• Asian Oncology Nursing
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.186-193
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this narrative study was to understand how family caregivers interpreted themselves life during caring for dying patients with gliobalstoma, and how they integrated these experiences into their personal biographies. Methods: Three family caregivers were recruited for the study. Data were collected through a series of audio-taped unstructured interviews and conversations with participants. The interviews and observation were conducted between October and November, 2011. Data were analyzed using psychosocial analytical methods that combined case based, in-depth staged analysis of narratives. Results: The life experiences of the family caregivers with a dying family member were summarized as, in their own voices, 'the repetition of gliobalstoma,' 'a smart patient,' 'being obsessed with rehabilitation treatment,' 'the frustration from nothing but just looking at the suffering of the patient,' and 'a stubborn son'. Conclusion: Caregiving was characterised by various roles and life changes from the moment of diagnosis. Family caregivers of brain tumor reported experiences similar to those described by caregivers of people with other cancers. What differed for this group was the rapidity of change and the need for immediate information and support to assist with caring for a person with high-grade glioma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.309-314
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• 2013

Aim: Brain tumors almost universally have fatal outcomes; new therapeutics are desperately needed and will only come from improved understandins of glioma biology. Methods: Exosomes are endosomally derived 30~100 nm membranous vesicles released from many cell types. Examples from GL26 cells were here purified using density gradient ultracentrifugation and monitored for effects on GL26 tumor growth in C57BL/6j mice (H-2b). Lactate dehydrogenase release assays were used to detect the cytotoxic activity of CD8+T and NK cells. Percentages of immune cells producing intracellular cytokines were analyzed by FACS. Results: In this study, exosomes from murine-derived GL26 cells significantly promoted in vivo tumor growth in GL26-bearing B6 mice. Then we further analyzed the effects of the GL26 cells-derived exosomes on immune cells including CD8+T, CD4+T and NK cells. Inhibition of CD8+T cell cytotoxic activity was demonstrated by CD8+T cell depletion assays in vivo and LDH release assays in vitro. The treatment of mice with exosomes also led to a reduction in the percentages of CD8+T cells in splenocytes as determined by FACS analysis. Key features of CD8+T cell activity were inhibited, including release of IFN-gamma and granzyme B. There were no effects of exosomes on CD4+T cells and NK cells. Conclusion: Based on our data, for the first time we demonstrated that exosomes from murine derived GL26 cells promote the tumor growth by inhibition of CD8+T cells in vivo and thus may be a potential therapeutic target.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.969-973
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• 2009

Samul-tang (SMT), which was firstly described in (Hwajegukbang) Song dynasty, is well known remedy for blood diseases in Oriental medicine. SMT is traditional herbal-remedy composed of Rehmanniae Radix Preparat, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Cnidii Rhizoma and Paeoniae Radix. Recently, SMT has known to have anti-oxidative action. However, the reports on anti-oxidantic action in neuroglial cells are rare. In addition, the exact mechanisms are unclear. For these reasons, we investigated the protective effects of SMT on cell death induced by oxidative stress using C6 glioma cells. In our results, SMT accelerated proliferation rates of C6 cells in vitro. In addition, levels of LDH release induced by oxidative stress were lowered by treatment with SMT. Finally, protective effects on cell death induced by chemicals such as paraquat and rotenone were observed. In conclusion, these results suggest the possibility to protect brain cell or neuronal cell from damage induced by oxidative stress.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2012

