• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.152-157
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• 2002

Purpose : The differential diagnosis between Modic type I degenerative spine and infectious spondylitis sometimes is difficult, because the affected bone marrows in both disease show similar signal intensity on conventional MR imaging. We evaluate the usefulness of diffusion-wighted MR imaging for differential diagnosis between Modic type I degenerative spine and infectious spondylitis. Materials and methods : The spin-echo and diffusion-weighted MR images of eight patients with Modic type I degenerative spines and 14 patients with infectious spondylitis diagnosed by clinical findings or CT-guided biopsies we re analyzed. The diffusion-weighted imaging sequence was based on reversed fast imaging with steady-state precession (PSIF). Signal intensity changes of the vertebral bone marrow on conventional spin-echo and diffusion-weighted MR imaging were compared between degenerative spine and infectious spondylitis. Results : On T1-weighte d images, the affeted bone marrow in both disease showed hypointense signals. On T 2-weighted images, all of type I degenerative spine and 11 of infectious spondylitis showed hyperintensity, and three of infectious spondylitis showed heterogeneo us mixed signal intensity. On diffusion-weighted MR images, all of type I degenerative spine were hypointense with peripheral high signal intensity to normal vertebral body, but infectious spondylitis was hyperintense (n = 11) and hypointense (n=3). Conclusion : Diffusion-weighted MR imaging is useful to differentiate Modic type I degenerative spine from infectious spondylitis. On diffusion-weighted images, the high singal intensity of bone marrow suggests infectious spondylitis, whereas the low signal intensity of bone marrow with peripheral focal high signal intensity suggests type I degenerative spine.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.48-63
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was performed to review the recent clinical research trends of the effects of herbal medicine treatment on chronic pancreatitis in China. Methods: We searched for clinical studies about chronic pancreatitis from the China Academic Journal (CAJ) of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from January 1, 2005, to August 1, 2016. Results: Thirty-seven papers were selected from 126 studies. The most commonly used herbal prescriptions included Bupleuri Radix (柴胡), Paeoniae Radix Alba (白芍藥), Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), Scutellariae Radix (黃芩), Aucklandiae Radix (木香), and Rhei Rhizoma (大黃). Qingyi-tang (淸胰湯) was the most frequently used herbal prescription. Clinical symptoms, physicochemical examination, radiological examination, and relapse were used to evaluate the treatments. The effective treatment rate was 77.5-100%, and effectiveness in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group in 15 papers (p<0.05). Conclusions: Herbal medicine treatment has been shown as an effective treatment for chronic pancreatitis. In the future, more scientifically designed clinical studies should be performed to prove the effectiveness of herbal medicine treatment on chronic pancreatitis. These research results can be utilized in other clinical studies and in the treatment of chronic pancreatitis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.391-398
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• 2007

Objectives and Methods : Chronic pancreatitis is an inflammative disease characterized by both persistent and irreversible progression of pancreatic lesions that accompanies complications and pain which hinders everyday life activities. As the alcohol consuming population increases, chronic pancreatitis is increasing consequently. We retrospectively analyzed the medical record of a chronic pancreatitis patient who had been treated with oriental herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion for 40 days. He complained of anorexia, fatigue, indigestion, weight loss, constipation, abdominal discomfort and pain. We prescribed him Daekumeumja, Bojungikgi-tang and other oriental herbal medicines in order to cure these symptoms. Results and Conclusion : For 40 days he was treated with oriental medicine and the symptoms mostly disappeared. When it comes to the therapeutic effects, it could be suggested that oriental medicine has significant effects on improving symptoms and qualities of lives.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.13-17
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• 2018

Methylmalonic acidemia is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by complete (mut0) or partial (mut-) deficiency of methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MUT) or by defects in the synthesis of adenosylcobalamin (cblA, cblB, cblD variant 2). Long term complications of methylmalonic acidemia include tubulointerstitial nephritis with progressive renal failure, intellectual impairment, pancreatitis, and growth failure. We report a case of methylmalonic acidemia in a girl who diagnosed at 6 days after birth. She has developed recurrent metabolic crises with hyperammonemia and metabolic acidosis. In addition, she suffered from the chronic complications including tubulointerstitial nephritis, electrolyte imbalance associated with renal dysfunction, growth failure and fracture of femur shaft. At the age of 10 years, hypercalcemia and severe osteoporosis were noted, and pamidronate therapy was given for two years, which relieved hypercalcemia and osteoporosis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.59-66
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• 2021

Objectives : Forsythiae Fructus has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects in many diseases, and Corydalis Tuber has been used as a pain suppressor in Eastern Asia. However, the protective effects of individual water extract of Forsythiae Fructus (FF) and Corydalis Tuber (CT) and the mixture of FF and CT (FC) on chronic pancreatitis (CP) were not well-investigated. Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of FF, CT, and FC on CP in mice. Methods : To induce CP, cerulein was injected 6 times a day, 4 times a week for 3 weeks. 1 h before the every cerulein injection, 200 mg/kg of FF, CT, or FC was intraperitoneally injected to mice. Histological analysis of pancreas was examined by hematoxylin and eosin stain and collagen deposition was examined by Masson's trichrome stain. Fibrogenic parameters such as α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and fibrotic cytokines such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were also analyzed by immunofluorescence stain and real-time PCR. Results : Histological damages in pancreas were inhibited by pre-treatment of FF or FC but not CT. α-SMA and ECM in pancreas were inhibited by pre-treatment of CT or FC but not FF. Moreover, the expression of TGF-β1 and PDGF in pancreas were inhibited by FF, CT or FC. Conclusions : Our results suggest that FC have protective effect on CP in mice through inhibition of α-SMA, ECM, TGF-β1 and PDGF in pancreas, and these findings could suggest new clinical strategy for CP.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.174-180
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• 2002

Purpose: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is known to decrease hepatic injury by promoting the biliary secretion of retained toxic endogenous bile acids in hepatobiliary diseases complicated by total parenteral nutrition (TPN). However, most studies have focused on treatment for complications after TPN. We investigated the preventive role of early administration of UDCA in TPN-induced hepatobiliary complications by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Methods: Between May 2000 and May 2002, thirteen patients, who were given TPN more than 10 days in the hospital, were assigned randomly to two groups. One was the case group (7 patients) who were given UDCA simultaneously with TPN regimen, and the other, the control group (6 patients) who were given placebo. Their age ranged from 1 day to 13 years. They were affected with diseases impossible for enteral nutrition, such as prematurity, cerebral palsy, chronic diarrhea, anorexia nervosa, pancreatitis, and cyclic vomiting. The duration of TPN ranged from 10 to 70 days. Hematologic parameters including liver function test were measured at regular intervals, and the duration, composition, administration rate, total calorie of TPN were recorded. The serum levels of total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase were compared between groups after cessation of the study. Results: The autoregressive coefficient of the control group was 0.4419 (p=0.0651) in bilirubin, -0.0431 (p=0.7923) in AST, 0.2398 (p=0.2416) in ALT, and 0.2459 (p=0.1922) in alkaline phosphatase by mixed procedure model when the parameters were referred to the case group. Conclusion: The serum level of total bilirubin did not increase in comparison with that of the control group, but statistically insignificant, when both TPN and UDCA were administered simultaneously from the beginning.