• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.10-21
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• 2001

Objective : This study was performed to investigate the protective effect of Stephania tetrandra(ST) against ischemic brain damage after a middle cerebral artery(MCA) occlusion. The effect was evaluated using histological tests, neurobehavioral tests, and biochemical tests. Methods : Rats(Sprague-Dawley) were divided into four groups : sham operated group, MCA occluded group, post MCA occlusion Stephania tetrandra administrated (7.6mg/l00g) group, and normal group. The MCA was occluded by intraluminal method. Stephania tetrandra was administrated orally twice at 1 and 4 hours after MCA occlusion. The neurobehavioral test was performed at 3, 6, 9 and 24 hours after MCA occlusion by posture reflex test and swimming behavioral test. All groups were sacrificed then. The brain tissues were stained with 2% triphenyl tetrazolium chloride(TTC) or 1 % cresyl violet solution, to examine infarct size, volume and cell number. Tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ level was measured from sera using Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay(ELISA). The mRNA expression level of inflammatory cytokines and related receptor type I and II, $IL-1{\beta}$, IL-6, and IL-10 6hours after MCA occlusion were also studied by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(RTPCR). Results : The results showed that : Stephania tetrandra (1) reduced infarct size and total infarct volume by 52.2% compared to the control group; (2) attenuated significantly in neuronal death, which was shown by a decrease in cell number(P<0.01) and size(P<0.01) in the boundary area of the infarction; (3) significantly reduced serum $TNF-{\alpha}$ level, and increased the mRNA level of IL-10 in the cortex region(P<0.01). However, there was no significant effect on motor deficit in swimming behavioral test. Conclusions : In conclusion, Stephania tetrandra has protective effects against ischemic brain damage at the early stage of ischemia.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.46 no.10
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• pp.989-995
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• 2003

Purpose : Dexamethasone is frequently administered to prevent or treat chronic lung disease in human neonates who are also prone to hypoxic-ischemic(HI) insults. Recently, meta-analysis of the follow-up studies reveals a significantly increased odd ratio for the occurrence of cerebral palsy or an abnormal neurologic outcome, and there is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of dexamethasone exposure on HI brain injury. This study was conducted to explore the effect of post-HI dexamethasone administration on neuronal injury in neonatal rats. Methods : HI was produced in seven-day-old rats by right carotid artery ligation followed by two hours of 8% oxygen exposure. At the end of HI, the animals were injected intraperitoneally either with dexamethasone(0.5 mg/kg) or saline. Neuronal injury was assessed seven days after the HI by the area of infarction, TUNEL reactivity, Bcl-2 and Bax expression in brain. Results : Post-insult dexamethasone administration resulted in reduction of weight gain and a higher mortality rate during seven days after HI. Dexamethasone treatment revealed no effect on the size of brain infarction induced by HI. Bax protein expression increased in dexamethasone treated brain but Bcl-2 protein expression and TUNEL reactivity revealed no significant differences between dexamethasone treated and non treated brain. Increased Bax protein expression suggest upregulation of the apoptosis by dexamethasone. Conclusion : The result suggests the adverse role of Post-HI administration of dexamethasone in neonatal HI.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2014

Among semi-quantitative or fully quantitative lateral flow assay readers, an image sensor-based instrument has been widely used because of its simple setup, cheap sensor price, and compact equipment size. For all previous approaches, monochrome CCD or CMOS cameras were used for lateral flow assay imaging in which the overall intensities of all colors were taken into consideration to estimate the analyte content, although the analyte related color information is only limited to a narrow wavelength range. In the present work, we introduced a color CCD camera as a sensor and a color decomposition method to improve the sensitivity of the quantitative biosensor system which utilizes the lateral flow assay successfully. The proposed setup and image processing method were applied to achieve the quantification of imitatively dispensed particles on the surface of a porous membrane first, and the measurement result was then compared with that using a monochrome CCD. The compensation method was proposed in different illumination conditions. Eventually, the color decomposition method was introduced to the commercially available lateral flow immunochromatographic assay for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. The measurement sensitivity utilizing the color image sensor is significantly improved since the slopes of the linear curve fit are enhanced from 0.0026 to 0.0040 and from 0.0802 to 0.1141 for myoglobin and creatine kinase (CK)-MB detection, respectively.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.86-89
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• 2011

