• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2020

Cognitive impairment is symptoms of dementia, a degenerative brain disease that is drawing attention in a rapidly aging society. This study was conducted to investigate the improvement of cognitive function of Leonurus japonicus on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice and the effect and mechanism of memory recovery. In vivo studies were conducted on mice orally pretreated with L. japonicus in doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg (p.o.) and scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were injected 30 min before the behavioral task. Antioxidant activity was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity evaluated by Ellman's method. In behavior studies showed that L. japonicus has an improved the memory of scopolamine-treated mice in Y-maze, passive avoidance and Morris water maze test. In addition, L. japonicus was also exerted free radical scavenging activity and inhibited acetyl cholinesterase activity. These results suggest that L. japonicus improves short-term and long-term memory in scopolamine-induced memory decline model and prevents scopolamine-induced memory impairments through in reduced oxidative stress and acetyl cholinesterase inhibition effect. Thus, L. japonicus is related to functional medicinal materials for prevention and treatment of human dementia patients.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.202-208
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• 2017

Korea has been running the community oral health program for the elderly, including topical fluoride application and scaling. The aim of this study was to compare the subjective and objective oral health status of 345 participants according to the number of participants in the program and of 37 participants before and after the 5-year program. The survey consisted of an interview questionnaire and oral examinations. Analysis of variance was used to compare the variables of the 345 participants according to the numbers of participants. Paired t-test was used to compare the oral health statuses before and after the 5-year program in 37 subjects. There was no difference in subjective oral health status according to the number of participants in the oral health program in the elderly, including subjective health status, subjective oral health status, satisfaction with oral health, concern about oral health, need of dental treatment, oral pain, tooth sensitivity, subjective periodontal health, and subjective symptoms of periodontitis. The community periodontal index (CPI) of the 1 time participants was significantly higher than that of 3 times, 4 times or 5 times participants in the upper center, lower left, lower center, and lower right areas. There was a significant improvement in CPI from $2.59{\pm}1.14$ to $1.41{\pm}1.54$ (p<0.001) and positive oral behavioral change (daily tooth brushing frequency from $2.27{\pm}0.73$ to $2.54{\pm}0.90$) before and 5 years after the program. However, the program did not prevent tooth loss as the numbers of the remaining teeth significantly reduced from $23.77{\pm}1.84$ to $21.95{\pm}2.03$ over 5 years. We showed that running the community oral health program for the elderly for more than three years might have positive effects on the periodontal health of participants.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.318-323
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• 1997

In order to assess the effect of solar exposure on pulmonary functions and evaporative losses from skin and pulmonary surfaces, in six healthy Sahiwal (S) and six Sahiwal ${\times}$ Holstein ($S{\times}H$) cattle were exposed to direct sun during summer. Breed differences were observed during exposure. Increase in sweating rate was higher in crossbreds (222%) than in Sahiwal (125%). Pre-exposure (ambient temperature, $32.6{\pm}0.85^\circ}C$, solar radiation, $0.9cal\;cm^{-2}min^{-1}$) evaporative loss from skin accounted for about 90% of the losses and remaining losses were contributed by pulmonary surfaces in Sahiwal. The contribution of evaporation through skin increased to 92% (ambient temperature $39.4{\pm}0.68^\circ}C$, solar radiation, $1.35cal\;cm^{-2}min^{-1}$). In crossbreds 80% of the evaporative losses were through skin before exposure which increased to 87% after exposure to solar radiations. Rectal temperature increase was higher in crossbreds ($1.5^{\circ}C$) than in Sahiwal ($0.8^{\circ}C$). With the increase in pulmonary evaporative losses, respiratory frequency increased to 2 fold in Sahiwal and pulmonary ventilation increased 1.6 times the resting value in Sahiwal due to solar exposure. In $S{\times}H$ crossbreds the respiratory frequency increased 3.5 times and pulmonary ventilation increased only to 1.8 times due to decrease in tidal volume. There was about 2 fold increase in alveolar ventilation in both the breeds, the increase in dead space ventilation was more in crossbreds than in Sahiwal. Behavioral symptoms exhibited by animals after exposure were profuse salivation, open mouth panting, tongue protrusion and general restlessness.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.367-377
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the quality of life (QoL) in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their and caregivers and its influencing factors. Methods: A descriptive research design was used. 211 pairs of AD patients and their caregivers were recruited from a neurology outpatient clinic of S medical center in Seoul, Korea. Caregivers completed several structured questionnaires regarding AD patients' QoL as well as their QoL, patients' behavioral and psychological symptoms, patients' activities of daily living (ADL), social support, and quality of relationship between AD patients and caregivers. Cognitive status of AD patients was assessed by the researchers using Korean Mini-Mental State Examination. Results: The scores of QoL were 26.91 for AD patients and 85.62 for their caregivers. In the multiple regression, factors associated with AD patients' QoL were the quality of relationship (${\beta}$=.44), ADL (${\beta}$=-.33), patient's age (${\beta}$=.20), caregivers' QoL (${\beta}$=.20), and patient's gender (${\beta}$=.11). Factors associated with caregivers' QoL were the quality of relationship (${\beta}$=.34), relationship (${\beta}$=.32), patient's QoL (${\beta}$=.26), caregivers' gender (${\beta}$=.18), social support (${\beta}$=.12), and the level of caregivers' education (${\beta}$=.12). Conclusion: To improve the QoL in AD patients and their caregivers, strategies to promote their quality of relationship are needed.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2011

