• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.198-207
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• 2015

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary artery are well-known atherosclerotic vascular diseases. However, the difference of intima-media thickness and plaque characteristics of carotid arteries between STEMI and CTO patients were not directly compared in previous studies. Medical records of a total of 158 (101 STEMI, 57 CTO) patients, who underwent carotid artery ultrasonography, were selected for the analysis. The baseline characteristics, ultrasonography findings, and clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in CTO patients. Carotid intima-media thickness ($0.97{\pm}0.13$ vs. $0.78{\pm}0.17cm$, P < 0.0001) and number of plaques ($2.2{\pm}1.0$ vs. $1.7{\pm}1.2$, P < 0.0001) were greater in CTO than STEMI patients. Multiple (${\geq}3$) or echogenic plaques were more frequently observed in CTO patients. During the median follow-up duration of 27 months, major adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 31% of CTO and 14% of STEMI patients (P = 0.008). We found that, compared with STEMI, CTO patients have higher burden of carotid artery atherosclerosis associated with more comorbid diseases and poor clinical outcomes.

• BMB Reports
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• v.47 no.11
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• pp.599-608
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• 2014

As the prevalence of obesity has increased explosively over the last several decades, associated metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases, have been also increased. Thus, new strategies for preventing and treating them are needed. The nuclear peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are involved fundamentally in regulating energy homeostasis; thus, they have been considered attractive drug targets for addressing metabolic disorders. Among the PPARs, $PPAR{\gamma}$ is a master regulator of gene expression for metabolism, inflammation, and other pathways in many cell types, especially adipocytes. It is a physiological receptor of the potent anti-diabetic drugs of the thiazolidinediones (TZDs) class, including rosiglitazone (Avandia). However, TZDs have undesirable and severe side effects, such as weight gain, fluid retention, and cardiovascular dysfunction. Recently, many reports have suggested that $PPAR{\gamma}$ could be modulated by post-translational modifications (PTMs), and modulation of PTM has been considered as novel approaches for treating metabolic disorders with fewer side effects than the TZDs. In this review, we discuss how PTM of $PPAR{\gamma}$ may be regulated and issues to be considered in making novel anti-diabetic drugs that can modulate the PTM of $PPAR{\gamma}$.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.738-744
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• 2019

Recently, the prevalence of hyperlipidemia has been increasing, and consequently, the need to identify safe and effective treatments to control this chronic disease has also increased. The beneficial effects of probiotics have been revealed by several studies over the past few years, including their effects on hypertriglyceridemia. However, the mechanisms of action of probiotics are still unclear. The anti-obesity effects of Lactobacillus plantarum Q180 on lipid accumulation have already been demonstrated using an in vitro HepG2 cell model, and therefore, we investigated its efficacy and mechanism of action. Lipid accumulation was induced in HepG2 cells by palmitic acid treatment and then the cells were incubated with L. plantarum Q180 lysate or supernatant to investigate changes in lipid accumulation and expression of lipid metabolism-related genes. The results showed that the L. plantarum Q180-treated group exhibited significantly lower levels of lipid accumulation and mRNA expression of lipid synthesis- and adipogenesis-related genes than the palmitic acid-treated group did. These results indicate that L. plantarum Q180 may contribute to alleviating hypertriglyceridemia by inhibiting lipid synthesis.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2017

Objective: Growing evidence suggests that increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is associated with female infertility caused by conditions such as polycystic ovarian disease, obesity, thyroid dysfunction, and endometriosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether any relationship exists between CVD and unexplained infertility. Methods: Sixty-five women with unexplained infertility and 65 fertile controls were enrolled in the study. CVD risk markers such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), insulin resistance (defined by the homeostasis model assessment ratio), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were assessed. Results: TG, TC, LDL, and hs-CRP levels were higher and HDL levels were lower in patients with unexplained infertility than in fertile controls (p<0.05 for all). Positive associations were found between unexplained infertility and TG, TC, LDL, and hs-CRP levels, and a negative correlation was found for HDL (p<0.05 for all). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that TG, HDL, and hs-CRP were independent variables associated with unexplained infertility. Conclusion: Our study showed that women with unexplained infertility had an atherogenic lipid profile and elevated hs-CRP levels, suggesting a higher risk of developing CVD in the future. Further studies with larger groups are needed to investigate the nature of this link.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.399-410
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• 2015

Objectives: The purpose of the study is to investigate the influencing factors of metabolic syndrome on the periodontal disease in the Korean adults over 40 years old. Methods: The data were extracted from the Fifth National Health Nutrition Survey 2010. The subjects were adults over 40 years old. The periodontal diseases were examined by direct survey. The questionnaire consisted of the general characteristics of the subjects, oral health behavior, metabolic syndrome, and relation to periodontal diseases. CPI(community periodontal index) was measured. CPI indicates periodontal condition and classified into alveolar arch of the upper jaw and the lower jaw. A periodontal disease is defined as $CPI{\geq}3$(over 4 mm). The variables for metabolic diseases included hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and obesity measured as BMI. Results: Diabetes mellitus is closely related to periodontal diseases prevalence. Low level of HDL increase the periodontal diseases. Number of toothbrushung, use of dental floss and interdental toothbrush as for the number of toothbrushing, more than twice toothbrushing a day, and use of dental floss and interdental toothbrush reduced periodontal diseases. Conclusions: The risk factors of periodontal disease in Korean adults over 40 years old were sex, age, residence, monthly income, education level, smoking, diabetes and low HDL cholesterol.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2014

