• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.163-171
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• 2016

Steroid hormone, glucocorticoid (GC) has strong anti-inflammatory effects by binding to glucocorticoid receptor (GR) inhibiting the expression of inflammatory genes. Therefore, agents that activate the GR have been used for the treatment of dermatitis. However, the agents have side effects such as skin barrier dysfunction and dermal atrophy, inducing skin damage as well as skin aging. It has been reported that GC is activated by 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 ($11{\beta}$-HSD1) to increase the activity of the GR. This study aimed to identify natural materials that can effectively inhibit dexamethasone. We found that alpinetin isolated from Alpinia katsumadai extract has a significant effect on this. Alpinetin not only inhibited $11{\beta}$-HSD1 expression, but also suppressed the increase of phosphorylated GR and cortisol concentration. Alpinetin also recovered collagen expression in dexamethasone-treated dermal fibroblasts, and the reduction of dermal thickness in dexamethasnone-treated 3D skin model. These results suggest that alpinetin prevents skin aging induced by the increase of $11{\beta}$-HSD1 expression.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.562-570
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors influencing the quality of sleep in breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy in the outpatient settings. The data were collected from 203 patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy in the outpatient settings at one tertiary hospital in B City. Stress, fatigue and depression were negatively correlated with quality of sleep (r=-.369, p=.001; r=-.565, p=.001; r=-.526, p=.001, respectively). Fatigue(${\beta}=-.387$, p<.001) was one of the biggest impact factors on quality of sleep which explained 31.6% of the variance of the sleep quality, followed by the experience of sleep disturbances prior to the diagnosis of breast cancer(${\beta}=-.178$, p<.002) and depression(${\beta}=-.231$, p<.004). In total, all of the antecedent variables explained significantly 37.4% of the variance of the sleep quality. Thus, in order to improve the quality of sleep, integrative nursing interventions need to be developed to reduce fatigue and depression among them, including an proactive system to screen out the patients with the experience of sleep disturbances prior to the diagnosis with breast cancer and to provide adequate pharmacological and/or non-pharmacological sleep interventions prior to the chemotherapy.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1386-1395
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• 2018

Over recent years, it has become evident that the central nervous system bidirectionally interacts with the gastrointestinal tract along the gut-brain axis. A series of preclinical studies indicate that the gut microbiota can modulate central nervous system function through a multitude of physiological functions. Polyphenols are ubiquitous plant chemicals included in foods such as fruits, vegetables, tea, coffee and wine, and their consumption is directly responsible for beneficial health effects due to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, anticancer, vasodilating, and prebiotic-like effects. There is increasing evidence that dietary polyphenol can contribute to beneficial effects in neuronal protection acting against oxidative stress and inflammatory injury as well as in cognitive functions. In this paper, we overview the neuroprotective role of dietary polyphenols especially focusing on the neuroinflammation and neurovascular function by interaction with the gut microbiome. Polyphenol metabolites could directly act as neurotransmitters crossing the blood-brain barrier and modulating the cerebrovascular system or indirectly modulating gut microbiota. In addition, evidence suggests that dietary polyphenols are effective in preventing and managing neurological disorders, such as age-related cognitive decline and neurodegeneration, through a multitude of physiological functions. Dietary polyphenols are increasingly envisaged as a potential nutraceuticals in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders, because they possess the ability to reduce neuroinflammation, to improve memory and cognitive function and to modulate the gut microbiota.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.58-67
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based Body-Mind Intervention Program using marine resources on the improvement of quality of sleep, mood symptoms, and cognitive function in Korean female emotional labor workers. Methods: Twelve female workers who experienced excess emotional labor participated at the training camp program for five days in Danghangpo-ocean park, Goseung-gun, Gyeongnam Province in South Korea. Participant sleep quality, mood symptoms, and cognitive functioning before, after, and 1.5 months later were evaluated and analyzed. Results: After participating in the marine resource program, participants reported significantly decreased sleep latency. Global sleep quality, cognitive functions (attention, flexibility, and inhibition control), and mood states, including depression, tension, anger, fatigue, were also improved. These effects were generally maintained after 1. 5 months (PSQI t = 2.63, p = 0.02 ; HAM-D t = 5.92, p < 0.001). Conclusion: A Body-Mind Intervention Program using marine resources was effective in relaxing emotion-related tension and improving cognitive function. To advance this pilot study, it is necessary to carry out further research to investigate the use of marine resources in mental health interventions.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.251-263
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to review the clinical research trends in the treatment of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Korean medicine (KM). Methods: We searched MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Google Scholar and five Korean databases through May 2019, for studies on KM to treat PTSD. Clinical research that conducted KM treatment of PTSD patients were included. Two researchers independently conducted study selection and data extraction process. Results: Totally, eight studies were included in this review. Types of traumatic events that patients experienced included physical violence/threatening, traffic accidents, sexual violence and personal tragic events. KM interventions performed included acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, physical therapy, and KM-based psychotherapy. Treatment duration varied from two days to more than five months. Follow-up began at least one week to three months after the end of treatments. It was reported that the major psychological and/or somatic symptoms of PTSD, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, and musculoskeletal pain, subjectively improved, as well as other objective outcomes: Impact Event Scale-Revised Korean version (IES-R-K), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Hwabyung Symptoms/characters, Electroencephalography (EEG) change, etc. Statistical studies were conducted in three studies only. Outcomes such as Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), BDI, and IES-R-K showed statistically significant improvement after KM treatments. There was no study reporting adverse events during or after the interventions. Conclusions: According to this review, diverse types of KM treatments have been used among PTSD patients in eight studies. The KM treatments effectively improved psychological and somatic symptoms of PTSD patients. However, the lack of high quality research as well as the lack of standardization of KM treatments for PTSD are limitations. Further methodologically robust clinical trials should be performed, and the standardization of KM treatments for PTSD should be sought.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.977-985
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• 2019