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of late-onset epilepsy combined with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the relationship between certain types of electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities in ASD and associated neuropsychological problems. Methods: Thirty patients diagnosed with ASD in early childhood and later developed clinical seizures were reviewed retrospectively. First, the clinical characteristics, language and behavioral regression, and EEG findings of these late-onset epilepsy patients with ASD were investigated. The patients were then classified into 2 groups according to the severity of the EEG abnormalities in the background rhythm and paroxysmal discharges. In the severe group, EEG showed persistent asymmetry, slow and disorganized background rhythms, and continuous sharp and slow waves during slow sleep (CSWS). Results: Between the two groups, there was no statistically significant difference in mean age (P=0.259), age of epilepsy diagnosis (P=0.237), associated family history (P=0.074), and positive abnormal magnetic resonance image (MRI) findings (P=0.084). The severe EEG group tended to have more neuropsychological problems (P=0.074). The severe group statistically showed more electrographic seizures in EEG (P=0.000). Rett syndrome was correlated with more severe EEG abnormalities (P=0.002). Although formal cognitive function tests were not performed, the parents reported an improvement in neuropsychological function on the follow up checkup according to a parent's questionnaire. Conclusion: Although some ASD patients with late-onset epilepsy showed severe EEG abnormalities, including CSWS, they generally showed an improvement in EEG and clinical symptoms in the longterm follow up. In addition, severe EEG abnormalities tended to be related to the neuropsychological function.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.11
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• pp.337-343
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• 2017

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood. This disorder, in addition to its main symptoms, creates significant difficulties in education, social performance, and personal relationships. Given the importance of rehabilitation for these patients to combat the above issues, the use of virtual reality (VR) technology is helpful. The aim of this study was to highlight the opportunities for VR in the rehabilitation of children with ADHD. This narrative review was conducted by searching for articles in scientific databases and e-Journals, using keywords including VR, children, and ADHD. Various studies have shown that VR capabilities in the rehabilitation of children with ADHD include providing flexibility in accordance with the patients' requirements; removing distractions and creating an effective and safe environment away from real-life dangers; saving time and money; increasing patients' incentives based on their interests; providing suitable tools to perform different behavioral tests and increase ecological validity; facilitating better understanding of individuals' cognitive deficits and improving them; helping therapists with accurate diagnosis, assessment, and rehabilitation; and improving working memory, executive function, and cognitive processes such as attention in these children. Rehabilitation of children with ADHD is based on behavior and physical patterns and is thus suitable for VR interventions. This technology, by simulating and providing a virtual environment for diagnosis, training, monitoring, assessment and treatment, is effective in providing optimal rehabilitation of children with ADHD.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.525-538
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• 2018

