• CELLMED
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.17.1-17.5
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• 2020

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is affective a large portion of the world population prompting the need for extensive healthcare resources such as lifelong dialysis or kidney transplantation. The beneficial effect of conventional therapy in controlling the CKD progression remains a challenge due to their relative efficacy, safety, and accessibility. On the other hand, Unani medicine provides a therapeutic regimen that consists of a combination of treatment from rehabilitation to herbal pharmacotherapy. Methods: Two cases of chronic kidney disease were treated with dietotherapy, regimenal therapy ('bukhoor aam') and oral herbal drugs for 2-3 weeks. Endpoints of evaluation were symptoms and signs of the CKD, kidney function test, urine albumin, urine RBC, hemoglobin and liver function test. Result: Notable improvement was observed in the endpoints. Conclusion: Unani treatment was observed preliminarily beneficial in the treatment of chronic kidney disease. Rigorous pharmacological and clinical studies should be performed to warrant their efficacy and safety in CKD individuals.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2001

Sa-Mul-Tang (Si-Wu-Tang, SMT), a kind of Chinese medicine, has been used for the hemato-deficient disease for hundreds of years. In this work, investigations on the anti-anemic activity of an aqueous extract of SMT were undertaken in order to find the pharmacological basis for the ethnomedical use of the formulation. Three kinds of Angelicase species, such as Angelica sinensis, Angelica acutiloba, and Angelica gigas, were used for preparing the water extracts of SMT. Anemic model rats were induced by the treatment of phenylhydrazine (40 mg/kg/day, i.p.) for 4 days. After the treatment of phenylhydrazine, rats were divided into several groups for their different treatment of three kinds of SMT. Red blood cell (RBC), hemoglobin (Hg), and hematocrit (Hct) were determined on the day 0, 3, 6, 10, 14 after the treatment of SMTs and erythrocytes deformabilities were also determined at the end of experiments. Oral administration of SMT (1g/kg/day) for 14 days did not ameliorate drug-induced anemic states evaluated by RBC counts, Hg contents, and Hct values. However, the erythrocyte deformabilities were improved in phenylhydrazine-treated group by the administragest that SMTs (p<0.05). Especially, these effects were high in the Angelica acutiloba group. These results suggest that SMTs have an ameliorative effect on blood rheology related to the blood stasis syndrome in oriental diagnostics not on the blood deficient states related to the anemic syndrome.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.373-379
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• 2011

Current therapeutic methods for suppressing muscle spasticity are intensive functional training, surgery, or pharmacological interventions. However, these methods have not been fully supported by confirmed efficacy due to the aggravation of the muscle spasticity in some patients. In this study, a combined system was developed to treat with a low-level laser and to monitor the region of the treatment using an optical spectroscopic probe that measures oxygen saturation and deoxygenation during low-level laser therapy (LLLT). The evaluation of the wavelength dependence for LLLT was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation and the results showed that the greatest amount of heat generation was seen in the deep tissue at ${\lambda}$ = 830 nm. In the oxy- and deoxygenation measurements during and after the treatment, oxygen-Hb concentration was significantly increased in the laser-irradiated group when compared to the control group. These findings suggest that LLLT using ${\lambda}$ = 830 nm may be of benefit in accelerating recovery of muscle spasticity. The combined system that we have developed can monitor the physiological condition of muscle spasticity during the laser treatment in real time and may also be applied to various myotonia conditions such as muscle fatigue, back-pain treatment/monitoring, and ulcer due to paralysis.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2002

