• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.28 no.7
• /
• pp.874-883
• /
• 2018

Osteoporosis is a disease that increases the risk of fracture by decreasing the mass and strength of bone. It is caused by imbalance of osteoclast bone formation and osteoclast bone resorption. Bone formation by osteoblast is activated via bone morphogenetic proteins and runt-related transcription factor 2. $Wnt/{\beta}-catenin$ signaling and bone resorption by osteoclast are initiated by the binding of receptor activator of nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ ligand and receptor activator of nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$. Menopausal women are at risk for many diseases due to hormonal imbalances, and osteoporosis is the most common metabolic disorder in 30% of postmenopausal women. When estrogen is deficient, bone resorption of osteoclasts is promoted, and the risk of osteoporosis especially increases in postmenopausal women. Hormone replacement therapy has been widely used to relieve or treat the symptoms of menopausal syndrome. However, long-term administration of hormone therapy has been associated with a high risk of side effects, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and uterine cancer. Recently, phytochemicals have been actively studied as a phytoestrogen, which has an estrogen-like activity to cope with symptoms of menopausal syndrome. Therefore, in this review, we investigated the differentiation mechanism of osteoblast and osteoclast and the role of estrogen and phytoestrogen in bone metabolism in relation to previous studies.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.1011-1018
• /
• 2011

Aflatoxin-contaminated feed cause mortality, suppression of the immune system, reduced growth rates and losses in feed efficiency. This research study was planned to investigate the immunomodulatory and growth promoting effect of milk thistle as feed additive against aflatoxin $B_1$ in broiler chicks at NWFP Agricultural University Peshawar, Pakistan. Two hundred and forty (240) day old broilers chicks were randomly assigned into four major groups AfF, aflatoxin free feed; Aflatoxin $B_1$ was present in the feed at the levels of 80-520 ${\mu}g/kg$ of the feed in the remaining three groups. Aflatoxin contaminated feed was provided for 5 weeks. Group AfB was supplemented with toxin binder "Mycoad" at 3 g/kg of feed and group AfT was supplemented with milk thistle at10 g/kg of feed. Each group was further sub divided into two sub-groups, vaccinated against ND (Newcastle disease), IB (Infectious bronchitis) and IBD (Infectious bursal diseases) according to recommended schedule of vaccination or non vaccinated. Each sub group carried three replicates with 10 chicks per replicate. Chicks were reared in pens in an open sided house. Supplementary heat was provided to all the chicks during brooding period. Mean body weight gain and dressing percentage were significantly (p<0.05) higher in group AfF, followed by AfT, AfB and Af. Weight gain and dressing percentage was the same in group AfB and AfT, while it was significantly lower in group Af. Feed intake, breast, thigh and leg weight were found significantly (p<0.05) higher in group AfF, followed by AfB, AfT and Af. Significantly lower (better) FCR value was recorded in group AfT. Water intake was significantly (p<0.05) higher in group AfT and AfF as compared to other groups. Mortality was significantly (p<0.05) higher in group Af. Mean bursa and thymus weights were found significantly (p<0.05) higher in group AfF, AfB and AfT followed by Af, while higher spleen weight was recorded in group AfT. Mean antibody titer against ND, IB and IBD was significantly (p<0.05) higher in group AfT, as compared to other groups. It is concluded that milk thistle at 10 g/kg of feed could effectively be utilized as immunostimulant and growth promotant in the presence of immunosuppressant aflatoxin $B_1$ in the feed.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.6 no.4
• /
• pp.213-223
• /
• 2015

