• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2014

Objectives : This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of Samulhwalhyeol-tang (SM) in a hyperlipidemic animal model induced by a high-fat diet using diverse biological methods. Methods : This study was to determine whether fractionated EtOH extracts of SM inhibit reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) in RAW 264.7 cells. Hyperlipidemia was induced by a high-fat diet fed for 6 weeks. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, liver function, cholesterol gene revelation control efficiency, and histologic change of liver were measured after oral administration of SM. Results : 1. Compared to the control group, ROS production (%) and NO production (%) were decreased significantly by SM. 2. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride were decreased significantly by SM. 3. HDL cholesterol was increased significantly by SM. 4. Rats' body weight and glucose were decreased significantly by SM. 5. AST, ALP were decreased significantly by SM. 6. In histopathologic examination, fatty liver and fiver fibrosis were inhibited, almost eliminated as round of fat was observed in the liver. Conclusions : SM would appear that effective in the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, other cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver and nephrotic syndrome caused by hyperlipidemia.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.4 s.273
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• pp.297-300
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• 2007

Idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome is a rare systemic, leukoproliferative disorder characterized by eosinophilmediated tissue injury causing multiple organ failure, including the heart. Cardiac involvement occurs in more than 75% of patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome. Cardiac manifestations include subendocardial fibrosis, thrombus leading to peripheral emboli, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and valvular dysfunction. It is more common in men than in women (9 : 1), and trends to present between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Presentation in childhood is unusual. We report for the first time a case of a 58-year-old man with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome manifested by prosthetic aortic valve dysfunction that was successfully treated by steroid and hydroxyurea therapy after surgical valvular replacement.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.11
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• pp.365-372
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• 2017

Purpose: The mechanism for the pathogenesis of adriamycin (ADR)-induced cardiomyopathy is not yet known. Different hypotheses include the production of free radicals, an interaction between ADR and nuclear components, and a disruption in cardiac-specific gene expression. Apoptosis has also been proposed as being involved in cardiac dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to determine if apoptosis might play a role in ADR-induced cardiomyopathy. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were separated into 2 groups: the control group (C group) and the experimental group (ADR 5 mg/wk for 3 weeks through intraperitoneal injections; A group). Echocardiographic images were obtained at week 3. Changes in caspase-3, B-cell leukemia/lymphoma (Bcl)-2, Bcl-2-associated X (Bax), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), troponin I, collagen 1, and collagen 3 protein expression from the left ventricle tissues of C and A group rats were determined by Western blot. Results: Ascites and heart failure as well as left ventricular hypertrophy were noted in the A group. Ejection fraction and shortening fraction were significantly lower in the A group by echocardiography. The expression of caspase-3, Bax, IL-6, BNP, collagen 1, and collagen 3 were significantly higher in the A group as compared with the C group. Protein expression of Bcl-2 decreased significantly in the A group compared with the C group. Conclusion: ADR induced an upregulation of caspase-3, Bax, IL-6, and collagen, as well as a depression in Bcl-2. Thus, apoptosis and fibrosis may play an important role in ADR-induced cardiomyopathy.

• Experimental and Molecular Medicine
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• v.50 no.11
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• pp.1.1-1.10
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• 2018

Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are used extensively for cardiac repair and interact with immune cells in the damaged heart. Macrophages are known to be modulated by stem cells, and we hypothesized that priming macrophages with BMMSCs would enhance their therapeutic efficacy. Rat bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were stimulated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with or without coculture with rat BMCs. In the LPS-stimulated BMDMs, induction of the inflammatory marker iNOS was attenuated, and the anti-inflammatory marker Arg1 was markedly upregulated by coculture with BMMSCs. Myocardial infarction (MI) was induced in rats. One group was injected with BMMSCs, and a second group was injected with MIX (a mixture of BMMSCs and BMDMs after coculture). The reduction in cardiac fibrosis was greater in the MIX group than in the BMC group. Cardiac function was improved in the BMMSC group and was substantially improved in the MIX group. Angiogenesis was better in the MIX group, and anti-inflammatory macrophages were more abundant in the MIX group than in the BMMSC group. In the BMMSCs, interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) was exclusively induced by coculture with macrophages. IRF5 knockdown in BMMSCs failed to suppress inflammatory marker induction in the macrophages. In this study, we demonstrated the successful application of BMDMs primed with BMMSCs as an adjuvant to cell therapy for cardiac repair.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.64.1-64.12
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• 2021

