• 대한한의학회지
• /
• 제43권1호
• /
• pp.180-189
• /
• 2022

Objectives: This study aims to find out the effect of herbal medicine on sleep disorder in developmental delayed children. Methods: 2 patients were treated by herbal medicine. For the progress evaluation, we used The Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). Results: The clinical symptoms were improved after the treatment. Conclusion: This study reports that the herbal medicine improved sleep disorder in developmental delayed children, but further studies are needed to clarify the effectiveness of the treatment.

• 말소리와 음성과학
• /
• 제5권1호
• /
• pp.27-38
• /
• 2013

Healthcare providers in Korea are using conservative pharmacological treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD) to delay the progress of the disease or to mitigate its behavioral and neurological symptoms. However, there is a growing need for interventions using practical non-pharmacologic treatment, as the effects of pharmacological treatments has faced limitations. This research provided a cognitive rehabilitation program to 3 AD patients and used a multiple baseline design across subjects to examine the effects. Performing reality orientation therapy (ROT) for 1 cycle (4 weeks) resulted in a slight increase in accuracy and responsiveness on an orientation task, mainly with patients with mild cases of AD. Also, in the sub-domain of the Korean-Mini Mental Status Examination performed to examine changes in cognitive ability, there were minimal changes in place orientation. In functional communication, however, there were no significant differences before and after the intervention. In conclusion, we found that ROT was an effective intervention for improving accuracy and responsiveness in the orientation of patients with mild cases of AD. In future studies, the effect of non-pharmacological interventions can be evaluated more reliably by examining the interaction effects of sample size, length of the intervention, outcome measurements, and pharmacological intervention.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• 제27권3호
• /
• pp.221-230
• /
• 2023

Diabetic kidney disease is one of the most serious complications of diabetes. Although diabetic kidney disease can be effectively controlled through strict blood glucose management and corresponding symptomatic treatment, these therapies cannot reduce its incidence in diabetic patients. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and the traditional Chinese herb "Gegen" have been widely used in diabetes-related therapy. However, it remains unclear whether the combined use of these two kinds of medicines contributes to an increased curative effect on diabetic kidney disease. In this study, we examined this issue by evaluating the efficacy of the combination of puerarin, an active ingredient of Gegen, and canagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor for a 12-week intervention using a mouse model of diabetes. The results indicated that the combination of puerarin and canagliflozin was superior to canagliflozin alone in improving the metabolic and renal function parameters of diabetic mice. Our findings suggested that the renoprotective effect of combined puerarin and canagliflozin in diabetic mice was achieved by reducing renal lipid accumulation. This study provides a new strategy for the clinical prevention and treatment of diabetic kidney disease. The puerarin and SGLT2 inhibitor combination therapy at the initial stage of diabetes may effectively delay the occurrence of diabetic kidney injury, and significantly alleviate the burden of renal lipotoxicity.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• 제28권11호
• /
• pp.1573-1582
• /
• 2015

This study was to investigate the effect of soyabean isoflavones (SIF) on onset of puberty, serum hormone concentration, and gene expression in hypothalamus, pituitary and ovary of female Bama miniature pigs. Fifty five, 35-days old pigs were randomly assigned into 5 treatment groups consisting of 11 pigs per treatment. Results showed that dietary supplementation of varying dosage (0, 250, 500, and 1,250 mg/kg) of SIF induced puberty delay of the pigs with the age of puberty of pigs fed basal diet supplemented with 1,250 mg/kg SIF was significantly higher (p<0.05) compared to control. Supplementation of SIF or estradiol valerate (EV) reduced (p<0.05) serum gonadotrophin releasing hormone and luteinizing hormone concentration, but increased follicle-stimulating hormone concentration in pigs at 4 months of age. The expression of KiSS-1 metastasis-suppressor (KISS1), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) and 3-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/delta-5-delta-4 isomerase ($3{\beta}-HSD$) was reduced (p<0.01) in SIF-supplemented groups. Expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor in the pituitary of miniature pigs was reduced (p<0.05) compared to the control when exposed to 250, 1,250 mg/kg SIF and EV. Pigs on 250 mg/kg SIF and EV also showed reduced (p<0.05) expression of cytochrome P450 19A1 compared to the control. Our results indicated that dietary supplementation of SIF induced puberty delay, which may be due to down-regulation of key genes that play vital roles in the synthesis of steroid hormones.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
• /
• 제19권3호
• /
• pp.129-135
• /
• 2014

The protective role of phloroglucinol against oxidative stress and stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) was investigated in vitro and in cell culture. Phloroglucinol had strong and concentration-dependent radical scavenging effects against nitric oxide (NO), superoxide anions ($O_2{^-}$), and hydroxyl radicals. In this study, free radical generators were used to induce oxidative stress in LLC-PK1 renal epithelial cells. Treatment with phloroglucinol attenuated the oxidative stress induced by peroxyl radicals, NO, $O_2{^-}$, and peroxynitrite. Phloroglucinol also increased cell viability and decreased lipid peroxidation in a concentration-dependent manner. WI-38 human diploid fibroblast cells were used to investigate the protective effect of phloroglucinol against hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced SIPS. Phloroglucinol treatment attenuated $H_2O_2$-induced SIPS by increasing cell viability and inhibited lipid peroxidation, suggesting that treatment with phloroglucinol should delay the aging process. The present study supports the promising role of phloroglucinol as an antioxidative agent against free radical-induced oxidative stress and SIPS.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• 제24권1호
• /
• pp.39-46
• /
• 2020

