• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.157-160
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• 2018

Chronic silica nephropathy has been associated with tubulointerstitial disease, immune-mediated multisystem disease, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal disease. On the other hand, acute intentional exposure is extremely rare. The authors' experienced a 44-year-old man who took rapid cement hardener (sodium silicate) in a suicide attempt whilst in a drunken state. He visited the emergency department approximately 1 hour after ingestion. Information on the material was obtained after 3 L gastric lavage. The patient complained of a sore throat, epigastric pain, and swollen to blood tinged vomitus. Proton pump inhibitors, hemostats, steroid, and fluids were administered. Nine hours after ingestion, he was administered 200 mL hematochezia. Immediately after, a gas-troenterologist performed an endoscopic procedure that revealed diffuse hyperemic mucosa with a color change and variable sized ulceration in the esophagus, whole stomach, and duodenal $2^{nd}$ portion. Approximately 35 hours later, persistent oligouria and progressive worsening of the renal function parameters (BUN/Cr from 12.2/1.2 to 67.5/6.6 mg/dL) occurred requiring hemodialysis. The patient underwent 8 sessions of hemodialysis for 1 month and the BUN/Cr level increased to 143.2/11.2 mg/dL and decreased to 7.6/1.5 mg/dL. He was discharged safely from the hospital. Follow up endoscopy revealed a severe esophageal stricture and he underwent endoscopic bougie dilatation. Acute cement hardener (sodium silicate) intoxication can cause renal failure and strong caustic mucosal injury. Therefore, it is important to consider early hemodialysis and treatment to prevent gastrointestinal injury and remote esophageal stricture.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-262
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• 2021

The most effective way to control newly emerging infectious disease, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, is to strengthen preventative or therapeutic public health strategies before the infection spreads worldwide. However, global health systems remain at the early stages in anticipating effective therapeutics or vaccines to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While maintaining social distance is the most crucial metric to avoid spreading the virus, symptomatic therapy given to patients on the clinical manifestations helps save lives. The molecular properties of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been quickly elucidated, paving the way to therapeutics, vaccine development, and other medical interventions. Despite this progress, the detailed biomolecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection remains elusive. Given virus invasion of cells is a determining factor for virulence, understanding the viral entry process can be a mainstay in controlling newly emerged viruses. Since viral entry is mediated by selective cellular proteases or proteins associated with receptors, identification and functional analysis of these proteins could provide a way to disrupt virus propagation. This review comprehensively discusses cellular machinery necessary for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding multifactorial traits of the virus entry will provide a substantial guide to facilitate antiviral drug development.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.337-356
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• 2020

This systematic review focused on the efficacy of topical products in reducing temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD)-associated pain, in comparison to placebo or control interventions. The EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE via PubMed databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using topical interventions in adults diagnosed with TMD. The pain intensity was the primary outcome, and other clinical findings were the secondary outcomes. The risk of bias was evaluated according to the Cochrane's handbook. The search up to February 7, 2020 identified a total of 496 unduplicated references. Nine RCTs with 355 adult patients diagnosed with TMD were included. The meta-analysis did not show a significant reduction in baseline pain intensity in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) group, when compared to the placebo group (P = 0.288). One study demonstrated a statistically significant pain score decrease for Theraflex-TMJ compared to placebo after 10 d of treatment (P = 0.003) and follow-up, 5 d after the last application (P = 0.027). Ping On reduced pain at 4 weeks of application (P < 0.001) but not after 7 d of application (P = 0.136). In one study, cannabidiol (CBD) significantly improved the pain intensity compared to placebo (P < 0.001). However, no differences were found with capsaicin in the two studies (P = 0.465). Evidence was of low quality because the studies were considered as having an unclear or a high risk of bias and a small number of studies were analyzed. The evidence is not sufficient to support the use of topical NSAIDs and capsaicin, and limited evidence was found for Threraflex-TMJ, bee venom, Ping On, and CBD, with only one study reporting for each. Additional studies are recommended to validate these results.