Aster yomena (Kitam.) Honda is an edible vegetable and perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family, and has been used for a long time for the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Although leaf extracts of A. yomena are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, accurate efficacy assessments are still inadequate. In this study, we investigated whether the antioxidant efficacy of ethanol extract of A. yomena leaf (EEAY) is correlated with the anti-inflammatory effect in RAW 264.7 macrophages. The results showed that EEAY significantly inhibited the hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$)-induced growth inhibition in RAW 264.7 cells, which was associated with increased expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2 (Nrf2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). EEAY pretreatment also effectively prevented $H_2O_2$-induced reactive oxygen species generation and apoptosis through inhibition of caspase-3 activation and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase degradation. Additionally, EEAY significantly increased the expression and production of interleukin-10, a representative anti-inflammatory cytokine, which was associated with increased expression of toll-like receptor 4 and myeloid differentiation factor 88 at transcriptional and translational levels. Furthermore, the increased production of nitric oxide (NO) by lipopolysaccharide was markedly abolished under the condition of EEAY pretreatment, and the inhibitory effect of NO production by EEAY was further increased by hemin, an HO-1 inducer. Overall, our results suggest that EEAY is able to activate the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway to protect RAW 264.7 macrophages from oxidative and inflammatory stress.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.191-197
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• 2019

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that mainly affects motor system with clinical features such as bradykinesia, rigidity, tremor and abnormal posture. PD is characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, which is associated with accumulation of oxidative stress and dysregulation of intracellular signaling pathway. Quercetin-3-O-glucuronide (Q3GA), a major metabolite of quercetin, has been reported to have neuroprotective effects. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effect of Q3GA against 1-methyl-4-phenyl pyridinium ($MPP^+$)-induced neurotoxicity of PD and the underlying molecular mechanisms in SH-SY5Y cells. MTT and LDH assay showed that Q3GA significantly decreased $MPP^+$-induced cell death, which is accompanied by a reduction in poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage. Furthermore, it attenuated $MPP^+$-induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the reduction of Bax/ Bcl-2 ratio. Moreover, Q3GA significantly increased the phosphorylation of Akt and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB), but it has no effects on the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). Taken together, these results demonstrate that Q3GA significantly attenuates $MPP^+$-induced neurotoxicity through ROS reduction and Akt/CREB signaling pathway in SH-SY5Y cells. Our findings suggest that Q3GA might be one of the potential candidates for the prevention and/or treatment of PD.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.589-598
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• 2019

