• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2023

Breathing is controlled by complex interactions between the central and peripheral nervous systems in conjunction with the respiratory system. Neurological diseases predispose patients to nocturnal desaturation and pneumonia due to respiratory dysfunction, which increases mortality, daytime sleepiness and fatigue, and reduces the quality of life. Respiratory function tests are required to identify respiratory function decline and to consider compensatory management. This review summarizes the characteristics of several respiratory function tests and their applications to neurological diseases.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.178-183
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• 2018

The object of this study was to compare magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and neurological signs in canine brain diseases. Brain diseases can cause severe neurological deficits and may be life-threatening. The antemortem diagnosis of the brain diseases is difficult for the clinician, since definitive diagnosis is based upon histopathological confirmation. Brain diseases are often associated with specific clinical signs, signalment, progression, and location. Accurate lesion localization through neurological examination and MRI findings is helpful for developing a differential diagnosis. A retrospective study was performed to compare the neurological examination of dogs with suspected brain disease to the MRI findings. Based on this study, neurological examination is a reliable way to localize most brain lesions. Postural reaction deficits do not provide sufficient information to localize lesions. Additionally, not all brain lesions present clinical signs and inflammatory lesions may cause no detectable abnormalities on MRI. Therefore, in clinical practice, a combination of neurological examination and MRI findings recommended for accurate brain lesion localization.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2024

Rare diseases are characterized by a low prevalence, which often means that patients with such diseases are undiagnosed and do not have effective treatment options. Neurodevelopmental and neurological disorders make up around 40% of rare diseases and in the past decade, there has been a surge in the identification of genes linked to these conditions. This has created the need for model organisms to reveal mechanisms and to assess therapeutic methods. Different model animals have been employed, like Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, and mice, to investigate the rare neurological diseases and to identify the causative genes. While the zebrafish has become a popular animal model in the last decade, mainly for studying brain development, understanding neural circuits, and conducting chemical screens, the mouse has been a very well-known model for decades. This review explores the strengths and limitations of using zebrafish as a vertebrate animal model for rare neurological disorders, emphasizing the features that make this animal model promising for the research on these disorders.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2011

Objective : To investigate the efficacy of extracranial-intracranial (EC-IC) bypass surgery using a radial artery interposition graft (RAIG) for surgical management of cerebrovascular diseases. Methods : The study involved a retrospective analysis of 13 patients who underwent EC-IC bypass surgery using RAIG at a single neurosurgical institute between 2003 and 2009. The diseases comprised intracranial aneurysm (n=10), carotid artery occlusive disease (n=2), and delayed stenosis in the donor superficial temporal artery (STA) following previous STA-middle cerebral artery bypass surgery (n=1). Patients were followed clinically and radiographically. Results : Bypass surgery was successful in all patients. At a mean follow-up of 53.4 months, the short-term patency rate was 100%, and the long-term rate was 92.3%. Twelve patients had an excellent clinical outcome of Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) 5, and one case had GOS 3. Procedure-related complications were a temporary dysthesia on the graft harvest hand (n=1) and a hematoma at the graft harvest site (n=1), and these were treated successfully with no permanent sequelae. In one case, spasm occurred which was relieved with the introduction of mechanical dilators. Conclusion : EC-IC bypass using a RAIG appears to be an effective treatment for a variety of cerebrovascular diseases requiring proximal occlusion or trapping of the parent artery.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.48-52
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• 2006

Background: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has been administered for various immune-mediated neurological diseases such as autoimmune neuropathy, inflammatory myopathies, and other autoimmune neuromuscular disorders. The purpose of this study is to investigate side effects and complications of IVIg therapy in neuromuscular disorders. Methods: We enrolled 29 patients (age 8~63 years) with IVIg therapy for various neurological diseases including Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, dermatomyositis, polymyositis, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, and multifocal motor neuropathy. IVIg therapy was used at a dose of 0.4 g/kg body weight/day for 5 consecutive days. Results: 10 patients (34%) had adverse events. There are adverse events in 16 courses (11%) among total 145 courses. The majority of patients presented with mild side effects, mostly asymptomatic laboratory changes. Rash or mild headache occurred in 3 patients. One patient showed a serious side effect of deep vein thrombosis. Conclusions: IVIg therapy is safe for a variety of immune-mediated neurological diseases in our study.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.719-731
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• 2009

Objectives : Stroke is the most common disabling neurological disease of adult life. The treatment and rehabilitation of stroke patients is an important and challenging area in the field of medicine. In Korea, a lot of stroke patients are treated using oriental medicine and there have been reports on their functional recovery. The aim of this study was to prove the therapeutic effect of oriental medicine on ischemic stroke. We also tried to identify characteristics of patients whose functional recovery was prominent and studied whether or not the use of fluids, anticoagulants, antiplatelets and neuroprotective agents increased the functional recovery of patients. Methods : We studied 794 patients within 2 weeks after first attack of ischemic stroke who were admitted to Kyung-Hee Oriental Medical Center from 1999 to 2000. Their maximum admission period was 60 days. Results : Motor power grade, NIHSS and MBI scores of patients improved during hospitalization significantly. Factors affecting functional recovery were admission period, motor power grade, NIHSS and MBI at admission. Age, waist-hip ratio and HDL cholesterol also affected functional recovery of patients. Whether or not fluids, anticoagulants, antiplatelets and neuroprotective agents were administered had nothing to do with functional recovery. Conclusion : Oriental medicine is effective for treatment and rehabilitation of ischemic stroke patients. When we manage stroke, we have to consider some important factors.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.1122-1133
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• 2022

