• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.221-230
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• 2023

Diabetic kidney disease is one of the most serious complications of diabetes. Although diabetic kidney disease can be effectively controlled through strict blood glucose management and corresponding symptomatic treatment, these therapies cannot reduce its incidence in diabetic patients. The sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and the traditional Chinese herb "Gegen" have been widely used in diabetes-related therapy. However, it remains unclear whether the combined use of these two kinds of medicines contributes to an increased curative effect on diabetic kidney disease. In this study, we examined this issue by evaluating the efficacy of the combination of puerarin, an active ingredient of Gegen, and canagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor for a 12-week intervention using a mouse model of diabetes. The results indicated that the combination of puerarin and canagliflozin was superior to canagliflozin alone in improving the metabolic and renal function parameters of diabetic mice. Our findings suggested that the renoprotective effect of combined puerarin and canagliflozin in diabetic mice was achieved by reducing renal lipid accumulation. This study provides a new strategy for the clinical prevention and treatment of diabetic kidney disease. The puerarin and SGLT2 inhibitor combination therapy at the initial stage of diabetes may effectively delay the occurrence of diabetic kidney injury, and significantly alleviate the burden of renal lipotoxicity.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.68-74
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• 2003

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether herbal medication may injure the liver function and kidney function. We clinically studied the changes of biochemistry and complete blood cell count in patients who were hospitalized in Korean hospital. Methods : The subjects were 160 patients admitted in Kangnam Korean hospital, Kyung Hee, whose mean duration of medication was 70 days(min 30, max 252). All patients had been checked biochemistry and complete blood cell count for 30 days since their hospitalization. Results : Aspartate aminotransferase(AST), alanine aminotransferase(ALT), alkaline phosphatase(ALP), blood urea nitrogen(BUN) and Creatinine(Cr) decreased significantly on discharge, compared with the values of admissoin(P<0.05). Total protein significantly elevated on dischrge compared with the values of admisson(P<0.05). Conclusions : This study suggests that even though there are few toxic herbal medicines, in general, herbal medications which are prescribed by oriental medicine doctors should be carefully administered not to hurt liver and kidney function.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.127-130
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• 2014

Autoimmune thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the world. It is characterized clinically by gradual thyroid failure, goiter formation, or both, because of the autoimmune-mediated destruction of the thyroid gland. Renal involvement presenting proteinuria in autoimmune thyroiditis is not uncommon, occurring in 10% to 30% of the cases. Glomerulonephropathy associated with autoimmune thyroiditis, however, is a rare disease. Most reports of autoimmune thyroiditis with glomerulonephropathy have demonstrated a mixed pathological morphology and have been predominantly associated with membranous glomerulopathy. The case of minimal-change disease associated with thyroiditis presenting acute kidney injury is a rare disease that has not been reported in South Korea. Reported herein is the case of a 16-year-old man diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, with minimal-change disease presenting acute kidney injury. He revealed hypothyroidism, proteinuria, and impaired renal function. Renal biopsy showed minimal-change disease and minimal tubular atrophy. The patient was treated with thyroid hormone, and his renal function and proteinuria improved. Therefore, for patients with autoimmune thyroiditis presenting unexplained proteinuria, glomer-ulonephropathy should be ruled out. Conversely, for patients with glomerulonephropathy and persistent proteinuria despite proper treatment, thyroid function and antibody tests should be performed.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.147-157
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• 2000

