively. Viral gastroenteritis and secondary ileocecitis were excluded. Results: The mean age of the patients was 4.8${\pm}$3.4 years. One-half of the patients were preschool children. The chief complaint was abdominal pain (75.7%), diarrhea (10.8%), and vomiting (8.1%). Accompanying symptoms were fever (56.8%), vomiting (21.6%), and diarrhea (16.2%). The mean duration of abdominal pain, fever, diarrhea, and vomiting was 3.8${\pm}$2.1, 3.0${\pm}$1.9, 3.4${\pm}$1.9, and 2.4${\pm}$2.3 days, respectively. The frequency of diarrhea and vomiting was 5.8${\pm}$2.2 and 4.0${\pm}$2.8 per day, respectively. Diagnosis was made by abdominal ultrasonography in 22 patients (59.5%), abdominal CT in 2 patients (5.4%), and both modalities in 13 patients (35.1%). Besides the radiologic finding of thickening of the bowel wall, mesenteric lymphadenitis (59.5%), ascites (5.4%), and both mesenteric lymphadenitis and ascites (16.2%) were revealed. The mean duration of illness was 7.5${\pm}$5.0 days. There were no specific laboratory findings, and culture studies with stool or blood were negative. All of the patients recovered completely without specific treatment. Conclusion: Infectious ileocecitis has acute appendicitis-mimicking symptoms, but is self-limited within a few days, thus unnecessary treatment and work-up is avoided. However, distinguishing infectious ileocecitis from appendicitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and mesenteric lymphadenitis is important.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.51 no.5
• /
• pp.474-481
• /
• 2001

Mesalazine(5-Aminosalicylic acid,5-ASA), a component of Sulfasalazine (sulfapyridine bound to 5-ASA), is used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Most adverse pulmonary effects caused by sulfasalazine have been attributed to sulfapyridine. However, lung toxicity associated with mesalazine(5-ASA) is rare. Here we report a case of eosinophilic pneumonia in a 44-year-old woman with ulcerative colitis, who was treated with mesalazine. She developed symptoms of a dry cough, mild night fever, and exertional dyspnea. Bilateral peripheral pulmonary infiltrates, peripheral blood eosinophilia, and histologic features were consistent with eosinophilic pneumonia. The symptoms improved quite rapidly after the discontinuation of mesalazine and initiation of steroid therapy. Therefore, adverse pulmonary reactions to mesalazine must be considered in a differential diagnosis of pulmonary involvement in patients with inflammatory bowel disease who are receiving with mesalazine therapy.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.17-29
• /
• 2014

GRAS probiotics can be used to modulate intestinal microbiota and to alleviate various gastrointestinal disorders. In several recent studies, researchers have explored the potential expansion and usability of probiotics to reduce the risk factors associated with diseases, including obesity, hypercholesterolemia, arterial hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia, and oxidative stress. In this review, our aim was to clarify the mechanism underlying interactions between hosts (animal or human) and probiotics and the beneficial effects of probiotics on human health.

• Journal of Korean Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.75-83
• /
• 2008

과사용 증후군은 정상적인 조직에 최대하 부하(submaximal stress)가 지속되어 발생하는 것이다. 이와 같은 현상은 연부조직의 접합부(junction)에서 주로 일어나며 힘의 전달이 집중되는 곳, 조직의 역학적 성질이 변화되는 곳, 그리고 성장시 빨리 변화하는 성질이 있는 곳에 주로 생긴다. 근육의 불균형이 과사용 증후군의 가장 많은 원인이다. 과거의 부상 이후 부적절한 재활치료 및 각형성 또는 회전 부정정렬(angular and rotational malalignment) 등이 과사용 증후군의 원인이 될 수 있다. 스포츠 훈련 방법의 실수로도 과사용 증후군이 생길 수 있다. 전방 슬관절 동통시 감별해야 할 질환들은 jumper's knee, 슬개건염 혹은 대퇴 사두건염, Osgood-Schlatter 병, Sinding-Larsen-Johansson 병, 슬개골 연골 연화증, 슬개골 전(prepatellar) 혹은 슬개골 하(infrapatellar) 점액낭염, Hoffa's fat pad의 염증, 그리고 특발성 전방 슬관절 동통 증후군(idiopathic anterior knee pain syndrome)등이 있다. 후방 슬관절 통증의 원인 질환으로는 만성 슬와근 염좌, 슬괵건 점액낭염, 경골 골간단의 피로 골절 등이 포함되며 외측 슬관절 통증의 원인으로는 장경대 충돌 증후군(iliotibial band friction syndrome)등이 있을 수 있다. 이외 과사용 증후군과 관련된 슬관절 통증의 원인으로 다분 슬개골(multipartite patella), 내측 경골 스트레스 증후군(medial tibial stress syndrome), 박리성 골연골염, 반월상 연골의 퇴행성 변화 등이 있을 수 있다. 과사용 증후군의 진단 및 치료의 일반적인 접근법은 다섯가지 단계의 프로그램으로 요약될 수 있다. 첫째, 원인 요소를 확인하고, 둘째, 요소를 변경시키고, 셋째, 통증을 조절하고, 넷째, 능동적 재활을 시키고, 그리고 다섯째, 유지시키는 것이다.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.139-144
• /
• 1996