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma-induced psychiatric disorder characterized by impaired fear extermination, hyperarousal, and anxiety that may involve the release of monoamines in the fear circuit. The reported pharmacological properties of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) include anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and neuropsychiatric activities. However, the anxiolytic-like effects of TMP and its mechanism of action in PTSD are unclear. This study measured several anxiety-related behavioral responses to examine the effects of TMP on symptoms of anxiety in rats after single prolonged stress (SPS) exposure by reversing the serotonin (5-HT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction. Rats were given TMP (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days after SPS exposure. Administration of TMP significantly reduced grooming behavior, increased the time spent and number of visits to the open arm in the elevated plus maze test, and significantly increased the number of central zone crossings in the open field test. TMP administration significantly reduced the freezing response to contextual fear conditioning and significantly restored the neurochemical abnormalities and the SPS-induced decrease in 5-HT tissue levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The increased 5-HT concentration during TMP treatment might be partially attribute to the tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid mRNA level expression in the hippocampus of rats with PTSD. These findings support a role for reducing the altered serotonergic transmission in rats with PTSD. TMP simultaneously attenuated the HPA axis dysfunction. Therefore, TMP may be useful for developing an agent for treating psychiatric disorders, such those observed in patients with PTSD.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.313-322
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• 2013

Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated administration of the exogenous stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) induces dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and results in depression and anxiety. The current study sought to verify the impact of catechin (CTN) administration on chronic CORT-induced behavioral alterations using the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Additionally, the effects of CTN on central noradrenergic systems were examined by observing changes in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in rat brains. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg CTN (i.p.) 1 h prior to a daily injection of CORT for 21 consecutive days. The activation of the HPA axis in response to the repeated CORT injections was confirmed by measuring serum levels of CORT and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in the hypothalamus. Daily CTN administration significantly decreased immobility in the FST, increased open-arm exploration in the EPM test, and significantly blocked increases of TH expression in the locus coeruleus (LC). It also significantly enhanced the total number of line crossing in the open-field test (OFT), while individual differences in locomotor activities between experimental groups were not observed in the OFT. Taken together, these findings indicate that the administration of CTN prior to high-dose exogenous CORT significantly improves helpless behaviors, possibly by modulating the central noradrenergic system in rats. Therefore, CTN may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression and anxiety disorders.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 1996

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a parkinson-plus syndrome characterized clinically by supranuclear ephthalmoplegia, pseudobulbar palsy, axial rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability and dementia. Presence of dementia and lack of cortical histopathology suggest the derangement of cortical function by pathological changes in subcortical structures in PSP, which is supported by the pattern of behavioral changes and measurement of brain metabolism using positron emission tomography. This study was done to examine whether there are specific changes of regional cerebral perfusion in PSP and whether there is a correlation between severity of motor abnormality and degree of changes in cerebral perfusion. We measured regional cerebral perfusion indices in 5 cortical and 2 subcortical areas in 6 patients with a clinical diagnosis of PSP and 6 healthy age and sex matched controls using $^{99m}Tc$-HMPAO SPECT. Compared with age and sex matched controls, only superior frontal regional perfusion index was significantly decreased in PSP (p<0.05). There was no correlation between the severity of the motor abnormality and any of the regional cerebral perfusion indices (p>0.05). We affirm the previous reports that perfusion in superior frontal cortex is decreased in PSP. Based on our results that there was no correlation between severity of motor abnormality and cerebral perfusion in the superior frontal cortex, nonmotoric symptoms including dementia needs to be looked at whether there is a correlation with the perfusion abnormality in superior frontal cortex.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.61-70
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• 2016

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a hospital-based smoking cessation intervention for increasing continuous abstinence rate from smoking in patients with cerebral infarction. Methods: One-hundred and two smokers with cerebral infarction who decided to quit smoking were enrolled in the smoking cessation intervention from December 2012 to February 2015. The smokers underwent six consecutive times of individual intervention with nurse specialist on smoking cessation including education on behavioral modification, counseling for withdrawal symptoms, and anti-smoking advice over a 12-month period. Results: Among the total participants, the continuous abstinence rate from smoking changed from 79.4% at 1 month to 60.8% at 12 months after discharge. The continuous abstinence rate from smoking after 12 months was 88.5% in participants who completed the entire program (6 times), while 51.3% in participants who did not complete the entire program (${\leq}5$ times) (P=0.001). After adjustment for general and smoking-related characteristics, complete implementation of hospital-based smoking cessation intervention was significantly associated with continuous abstinence from smoking after 12 months (odds ratio: 5.93; 95% confidence interval: 1.45-24.22). Conclusions: The hospital-based smoking cessation intervention might be effective for smoking cessation in patients with cerebral infarction, especially when the intervention was implemented thoroughly.