Background: Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), a neurodegenerative disease leading to reduced dopamine production, is a common disease in aged horses. The treatment is based on administration of the dopamine agonist pergolide. This drug has been related to valvular fibrosis in humans, but the cardiovascular effect of this drug has not yet been investigated in horses. Objectives: To determine whether pergolide induces valvular disease in horses or affects the cardiac function. Methods: Standard, tissue Doppler (TDE) and two-dimensional speckle tracking (STE) echocardiography were performed in horses with diagnosed PPID based on adrenocorticotropic hormone dosage. Measurements taken in horses treated with pergolide were compared with those from untreated horses with nonparametric t-tests. Furthermore, measurements from follow-up examinations performed at least three months after the initial exam were compared with a Wilcoxon signed rank test for repeated measurements in each group. Results: Twenty-three horses were included. None of the 12 horses under treatment developed valvular regurgitation. Furthermore, no differences in the measurements of the left ventricular systolic or diastolic function could be seen between the group of horses with treatment and those without treatment. Measurements taken in the follow-up exam did not differ compared to those taken in the initial exam in both groups. Conclusions: No changes of the left ventricular function assessed by TDE and STE could be shown in a small population of horses with confirmed PPID. Treatment with pergolide did not affect the ventricular function nor induce valvular disease.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2021

A 23-month-old Holstein cattle showed excess salivation and reluctance of walking and suddenly died after forced sudden movements. Grossly, numerous fibrous adhesions were present within cranial abdominal cavity including the reticulum and diaphragm and thoracic cavity involving lungs, pericardial sac, and heart. A perforation made by a 10 cm-long sharp-ended wire was detected in the reticulum. Histopathologically, fibrous suppurative epicarditis and myocardial necrosis were observed. Fibrosis with neovascularization were found in lungs, spleen, and liver. And granulomatous reticulitis was observed. For differential diagnosis, no pathogenic bacteria were detected through microbiological tests and PCR results were also negative for bovine susceptible pathogenic antigens. Based on the gross and histopathological examination, we diagnosed this case as chronic traumatic pericarditis. Cattle are inquisitive and prone to swallow various kinds of metallic foreign bodies since they do not use their lips. Therefore, avoiding ingestion of metallic objects in animal feed and animal areas by careful environmental management of farms is required and farmers should give the adequate minerals and vitamins into the feeds not to lick or shallow foreign bodies in case of mineral deficiency. For veterinary practitioners, physical examination, blood tests, and diagnostic imaging (X-ray and Ultrasonography) are required for an exact diagnosis. Furthermore, placing the magnets in rumen would be effective for prophylactic administrations.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.230-238
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• 2022

Myocarditis was previously attributed to an epidemic viral infection. Additional harmful reagents, in addition to viruses, play a role in its etiology. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-induced myocarditis has recently been described, drawing attention to vaccine-induced myocarditis in children and adolescents. Its pathology is based on a series of complex immune responses, including initial innate immune responses in response to viral entry, adaptive immune responses leading to the development of antigen-specific antibodies, and autoimmune responses to cellular injury caused by cardiomyocyte rupture that releases antigens. Chronic inflammation and fibrosis in the myocardium eventually result in cardiac failure. Recent advancements in molecular biology have remarkably increased our understanding of myocarditis. In particular, microRNAs (miRNAs) are a hot topic in terms of the role of new biomarkers and the pathophysiology of myocarditis. Myocarditis has been linked with microRNA-221/222 (miR-221/222), miR-155, miR-10a^*, and miR-590. Despite the lack of clinical trials of miRNA intervention in myocarditis yet, multiple clinical trials of miRNAs in other cardiac diseases have been aggressively conducted to help pave the way for future research, which is bolstered by the success of recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved small-RNA medications. This review presents basic information and recent research that focuses on myocarditis and related miRNAs as a potential novel biomarker and the therapeutics.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.258-261
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• 2014