Anthocyanins have received growing attention as dietary antioxidants for the prevention of oxidative damage. Astrocytes, which are specialized glial cells, exert numerous essential, complex functions in both healthy and diseased central nervous system (CNS) through a process known as reactive astrogilosis. Therefore, the maintenance of glial cell viability may be important because of its role as a key modulator of neuropathological events. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of anthocyanin on the survival of glial cells exposed to oxidative stress. Our results demonstrated that anthocyanin extracts from black soybean increased survival of U87 glioma cells in a dose dependent manner upon oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD), accompanied by decrease levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). While treatment cells with anthocyanin extracts or OGD stress individually activated autophagy induction, the effect was signifi cantly augmented by pretreatment cells with anthocyanin extracts prior to OGD. The contribution of autophagy induction to the protective effects of anthocyanin was verifi ed by the observation that silencing the Atg5 expression, an essential regulator of autophagy induction, reversed the cytoprotective effect of anthocyanin extracts against OGD stress. Treatment of U87 cells with rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, increased cell survival upon OGD stress comparable to anthocyanin, indicating that autophagy functions as a survival mechanism against oxidative stress-induced cytotoxicity in glial cells. Our results, therefore, provide a rationale for the use of anthocyanin as a preventive agent for brain dysfunction caused by oxidative damage, such as a stroke.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.128-138
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• 2002

1,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU, Carmustine)-loaded poly(D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA, lactide/glycolide mole ratio 75 : 25) microparticles were prepared and fabricated into wafers in an attempt to study the possibility for the treatment of malignant glioma by direct inserting the wafers to the tumor or the cavity remained after surgical resection of the tumor. SEM observation of the microparticles prepared by spray drying method revealed that the microparticles were spherical, i. e. microspheres. Significant reduction of the crystallinity of BCNU encapsulated in PLGA was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry analyses of the BCNU-loaded PLGA microparticles. Release pattern of BCNU was dependent on several preparation parameters, such as the molecular weight and concentration of PLGA, and initial BCNU loading amount, etc. In vitro release of BCNU was prolonged over 8 weeks with close to zero-order release pattern after initial burst effect. Observations of morphological change of wafers and pH change of release media during release test period confirmed that hydration and degradation of PLGA would be facilitated with an increase of BCNU-loading amount.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.670-679
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• 2002

1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU, carmustine) is one of the effective chemotherapeutic agents which has been used clinically for treating malignant glioma. Poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA, molecular weight: 20000 g/mole. mole ratio of lactide to glycolide 75 : 15) is a well known biodegradable polymer used as a drug carrier for drug delivery system. In this study, we investigated the BCNU release behaviour of BCNU-loaded PLGA wafers containing poly (N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) or polyethyleneoxide (PEO) and the effect of hydrophilic polymers incoporated in the wafers. BCNU-loaded PLGA microparticles with or without hydrophilic polymers were prepared by a spray drying method and fabricated into wafers by direct compression. Encapsulation efficiency of BCNU-loaded PLGA microparticles containing PVP and PEO was 85 ∼ 97% and crystallinity of BCNU encapsulated in PLGA decreased significantly initial release amount and release rate of BCNU increased with the increasing PVP or PEO amount. Morphological change and mass loss of wafers during the release test were confirmed that hydration and degradation of PLGA would be facilitated with an increase of hydrophilic polymers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.79 no.5
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• pp.294-301
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• 2018

Subependymomas are rare benign central nervous system tumor which account of 0.7% of all intracranial tumors. Subependymomas show characteristic MR findings according to their location. However, sometimes atypical findings could be found. In addition, subependymomas can occur very rarely in the spinal cord. We report two cases of pathologically confirmed subependymoma, one of which shows atypical appearances in spite of their intraventicular location and the other of which shows rare case of spinal intramedullary subependymoma. We review the clinical symptoms and radiologic findings of two cases.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.62-65
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• 2023

Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine whether the glucose loading method (GLM) is useful in the differentiation of cerebral gliomas by comparing it with fasting images. Materials and Methods The patients were 70 people diagnosed with cerebral gliomas, and the equipment was Discovery 710 (GE Healthcare, MI, USA). All patients fasted for more than 6 hours, and fasting images and GLM were performed under the same imaging conditions, and the examination interval was 1 to 14 days. GLM administered 250 ㎖ of 10% glucose solution prior to radiopharmaceutical injection. SUVmax of cerebral glioma and SUVmean of cerebral cortex were measured and then compared and analyzed by tumor-to-normal brain cortex ratio (TNR). Statistical analysis confirmed the difference between the two images with an independent-sample t-test. Results The averages of GLM and fasting TNR were 1.26 and 1.09, respectively, which were 15.6% higher in GLM. In low-grade, the difference in TNR was insignificant at 4%, but in high-grade, 23%, GLM was high. There was a statistically significant difference between the two images (P=0.008), but there was no statistically significant difference in TNR in the low grade (P=0.473), and there was a very significant difference in the high grade (P=0.005). Conclusion GLM increased TNR for cerebral gliomas. In particular, it was found that the TNR increased more in the high grade. Therefore, GLM is considered to be useful for the differentiation of high-grade gliomas.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.325-334
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• 2009

