• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2017

Objectives : Mori Radicis Cortex (MRC), the root epidermis of Morus alba L., has been traditionally used to treat lung-related diseases in Korean Medicine. The common of MRC is Mulberry bark Morus bark, and it's pharmaceutical properties and taste are known as sweet and cold, and it promotes urination and reduce edema by reducing heat from the lungs and soothe asthma. In the present study, anti-apoptotic mechanism of MRC in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model in mice. Methods : Two-hundred grams of MRC was extracted with methanol at room temperature for 5 days, and this was repeated one time. After filtration, the methanol was removed using vacuum evaporator, then stored at $-20^{\circ}C$ until use. C57BL/6 male mice were housed in an environment with controlled humidity, temperature, and light cycle. In order to determine beneficial effects of MRC on ischemia induced brain damage, infarct volume, neurological deficit scores, activities of several apoptosis-related proteins such as caspase-8, -9, Bcl-xL in MCAO-induced brains of mice were analyzed. Mice in MRC-treated groups were orally administered 30, 100, or 300 mg/kg of body weight for three consecutive days before commencing the MCAO procedure. Results : Pre-treatment of MRC significantly reduced infarct volume in MCAO subjected mice applied with 300 mg/kg of MRC methanol extract, and MRC effectively inhibited Bcl-xL reduction and caspase-9 activation caused by MCAO-induced brain damage. Conclusions : MRC showed neuro-protective effects by regulating apoptosis-related protein signals, and it can be a potential candidate for the therapy of ischemia-induced brain damage.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.446-454
• /
• 2022

Objective: To evaluate whether hyperoxia-induced ΔR₁ (hyperO₂ΔR₁) can accurately identify histological infarction in an acute cerebral stroke model. Materials and Methods: In 18 rats, MRI parameters, including hyperO₂ΔR₁, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), cerebral blood flow and volume, and ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on PET were measured 2.5, 4.5, and 6.5 hours after a 60-minutes occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery. Histological examination of the brain was performed immediately following the imaging studies. MRI and PET images were co-registered with digitized histological images. The ipsilateral hemisphere was divided into histological infarct (histological cell death), non-infarct ischemic (no cell death but ADC decrease), and nonischemic (no cell death or ADC decrease) areas for comparisons of imaging parameters. The levels of hyperO₂ΔR₁ and ADC were measured voxel-wise from the infarct core to the non-ischemic region. The correlation between areas of hyperO₂ΔR₁-derived infarction and histological cell death was evaluated. Results: HyperO₂ΔR₁ increased only in the infarct area (p ≤ 0.046) compared to the other areas. ADC decreased stepwise from non-ischemic to infarct areas (p = 0.002 at all time points). The other parameters did not show consistent differences among the three areas across the three time points. HyperO₂ΔR₁ sharply declined from the core to the border of the infarct areas, whereas there was no change within the non-infarct areas. A hyperO₂ΔR₁ value of 0.04 s^-1 was considered the criterion to identify histological infarction. ADC increased gradually from the infarct core to the periphery, without a pronounced difference at the border between the infarct and non-infarct areas. Areas of hyperO₂ΔR₁ higher than 0.04 s^-1 on MRI were strongly positively correlated with histological cell death (r = 0.862; p < 0.001). Conclusion: HyperO₂ΔR₁ may be used as an accurate and early (2.5 hours after onset) indicator of histological infarction in acute stroke.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.179-186
• /
• 2007

The decrease of masticatory function caused by tooth loss leads to a decrease of cerebral blood flow volume resulting in impairment of cognitive function and learning memory disorder. However, the reduced mastication-mediated morphological alteration in the central nervous system (CNS) responsible for senile deficit of cognition, learning and memory has not been well documented. In this study, the effect of the loss of the molar teeth (molarless condition) on the hippocampal expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) protein was studied by immunohistochemical techniques. The results were as follows : 1. The molarless mice showed a lower density of pyramidal cells in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) and dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus than control mice. 2. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the molarless condition enhanced the time-dependent increase in the cell density and hypertrophy of GFAP immunoreactivity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The molarless condition enhanced an time-dependent decrease in the number of neurons in the hippocampal formation and the time-dependent increase in the number and hypertrophy of GFAP-labeled cells in the same region. The data suggest a possible link between reduced mastication and histological changes in hippocampal formation that may be one risk factor for senile impairment of cognitive function and spatial learning memory.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.107-111
• /
• 2017

