• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.585-593
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• 2000

Background : International consensus guidelines have recently been developed to improve the assessment and management of asthma. One of the major recommendation of these guidelines is that asthma severity should be assessed through the recognition of key symptoms, such as nocturnal waking, medication requirements, and objective measurements of lung function. Differential classification of asthma severity would lead to major differences in both long term pharmacological management and the treatment of severe exacerbation. Methods : This study examined the relationship between the symptom score and measurements of $FEV_1$ and PEF when expressed as a percentage of predicted values in asthmatics (n=107). Results : The correlation of $FEV_1$ % with PEFR% was highly significant (r=0.83, p<0.01). However, there was agreement in terms of the classification of asthma severity in 76.6% of the paired measurements of $FEV_1$ % and PEFR%. Agreement in the classification of asthma severity was also found in 57.1% of the paired analysis of $FEV_1$ % and symptom score. 39% of the patients classified as having moderate asthma on the basis of $FEV_1$ % recording would be considered to have severe asthma if symptom score alone were used. Low baseline $FEV_1$ and high bronchial responsiveness were associated with a low degree of perception of airway obstruction. Conclusion : The relationships between the symptom score, PEFR and $FEV_1$ were generally poor. When assessing asthma severity, age, duration, $PC_{20}$, and baseline $FEV_1$ should be considered.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.495-499
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• 2003

Purpose : Eosinophil is one of the important inflammatory cell involved in the airway inflammation in childhood asthma. It has been demonstrated that markers of eosinophil activation, including eosinophil cationic protein or eosinophil protein X(EPX), are increased in childhood asthma. Furthermore, they are related to disease activity and are assumed to be helpful in monitoring the treatment effect as urinary EPX(U-EPX) can be obtained easily and in a noninvasive way in children of all ages. Methods : Twenty-five children(22 male and three female) aged $11.87{\pm}3.82$ years with stable asthma were challenged with methacholine and urine was collected from each child during the following periods; before methacholine challenge test(MCT); 0-3 hr after the end of MCT; 4-7 hr after the end of MCT; and 8-24 hr after the end of MCT. Bronchial reactivity was determined by using Dosimeter( Jeager, Germany) with serially diluted methacholine from 0.05 to 25.0 mg. The $FEV_1$ less than 80% of baseline value were classified into positive MCT. U-EPX was measured with a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay(Pharmacia & Upjohn AB, Uppsala, Sweden). Results were expressed as ${\mu}gEPX/mmol$ creatinine. Results : An early airway response after MCT was associated with an increase of U-EPX excretion for 0-3 hr after methacholine inhalation in comparison with beseline values. Most subjects showed a small increase in U-EPX excretion during late asthmatic response for 4-7 hr, which then decreased to normal level in 8-24 hr. Also, a tendency for a higher increase of U-EPX was associated with a lower threshold of methacholine challenge and a longer duration of asthma. Conclusion : Measurement of EPX in urine is a noninvasive and easy method to assess the severity of airway inflammation in asthmatic children. It may be a helpful index of the events underlying the airway inflammatory responses during nonspecific bronchial challenge, and in monitoring asthma management.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.12 no.10
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• pp.577-585
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• 2014

The cosmetic and stimulating effects of lemon oil have been widely proven in the fields of beauty therapy and psychology therapy. But the lemon oil's proper effects on the anti asthma and the anti inflammation have not rarely been verified. This study was conducted to find out the lemon oil's effects on the anti asthma and anti inflammation in the OVA-induced allergic asthma mice model. OVA-induced allergic asthma mice were divided into 4 groups consisting of normal group, control group, positive control group and experimental group. 0.3% of lemon oil was nebulized to experimental group for 3 weeks on a basis of 3 times per week and 30 min each time. After 6 weeks from the initial experiment, the degree of hyper activeness of respiratory system, the hematological change, the amount of the cytokein in serum, the change of airway organization were evaluated. The results showed that lemon oil controled effectively the hyper activeness of respiratory system and restricted the multiplication of cells in acidophil in terms of statistical significance. It also turned out that lemon oil restricted effectively the infection of airway reaction and the hyper sensitiveness of respiratory system by controlling the creation of histamine(cytokein) and IgE.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.40.1-40.24
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• 2022

