• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.136-141
• /
• 2012

Purpose : To investigate the pharmacologic modulation of motor task-dependent physiologic responses by antiplatelet agent, clopidogrel, during hand motor tasks in healthy subjects. Materials and Methods: Ten healthy, right-handed subjects underwent three functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) sessions: one before drug administration, one after high dose drug administration and one after reaching drug steady state. For the motor task fMRI, finger flexion-extension movements were performed. Blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast was collected for each subject using a 3.0 T VHi (GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, USA) scanner. $T2^*$-weighted echo planar imaging was used for fMRI acquisition. The fMRI data processing and statistical analyses were carried out using SPM2. Results: Second-level analysis revealed significant increases in the extent of activation in the contralateral motor cortex including primary motor area (M1) after drug administration. The number of activated voxels in motor cortex was 173 without drug administration and the number increased to 1049 for high dose condition and 673 for steady-state condition respectively. However, there was no significant difference in the magnitude of BOLD signal change in terms of peak T value. Conclusion: The current results suggest that cerebral motor activity can be modulated by clopidogrel in healthy subjects and that fMRI is highly senstive to evidence such changes.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.14-22
• /
• 2011

Objective: Nowadays the combined use of herbal extracts and western medicines has been prevalent, but concern about its risk is also increasing. Even though the importance of clinical trials is well recognized, there have been only a few studies on the combined use of herbal extracts and western medicines. This study was aimed to examine which herbal extracts and antiplatelets or anticoagulants are most commonly prescribed together to inpatient ischemicstroke patients and investigate the combined prescription rate. Methods: We investigated the most frequently prescribed herbal extracts from two different sources. First, we chose herbal medicine extracts from 2008 Traditional Korean Medicine Utilization Status. Then, among patients who were admitted to Kyung-Hee Oriental Medical Center diagnosed with ischemic stroke, we found patients who were administered with these herbal medicine extracts and among these patients, we investigated how many were concomitantly administered with antiplatelets or anticoagulants. Second, we chose other herbal medicine extracts that were most often prescribed within Kyung-Hee Oriental Medical Center and found patients who were administered with these herbal medicine extracts, then investigated how many of them were concomitantly administered with specific antiplatelets or anticoagulants. Results: The most commonly prescribed herbal medicine extracts among ischemic stroke patients were Ojeok-san, Bojungikgi-tang, Sochungryong-tang and Samsoeum. About 46 to 69 percent were concomitantly administered with either specific antiplatelets or anticoagulants. Conclusions: The most often prescribed herbal medicine extracts in inpatient ischemic stroke patients are Ojeok-san, Bojungikgi-tang, Sochungryong-tang, and Samsoeum. Among patients who were prescribed with Ojeok-san, Bojungikgi-tang, Sochungryong-tang, Samsoeum, patients who were concomitantly administered with either antiplatelets or anticoagulants were about 46% to 69%.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2016

The object of this study was to obtain accurate information about the co-administration effects of cardiotonic pills on the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol were observed as a process of the comprehensive and integrative medicine. Cilostazol is a synthetic anti-platelet and vasodilator agent developed for the treatment of intermittent claudication resulting from peripheral arterial disease. By increasing intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), cilostazol induces the activation of protein kinase A, which activates endothelial nitric oxide synthase. In order to evaluate the effect of a single or repeated cardiotonic pill dose on the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol, a single dose of pure_distilled water or a colloidal suspension of distilled water and cardiotonic pills were administered to the control and test groups, respectively. After 30 min, both groups were administered cilostazol. Plasma was collected 30min before administration, and 0.25, 0.5, 0.45, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 24h after the end of cilostazol treatment. We then evaluated the pharmacokinetic changes observed with cilostazol between the control and test groups. No statistically significant differences were observed. These findings demonstrated that a single dose of cardiotonic pills did not affect the pharmacokinetics of cilostazol. The results obtained in this study suggest that co-administration of cardiotonic pills and cilostazol may not affect the bioavailability of cilostazol as a potential drug interaction.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.545-550
• /
• 2022

