• Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.469-480
• /
• 2018

Objective: Pharmacogenomic-based antidepressant treatment (PGATx) may result in more precise pharmacotherapy of major depressive disorder (MDD) with better drug therapy guidance. Methods: An 8-week, randomized, single-blind clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of PGATx in 100 patients with MDD. All recruited patients were randomly allocated either to PGATx (n=52) or treatment as usual (TAU, n=48) groups. The primary endpoint was a change of total score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 (HAMD-17) from baseline to end of treatment. Response rate (at least 50% reduction in HAMD-17 score from baseline), remission rate (HAMD-17 score ${\leq}7$ at the end of treatment) as well as the change of total score of Frequency, Intensity, and Burden of Side Effects Ratings (FIBSER) from baseline to end of treatment were also investigated. Results: The mean change of HAMD-17 score was significantly different between two groups favoring PGATx by -4.1 point of difference (p=0.010) at the end of treatment. The mean change in the FIBSER score from baseline was significantly different between two treatment groups favoring PGATx by -2.5 point of difference (p=0.028). The response rate (71.7 % vs. 43.6%, p=0.014) were also significantly higher in PGATx than in TAU at the end of treatment, while the remission rate was numerically higher in PGATx than in TAU groups without statistical difference (45.5% vs. 25.6%, p=0.071). The reason for early drop-out associated with adverse events was also numerically higher in TAU (n=9, 50.0%) than in PGATx (n=4, 30.8%). Conclusion: The present study clearly demonstrate that PGATx may be a better treatment option in the treatment of MDD in terms of effectiveness and tolerability; however, study shortcomings may limit a generalization. Adequately-powered, well-designed, subsequent studies should be mandatory to prove its practicability and clinical utility for routine practice.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.747-758
• /
• 2012

Detecting probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) at an early stage is crucial in slowing the progression of the disease and initiating drug therapy for more effective symptom management. Therefore, this study aimed to identify linguistic features that allow us to distinguish between patients with AD and normal controls. This paper reports on characteristics of spontaneous speech in subjects in three stages of AD (questionable, mild, moderate) compared with education- and age-matched normal controls. Four components of speech were measured in Korean native speakers with AD and normal aging: speech tempo, hesitation (measured in seconds), rate of articulation errors, and rate of grammatical errors. The results revealed significant differences in most of these speech components among the four groups, including significant differences between normal controls and the questionable AD group in the areas of speech tempo and rate of grammatical errors. Phonological? articulatory ability was preserved in questionable AD, and grammatical ability was preserved in questionable and mild AD. Subjects with moderate AD were severely impaired in grammatical ability. Prospective assessments of spontaneous speech skills using a dialogue and picture-description task are useful in detecting the subtle, spontaneous speech impairments that AD causes even in its early stage.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.90-99
• /
• 2021

This study was conducted to provide basic data for improving nursing management practice by comparing and analyzing the perceptions of nursing students and clinical instructors about the importance of the learning contents of nursing management and their practical experience. The final 343 copies were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test and cross-analysis, targeting 4th-grade students and clinical instructors at three universities. Both nursing students and clinical instructors recognized 'communication', 'interpersonal relationship', 'responsibility', 'trust', and 'morality' as important factors in the evaluation items of practice. Among the top 10 most importantly recognized items among nursing-management practice learning content, six items ('infection control', 'nursing record management', 'patient nursing management', 'drug management', 'patient safety', and 'nursing malpractice') were matched in the two groups. Moreover, clinical instructors recognized that interpersonal relationships and relationship ethics were important, while nursing students chose legal responsibility. As a result of the practical experience analysis between the two groups, nursing students had high experience of indirect participation, but the clinical instructors had a high experience of direct instruction. A plan is needed to reduce the difference by establishing an organic partnership relationship between the university and practice institutions and increase the experience of direct practice of nursing students.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.21 no.12
• /
• pp.246-252
• /
• 2020

This study used the raw data of the 15th (2019) Korean Youth Health Risk Behavior Survey to investigate the risk factors of the health-risk behaviors of Korean multicultural adolescents on the subjective oral symptoms. The scope of the multicultural family was limited to children of immigrant women's families married to Korean men and immigrant male families married to Korean women, and 572 were selected as the final study subjects. The sociodemographic variables were surveyed as gender, grade, economic level, and school performance. The health risk behaviors included drinking, smoking, medication, stress, sleep satisfaction, suicidal thoughts, depression, and brushing before bedtime. The oral symptoms examined were toothache, gum pain, and halitosis. As a result, toothache was related to drinking, toothbrushing before sleep, stress, sleep satisfaction, suicidal thoughts, and depression. Gum pain was associated with drug use, sleep satisfaction, suicidal thoughts, and depression. Halitosis was associated with medication, brushing before sleep, stress, suicidal thoughts, and depression. In terms of health risk factors, drinking, stress, and sleep satisfaction were risk factors for toothache. Smoking, sleep satisfaction, and suicidal thoughts were risk factors for gum pain. The presence of toothbrushing and stress were risk factors for halitosis. In conclusion, a policy system is needed to support oral health education programs nationally at times, such as after-school activities or club activities, to promote oral health for teenagers.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.54 no.11
• /
• pp.575-580
• /
• 2021