The fat embolism syndrome (FES) represents a condition, usually with traumatic etiology, which may pose challenges to diagnosis while its treatment usually requires supportive measures in the intensive care units (ICUs). The clinical criteria, including respiratory and cerebral dysfunction and a petechial rash, along with imaging studies help in diagnosis. Here we present three case reports of young male who developed FES and were admitted to our ICUs after long bones fractures emerging after vehicle crashes and we briefly review FES literature. All patients' treatment was directed towards: 1) the restoration of circulating volume with fresh blood and/or plasma; 2) the correction of acidosis; and 3) immobilization of the affected part. All patients recovered and were released to the orthopedic wards. The incidence of cases of patients with FES admitted in our ICUs records a significant decrease. This may be explained in terms effective infrastructure reforms in Greece which brought about significant improvement in early prevention and management.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.413-417
• /
• 2000

The effect of ischemia/reperfusion-induced neuronal damage on the memory impairment were investigated using active avoidance and Morris water maze tasks in Wistar rats. Focal ischemia was induced by 1 h occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery (MCA) of Wistar male rats. Reperfusion was induced by releasing the occlusion and restoring the blood circulation for 24 h. The acquisition and preservation memory tested by active avoidance showed a significant difference between the sham and ischemia/reperfusion group. The water maze acquisition performance was also significant difference between sham and ischemia/repefusion groups in both latency and moving distance. The infarction volume was increased by the ischemia/reperfusion. Furthermore, the cresyl violet staining of the ischemia/reperfusion brain showed severe neuronal damage (pyramidal cell loss) in the cortex in addition to the striatum lesion of brain. This study shows that pyramidal cell damage in the cortex lesion may be partially related to memorial disturbance in the ischemia/reperfusion brain injury.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.29 no.12
• /
• pp.1634-1641
• /
• 2000

Objective : The cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) pulsates within the craniospinal axis in response to rhythmic cerebral blood volume variation during the cardiac cycle. The aim of this study is to characterize the normal and abnormal CSF flow and its waveforms in the cervical spinal subarachnoid space. Methods : The magnetic resonance(MR) images were obtained with 1.5 T(GE Signa, GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, USA) unit using the 2 dimensional cine PC(phase contrast) sequence with cardiac gating and gradient recalled echo imaging. This pulse sequence yielded 16 quantitative flow-encoded images per cardiac cycle. Sagittal and axial images of the cervical spinal CSF space were obtained, and target sites were analyzed for characteristic CSF flow (TR=50ms, TE=12.5-15ms). The region of interest(ROI) was 1mm 3 in volume. Twenty six persons were included in this study : 10 healthy volunteers and 16 patients with cervical myelopathy. The post-operative cine MR study were also done in five patients. Results : The normal CSF pulsation dynamics in the cervical spine showed discrete systolic and diastolic components. The CSF flow revealed a sine wave pattern, in which the systolic phase was shorter than the diastolic phase(ratio=2 : 3). The patient group revealed decreased amplitudes of the CSF flow and irregularly distored flow waves. The systolic phase was elongated in the ROI above the stenotic level, whereas the diastolic phase was lengthened below the level. In the postoperative images, the abnormal pattern and amplitude were found to be corrected. Conclusion : From these results, the authors believe that the CSF flow study provides valuable informations regarding the extent of cervical stenosis and may be useful for the surgical planning and post-operative evaluation.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.94-102
• /
• 2003

