• BMB Reports
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2022

Stem cell-based therapy is a promising approach for treating a variety of disorders, including acute brain insults and neurodegenerative diseases. Stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), circular membrane fragments (30 nm-1 ㎛) that are shed from the cell surface, carrying several therapeutic molecules such as proteins and microRNAs. Because EV-based therapy is superior to cell therapy in terms of scalable production, biodistribution, and safety profiles, it can be used to treat brain diseases as an alternative to stem cell therapy. This review presents evidences evaluating the role of stem cell-derived EVs in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson' disease. In addition, stem cell-derived EVs have better profiles in biocompatibility, immunogenicity, and safety than those of small chemical and macromolecules. The advantages and disadvantages of EVs compared with other strategies are discussed. Even though EVs obtained from native stem cells have potential in the treatment of brain diseases, the successful clinical application is limited by the short half-life, limited targeting, rapid clearance after application, and insufficient payload. We discuss the strategies to enhance the efficacy of EV therapeutics. Finally, EV therapies have yet to be approved by the regulatory authorities. Major issues are discussed together with relevant advances in the clinical application of EV therapeutics.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.42.1-42.22
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• 2020

Regenerative medicine using stem cells from various sources are emerging treatment modality in several refractory diseases in veterinary medicine. It is well-known that stem cells can differentiate into specific cell types, self-renew, and regenerate. In addition, the unique immunomodulatory effects of stem cells have made stem cell transplantation a promising option for treating a wide range of disease and injuries. Recently, the medical demands for companion animals have been rapidly increasing, and certain disease conditions require alternative treatment options. In this review, we focused on stem cell application research in companion animals including experimental models, case reports and clinical trials in dogs and cats. The clinical studies and therapeutic protocols were categorized, evaluated and summarized according to the organ systems involved. The results indicate that evidence for the effectiveness of cell-based treatment in specific diseases or organ systems is not yet conclusive. Nonetheless, stem cell therapy may be a realistic treatment option in the near future, therefore, considerable efforts are needed to find optimized cell sources, cell numbers and delivery methods in order to standardize treatment methods and evaluation processes.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.377-387
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• 2022

Benzimidazole anthelmintic agents have been recently repurposed to overcome cancers resistant to conventional therapies. To evaluate the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole on resistant cells, various cell death pathways were investigated in 5-fluorouracil-resistant colorectal cancer cells. The viability of wild-type and 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 colorectal cancer cells was assayed, followed by Western blotting. Flow cytometry assays for cell death and cell cycle was also performed to analyze the anti-cancer effects of benzimidazole. When compared with albendazole, fenbendazole showed higher susceptibility to 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells and was used in subsequent experiments. Flow cytometry revealed that fenbendazole significantly induces apoptosis as well as cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase on both cells. When compared with wild-type SNU-C5 cells, 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells showed reduced autophagy, increased ferroptosis and ferroptosis-augmented apoptosis, and less activation of caspase-8 and p53. These results suggest that fenbendazole may be a potential alternative treatment in 5-fluorouracil-resistant cancer cells, and the anticancer activity of fenbendazole does not require p53 in 5-fluorouracil-resistant SNU-C5 cells.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.11
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• pp.1822-1833
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• 2021

This is a narrative review of various treatment modalities for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a focus on recent updates in radiological treatments, as well as novel treatment concepts related to immune checkpoint inhibitors and combination therapies with locoregional treatments. Interventional radiologists have made efforts toward developing alternative and/or combination treatments for first-line systemic treatment of patients with advanced HCC. Locoregional treatments with or without systemic therapy may be considered in the selected patients. Various treatment modalities for advanced HCC are emerging, and several randomized controlled trials, including those of combination treatments with immunotherapy, are ongoing.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.13-30
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• 2024

Objectives : This study aimed to investigate the history, current status, and regulation of complementary medicine in Australia. Methods : To investigate complementary medicine in Australia, we searched domestic and overseas academic databases, and websites of public and private organizations related to the Australian health care. Results : Complementary medicine consists of numerous services, among which massage and chiropractic care are significantly utilized by Australians. Since 2010, Australian healthcare practitioners, in the field of complementary medicine, have been supervised by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). Those who AHPRA is responsible for managing acupuncturists, chiropractors, and osteopaths. Other professions are regulated by their own respective associations. Not only aforementioned services offered by specialists, but also consumption of oral supplements accounts for considerable portion of complementary medicine in Australia. Complementary medicine products, vitamins, and minerals are managed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). In terms of insurance policy, the reimbursement of complementary medicine expenses in Australia is covered by the public healthcare insurance system, Medicare. Medicare covers acupuncture, chiropractic, and osteopathy services. Other complementary therapies are continuously reviewed to update their coverage under this scheme. Conclusion : In Australia, practitioner qualifications, education standards, and scope of procedures related to complementary medicine are systematically managed through legal regulations of the federal and state governments.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.8.1-8.15
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• 2020

Immune checkpoint blockade targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 has resulted in unprecedented clinical benefit for cancer patients. Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy has become the standard treatment for diverse cancer types as monotherapy or in combination with other anticancer therapies, and its indications are expanding. However, many patients do not benefit from anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy due to primary and/or acquired resistance, which is a major obstacle to broadening the clinical applicability of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. In addition, hyperprogressive disease, an acceleration of tumor growth following anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy, has been proposed as a new response pattern associated with deleterious prognosis. Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy can also cause a unique pattern of adverse events termed immune-related adverse events, sometimes leading to treatment discontinuation and fatal outcomes. Investigations have been carried out to predict and monitor treatment outcomes using peripheral blood as an alternative to tissue biopsy. This review summarizes recent studies utilizing peripheral blood immune cells to predict various outcomes in cancer patients treated with anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.507-516
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• 2023

