• Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.422-433
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• 2018

Objective: Neuropsychiatric manifestations like depression and cognitive dysfunction commonly occur in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In the context of the brain-gut axis model, colitis can lead to alteration of brain function in a bottom-up manner. Here, the changes in the response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and inflammation-related markers in the brain in colitis were studied. Methods: Dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) was used to generate a mouse model of colitis. Mice were treated with DSS for 3 or 7 days and sacrificed. We analyzed the gene expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and the expression of GFAP, in the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and amygdala. Additionally, the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum cortisol/corticosterone were measured. Results: Alteration of inflammatory-related markers varied depending on the brain region and exposure time. In the hippocampus, COX-2 mRNA, GFAP mRNA, and GFAP expression were upregulated during exposure to DSS. However, in the hypothalamus, COX-2 mRNA was upregulated only 3 days after treatment. In the amygdala, BDNF and COX-2 mRNAs were downregulated. CRP and corticosterone expression increased with DSS treatment at day 7. Conclusion: IBD could lead to neuroinflammation in a bottom-up manner, and this effect varied according to brain region. Stress-related hormones and serum inflammatory markers, such as CRP, were upregulated from the third day of DSS treatment. Therefore, early and active intervention is required to prevent psychological and behavioral changes caused by IBD, and region-specific studies can help understand the precise mechanisms by which IBD affects the brain.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2002

A noel automated brain region extraction method in single channel MR images for visualization and analysis of a human brain is presented. The method generates a volume of brain masks by automatic thresholding using a dual curve fitting technique and by 3D morphological operations. The dual curve fitting can reduce an error in clue fitting to the histogram of MR images. The 3D morphological operations, including erosion, labeling of connected-components, max-feature operation, and dilation, are applied to the cubic volume of masks reconstructed from the thresholded Drain masks. This method can automatically extract a brain region in any displayed type of sequences, including extreme slices, of SPGR, T1-, T2-, and PD-weighted MR image data sets which are not required to contain the entire brain. In the experiments, the algorithm was applied to 20 sets of MR images and showed over 0.97 of similarity index in comparison with manual drawing.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.401-404
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• 2008

Primary intracranial squamous cell carcinoma is extremely rare, with most cases arising from a preexisting benign epidermoid cyst. We report a rare case of primary intracranial squamous cell carcinoma in the brain stem with a cerebellopontine angle (CPA) epidermoid cyst. A 72-year-old female suffered from progressive left hemiparesis, difficulty in swallowing, and right hemifacial numbness. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed a high signal intensity (SI) lesion in the CPA region and an intra-axially ring-enhanced cystic mass in the right brain stem with low SI. Whole-body positron emission tomography showed no evidence of metastatic disease. The histological findings revealed a typical epidermoid cyst in the CPA region and a squamous cell carcinoma in the brain stem. We speculate that the squamous cell carcinoma may have been developed due to a chronic inflammatory response by the adjacent epidermoid cyst. The patient underwent a surgical resection and radiotherapy. After 12 months, she had no evidence of recurrence.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.575-583
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• 2022

Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has revealed the disruption of brain white matter microstructure in normal aging and alcoholism undetectable with conventional structural MR imaging. we plan to analyze the FA measurements of the ROI of dangerous drinkers selected from Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Tract-Based Spatial Statics (TBSS) tool was used to extract FA values in the ROI from the image acquired through the pre-processing process. TBSS has a higher sensitivity of the FA value and MD value in the white matter than the brain gray matter, and has the advantage of quantitatively deriving the unlimited degree of brain nerve fibers, and more specialized in the brain white matter. We plan to analyze the fractional anisotropy (FA) measurement value for damage by selecting the center of the anatomical structure of the white matter region of the brain with high anisotropy among the brain neural networks that are particularly vulnerable to alcohol as the region of interest (ROI). In this study, we expected that alcohol causes damage to the brain white matter microstructure from FA value in various areas including both Choroid plexus. Especially, In the case of the moderate drunker, the mean value of FA in Lt, Rt. Choroid plexus was 0.2831 and 0.2872, whereas, in the case of the severe drunker, the mean value of FA was 0.1972 and 0.1936. We found that the higher the score on the AUDIT scale, the lower the FA value in ROI region of the brain white matter. Using the AUDIT scale, the guideline for the FA value of DTI can be presented, and it is possible to select a significant number of potentially severe drinkers. In other words, AUDIT was proved as useful tool in screening and discrimination of severe drunker through DTI.