Purpose : Cerebral blood flow (CBF) reactivity to acetazolamide (ACZ) is useful to select patients with hemodynamic failure. However, it is still a matter of speculation that varying degrees of regional CBF increases after ACZ administration represent the severity or stage of regional hemodynamic failure as assessed by positron emission tomography (PET). We studied to elucidate whether ACZ challenge $^{123}I-IMP$ brain single photon emission tomography (SPECT) can accurately grade the seventy of regional hemodynamic failure. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients (M: 16, F: 2, average age: 61 years) with unilateral occlusive disease of the internal carotid artery or the trunk of the middle cerebral artery (MCA). Patients undewent $^{123}I-IMP$ brain SPECT study with acetazolamide challenge and PET study was carried out within 2 weeks before and after SPECT study. Five healthy volunteers with a mean age of 48 years (range: 28-73 yr, M: 3, F: 2) underwent PET studies to determine normal values. In SPECT study, an asymmetry index (Al)-the percentage of radioactivity of region of interest (ROI) in the occlusive cerebrovascular lesion to the contralateral homologous ROI-was used for numerical evaluation of relative $^{123}I-IMP$ distribution. In PET study, regional CBF, oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen ($CMRO_2$) and cerebral blood volume (CBV) values were measured with $^{15}O-labeled$ gas inhalation method and the values were used for comparison with Al (Al during acetazolamide challenge-Al of basal study) on the SPECT study. ROls were classified by severity into three groups (normal, stage I and stage II). Results: Mean values of Al in areas with normal, stage I and stage II hemodynamic failure were $6.25{\pm}7.77%\;(n=107),\;-10.38{\pm}10.41%\:(n=117)\;and\;13.30{\pm}10.51%\;(n=140)$, respectively. Al significantly differed with each groups (p<0.05). Correlation between Al and CBF, OEF and CBV/CBF in hemisphere with occlusive cerebrovascular lesion was 0.20 (p<0.01), -0.28 (p<0.01) and -0.28 (p<0.01), respectively. Conclusion: We concluded that $^{123}I-IMP$ brain SPECT with acetazolamide challenge could determine the severity ad stage of regional hemodynamic failure as assessed by PET.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.9-19
• /
• 2017

Background: Normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) can be measured using manual or semiautomatic segmentation method. However, the difference in diagnostic performance on brain tumor differentiation between differently measured nCBV has not been evaluated. Purpose: To compare the diagnostic performance of manually obtained nCBV to that of semiautomatically obtained nCBV on glioblastoma (GBM) and primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) differentiation. Materials and Methods: Histopathologically confirmed forty GBM and eleven PCNSL patients underwent 3T MR imaging with dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion MR imaging before any treatment or biopsy. Based on the contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging, the mean nCBV (mCBV) was measured using the manual method (manual mCBV), random regions of interest (ROIs) placement by the observer, or the semiautomatic segmentation method (semiautomatic mCBV). The volume of enhancing portion of the tumor was also measured during semiautomatic segmentation process. T-test, ROC curve analysis, Fisher's exact test and multivariate regression analysis were performed to compare the value and evaluate the diagnostic performance of each parameter. Results: GBM showed a higher enhancing volume (P = 0.0307), a higher manual mCBV (P = 0.018) and a higher semiautomatic mCBV (P = 0.0111) than that of the PCNSL. Semiautomatic mCBV had the highest value (0.815) for the area under the curve (AUC), however, the AUCs of the three parameters were not significantly different from each other. The semiautomatic mCBV was the best independent predictor for the GBM and PCNSL differential diagnosis according to the stepwise multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: We found that the semiautomatic mCBV could be a better predictor than the manual mCBV for the GBM and PCNSL differentiation. We believe that the semiautomatic segmentation method can contribute to the advancement of perfusion based brain tumor evaluation.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.1161-1171
• /
• 2018

