• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.464-473
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• 2024

Background: The effects of individual panaxadiol saponin and panaxatriol saponin on rodent models of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been recognized. However, it is not clear whether purified total ginsenosides as an entirety has effect against PD in rat model. This study compared the protective effects of a purified panaxadiol saponin fraction (PDSF), a purified panaxatriol saponin fraction (PTSF), and their mixtures against the rotenone (ROT)-induced PD in rats. Methods: Potential effects of PDSF, PTSF, and their mixtures against motor dysfunction and impairments of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons (DN), blood-brain barrier (BBB), cerebrovascular endothelial cells (CEC), and glial cells were measured in the models of ROT-induced PD rats and cell damage. Pro-inflammatory NF-kB p65 (p65) activation was localized in DN and other cells in the striatum. Results: PDSF and PTSF had a dose-dependent effect against motor dysfunction with a larger effective dose range for PDSF. PDSF protected CEC, glial cells, and DN in models of PD rats and cell damage, while PTSF had no such protections. Chronic ROT exposure potently activated p65 in CEC with enhanced pro-inflammatory and decreased anti-inflammatory factors and impaired BBB in the striatum, PDSF almost completely blocked the ROT-induced p65 activation and maintained both anti- and pro-inflammatory factors at normal levels and BBB integrity, but PTSF aggravated the p65 activation with impaired BBB. Furthermore, PTSF nullified all the effects of PDSF when they were co-administrated. Conclusion: PDSF had significant protective effect against the ROT-induced PD in rats by protecting CEC, glial cells, and DN, likely through inhibiting NF-κB p65 in CEC from triggering neuroinflammation, and also directly protecting glial cells and neurons against ROT-induced toxicity. PDSF has great potential for preventing and treating PD.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.103-108
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• 2015

Discrimination of Parkinson's disease (PD) from Essential tremor (ET) is often misdiagnosed in clinical practice. Since tremor is time-varying signal, and dominant and harmonic frequencies are shown in tremor only with moderate or severe symptom, there are some limitations to use frequency related features. Moreover, patients with PD or ET can suffer from both resting tremor and postural tremor. In this study, 28 patients with PD and 17 patients with ET were enrolled. Tremor was measured with accelerations on the more affected hand during resting and postural conditions. The ratio of root mean square (RMS) of resting tremor to RMS of postural tremor, the mean coefficients of autocorrelation function (ACF), and the mean of differences of two adjacent coefficients of ACF at resting and postural were calculated and compared between PD and ET. The performance showed 98% accuracy with support vector machine and leave-one-out cross validation. In addition, the method accurately differentiated the patients with tremor-dominant PD from patients with ET, with 100% accuracy. Therefore, the developed algorithm can assist clinicians in diagnosing and categorizing patients with tremor, especially, patients with mild symptom or the early stage of a disease, for proper treatment.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.87-99
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• 2024

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. It has no cure, but current treatments can relieve symptoms and maintain quality of life. As PD progresses, controlling its symptoms becomes difficult. Here, we present the treatment of two patients with idiopathic PD using traditional Korean medicine (TKM) and temporomandibular joint balancing therapy (TBT). We measured the progress of the two patients using the unified PD rating scale (UPDRS) and the Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale. Combined treatment of TKM and TBT decreased the total UPDRS score from 52 to 26 after 21 days in case 1, while it decreased the total UPDRS score from 91 to 65 after 20 days in case 2. In both patients, the HY scale score was maintained at 3, and no adverse events were observed. Thus, the combined treatment of TKM and TBT can produce a treatment response in PD patients.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.246-251
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• 2016

This study investigated the effects of (-)-sesamin on memory deficits in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-lesioned mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). MPTP lesion (30 mg/kg/day, 5 days) in mice showed memory deficits including habit learning memory and spatial memory. However, treatment with (-)-sesamin (25 and 50 mg/kg) for 21 days ameliorated memory deficits in MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD: (-)-sesamin at both doses improved decreases in the retention latency time of the passive avoidance test and the levels of dopamine, norepinephrine, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, and homovanillic acid, improved the decreased transfer latency time of the elevated plus-maze test, reduced the increased expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, and increased the reduced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) and cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB). These results suggest that (-)-sesamin has protective effects on both habit learning memory and spatial memory deficits via the dopaminergic neurons and NMDA receptor-ERK1/2-CREB system in MPTP-lesioned mouse model of PD, respectively. Therefore, (-)-sesamin may serve as an adjuvant phytonutrient for memory deficits in PD patients.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.55-60
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• 2010

Clinical measures that Quantify falling risk factors are needed for the accurate evaluation of patients and to plan an intervention strategy. The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest and interrater reliability of the dynamic gait index (DGI) for persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). A total of 22 idiopathic PD patients were recruited from rehabilitation hospital, Korea in this study. The DGI was assessed in two sessions that were, three days apart. We also measured Berg balance test (BBT) and geriatric depression scale (GDS) for concurrent validity with DGI. Intrarater and interrater reliability (.96 and .98 respectively) for DGI were high. indicating good agreement. The DGI was showed a good positive correlation with the BBS (r=.852). but not GDS (r=-.462). Intrarater and interrater reliability of DGI were high in people with PD. The DGI could be a reliable measure to evaluate functional postural control during gait activities in the PD population, and the ability of DGI to detect real change is acceptable in research and clinical settings.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.90-97
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• 2022

