• Asian Spine Journal
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.998-1009
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• 2018

Study Design: Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) from rat olfactory mucosa were cultured, characterized, and transplanted into a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI). Purpose: To evaluate different doses of OECs in a rat model of SCI. Overview of Literature: SCI causes permanent functional deficit because the central nervous system lacks the ability to perform spontaneous repair. Cell therapy strategies are being explored globally. The clinical use of human embryonic stem cell is hampered by ethical controversies. Alternatively, OECs are a promising cell source for neurotransplantation. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of different doses of allogenic OEC transplantation in a rat model of SCI. Methods: OECs were cultured from the olfactory mucosa of Albino Wistar rats; these cells were characterized using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Rats were divided into five groups (n=6 rats each). In each group, different dosage ($2{\times}10^5$, $5{\times}10^5$, $10{\times}10^5$, and >$10{\times}10^5$) of cultured cells were transplanted into experimentally injured spinal cords of rat models. However, in the SCI group, only DMEM (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium) was injected. Rats were followed up upto 8 weeks post-transplantation. The outcome of transplantation was assessed using the Basso, Beattie, Bresnahan (BBB) scale; motor-evoked potential studies; and histological examination. Results: Cultured cells expressed 41% of p75NTR, a marker for OEC, and 35% of anti-fibronectin, a marker for olfactory nerve fibroblast. These cells also expressed $S100{\beta}$ and glial fibrillary acid protein of approximately 75% and 83%, respectively. All the transplanted groups showed promising BBB scores for hind-limb motor recovery compared with the SCI group (p<0.05). A motor-evoked potential study showed increased amplitude in all the treated groups compared with the SCI. Green fluorescent protein-labeled cells survived in the injured cord, suggesting their role in the transplantation-mediated repair. Transplantation of $5{\times}10^5$ cells showed the best motor outcomes among all the doses. Conclusions: OECs demonstrated a therapeutic effect in rat models with the potential for future clinical applications.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.177-188
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• 2023

Purpose : To identify trends in studies on the intersection of neurofeedback (NF) training and rehabilitation interventions for patients with stroke, as conducted over the past decade. Methods : This review included studies published from 2012 to 2022. A comprehensive database search was conducted using keywords such as "stroke", "electroencephalogram (EEG)", "brain wave", "nerve feedback", and "upper extremity function". Results : A total of 703 studies were initially retrieved. Of these, literature predating 2012, duplicate literature, non-experimental studies, and studies that did not target patients with stroke were excluded. After this screening, we retrieved the full texts of 15 articles and re-checked whether each study met the inclusion criteria of this study. The advisory members who participated in this study consisted of people with doctoral degrees and more than 5 years of clinical experience related to the rehabilitation of patients with stroke. Disagreements were resolved through discussions. Ultimately, 8 papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. Despite differences in the type and duration of NF training, the combination of NF training and rehabilitation intervention was found to be effective in promoting the functional recovery of the upper extremities, eliciting positive EEG changes, and inducing neurological changes in the brain. Conclusion : A meta-analysis involving a wider search range is needed in future studies. In addition, efforts are required to generalize the clinical application of these interventions. This can be achieved by supplementing the research methodologies through extensive review studies that encompass a diverse array of study designs.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.118-126
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• 2024

A stroke is a condition where an ischemic injury occurs in the brain tissue due to blockage or rupture of cerebral blood vessels. The damage to the brain nerve cells caused by a stroke is irreversible. Significant recovery is generally observed within the first six months after the onset, but the natural recovery rate decreases after six months. Therefore, intensive rehabilitation therapy is necessary within the first six months of the onset. This case report presents three cases of patients in the sequelae phase of stroke, where treatments based on integrative medicine system between traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine were applied. The treatments included scalp acupuncture from traditional Korean medicine and rehabilitation exercises and electrical therapy from Western medicine. In this case report, we evaluated the Manual Muscle Test (MMT), Modified Barthel Index (MBI), and the patients' subjective symptom interviews before and after the implementation of the integrative treatment. As a result, significant improvements in MMT and MBI were observed in acute stroke cases, whereas the improvement was minimal in cases with chronic progression. However, in all cases, the patients expressed high satisfaction with the treatment during the interviews.

• International Journal of Stem Cells
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.236-252
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• 2024

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious nervous system disease that usually leads to the impairment of the motor, sensory, and autonomic nervous functions of the spinal cord, and it places a heavy burden on families and healthcare systems every year. Due to the complex pathophysiological mechanism of SCI and the poor ability of neurons to regenerate, the current treatment scheme has very limited effects on the recovery of spinal cord function. In addition, due to their unique advantages, exosomes can be used as carriers for cargo transport. In recent years, some studies have confirmed that treatment with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can promote the recovery of SCI nerve function. The therapeutic effect of MSCs is mainly related to exosomes secreted by MSCs, and exosomes may have great potential in SCI therapy. In this review, we summarized the repair mechanism of mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes (MSCs-Exos) in SCI treatment and discussed the microRNAs related to SCI treatment based on MSCs-Exos and their mechanism of action, which is helpful to further understand the role of exosomes in SCI.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.313-320
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• 2014

