• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.20-27
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• 2015

Objectives It is increasingly thought that the human cerebellum plays an important role in emotion and cognition. Although recent evidence suggests that the cerebellum may also be implicated in fear learning, only a limited number of studies have investigated the cerebellar abnormalities in panic disorder. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cerebellar gray matter deficits and their clinical correlations among patients with panic disorder. Methods Using a voxel-based morphometry approach with a high-resolution spatially unbiased infratentorial template, regional cerebellar gray matter density was compared between 23 patients with panic disorder and 33 healthy individuals. Results The gray matter density in the right posterior-superior (lobule Crus I) and left posterior-inferior (lobules Crus II, VIIb, VIIIa) cerebellum was significantly reduced in the panic disorder group compared to healthy individuals (p < 0.05, false discovery rate corrected, extent threshold = 100 voxels). Additionally, the gray matter reduction in the left posterior-inferior cerebellum (lobule VIIIa) was significantly associated with greater panic symptom severity (r = -0.55, p = 0.007). Conclusions Our findings suggest that the gray matter deficits in the posterior cerebellum may be involved in the pathogenesis of panic disorder. Further studies are needed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the cerebro-cerebellar network in panic disorder.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.170-180
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• 2009

Objectives : To assess clinical improvement and change in plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF) level after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Methods : Seven patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia, who were proven to be treatment-resistant, were treated with 15 sessions of rTMS for three weeks as an adjuvant therapy to antipsychotic treatment. Clinical improvement and change in plasma BDNF level were measured after the treatment period. The symptom severity was assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) and the Korean Version of Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia(K-CDSS) at baseline and 7 days after the treatment. Plasma BDNF level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) at baseline and 7 days after the treatment. Results : After the rTMS treatment, there was no significant improvement in PANSS total score(Z=-1.693, p=0.090) and no significant change in plasma BDNF was found(Z=-1.183, p=0.237). Negative correlations were found between percentage change in PANSS positive subscale score and duration of illness(rho=-0.991, N=7, p<0.0005, two-tailed), and PANSS negative subscale score at baseline and percentage change in plasma BDNF level(rho=-0.821, N=7, p=0.023, two-tailed). Conclusion : This preliminary study suggests that rTMS didn't make a significant change in clinical symptoms nor in plasma BDNF level in treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Percentage change in plasma BDNF, however, might be correlated with treatment resistance in schizophrenic patients. This is a pilot study with a small sample size, therefore, a further study with a larger sample size is needed.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.63-76
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to verify the clinical effects of herbal medicines on patients with depressive disorder. Methods: A prospective observational study on patients with depressive disorder was conducted. The patients were treated with herbal medicines for eight weeks. The Korean Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (K-HDRS) was evaluated as the primary outcome and the Korean Beck's Depression Inventory (K-BDI), Instrument on Pattern Identification for Depression, Korean Symptom Checklist-95 (KSCL-95), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Korean State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-K), Korean State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI-K), EuroQol five-dimensional Questionnaire (EQ-5D), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2), Heart Rate Variability (HRV) were measured as the secondary outcome. Adverse events were assessed for safety. Results: A total of 35 participants were observed for 12 weeks. The K-HDRS improved significantly in four, eight, and 12 weeks and the K-BDI showed significant differences in four, and eight weeks. There were no significant improvements in other evaluation scales. Gyejibongnyeong-hwan was the most frequently and continuously prescribed, showing significant improvements of K-HDRS after eight weeks of treatment. Conclusions: In our observational study, herbal medicine was effective for relieving the depression of patients with depressive disorder and Gyejibongnyeong-hwan showed the most significant effectiveness.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.145-180
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• 2017

