• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.115-121
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• 2015

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease, which is a chronic gastrointestinal disorder. Pulsatilla koreana (P. koreana) is a perennial plant that grows around Korea and it has various pharmacological effects such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory activity. However, the regulatory effects of P. koreana in intestinal inflammation are not yet understood. This study attempted to determine the effect of P. koreana in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. The colitis mice were induced by drinking water containing 5% DSS for 7 days. The results showed that mice treated with DSS showed remarkable clinical signs, including weight loss, and reduced colon length. Administration of P. koreana attenuated DSS-induced the weight loss, colon shortening and Disease activity index in mice. Additionally, P. koreana inhibited the cyclooxygenase-2 and prostaglandin $E_2$ levels in DSS-treated colon tissues. These results provide experimental evidence that P. koreana might be a useful therapeutic medicine for patients with UC.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.89-96
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• 1997

This study was designed to determine whether cognitive impairment was evident in patients with SLE. Also, it aimed to examine the association of cognitive impairment with other clinical variables. The subjects consisted of 20 patients with mildly active SLE and 20 healthy controls. Methods : A total of 20 SLE patients and 20 normal controls completed a computerized neuropsychological test battery using Vienna Test System. These included Cognitrone test, Continuous attention test, Corsi block tapping test, Standard progressive matrices. Also, neuro-behavioral cognitive status examination was done. The symptom severity of depression was measured with Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, and current medications were documented. Disease activity was rated using the SLE diasease activity index (SLEDAI). Results : SLE patients had poorer performance than normal controls on the tests of Cognitrone, attention, nonverbal IQ and memory, independent of age, education, disease activity, steroid use and depression status. Conclusion : Cognitive dysfunction was not uncommon in ambulatory SLE patients as measured by standardized neuropsychological tests. It seemed to occur independently of various clinical variables. These findings would suggest that cognitive dysfunction in SLE may be explained by reflecting subclinical central nervous system(CNS) involvement, rather than coexisting psychological distress due to chronic illness or side effect of medication.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.168-174
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• 2018

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and diarrhea. Gastrodia elata Blume (GE) has been used for the treatment of various diseases including neurodegenerative diseases and inflammatory disease. However, there has been no information on whether GE regulates intestinal inflammation. The aim of this study is to elucidate whether GE can protect against dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in a mouse model. The colitis mice were induced by drinking water containing 5% DSS for 7 days. Body weight, colon length and clinical score were assessed to determine the effects on colitis. The levels of inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$ and interleukin (IL)-6 in colitis tissue were also measured. The results showed that mice administrated with DSS showed clinical signs including weight loss and reduced colon length. GE inhibited the DSS-induced loss of body weight and shortening of colon and increased Disease activity index score. Additionally, we observed that GE suppressed the levels of $TNF-{\alpha}$ and IL-6 in DSS-treated colon tissues. Collectively, these findings provide experimental evidence that GE might be a useful therapeutic agent for patients with UC.

• Gut and Liver
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.674-681
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• 2018

Background/Aims: The cumulative surgery rate and postoperative relapse of intestinal Behçet's disease (BD) have been reported to be high. This study aimed to establish a scoring system based on follow-up endoscopic findings that can predict intestinal BD recurrence after surgery. Methods: Fifty-four patients with intestinal BD who underwent surgery due to bowel complications and underwent follow-up colonoscopy were retrospectively investigated. Their clinical data, including colonoscopic findings, were retrieved. Classification and regression tree analysis was used to develop an appropriate endoscopic classification model that can explain the postsurgical recurrence of intestinal BD most accurately based on the following classification: e0, no lesions; e1, solitary ulcer <20 mm in size; e2, solitary ulcer ${\geq}20mm$ in size; and e3, multiple ulcers regardless of size. Results: Clinical relapse occurred in 37 patients (68.5%). Among 38 patients with colonoscopic recurrence, only 29 patients had clinically relapsed. Multivariate analysis identified higher disease activity index for intestinal BD at colonoscopy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.013; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.005 to 1.021; p=0.002) and colonoscopic recurrence (HR, 2.829; 95% CI, 1.223 to 6.545; p=0.015) as independent risk factors for clinical relapse of intestinal BD. Endoscopic findings were classified into four groups, and multivariate analysis showed that the endoscopic score was an independent risk factor of clinical relapse (p=0.012). The risk of clinical relapse was higher in the e3 group compared to the e0 group (HR, 6.284; 95% CI, 2.036 to 19.391; p=0.001). Conclusions: This new endoscopic scoring system could predict clinical relapse in patients after surgical resection of intestinal BD.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1998

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common systemic inflammatory disease which DMARDS have been widely used as a treatment modality both as monotherapy and combination therapy Bucillamine, one of newer DMARDS, has recently proven its efficacy as monotherapy in the treatment of RA. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and the safety of bucillamine monotherapy and bucillamine plus methotrexate combination therapy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Forty-nine mild RA patients were enrolled in this prospective, open-trial and were assigned to receive bucillamine 200 mg/day (n=18) or bucillamine 200 mg/day and methotrexate 7.5-15 mg/week (n=31) orally for 16 weeks. Concomitant use of NSAID and prednisolone <5 mg/day or equivalent dose of steroid were allowed. Both monotherapy group and combination therapy group have shown significant improvement in disease activities (Ritchie index, painful joints, swollen joints, morning stiffness, grip strength, ESR, RF, CRP, patient's self assessment of pain, physician's global assessment of disease activity) from the baseline. However, there was no statistically significant difference between two groups. The adverse effects were more frequently shown in combination therapy group than monotherapy group. In conclusion, in patients with mild RA monotherapy has shown to be equally efficacious as combination therapy with less side effects.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.85-98
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• 2009