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder causing dementia worldwide, and is mainly characterized by aggregated β-amyloid (Aβ). Increasing evidence has shown that plant extracts have the potential to delay AD development. The plant sterol β-Sitosterol has a potential role in inhibiting the production of platelet Aβ, suggesting that it may be useful for AD prevention. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of β-Sitosterol on deficits in learning and memory in amyloid protein precursor/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) double transgenic mice. APP/PS1 mice were treated with β-Sitosterol for four weeks, from the age of seven months. Brain Aβ metabolism was evaluated using ELISA and Western blotting. We found that β-Sitosterol treatment can improve spatial learning and recognition memory ability, and reduce plaque load in APP/PS1 mice. β-Sitosterol treatment helped reverse dendritic spine loss in APP/PS1 mice and reversed the decreased hippocampal neuron miniature excitatory postsynaptic current frequency. Our research helps to explain and support the neuroprotective effect of β-Sitosterol, which may offer a novel pharmaceutical agent for the treatment of AD. Taken together, these findings suggest that β-Sitosterol ameliorates memory and learning impairment in APP/PS1 mice and possibly decreases Aβ deposition.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
• /
• 제33권1호
• /
• pp.33-35
• /
• 2015

본 연구는 AVG처리가 '홍로'사과 표피의 지질물질 변화량에 미치는 영향을 구명하고자 실시하였다. 수확 후 상온에서 저장한 '홍로'사과의 내생 에틸렌 농도는 $220mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ AVG처리구는 무처리구와 $200mL{\cdot}L^{-1}$ Ethephon처리구에 비해 현저히 낮은 수준을 보였으며, 같은 기간 지질물질 발생량도 다른 처리구보다 낮은 수준을 유지하였다. 따라서 수확 2주전 $220mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ AVG처리는 내생 에틸렌 농도를 낮추어 과실의 노화를 지연시킬 뿐만 아니라 과실 표피의 지질물질 축적도 줄여줌으로써 상온유통이 되는 '홍로' 사과의 과실품질 향상 및 유지에 효과적이다.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• 제25권7호
• /
• pp.1036-1046
• /
• 2015

Extracts from Asian medicinal herbs are known to be successful therapeutic agents against cancer. In this study, the effects of three types of herbal extracts on anti-tumor growth were examined. Among the three types of herbal extracts, H9 showed stronger anti-tumor growth effects than H5 and H11 in vivo. To find the molecular mechanism by which H9 inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines, the levels of apoptotic markers were examined. Proapoptotic markers, including cleaved PARP and cleaved caspases 3 and 9, were increased, whereas the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-2 was decreased by H9 treatment. Next, the combined effect of H9 with the chemotherapeutic drugs doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) on tumor growth was examined using 4T1-tumor-bearing mice. The combined treatment of H9 with AC did not show additive or synergetic anti-tumor growth effects. However, when tumor-bearing mice were co-treated with H9 and the targeted anti-tumor drug trastuzumab, a delay in tumor growth was observed. The combined treatment of H9 and trastuzumab caused an increase of natural killer (NK) cells and a decrease of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Taken together, H9 induces the apoptotic death of tumor cells while increasing anti-tumor immune activity through the enhancement of NK activity and diminishment of MDSC.

• Ocean and Polar Research
• /
• 제32권4호
• /
• pp.369-377
• /
• 2010

To characterize ecotoxicological responses to a natural estrogen, $17{\beta}$-estradiol, we evaluated the life-history of the parental ($F_0$) and first generation ($F_1$) of the harpacticoid copepod, Tigriopus japonicus sensu lato. We evaluated the survival of nauplii and copepodites, the number of days until the emergence of copepodites and adult males, the sex ratio, brooding success, and the first brooding day of adult females. No significant differences in the survival rate were noted in response to treatments with different concentrations of $17{\beta}$-estradiol. However, $17{\beta}$-estradiol induced developmental delay and skewed the sex ratio toward males. Copepod development was delayed significantly in the 0.1 and $1\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol treatment groups relative to the control group, with a more pronounced delay in the $F_1$ group. Body length and biomass were significantly smaller in the $17{\beta}$-estradiol treated groups than in the controls. The male emergence of T. japonicus s.l. was very high in the 10 and $30\;{\mu}g\;l^{-1}$ $17{\beta}$-estradiol treatment group. Furthermore, exposure to $17{\beta}$-estradiol resulted in morphological deformities such as shrinking and swelling of the urosome, twisted setae of the caudal rami, setal loss of swimming legs, abnormal segmentation of antennules, and dwarfism.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• 제50권6호
• /
• pp.937-943
• /
• 2018

Background: This work presents the performance of a novel electronic brachytherapy (EBT) device and radiotherapy (RT) experiments on both skin cancer cells and animals using the device. Methods and materials: The performance of the EBT device was evaluated by measuring and analyzing the dosimetric characteristics of X-rays generated from the device. The apoptosis of skin cancer cells was analyzed using B16F10 melanoma cancer cells. Animal experiments were performed using C57BL/6 mice. Results: The X-ray characteristics of the EBT device satisfied the accepted tolerance level for RT. The results of the RT experiments on the skin cancer cells show that a significant apoptosis induction occurred after irradiation with 50 kVp X-rays generated from the EBT device. Furthermore, the results of the animal RT experiments demonstrate that the superficial X-rays significantly delay the tumor growth and that the tumor growth delay induced by irradiation with low-energy X-rays was almost the same as that induced by irradiation with a high-energy electron beam. Conclusions: The developed new EBT device has almost the same therapeutic effect on the skin cancer with a conventional linear accelerator. Consequently, the EBT device can be practically used for human skin cancer treatment in the near future.