• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.59-69
• /
• 2024

This study investigates the therapeutic potential of Indigo Naturalis (IN) in treating a Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The objective is to comprehensively examine the effects and pharmacological mechanisms of IN on IBD, assessing its potential as an novel treatment for IBD. Analysis of 11 selected papers is conducted to understand the effects of IN, focusing on compounds like indirubin, isatin, indigo, and tryptanthrin. This study evaluates their impact on Disease Activity Index (DAI) score, colon length, mucosal damage, and macrophage infiltration in Dextran Sulfate Sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mice. Additionally, It investigate into the anti-inflammatory mechanisms, including Aryl hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) pathway activation, Nuclear Factor kappa B (NF-κB)/nod-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3)/Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) inhibition, and modulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MYD88)/NF-κB and Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathways. Immunomodulatory effects on T helper 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cell (Treg cell) balance and Glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3-β) expression are also explored. Furthermore, the study addresses the role of IN in restoring intestinal microbiota diversity, reducing pathogenic bacteria, and increasing beneficial bacteria. The findings reveal that IN, particularly indirubin and indigo, demonstrates significant improvements in DAI score, colon length, mucosal damage, and macrophage infiltration in DSS-induced colitis mice. The anti-inflammatory effects are attributed to the activation of the AhR pathway, inhibition of inflammatory pathways, and modulation of immune responses. These results exhibit the potential of IN in IBD treatment. Notably, the restoration of intestinal microbiota diversity and balance further supports its efficacy. IN emerges as a promising and effective treatment for IBD, demonstrating anti-inflammatory effects and positive outcomes in preclinical studies. However, potential side effects necessitate further investigation for safe therapeutic development. The study underscores the need for future research to explore a broader range of active ingredients in IN to enhance therapeutic efficacy and safety.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.1287-1298
• /
• 2024

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that is currently difficult to treat effectively. Both Bacillus natto (BN) and ginseng-soluble dietary fiber (GSDF) are anti-inflammatory and helps sustain the intestinal barrier. In this study, the protective effects and mechanism of the combination of B. natto JLCC513 and ginseng-soluble dietary fiber (BG) in DSS-induced UC mice were investigated. Intervention with BG worked better than taking BN or GSDF separately, as evidenced by improved disease activity index, colon length, and colon injury and significantly reduced the levels of oxidative and inflammatory factors (LPS, ILs, and TNF-α) in UC mice. Further mechanistic study revealed that BG protected the intestinal barrier integrity by maintaining the tight junction proteins (Occludin and Claudin1) and inhibited the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway in UC mice. In addition, BG increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bacteroides and Turicibacter and reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria such as Allobaculum in the gut microbiota of UC mice. BG also significantly upregulated genes related to linoleic acid metabolism in the gut microbiota. These BG-induced changes in the gut microbiota of mice with UC were significantly correlated with changes in pathological indices. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that BG exerts protective effect against UC by regulating the LPS/TLR4/NF-κB pathway and the structure and metabolic function of gut microbiota. Thus, BG can be potentially used in intestinal health foods to treat UC.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.473-480
• /
• 2005

Purpose: Adenosine myocardial perfusion SPECT has proven to be useful in the detection of coronary artery disease, in the follow up the success of various therapeutic regimens and in assessing the prognosis of coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study is to define the reproducibility of myocardial perfusion SPECT using adenosine stress testing between two consecutive Tc-99m sestaMIBI (MIBI) SPECT studies in the same subjects. Methods: Thirty patients suspected of coronary artery disease in stable condition underwent sequential Tc-99m MIBI SPECT studies using intravenous adenosine. Gamma camera, acquisition and processing protocols used for the two tests were identical and no invasive procedures were performed between two tests. Mean interval between two tests were 4.1 days (range: 2-11 days). The left ventricular wall was divided into na segments and the degree of myocardial tracer uptake was graded with four-point scoring system by visual analysis. Images were interpretated by two independent nuclear medicine physicians and consensus was taken for final decision, if segmental score was not agreeable. Results: Hemodynamic responses to adenosine were not different between two consecutive studies. There were no serious side effects to stop infusion of adenosine and side effects profile was not different. When myocardial uptake was divided into normal and abnormal uptake, 481 of 540 segments were concordant (agreement rate 89%, Kappa index 0.74). With four-grade storing system, exact agreement was 81.3% (439 of 540 segments, tau b=0.73). One and two-grade differences were observed in 97 segments (18%) and 4 segments (0.7%) respectively, but three-grade difference was not observed in any segment. Extent and severity scores were not different between two studios. The extent and severity scores of the perfusion defect revealed excellent positive correlation between two test (r value for percentage extent and severity score is 0.982 and 0.965, p<0.001) Conclusion: Hemodynamic responses and side effects profile were not different between two consecutive adenosine stress tests in the same subjects. Adenosine Tc-99m sestaMIBI SPECT is highly reproducible, and could be used to assess temporal changes in myocardial perfusion in individual patients.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.138-142
• /
• 2010