Objectives : Seventh-day Adventists is well known to place a strong doctrinal emphasis on healthy life style that do not consume tobacco, alcohol or pork, and many adhere to a lacto-ovo-vegetarian lifestyle. This study aimed to investigate the difference of mortality between Korean Seventh-day Adventists and the general Korean population. Methods : We got 592 mortality data of Adventist cemetery in Seoul city and Kyunggi provincce of Korea, which contains information on causes of death for 2000-2004. Also we used mortality data of the general Korean population in Korea National Statistics Office for 2000-2004. Results : The mean age at death was 70.45 in Korean Adventists, 65.63 in the general Korean population. Higher neoplasm cause of death, such as of stomach, liver and breast, were observed in Korean Adventists than the general population. The death cause of injury, poisoning and external causes, and cerebrovascular disease were higher in the general population than Korean Adventists. The death cause of stomach cancer was lower in Korean Adventists who had above 10 years religious period than general population above age 50 years. In male, the death cause of lung cancer was lower in Korean Adventists than the general population. Conclusions : The results point to the importance of healthy life-style in Korean peoples, and indicate that lifestyle changes in the population might change the causes of death.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.130-136
• /
• 2001

Purpose : It is very important to endow the cancer patients underwent chemotherapy with satisfactory quality of life (QOL). However, little is known about the factors influencing QOL during chemotherapy. Therefore, we designed this study to find out the factors influencing QOL in the cancer patients who underwent chemotherapy. Methods : Ninety-seven cancer patients were studied, prospectively. The patients' characteristics were as follows; median age(range): 48(19{\sim}83) years, male:female; 57:40, PS:0,1/2,3;55/42 patients, diagnosis(number): lymphoma (28), lung cancer (22), gastrointestinal cancer (18), sarcoma (12), breast cancer (12), gynecological cancer (5), Stage: I,II/III.IV;37/60 patients. We used EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaires to evaluate QOL. EORTC QLQ-C30 scores were performed before the onset of chemotherapy and after the end of 3 cycles of chemotherapy. The correlation of these scores with performance status (PS), diagnosis, disease stage, response to chemotherapy, and regimen related toxicity was evaluated. Results : The responder group (CR, PR) demonstrated marked improvement of social functional and emotional scales to non-responder group (SD,PD) (P=0.024, 0.045). Non-hematologic regimen related toxicity such as mucositis, nausea and vomiting was significantly correlated with pain scale change (P=0.043). Other factors had no notable correlation with QOL changes. Conclusion : Our preliminary study results may suggest as follows. The response to chemotherapy is associated with the change of social functional and emotional scales and the severity of non-hematologic regimen related toxicity is associated with pain scale change.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2597-2606
• /
• 2014

Background: There is a scarcity of information about the proportion of the adult Saudi population that meet the recommended guidelines of physical activity (PA) to reduce cancer risk. Moreover, their awareness about the role of PA in cancer prevention is unclear. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed at estimating the proportion of adult Saudis meeting the PA guidelines, specifically those recommended by American Cancer Society (ACS) for cancer prevention, and to assess the public awareness about the role of PA in cancer prevention. Materials and Methods: Using a multistage sampling method, 2,127 adult Saudis of both genders were recruited from 6 urban and 4 rural primary health care centers in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Participants were personally interviewed to gather information about their sociodemographic characteristics, searching activity about PA and cancer, and the time spent in leisure time PA (moderate and vigorous)/week using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire with show cards. Finally, items about the role of PA in cancer risk reduction were inquired. Results: Of the included participants, 11.6% met the recommendations for cancer prevention (${\geq}45$ minutes of moderate-vigorous PA activity/${\geq}5$ days/week or 225 minutes/week). Multivariate regression showed that being male (AOR=1.49, CI=1.09-2.06), <20 years of age (AOR=3.11, CI=2.03-4.76), and unemployed (AOR=2.22, CI=1.57-3.18) were significant predictors for meeting PA recommendations for cancer prevention. Only 11.4% of the sample indicated correctly the frequency and duration of PA required for an average adult to be physically active and while >70% of them indicated the role of PA in prevention of hypertension, coronary heart disease and lowering elevated blood cholesterol, only 18.6% and 21.7% correctly mentioned the role of PA in reducing colon and breast cancer risk, respectively. Poor knowledge was found among those with less than college education and aged ${\geq}50$ years. The level of knowledge was significantly positively correlated with total leisure time PA of the participants. Conclusions: A minority of adult Saudis in Al Hassa was aware about the role of PA in cancer prevention and engaged in sufficient LTPA for cancer risk reduction benefits, highlighting the need for public health actions to include policies and programs that address factors deterring their participation in LTPA and increasing their awareness with remedies to manage the prevalent misconceptions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.2547-2554
• /
• 2014

