• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.871-879
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to analysis the correlation between kidneys function indicators and these size in ultrasonography. A total of 170 (male:86, female:84) patients of sex and age groups were examined by abdominal ultrasonography. The patients classified as those in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and over 50's. We measured the length, width, and cross-sectional height of the kidneys twice. At this time, the length of these were measured from the maximum upper to the maximum lower pole and the widest width in the same ultrasonography was measured to obtain the cross-sectional area. Other relevant indicators included body surface area, serum creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), MDRD (Modification of diet in renal disease) and C-G (Cockcroft-Gault). Significant comparisons of differences between relevant factors by age groups and sex were conducted with a one-way distribution analysis. Correlation analysis was also performed between relevant factors by using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient. It was defined as meaningful when the p-value was less than 0.05. As a result, the length, the width, and the cross-sectional area of kidneys were correlated with GFR, C-G, MDRD. Therefore, it is expected that the accuracy of diagnosis of kidneys disease will be increased if the relevant indicators are evaluated together rather than measuring only length of these in ultrasonography.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.243-251
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• 2023

Objectives: Although a few studies have investigated the relationship between kidney and oral function (number of remaining teeth), their results remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between kidney function and oral health in community-dwelling healthy elderlies and examine the factors associated with kidney function. Materials and Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the Shimane prefecture cohort recruited by the Center for Community-Based Health Research and Education in 2019. We collected clinical data on dental status, background factors and kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR], mL/min/1.73 m² and creatinine levels, mg/dL). Results: The study enrolled 481 participants, whose mean age was 66.7±7.4 years, and 223 (46.4%) participants were men. Multivariate analysis revealed significant correlations between eGFR (B=0.17, P=0.04), creatinine (B=-0.54, P<0.01), and the number of remaining teeth. The number of remaining teeth was associated with creatinine and eGFR, which are indicators of kidney function. Conclusion: This study suggests that preserving the teeth may prevent decline in kidney function. Dental professionals should provide instructions and professional care to reduce the risk of systemic diseases such as kidney dysfunction.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.35 no.12B
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• pp.1192-1198
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• 2010

As indicators of life quality have recently shown great improvement, alternative medicine is becoming a mainstream health care pattern, in which early stage medical examinations and treatments are usually preformed before diseases occur. In this context, the ear-acupuncture method is increasingly used these day as one of important alternative medicine treatments. In this paper, we performed an experiment of facial region color analysis with kidney ear acupuncture point irritation. For this, we collected facial image samples before and after kidney ear acupuncture point irritation under the same condition. From the samples, the change rates of K, L values of CMYK color system and Lab color system, respectively, on kidney related facial parts were extracted and analyzed to investigate kidney function improvement.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.208-216
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• 2021

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study aimed to investigate the status of renal function in patients with COVID-19. The study surveyed a total of 649 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at a hospital located in southern Gyeonggi Province, South Korea over a one month period in January 2021. The parameters analyzed were blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, sodium, potassium, chloride, and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The BUN and creatinine of the COVID-19 patients were found to be higher than the normal reference range, specially in males, and in the elderly (60s and 80s or older). The serum electrolyte levels of the patients were observed to be within the reference intervals. Of the subjects, males over 80 years of age had a Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) of 60 mL/min/1.73 m² or less. Recent research suggests that some severe cases of COVID-19 are showing signs of kidney damage, even in those with no prior underlying kidney disease. Thus, assessment of kidney function using multiple indicators could help diagnose abnormal renal function in patients with COVID-19.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.699-707
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• 1996

This study was designed to examine the involvement of lead in function of target organ, and the protective effect of selenium in lead-treated guinea pigs for 8 weeks. The effects of exposure to 0.5% lead acetate(lead) and/or 4ppm sodium selenite(selenium) in feed on serveral aspects were evaluated by measuring thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH), triiodothyronine($T_3$), thyroxine($T_4$), serum biochemical activities, organ weights, and serum and organ lead concentrations in growing animals. The many indicators of endocrine function(TSH, $T_3$, and $T_4$ in serum), enzyme and biochemical activities(${\alpha}$-glutamyltranspeptidase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, triglyceride, creatinine, $Ca^{2+}$ in serum), and organ weights(kidney, spleen and testis) were correlated with lead exposure or showed significantly different mean values between the exposed and controls. These changes on some aspects were reversed by combination-fed of selenium, but did not statistically significant. The organ(kidney, liver, spleen, testis and brain) and serum lead concentrations of lead-fed group were clearly higher than that of controls. Selenium supplementation resulted in a significant protection against lead accumulation in liver and testis. These results suggest that lead can cause a toxic effect on several organ and that selenium seems to has a protective effect on specific reaction by lead-induced organic function toxicity.