Purpose: PTH (parathyroid hormone) level is a useful index for prediction of hypocalcemia after thyroidectomy. The fast results are required for an early diagnosis of hypocalcemia. In this study, we evaluated the PTH change according to incubation time, and investigated the usefulness of hypocalcemia diagnosis of PTH results in early incubation time. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 131 patients who had taken the PTH test from July to August in 2009. All experiments were used IRMA method. PTH value were evaluated with the correlation between precision (10 times repeat) and recovery rate and at 0.5, 3, 6 and $18{\pm}2$ (below overnight) hours following incubation time. Data analysis was investigated with relationship of the sensitivity, specificity, PPV (positive predictive value) and accuracy. Results: The correlation was time-dependent with levels reaching $R^2$=0.987 at 0.5 hours, $R^2$=0.993 at 3 hours and $R^2$=0.996 at 6 hours compare to overnight levels. The precision (%CV${\pm}$SD) were $15.92{\pm}15.54$ at 0.5 hours, $6.91{\pm}7.38$ at 3 hours, $4.30{\pm}4.69$ at 6 hours and $4.59{\pm}2.59$ at overnight. The recovery rate (%Mean${\pm}$SD) were $96.8{\pm}5.44$ at 0.5 hours, $102.6{\pm}4.35$ at 3 hours, $100.7{\pm}2.56$ at 6 hours and $102.2{\pm}5.98$ at overnight. When 15 pg/ml of overnight density was set up as criteria, we measured the sensitivity, specificity and PPV, accuracy at 0.5, 3, 6 hours. The sensitivity was shown to 97.5% at all times. The specificity was 96.0% at 0.5 hours, 100% at 3 hours and 92.3% at 6 hours for control, respectively. The PPV was 86.6% at 0.5 hours, 100% at 3 hours and 92.8% at 6 hours. The accuracy was shown to 84.7% at 0.5 hours, 97.5% at 3 hours and 90.6% at 6 hours. These data were accompanied by a corresponding PTH value of overnight incubation time, which significantly correlated with early time results. Conclusion: The values of PTH at 3 hours has favorable the rate of concordance of 94.1% and may be useful for prediction of hypocalcemia, and it responses to overnight incubation PTH values. Therefore, This method may be an attractive alternative to proper treatment to stop symptom revelation by giving a calcium agent to the patient.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.475-483
• /
• 2009

Subjects of the research were 668 elderly people aged over 65 from Gangneung city. OHIP 14 went through a first translation from English to Korean, discussion among experts, a second translation from Korean to English, and then the translation was approved. After the primary and main research were carried out, validity and correlation coefficient with the outcome of oral and mental health examination were studied. OHIP 14 in terms of the perception of oral health was relevant to the perception of overall health and oral health, the necessity of dental treatment, the satisfaction about oral health, the level of pain from observation, and the satisfaction about artificial tooth. OHIP 14 on account of oral health state was related to the number of present natural teeth, the necessity of dental treatment, and the status of no teeth. OHIP 14 according to overall health was correlated to the number of ailments, the state of mind, nerve systems, bones and sinews, digestive systems, urogenital systems, cerebrovascular systems, respiratory systems, eyes, ears, and dementia. OHIP 14 according to the perception of oral health showed a significant difference in the perception of overall health and oral health, the level of pain in terms of observation, and the satisfaction on artificial tooth. OHIP 14 on account of oral health state demonstrated a meaningful difference in the number of present natural teeth, the necessity of dental treatment, and status of no teeth. OHIP 14 in terms of overall health exhibited considerable difference in the state of mind, nerve systems, bones and sinews, digestive systems, cerebrovascular systems, respiratory systems, ears, and dementia. From the study, it was proven that there was relevance between the validity of OHIP 14 and the perception of oral health, the state of oral health, and the state of overall health in the experiment on some Korean elderly people.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.785-795
• /
• 1997