A 4-week-old male piglet being maintained in a research facility was found dead without any previous clinical signs. The piglet had been born from a surrogate mother after somatic nuclear transfer as part of a xenotransplantation study. Ovaries for nuclear transfer were obtained from a private farm outside the research facility. Histopathologically, multifocal to coalescing granulomatous myocarditis was observed in the heart, characterized by infiltration of lymphocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells, and by myocardial necrosis and fibrosis. Lymphoid tissues showed marked lymphoid depletion with infiltration by histiocytes or giant cells. Immunohistochemistry showed PCV-2 antigens in necrotic myocytes, macrophages and multinucleated giant cells in the heart, as well as in macrophages and giant cells in lymphoid depleted areas of lymphoid tissues. Reproductive failure associated with PCV-2 in aborted or stillborn piglets is frequently characterized by myocarditis, and similar lesions were observed in this 4-week-old piglet with PCV-2 infection. The PCV-2 infection in this piglet may have been due to contamination or infection of an ovary from the pig farm.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.997-1003
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• 2006

An experiment with twenty crossbred goat kids (male) of 2-3 months old, weighing about 12 kg was conducted to study the effect of feeding formaldehyde treated rape seed oil cake based diet supplemented with molasses on growth rate and histopathological changes of different organs. Goats were randomly divided into four groups of 5 animals each and were individually fed for a period of 120 days. The animals in group I (URC) and II (URCM) were fed concentrate mixture (CM-I) containing untreated rape seed oil cake (30%) while, the animals in group III (TRC) and IV (TRCM) were offered concentrate mixture (CM-II) containing formaldehyde treated rape seed oil cake. Further, molasses as energy source was additionally supplemented with the concentrate mixture at the rate of 8% of concentrate mixture on dry matter basis to animals in group II and IV. All the animals were maintained on roughage (Berseem hay:wheat straw = 2:1) and concentrate in 50:50 ratio. Average daily gain (g/d) of animals in group IV was significantly (p<0.05) higher than that in group I., but at par with group II and III. Feed conversion efficiency was also significantly (p<0.05) higher in group IV (10.14) than group I and II but at par with group III. The growth rate however increased by 50.2% in group IV showing more consistency in maintaining highest growth rate due to better balance of nutrients. At the end of four months of feeding trial, two animals from each group were sacrificed for histopathological study of different organs. Significant histopathological changes in liver, heart, lungs tissue of animals fed untreated rape seed oil cake diet were recorded which were totally absent in the organ of animals fed formaldehyde treated cake. The liver tissue of goats receiving control diet (containing untreated rape seed oil cake) were found to be associated with engorged central vein and blood vessels. Hepatocytes were swollen, pale and degenerated with cellular infiltration and fibrosis of portal areas. The muscles of heart were found to have intermyofibral edema. Emphysema accompanied by dilated and ruptured alveoli was also recorded in lung tissue. However, histopathological examination of various tissues of goats fed formaldehyde treated cake diet did not exhibit any degenerative changes. Additional supplementation of molasses with or without treated cake diet, apparently did not have any significant effect on ameliorating the above degenerative changes.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.346-352
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• 1998

Rheumatic valvulitis produces at least three distinct pathologic changes, the degree varying widely among the patients: fusion of the valve leaflets at the commissures; fusion and shortening of chordae tendinae: and fibrosis of the leaflets with subsequent stiffening, contraction and calcification. The most extensive changes usually are seen in patients with recurrent attacks of rheumatic fever. We studied on outcome of the surgical treatments of rheumatic valvular diseases that have been experienced for 12 years since 1982 at Pusan National University Hospital. The diagnoses were made by rheumatic fever history, echocardiographic findings, gross operative findings and microscopic findings. Total 502 patients were performed surgery for valvular heart diseases and 440 patients of rheumatic origin have bene analysed. There were more female than male patients as 1.3:1, and the mean age was 37.8 years old. 96.3% of them affected to the mitral valve, 19.8% to aortic valve, 16.3% affected to the tricuspid valve. Most of them underwent valve replacement, and valve repair was done in 3.9% of patients. There were 36 hospital deaths(8.2%) mainly from low cardiac output syndrome, and 15 late deaths equally due to embolism and hemorrhage. Follow up was 90.1% completed(2890 patient- year). Linealized rates of late complication events are follows : thromboembolism 1.3% per patient year; anticoagulant related hemorrhage 0.8% per patient year. Overall actuarial survival including hospital mortality was 92.7＋/-2.9% in 1 year, 88.0＋/-4.5% in 5 year, 82.3＋/-7.7% in 10 year. We conclude that the rheumatic disease is still the most frequent and the most important cause of heart valve disease. So more intensive study is needed in spite of the abrupt decreasing rate of rheumatic fever in U.S.A. and other industrial country.