• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.57 no.8
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• pp.345-350
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• 2014

Iron deficiency affects approximately one-third of the world's population, occurring most frequently in children aged 6 months to 3 years. Mechanisms of iron absorption are similar to those of other divalent metals, particularly manganese, lead, and cadmium, and a diet deficient in iron can lead to excess absorption of manganese, lead, and cadmium. Iron deficiency may lead to cognitive impairments resulting from the deficiency itself or from increased metal concentrations caused by the deficiency. Iron deficiency combined with increased manganese or lead concentrations may further affect neurodevelopment. We recently showed that blood manganese and lead concentrations are elevated among iron-deficient infants. Increased blood manganese and lead levels are likely associated with prolonged breast-feeding, which is also a risk factor for iron deficiency. Thus, babies who are breast-fed for prolonged periods should be given plain, iron-fortified cereals or other good sources of dietary iron.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.319-326
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• 2016

We investigated the effect of Selaginella tamariscina extract on the learning and memory impairments in scopolamine-induced (5 mg/kg, i.p.) dementia rats. Rats treated with oral tacrin (20 mg/kg, p.o.) as positive control group and S. tamariscina extract 100, 200mg/kg, p. o. (SME 100, SME 200) as experimental group had significantly reduced scopolamine-induced memory deficits in the passive avoidance test. The acetylcholine content were paralleled the results of the behavior experiment. The acetylcholine contents of the experimental groups (SME 200 group) was higher than that of control group. We also evaluated expression of VAchT, vesicular acetylcholine transporter. SME was significantly increased VAchT expression on hippocampus of scopolamine-induced dementia rats. We suggest that S. tamariscina might exert a significantly neuro-protective effect on cognitive impairment.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2005

Benzodiazepines are widely used for a variety of conditions in psychiatric field. In this article, the author reviewed the indications, the effects on anxiety and sleep disorders, the side effects, the drug-drug interactions, and the tapering strategies. Benzodiazepines were relatively safe and useful for the treatment of anxiety and sleep disorders. However, used clinically, benzodiazepines can induce many adverse effects (e. g. over-sedation, cognitive impairments, paradoxical effects, dependence and withdrawal symptoms, and so on). Currently available informations about their effects on the developing fetus is controversial. For this reason, pregnant women and nursing mother should be cautioned against the use of benzodiazepines. Drug-drug interactions have to be considered in combination treatments. For the tapering issues, gradual tapering was important to prevent the withdrawal symptoms. Especially, the tapering schedules have to be individualized for the each long-term benzodiapzepine users.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.49 no.10
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• pp.609-617
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• 2011

The geriatric population is the most rapidly growing part of the general population, which leads to an increase of chronic conditions and illnesses that will influence both oral and systemic health. The most common chronic diseases in elderly population are arthritis, hypertension, heart diseases, diabetes, and cognitive impairment. Chronic impairments such as visual, hearing, orthopedic, and speech disorders are also prevalent among older adults. All these chronic conditions have potential oral complications and the treatments of systemic diseases also has implications for the maintenance of oral health. Therefore, oral health care professionals should catch up with increasing knowledge in this field and can modify the treatment strategy for older adults. In addition, oral health care professionals should understand the changing need of oral health problems in this age and prepare the future demand.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.63-70
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• 2003

Objectives : To investigate the prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in elderly people, aged 65 or above, residing in Busan Metropolitan City. Methods : Total of 1,101 old people, aged 65 or above, living in Busan as of December 31, 2001 were selected using stratified three-stage cluster sampling. Cognitive impairment was determined from the MMSE-K score, and dementia confirmed from five psychometric measures and the Barthel index. The crude prevalence, sex-age adjusted for the Korean population, were obtained. Results : With the cut-off point for cognitive impairment was set at 24 points, or below, on the MMSE-K scale, the crude rate of cognitive impairment was 29.3% (15.7% for men and 37.5% for women), and the sex-age adjusted prevalence was 30.5% (17.5% for men and 37.0% for women). When the cut-off point for cognitive impairment was set at 20 points, or below, on the MMSE-K scale, the crude rate of cognitive impairments were 10.0% (4.1% for men and 13.5% for women), and 10.6% (4.7% for men and 13.1% for women), respectively. The crude dementia, and the sex-age adjusted rates were 7.4% (2.4% for men and 10.5% for women), and 8.0% (2.7% for men and 10.0% for women), respectively. Conclusions : The prevalence of dementia in this study was somewhat lower than that reported by other domestic and foreign studies. Our results related to the difference in time and space, diagnostic tools, response rates, and distribution of male and female subjects, etc.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.85-105
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• 2011

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to characterize the neuroprotective effects and anxiolytic-like effects of Gongjin-dan and Polygala japonica, Polygala tenuifolia, Acorus gramineus mixed pills(G.J.D-P.P.A.). Methods : The neuroprotective effects of G.J.D-P.P.A. determined by the passive avoidance and Y-maze tasks and Morris water maze task, and the anxiolytic-like effects of the G.J.D-P.P.A. using an elevated plus-maze(EPM) in mice. Results : Drug-induced amnesia was induced by treating animals with scopolamine(1 mg/kg, i.p.). A single G.J.D-P.P.A.(400 and 800 mg/kg) administration significantly enhanced cognitive function and attenuated scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments as determined by the passive avoidance and Y-maze tasks(P < 0.05) and also reduced escape-latency on the Morris water maze task(P < 0.05). The administration of GJD-PPA(400 and 800 mg/kg) significantly increased the percentage of time spent in open arms and entries into the open arms of the EPM compared with saline-treated control group(P < 0.05). Moreover, there were no changes in the locomotor activity and myorelaxant effects in any group compared with saline-treated control group. Conclusions : These results suggest that GJD-PPA dramatically possesses the anti-amnestic and cognitive-enhancing activities related to the memory processes, and promotes the anxiolytic-like activity in mice.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.874-883
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• 2011