As a result of the rapid entry into an aging society and westernized eating habits, the number of heart disease patients caused by angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, and high blood pressure has increased by more than 100,000 over five years. Heart disease has consistently ranked second in the cause of death in Korea over the past eight years, and medical expenses consumed annually reach 6 trillion won. While various treatments are being proposed for more patients, drug-coated balloon catheters have been developed and gradually commercialized to solve the disadvantages of stent implantation such as restenosis and increased risk of bleeding due to long-term double antiplatelet medication. In Korea, it began to use a drug-coated balloon catheter with the first release of it called "SeQuent Please^Ⓡ (Bibrown Korea)" in 2010. Its demand increased gradually as insurance benefits were applied in 2012. Drug-coated balloon angioplasty is increasing in use not only in Korea but also around the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. Until now, the demand for domestic products is increasing, and if the efficiency in vivo and clinical trials is proven in the future, it is expected to be an effective procedure compared to high-risk stent implantation.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.31 no.12
• /
• pp.1128-1141
• /
• 2021

'Angelica' is one of the most traditionally consumed medicinal herbs around Northeast Asia including Korea for treatments of various diseases or health care purposes like hematopoiesis, blood circulation for women, sedative, analgesic, and a tonic medicine etc. Angelica gigas Nakai, a Korean native species of Angelica, is clearly different from the others in containing a high concentration of active ingredients like pyranocoumarines including decursin, decursinol, and decursinol angelate. These compounds have various kinds of positive effects such as anti-tumor activity including the precaution of neutropenia occurred during anticancer drug administration, improvements of metabolic disorders, menstrual irregularity, impairment of renal function, respiration improvement, cognition-enhancement, anti-inflammatory effect, anti-oxidative effect, enhancing fertility and so forth. Thus it implies incredible potentialities in future development for foods and drugs. However, certain purity-related qualities and/or overdose in food products can cause side effects like toxicities; therefore, their safety profiles should also be considered. This review focuses on the positive and negative effects of three pyranocoumarines in Angelica gigas Nakai and some possibilities and considerations for future food and drug products development.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.12-23
• /
• 1979

This experiment was carrid out to investigate the interaction between boilelr strains and nutrition levels, and the performances of four broiler strains such as Han Hyup 603, Hubbard, Anak and Filch when they were fed by four different nutrition levels (High Protein and energy; HP. HE., Medium Protein and energy; MP. ME., Low Protein ana energy; LP. LE., and low protein and energy; LLP. LLE.). The data used in this study were obtained from a total of 1200 broiler type chicks in Poultry Testing Station, Korean Poultry Association from June 16, to August 11, 1978. Differences of all characters among four nutrition levels were significant except viability and carcass rate. HP. HE and MP. ME treatments showed nearly the same performances in body weight, feed efficiency and point, spread but they were significantly superior to those of LP. LE and LLP. LLE. There were not significant differences among four strains in feed efficiency and viability but other characters, body weight, point spread and carcass rate were observed that the performance of the best strain B was significantly superior to strain D but it was not recognized significance compared with strain A, C in tile result of statisticel analysis. In the interaction between strains and nutrition levels, body weight at high and levels showed significantly differences but at low and low nutrition levels were nearly same among four strains. Therefore this study demonstrated that comparision of body weights between strains should be performed at medium nutrition level or above. Also point spread calculated as index of body weight and feed efficiency was observed that strain B at low nutrition level is excellently higher than other strains and there were little differences at low nutrition level among all strains. It was found that ]it tie differences between performances of high arid medium levels seemed to be as the reason of high fat addition for energy source to high mutrition feed, and in general superior strain showed good performance at all the nutrition levels in$.$all characters but in body weight and point spread there were significantly different responses with different nutrition level, The most superior strain B among four strains earned the most profit per bird, Although performances of high and medium nutrition levels were nearly the same, medium nutrition level also showed the most profit because the feed cost of high nutrition level was higher than that of medium nutrition level.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.432-440
• /
• 2000

