• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.125-135
• /
• 1979

This study was undertaken to search for a new antihypertensive or hypotensive agents in natural crude products in Korea. Betula schmidtii Regel, a tree belonging to the Betulaceae family, is cultivated for the most part of our country, and their cortecies or tree milk has been used as folk remedy, which exerted good antiinflammatory effect on rheumatic fever, arthritis or rheumatism. The rats were treated with several extracts from Betula schmidtii Regel, that is, extracts of water, methanol from inner cortecies, extracts of ether, methanol, hexane, chloroform or butanol from outer and total cortecies. In this experiment, we measured the blood pressure and heart rate in anesthetized rats, and atropine, diphenhydramine, phentolamine, propranolol, epinephrine, hexamethonium and hydralazine were pretreated prior to Betula extracts to clarify the mechanism of the hypotensive action. The results of the experiment were as follows; 1. BOIE(Betula outer cortex water-insoluble extract) and BICE(Betula inner cortex chloroform extract) elevated the blood pressure and heart rate. 2. BIME(Betula inner cortex methanol extract), BIBE(Betula inner cortex butanol extract) and BIWE (Betula inner cortex water extract) significantly lowered the blood pressure and heart rate. 3. With the pretreatment of hydralazine, the hypotensive effect of Betula schmidtii Regel was significantly blocked. From the above results, it is suggested that the hypotensive effect of Betula schmidtii Regel is due to the direct vasodilation of blood vessel.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.41 no.6
• /
• pp.434-441
• /
• 2008

Objectives: This study was conducted to measure the decline in the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) associated with some diseases in South Korean adults. Methods: The EQ-5D health states in the 2005 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHNES) and the Korean EQ-5D valuation set were used to obtain the EQ-5D indexes of the study subjects. Each disease group was defined when the subjects reported to the NHNES that they were diagnosed with the corresponding disease during the previous 1 year by physicians. Since the distributions of the EQ-5D indexes in each subgroup were negatively skewed, median regression analysis was used to estimate the effects of specific diseases on the HRQoL. Median regression analysis produced estimates that approximated the median of the EQ-5D indexes and there are more robust for analyzing data with many outliers. Results: A total of 16,692 subjects (6,667 patients and 10,025 people without any disease) were included in the analysis. As a result of the median regression analysis, stroke had the strongest impact on the HRQoL for both males and females, followed by osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatic arthritis, and herniation of an intervertebral disc. While asthma had a significant impact on the HRQoL only in men, cataract, temporo-mandibular dysfunction, and peptic ulcer significantly affected the HRQoL only in women. Conclusions: Stroke and musculoskeletal diseases were associated with the largest losses of the HRQoL in Korean adults.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.137-146
• /
• 2012

Dipsaci Radix (Dipsacaceae) has been used as a tonic, an analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-complement agents in traditional herbal medicine for the therapy of low back pain, knee pain, rheumatic arthritis, traumatic hematoma, and bone fractures. A high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-mass spectrometric method (HPLC-ESI-MS) was developed for the simultaneous quantitation method of the five compounds from the herbal drug: asperosaponin VI and asperosaponin XII (terpene glycosides), sweroside, loganin and dipsacus A(iridoid glycosides). HPLC separation of the analytes was achieved on a C18 column ($150{\times}2.0$ mm i.d., 5 ${\mu}m$) using the aqueous methanol containing 5 mM ammonium acetate with gradient flow of the mobile phase. Detection of the analytes was performed by positive ion electrospray ionization, and selected ion monitoring was used for data acquisition using m/z corresponding molecular adduct ion, $[M+NH_4]^+$ and $[M+H]^+$. Calibration graphs showed good linearity ($r^2$=0.9997) over the wide range of the analytes; intra- and inter-day precisions (RSD, %) were within 9.1% and the accuracy between 94.0-111.0%. Recoveries of the analytes through the assay procedure were in the range of 93.7-110.8%. Analytical results of the herbal drugs of Dipsaci Radix (17 samples) show wide distribution of the five marker compounds and clear difference of the species from Phlomidis Radix (4 samples). The developed method would provide a practical guide for the quality control of the herbal drug.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.78-82
• /
• 2007

Since germanium has been shown to be beneficial for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and rheumatic arthritis, we developed an adapted process of bio-germanium preparation using inorganic germanium. In the present study we determined the optimal conditions for culturing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (KCTC-1199), and the best concentrations of inorganic germanium for the adaptation process. The resulting method was successful at producing high quantities of germanium yeasts. The following are the culture conditions that obtained the highest level of productivity: an inorganic germanium concentration of 3,000-5,000 ppm, a pH of 6.5, a temperature of $35^{\circ}C$, and 20 hr of incubation time. In addition to this high-yield quantity study, we observed the acute oral toxicity of mice treated with Geranti Bio-Ge $Yeast^{(R)}$. We found no changes in body weight, or in the mortality between the control groups and the bio-germanium yeast group. There were also no digestive problems such as diarrhea that occurred in either group.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.162-169
• /
• 2019

This study investigated the risk factors of hypertension among individuals under and over 65 years of age. A total of 6,152 participants were analyzed using the 6th Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. The collected data were analyzed by Chi-square tests and logistic regression using SPSS 23. The results showed that the subjective health status, diabetes, heart disease, and degree of obesity according to BMI were risk factors affecting hypertension in individuals both under and over age 65. In adults under age 65, chronic lung disease, digestive disease, and drinking were risk factors affecting hypertension. In elderly over age 65, region, arthritis and rheumatic disease, smoking, and cognitive function were risk factors affecting hypertension. There is a need for chronic disease management in Korea due to rapid aging. In particular, it is important to analyze for effective management age-related risk factors affecting steadily increasing hypertension with age. Therefore, it is necessary to manage chronic disease management through social welfare improvement and welfare plans for the elderly, as well as personal management.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.17-24
• /
• 2017

