• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.226-238
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• 2021

Purpose: Although several reports have described the relationship between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease, information about the association between periodontal disease and the progression of degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) is lacking. Therefore, we performed a retrospective, single-center, pilot study to provide insight into this potential association. Methods: Data from 45 consecutive patients (19 men; median age, 83 years) with mild or moderate degenerative aortic stenosis were analyzed for a mean observation period of 3.3±1.9 years. The total amount of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and Porphyromonas gingivalis and titers of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) against periodontal bacteria and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were evaluated. Aortic valve area (AVA), maximal velocity (Vmax), mean pressure gradient (mean PG), and the Doppler velocity index (DVI) were evaluated. The change in each parameter per year ([Parameter_LATEST-Parameter_BASELINE]/Follow-up Years) was calculated from the retrospective follow-up echocardiographic data (baseline vs. the most recently collected data [latest]). Results: No correlation was found between the concentration of periodontopathic bacteria in the saliva and AS status/progression. The anti-P. gingivalis antibody titer in the serum showed a significant positive correlation with AVA and DVI. Additionally, there was a negative correlation between the anti-P. gingivalis IgG antibody titer and mean PG. The hs-CRP concentration showed positive correlations with Vmax and mean PG. Meanwhile, a negative correlation was observed between the anti-P. gingivalis IgG antibody titer and ΔAVA/year and Δmean PG/year. The hs-CRP concentration showed positive correlations with Vmax and mean PG, and it was significantly higher in patients with rapid aortic stenosis progression (ΔAVA/year <-0.1) than in their counterparts. Conclusions: Our results suggest that periodontopathic bacteria such as A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis are not directly related to the status/progression of degenerative AS. However, inflammation and a lower immune response may be associated with disease progression.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.15-30
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• 2009

Purpose: In this rapidly aging society, the research and development of traditional oriental medicine treatment is one of the critical factors to protect the increasing neuro-degenerative disorders. In this study, we wanted to verify the effect of Yukul-tang (YUT) on neuro-degenerative disease model by assessing the antioxidant and anti-inflammation effects. Methods: To assess the antioxidant effects of YUT, we carried out DPPH radical and ABTS radical scavenging assays and determined the total polyphenolic contents in YUT. To evaluate the neuro-protective effects of YUT, we performed the MTT and ROS assays and TH immunohistochemistry, NO and TNF-${\alpha}$ assays in SH-SY5Y or mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons damaged by 6-OHDA. Results: The treatment of YUT showed eliminating effects on DPPH radical and ABTS radical. it showed deterring effects on ROS, NO and TNF-${\alpha}$ and protecting effects on TH-positive cell in SH-SY5Y cells or mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons. Especially in the case of the treatment of YUT with 0.2ug/mL + 6-OHDA 10uM, the protective effect on dopaminergic neurons was most outstanding. Conclusion: In this study, we have demonstrated that YUT has an antioxidant effect and a neuro-protective effect on neuro-degenerative disease model caused by neurotoxin such as 6-OHDA. The results of our present study suggest that YUT can be useful agent to prevent and to treat neuro-degenerative diseases.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.130-139
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• 2003

