• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.523-530
• /
• 2024

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway, leading to motor and non-motor dysfunctions, such as depression, olfactory dysfunction, and memory impairment. Although levodopa (L-dopa) has been the gold standard PD treatment for decades, it only relieves motor symptoms and has no effect on non-motor symptoms or disease progression. Prior studies have reported that 6-shogaol, the active ingredient in ginger, exerts a protective effect on dopaminergic neurons by suppressing neuroinflammation in PD mice. This study investigated whether cotreatment with 6-shogaol and L-dopa could attenuate both motor and non-motor symptoms and dopaminergic neuronal damage. Both 6-shogaol (20 mg/kg) and L-dopa (80 mg/kg) were orally administered to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine/probenecid-induced PD model mice for 26 days. The experimental results showed that L-dopa alleviated motor symptoms, but had no significant effect on non-motor symptoms, loss of dopaminergic neuron, or neuroinflammation. However, when mice were treated with 6-shogaol alone or in combination with L-dopa, an amelioration in both motor and non-motor symptoms such as depression-like behavior, olfactory dysfunction and memory impairment was observed. Moreover, 6-shogaol-only or co-treatment of 6-shogaol with L-dopa protected dopaminergic neurons in the striatum and reduced neuroinflammation in the striatum and substantia nigra. Overall, these results suggest that 6-shogaol can effectively complement L-dopa by improving non-motor dysfunction and restoring dopaminergic neurons via suppressing neuroinflammation.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.165-169
• /
• 2024

The neck disc is a disease in which the nucleus of the cervical spine escapes between the cervical vertebrae and the intervertebral disc, pressing on the nerve, The neck disc has a high recurrence. If the neck disc is left untreated, the symptoms will worsen and cause inconvenience to life. Therefore, this study is to carry out a successful approach for non-pharmaceutical treatment of neck disc patients. The paper conducted a survey of 102 people who visited the orthopedics of a general hospital at K area from January 15 to March 28, 2024. Symptoms and changes in practice of neck disc were analyzed by t-test. The results of the research are as follows. Firstly, in the case of incorrect sitting posture, 74.5% of the case group was significantly higher than 33.3% of the control group((X²=3.79, p<.01). Secondly, neckache was significantly higher than the control group's average of 12.73 points, with an average of 39.86 points in the case group(t=3.14, p<.01). Thirdly, leg numbness tended to decrease from 7 days after non-drug application compared to before non-drug application. Therefore, the application of this non-drug management was found to be effective in relieving neck disk. The findings derived will contribute to providing valuable insights into the prevention and treatment of neck disc.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.81-92
• /
• 1998

The pharmaceutical effects of non-alcoholic berverages made made in Limwonsibyukgi were studied. The type of beverage in Limwonsibyukgi were Tang(boiled herb extract), Ta(tea analog with/ without green tea), Jang(lactic acid fermented beverage), Galsoo and Suksoo. Most receipes for these beverages included boiling leaves, seeds, grains of grasses, trees and cereal, and adding honey and sugar as a sweetener, Each beverage has a pharmaceutical action : thirst elimination, enhancement of physical activity, and treatment of several diseases.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.117-121
• /
• 2011

Objectives: We report one patient with pleural effusion and effusion-related symptoms in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) successfully treated with Gunreyngtang-gagambang. Methods: Gunreyngtang-gagambang was administered at 30 minutes after mealtime, three times a day, for two months. Except for herbal medicine, the patient did not take any treatment including pharmaceutical or non pharmaceutical for effusion. Result: Two months later, the symptoms and the pleural effusion had disappeared from chest X-ray. Conclusion: Gunreyngtang-gagambang was effective for treatment of malignant pleural effusion due to small cell lung cancer.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.477-490
• /
• 2014

Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma, also named cold plasma, is defined as a partly ionized gas. Therefore, it cannot be equated with plasma from blood; it is not biological in nature. Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma is a new innovative approach in medicine not only for the treatment of wounds, but with a wide-range of other applications, as e.g. topical treatment of other skin diseases with microbial involvement or treatment of cancer diseases. This review emphasizes plasma effects on wound healing. Non-thermal atmospheric-pressure plasma can support wound healing by its antiseptic effects, by stimulation of proliferation and migration of wound relating skin cells, by activation or inhibition of integrin receptors on the cell surface or by its pro-angiogenic effect. We summarize the effects of plasma on eukaryotic cells, especially on keratinocytes in terms of viability, proliferation, DNA, adhesion molecules and angiogenesis together with the role of reactive oxygen species and other components of plasma. The outcome of first clinical trials regarding wound healing is pointed out.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.828-837
• /
• 2024