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are attractive alternatives to conventional anti-asthmatic drugs for severe asthma. Mechanisms underlying the anti-asthmatic effects of MSCs have not yet been elucidated. This study evaluated the anti-asthmatic effects of intravenously administered MSCs, focusing on macrophages and monocytes. Seven-week-old transgenic (Tg) mice with lung-specific overexpression of IL-13 were used to simulate chronic asthma. MSCs were intravenously administered four days before sampling. We examined changes in immune cell subpopulations, gene expression, and histological phenotypes. IL-13 Tg mice exhibited diverse features of chronic asthma, including severe type 2 inflammation, airway fibrosis, and mucus metaplasia. Intravenous administration of MSCs attenuated these asthmatic features just four days after a single treatment. MSC treatment significantly reduced SiglecF^-CD11c^-CD11b⁺ monocyte-derived macrophages (MoMs) and inhibited the polarization of MoMs into M2 macrophages, especially M2a and M2c. Furthermore, MSCs downregulated the excessive accumulation of Ly6c^- monocytes in the lungs. While an intravenous adoptive transfer of Ly6c^- monocytes promoted the infiltration of MoM and Th2 inflammation, that of MSC-exposed Ly6c^- monocytes did not. Ex vivo Ly6c^- MoMs upregulated M2-related genes, which were reduced by MSC treatment. Molecules secreted by Ly6c^- MoMs from IL-13 Tg mice lungs upregulated the expression of fibrosis-related genes in fibroblasts, which were also suppressed by MSC treatment. In conclusion, intravenously administered MSCs attenuate asthma phenotypes of chronic asthma by modulating macrophages. Identifying M2 macrophage subtypes revealed that exposure to MSCs transforms the phenotype and function of macrophages. We suggest that Ly6c^- monocytes could be a therapeutic target for asthma management.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.133-150
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• 2021

Purpose: The epidemiologic understanding of allergic diseases, including prevalence and risk factors, is needed for allergy management. This study identified the prevalence of and coping patterns for various types of allergies, such as asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR), atopic dermatitis (AD), allergic conjunctivitis (AC), food allergy (FA), and drug allergy (DA), in Nam-gu, Ulsan, one of the most industrialized districts in Korea. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed using a self-report multiple choice questionnaire. The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and other measures were reviewed to develop the questionnaire. Data was collected from May 9th to November 30th of 2018. Descriptive and frequency analyses were performed to apprehend the prevalence of symptoms, diagnostic rates, diagnosis dates, treatment history, and others. Results: By randomized sampling, 9,102 children from 25 nurseries, 25 kindergartens, and 15 elementary schools participated in the study. The prevalence of asthma, AR, AD, AC, FA, and DA were 11.1%, 48.7%, 15.5%, 17.6%, 15.1%, and 2.0%, respectively. The respective rate of ever being diagnosed with asthma, AR, AD, AC, FA, and DA were 4.2%, 38.4%, 25.5%, 23.3%, 9.7%, and 1.1%, respectively. Last year's allergy related school absenteeism rates were 10.8%, 4.1%, and 1.3% for asthma, AR, and AD, respectively. Lastly, 59.2% of the participants considered air pollution as the most challenging factor in allergy management. Conclusion: This study comprehensively investigated the current state of various allergic diseases in Nam-gu, Ulsan. The study's findings are expected to be applied to strategies for decreasing the socioeconomic burden of allergic diseases.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2010

The indoor environmental condition was assessed in houses with allergy (asthma and atopy) patients by use of a fungal detector. The fungal index was calculated from the growth rate of the sensor fungi in a fungal detector encapsulating the spores, Alternaria alternata S-78, Eurotium herbariorum J-183 and Aspergillus penicillioides K-712. Fungal indices were higher in asthma patient's houses than in control houses and Eurotium herbariorum showed the highest growth response among the sensor fungi. Dust mites allergen, Der f1, was also significantly high in allergy patient's houses where fungal indices above 10 were detected. A correlation was observed between the fungal indices and dust mite allergen proliferations in examined houses. Therefore, the fungal index can be a useful tool as an indirect indication for detecting chronic dampness that brings both contaminations by fungi and dust mite.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.146-151
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• 2001