Recently, increasing evidence suggests that neuroinflammation may be a critical factor in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD) in addition to the ratio of acetylcholine/dopamine because dopaminergic neurons are particularly vulnerable to inflammatory attack. In this study, we investigated whether botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT-A) was effective for the treatment of PD through its anti-neuroinflammatory effects and the modulation of acetylcholine and dopamine release. We found that BoNT-A ameliorated MPTP and 6-OHDA-induced PD progression, reduced acetylcholine release, levels of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α as well as GFAP expression, but enhanced dopamine release and tyrosine hydroxylase expression. These results indicated that BoNT-A had beneficial effects on MPTP or 6-OHDA-induced PD-like behavior impairments via its anti-neuroinflammation properties, recovering dopamine, and reducing acetylcholine release.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.423-429
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• 2022

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder caused by the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, leading to decreased dopamine levels in the midbrain. Although the specific etiology of PD is not yet known, oxidative stress, inflammation, and subsequent apoptosis have been proposed to be closely related to PD pathophysiology. Cera Flava (CF) is a natural extract obtained from beehives and is isolated through the heating, compression, filtration, and purification of beehives. CF has been used in traditional medicines for its various clinical and pharmacological effects. However, its effects on neurodegenerative diseases are unknown. Therefore, we investigated the effects of CF against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD in mice and explored the underlying mechanism of action. In MPTP-induced PC12 cells, CF protected NADH dehydrogenase activity and inhibited lactate dehydrogenase. In the mouse model, CF promoted recovery from movement impairments, prevented dopamine depletion, and protected against MPTP-induced dopaminergic neuronal degradation. Moreover, CF downregulated glial and microglial activation. Taken together, our results suggest that CF improves behavioral impairments and protects against dopamine depletion in MPTP-induced toxicity by inhibiting glial and microglial activation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.247-253
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• 2020

Background: Parkinson's disease(PD) affects not only motor symptoms, but also nonmotor symptoms. This study is a clinical trial to determine whether Qigong and acupuncture affect nonmotor symptoms of PD. Methods: A 2-arm parallel and randomized trial was performed with 21 participants who had received either Qigong meditation only [control group (CG)] or acupuncture and Qigong meditation [experimental group (EG)]. The participants' levels of the discomfort in nonmotor symptoms from Parkinson's disease were evaluated by using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scales (UPDRS 1) and Test of Smell Identification (TSI) before and after 12 treatments at baseline and 1 month after 12 treatments. Results: The both CG and EG showed improvements in the UPDRS 1 score after treatment by 5.6 ± 5.15 (p= 0.003; 74%) and 4.8 ± 3.80 (p = 0.004; 79%), respectively. The both CG and the EG did improvements in the TSI after treatment by 10.3 ± 4.37 (p < 0.001; 84%) and 12.6 ± 1.77 (p = 0.022; 100%), respectively. However, statistical differences were not observed between the CG and the EG using the UPDRS 1 and the TSI scores. Conclusion: The combination of Qigong and acupuncture and Qigong alone was shown to improve the nonmotor symptoms and olfactory function of PD. In the future, large-scale clinical studies on alternative treatment for PD and studies on mechanisms affecting nonmotor symptoms of acupuncture and Qigong are needed.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.155-162
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the voice handicaps of the idiopathic Parkinson's Diseases (PD) and their voice-related quality of life. Methods : Voice handicap index-10 (VHI-10) and Voice related Quality of Life were completed by 17 idiopathic PD patients, and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part I, II, III were assessed. The relations between VHI-10, VRQOL and UPDRS scores were analysed. Results : VHI-10 score of PD patients was $14.35{\pm}8.07$ and VRQOL total score of PD patients was $59.12{\pm}20.25$, social-emotional $59.93{\pm}20.50$, physical function $58.58{\pm}21.77$. There were significant relations between VHI-10, VRQOL score and UPDRS II (activities of daily living). Conclusions : These results suggest that voice impairments affect the daily living of PD patients and their quality of lives.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.189-197
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• 2019

Purpose: The aim of our study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of walking and turning plus treadmill training on the functional balance and walking ability of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: Twenty-four participants with Stage 1 to 3 ($2.13{\pm}0.64$) PD based on the Hoehn and Yahr scale were randomly allocated to the experimental group (EG) and control group (CG), with 12 participants in each group. The measured outcomes included the motor subscale of the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale (UPDRS-M), the Berg balance scale (BBS), the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Results: Pre-to-post intervention improvements were noted for all the outcome measures for both groups (p < 0.05). Post intervention, there was a significant improvement in the EG compared to the CG for the following measured outcomes (p < 0.05): UPDRS-M (p = 0.021; 95% CI, 0.081-6.519), BBS (p = 0.042; 95% CI, 1.375-4.541), TUG (p = 0.034; 95% CI, -3.315--0.143), 10MWT (p = 0.011; 95% CI, -2.032--0.289), and 6MWT (p = 0.002; 95% CI, 24.39-91.273). Conclusion: Our study suggests that walking and turning plus treadmill training improves balance and walking compared to treadmill training only in patients with PD.