갈륨스캔은 여러 종류의 염증성 질환 및 종양을 발견하기 위해 사용되고 있다. 특히 림프종은 갈륨스캔에서 양성율이 비교적 높은 종양으로 알려져 있다. 하지만 기존의 평면 영상만으로는 작은 크기의 종괴나 다른 장기에 의해 가려져 있는 경우에 위음성 결과를 보일 수 있었다. 최근 단일광자 방출 전산화 단층촬영(SPCET)을 도입하여 평면영상에 비해 더 나은 공간해상력으로 많은 정보를 얻고 있다. 저자들은 비호지킨 림프종 환자 30명을 대상으로 갈륨스캔 평면영상과 SPECT 영상을 얻어 비교하였다. 병변의 부위별로 두경부, 흉부, 복부에서 평면영상의 예민도는 각각 71%, 73%, 81%였으며, SPECT 영상의 예민도는 91%, 93%, 96%였다. CT 등 방사선학적 검사소견과 임상소견을 기준으로 하였을 때 위음성율은 평면영상의 경우 24%, SPECT 6.5%였다. 장의 방사능으로 인한 섭취와 폐문부 및 침샘의 비대칭적 섭취로 인한 위양성례가 4예 있었다. 결론적으로 비호지킨 림프종의 진단 및 병기를 결정하는데 있어서 갈륨스캔이 유용하며, SPCET 영상을 얻음으로써 더 나은 해부학적 위치 및 정확한 범위를 보여 줄 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.83 no.4
• /
• pp.918-923
• /
• 2022

Large vessel vasculitis is characterized by chronic inflammation within the aortic wall and its major branches. The inflammation is considered to occur as a result of immune dysregulation. Hematologic malignancy is one of the rare causes of secondary vasculitis. Herein, we report a rare case of large vessel vasculitis associated with acute myeloid leukemia mimicking primary vasculitis.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.25-30
• /
• 2010

For centuries, probiotics have been known to promote health and prevent diseases. In recent times, modulation of diseases related to the immune function by probiotics has been recognized as very important to the health of the host's gut. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are the most frequently studied diseases in which probiotic administration has been tested as a potential therapy. Various in vitro and in vivo studies have been performed. The studies discussed in this review suggest several mechanisms: probiotics could modulate the gut microflora by competing with disease-causing pathogenic bacteria and could directly regulate the mucosal immune system, which activates the innate and adaptive immune systems. In addition, human clinical trials have shown alleviation of disease symptoms of ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease, etc. This study aimed to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying immune modulation by probiotics and review studies on the functional aspect of IBD alleviation by probiotics. With more scientific studies confirming the effect of probiotics, this therapy holds promise for use in alternative medicine and/or pharmaceutical preparations, given the long history of safe consumption of probiotics.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.11
• /
• pp.1386-1395
• /
• 2018

Over recent years, it has become evident that the central nervous system bidirectionally interacts with the gastrointestinal tract along the gut-brain axis. A series of preclinical studies indicate that the gut microbiota can modulate central nervous system function through a multitude of physiological functions. Polyphenols are ubiquitous plant chemicals included in foods such as fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee and wine, and their consumption is directly responsible for beneficial health effects due to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anticancer, vasodilating, and prebiotic-like effects. There is increasing evidence that dietary polyphenol can contribute to beneficial effects in neuronal protection acting against oxidative stress and inflammatory injury as well as in cognitive functions. In this paper, we overview the neuroprotective role of dietary polyphenols especially focusing on the neuroinflammation and neurovascular function by interaction with the gut microbiome. Polyphenol metabolites could directly act as neurotransmitters crossing the blood-brain barrier and modulating the cerebrovascular system or indirectly modulating gut microbiota. In addition, evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols are effective in preventing and managing neurological disorders, such as age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, through a multitude of physiological functions. Dietary polyphenols are increasingly envisaged as a potential nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders, because they possess the ability to reduce neuroinflammation, to improve memory and cognitive function and to modulate the gut microbiota.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.183-190
• /
• 2023

Red yeast rice, also known as Hong Qu and red Koji, has been used for a long time in Asian functional food and traditional medicine. It consists of multiple bioactive substances, which can potentially be used as nutraceuticals. Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) can range from simple steatosis or inflammation to fibrosis and cirrhosis, possibly through leaky gut and systemic endotoxemia. This study examined the liver and gut effects of red yeast rice (RYR) (Monascus purpureus) ethanol extract against binge ethanol-induced liver injury in mice. RYR extract was orally administered to C57BL/6N mice at a concentration of 200 mg/kg body weight per day for 10 days. Then, mice were administered binge alcohol (5 g/kg/dose) three times at 12 hr intervals. Binge alcohol exposure significantly elevated the endotoxin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT) activity of plasma, as well as hepatic triglyceride levels; however, RYR treatments reduced these levels. In addition, RYR pretreatment significantly reduced the alcohol-induced oxidative maker protein and apoptosis maker in binge alcohol-induced gut and liver injuries. These results suggest that RYR may prevent alcohol-induced acute leaky gut and liver damage.