• Journal of Marine Bioscience and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.86-93
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• 2021

A high salt diet contributes to kidney damage by causing hypoxia and oxidative stress. Recently, an increase in dietary salt has been reported to induce an inflammatory phenotype in immune cells, further contributing to kidney damage. However, studies on the exact mechanism and role of a high salt diet on the inflammatory response in the kidneys are still insufficient. In this study, a cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury model using C57BL/6 mice was used to analyze the effect of salt intake on kidney injury. Results showed that high salt administration aggravated kidney edema in mice induced by treatment with cisplatin. Moreover, the indicators of kidney and liver function impairment were significantly increased in the group cotreated with high salt compared with that treated with cisplatin alone. Furthermore, the exacerbation of kidney damage by high salt administration was also associated with a decrease in the number of cells in the immune regulatory system. Additionally, high salt administration further decreased renal perfusion functions along with increased cisplatin-induced damage to proximal tubules. This was accompanied by increased expression of T cell immunoglobulin, mucin domain 1 (a biomarker of kidney injury), and Bax (a pro-apoptotic factor). Moreover, cisplatin-induced expression of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines, including cyclooxygenase-2 and tumor necrosis factor-α in kidney tissue, was further increased by high salt intake. Therefore, these results indicate that the kidney's inflammatory response by high salt treatment can further promote kidney damage caused by various pathological factors.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.52-56
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• 2011

Acute renal injury induced by ischemia is a major cause of high morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients and a common complication in hospitalized patients. Thus, the work with acute renal failure and renal ischemia has been studied for many years. Although serum creatinine concentration that is widely used as an index of renal function performs fairly well for estimating kidney function in patients with stable chronic kidney disease, it performs poorly in the setting of acute disease. Thus, an ideal biomarker for acute kidney injury would help clinicians and scientists diagnose the most common form of acute kidney injury in hospitalized patients, acute tubular necrosis, early and accurately, and may aid to risk-stratify patients with acute kidney injury by predicting the need for renal replacement therapy, the duration of acute kidney injury, the length of stay and mortality. In this study, renal ischemia and reperfusion were performed by clapming and un-clamping right renal artery in miniature pigs. Plasma blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine were examined at pre- clamping, after-clamping at 0, 1 and 3 hours. And we searched initial indicators in these samples. Also, renal tissue was collected and searched the initial indicator by PCR and western blotting. As a result, hypoxia inducible factor $1{\alpha}$ ($HIF1{\alpha}$), nuclear factor kappa-B ($NF{\kappa}B$), $I{\kappa}B$, erythropoietin (EPO), erythropoietin receptor (EPOR), angiopoietin-1 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were showed significant changes among the renal protein. $HIF1{\alpha}$, EPO, and EPOR were showed significant changes among the renal gene. Thus, these markers will be used as initial diagnosis of acute renal failure.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.32-39
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• 2019

Conventional high-flux hemodialysis (HD) is not as good as normal kidney function. Morbidity and mortality rates of patients receiving HD are still very high. To increase mid-to-large molecule clearance by combining diffusion and convection, on-line hemodiafiltration (HDF) is required. The objective of this study was to compare long-term survival rate of patients treated with on-line HDF to those who received conventional high-flux HD by reviewing data from Chonnam National University Hospital (CNUH). We selected patients who attended the 'CUNH dialysis center' and agreed to participate in the study. Overall, 40 patients with ESRD switched from high flux HD to on-line HDF or started on-line HDF from August 2007 to December 2009. Additionally, a total of 42 patients receiving conventional high-flux HD during the same period were enrolled. We then reviewed long-term survival rate of patients receiving on-line HDF over the next seven years. When we compared survival rates for seven years, the survival rate of the group receiving on-line HDF was 65% (26/40) while that of the group receiving the conventional high-flux HD was 54.8% (23/42). Although the number of patients was small to see survival difference clearly by one specific dialysis modality, there was somewhat difference in survival rate between the two groups. Indicators such as anemia, calcium-phosphate metabolism, nutritional status, treatment adequacy, and hospitalization were also improved in the group receiving HDF. Overall, results of our study showed beneficial effects of on-line HDF on clinical outcomes and survival in chronic HD patients.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.504-510
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• 2024