In our study, the several cytokines were determined in phytohaemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of Adamantiades-Behcets patients. Adamantiades-Behcets disease (ABD) is a systemic inflammatory disorder and might involve immune dysfunction. High levels of $TNF-\alpha,\;IL-1\beta$ and $IFN-{\gamma}$ indicate the activation of inflammatory reactions and immune system in ABD. Gami-Phedoc-San (GPS) is an Oriental herbal medication, which has been used in Korea for the treatment of ABD. GPS (1 mg/ ml) significantly inhibited the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, $TNF-\alpha\;and\;IL-1\beta$, compared to absence of GPS (by $50.5{\pm}1.9%$ inhibition for $TNF-\alpha$ and $106.9{\pm}16.8%$ for $IL-1\beta$). GPS also inhibited the production of $IFN-\gamma$, immunoregulatory Th1 cytokine, by $78.4{\pm}2.8%$. The inhibitory effects of GPS on cytokine secretion showed dose-dependent manner, and the pre-treatment of 1 mg/ml GPS had better effects than immunosuppressive drug for treatment of ABD, cyclosporin A. Our results suggest that GPS treatment for ABD patients might have pharmacological activity of immune and inflammatory responses through the cytokine modulation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.202-207
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• 2000

The depletion of intracellular calcium stores by thapsigargin treatment evoked extracellular calcium-dependent membrane currents in Xenopus laevis oocytes. These currents have been compared to those evoked by microinjection of a calcium influx factor (CIF) purified from Jurkat T lymphocytes. The membrane currents elicited by thapsigargin treatment (peak current, $163{\pm}60$ nA) or CIF injection (peak current, $897{\pm}188$ nA) were both dependent on calcium entry, based on their eradication by the removal of extracellular calcium. The currents were, in both cases, attributed primarily to well-characterized $Ca^{2+}-dependent$ $Cl^-$ currents, based on their similar reversal potentials (-24 mV vs. -28 mV) and their inhibition by niflumic acid (a $Cl^-$ channel blocker). Currents induced by either thapsigargin treatment or CIF injection exhibited an identical pattern of inhibitory sensitivity to a panel of lanthanides, suggesting that thapsigargin treatment or CIF injection evoked $Cl^-$ currents by stimulating calcium influx through pharmacologically identical calcium channels. These results indicate that CIF acts on the same calcium entry pathway activated by the depletion of calcium stores and most lanthanides are novel pharmacological tools for the study of calcium entry in Xenopus oocytes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.32-38
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• 2000

Background and Objectives : Voice therapy has been used as a viable adjuvant to surgery and pharmacological therapy fir the management of voice disorders. The singing voice features a special brand of emotion, intensity, and energy so successful therapeutical approach requires the doctor is able to involve himself into the physical and psychic condition and artistic usage of the voice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect and utility of singing therapy as an initial treatment for classically trained singers with voice disorders. Material and method : Twenty-one male and fifty-five female classic singers with voice disorders were treated with singing therapy. At first, abdominal breathing, resonant phonation, and relaxation method was trained, then after accessing each patient's singing abilities, treatment methods for each specific problems was applied. The results were compared according to age, sex, treatment duration, part, laryngeal pathology, patient subjective evaluation, perceptual evaluation of voice, and maximal phonation time. Results : Patients subjective evaluation, perceptual evaluation, pathologic findings of larynx, maximal phonation time showed superior results after singing therapy. Conclusion : Singing therapy changes the mode of respiration and phonation and enhances the vocal function and improves the laryngeal pathology, The result of this study indicate that singing therapy is an effective treatment method that laryngologists can use for classical singers with voice disorders.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6207-6213
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• 2015

The supportive care of patients receiving antineoplastic treatment has dramatically improved over the past few years and development of effective measures to prevent nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy serves as one of the most important examples of this progress. A patient who starts cancer treatment with chemotherapy lists chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting as among their greatest fears. Inadequately controlled emesis impairs functional activity and quality of life, increases the use of health care resources, and may occasionally compromise adherence to treatment. New insights into the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, a better understanding of the risk factors for these effects, and the availability of new antiemetic agents have all contributed to substantial improvements in emetic control. This review focuses on current understanding of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and the status of pharmacological interventions for their prevention and treatment.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.5-10
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• 2001