The fruits of Schisandra chinensis and Prunus mume have been traditionally used in the Oriental countries as an astringent against diarrhea and abdominal pain, a protectant for liver disease, an antimicrobial, and a blood tonic. However, little is known about the extract of Schizandrae Fructus and Mume Fructus (SMF-Ex) on dextran-sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of SMF-Ex on DSS-induced colitis in mice. An experimental colitis was induced by daily treatment with 5% DSS. SMF-Ex was orally administrated the single dose (80 mg/kg, body weight/day) for 7 days with one time per day. SMF-Ex reduced significantly clinical sign of DSS-induced colitis, including body weight loss, shorten colon length, increased disease activity index (DAI), and histological colon injury. SMF-Ex also inhibited significantly nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandine $E_2$ ($PGE_2$) productions in DSS-induced colitis mice. Furthermore, SMF-Ex increased significantly an superoxide anion (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) activity of the colon tissue in DSS-induced colitis mice. These results suggest that SMF-Ex administration could reduce significantly the clinical signs and inflammatory mediators, and increase antioxidant activity in DSS-induced colitis model mice and is a good candidate for further evaluation as an effective anti-ulcerative agent.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.111-120
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• 2000

Purpose We designed this study for the purpose of determining the relationship between periodontal disease activity and PLBW, using the evaluation of probing pocket depth, loss of attachment, gingival index, gingival crevicular fluid amount and subgingival microflora. Methods A total of 100 volunteer mothers(mean age 30.44) at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Seoul National University Hospital were selected for this study.Pregnancy outcomes were categorized into cases and controls in two ways. our definition was based on the following; Group 1 : Any PLBW cases Vs. All NBW controls Group 2 : PLBW cases Vs. NBW controls A periodontal exam was performed on the Ramfjord( #16, 21, 24, 36, 41, 44) teeth and Clinical evaluation consisted of probing pocket depth, loss of attachment, gingival index and gingival crevicular fluid amount. Subgingival plaque samples were collected by three sterile #35 paper points. The total number of anaerobic colonies and aerobic bacteria were enumerated after incubation. Antisera to P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, A. actinomycetemcomitans were produced in white rabbits with live whole cells suspensions. The specific fluorescent bacteria obtained by immunofluorescence and total cell counts obtained by dark-field microscopy were counted on four fields. The percent of each specific microorganism in the total cell count was determined. Results Any PLBW and PLBW cases showed significantly greater probing depth and attachment loss than all NBW and NBW controls. Cases group had significantly increased anaerobic bacterial counts compared with control group and no differences in the other microbes. This study confirmed that periodontal disease is a statistically significant risk factor for PLBW by investigating clinical parameters and subgingival plaque analysis.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.835-843
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• 2022

Deinococcus radiodurans is an extremophilic bacterium that can thrive in harsh environments. This property can be attributed to its unique metabolites that possess strong antioxidants and other pharmacological properties. To determine the potential of D. radiodurans R1 lysate (DeinoLys) as a pharmacological candidate for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), we investigated the antiinflammatory activity of DeinoLys in bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and a colitis mice model. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BMDCs treated with DeinoLys exhibited alterations in their phenotypic and functional properties by changing into tolerogenic DCs, including strongly inhibited proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-12p70) and surface molecule expression and activated DC-induced T cell proliferation/activation with high IL-10 production. These phenotypic and functional changes in BMDCs induced by DeinoLys in the presence of LPS were abrogated by IL-10 neutralization. Furthermore, oral administration of DeinoLys significantly reduced clinical symptoms against dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis, including body weight loss, disease activity index, histological severity in colon tissue, and lower myeloperoxidase level in mice. Our results establish DeinoLys as a potential anti-inflammatory candidate for IBD therapy.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.1132-1141
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• 2020

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an increasing global burden and a predisposing factor to colorectal cancer. Although a number of treatment options are available, the side effects could be considerable. Studies on fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) as an IBD intervention protocol require further validation as the underlying mechanisms for its attenuating effects remain unclear. This study aims to demonstrate the ameliorative role of FMT in an ulcerative colitis (UC) model induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) and elucidate its relative mechanisms in a mouse model. It was shown that FMT intervention decreased disease activity index (DAI) levels and increased the body weight, colon weight and colon length of experimental animals. It also alleviated histopathological changes, reduced key cytokine expression and oxidative status in the colon. A down-regulated expression level of genes associated with NF-κB signaling pathway was also observed. The results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that FMT intervention restored the gut microbiota to the pattern of the control group by increasing the relative abundance of Firmicutes and decreasing the abundances of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. The relative abundances of the genera Lactobacillus, Butyricicoccus, Lachnoclostridium, Olsenella and Odoribacter were upregulated but Helicobacter, Bacteroides and Clostridium were reduced after FMT administration. Furthermore, FMT administration elevated the concentrations of SCFAs in the colon. In conclusion, FMT intervention could be suitable for UC control, but further validations via clinical trials are recommended.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.61-70
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• 2012

1. Objectives : The aim of this study was to report significant improvement of chronic diarrhea and hematochezia after treatment with Dojeokgangki-tang in a Soyangin Patient with Crohn's Disease. 2. Methods : The patient's subjective and objective symptoms were observed daily throughout the hospitalization period, and the Crohn's disease activity index(CDAI) was calculated to gauge the progress or lack of progress. 3. Results : The symptoms of diarrhea and hematochezia disappeared by the end of the hospitalization period without recurrence, and the CDAI score dropped from 92.5 to 47. 4. Conclusions : A patient with Crohn's disease, who was in the state of repetitive relapse and remission after long term clinical courses was treated with Dojeokgangki-tang in a short period and the the symptoms of diarrhea and hematochezia disappeared without recurrence. Then the patient could stop taking corticosteriods and taper off immune-suppressing drugs.