• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.85-93
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the benefit of Traditional Korean Medicine as an adjuvant therapy in management of mid-trimester oligohydramnios. Methods: It is a case report of a 31 year-old woman hospitalized for oligohydramnios at $24^{+4/7}$weeks of gestation. This patient diagnosed with special oligohydramnios had no abnormal findings such as fetal urinary abnormalities or other anomalies. Also, symptom of PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membrane) was not confirmed. The decoction, Gami-danggui-san (DG) was prescribed for the purpose of reducing unnecessary contraction of uterine muscle during pregnancy and promoting blood circulation and metabolism, thereby improving placental function and contributing to the increase of the fluid. DG decoction was administered twice a day until 19th of June, which was 10 days in total. During the treatment, level of amniotic fluid had been monitored by measuring AFI (amnioti fluid index). Results: After these conventional therapies, the amount of amniotic fluid increased steadily, and eventually reached the optimal level. AFI was found to be 3.2 on the $24^{+4/7}$ weeks, 8 on the $26^{+1/7}$ weeks, 11.5 on the $27^{+0/7}$ weeks of gestation. In the same periods, EFW (expected fetal weight) was also found to be increasing gradually: 545 g, 630, and 760 g. Conclusions: Our report implies the potential of herbal medicine as a effective therapy for oligohydramnios tratment. Further studies are needed to assess the efficacy of TKM herbal medicine and reveal the mechanisms of the decoction.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.19 no.1 s.27
• /
• pp.61-75
• /
• 1989

Recently, indirect evidences suggest that Na-Ca exchange mechanism is involved in bone resorption. To study this suggestion, effects of several drugs which increase the intracellular sodium concentration by different mechanisms on the PTH-induced bone resorption were analysed employing organ culture. Ulnae and radii were removed from 19-day fetal rats, prelabelled by subcutaneous injection of $200{\mu}\;Ci^{45}CaC1_2$ on the 17th day of gestation, and then explanted on the membrane filters in organ culture dishes. For studying the effects of amiloride, ouabain, monensin, and veratridine on the PTH-induced bone resorption, control group was cultured in BGJb media containing PTH (0.4U/ml) while experimental group was cultured in BGJb media containing PTH and drugs. The effects of drugs on the PTH-induced bone resorption were observed by the ratios of $\%-release$ of $^{45}Ca$ between paired control and experimental groups. The results were as follows: 1. $^{45}Ca$ release was significantly increased by PTH (0.4U/ml) at 48 and 72 hours of culture. 2. Amiloride, at concentration of $500{\mu}M$, significantly inhibited the PTH-induced bone resorption after 48 and 72 hours of culture. 3. Ouabain, at concentration of 0.1 mM, presented significant inhibition of PTH-induced bone resorption after 48 and 72 hours of culture, and at 0.5mM and 1mM, presented significant inhibition of PTH-induced bone resorption after 72 hours of culture. 4. Monensin, at concentration of 500nM, significantly inhibited PTH-induced bone resorption after 72 hours of culture. 5. Veratridine, at concentration of 0.5mM, presented significant inhibition of PTH-induced bone resorption after 48 and 72 hours of culture, and at 1mM, presented significant inhibition of PTH-induced bone resorption after 72 hours of culture. Taken altogether, these results suggest that Na-Ca exchange mechanism play a role in PTH-induced bone resolution.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.24 no.7
• /
• pp.919-928
• /
• 2011

The pig exhibits true epitheliochorial placentation, where the fetal membrane maintains attachment throughout pregnancy but does not invade into the maternal uterine endometrium. Accordingly, the expression and function of cell adhesion molecules are very important for embryo implantation and the establishment of pregnancy. In our recent microarray analysis, we found that activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) was expressed in the uterine endometrium during pregnancy in pigs. To better understand the roles of ALCAM in the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy, we examined ALCAM expression in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy in pigs. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that ALCAM was differentially expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle and pregnancy, with the highest levels on D12 of pregnancy. ALCAM mRNA was localized to the luminal and glandular epithelial cells and to the trophectoderm of conceptuses during early pregnancy. The steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone had no effect on ALCAM expression in an endometrial explant culture study. Further, we found that ALCAM expression in the uterine endometrium from gilts with somatic cell nuclear transfer-derived embryos was not different from that in gilts with embryos from natural mating. ALCAM was expressed in a pregnancy stage- and cell type-specific manner in the uterine endometrium and conceptuses during pregnancy. These findings suggest that ALCAM may play a role in the establishment of pregnancy. Further analysis of ALCAM will provide insight into the implantation process and establishment of pregnancy in pigs.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.102-108
• /
• 2018