Alternanthera mosaic virus (AltMV) is a member of the genus Potexvirus which has been known for less than twenty years, and has been detected in Australasia, Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The natural host range to date includes species in at least twenty-four taxonomically diverse plant families, with species in at least four other families known to be infected experimentally. AltMV has been shown to differ from Potato virus X (PVX), the type member of the genus Potexvirus, in a number of ways, including the subcellular localization of the Triple Gene Block 3 (TGB3) protein and apparent absence of interactions between TGB3 and TGB2. Differences between AltMV variants have allowed identification of viral determinants of pathogenicity, and identification of residues involved in interactions with host proteins. Infectious clones of AltMV differing significantly in symptom severity and efficiency of RNA silencing suppression have been produced, suitable either for high level protein expression (with efficient RNA silencing suppression) or for Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS; with weaker RNA silencing suppression), demonstrating a range of utility not available with most other plant viral vectors. The difference in silencing suppression efficiency was shown to be due to a single amino acid residue substitution in TGB1, and to differences in subcellular localization of TGB1 to the nucleus and nucleolus. The current state of knowledge of AltMV biology, including host range, strain differentiation, host interactions, and utility as a plant viral vector for both protein expression and VIGS are summarized.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.78-81
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• 2006

Mad-honey poisoning is mainly brought about by the honey imported from Napal, Turkey, Brazil and other parts of Europe. This mad honey is extracted from Ericaceae plants of Rhododendron species and contains grayanotoxins that causes poisoning. These toxic compounds exert a specific stimulatory action on membrane permeability to Na+ions in various excitable tissues and cause depolarization of cell membranes. The toxic effects of grayanotoxins contained honey are mainly cardiovascular disturbances with bradycardia, cardiac arrhythmia, hypotension. There are Other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, salivation, dizziness, weakness and loss of consciousness. The precise amount for a toxic dose is not known. In general the severity of the honey poisoning depends on the amount ingested. Two cases of mad-honey poisoning are described here. Both patients showed bradycardia and arterial hypotension after ingestion of honey which was brought from Nepal. They were recovered fully within 24 hours after administration of fluids and atropine sulphate.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.137-143
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• 2012

Chinese cabbage plant was grown hydroponically for 4 weeks in order to examine the temporal relationship of calcium concentration of the nutrient solution with calcium content in the leaf tissue and susceptibility of the tissue to soft rot disease by $Pectobacterium$ $carotovorum$ ssp. $carotovorum$ (Pcc). Calcium concentration from 0.5 to 32.0 mM was maintained for 1 week using Hoagland & Arnon solution. The calcium content of the leaf was proportionally increased to the concentration of the nutrient in the solution (r = 0.912). In contrast, the severity of soft rot symptom in the young leaves was inversely related with the amount of calcium supplied to the nutrient solution (r = 0.899). Water-soluble chitosan, prepared by hollow fiber filtration (> 100 kDa) was applied into the nutrient solution from 0.0 to 5,000 ppm. The chitosan of 10 ppm was the most effective to promote calcium uptake of the leaf, showing 155% of the control. The same chitosan solution prohibited most soft rot development of the leaf by Pcc, exhibiting only 53% of the control. Among different molecular weight fractions, chitosan fraction obtained from 30-100 kDa molecular weight cut-off promoted calcium uptake the most up to 163% of the control, and reduced the development of soft rot disease recording merely 36% of the control of the leaf tissue. The results obtained in the present study suggest that large scale production of water-soluble chitosan with an optimum molecular weight and its commercial application to Chinese cabbage production will be important to improve yield and quality of the crop.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2015