Dexmedetomidine, an imidazoline compound, is a highly selective ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptor agonist with sympatholytic, sedative, amnestic, and analgesic properties. In order to minimize the patients' pain and anxiety during minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) when compared to conventional surgery under general anesthesia, an adequate conscious sedation (CS) or monitored anesthetic care (MAC) should be provided. Commonly used intravenous sedatives and hypnotics, such as midazolam and propofol, are not suitable for operations in a prone position due to undesired respiratory depression. Dexmedetomidine converges on an endogenous non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep-promoting pathway to exert its sedative effects. The great merit of dexmedetomidine for CS or MAC is the ability of the operator to recognize nerve damage during percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy, a representative MISS. However, there are 2 shortcomings for dexmedetomidine in MISS: hypotension/bradycardia and delayed emergence. Its hypotension/bradycardiac effects can be prevented by ketamine intraoperatively. Using atipamezole (an ${\alpha}_2$-adrenoceptor antagonist) might allow doctors to control the rate of recovery from procedural sedation in the future. MAC, with other analgesics such as ketorolac and opioids, creates ideal conditions for MISS. In conclusion, dexmedetomidine provides a favorable surgical condition in patients receiving MISS in a prone position due to its unique properties of conscious sedation followed by unconscious hypnosis with analgesia. However, no respiratory depression occurs based on the dexmedetomidine-related endogenous sleep pathways involves the inhibition of the locus coeruleus in the pons, which facilitates VLPO firing in the anterior hypothalamus.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2014

This study examined the relationships between protein expression and Poly ADP ribose polymerase in brain cell death in brains damaged by thrombotic stroke and treated with the Full Wave- Cockroft Walton (FWCW) method of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). The two-way switching element for TMS drove a half-bridge inverter of the current resonance of direct current voltage (+) and direct current voltage (-), and the experiment was conducted by stimulating the mice with thrombotic stroke through a range of pulses. Thrombotic stroke was caused of ligation of the common carotid artery of male SD mice, and blood reperfusion was conducted five minutes later. Protein expression was examined in immune reaction cells, which reacted to an antibody to Poly ADP ribose polymerase in the cerebrum cells, and western blotting. Observations of the PARP changes after thrombotic stroke showed that the number of Poly ADP ribose polymerase reactions were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the group treated with TMS of the FWCW than the group with thrombotic stroke 24 hours after its onset. The application of FWCW-TMS helped prevent the necrosis of nerve cells and might prevent the brain damage that occurs as a result of thrombotic stroke, and improve the function recovery and disorder of brain cells.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2010

The mandibular condyle fracture occurs at 15-30% frequency of whole mandibular fracture. The treatment of choice is open reduction or closed reduction. In many cases, closed reduction is preferred for treatment of condylar fracture because it is hard to approach to condyle and there is risk of surgical complications, such as nerve damage in open reduction. Open reduction, however, has some advantages like possibility of anatomical reduction, occlusal stability and rapid functional recovery. Furthermore, it is possible to retain original ramal heights and to decrease deviation during mouth opening. There are many surgical approaches for open reduction of subcondyle fracture. At present, transoral approach using trochar device is tried for effective and minimally invasive method for open reduction of subcondyle fracture. And the authors report the cases of reduction of subcondyle fracture with transoral approach using trochar device.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.13-18
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• 2013

It was sometimes difficult to differentiate between acute-onset chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (A-CIDP) and subacute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (SIDP). The CNS involvement of these polyneuropathies has rarely reported in the literature. We present the case of a 42-year-old man who developed rapidly developing inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy followed by right optic neuritis. This case showed progressive motor weakness and sensory dysfunction with time to nadir at 8 weeks, demyelination in nerve conduction study, no other etiology of neuropathy, no relapse during follow-up of 18 months, good response to steroid and complete recovery which favor SIDP more than A-CIDP. We experienced the case of SIDP associated with optic neuritis.

• Archives of Reconstructive Microsurgery
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1999

Surgical treatment was performed on the 39 cases out of 76 cases of entrapments of the thoracic outlet. The remaining 36 cases of entrapments were treated by conservatively. The operated cases were categorized as follows. They were 34 cases of scalenus anticus syndrome, 1 of cervical rib syndrome, 2 of costoclavicular syndrome, and 2 of hyperabduction syndrome. 1. Scalenus anticus syndrome : Anterior scalenotomy was performed by simple sectioning of the attachment to the first rib. 2. Cervical rib syndrome : Complete decompressive resection of cervical rib sometimes required both anterior and posterior approaches to avoid over-retraction of the brachial plexus. 3. Costoclavicular syndrome : Partial decompressive claviculectomy was undergone instead of conventional total claviculectomy. 4. Hyperabduction syndrome : The resection of coracoid process was performed as well as conventional tenotomy of pectoralis minor muscle to insure free up-and-down moving of neurovascular bundle at the time of hyperabduction. Every diagnostic maneuver was tested at the time of operation to observe whether or not neurovascular decompression including restoration of radial pulse was sufficient. Despite of the postoperative vascular restoration was inmediate, neurogenic symptoms were improved slowly. Because this entity is essentially chronic nerve injnry, its recovery needed a couple of months or several. Although improvement was slow, ultimate results were definite. Complication was not observed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.83-89
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• 1976

This is a report on the cases of benign mediastinal tumors in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chonnam University Hospital during the period from 1961 to 1975. Age distribution was from 18 to 62 years old with the highest incidence in the 3rd decade, and sex ratio of male to female was 7 : 8. The tumor were classified as follows; 6 cases of teratoma 5 cases of neurogenic tumor one case of pericardial cyst one case of cystic hygroma one case of dermoid cyst one case of bronchogenic cyst. The symptomatic patients were 10 cases (66.7%) and asymptomatic patients were 5 cases (33.3%), who were found incidentally by routine chest n-ray. The symptoms occurred by compression to the adjacent nerve system in 7 cases, by perforation into the lung with infection in one case of teratoma and by infection of bronchogenic cyst in one case and of teratoma in one case. Complications were Pancoast's syndrome including Horner's syndrome 2 cases, middle lobe syndrome 2 cases, intercostal neuralgia 1 case and bronchitis 1 case. All tumors were surgically resectable with good recovery. In all 10 cases of symptomatic patients, their symptoms disappeared dramatically after operation.