Cisplatin is widely known as an anti-cancer drug. However, the effects of cisplatin on mitochondrial function and autophagy-related proteins levels in the skeletal muscle are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different doses of cisplatin on mitochondrial function and autophagy-related protein levels in the skeletal muscle of rats. Eight-week-old male Wistar rats (n = 24) were assigned to one of three groups; the first group was administered a saline placebo (CON, n = 10), and the second and third groups were given 0.1 mg/kg body weight (BW) (n = 6), and 0.5 mg/kg BW (n = 8) of cisplatin, respectively. The group that had been administered 0.5 mg cisplatin exhibited a reduced BW, skeletal muscle tissue weight, and mitochondrial function and upregulated levels of autophagy-related proteins, including LC3II, Beclin 1, and BNIP3. Moreover, this group had a high LC3 II/I ratio in the skeletal muscle; i.e., the administration of a high dose of cisplatin decreased the muscle mass and mitochondrial function and increased the levels of autophagy-related proteins. These results, thus, suggest that reducing mitochondrial dysfunction and autophagy pathways may be important for preventing skeletal muscle atrophy following cisplatin administration.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.66 no.5
• /
• pp.511-524
• /
• 2023

Objective : This animal model aimed to compare the rat group that received brain irradiation and did not receive additional treatment (only saline) and the rat group that underwent brain irradiation and received Granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment. In addition, the effects of G-CSF on brain functions were examined by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histopathologically. Methods : This study used 24 female Wistar albino rats. Drug administration (saline or G-CSF) was started at the beginning of the study and continued for 15 days after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). WBRT was given on day 7 of the start of the study. At the end of 15 days, the behavioral tests, including the three-chamber sociability test, open field test, and passive avoidance learning test, were done. After the behavioral test, the animals performed the MR spectroscopy procedure. At the end of the study, cervical dislocation was applied to all animals. Results : G-CSF treatment positively affected the results of the three-chamber sociability test, open-space test and passive avoidance learning test, cornu Ammonis (CA) 1, CA3, and Purkinje neuron counts, and the brain levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and postsynaptic density protein-95. However, G-CSF treatment reduced the glial fibrillary acidic protein immunostaining index and brain levels of malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, nuclear factor kappa-B, and lactate. In addition, on MR spectroscopy, G-CSF had a reversible effect on brain lactate levels. Conclusion : In this first designed brain irradiation animal model, which evaluated G-CSF effects, we observed that G-CSF had reparative, neuroprotective and anti-neurodegenerative effects and had increased neurotrophic factor expression, neuronal counts, and morphology changes. In addition, G-CSF had a proven lactate-lowering effect in MR spectroscopy and brain materials.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.149-154
• /
• 2006

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometric method was developed for the determination of formaldehyde in urine and saliva. In a 20 mL glass tube, 0.2 mL of urine or saliva was taken. Further, 1.8 mL of 0.1 M HCl, 0.1 mL of 2,000 mg/L 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrazine and $20{\mu}l$ of 500 mg/L acetone-$d_6$ as internal standard were added in the tube and sealed tightly with cap. The solution was shaken for 20 min at room temperature and extracted using 4 mL of toluene. The extract was concentrated and redissolved with $100{\mu}l$ of acetonitrile, and then measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (selected ion monitoring). The detection limit was 2.0 ng/mL and 0.5 ng/mL in saliva and urine, respectively. The calibration curves showed good linearity with r = 0.997 and 0.998 for saliva and urine, respectively. The method was used to analyze formaldehyde in rat urine after oral exposure. The developed method may be use ful to the monitoring for formaldehyde exposure in human.

• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.480-487
• /
• 2009

The herbicide dicamba (2-methoxy-3,6-dichlorobenzoic acid) in soil and plants was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The samples were extracted with diethyl ether at pH 2, and washed with 0.1 N HCl, and then dried. The dried residue was derivatized in 1 mL of 10% $H_2SO_4$-MeOH for 2 hr at $80^{\circ}C$. The reaction mixture was neutralized with 4 mL of sodium bicarbonate solution and reextracted with 5 mL of diethyl ether. After the extract was concentrated, dicamba was determined by GC/MS-SIM mode. There was good linearity above 0.999 in the ranges of the $1.0{\sim}100{\mu}g/kg$. Total 42 sample including 32 soil samples and 10 plants samples were analyzed by developed method. Dicamba was detected in the concentration range of $2.9-123.9{\mu}g/kg$ in 15 samples among 32 soil samples and in the concentration range of $43-33,252{\mu}g/kg$ in 5 samples among 10 plants samples. A cause of the wither and die of the pine trees is suspected to spray dicamba around or directly to them.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2024

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the major complications of chronic hyperglycaemia affecting normal kidney functioning. The ayurvedic medicine curcumin (CUR) is pharmaceutically accepted for its vast biological effects. Objectives: The Curcuma-derived diferuloylmethane compound CUR, loaded on Poly (lactide-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles was utilized to combat DN-induced renal apoptosis by selectively targeting and modulating Bcl2. Methods: Upon in silico molecular docking and screening study CUR was selected as the core phytocompound for nanoparticle formulation. PLGA-nano-encapsulated-curcumin (NCUR) were synthesized following standard solvent displacement method. The NCUR were characterized for shape, size and other physico-chemical properties by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy studies. For in vivo validation of nephro-protective effects, Mus musculus were pre-treated with CUR at a dose of 50 mg/kg b.w. and NCUR at a dose of 25 mg/kg b.w. (dose 1), 12.5 mg/kg b.w (dose 2) followed by alloxan administration (100 mg/kg b.w) and serum glucose levels, histopathology and immunofluorescence study were conducted. Results: The in silico study revealed a strong affinity of CUR towards Bcl2 (dock score -10.94 Kcal/mol). The synthesized NCUR were of even shape, devoid of cracks and holes with mean size of ~80 nm having -7.53 mV zeta potential. Dose 1 efficiently improved serum glucose levels, tissue-specific expression of Bcl2 and reduced glomerular space and glomerular sclerosis in comparison to hyperglycaemic group. Conclusion: This study essentially validates the potential of NCUR to inhibit DN by reducing blood glucose level and mitigating glomerular apoptosis by selectively promoting Bcl2 protein expression in kidney tissue.

• Journal of Korean Home Economics Education Association
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.41-52
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors related to allergic diseases based on the health behavior of the youth in multicultural families according to the data from Tenth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey 2014 (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention). The subjects from 712 multicultural adolescents were analyzed by the SPSS program. For the characteristics of health behavior of the multicultural youth, 267 students (37.5%) have experienced drinking alcohol, 164 students (23.0%) have experienced smoking, and 35 students (4.9%) have experienced taking drugs. Also, 198 students (27.8%) were depressed, 259 students (36.3%) are suffering from stress, and 286 students (40.2%) failed to fully relieve fatigue. In addition, 497 students (69.8%) consider themselves as healthy, 449 students (63.1%) consider themselves as happy, and 251 students (35.3%) consider themselves as overweight. Among the allergic disease of the multicultural youth, 46 middle school students (6.5%) and 35 high school students (4.9%) have asthma, 95 middle school students (13.3%) and 87 high school students (12.2%) have allergic rhinitis, and 67 middle school students (9.4%) and 53 high school students (7.4%) have atopic dermatitis. 47 male students (6.6%) and 34 female students (4.8%) have asthma, 81 male students (11.4%) and 101 female students (14.1%) have allergic rhinitis, and 53 male students (7.4%) and 67 female students (9.4%) have atopic dermatitis. Among the multicultural youth, 81 students (11.4%) have asthma, 182 students (25.5%) have allergic rhinitis, and 120 students (16.8%) have atopic dermatitis. For the allergic diseases from the health behavior of the multicultural youth, depression (p<0.001), alcohol experience (p<0.05), drug experience (p<0.05), health recognition (p<0.05), happiness recognition (p<0.05), and body type recognition (p<0.05) had a statistically significant relationship with asthma. Fatigue recovery recognition (p<0.001), health recognition (p<0.001) and stress recognition (p<0.05) had a statistically significant relationship with allergic rhinitis. Body type recognition (p<0.01), depression (p<0.05), fatigue recovery recognition (p<0.05), health recognition (p<0.05), and happiness recognition (p<0.05) had a statistically significant relationship with atopic dermatitis. Such results show that schools and society need to educate the multicultural youth about health, happiness, and body type recognition which are big factors of allergic diseases. Schools and society also need to be more systematic and continuous in order to help multicultural youth to be have correct recognition of depression, stress and fatigue recovery.