• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.322-333
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction are 2 of the independent predictors for cardiovascular disease, while Acanthopanax senticosus Harms (ASH) is a traditional medicinal plant that can improve cardiovascular health. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the fruit of ASH on vascular function in apparently healthy subjects. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, consisting of healthy adults with at least 2 of the following 3 conditions: borderline high blood pressure (BP; 120 mmHg ≤ systolic BP ≤ 160 mmHg or 80 mmHg ≤ diastolic BP ≤ 100 mmHg), smoking (≥10 cigarettes/day), and borderline blood lipid levels (220 ≤ total cholesterol ≤ 240, 130 ≤ low density lipoprotein cholesterol ≤ 165, or 150 ≤ triglyceride ≤ 220 mg/dL). Randomly assigned 76 subjects who received a placebo or 2 doses of ASH fruit (low, 500 mg/day; high, 1,000 mg/day) completed the intervention. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), flow-mediated dilation, carotid intima-media thickness, and BP were measured both at baseline and following the 12-week intervention. Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation was assessed by western blotting. RESULTS: Compared with the placebo group, the low-dose group showed more significant changes after the 12-week intervention period in terms of systolic BP (0.1 vs. -7.7 mmHg; P = 0.044), baPWV (31.3 vs. -98.7 cm/s; P = 0.007), and the ratio of phospho-eNOS/eNOS (0.8 vs. 1.22; P = 0.037). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that ASH fruit extract at 500 mg/day has the potential to improve BP and arterial stiffness via endothelial eNOS activation in healthy adults with smoking and the tendency of having elevated BP or blood lipid parameters.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1318-1326
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• 1992

Backgroud. To determine the influence of age at operation upon surgical outcome in patients with isolated secundum atrial septal defect, retrospective clinical analysis was done. Material and method. From June, 1976 to December, 1991, 146 patients, 63 male and 83 female patients ranging in age from 13 months to 56 years, were operated on for isolated secundum atrial septal defect. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to their age at operation: Group I [<20 years old], 91 patients[62.3%]; Group II [21 to 40 years old], 44 patients[30.1%]; GroupIII[>41 years old], 11 patients[7.6%]. Significant differences in clinical features, hemodynamic function, early and late results between age groups were speculated. Results. One hundred thirty-one patients[89.6%] were symptomatic at the time of operation, the most common symptoms being dyspnea on exertion, recurrent respiratory infection, palpitation and chest pain. Patients in NYHA class III or IV were 3.3% in group I, 25% in groupIII, and 54.5% in group Ill. Hemodynamic data was available for 138 patients [94.5%]. Significant pulmonary hypertension [MPA systolic pressure $^3$ 40mmHg] was noted in 22 patients [15.9%]. Patients with pulmonary vascular disease [Rp/Rs>1.25] were 2% in group I, 7.3% in group Il, and 9.1% in groupIII. But there were no significant differences between the age groups in the size of the shunt or the ratio of pulmonary to systemic flow. Atrial septal defects were closed with direct suture in 144 patients and patch repair was performed in 2 patients with high defect. Atrial arrhythmia [8.2%] was the most common postoperative complication. The mean [LSD] duration of follow-up in all patients was 16$\pm$22 months [range, 1~96 months]. Functional result was excellent regardless of the age groups. During follow-up period, late cardiovascular events were arrhythmia [7 cases], reoperation for recurrent ASD [2 cases], and premature late death due to bacterial endocarditis [1 case]. Incidence of preoperative and late atrial fibrillation was significantly higher in older age group. Conclusion. Age at operation is one of the most important predictor of early and late surgical outcome with its impact on the following factors : 1] hemodynamic alterations and ventricular dysfunction due to longstanding volume and pressure overload, 2] pulmonary vascular disease, and 3] atrial arrhythmia including atrial fibrillation as a result of atrial dilatation. Therefore, among patients with surgically repaired atrial septal defects, those operated on over the age of 20 require careful supervision on the long-term basis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2016

The aim of the present study is to investigate the hypotensive effect of Mantidis ootheca (WMO), Rosa laevigata (WIC), and Imperata cylindrica (WRL) in renovascular hypertension rats. Experimental hypertension model is 2-kidney and 1-clip (2K1C) induced rats. 2K1C rats were treated with WMO, WIC, and WRL at dose of 100 mg/kg/day orally for 3 weeks, respectively. Treatment groups with WMO, WIC, and WRL significantly lowered blood pressure. Interestingly, WMO, WIC, and WRL ameliorated endothelium-dependent and independent vascular relaxation in the phenylephrine-precontracted thoracic aorta in hypertension models. In addition, 2K1C-induced hypertension model increased plasma renin activity, however, WMO, WIC, and WRL attenuated those activities. These results suggest that WMO, WIC, and WRL ameliorates vascular dysfunction in 2K1C-induced hypertension models via the regulation of nitric oxide and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system.