Vancomycin (VAN) and metronidazole (MTR) remain the current drugs of choice for the treatment of non-severe Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI); however, while their co-administration has appeared in clinical treatment, the efficacy varies greatly and the mechanism is unknown. In this study, a CDI mouse model was constructed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of VAN and MTR alone or in combination. For a perspective on the intestinal ecology, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and non-targeted metabolomics techniques were used to investigate changes in the fecal microbiota and metabolome of mice under the co-administration treatment. As a result, the survival rate of mice under co-administration was not dramatically different compared to that of single antibiotics, and the former caused intestinal tissue hyperplasia and edema. Co-administration also significantly enhanced the activity of amino acid metabolic pathways represented by phenylalanine, arginine, proline, and histidine, decreased the level of deoxycholic acid (DCA), and downregulated the abundance of beneficial microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia. VAN plays a dominant role in microbiota regulation in co-administration. In addition, co-administration reduced or increased the relative abundance of antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, including beneficial and harmful microbes, without a difference. Taken together, there are some risks associated with the co-administration of VAN and MTR, and this combination mode should be used with caution in CDI treatment.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.40 no.spc
• /
• pp.33-43
• /
• 2010

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, non-immunogenic and non-inflammatory linear polysaccharide, which has been used for various medical applications including arthritis treatment, wound healing, ocular surgery, and tissue augmentation. Because of its mucoadhesive property and safety, HA has received much attention as a tool for drug delivery system development. It has been used as a drug delivery carrier in both nonparenteral and parenteral routes. The nonparenteral application includes the ocular and nasal delivery systems. On the other hand, its use in parenteral systems has been considered important as in the case of sustained release formulation of protein drugs through subcutaneous injection. Particles and hydrogels by various methods using HA and HA derivatives as well as by conjugation with other polymer have been the focus of many studies. Furthermore, the affinity of HA to the CD44 receptor which is overexpressed in various tumor cells makes HA an important means of cancer targeted drug delivery. Current trends and development of HA as a tool for drug delivery will be outlined in this review.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.11
• /
• pp.4917-4920
• /
• 2016

For advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases, a platinum-based regimen is the first-line chemotherapy treatment. The excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1) plays an important role in DNA repair and has been related to resistance to platinum chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the ERCC1 (C118T) polymorphism on treatment response in 26 Thai advanced NSCLC patients receiving first line platinum-based chemotherapy during January to July 2015 at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital (KCMH). DNA was extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes and the single nucleotide polymorphism of ERCC1 was genotyped using a real-time PCR method with the TaqMan assay. The distribution of C/C, C/T and T/T genotypes was 57.7 %, 34.6 % and 7.7 %, respectively. The response rate to platinum-based chemotherapy in the wild type (C/C) of ERCC1 (C118T) was better than with the variant types (C/T and T/T) but the difference was not statistically significant (29.7% vs 9.1%, P=0.274). The results showed that a genetic polymorphism in ERCC1 might influence patient response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Further multicenter studies are now required to confirm the results of our study.

• Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.118-127
• /
• 2018

The safety and efficacy of fimasartan have been evaluated through post-marketing surveillance in real world clinical practice. The multi-center, prospective, open-label and non-interventional study. A total of 3,945 patients (3,729 patients for safety assessment and 3,473 patients for efficacy assessment) were screened in patients with essential hypertension in 89 study centers from 9 September 2010 through 8 September 2016. Among the total patients, 2,893 patients (77.6%) were administered fimasartan for 24 weeks or longer and were classified as 'patients with long-term follow-up', and the additional safety and efficacy analysis were performed. The improvement was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) controlled to ${\leq}140mmHg$ or decreased SBP differences ${\geq}20mmHg$ after treatment or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) controlled to ${\leq}90mmHg$ or decreased DBP differences ${\geq}10mmHg$ after treatment. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were reported in 3.8% patients; dizziness, and hypotension were the most frequently reported ADRs in total patients. The results of patients with long-term follow-up were comparable with total patients. The overall improvement rate in all efficacy assessment at the last visit was 87.1% (3,025/3,473 patients). The overall improvement rate of the patients with long-term follow-up was 88.9%. Fimasartan was well tolerated, with no new safety concerns identified and an effective treatment in the real world clinical practice for Korean patients with hypertension.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.1-12
• /
• 2000

Gene therapy is a method for the treatment of diseases with introducing the gene-engineered materials into a patient with gene-deficiency disease (e.g. cystic fibrosis) or cancer to produce a therapeutic protein in a patient's cells. Successful gene therapy requires establishing both gene expression systems and delivery systems. Viral and non-viral vectors have been used for gene delivery. Viral vectors have a high transfection efficiency, but are limited in relations to issues of safety, toxicity and immunogenecity. Non-viral vectors are easy to prepare and relatively safe. However, non-viral vectors have a low transfection efficiency. Cationic liposomes are the most available among non-viral vectors. Cationic liposomes have been used to transfect cells both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Besides, several formulations containing cationic lipid are being used in clinical trials in cases of cystic fibrosis or cancer. A crucial subject to the further development of gene delivery vectors will be a long-term gene expression with following characteristics; protecting and deliverying DNA efficiently, non-toxic and non-immunogenic, and easy to produce in large scale.