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate diffusion tensor (DT) imaging-derived properties of benign oligemia, true "at risk" penumbra (TP), and the infarct core (IC) during the first 3 hours of stroke onset. Materials and Methods: The study was approved by the local animal care and use committee. DT imaging data were obtained from 14 rats after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) using a 7T magnetic resonance scanner (Bruker) in room air. Relative cerebral blood flow and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were generated to define oligemia, TP, IC, and normal tissue (NT) every 30 minutes up to 3 hours. Relative fractional anisotropy (rFA), pure anisotropy (rq), diffusion magnitude (rL), ADC (rADC), axial diffusivity (rAD), and radial diffusivity (rRD) values were derived by comparison with the contralateral normal brain. Results: The mean volume of oligemia was $24.7{\pm}14.1mm^3$, that of TP was $81.3{\pm}62.6mm^3$, and that of IC was $123.0{\pm}85.2mm^3$ at 30 minutes after pMCAO. rFA showed an initial paradoxical 10% increase in IC and TP, and declined afterward. The rq, rL, rADC, rAD, and rRD showed an initial discrepant decrease in IC (from -24% to -36%) as compared with TP (from -7% to -13%). Significant differences (p < 0.05) in metrics, except rFA, were found between tissue subtypes in the first 2.5 hours. The rq demonstrated the best overall performance in discriminating TP from IC (accuracy = 92.6%, area under curve = 0.93) and the optimal cutoff value was -33.90%. The metric values for oligemia and NT remained similar at all time points. Conclusion: Benign oligemia is small and remains microstructurally normal under pMCAO. TP and IC show a distinct evolution of DT-derived properties within the first 3 hours of stroke onset, and are thus potentially useful in predicting the fate of ischemic brain.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.119-124
• /
• 1997

Purpose: To assess the utility of magnetic resonance(MR) cerebral blood volume (CBV) map in the evaluation of brain tumors. Materials and Methods: We performed perfusion MR imaing preoperatively in the consecutive IS patients with intracranial masses(3 meningiomas, 2 glioblastoma multiformes, 3 low grade gliomas, 1 lymphoma, 1 germinoma, 1 neurocytoma, 1 metastasis, 2 abscesses, 1 radionecrosis). The average age of the patients was 42 years (22yr -68yr), composed of 10 males and S females. All MR images were obtained at l.ST imager(Signa, CE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wisconsin). The regional CBV map was obtained on the theoretical basis of susceptibility difference induced by first pass circulation of contrast media. (contrast media: IScc of gadopentate dimeglumine, about 2ml/sec by hand, starting at 10 second after first baseline scan). For each patient, a total of 480 images (6 slices, 80 images/slice in 160 sec) were obtained by using gradient echo(CE) single shot echo-planar image(EPI) sequence (TR 2000ms, TE SOms, flip angle $90^{\circ}$, FOV $240{\times}240mm,{\;}matrix{\;}128{\times}128$, slice-thick/gap S/2.S). After data collection, the raw data were transferred to CE workstation and rCBV maps were generated from the numerical integration of ${\Delta}R2^{*} on a voxel by voxel basis, with home made software (${\Delta}R2^{*}=-ln (S/SO)/TE). For easy visual interpretation, relative RCB color coding with reference to the normal white matter was applied and color rCBV maps were obtained. The findings of perfusion MR image were retrospectively correlated with Cd-enhanced images with focus on the degree and extent of perfusion and contrast enhancement. Results: Two cases of glioblastoma multiforme with rim enhancement on Cd-enhanced Tl weighted image showed increased perfusion in the peripheral rim and decreased perfusion in the central necrosis portion. The low grade gliomas appeared as a low perfusion area with poorly defined margin. In 2 cases of brain abscess, the degree of perfusion was similar to that of the normal white matter in the peripheral enhancing rim and was low in the central portion. All meningiomas showed diffuse homogeneous increased perfusion of moderate or high degree. One each of lymphoma and germinoma showed homogenously decreased perfusion with well defined margin. The central neurocytoma showed multifocal increased perfusion areas of moderate or high degree. A few nodules of the multiple metastasis showed increased perfusion of moderate degree. One radionecrosis revealed multiple foci of increased perfusion within the area of decreased perfusion. Conclusion: The rCBV map appears to correlate well with the perfusion state of brain tumor, and may be helpful in discrimination between low grade and high grade gliomas. The further study is needed to clarify the role of perfusion MR image in the evaluation of brain tumor.