• Clinical and Experimental Emergency Medicine
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.240-248
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• 2018

Objective Determine differences between faculty, residents, and nurses regarding night shift preparation, performance, recovery, and perception of emotional and physical health effects. Methods Survey study performed at an urban university medical center emergency department with an accredited residency program in emergency medicine. Results Forty-seven faculty, 37 residents, and 90 nurses completed the survey. There was no difference in use of physical sleep aids between groups, except nurses utilized blackout curtains more (69%) than residents (60%) and faculty (45%). Bedroom temperature preference was similar. The routine use of pharmacologic sleep aids differed: nurses and residents (both 38%) compared to faculty (13%). Residents routinely used melatonin more (79%) than did faculty (33%) and nurses (38%). Faculty preferred not to eat (45%), whereas residents (24%) preferred a full meal. The majority (>72%) in all groups drank coffee before their night shift and reported feeling tired despite their routine, with 4:00 a.m. as median nadir. Faculty reported a higher rate (41%) of falling asleep while driving compared to residents (14%) and nurses (32%), but the accident rate (3% to 6%) did not differ significantly. All had similar opinions regarding night shift-associated health effects. However, faculty reported lower level of satisfaction working night shifts, whereas nurses agreed less than the other groups regarding increased risk of drug and alcohol dependence. Conclusion Faculty, residents, and nurses shared many characteristics. Faculty tended to not use pharmacologic sleep aids, not eat before their shift, fall asleep at a higher rate while driving home, and enjoy night shift work less.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.287-293
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• 2021

Tablets were conventionally used to treat choline urticaria. Disadvantages of tablets included sleep inducing problems, accessibility and reduced dosage. To address this, hydrogel containing Cetirizine HCl was manufactured. The experimental method was to measure viscosity, gel fraction, degree of swelling, content evaluation, and permeability. Studies have shown that hydrogels containing Cetirizine HCl can be directly applied to occurrence area to improve Cholinergic urticaric with minimal side effects associated with the marketable tablets. This hydrogel includes other important substances including steroids which gives it an advantage when applied on the skin, improving its accessibility. In addition, it is expected that the drug manufacturing process will be able to proceed as this hydrogel is effective even when used alone.

• CELLMED
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3.1-3.6
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• 2021

Ascites is the accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity, and it is generally allied with liver disease like cirrhosis of the liver. The ascites is commonly associated with liver cirrhosis, malignancy, or cardiovascular disease today. The liver cirrhosis is the most significant cause of ascites in developed countries as per the available data. In the modern medicine system, the treatment includes the restriction of sodium intake, use of diuretics, and paracentesis done in severe cases. There are many side effects of synthetic chemical diuretics, and their long-term use is not recommended. The alternative medicine like Unani system of medicine provides natural diuretics and drugs which also have protective effects on kidney, liver and other internal organs. It is well known in all drug systems that the prognosis is poor in ascites, but the use of Unani herbal medicines can minimize the side effects caused by synthetic chemical diuretics. The natural herbs used for the management of ascites have fewer side effects as compared to synthetic drugs. The natural drugs can be used for longer duration and provide some dietary supplement which improves the quality of life. This review addressed the thorough treatment of ascites by natural diet and medications.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.414-429
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• 2021

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis analyzed the effects of 2% chlorhexidine bathing on the incidence of hospital-acquired infection (HAI) and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in adult intensive care units. Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane library, and RISS database were systematically searched, and 12 randomized studies were included in the analysis. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 3.0 was used to calculate the effect size using the odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analysis was performed according to the specific infection and intervention types. Results: In general, 2% chlorhexidine bathing has a significant effect on the incidence of HAI (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40~0.86) and MDRO (OR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.34~0.79). Subgroup analyses show 2% chlorhexidine bathing is effective in bloodstream infections (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.39~0.66) but not for urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia infections, and Clostridium difficile infections. Moreover, 2% chlorhexidine bathing alone or its combination with other interventions has a significant effect on the incidence of HAI and MDRO (OR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.38~0.92). Conclusion: This meta-analysis reveals that 2% chlorhexidine bathing significantly reduces the incidence of HAI and MDRO in intensive care units. The effect of 2% chlorhexidine bathing on pediatric patients or patients at general wards should be further assessed as a cost-effective intervention for infection control.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.545-550
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• 2021