Background: To evaluate the perception of cancer patients toward treatment services and influencing factors and to inquire about the use of complementary alternative medicine (CAM). Materials and Methods: Information was obtained through pre-tested structured questionnaires completed by cancer patients during treatment at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Results: Of 242 patients, 137 (64.6%) accepted to enter this study. Most were Saudi (n=93, 68%), female (n=80, 58%), educated at university (n=71, 52%), married (n=97, 72%) and with breast cancer (n=36, 26%). One-hundred (73%) patients were satisfied with the services provided; 61% were Saudi. Ninety-four (68%) respondents were satisfied with the explanation of their cancer. Twenty-eight (21.6%) patients received CAM, of them 54.0% received herbal followed by rakia (21.0%), nutritional supplements/vitamins (7.0%) and Zamam water (18.0%), with significant differences among them (p =0.004). Seven (5%) patients believed this therapy could be used alone; 34 (25%) patients believed it could be used with other treatments, regardless of whether they themselves used this therapy. Fifty-three (53%) satisfied patients felt they received enough support; 31 (58%) patients received support from family and friends; 22 (41.6%) patients received support from the health-care team. Patients who received information about their disease from their physicians and those who felt they had enough support were more satisfied. The patients who took alternative treatment were older age, mostly female and highly educated but values did not reach significance. Conclusions: We stress enhancing the educational and supportive aspects of cancer-patient services to improve their treatment satisfaction and emphasize the need for increasing the educational and awareness programs offered to these patients.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.180-186
• /
• 2014

Purpose: At present, a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-based concept of tumor biology has been established, and trastuzumab ($Herceptin^{(R)}$; Genentech/Roche, San Francisco, CA, USA), a monoclonal humanized antibody directed against HER2, is a pivotal agent for the management of HER2 positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer. It is also known that HER2 has a predictive value in gastric cancer; however, its association with the prognosis of this disease remains uncertain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate both the relationship between HER2 overexpression in the tumors of gastric cancer patients, and the prognosis of these patients who have had curative resection. Materials and Methods: A total of 139 consecutive patients with gastric cancer who underwent surgery at the Kosin University Gospel Hospital between October 2011 and March 2012 were included in this retrospective study. All tumor samples were examined for HER2 expression by immunohistochemistry. A retrospective review of the medical records was conducted to determine the correlation between the presence of HER2 overexpression and clinicopathological factors. Results: The HER2+ rate was 15.1%. HER2 overexpression was associated with histological grade (P=0.044) and Lauren classification (P=0.036). There was no significant difference in the 2-year overall survival between HER2+ and HER2- patients (P=0.396). Multivariate analysis showed that HER2 was not an independent prognostic factor. Conclusions: HER2 overexpression in tumors was associated with histological grade and Lauren classification in gastric cancer patients with curative resection. However, HER2 was not an independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer in our study.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.239-250
• /
• 2012