Traumatic ventricular septal defect (VSD) resulting from blunt chest injury is a very rare event. The mechanisms of traumatic VSD have been of little concern to dateuntil now, but two dominant theories have been described. In one, the rupture occurs due to acute compression of the heart; in the other, it is due to myocardial infarction of the septum. The clinical symptoms and timing of presentation are variable, so appropriate diagnosis can be difficult or delayed. Closure of traumatic VSD has been based on a combination of heart failure symptoms, hemodynamics, and defect size. Here, we present a case of a 4-year-old boy who presented with a traumatic VSD following a car accident. He showed normal cardiac structure at the time of injury, but after 8 days, his repeated echocardiography revealed a VSD. He was successfully treated by surgical closure of the VSD, and has been doing well up to the present. This report suggests that the clinician should pay great close attention to the patients injured by blunt chest trauma, keeping in mind the possibility of cardiac injury.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.30-38
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• 2007

Objective : To elucidate the role of aquaporin-4[AQP4] in cerebral edema formation, we studied the expression and subcellular localization of AQP4 in astrocytes after focal cerebral ischemia. Methods : Cerebral ischemia were induced by permanent middle cerebral artery[MCA] occlusion in rats and estimated by the discoloration after triphenyltetrazolium chloride[TTC] immersion. Change of AQP4 expression were evaluated using western blot. Localization of AQP4 was assessed by confocal microscopy and its interaction with ${\alpha}-syntrophin$ was analyzed by immunoprecipitation. Results : After right MCA occlusion, the size of infarct and number of apoptotic cells increased with time. The ratio of GluR1/GluR2 expression also increased during ischemia. The polarized localization of AQP4 in the endfeet of astrocytes contacting with ventricles, vessels and pia mater was changed into the diffuse distribution in cytoplasm. The interactions of AQP4 and Kir with ${\alpha}-syntrophin$, an adaptor of dystrophin complex, were disrupted by cerebral ischemia. Conclusion : The deranged spatial buffering function of astrocytes due to mislocalized AQP4/Kir4.1 channel as well as increased assembly of $Ca^{2+}$ permeable AMPA receptors might contribute to the development of edema formation and the excitotoxic neuronal cell death during ischemia.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.101-110
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• 2018

In this study, we aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active component of propolis purified from honeybee hives, on photothrombotic cortical ischemic injury in mice. Permanent focal ischemia was achieved in the medial frontal and somatosensory cortices of anesthetized male C57BL/6 mice by irradiation of the skull with cold light laser in combination with systemic administration of rose bengal. The animals were treated with CAPE (0.5-5 mg/kg, i.p.) twice 1 and 6 h after ischemic insult. CAPE significantly reduced the infarct size as well as the expression of tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$, hypoxiainducible $factor-1{\alpha}$ monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, $interleukin-1{\alpha}$, and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase in the cerebral cortex ipsilateral to the photothrombosis. Moreover, it induced an increase in heme oxygenase-1 immunoreactivity and interleukin-10 expression. These results suggest that CAPE exerts a remarkable neuroprotective effect on ischemic brain injury via its anti-inflammatory properties, thereby providing a benefit to the therapy of cerebral infarction.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.406-412
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• 2009

ECG is used on purpose to keep good health or monitor cardiac function of aged person as well as on purpose to diagnose the disease of heart patients. The ambulatory ECG monitoring system under guarantee of safety and accuracy is very efficient to prevent the progress of heart disease and sudden death. These systems can detect the temporary change of ECG that is very significant to diagnose heart disease such as myocardial ischemia, arrhyamia and cardiac infarction. In this paper, we describe the ECG signal analysis algorithm and measurement device for ECG monitoring. The authors designed a small-size portable ECG device that consisted of instrumentation amplifier, micro-controller, filter and RF module. The device measures ECG with four electrodes on the body and detects QRS complex and ST level change in realtime. Also it transmits the measured signals to the personal computer. The developed software for ECG analysis in personal computer has the function to detect the feature points and ST level changes.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2009