Objective : The aim of this study was to find associations between specific symptoms and suicidal behavior by using global severity on depression scales. Methods : Data were obtained from 1,183 patients of CRESCEND study. Factor analysis of the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) was used to compare symptom clusters between the past suicide attempters and the non-suicide attempters, among the patients with depressive disorders. Results : Factor analyses of HAM-D and BDI-II extracted three factors. Suicide attempters had significantly higher scores on core factor of HAM-D, including depressed mood, feeling of guilt, suicide, work, and activities. The higher scores on all factors of BDI-II or scores correlated with a total of 7 suicide attempts and with known risk factors for suicidal behavior. Conclusion : These findings suggest that the suicide attempters complained of more cognitive, affective, somatic symptoms on BDI-II, but the core factor on HAM-D was the only differentiated factor between the two groups. Clinician-rated scales as well as self-reported questionnaires were valid in measuring suicidal attempts, and the clinical profile may help in guiding the studies of biological correlates and the treatments to reduce suicide risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6375-6379
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate inflammation parameters and assess the utility of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as a simple and readily available predictor for clinical disease activity in patients with nenign prostate hyperplasia BPH. We also aimed to investigate the relationship between inflammatory parameters with ${\alpha}$-blocker therapy response, and evaluate the potential association between NLR and the progression of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Materials and Methods: We examined 320 consecutive patients (July 2013-December 2013) admitted to our outpatient clinic with symptoms of the lower urinary tract at Bozok University. The mean age was 60 (range, 51-75) years. Complete blood count (CBC), prostate-specific antigen (PSA), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) were assessed. Correlations between PSA, CRP, ESR, prostate volume, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPPS), maximum urinary flow rate (Qmax), and NLR were assessed statistically. Patients were divided into two groups: high and low risk of progression. Results: NLR was positively correlated with IPSS (p=0.001, r=0.265), PSA (p=0.001, r=0.194), and negatively correlated with Qmax (p<0.001, r=-0.236). High-risk patients a had a higher NLR compared with low-risk patients, based on IPSS (p<0.001), PSA (p=0.013), and Qmax (p<0.001); however, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of age (p>0.05), and prostate volume (p>0.05). Conclusions: NLR can predict BPH progression. We propose that increased inflammation is negatively associated with clinical status in BPH patients and suggest that NLR can give information along with LUTS severity which may be used as a readikly accessible marker for patient follow-up.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.199-204
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• 2016

Objectives Although forgetfulness is a common complaint among menopausal depressed women, there is still a debate about the relationship between memory impairment and menopause. The aim of this study is to examine whether menopause is related to cognitive decline among women with depressive disorders. We hypothesized that postmenopausal depressed women show generally poorer performance than premenopausal depressed women on various cognitive function tests. Methods With a retrospective chart review, we identified a total of 87 female patients (45 premenopausal patients and 42 postmenopausal patients) who were hospitalized with depressive disorders from 2000 to 2016. Demographic and clinical variables and cognitive test results were compared between two groups. Results Education year is longer in premenopausal group than postmenopausal group whereas clinical characteristics (illness duration, recurrence, and symptom severity) and mean Intelligence Quotient (IQ) were similar between two groups. The postmenopausal group took longer time for Bender-Gestalt Test (BGT) recall, Trail Making Test (TMT)-A, and TMT-B than the premenopausal group. After controlling for age and education, significant difference was remained for BGT recall (p = 0.029). Conclusions Postmenopausal state may be related with decline of visuospatial memory function, in particular, among depressed female patients. Other areas of cognitive function including complex attention, verbal memory, auditory memory, and working memory might be interpreted while considering age and education level.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.55-66
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• 2008

Objectives : The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of $SP_6$ moxibustion on the primary dysmenorrhea. Methods : The data was collected from subjects who was suffering for dysmenorrhea. The subjects were employed using Measure of Menstrual Pain(MMP) and Menstrual Symptom Severity List(MSSL) questionnaire. We treated the subjects with $SP_6$ moxibustion and measured Skin Resistance Variability(SRV) before and after treatment. The method of analysing data was paired t-test. Results : 1. $SP_6$ moxibustion produced a significant decrease in symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. Results : 2. The SRV of 2, 3 area was significanltly changed after $SP_6$ moxibustion. Conclusions : $SP_6$ moxibustion was effective in decreasing the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. The SRV results suggest that women with primary dysmenorrhea may have organic energy deficiency and functional abnormality of the hypothalamus-hypophysis-ovarian axis.