In recent years, national health insurance(NHI) coverage had been expanded gradually for cancer as a severe disease requiring high level of medical expenditure, to reduce patient's financial burden. But, subjective burdens level for out-of-pocket(OOP) money expense are still considerable owing to high medical cost and decent numbers of services not covered by benefit plan. This study aimed to investigate OOP medical expenditures and identify factors influencing subjective financial burden in cancer patients. A 28-items questionnaire for self-reporting by responders was designed to satisfy study goal and finalized following by one pilot study and experts' verification process. Subjects were enrolled during July to October 2010 through regular meetings organized by five patient or patient-advocacy groups had acknowledged the study purpose. Subjects who aged 20 or more, have histories of cancer diagnosis and anticancer drug use, and voluntarily agreed to participate in this study were recruited. Total 107 subjects included in the analysis have cancer lesions in breast, colon, kidney, liver or stomach at the stages from I to IV. Approximately 73% of them has passed less than 5 years since cancer diagnosis. For the OOP medical expenditure regarding cancer, less 6 million won was in 31%, 6-15 million won in 35% and more than 15 million won in 28% of responders, and more than half responders(58%) felt financial burden subjectively. 63% of responders had subscribed commercial insurances, resulting in money receipts of more than 10 million won since cancer diagnoses in 76% of responders. Logistic regression results showed significant differences in subjective OOP financial burden level depending on gender, household income level, benefit type, commercial insurance money receipt degree, year cancer diagnosed, cancer lesion, therapy type, duration of anticancer drug use, drug listing in national formulary, total OOP medical expenditure and total OOP anticancer drug expense. They had mixed feelings both wishes to expand NHI coverage to reduce financial burden(70%) and no willingness to increase premium(59%). This result suggested that NHI might direct future strategies to reduce absolute total OOP medical cost and expand benefit plan coverage in higher burden groups in particular.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.30 no.5
• /
• pp.483-490
• /
• 2020

The ubiquitin system uses ligases and deubiquitinases (DUBs) to regulate ubiquitin position on protein substrates and is involved in many biological processes which determine stability, activity, and interaction of the target substrate. DUBs are classified in six groups according to catalytic domain, namely ubiquitin-specific proteases (USPs); ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolases (UCHs); ovarian tumor proteases (OTUs); Machado Joseph Disease proteases (MJDs); motif interacting with Ub (MIU)-containing novel DUB family (MINDY); and Jab1/MPN/MOV34 metalloenzymes (JAMMs). Otubain 1 (OTUB1) is a DUB in the OTU family which possesses both canonical and non-canonical activity and can regulate multiple cellular signaling pathways. In this review, we describe the function of OTUB1 through regulation of its canonical and non-canonical activities in multiple specifically cancer-associated pathways. The canonical activity of OTUB1 inhibits protein ubiquitination by cleaving Lys48 linkages while its non-canonical activity prevents ubiquitin transfer onto target proteins through binding to E2-conjugating enzymes, resulting in the induction of protein deubiquitination. OTUB1 can therefore canonically and non-canonically promote tumor cell proliferation, invasion, and drug resistance through regulating FOXM1, ERα, KRAS, p53, and mTORC1. Moreover, clinical research has demonstrated that OTUB1 overexpresses with high metastasis in many tumor types including breast, ovarian, esophageal squamous, and glioma. Therefore, OTUB1 has been suggested as a diagnosis marker and potential therapeutic target for oncotherapy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.160-165
• /
• 2004

Successful treatment of multi-loculated pleural effusion or thoracic empyema requires effective drainage and definitive diagnosis of causative organism. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of the video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery in the management of thoracic empyema or multi-loculated pleural effusion after chest tube drainage treatment had failed. Material and Method: Between April 2000 and July 2002, 20 patients with thoracic empyema or multi-loculated pleural effusion that failed to chest tube drainage or other procedures who underwent an operation. All patients were assessed by chest-computed tomogram and underwent video assisted thoracoscopic drainage, debridement, biopsy and irrigation of pleural cavity. Result: In 18 cases (90%), underwent successful video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. In 2 cases, decortications by mini-thoracotomy were necessary. The ratio of sex was 4 : 1 (16 male: 4 female), mean age was 48.9 years old (range, 17∼72 years), mean duration of postoperative chest tube placement was 8.2 days (range, 4∼22 days), mean postoperative hospital stay was 15.2 days (range, 7∼33 days). Causative disease was tuberculosis, pneumonia, trauma and metastatic breast cancer, There were no major postoperative complications. Symptoms improved in all patients and were discharged with OPD follow up. Conclusion: In an early organizing phase of empyema or multi loculated pleural effusion, video-assisted thoracoscopic drainage and debridement are safe and suitable treatment.