• Proceedings of the Ginseng society Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.7-7
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• 2007

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.830-843
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• 2019

Objective: To examine the potential of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging for detecting renal changes after iodinated contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) development in a diabetic rabbit model. Materials and Methods: Sixty-two rabbits were randomized into 2 groups: diabetic rabbits with the contrast agent (DCA) and healthy rabbits with the contrast agent (NCA). In each group, 6 rabbits underwent IVIM and BOLD imaging at 1 hour, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, and 4 days after an iohexol injection while 5 rabbits were selected to undergo blood and histological examinations at these specific time points. Iohexol was administrated at a dose of 2.5 g I/kg of body weight. Further, the apparent transverse relaxation rate (R2^*), average pure molecular diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D^*), perfusion fraction (f) were calculated. Results: The D and f values of the renal cortex (CO) and outer medulla (OM) were significantly decreased compared to baseline values in the 2 groups 1 day after the iohexol injection (p < 0.05). A marked reduction in the D^* values for both the CO and OM was also observed after 1 hour in each group (p < 0.05). In the OM, a persistent elevation of the R2^* was detected for 4 days in the DCA group (p < 0.05). Histopathological changes were prominent, and the pathological features of CI-AKI aggravated in the DCA group until day 4. The D, f, and R2^* values significantly correlated with the histological damage scores, hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1α expression scores, and serum creatinine levels. Conclusion: A combination of IVIM and BOLD imaging may serve as a noninvasive method for detecting and monitoring CI-AKI in the early stages in the diabetic kidney.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.889-895
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• 2015

Endothelial dysfunction is an initial step in atherosclerosis. B vitamins (B6, B12, and folate) are important contributing factors to vascular homeostasis. Deficiencies in these B vitamins induce cardiovascular diseases by altering vascular homeostasis. Folate plays important roles in nitric oxide homeostasis in the endothelium. To determine the dose-dependent effect of dietary folate on atherosclerosis, we studied aortic relaxation and hepatic C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in C57BL/6 mice. In this study, a total of 54 male C57BL/6, 8-wk old mice were split into 2 dietary groups (control and Western style diet). Each diet group was divided into 3 subgroups according to dietary folate dosage (0.2, 2, and 8 mg/kg). After 18 months, the relaxation response seen in aortic rings from mice fed 0.2 or 2 mg folate/kg in both diet groups. However, the aortic relaxation response was not seen and no differences were observed in mice fed 8mg folate/kg in either diet group (p<0.05). Hepatic CRP levels at all folate dosages (0.2, 2, 8 mg folate/kg) were higher in the groups fed a Western style diet than in mice fed a control diet (p=0.035). CRP levels were lower in mice fed 0.2 mg folate/kg than in mice fed 2 or 8 mg folate/kg in both diet groups (p<0.05). These results indicate that in C57BL/6 mice 0.2 mg folate/kg may be enough to prevent atherosclerosis by inducing the relaxation responses of the aorta and by reducing levels of hepatic CRP, regardless of dietary style.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1663-1667
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• 2013