This study was conducted in order to determine the effect of Paraffin Therapy on release of pain, skin temperature and range of motion with joint diseases. This study was performed on 42 patients with general joint diseases and 21 patients with degenerative joint diseases. All the subjects were randomly assigned to three groups with 21 each. The experiment had been done from June, 1. 2002 to September, 30. 2002, in two general hospitals and a social welfare center using Digital Thermometer Kane-May KM330 and VAS(visual analogue scale). Each pint was measured in terms of skin temperature, pain scale and ROM(range of motion). The results of the experiment are as follows : 1. In application of three different heat modalities (Paraffin bath, Infra red, Hydro pack) on the Knee, Ankle, Elbow pints of the subjects for 30 minutes, the elevation of skin temperature and the reduction of pain scale were found to be significantly different. When checked right after the 30 minutes' application, the Infra red resulted in a higher degree elevation of skin temperature than two other modalities, while Paraffin bath resulted in the highest degree of the elevation of skin temperature when it was checked one hour after the application was over. It means that Paraffin bath lasted longer than the other two modalities(F=14.691, p<.000). 2. With Paraffin bath application, pint pain was reduced significantly both in 30 minutes and one hour checks(F=20.675, p<.001). 3. In terms of ROM(range of motion) increase, didn't seem to have any significant differences in 30 minutes and one hour. The results suggest that Paraffin therapy be helpful in maximizing th effects on pint diseases. I strongly suggest that further studies be done on other pints and muscle diseases using Paraffin bath in different methods of applying the therapy.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.164-170
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• 2006

Asian Branches of International Life Science Institute (ILSI), i.e. China, India, Japan, Korea and South East Asian Region, identified five key public health issue priorities of each region and compared the results. In case of China, India and South East Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand etc. ASEAN countries), communicable diseases were the first priority issue, while elderly issue and food safety were prime issues for Japan and Korea, respectively. Malnutrition was the second priority issue for India and ASEAN countries, whereas non-communicable disease like cancer and degenerative diseases was for Korea and China, and obesity far Japan. Typical issues were smoking for China, nutrition education for China and Japan, biotechnology aiming GMO for India, and functional food causing health claim problem for Korea and Japan. Although the priority varied with the socioeconomic situation of each county, food and water safety recorded the highest priority of all the countries. The key public health issues of Korea were discussed in detail.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2010

Objectives : Recently, the number of elderly people has been rapidly increasing in Korea, and it led to increase demands of Korean traditional medical services. However, there is a lack of information on Korean traditional service utilization. Thus, this study was intended to identify Korean traditional service utilization patterns such as acupuncture, moxibustion and cupping, since Korean traditional services were specially used in treating chronic diseases for elderly people. It is important to understand health services utilization for quality improvement of healthcare systems. Methods:We used data of 'Survey in Daegu' in 2008 and analyzed characteristics of disease structure and utilization patterns of health care service of 1,097 cases of participated citizens. Results : The proportion of the elderly people (>50 age) in total participators is 52.4%. Male to female ratio is 1:1.65 and most common age group was between 50 and 59 years old. 84.2% of participators were admitted at oriental health care facilities. In addition, the results showed that female were more used the service than man. The most common treated disease is musculoskeletal disorders in both male and female. Conclusions : Acupuncture, moxa and cupping are widely used to treat chronic degenerative diseases such as musculoskeletal disorders at oriental health care facilities. Elders and female prefer to be admitted at oriental health care facilities.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.92-96
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• 2010

The National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) was performed population health checkup survey program with especially two target ages, 40 years and 66 years old that were called as "life transition period" for national collective prophylaxis of cardiovascular diseases in Korea. We were investigated and compared between two age groups with the serum levels of cholesterol and triglyceride from data of the survey in Daegu province, Korea at April, 2007. Data of one hundred persons per each age (40 years and 66 years old) were collected and investigated for risk factors for chronic degenerative diseases including serum lipid concentration, health habits of drinking, smoking, exercise etc. In spite of the definite difference of life transition of the each age, the transition from adolescence to adulthood at 40 years old, and from adulthood to senescence at 66 years old, there were no significant difference of total cholesterol and triglyceride between two age groups.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.87-93
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• 2002