This study was conducted to build a structural equation model explaining factors that affect hemodialysis patients' quality of life to test the goodness of fit of the model and identify directly and indirectly significant paths. To accomplish this, 230 patients receiving hemodialysis registered at study hospitals in G Metropolitan City and M City were randomly selected, and 201 were used in the final analysis. Data were collected using a self reporting questionnaire from February 1 to March 31, 2014. SPSS WIN 18.0 was used for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis of the general characteristics and for reliability analysis of the research tools. In addition, AMOS 18.0 was used for confirmatory factor analysis of latent variables, to determine the goodness of fit of the hypothetic model, and hypotheses testing. The results of this study were as follows: the fit of the modified model was 41.32, GFI = .96, AGFI = .92, RMR = .04, NFI = .96, CFI = .91 and TLI = .95. Twelve out of the 22 research hypotheses that were improved and improved were statistically significant. The results indicated that hemodialysis patients' quality of life was influenced directly by self-efficacy, depression, and self-care behavior, and indirectly by sleep disturbance, stress, fatigue, and family support. These variables explained 58.6% of the variation in quality of life. Overall, these findings suggest that nursing interventions for hemodialysis patients require strategies for managing patient depression and for increasing self-efficacy and self-care behavior to improve quality of life.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.261-270
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• 2021

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of sleep duration on stress and depression in college students. The results obtained will be used as a foundational framework for fostering a healthy sleep culture among college students and for formulating measures to improve the quality of their sleep. Ultimately, we intend to produce a publicity and educational material. Methods : For this study, a survey involving 100 college students was conducted, after which data based on a final total of 95 respondents were analyzed. The information on stress and depression were first analyzed in terms of general characteristics and then organized based on the data collected to investigate the effects of sleep duration on stress and depression. The participants were divided into the following groups: "less than 6 hours," "6 to 7 hours," and "7 to 8 hours." BEPSI-K (Brief encounter psychosocial instrument-Korean) was used for stress evaluation, while K-CESD-R (Korean version of center for epidemiologic studies depression scale-revised) was utilized for depression evaluation. Results : First, according to sleep duration, the BEPSI-K scores showed a statistically significant difference in each group (p<.01). In the post-hoc test, there was a difference among the "less than 6 hours" group, the "7 to 8 hours" group. A statistically significant difference was noted (p<.01). In addition, sleep duration had a statistically significant effect on the negative (-) direction of the BEPSI-K (p<.01). Second, the K-CESD-R score according to sleep duration showed a statistically significant difference in each group (p<.01). Notably, in the post-hoc test, the "less than 6 hours" group differed from the "6 to 7 hours" group, "7 to 8 hours" group. A statistically significant difference was noted (p<.01). In addition, sleep duration had a statistically significant effect on the negative (-) direction of the K-CESD-R (p<.01). Third, for the correlation between sleep duration and stress and depression, a negative (-) correlation was found between sleep duration and BEPSI-K and K-CESD-R. Meanwhile, a positive (+) correlation was found between BEPSI-K and K-CESD-R. Conclusion : Based on the findings of this study, the sleep duration of college students has an effect on stress and depression. The results of this study can be used as a foundational framework in formulating a plan for improving the quality of sleep of college students.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.361-369
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• 2020

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common and multifactorial inflammatory skin disease that is characterized by skin barrier dysfunction, inflammation, and chronic pruritus. AD has a complex etiology that includes genetic, immunological, and environmental factors that cause skin barrier abnormalities and immune dysfunctions. Sophora flavescens (SF) has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, but little research has been conducted on its anti-AD efficacy. In this study, we evaluated the effect of SF extract (SFE) on improving skin barrier function and immune abnormalities, which are the main symptoms of AD. SFE has the capacity to enhance the formation of cornified envelope (CE) that plays an important role in the skin barrier function. In addition, it was confirmed that SFE increased the expression of hyaluronic acid related to skin moisture. The effect of SFE against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), which increases specifically in AD lesions, confirmed that SFE inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by S. aureus. Furthermore, SFE was shown to inhibit the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines induced by substance P (SP), the cause of skin neurogenic inflammation. These results demonstrate that SFE could be one of potential candidate agent for the treatment of AD by improving the skin barrier function and immune responses.