• BMB Reports
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.405-409
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• 2011

The present study demonstrated that valproic acid (VPA) transcriptionally regulates human GM3 synthase (hST3Gal V), which catalyzes ganglioside GM3 biosynthesis in ARPE-19 human retinal pigment epithelial cells. For this, we characterized the promoter region of the hST3Gal V gene. Functional analysis of the 5'-flanking region of the hST3Gal V gene revealed that the -177 to -83 region functions as the VPA-inducible promoter and that the CREB/ATF binding site at -143 is crucial for VPA-induced expression of hST3Gal V in ARPE-19 cells. In addition, the transcriptional activity of hST3Gal V induced by VPA in ARPE-19 cells was inhibited by SP600125, a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor. In summary, our results identified the core promoter region in the hST3Gal V promoter and for the first time demonstrated that ATF2 binding to the CREB/ATF binding site at -143 is essential for transcriptional activation of hST3Gal V in VPA-induced ARPE-19 cells.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.162-174
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• 2021

Objectives : We aimed to identify the antidepressant effect of liver tonification acupuncture treatment (ACU (LT); KI10, LR8, LU8, LR4) and four gate acupuncture treatment (ACU (FG); LI4, LR3) and its brain neural activity in the normal and chronic restraint stress (CRS)-induced mouse model. Methods : Firstly, normal mice were given ACU (LT) or ACU (FG) and the c-Fos expressions in each brain region were analyzed to examine brain neural activity. Secondly, CRS was administered to mice for 4 weeks, then ACU (LT) or ACU (FG) was performed for 2 weeks. The depression-like behavior was evaluated using open field test (OFT) before and after acupuncture treatment. Then, the c-Fos expressions in each brain region were analyzed to examine brain neural activity. Results : In normal mice, ACU (FG) regulated brain neural activities in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and periaqueductal gray. ACU (LT) changed more brain regions in the prefrontal cortex, insular cortex, striatum, and hippocampus, including those altered by ACU (FG). In CRS-induced model, ACU (LT) alleviated depression-like behavior more than ACU (FG). Also, brain neural activities in the motor cortex area 2 (M2), agranular ventral part and piriform of insular cortex (AIV and Pir), and cornu ammonis (CA) 1 and CA3 of hippocampus were changed by ACU (LT), and those of AIV and CA3 were also changed by ACU (FG). As in normal mice, ACU (LT) resulted in changes in more brain regions, including those altered by ACU (FG) in CRS model. M2, Pir, and CA1 were only changed by ACU (LT) in depression model, suggesting that these brain regions reflect the specific effect of ACU (LT). Conclusions : ACU (LT) relieved depression-like behavior more than ACU (FG), and this acupuncture effect was associated with modulation of brain neural activities in the motor cortex, insular cortex, and hippocampus.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.179-183
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• 2016

Mapping brain structural and functional connections through the whole brain is essential for understanding brain mechanisms and the physiological bases of brain diseases. Although region specific structural or functional deficits cause brain diseases, the changes of interregional connections could also be important factors of brain diseases. This review will introduce common neuroimaging modalities, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging, and other recent neuroimaging analyses methods, such as voxel-based morphometry, cortical thickness analysis, local gyrification index, and shape analysis for structural imaging. Tract-Based Spatial Statistics, TRActs Constrained by UnderLying Anatomy for diffusion MRI, and independent component analysis for fMRI also will also be introduced.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.25 no.7A
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• pp.1006-1016
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• 2000

This study is to segment white matter, gray matter, and cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) on a brain MR image and to calculate the volume of each. First, after removing the background on a brain MR image, we segmented the whole region of a brain from a skull and a fat layer. Then, we calculated the partial volume of each component, which was present in scanning finite thickness, with the arithmetical analysis of gray value from the internal region of a brain showing the blurring effects on the basis of the MR image forming principle. Calculated partial volumes of white matter, gray matter and CSF were used to determine the threshold for the segmentation of each component on a brain MR image showing the blurring effects. Finally, the volumes of segmented white matter, gray matter, and CSF were calculated. The result of this study can be used as the objective diagnostic method to determine the degree of brain atrophy of patients who have neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and cerebral palsy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Life Science Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.53.2-53.2
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• 2008

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.105-116
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• 2011

In this study, we present the measurements of effective dose from CT of head & neck region. A series of dose measurements in anthropomorphic Rando phantom was conducted using a radio photoluminescent glass rod dosimeter to evaluate effective doses of organs of head and neck region from the patient. The experiments were performed with respect to four anatomic regions of head & neck: optic nerve, pons, cerebellum, and thyroid gland. The head & neck CT protocol was used in the single scan (Brain, 3D Facial, Temporal, Brain Angiography and 3D Cervical Spine) and the multiple scan (Brain+Brain Angiography, Brain+3D Facial, Brain+Temporal, Brain+3D Cervical spine, Brain+3D Facial+Temporal, Brain+3D Cervical Spine+Brain Angiography). The largest effective dose was measured at optic nerve in Brain CT and Brain Angiography. The largest effective dose was delivered to the thyroid grand in 3D faical CT and 3D cervical spine, and to the pons in Temporal CT. In multiple scans, the higher effective dose was measured in the thyroid grand in Brain+3D Facial, Brain+3D Cervical Spine, Brain+3D Facial+Temporal and Brain+3D Cervical Spine+Brain Angiography. In addition, the largest effective dose was delivered to the cerebellum in Brain CT+Brain Angiography CT and higher effective dose was delivered to the pons in Brain+Temporal CT. The results indicate that in multiple scan of Brain+3D Cervical Spine+Brain Angiography, effective dose was 2.52 mSv. This is significantly higher dose than the limitation of annual effective dose of 1 mSv. The effective dose to the optic nerve was 0.31 mSv in Brain CT, which shows a possibility of surpassing the limitation of 1 mSv by furthre examination. Therefore, special efforts should be made in clinical practice to reduce dose to the patients.