Purpose : This study was conducted to assess how effective the permeability ratio and relative cerebral blood volume ratio are to tumor through perfusion MRI by measuring and reflecting the grade assessment and differential diagnosis and the permeability and relative cerebral blood volume of contrast media plunged from blood vessel into organ due to breakdown of blood-brain barrier in cerebral. Subject and Method : Subject of study was 29 patients whose diagnosis were confirmed by biopsy after surgery and 550 (11 slice$\times$50 image) perfusion MRI were used to make image of relative cerebral blood volume with the program furnished on instrument. The other method was to transmit to private computer and the image analysis was made additionally by making image of relative cerebral blood volume-reformulated singular value decomposition, rCBV-rSVD and permeability using IDL.6.2. In addition, Kruskal-wallis test tonggyein non numerical average by a comparative analysis of brain tumors Results : The rCBV ratio (Functool PF; GE Medical Systems and IDL 6.2 program by analysis) and permeability ratio of tumors were as follows; high grade glioma(n=4), (14.75, 19.25) 13.13. low grade astrocytoma(n=5) (14.80, 15.90) 11.60, glioblastoma(n=5) (10.90, 18.60), 22.00, metastasis(n=6) (11.00, 15.08). 22.33. meningioma(n=6) (18.58, 7.67), 5.58. oliogodendroglioma(n=3) (23.33, 16.33, 15.67. Conclusion : It was not easy to classify the grade with the relative cerebral blood volume ratio measured by using the relative cerebral blood image by type of tumors, however, permeability ratio measured by permeability image revealed that the higher the grade of tumor, the higher the measured permeability ratio, showing the assessment of tumor grade is more effective to differential diagnosis.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2020

Brain tumors or gliomas are fatal cancer species with high recurrence rates due to their strong invasiveness. Therefore, the goal of surgery is complete tumor resection. However, the surgery is difficult to distinguish the border because tumors and blood vessels have the same color tone and shape. The fluorescein sodium is used as a fluorescence contrast agent for boundary separation. When the external light source is irradiated, yellow fluorescence is expressed in the tumor, which helps distinguish between blood vessels and tumor boundaries. But, the fluorescence expression of fluorescence sodium depends on the concentration of fluorescein sodium and such analytical data is insufficient. The unclear fluorescence can obscure the boundaries between blood vessels and tumors. In addition, reduce the efficiency of fluorescence sodium use. This paper proposes a protocol of concentration range for fluorescence expression conditions. Fluorescent expression was observed using a near-infrared (NIR) color camera with corresponding dilution using normal saline in 1 ml microtube. The flunoresence emission density range is 1.00 mM to 0.15 mM. The fluorescence emission begin to 1.00 mM and the 0.15 mM discolor. The discolor is difficult to fluorescence emission condition obserbation. Thus, the maximum density range of the bright fluoresecein is 0.15 mM to 0.30 mM. When the concentration range of fluorescein sodium is analyzed based on the gradient of fluorescence expression and the power measurement, the brightest fluorescence is expected to facilitate the complete resection of the tumor. For the concentration range protocol, setting concentration ranges and analyzing fluorescence expression image according to saturation and brightness to find optimal fluorescence concentration are important. Concentration range protocols for fluorescence expression conditions can be used to find optimal concentrations of substances whose expression pattern varies with concentration ranges. This study is expected to be helpful in the boundary classification and resection of brain tumors and glioma.