This study examined the effects of excess intake of calcium (Ca) and iron (Fe) supplement on bone loss, nephrocalcinosis and renal function in osteoporotic model rats. Seven-week-old female rats were first fed a Ca-deficient diet for four weeks after ovariectomy operation, and then one of nine experimental diets for additional eight weeks, containing three levels of Ca, normal (0.5%) or high (1.5%) or excess (2.5%) and three levels of Fe, normal (35ppm) or high (210ppm) or excess (350ppm). The osteoporotic model rats showed a remarkable increase in body weight, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and decrease in breaking force, Ca, P, Mg contents of femur. Serum Ca concentration was not significantly affected by dietary Ca and Fe levles. Liver Ca content increased in rats fed a high-and excess-Ca diet. Kidney Ca content and microscopic Ca deposition remarkably increased in osteoporotic model rats compared to control group, and showed a tendency to decrease in rats fed a excess-Ca diet. Breaking force of femur increased with increasing dietary Ca levels, but Ca, P contents of femur and serum ALP were not significantly affected by dietary Ca and Fe levels. Serum total protein decreased in rats fed a excess-Ca diet, BUN increased in rats fed a excess-Ca diet, while serum uric acid and creatinine were not significantly affected by dietary Ca levels. Urinary creatinine, GFR increased in rats fed a high-and excess-Ca, diet, and GFR was highest in rats fed a excess-Ca/excess-Fe diet. These results suggest that excess intake of Ca may increase breaking force of femur, but not increase mineral contents of femur, and decrease kidney function. Furthermore, excess intake of Fe and Ca concurrently may aggravate kidney function leading to potential health problems in ovariectomized osteoporotic model rats.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.95-99
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• 1999

Idiopathic membranous nephropathy is one of the most common causes of nephrotic syndromes in adults but rare in childhood. The occurrence of crescentic glomerulonephritis and membranous nephropathy in a patient is rare. This report describes a patient who initially was diagnosed as a membranous glomerulonephropathy at age 12 years and subsequently developed a crescentic, rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis at age 19 years. The patient responded to methylprednisolone pulse therapy and he maintained with partial remission and normal renal function with residual proteinuria.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.268-272
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• 2012

Nephrotoxicity occurs when kidney-specific detoxification and excretion do not work properly due to the damage or destruction of kidney function by exogenous or endogenous toxicants. Exposure to drugs often results in toxicity in kidney which represents the major control system maintaining homeostasis of body and thus is especially susceptible to xenobiotics. Understanding the toxic mechanisms for nephrotoxicity provides useful information on the development of drugs with therapeutic benefits with reduced side effects. Mechanisms for drug-induced nephrotoxicity include changes in glomerular hemodynamics, tubular cell toxicity, inflammation, crystal nephropathy, rhabdomyolysis, and thrombotic microangiopathy. Biomarkers have been identified for the assessment of nephrotoxicity. The discovery and development of novel biomarkers that can diagnose kidney damage earlier and more accurately are needed for effective prevention of drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Although some of them fail to confer specificity and sensitivity, several promising candidates of biomarkers were recently proved for assessment of nephrotoxicity. In this review, we summarize mechanisms of drug-induced nephrotoxicity and present the list of drugs that cause nephrotoxicity and biomarkers that can be used for early assessment of nephrotoxicity.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.37-41
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• 2018

Mitochondrial injury in renal tubule has been recognized as a major contributor in acute kidney injury (AKI) pathogenesis. Ischemic insult, nephrotoxin, endotoxin and contrast medium destroy mitochondrial structure and function as well as their biogenesis and dynamics, especially in renal proximal tubule, to elicit ATP depletion. Mitochondrial fatty acid ${\beta}$-oxidation (FAO) is the preferred source of ATP in the kidney, and its impairment is a critical factor in AKI pathogenesis. This review explores current knowledge of mitochondrial dysfunction and energy depletion in AKI and prospective views on developing therapeutic strategies targeting mitochondrial dysfunction in AKI.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.160-167
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• 2017