Purpose: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is rare but potentially fatal. The overall outcome is highly variable. This study aimed to identify a simple and dynamic parameter that helps predict the mortality of CDH patients in real time, without invasive tests. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 59 CDH cases. Maternal and fetal information included the gestational age at diagnosis, site of defect, presence of liver herniation, and lung-to-head ratio (LHR) at 20 to 29 weeks of gestational age. Information regarding postnatal treatment, including the number of days until surgery, the need for inhaled nitric oxide (iNO), the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and survival, was collected. The highest respiratory severity score (RSS) within 24 hours after birth was also calculated. Results: Statistical analysis showed that a younger gestational age at the initial diagnosis (P<0.001), a lower LHR (P=0.001), and the presence of liver herniation (P=0.003) were prenatal risk factors for CDH mortality. The RSS and use of iNO and ECMO were significant factors affecting survival. In the multivariate analysis, the only remaining significant risk factor was the highest preoperative RSS within 24 hours after birth (P=0.002). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.9375, with a sensitivity of 91.67% and specificity of 83.87% at the RSS cut-off value of 5.2. The positive and negative predictive values were 82.14% and 92.86%, respectively. Conclusion: Using the RSS as a prognostic predictor with simple calculations will help clinicians plan CDH management.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.209-216
• /
• 1985

The plasma levels of 23 free amino acids in both the umbilical circulation (umbilical vein and artery) and the maternal circulation (antecubital vein, uterine vein and iliac artery ) of 34 pregnant women were measured at delivery by the cesarean section. Each amino acid with the exception of glutamate was found to be in higher concentration in the fetal blood and the cord plasma characterized by hyperaminoacidemia with a marked increase of the lysine and ornithine levels. The linear relationships found between the amino acids concentrations of iliac artery and those of umbilical vein suggest three transport groups across the placental membrane One group consists of neutral amino acids whose slopes are equal to one and the other two groups are characterized by their slopes higher and lower than unity respectivly. This division into three groups is tentatively explained by the result of a dynamic equilibrium between active transport towards the fetus and diffusion back towards the maternal circulation.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.199-203
• /
• 1997

Chordoma is an uncommon neoplasm that accounts for approximately 1% to 4% of all primary bone neoplasms and thought to originate from remnants of the fetal notochordal elements. It usually occurs in adults and has a predilection for the sacrococcygeal and spheno-occipital areas. Chondroid chordoma, first described by Heffelfinger et al, is a rare variant of chordoma; it contains both chordomatous and chondromatous features, and has a considerably better prognosis than either chordoma or chondrosarcoma. The cytologic findings of fine needle aspiration of sacrococcygeal chondroid chordoma in a 57-year-old man are presented. Aspiration cytology showed many sheets and cords of neoplastic cells in a thick amorphous blue-purple mucinous background. The cells had small too medium sized round nuclei with coarse granular chromatin and abundant eosinophilic or bubbly cytoplasm. Some cells had pleomorphic and hyperchomatic nuclei with prominent nucleoli. Cytologic findings were compared to histologic findings. Histologically, areas of chondroid differentiation were noted which were absent in the cytologic smear. Immunohistochemically, both the chondroid and chordoid areas had an epithelial phenotype and stained for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen and S-100 protein. This is the first case of cytologic findings of chondroid chordoma to our knowledge in literature.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.8
• /
• pp.1133-1139
• /
• 2015