Neointimal hyperplasia causes vascular access dysfunction in hemodialysis patients with synthetic arteriovenous (AV) grafts. Several studies have reported that paclitaxel- or sirolimus-eluting AV grafts inhibit neointimal hyperplasia and display lower rates of stenosis compared with control grafts. However, there have been few comparative studies of the efficacy of paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting grafts. We compared the neointimal hyperplasia of paclitaxel- and sirolimus-eluting grafts. AV grafts were implanted laterally between the common carotid artery and the external jugular vein in 12 female Landrace pigs. The animals were sacrificed six weeks after surgery. The neointimal hyperplasia at the anastomosis sites of the grafts was quantified using the ratio of the intragraft hyperplasia to the graft area (H/G ratio) at the graft-vessel interface. The area of intimal hyperplasia at the venous (paclitaxel 1.06 [0.72-1.56] vs sirolimus 2.40 [1.72-3.0] $mm^2$, P = 0.04) and arterial anastomosis sites (paclitaxel 0.93 [0.57-1.48] vs sirolimus 2.40 [1.72-3.0] $mm^2$, P = 0.04) was significantly different between the two groups. However, the H/G ratios for the venous anastomosis site (paclitaxel 0.25 (0.17-0.38) vs sirolimus 0.38 (0.2-0.66), P = 0.4) and the arterial anastomosis site (paclitaxel 0.19 (0.08-0.39) vs sirolimus 0.41 (0.34-0.50), P = 0.1) did not differ significantly between the groups. In conclusion, there was no significant difference in the inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia by sirolimus- and paclitaxel-eluting AV grafts.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.38 no.8
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• pp.715-720
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• 2014

In order to maximize the effect of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) on ventricular unloading, the therapy should be begun at appropriate level of heart failure severity. We predicted pumping efficacy of LVAD according to the severity of heart failure theoretically. We used 3 dimensional finite element model of ventricle coupled with 6 Wind-kessel compartmental model of vascular system. Using the computational model, we predicted cardiac responses such as contractile ATP consumption of ventricle, left ventricular pressure, cardiac output, ejection fraction, and stroke work according to the severity of ventricular systolic dysfunction under the treatments of continuous LVAD. Contractile ATP consumption, which indicates the ventricular energetic loading condition decreased maximally at the $5^{th}$ level heart-failure under LVAD therapy. We conclude that optimal timing for LVAD treatment is $5^{th}$ level heart-failure when considering LVAD treatment as "bridge to recovery".

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.74-83
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• 2006

Ssanghwatang (SHT) has been known to prove effective in the treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED), and its modified formula is widely used in clinical practice. However, its fundamental mechanism of action is not clearly known. It is well known that endothelial cells can achieve the relaxation of vascular smooth muscles by the release of nitric oxide (NO). NO is synthesized by the enzyme NO synthase (NOS) from L-arginine and oxygen. It is widely accepted that NO plays an important role in the relaxation of corpus cavernous smooth muscle and vasculature. In addition, in terms of the penile erection, the NO/cGMP pathway is more potent than the PCE1/cAMP pathway. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of the erectile effects of SHT by focusing on its direct effects on corpus cavernous smooth muscle cells. We investigated the NOS activity, nitrite concentration and cGMP levels in rat corpus cavernous smooth muscle cell lines activated by SHT extracts. Furthermore, we evaluated the effect of SHT extracts on penile smooth muscle relaxation following oral administration of SHT extract powder to rats by the dosage of 1 g/kg over fifteen days. As a result, we found that SHT stimulated NO release. NOS activity and cGMP levels were increased by SHT respectively. Furthermore, SHT relaxed the corpus cavernous smooth muscle. These results are consistent with the concept that penile erection by SHT is carried out through the NO/cGMP pathway. In conclusion, the present study shows that SHT increases the NOS activity, synthesizes NO and augments the cGMP, which mediates penile erection. Further determination of the SHT mechanism related with the NO/cGMP pathway strongly indicates that SHT can be used as a remedy for erectile impotence.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.126-129
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• 2012

Background : Facial capillary malformations (CMs) rarely recede; they often become darker and raised in proportion to their growth. These malformations may hypertrophy in adulthood, resulting in increased disfigurement and dysfunction. Laser treatment is considered a first-line therapy for focal CMs, but thick wide lesions, which are accompanied by hypertrophy and have a well-circumscribed nodularity, may be treated with surgical excision and reconstruction. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the records of 25 consecutive patients who had undergone complete or partial excisions of facial capillary malformations in our unit. After the excisions, the defects that encompassed their facial aesthetic units were subsequently covered by various methods, including primary closures, local flaps, expanded flaps, split-thickness skin grafts, and full thickness skin grafts. Results : The data demonstrated satisfactory results and reliability. Our patients were treated without significant complications, and all of the patients were moderately or fully satisfied with the outcome of their surgeries. Conclusions : Among the many reconstructive options for adult patients with facial capillary malformations, thick split-thickness skin grafts can be a good choice for the coverage of widely excised wounds.