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia and hair loss can be stressful in patients with cancer. The hair grows back, but sometimes the hair tends to stay thin. Therefore, understanding mechanisms regulating hair regeneration may improve the management of chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Previous studies have revealed that chemotherapeutic agents induce a hair follicle vascular injury. As hair growth is associated with micro-vessel regeneration, we postulated that the stimulation of angiogenesis might enhance hair regeneration. In particular, mice treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) showed delayed anagen initiation and reduced capillary density when compared with untreated controls, suggesting that the retardation of anagen initiation by 5-FU treatment may be attributed to the loss of perifollicular micro-vessels. We investigated whether the ETS transcription factor ETV2 (aka ER71), critical for vascular development and regeneration, can promote angiogenesis and hair regrowth in a 5-FU-induced alopecia mouse model. Tie2-Cre; Etv2 conditional knockout (CKO) mice, which lack Etv2 in endothelial cells, presented similar hair regrowth rates as the control mice after depilation. Following 5-FU treatment, Tie2-Cre; Etv2 CKO mice revealed a significant reduction in capillary density, anagen induction, and hair restoration when compared with controls. Mice receiving lentiviral Etv2 injection after 5-FU treatment showed significantly improved anagen induction and hair regrowth. Two-photon laser scanning microscopy revealed that enforced Etv2 expression restored normal vessel morphology after 5-FU mediated vessel injury. Our data suggest that vessel regeneration strategies may improve hair regrowth after chemotherapeutic treatment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.185-194
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• 2021

Polyglutamine extension in the coding sequence of mutant huntingtin causes neuronal degeneration associated with the formation of insoluble polyglutamine aggregates in Huntington's disease (HD). Mutant huntingtin can form aggregates within the nucleus and processes of neurons possibly due to misfolding of the proteins. To better understand the mechanism by which an elongated polyglutamine causes aggregates, we have developed an in vitro binding assay system of polyglutamine tract from truncated huntingtin. We made GST-HD exon1 fusion proteins which have expanded polyglutamine epitopes (e.g., 17, 23, 32, 46, 60, 78, 81, and 94 CAG repeats). In the present emergence of new study adjusted nanotechnology on protein chip such as surface plasmon resonance strategy which used to determine the substance which protein binds in drug discovery platform is worth to understand better neurodegenerative diseases (i.e., Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and Huntington disease) and its pathogenesis along with development of therapeutic measures. Hence, we used strengths of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology which is enabled to examine binding specificity and explore targeted molecular epitope using its electron charged wave pattern in HD pathogenesis utilize conjugated mutant epitope of HD protein and its interaction whether wild type GST-HD interacts with mutant GST-HD with maximum binding affinity at pH 6.85. We found that the maximum binding affinity of GST-HD17 with GST-HD81 was higher than the binding affinities of GST-HD17 with other mutant GST-HD constructs. Furthermore, our finding illustrated that the mutant form of GST-HD60 showed a stronger binding to GST-HD23 or GST-HD17 than GST-HD60 or GST-HD81. These results indicate that the binding affinity of mutant huntingtin does not correlate with the length of polyglutamine. It suggests that the aggregation of an expanded polyglutamine might have easily occurred in the presence of wild type form of huntingtin.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.202-215
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• 2022

The androgen receptor (AR) is an important therapeutic target for treating prostate cancer (PCa). Moreover, there is an increasing need for understanding the AR-independent progression of tumor cells such as neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Menin, which is encoded by multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), serves as a direct link between AR and the mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) complex in PCa development by activating AR target genes through histone H3 lysine 4 methylation. Although menin is a critical component of AR signaling, its tumorigenic role in AR-independent PCa cells remains unknown. Here, we compared the role of menin in AR-positive and AR-negative PCa cells via RNAi-mediated or pharmacological inhibition of menin. We demonstrated that menin was involved in tumor cell growth and metastasis in PCa cells with low or deficient levels of AR. The inhibition of menin significantly diminished the growth of PCa cells and induced apoptosis, regardless of the presence of AR. Additionally, transcriptome analysis showed that the expression of many metastasis-associated genes was perturbed by menin inhibition in AR-negative DU145 cells. Furthermore, wound-healing assay results showed that menin promoted cell migration in AR-independent cellular contexts. Overall, these findings suggest a critical function of menin in tumorigenesis and provide a rationale for drug development against menin toward targeting high-risk metastatic PCa, especially those independent of AR.