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection is an essential strategy to decrease the risk of developing gastric cancer. However, the standard triple therapy has negative aspects associated with side effects and the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, alternative therapies are required to enhance the management of H. pylori infection effectively. In this study we examined the effect of emodin on the amelioration of inflammatory response due to H. pylori infection. Our results indicated that emodin treatment effectively decreased the expression of virulence genes, including sabA, vacA, cagL, cagA, sabA, and suppressed the adhesion ability of H. pylori to AGS cells. Emodin has been shown inhibitory effects on the inflammasome pathway through reductions in VacA translocation, lowering ROS stress, cleaved Caspase-1, NLRP3, and cleaved Gasdermin D levels, thereby lowered pyroptosis in infected cells. In summary, our study demonstrated that emodin has the ability to attenuate inflammation caused by H. pylori by modulating virulence gene expression and decreasing VacA translocation. Further study is required to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of emodin in treating H. pylori infection and better understand the underlying mechanisms.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.64-73
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• 2012

Objectives The purpose of this study is to see the prevalence and the patterns of the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in children and adolescent patients with allergies. Methods We analyzed data on 547 children and adolescents (age from 0-18 years old) chosen from all regions throughout the country with allergic diseases, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma and allergic urticaria. We used multiple logistic regression modeling to predict CAM use based on predictor variables. Results The previous 12-months prevalence of CAM usage in overall was 70.7% (atopic dermatitis, 78.1%; allergic rhinitis, 52.9%; asthma, 70.3%; allergic urticaria, 86.3%). Central and southern regions displayed significantly lower rate of using CAM compare to the northern region, and CAM was less likely to be used for the allergic rhinitis patients than the atopic dermatitis patients. The most commonly used CAM type was natural products (62.2%). Top five of the most frequently used CAM modalities were softener water, vitamin, red ginseng, wood bathing and aloe oil. One of the main reasons for trying CAM was from the 'hope for a more effective outcomes in additional to the conventional medicine' (43.9%). The subjective effectiveness of CAM was found to be excellent in 74.0% of the patients, and 70.3% of the parents were willing to recommend CAM therapies to the others. Conclusions CAM is used widely to treat allergic diseases in children and adolescents in Korea. Korean medical doctors should actively discuss the use of CAM with the patients and provide information on the effectiveness and safety of CAM as guide in making choice for usage of CAM.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.113-145
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• 2010

Nowadays, it is surely the quack which stands as one of the most controversial, problematic. the quack has been a consistent target of contested public protection strategies in the past few centuries in many countries. Recently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly utilized and accepted by patients and providers throughout the health care system in the world, most accounts attribute this growing acceptability to the shortcomings of conventional medicine, the appeal of CAM's core beliefs, and the growing body of research indicating that CAM actually works. However, the governments of western countries have called for measures to ensure that the public are protected from incompetent and dangerous practitioners. Common to these controversies has been a suggestion to ban, exclude or limit the medical practice of those deemed to be damaging rather than improving the health of individuals as a measure of public protection. This article describes the experiences of western counties' health care system which is moving in a more pluralistic direction. By examining the ways in which regulatory efforts in the countries have come to address what is invariably described as a growing interest in CAM, this study show how the problem of CAM/quackery today is increasingly located in an ethical field of practitioner competency, qualifications, conduct, responsibility and personal professional development, regardless of the form of therapy in question. Many countries developed a series of measures and strategies to contain the acceptance of CAM groups, such as insisting on scientific evidence of safety and efficacy, resisting integration of CAM with conventional medicine and opposing government support for research and education. In a sense, those countries' movements serve to protect not only patients, but the dominant position of medicine and its allied professions, and to maintain existing jurisdictional boundaries within the healthcare system. The popular support for CAM will require that health professional stakeholders continue to address the challenges this poses, and at the same time protect their position at healthcare system. To cope with the quack, professional body, public sector and health authorities should consider the safety of consumers of healthcare and responding to the demands of the community for CAM therapies as well as the claims of the established healthcare professions. Finally, some implications for future health care were suggested.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.10
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• pp.1103-1108
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• 2009

Purpose: Recently, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been increasingly used in children. Studies have shown that 34% of adults and 11% of children use CAM in the USA and Canada. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and patterns of CAM use in elementary children in Korea. Methods:From July to August 2007, parents of elementary children completed a questionnaire survey at Gwang-ju. In all, 794 questionnaires were analyzed. Results:Of the 794 respondents, 278 answered that their pupils (35%) had experienced CAM. The following types of CAM therapy were used: herbal medicine, 62.5% dietary supplements, 31.2% vitamins, 30.2% and acupuncture, 11.1%. CAM therapies were used for the following diseases: nutritional deficiency, 33.3% atopic dermatitis, 31.3% arthralgia, 31.3% allergic rhinitis, 28.8% obesity, 26.3% and asthma. The following were the motives to use CAM: prevention of diseases (33.5%), dissatisfaction with modern medicine (21.2%), and complementary therapy to modern medicine (20.5%). People gained information about CAM through neighbors (65%) and mass media (21%). Moreover, 83 parents (30%) were satisfied with CAM because of its effectiveness. Conclusion:Many parents have advocated the use of CAM in their children. However, most of them used CAM without any prescription or adequate knowledge. Further studies are required to determine the efficacy of CAM.