Background : The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among the elderly is increasing in Korea and in the developed countries due to the increased elderly population and their predispositions to chronic disease, poverty and decreased immunity. To define the characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly, we evaluated the clinical spectrum of pulmonary tuberculosis. Method : We analyzed 92 patients retrospectively that were diagnosed as active pulmonary tuberculosis over the age of 65. The analysis involved patient's profiles, clinical manifestations, coexisting diseases, diagnostic methods, anti-TB medications and their side effects, and treatment outcomes. Results : The results were as follows : - 1) The ratio of male to female was 2.1:1(62:30 cases) 2) Chief complaints were a cough (47.8%), dyspnea (40.2%), sputum (38.0%), chest pain (12.0%), anorexia (10.9%), and fever (9.8%). 3) 38 (41.3%) of cases had a past history of pulmonary tuberculosis. 4) The coexisting diseases were : -COPD, 25 cases (27.2%); pneumonia, 17 cases (18.5%); DM. 13 cases (14.1%); and malignancy, 10 cases (10.9%). 5) The positivity of Mantoux test (5 TU, PPD-S) was 82.7%. 6) Pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed using the following methods : sputum AFB (Acid Fast Bacillus) smear 42.4%, sputum TB (M. Tuberculosis) culture 15.2%, sputum TB PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) 10.9%, bronchial washing AFB smear 2.1%, chest radiology only 25.0%. 7) Locations of radiologic lesions were RULF, 50 cases; RLLF, 50 cases, mostly, then LLLF ; 26 cases were leastly involved. 8) The coexisting tuberculosis were endobronchial TB(8.7%), TB pleurisy(7.6%) miliary TB(5.4%), intestinal TB(2.2%), renal TB(1.1%) 9) The proportion of treatment regimen with 1st line drug and 2nd line drug were 92.3% and 7.6%, respectively. 10) The outcome of treatment were as follows : cured 31.5%, expired 13.0%, no return 47.8%, follow-up now 7.6%. Conclusion : The pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly has atypical patterns with chronic coexisting diseases. Therefore, the possibility of pulmonary tuberculosis should be considered in elderly patients with pulmonary symptoms.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.37 no.2
• /
• pp.109-116
• /
• 2014

Many studies have suggested that in the era of Drug-Eluting Stents(DES) are one of the causes of In-Stent Restenosis(ISR) of Stent Fracture(SF). The present study sought to evaluate clinical characteristics of patients with stent fracture after successful DES implantation. The 4,701 patients were selected for analysis who underwent a follow-up coronary angiography irrespective of ischemic symptoms. The overall incidence of SF was 32 patients(male:female=19:13, Av. age $62.44{\pm}9.8$year, 0.68%). Fractures of Sirolimus-Eluting Stents(SES), Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents(PES), Biolimus A9-Eluting Stents(BES), Everolimus-Eluting Etents(EES), Endothelial Progenitor Cell Capture Stent(EPC) and Zotarolimus-Eluting Stents(ZES) are accounted for 19(59.4%), 9(28.1%), 2(6.3%), 1(3.1%), 1(3.1%) and 0(0%) respectively. SF developed in the left Anterior Dscending(LAD) artery in 16 patients(50%) and in complex(type B2, C) lesions in 25 patients(69.4%). Ten patients were treated with heterogenous DES, the rest being treated with either homogenous DES(3 patients), plain old balloon angioplasty(3 patients), or conservative medical treatment(17 patients). None of the patients with SF suffered from cardiac death during a follow-up period of $32.9{\pm}12.4$ months. The overall rate of DES fracture over up to 3.7 years of follow-up was 0.68% with higher incidence in SES than in PES. SF frequently occurred in the LAD artery and in complex lesions. Of the patients with SF, coronary intervention was performed only when the binary restenosis lesion was significant. During the follow-up, patients with SF have continued on combination antiplatelet therapy. There is a very low rate of major adverse cardiac events(post-detection of SF), especially cardiac death associated with SF.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.97-107
• /
• 1999