Background and Objectives： Primary benign masses in subglottis and trachea are rare. Symptoms of tracheal obstruction are similar to those of bronchial asthma, chronic bronchitis, as well as malignant lesions. Materials and Methods： Eight patients with benign tracheal masses from April 1992 through June 2001, at otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. department of Seoul national university hospital were studied by retrospective medical record review. Results : They were 3 females and 5 males aged from 0 to 57 years. The pathologies of the intratracheal masses were lipoma. tuberculosis, pleomorphic adenoma, hemangioma(two case), reparative giant cell granuloma, epithelial inclusion cyst and nonspecific lymphadenopathy, respectively. The most characteristic symptoms were dyspnea and stridor, both inspiratory and expiratory. Five of them had been treated as bronchial asthma. Conclusion： For the management of patients with the subglottis and tracheal masses, it is important to establish secure airway. regardless of pathology of the masses. The diagnosis should be considered in any patient with asthma-like manifestation, especially who fails to respond to medical treatment. It is necessary to examine the airway thoroughly, and chest and simple cervical X-ray may contribute to the diagnosis of possible intratracheal mass.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.1045-1050
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• 2007

This study was conducted to help oriental medical prevention program policy for improvement of public health in a local community. We have researched respiratory diseases and demands for oriental medical cold preventing therapy of some residents in Chung-Buk. We have conducted individually face-to-face interviews through standardized questionnaires to 141 residents of two towns (76 in Haeng-jung, 65 in Gu-mi) under the jurisdiction of Chung-won Public Health Center. The senior aged over 65 was 53.9%, which was a little more than the average senior age. The rate which could be diagnosed as a disorder of lung function was 2.97% by Lung Function Test. The participants diagnosed as Asthma accounted for 17.9% by Symptom Based Easy Asthma Diagnosis of Easy Asthma Management(EAM). The participants who had intentions of participating in oriental medical cold preventing therapy accounted for 58.6%. And among the oriental medical cold preventing therapy the preference for acupuncture and moxibustion was 77.1 %, which was much higher than any other thing. It is thought that people still have little understanding about the oriental medical cold preventing therapy. Therefore it is considered that the Korean government should try to establish well-organized cold preventing system on the basis of Oriental Medical theory for a local community.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.815-821
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• 1997

Background : Salmeterol, a new ${\beta}_2$-adrenergic receptor agonist, is a long-acting bronchodilator and benefits patients with asthma who have nocturnal symptoms. We wished to assess the efficacy of inhaled salmeterol ($50{\mu}g$ bid) compared to inhaled salbutamol ($200{\mu}g$ qid) for the treatment of bronchial asthma, particularly nocturnal asthma. Method : We randomly assigned 35 patients (25 female and 10 male patients, 15 to 50 years old) to one of two treatment groups : one group received $50{\mu}g$ of salmeterol twice daily and another did $200{\mu}g$ salbutamol four times per day. And this study was performed as an open-label and the 6 weeks inhalation period. Results : Analysis of symptam score ; Day and night time symptom score showed significant difference between salmeterol and salbutamol Group (p<0.05). Number of days for additional bronchodilator requirements; The number of days and puffs for additional bronchodilator were lower in the salmeterol group in either day and night time (p<0.05). Pulmonary function test ; $FEV_1$ showed significant increase in salmeterol group compared to salbutamol group after 2 and 4 weeks inhalation period. Adverse effects ; We found no evidence of tolerance to the bronchodilating effects of salmeterol, and adverse reactions to all the treatments were infrequent and mild. Conclusion : For the management of bronchial asthma, salmeterol given twice daily is superior to salbutamol given four times daily.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.674-682
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• 2020

Recently, the problem of air pollution has become a global concern due to industrialization and overcrowding. Air pollution can cause various adverse effects on human health, among which respiratory diseases such as asthma, which have been of interest in this study, can be directly affected. Previous studies have used clinical data to identify how air pollutant affect diseases such as asthma based on relatively small samples. This is high likely to result in inconsistent results for each collection samples, and has significant limitations in that research is difficult for anyone other than the medical profession. In this study, the main focus was on predicting the actual asthmatic occurrence, based on data on the atmospheric environment data released by the government and the frequency of asthma outbreaks. First of all, this study verified the significant effects of each air pollutant with a time lag on the outbreak of asthma through the time-lag Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Second, train data built on the basis of verification results are utilized in Deep Learning algorithms, and models optimized for predicting the asthmatic occurrence are designed. The average error rate of the model was about 11.86%, indicating superior performance compared to other machine learning-based algorithms. The proposed model can be used for efficiency in the national insurance system and health budget management, and can also provide efficiency in the deployment and supply of medical personnel in hospitals. And it can also contribute to the promotion of national health through early warning of the risk of outbreak by atmospheric environment for chronic asthma patients.