Many studies have shown that the steamed root of Rehmannia glutinosa (SRG), which is widely used in the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases in the context of Korean traditional medicine, is effective for improving cognitive and memory impairments. The purpose of this study was to examine whether SRG extracts improved memory defects caused by administering scopolamine (SCO) into the brains of rats. The effects of SRG on the acetylcholinergic system and proinflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus were also investigated. Male rats were administered daily doses of SRG (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days, 1 h before scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg, i.p.). After inducing cognitive impairment via scopolamine administration, we conducted a passive avoidance test (PAT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test as behavioral assessments. Changes in cholinergic system reactivity were also examined by measuring the immunoreactive neurons of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the reactivity of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) in the hippocampus. Daily administration of SRG improved memory impairment according to the PAT, and reduced the escape latency for finding the platform in the MWM. The administration of SRG consistently significantly alleviated memory-associated decreases in cholinergic immunoreactivity and decreased interleukin-$1{\beta}$ (IL-$1{\beta}$) and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) mRNA expression in the hippocampus. The results demonstrated that SRG had a significant neuroprotective effect against the neuronal impairment and memory dysfunction caused by scopolamine in rats. These results suggest that SRG may be useful for improving cognitive functioning by stimulating cholinergic enzyme activities and alleviating inflammatory responses.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.390-398
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• 2013

Objective : We determined whether the relationship between the neuropsychological performance of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their psychopathological characteristics measured by disability evaluation are interrelated. In addition, we assessed which psychopathological variable was most influential on neuropsychological performance via statistical clustering of the same characteristics of mild TBI. Methods : A total of 219 disability evaluation participants with mild brain injury were selected. All participants were classified into three groups, based on their psychopathological characteristics, via a two-step cluster analysis using validity and clinical scales from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Symptom Checklist-90-revised (SCL-90-R). The Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS), Korean Memory Assessment Scale (K-MAS) and the Korean Boston Naming Test (K-BNT) were used to evaluate the neurocognitive functions of mild TBI patients. Results : Over a quarter (26.9%) experienced severe psychopathological symptoms and 43.4% experienced mild or moderate psychopathological symptoms, and all of the mild TBI patients showed a significant relationship between neurocognitive functions and subjective and/or objective psychopathic symptoms, but the degree of this relationship was moderate. Variances of neurocognitive function were explained by neurotic and psychotic symptoms, but the role of these factors were different to each other and participants did not show intelligence and other cognitive domain decrement except for global memory abilities compared to the non-psychopathology group. Conclusion : Certain patients with mild TBI showed psychopathological symptoms, but these were not directly related to cognitive decrement. Psychopathology and cognitive decrement are discrete aspects in patients with mild TBI. Furthermore, the neurotic symptoms of mild TBI patients made positive complements to decrements or impairments of neurocognitive functions, but the psychotic symptoms had a negative effect on neurocognitive functions.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.160-167
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• 2019

Depression is a major mood disorder. Abnormal expression of glial glutamate transporter-1 (GLT-1) is associated with depression. Schisantherin B (STB) is one bioactive of lignans isolated from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill which has been commonly used as a traditional herbal medicine for thousands of years. This paper was designed to investigate the effects of STB on depressive mice induced by forced swimming test (FST). Additionally, we also assessed the impairment of FST on cognitive function in mice with different ages. FST and open field test (OFT) were used for assessing depressive symptoms, and Y-maze was used for evaluating cognition processes. Our study showed that STB acting as an antidepressant, which increased GLT-1 levels by promoting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Although the damage is reversible, short-term learning and memory impairment caused by FST test is more serious in the aged mice, and STB also exerts cognition improvement ability in the meanwhile. Our findings suggested that STB might be a promising therapeutic agent of depression by regulating the GLT-1 restoration as well as activating PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.435-443
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• 2022

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disease that develops following exposure to a traumatic event and is a stress-associated mental disorder characterized by an imbalance of neuroinflammation. Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is the herbal supplement that is known to be involved in a variety of pharmacological activities. We aimed to investigate the effects of KRG on neuroinflammation as a potential mechanism involved in single prolonged stress (SPS) that negatively influences memory formation and consolidation and leads to cognitive and spatial impairment by regulating BDNF signaling, synaptic proteins, and the activation of NF-κB. Methods: We analyzed the cognitive and spatial memory, and inflammatory cytokine levels during the SPS procedure. SPS model rats were injected intraperitoneally with 20, 50, or 100 mg/kg/day KRG for 14 days. Results: KRG administration significantly attenuated the cognitive and spatial memory deficits, as well as the inflammatory reaction in the hippocampus associated with activation of NF-κB in the hippocampus induced by SPS. Moreover, the effects of KRG were equivalent to those exerted by paroxetine. In addition, KRG improved the expression of BDNF mRNA and the synaptic protein PSD-95 in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that KRG exerts memory-improving actions by regulating anti-inflammatory activities and the NF-κB and neurotrophic pathway. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that KRG is a potential functional ingredient for protecting against memory deficits in mental diseases, such as PTSD.