Metabolic syndrome such as, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia etc are well known lifestyle diseases which threaten a health state. The purpose of this study is to evaluate antioxidant status and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in various stressful conditions. A group of persons (n=28) were enrolled in this study and stress status was evaluated using questionnaire of psychological well-being index (PWI-SF) and hematologic analysis of free oxygen radical defense (FORD), free oxygen radical test (FORT), lipid profiles and serum cortisol level. Analysis was done according to stress index, BMI status and overtime working. Blood samples from diabetics were used for control. Results are as in followings: Higher PWI-SF group showed higher FORT. Obese persons with BMI > $25kg/m^2$ showed statistically lower FORD (p<0.05) and higher FORT level (p<0.01). When compare with diabetics, an overweight group had similar levels in FORD and FORT while a normal body weight group showed quite different with diabetics in FORD (p<0.001). Higher ROS group has higher triglyceride, CRP and insulin levels but lower in FORD and HDL-cholesterol levels. Overtime working at night showed no meaningful result against our expectations. These results suggested that obesity showed most unfavorable correlations in an antioxidant status in various situations.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.57 no.6
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• pp.22.1-22.7
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• 2015

Fresh pork belly is a highly popular meat in South Korea, accounting for 59 % of the approximately 100 g of meat per capita that is consumed daily. Fresh pork belly offers not only high-quality protein from the lean cuts but also substantial micronutrients including fat-soluble vitamins and minerals. However, fresh pork belly generally consists of about 30 % fat, with saturated fatty acids representing half of this value. Excessive consumption of saturated fatty acids increases total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and triglycerides while decreasing high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, raising concerns about an increased risk of hyperlipidemia, followed by cardiovascular diseases. In this review, we discuss the consumption and production trends in South Korea, the general characteristics, and health issues related to fresh pork belly to delineate the features of pork production and consumer welfare.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2014

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been identified as one of the most important factors influencing the long-term prognosis of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, in pediatric CKD, the clinical importance of CVD tends to be overlooked due to the lack of typical manifestations of CVD in this population. The literature has identified several traditional risk factors of CVD that originate from CKD, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia and obesity, in addition to new and non-traditional risk factors including anemia, secondary hyperparathyroidism, oxidative stress and inflammation. In cases of pediatric CKD, cardiovascular disease is usually restricted to subclinical manifestations such as left ventricular hypertrophy, thickening of intimal media on the carotid artery and calcification of the coronary artery. Therefore, risk factors of CVD in pediatric CKD patients should be closely monitored.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.65-71
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• 2015

Although it has recently been reported that Acanthopanax senticosus has a protective effect against the development of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and hyperlipidemia, its underlying molecular mechanisms have remained to be elucidated. In this study, we observed that treatment of an extract of A. senticosus (ASE) reduced body weight and adiposity and improved glucose tolerance in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice. HFD-induced weight gain in white adipose tissues and liver was also significantly reduced in ASE-treated HFD-fed mice, which was found to be contributed by suppression of mRNA expression of genes involved in fatty-acid uptake and fat synthesis in white adipose tissue. ASE treatment also attenuated M1 macrophage activation, increased regulatory T ($T_{reg}$) cell population, and modulated leptin/adiponectin profile that might alleviate chronic inflammation to protect against HFD-induced insulin resistance. Our findings suggest a therapeutic potential of ASE for prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes without adverse effects such as weight gain and dyslipidemia.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.579-590
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of Ephedra sinica pharmacopuncture on the weight and lipid metabolism of obese mice.Methods: Obesity was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by a 60% fat diet. The animals were divided into three groups (n=5) fed a normal diet, high-fat diet, and high-fat diet with Ephedra sinica pharmacopuncture. After 13 wk, fasting blood sugar levels were measured in each group, and oral glucose tolerance tests were conducted. After 15 wk, body weight, epididymal fat pad weight, subcutaneous fat pad weight, and serum lipid and gene expression of hormone sensitive lipase (HSL), adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL), monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), perilipin, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ were measured in each group.Results: In the Ephedra group, body weight, fasting blood sugar, and oral glucose tolerance were significantly decreased. In addition, in the Ephedra group, the gene expression of HSL was significantly increased, whereas that of perilipin was significantly decreased.Conclusions: These results provide evidence that E. sinicapharmacopuncture affects obesity and obesity-induced metabolic syndrome, including insulin resistance and dyslipidemia, by activating lipolysis via the HSL pathway in adipose tissue.