Objective : This study was designed to evaluate candidate materials as anti-inflammation agent from extracts of various Korean Compositae herbs in Hwaak mountain. Among Korea medicinal herbs, Ainsliaea acerifolia (AA) belongs to the Compositae family, has been used for the treatment of rheumatic arthritis. However, AA has not been previously reported to have an anti-inflammatory effect. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effects of AA and its underlying molecular mechanisms in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages. Methods : Cell viability was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay in RAW 264.7 macrophages. Nitric oxide (NO) was measured with Griess reagent and pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) kits in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Protein expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and p65 subunit of nuclear $factor-{\kappa}B$ ($NF-{\kappa}B$) were determined by Western blot analysis. Results : Among 8 extracts of Korean Compositae herbs tested, AA showed the inhibition of NO production without cytotoxicity. Consistent with the observation, AA reduced the expression levels of iNOS and COX-2 proteins in LPS-simulated RAW 264.7 macrophages in dose-dependent manner. In addition, AA inhibited the productions of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and IL-6 in LPS-simulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. However, AA did not inhibit activation of p65 $NF-{\kappa}B$ in LPS-simulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. Conclusion : These results suggest that down-regulation of iNOS, COX-2 protein expression and $TNF-{\alpha}$ and IL-6 production by AA are responsible for its anti-inflammatory effects.

• The Korean journal of internal medicine
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.200-200
• /
• 2024

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.424-430
• /
• 2006

Purpose : Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis(JRA) is one of the most common rheumatic diseases of childhood and is an important cause of short- and long-term disability. The purpose of this study was to determine the disease course and outcome in childhood patients with JRA. Methods : Fifty nine patients with JRA who were diagnosed and treated in the Department of Pediatrics, Asan Medical Center from August 1990 to November 2004 were enrolled in this study. Sex, age, type, affected joints, extra-articular manifestations, laboratory and radiologic findings, treatments, and outcomes of JRA patients were reviewed retrospectively. Results : Among JRA patients, 32.2 percent had pauciarticular type, 30.5 percent had polyarticular type and 37.3 percent had systemic type. The ratio of boys to girls was 1.7 : 1 and the mean age at onset was $9.3{\pm}3.7$(1.3-15.9) years. The most commonly affected joints were knee, ankle and wrist. The extra-articular manifestations observed were fever, rash, myalgia and lymph node enlargement, etc. The main laboratory findings observed were leukocytosis, anemia, thrombocytosis, elevated ESR, and elevated CRP. Rheumatoid factor and antinuclear antibody(ANA) were positive in 5.3 percent and 18.0 percent. Nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs(NSAID) were used most frequently and methotrexate with or without steroids was added in 27.1 percent of patients unresponsive to NSAID. 88.1 percent of patients were cured without functional disability and only one patient was in functional status IV. One patient, who had pulmonary involvement, died. Conclusion : Our results showed an even distribution in type of onset, male predominance, older age of onset, low incidence of iridocyclitis, and low positivity of ANA in JRA patients; this differs from occidental data. This study may suggest regional differences and variability in disease groups of JRA among different racies, but further multi-center trials and large scale epidemiological studies are needed to confirm our conclusion.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.120-130
• /
• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess nurses' educational needs for developing advanced nursing education program for musculoskeletal care. Methods: The participants consisted of 272 clinical nurses who had experience of taking care of patients with musculoskeletal problems. A structured questionnaire with 28 items was used to assess educational needs and priority perceived by clinical nurses. Collected data were analyzed using SPSSWIN V.18.0 program for descriptive statistics. This survey was conducted in accordance with standard ethical guidelines for all research involving human participants. Results: While the majority (93.4%) perceived needs for advanced education program, about half of the participants (48.5%) reported no educational experience about musculoskeletal care. The clinical nurses perceived important for 23 out of 28 areas to be included in advanced nursing education. Especially, the areas of pain management, surgical care, and medication were perceived high priority for education program in caring musculoskeletal patients. Conclusion: The study findings showed that most nurses perceived the need for advanced nursing education program in musculoskeletal care, and the areas with higher priority as perceived by nurses should be reflected in the program.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.26 no.2 s.62
• /
• pp.140-151
• /
• 2005

Objectives: Cinnamomi Ramulus (CR), the young twig of Cinnamomum loureirri nees, has been used for treating symptoms related to pain, rheumatic arthritis and inflammation in Korean herb medicine. This study was carried out to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of CR in vivo and in vitro. Methods: Extracts of CR were prepared and the chemical components of the extracts were examined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The extracts were administrated to the rat paw edema model induced by carrageenan to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of CR. The expressions of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 were also quantified in lipopolysaccharide(LPS)­induced RAW 264.7 macrophages to survey the effect of CR in vitro. The main components were cinnamaldehyde and coumarin. Results: We examined the anti-inflammatory activity of the $80\%$ ethanol extract of Cinnamomi Ramulus in vivo by using carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model. Maximum inhibition of $54.91\%$ was noted at the dose of l1000mg/kg after 2 hours of drug administration in carrageenan-induced rat paw edema and this showed a potent anti-inflammatory effect. Conclusions: The results showed that Cinnamomi Ramulus suppressed dose-dependently LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophages and also decreased iNOS protein expression. Cinnamomi Ramulus also showed a significant inhibitory effect in LPS-induced PGE2 production and COX-2 expression.