The prevalence of insomnia and the degree of impairment due to insomnia is greater than in the of young. The cause for insomnia in the elderly are various factors among the elderly is known to be high including medical, psychiatric, drug issues, circadian rhythm changes, sleep disorders, and psychosocial. So the careful evaluation to find the cause of insomnia is needed for the eldery. Treatment options for insomnia include behavior modification and pharmacotherapy. Outcome data from previous studies indicate that behavioral approaches produce reliable and durable therapeutic benefits, as evidenced by improved sleep efficiency and continuity and enhanced satisfaction with sleep patterns. Treatment methods such as stimulus control and sleep restriction, which target maladaptive sleep habits, are especially beneficial for older insomniacs, whereas relaxation-based interventions aimed at decreasing arousal, produce more limited effects. Cognitive and educational interventions are instrumental in altering age-related dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep. The choice of hypnotics is based on matching the nature of the insomnia to the hypnotic agent. The ideal agent has rapid onset, duration of action that lasts through the night but no residual daytime effects, and no adverse effects. The key for the healthcare professional is finding the appropriate treatment or treatment combination, including behavioral modification and pharmacotherapy. When hypnotics are indicated, the most appropriate short-acting agent should be considered.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.409-417
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• 2022

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease worldwide, and accumulating evidence indicates that mitochondrial dysfunction is associated with progressive deterioration in PD patients. Previous studies have shown that sinapic acid has a neuroprotective effect, but its mechanisms of action remain unclear. The neuroprotective effect of sinapic acid was assayed in a PD mouse model generated by the neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) as well as in SH-SY5Y cells. Target protein expression was detected by western blotting. Sinapic acid treatment attenuated the behavioral defects and loss of dopaminergic neurons in the PD models. Sinapic acid also improved mitochondrial function in the PD models. MPTP treatment increased the abundance of mitochondrial fission proteins such as dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) and phospho-Drp1 Ser616. In addition, MPTP decreased the expression of the REV-ERB α protein. These changes were attenuated by sinapic acid treatment. We used the pharmacological REV-ERB α inhibitor SR8278 to confirmation of protective effect of sinapic acid. Treatment of SR8278 with sinapic acid reversed the protein expression of phospho-Drp1 Ser616 and REV-ERB α on MPTP-treated mice. Our findings demonstrated that sinapic acid protects against MPTP-induced PD and these effects might be related to the inhibiting abnormal mitochondrial fission through REV-ERB α.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.868-873
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• 2003

Ginsenosides, major active ingredients of Panax ginseng, that exhibit various pharmacological and physiological actions are transformed into compound K (CK) or M4 by intestinal microorganisms. CK is a metabolite derived from protopanaxadiol (PD) ginsenosides, whereas M4 is a metabolite derived from protopanaxatriol (PT) ginsenosides. Recent reports shows that ginsenosides might playa role as pro-drugs for these metabolites. In present study, we investigated the effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA), which is one of major binding proteins on various neurotransmitters, hormones, and other pharmacological agents, on ginsenoside $Rg_{2-}$, CK-, or M4-induced regulation of $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic acetylcholine (ACh) receptor channel activity expressed in Xenopus oocytes. In the absence of BSA, treatment of ACh elicited inward peak current ($I_{Ach}$) in oocytes expressing $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic ACh receptor. Co-treatment of ginsenoside $Rg_2$, CK, or M4 with ACh inhibited IAch in oocytes expressing $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic ACh receptor with reversible and dose-dependent manner. In the presence of 1% BSA, treatment of ACh still elicited $I_{Ach}$ in oocytes expressing $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic ACh receptor and co-treatment of ginsenoside $Rg_2$ or M4 but not CK with ACh inhibited $I_{Ach}$ in oocytes expressing $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic ACh receptor with reversible and dose-dependent manner. These results show that BSA interferes the action of CK rather than M4 on the inhibitory effect of $I_{Ach}$ in oocytes expressing $\alpha3\beta4$ nicotinic ACh receptor and further suggest that BSA exhibits a differential interaction on ginsenoside metabolites.