Neural cell survival is an essential concern in the aging brain and many diseases of the central nervous system. Neural transplantation of the stem cells are already applied to clinical trials for many degenerative neurological diseases, including Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and strokes. A critical problem of the neural transplantation is how to reduce their apoptosis and improve cell survival. Neurotrophic factors generally contribute as extrinsic cues to promote cell survival of specific neurons in the developing mammalian brains, but the survival factor for neural stem cell is poorly defined. To understand the mechanism controlling stem cell death and improve cell survival of the transplanted stem cells, we investigated the effect of plausible neurotrophic factors on stem cell survival. The neural stem cell, HiB5, when treated with PDGF prior to transplantation, survived better than cells without PDGF. The resulting survival rate was two fold for four weeks and up to three fold for twelve weeks. When transplanted into dorsal hippocampus, they migrated along hippocampal alveus and integrated into pyramidal cell layers and dentate granule cell layers in an inside out sequence, which is perhaps the endogenous pathway that is similar to that in embryonic neurogenesis. Promotion of the long term-survival and differentiation of the transplanted neural precursors by PDGF may facilitate regeneration in the aging adult brain and probably in the injury sites of the brain.

• BMB Reports
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• v.48 no.8
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• pp.445-453
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• 2015

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) is an organelle where most secretory and membrane proteins are synthesized, folded, and undergo further maturation. As numerous conditions can perturb such ER function, eukaryotic cells are equipped with responsive signaling pathways, widely referred to as the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). Chronic conditions of ER stress that cannot be fully resolved by UPR, or conditions that impair UPR signaling itself, are associated with many metabolic and degenerative diseases. In recent years, Drosophila has been actively employed to study such connections between UPR and disease. Notably, the UPR pathways are largely conserved between Drosophila and humans, and the mediating genes are essential for development in both organisms, indicating their requirement to resolve inherent stress. By now, many Drosophila mutations are known to impose stress in the ER, and a number of these appear similar to those that underlie human diseases. In addition, studies have employed the strategy of overexpressing human mutations in Drosophila tissues to perform genetic modifier screens. The fact that the basic UPR pathways are conserved, together with the availability of many human disease models in this organism, makes Drosophila a powerful tool for studying human disease mechanisms. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(8): 445-453]

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.111-114
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• 2004

Molecular imaging provides a visualization of normal as well as abnormal cellular processes at a molecular or genetic level rather than at a anatomical level. Conventional medical imaging methods utilize the imaging signals produced by nonspecific physico-chemical interaction. However, molecular imaging methods utilize the imaging signals derived from specific cellular or molecular events. Because molecular and genetic changes precede anatomical change in the course of disease development, molecular imaging can detect early events in disease progression. in the near future, through molecular imaging we can understand basic mechanisms of disease, and diagnose earlier and, subsequently, treat earlier intractable diseases such as cancer, neuro-degenerative diseases, and immunologic disorders. In beginning period, nuclear medicine started as a molecular imaging, and has had a leading role in the field of molecular imaging. But recently molecular imaging has been rapidly developed. Besides nuclear imaging, molecular imaging methods such as optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging are emerging. Each imaging modalities have their advantages and weaknesses. The opportunities from molecular imaging look bright. We should try nuclear medicine continues to have a leading role in molecular imaging.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.481-487
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• 2010

The proteasome plays a major role in the degradation of abnormal proteins within the cell. Therefore, repressed proteasome function is accepted as one of factors contributing the pathogenesis of multiple degenerative diseases. In the present study, we have observed that xanthohumol C, which is one of prenylated flavonoids from hops, increases the expression of the proteasome subunits through the Nrf2 pathway. Treatment of murine renal epithelial TCMK-1 cells with xanthohumol C and its methoxymethoxy-derivative elevated the expression of the Antioxidant Response Element (ARE)-driven reporter gene, as well as Nrf2-target genes including NAD(P)H: quinoneoxidoreductaes 1 (Nqo1). Transcript levels for the catalytic subunits of the proteasome Psmb5 and Psmb6 were increased by these compounds. The activation of the psmb5 promoter by xanthohumol C was abolished when the ARE in this promoter was mutated, indicating that proteasome induction was mediated by the Nrf2-ARE pathway. These results suggest that xanthohumol compounds from hops have a potential benefit on various oxidative stress-associated human diseases through the induction of the proteasome.