Background : Tumor markers have been used in diagnosis, predicting the extent of disease, monitoring recurrence after therapy and prediction of prognosis. But the utility of markers in lung cancer has been limited by low sensitivity and specificity. TPA-M is recently developed marker using combined monoclonal antibody of Cytokeratin 8, 18, and 19. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of new tumor marker, TPA-M by comparing the estabilished markers SCC, CEA, Cyfra21-1 in lung cancer. Method : An immunoradiometric assay of serum CEA, sec, Cyfra21-1, and TPA-M was performed in 49 pathologically confirmed lung cancer patients who visited Keimyung University Hospital from April 1996 to August 1996, and 29 benign lung diseases. Commercially available kits, Ab bead CEA (Eiken) to CEA, SCC RIA BEAD (DAINABOT) to SCC, CA2H (TFB) to Cyfra2H. and TPA-M (DAIICHI) to TPA-M were used for this study. Results : The mean serum values of lung cancer group and control group were $10.05{\pm}38.39{\mu}/L$, $1.59{\pm}0.94{\mu}/L$ in CEA, $3.04{\pm}5.79{\mu}/L$, $1.58{\pm}2.85{\mu}/L$ in SCC, $8.27{\pm}11.96{\mu}/L$, $1.77{\pm}2.72{\mu}/L$ in Cyfra21-1, and $132.02{\pm}209.35\;U/L$, $45.86{\pm}75.86\;U/L$ in TPA-M respectively. Serum values of Cyfra21-1 and TPA-M in lung cancer group were higher than control group (p<0.05). Using cutoff value recommended by the manufactures, that is $2.5{\mu}/L$ in CEA, $3.0{\mu}/L$ in Cyfra21-1, 70.0 U/L in TPA-M, and $2.0{\mu}/L$ in SCC, sensitivity and specificity of lung cancer were 33.3%, 78.6% in CEA, 50.0%, 89.7% in Cyfra21-1, 52.3%, 89.7% in TPA-M, 23.8%, 89.3% in SCC. Sensitivity and specificity of nonsmall cell lung cancer were 36.1%, 78.1% in CEA, 50.1%, 89.7% in Cyfra21-1, 53.1%, 89.7% in TPA-M, 33.8%, 89.3% in SCC. Sensitivity and specificity of small cell lung cancer were 25.0%, 78.5% in CEA, 50.0%, 89.6% in Cyfra21-1, 50.0%, 89.6% in TPA-M, 0%, 89.2% in SCC. Cutoff value according to ROC(Receiver operating characteristics) curve was $1.25{\mu}/L$ in CEA, $1.5{\mu}/L$ in Cyfra2-1, 35 U/L in TPA-M, $0.6{\mu}/L$ in SCC. With this cutoff value, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and kappa index of Cyfra21-1 and TPA-M were better than CEA and SCC. SCC only was related with statistic significance to TNM stages, dividing to operable stages(TNM stage I to IIIA) and inoperable stages (IIIB and IV) (p<0.05). But no tumor markers showed any correlation with significance with tumor size(p>0.05). Conclusion : Serum TPA-M and Cyfra21-1 shows higher sensitivity and specificity than CEA and SCC in overall lung cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer those were confirmed pathologically. SCC has higher specificity in nonsmall cell lung cancer. And the level of serum sec are signiticantly related with TNM staging.