The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the association between periodontal disease and chronic kidney disease. A search of Embase, PubMed and The Cochrane Library databases was performed up to April 17, 2016. Article selection was based on cohort study design and the study subjects were patients with periodontal disease or severe periodontal disease. The final result was development of chronic kidney disease and kidney function decrease based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate values. The quantitative synthesis of the final selected articles was assessed using Review Manager statistical analysis software. A fixed-effects model meta-analysis was performed to estimate the degree of association between periodontal disease and chronic kidney disease. The search strategy identified 3,018 potentially eligible articles, of these, four studies were finally selected for meta-analysis, revealing that periodontal disease was significantly associated with the risk of developing chronic kidney disease (odds ratio, 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.44~1.90; p<0.001). In order to prevent the development of chronic kidney disease and kidney function decrease it is important to prevent periodontal disease, as well as minimizing the traditional risk factors known to reduce the quality of life of patients and increase disease burden.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.822-834
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• 2007

This study searched the philosophical and medical thought of mutual understanding and human body. Mutual understanding is a fundamental problem in all branches of oriental studies. In other words, mutual understanding becomes the existential foundation of heaven-earth-human(三才). So human beings, heaven and the earth can't exist if there is no mutual understanding. It comes out the problem of self-consciousness in philosophy, and qi movement pattern like upward, downward, inward and outward movement in traditional korean medicine. Human beings have mutual understandings with heaven and the earth from a macroscopic standpoint, on the other side the human body from a microscopic standpoint. Qi movement is the mutual understanding and response of qi in human body, so with which the physiological functions and pathologic changes of viscera and bowels comes out. Therefore we want to present how to complete qi movement between viscera-bowels and organs to examine mutual understandings in human body closely. The results was summarized as follows; First, upbearing the clear yang and down bearing the turbid yin of spleen-stomach is main pivot of upward and downward of qi movement, and it is true form of mutual understandings between viscera and bowels, so upward, downward, inward and outward movement of whole viscera and bowels can be controlled by spleen-stomach. Second, by restraining relationships between downward heart fire and upward kidney water, heart fire and kidney water have close communications physiologically and pathologically as upper-lower, yin-yang and water-fire. Third, by restraining relationships between upbearing and effusion of liver and purification and down-sending of lung, liver and lung are outer circles of upward and downward movement, so they have antagonistic functions. Firth, by the relationships between upbearing the clear and down bearing the turbid of spleen-stomach and free coursing of liver, free coursing of liver-gallbladder is the essential requirement that it certify transportation and transformation of spleen-earth, so the disease of liver-gallbladder induce spleen-stomach disease pattern to affect its function of transportation and transformation. Fifth, by spleen and kidney, spleen yang is based on kidney yang, so the weakness of kidney yang can affect the function of transportation and transformation of spleen-stomach as it can't warm spleen earth. Sixth, by homogeny of liver-kidney, essence and blood of liver-kidney and ministerial fire of liver-kidney have mutal generation and limitation physiologically and they mutually are affected in pathologically.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.15-20
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• 2021

Purpose This article studies the relationship between the length of a kidney measured by two scanning methods: Kidney Computed Tomography (CT) and ^99mTc-Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) renal scan. Kidney CT provides a better anatomic assessment, while ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan is superior in the kidney function test. Materials and Methods From January to December of 2019, two hundred patients who had Kidney CT and Tc^99m-DMSA renal scan were chosen for this study. SPSS17.0 was selected for statistical analysis. Results Due to the effect of the breathing and resolution of ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan, it showed the kidney's relatively longer length than the length of Kidney CT. For the same kidney, the length comparison among different brands' Gamma cameras was negligible. The length difference within the same age group did not show a noticeable discrepancy. However, there was a length difference between the radio technologists. Kidney CT and ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan indicated a strong positive correlation between the length of the left and right kidney. Conclusion It is necessary to establish a standardized measurement method for measuring kidney length using ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan. The kidney's functional changes and length changes are indications of Kidney diseases. Especially, pediatric patients tend to use ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan for assessing the kidney's shape and the function to avoid potential radiation exposure during the Kidney CT. Therefore, it is significant to provide not only the kidney's functional information but also an anatomic analysis, including the kidney's size, length, and location through the ^99mTc-DMSA renal scan.