Objectives: The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of Ongyeong-tang (OGT) in the treatment of insomnia in patients afflicted with neurological diseases, according to the medical records of one medical institution. OGT is a herbal prescription that originates from the "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber" and has been used for menopausal symptoms, uterine diseases, skin diseases, insomnia, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms. Methods: Medical records of patients who visited Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, received outpatient or inpatient treatment, and met the inclusion criteria were used in this study. Results: Twenty-four patients satisfied the inclusion criteria and were included. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index-Korean version (PSQI-K) score was used to evaluate the outcomes before and after treatment. After an average of 14.42±9.2 days of OGT extract intake, 20 patients (83.3%) experienced improvement. The remaining four (16.7%) had no change in their symptoms, but none demonstrated worsening of symptoms. The total PSQI-K score showed a statistically significant decrease from 13.08±4.54 to 10.42±4.58 (p<0.001). Sleep quality, sleep duration, sleep disturbance, use of sleeping medications, and daytime dysfunction also showed statistically significant improvements. Conclusions: Administration of OGT extract may be a relatively safe and effective therapeutic option for insomnia in patients with neurological diseases.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2011

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive tool used to study aspects of human brain physiology, including motor function and the pathophysiology of various brain disorders. A brief electric current passed through a magnetic coil produces a high-intensity magnetic field, which can excite or inhibit the cerebral cortex. Although various brain regions can be evaluated by TMS, most studies have focused on the motor cortex where motor evoked potentials (MEPs) are produced. Single-pulse and paired-pulse TMS can be used to measure the excitability of the motor cortex via various parameters, while repetitive TMS induces cortical plasticity via long-term potentiation or long-term depression-like mechanisms. Therefore, TMS is useful in the evaluation of physiological mechanisms of various neurological diseases, including movement disorders and epilepsy. In addition, it has diagnostic utility in spinal cord diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and demyelinating diseases. The therapeutic effects of repetitive TMS on stroke, Parkinson disease and focal hand dystonia are limited since the duration and clinical benefits seem to be temporary. New TMS techniques, which may improve clinical utility, are being developed to enhance clinical utilities in various neurological diseases.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.64 no.6
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• pp.922-932
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• 2021

Objective : It is challenging to make solid fusion by posterior screw fixation and laminectomy with posterolateral fusion (PLF) in thoracic and thoracolumbar (TL) diseases. In this study, we report our experience and follow-up results with a new surgical technique entitled posterior thoracic cage interbody fusion (PTCIF) for thoracic and TL spine in comparison with conventional PLF. Methods : After institutional review board approval, a total of 57 patients who underwent PTCIF (n=30) and conventional PLF (n=27) for decompression and fusion in thoracic and TL spine between 2004 and 2019 were analyzed. Clinical outcomes and radiological parameters, including bone fusion, regional Cobb angle, and proximal junctional Cobb angle, were evaluated. Results : In PTCIF and conventional PLF, the mean age was 61.2 and 58.2 years (p=0.46), and the numbers of levels fused were 2.8 and 3.1 (p=0.46), respectively. Every patient showed functional improvement except one case of PTCIF. Postoperative hematoma as a perioperative complication occurred in one and three cases, respectively. The mean difference in the regional Cobb angle immediately after surgery compared with that of the last follow-up was 1.4° in PTCIF and 7.6° in conventional PLF (p=0.003), respectively. The mean durations of postoperative follow-up were 35.6 months in PTCIF and 37.3 months in conventional PLF (p=0.86). Conclusion : PTCIF is an effective fusion method in decompression and fixation surgery with good clinical outcomes for various spinal diseases in the thoracic and TL spine. It provides more stable bone fusion than conventional PLF by anterior column support.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.8-29
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• 2013

Ginseng is one of the most widely used herbal medicines in human. Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are most widely investigated diseases among all others in respect to the ginseng's therapeutic effects. These include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, cerebral ischemia, depression, and many other neurological disorders including neurodevelopmental disorders. Not only the various types of diseases but also the diverse array of target pathways or molecules ginseng exerts its effect on. These range, for example, from neuroprotection to the regulation of synaptic plasticity and from regulation of neuroinflammatory processes to the regulation of neurotransmitter release, too many to mention. In general, ginseng and even a single compound of ginsenoside produce its effects on multiple sites of action, which make it an ideal candidate to develop multi-target drugs. This is most important in CNS diseases where multiple of etiological and pathological targets working together to regulate the final pathophysiology of diseases. In this review, we tried to provide comprehensive information on the pharmacological and therapeutic effects of ginseng and ginsenosides on neurodegenerative and other neurological diseases. Side by side comparison of the therapeutic effects in various neurological disorders may widen our understanding of the therapeutic potential of ginseng in CNS diseases and the possibility to develop not only symptomatic drugs but also disease modifying reagents based on ginseng.