Objectives : This study evaluates neuroprotective effect of Gastrodiae Rhizoma on apoptosis in the cerebral infarct. Methods : Cerebral infarct was induced by the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 2 hours with intraluminal thread method in Sprague-Dawley rats. Then ethanol extract of Gastrodiae Rhizoma was administered orally for 3 days. Infarct area and volume were evaluated with TTC staining. Neuronal apoptosis was identified with TUNEL labeling. Apoptosis modulatory effect was observed with immunohistochemical Bax, Bcl-2, iNOS, and MMP-9 expressions in penumbra. Results : 1. Ethanol extract of Gastrodiae Rhizoma reduced infarct size partly and volume significantly of in the MCAO rat brain. 2. Ethanol extract of Gastrodiae Rhizoma reduced TUNEL positive cell ratio in the penumbra of MCAO rat brain significantly. 3. Ethanol extract of Gastrodiae Rhizoma suppressed Bax, iNOS and MMP-9 expression in the penumbra of MCAO rat brain significantly. 4. Ethanol extract of Gastrodiae Rhizoma did not change Bcl-2 expression in the penumbra of MCAO rat brain. But expression ratio of Bcl-2 against Bax was increased in the Gastrodiae Rhizoma group. Conclusions : These results suggest that Gastrodiae Rhizoma plays an anti-apoptotic neuroprotective effect through suppression of Bax, iNOS, and MMP-9 expressions and relative up-regulation of Bcl-2 in the ischemic brain tissue.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.45-45
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• 2003

To evaluate remodeling of infarcted myocardium with contrast-enhanced MRI (co-MRI) at true end-diastole (ED) MRI was performed with a Gyroscan Intera (1.5 Tesla, Philips, Netherlands) in 13 patients with acute subendocardial myocardial infarction. The First exam was done 0-15 days (mean 5.2days) after symptom onset and the second exam 28-88days (mean 49 days) after the first exam. Ce-MRI encompassing the entire left ventricle was performed with a multi-shot, turbo-field-echo, breath-hold sequence and a non-selective, inversion prepulse 10 minutes after the intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA at a dose of 0.2 mmol/kg body weight. To allow the long TD, ECG synchronization should use two RR-intervals for one acquisition of a segment of k-space by setting the heart rate to half that of the true heart rate. Trigger delay time (TD) was adjusted to the RR-interval for true end-diastolic imaging. The other typical parameters were TR=5.4ms, TE=1.6ms, voxel size=1.37${\times}$1.37${\times}$10mm, k-space data segmented into 8 segments with 32 lines of segment per two cycles over 16 cardiac circles. The thickness of hyperenhanced myocardium and epicardially nonenhanced myocardium were followed.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.92-92
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• 2003

To evaluate remodeling of infarcted myocardium with contrast-enhanced MRI (co-MRI) at true end-diastole (ED) MRI was performed with a Gyroscan Intera (1.5 Tesla, Philips, Netherlands) in 13 patients with acute subendocardial myocardial infarction. The First exam was done 0-15 days (mean 5.2days) after symptom onset and the second exam 28-88days (mean 49 days) after the first exam. Ce-MRI encompassing the entire left ventricle was peformed with a multi-shot, turbo-field-echo, breath-hold sequence and a non-selective, inversion prepulse 10 minutes after the intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA at a dose of 0.2 mmol/kg body weight. To allow the long TD, ECG synchronization should use two RR-intervals for one acquisition of a segment of k-space by setting the heart rate to half that of the true heart rate. Trigger delay time (TD) was adjusted to the RR-interval for true end-diastolic imaging. The other typical parameters were TR=5.4ms, TE=1.6ms, voxel size=1.37$\times$1.37$\times$10mm, k-space data segmented into 8 segments with 32 lines of segment per two cycles over 16 cardiac cycles. The thickness of hyperenhanced myocardium and epicardially nonenhanced myocardium were followed.