This study aimed to determine the effects of parenteral selenium (Se) and vitamin E supplementation on economic impact, milk yield, and some reproductive parameters in high-yield dairy cows in the dry period and in those at the beginning of lactation. At the beginning of the dry period, cows (n = 323) were randomly divided into three groups as follows: Treatment 1 (T1), Treatment 2 (T2), and Control (C). Cows in group T1 received this preparation 21 days before calving and on calving day, and cows in group T2 received it only on calving day. The cows in the control group did not receive this preparation. Supplementation with Se increased Se serum levels of cows treated at calving day (p<0.05). Differences in milk yield at all weeks and the electrical conductivity values at the 8th and 12th weeks were significant (p<0.05). Supplementation with Se and Vitamin E decreased the incidence of metritis, the number of services per conception and the service period, but had no effects on the incidence of retained fetal membrane. A partial budgeting analysis indicated that Se supplementation was economically profitable; cows in group T1 averaged 240.6$ per cow, those in group T2 averaged 224.6$ per cow. Supplementation with Se and Vitamin E has been found to increase serum Se levels, milk yield, and has positive effects on udder health by decreasing milk conductivity values and incidence of sub-clinical mastitis.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.57-63
• /
• 2017

Xenotransplantation is proposed as a solution to the problem of organ shortage. However, transplantation of xenogeneic organs induces an antigen-antibody reaction in ${\alpha}$-1,3-gal structure that are not present in humans and primates, and thus complement is also activated and organs die within minutes or hours. In this study, we used FasL gene, which is involved in the immune response of NK cell, and US11, which suppresses MHC Class I cell membrane surface expression, to inhibit cell mediated rejection in the interspecific immunity rejection, and also hDAF(CD55) was introduced to confirm the response to C3 complement. These genes were tranfeced into Korean native pig fetal fibroblasts using pCAGGS vector. And cytotoxicity of NK cell and human complement was confirmed in each cell line. The US11 inhibited the cytotoxicity of NK cell and, in addition, the simultaneous expression of US11 and Fas ligand showed excellent suppress to T-lymphocyte cytotoxicity, hDAF showed weak resistance to cytotoxicity of natural killer cell but not in CD8+ CTLs. Cytotoxicity study with human complement showed that hDAF was effective for reducing complement reaction. In this studies have demonstrated that each gene is effective in reducing immune rejection.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.689-696
• /
• 2018

Increasing evidence implicates changes in $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ and oxidative stress as causative factors in amyloid beta ($A{\beta}$)-induced neuronal cell death. Cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G), a component of anthocyanin, has been reported to protect against glutamate-induced neuronal cell death by inhibiting $Ca^{2+}$ and $Zn^{2+}$ signaling. The present study aimed to determine whether C3G exerts a protective effect against $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced neuronal cell death in cultured rat hippocampal neurons from embryonic day 17 fetal Sprague-Dawley rats using MTT assay for cell survival, and caspase-3 assay and digital imaging methods for $Ca^{2+}$, $Zn^{2+}$, MMP and ROS. Treatment with $A{\beta}_{25-35}$ ($20{\mu}M$) for 48 h induced neuronal cell death in cultured rat pure hippocampal neurons. Treatment with C3G for 48 h significantly increased cell survival. Pretreatment with C3G for 30 min significantly inhibited $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced $[Zn^{2+}]_i$ increases as well as $[Ca^{2+}]_i$ increases in the cultured rat hippocampal neurons. C3G also significantly inhibited $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced mitochondrial depolarization. C3G also blocked the $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced formation of ROS. In addition, C3G significantly inhibited the $A{\beta}_{25-35}$-induced activation of caspase-3. These results suggest that cyanidin-3-glucoside protects against amyloid ${\beta}$-induced neuronal cell death by reducing multiple apoptotic signals.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 2008

The profile of membrane currents was investigated in differentiated neuronal cells derived from human neural stem cells (hNSCs) that were obtained from aborted fetal cortex. Whole-cell voltage clamp recording revealed at least 4 different currents: a tetrodotoxin (TTX)-sensitive $Na^+$ current, a hyperpolarization-activated inward current, and A-type and delayed rectifier-type $K^+$ outward currents. Both types of $K^+$ outward currents were blocked by either 5 mM tetraethylammonium (TEA) or 5 mM 4-aminopyridine (4-AP). The hyperpolarization-activated current resembled the classical $K^+$ inward current in that it exhibited a voltage-dependent block in the presence of external $Ba^{2+}$ (30 ${\mu}$M) or $Cs^+$ (3${\mu}$M). However, the reversal potentials did not match well with the predicted $K^+$ equilibrium potentials, suggesting that it was not a classical $K^+$ inward rectifier current. The other $Na^+$ inward current resembled the classical $Na^+$ current observed in pharmacological studies. The expression of these channels may contribute to generation and repolarization of action potential and might be regarded as functional markers for hNSCs-derived neurons.