Background: As a physiological function of body, immunity can maintain health by identifying itself and excluding others. With economic development and increasingly fierce social competition, the number of sub-healthy population is gradually increasing, and the most basic problem exposed is human hypoimmunity. Hypoimmunity can be manifested as often feeling tired, catching colds, mental depression, etc. In order to enhance immunity, eating healthy foods with the effect of enhancing immunity may become an effective choice. KRG has pharmacological effects of enhancing immunity. Because the screening and evaluation method of immune population are not unified, there are relatively few KRG immunity tests for sub-health population. It is of great significance to study the effect of KRG on people with hypoimmunity to improve sub-health status. Methods: This was a 180-day, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. According to the trial scheme design, 119 qualified subjects were included and randomly divided into the test group taking KRG and the placebo control group. Subjects need to check safety indicators (blood pressure and heart rate, blood routine, liver and kidney function, urine routine and stool routine) and efficacy indicators (main and secondary) inspection at baseline, efficacy indicators inspection during the mid-term of the test (90th days of administration), safety and efficacy indicators inspection after the test (180th days of administration). Results: After the test, the safety indicators of placebo control group and KRG test group were basically within the normal range, and there is no significant difference in fireness score between the two groups. Through follow-up interviews, it was found that the subjects in the test group and the control group had no adverse reactions and allergic reactions such as nausea, flatulence, diarrhea, and abdominal pain during the test period. Self-comparison of the test group, the results of the main efficacy indicators: (1) immune related health scores were significantly improved in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.01), (2) CD3 and CD4/CD8 increased significantly after the test (P < 0.05), (3) IgG, IgA, IgM and WBC increased significantly in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.01); the results of the secondary efficacy indicators: (1) TNF-α decreased significantly in the midterm (P < 0.05), IFN-γ decreased significantly in the mid-term (P < 0.01), (2) NK increased significantly in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.05), (3) monocyte increased significantly in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.01). Inter-group comparison of the test group and the control group, the results of the main efficacy indicators: (1) immune related health scores were higher than that of the control group in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.01), (2) IgA of the test group was higher than that of the control group in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.05); the results of the secondary efficacy indicators: (1) WBC of the test group was higher than that of the control group in the mid-term (P < 0.05); (2) monocytes of the test group were higher than that of the control group in the mid-term and after the test (P < 0.05), neutrophils of the test group were higher than that of the control group in the mid-term (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Taking KRG has no adverse effects on the health of the subjects. According to the standard of clinical trial scheme, the immune related health scores and IgA in the main efficacy indicators were positive, which shows that KRG is helpful in enhancing human immunity.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.661-674
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• 2023

Abstract: This retrospective study delved into the effects and safety considerations associated with the concomitant usage of hypoglycemic agents and herbal extracts, specifically Pyeongwi-san (PWS) or HyangsaPyongwi-san (HSPWS) in the context of type 2 diabetes mellitus management. Methods: The investigation involved 38 inpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who received PWS or HSPWS treatment at Kyung Hee University Korean Medical Hospital from January 2012 to December 2022. By investigating clinical attributes and conducting laboratory assessments, this study aimed to discern the impact of these herbal extracts on blood glucose levels, encompassing fasting blood sugar (FBS) and mean 2-hour postprandial glucose (PP2) levels. Furthermore, the safety profile of the herbal extracts was assessed by comparing liver function indicators, including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alongside kidney function markers, such as blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr). Results: Following the administration of the herbal extracts, no statistically significant alterations in FBS and mean PP2 levels emerged compared to the baseline levels. Notably, the safety evaluation revealed no significant differences in liver and kidney function parameters following herbal extract administration. Conclusion: The results of this research indicate that using PWS or HSPWS alongside hypoglycemic medications could be a beneficial additional method for addressing digestive symptoms in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Notably, this combination seems to have no negative interactions with other drugs.