Background: This study was designed to develop a Korean version of the heparin-coated vascular bypass shunt by using a physical dispersing technique. The safety and effectiveness of the thrombo-resistant shunt were tested in experimental animals. Material and Method: A bypass shunt model was constructed on the descending thoracic aorta of 21 adult mongrel dogs(17.5-25 kg). The animals were divided into groups of no-treatment(CONTROL group; n=3), no-treatment with systemic heparinization(HEPARIN group; n=6), Gott heparin shunt (GOTT group; n=6), or Korean heparin shunt(KIST group; n=6). Parameters observed were complete blood cell counts, coagulation profiles, kidney and liver function(BUN/Cr and AST/ ALT), and surface scanning electron microscope(SSEM) findings. Blood was sampled from the aortic blood distal to the shunt and was compared before the bypass and at 2 hours after the bypass. Result: There were no differences between the groups before the bypass. At bypass 2 hours, platelet level increased in the HEPARIN and GOTT groups(p<0.05), but there were no differences between the groups. Changes in other blood cell counts were insignificant between the groups. Activated clotting time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and thrombin time were prolonged in the HEPARIN group(p<0.05) and differences between the groups were significant(p<0.005). Prothrombin time increased in the GOTT group(p<0.05) without having any differences between the groups. Changes in fibrinogen level were insignificant between the groups. Antithrombin III levels were increased in the HEPARIN and KIST groups(p<0.05), and the inter-group differences were also significant(p<0.05). Protein C level decreased in the HEPARIN group(p<0.05) without having any differences between the groups. BUN levels increased in all groups, especially in the HEPARIN and KIST groups(p<0.05), but there were no differences between the groups. Changes of Cr, AST, and ALT levels were insignificant between the groups. SSEM findings revealed severe aggregation of platelets and other cellular elements in the CONTROL group, and the HEPARIN group showed more adherence of the cellular elements than the GOTT or KIST group. Conclusion: Above results show that the heparin-coated bypass shunts(either GOTT or KIST) can suppress thrombus formation on the surface without inducing bleeding tendencies, while systemic heparinization(HEPARIN) may not be able to block activation of the coagulation system on the surface in contact with foreign materials but increases the bleeding tendencies. We also conclude that the thrombo-resistant effects of the Korean version of heparin shunt(KIST) are similar to those of the commercialized heparin shunt(GOTT).

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.59-68
• /
• 1998

Digital hearing aids offer many advantages over conventional analog hearing aids. With the advent of high speed digital signal processing chips, new digital techniques have been introduced to digital hearing aids. In addition, the evaluation of new ideas in hearing aids is necessarily accompanied by intensive subject-based clinical tests which requires much time and cost. In this paper, we present an objective method to evaluate and predict the performance of hearing aid systems without the help of such subject-based tests. In the hearing impairment simulation(HIS) algorithm, a sensorineural hearing impairment medel is established from auditory test data of the impaired subject being simulated. Also, the nonlinear behavior of the loudness recruitment is defined using hearing loss functions generated from the measurements. To transform the natural input sound into the impaired one, a frequency sampling filter is designed. The filter is continuously refreshed with the level-dependent frequency response function provided by the impairment model. To assess the performance, the HIS algorithm was implemented in real-time using a floating-point DSP. Signals processed with the real-time system were presented to normal subjects and their auditory data modified by the system was measured. The sensorineural hearing impairment was simulated and tested. The threshold of hearing and the speech discrimination tests exhibited the efficiency of the system in its use for the hearing impairment simulation. Using the HIS system we evaluated three typical hearing aid algorithms.