• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제20권6호
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• pp.1785-1788
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• 2006

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) may progress to advanced liver disease. The diagnosis is made on liver biopsy when investigating a patient with raised transaminases and an otherwise negative biochemical and serological work-up. The subject was a obese male patient who had unexplained raised GOT, GPT. He had no alcoholic consumption and drug ingested. On serological examination, HBsAg and Anti-HCV test are negative. The subject was diagnosed as NASH, and was treated with oriental treatment for obesity. After 2months treatment the raised GOT, GPT decreased to normal range.

• 한방비만학회지
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.167-172
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• 2022

Obesity is known as the most common risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Weight loss is needed to prevent liver function damage from progressing to non-alcoholic hepatosteatosis (NASH) and NASH-related liver cirrhosis. The purpose of this study was to observe the recovery of liver function in obese patients with liver dysfunction through traditional Korean obesity treatment. Body weight, liver function levels and renal function levels were examined by prescribing traditional Korean medicine in obese patients with mild elevation of liver function test. Blood tests were conducted at intervals of one month, and it was observed that liver function recovered to the normal range in three patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.470-478
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• 2019

Purpose: The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in children is gradually increasing. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of serum adiponectin and soluble adiponectin receptor 2 (soluble Adipo R2) levels for the diagnosis of fatty liver disease in obese and overweight children. Methods: The study included 51 obese and overweight children between the ages of 6 and 18 years diagnosed with NAFLD using ultrasonography and 20 children without fatty liver disease. Patients whose alanine transaminase level was two times higher than normal (${\geq}80U/L$) were included in the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) group. Results: NASH was observed in 11 (21.6%) of the patients with NAFLD. The incidence of obesity was higher in patients with NASH (80% and 45%, p=0.021). While the adiponectin levels were similar in patients with NAFLD and those without, they were below the normal level in the whole study group. Adiponectin and soluble Adipo R2 levels of patients with NASH were lower than those in patients without NASH; however, this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.064 and p=0.463). Soluble Adipo R2 levels in obese patients with NAFLD were higher than those in obese children without NAFLD (p<0.001). Conclusion: Soluble adiponectin receptor 2 level is a noninvasive marker that can be used for the diagnosis of NAFLD in obese children.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.236-245
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• 2024

Purpose: The prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing with the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. Although NASH has a high risk of progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, few studies have reported noninvasive markers for predicting hepatic fibrosis in children. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracies of serologic biomarkers and scoring systems for hepatic fibrosis in obese children with NASH. Methods: A total of 96 children were diagnosed with NASH based on liver biopsy findings and divided into two groups according to the degree of liver fibrosis: mild (stage 0-1) or advanced (stage 2-4). Clinical and laboratory parameters and serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen were measured. The aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were calculated. Results: Among the noninvasive markers, only serum type IV collagen level and FIB-4 were significantly different between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating curve of each biomarker and scoring system was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.90) for type IV collagen at an optimal cutoff of 148 ng/mL (sensitivity 69.8%, specificity 84.6%), followed by 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57-0.83) for APRI, 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56-0.80) for FIB-4, and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53-0.77) for hyaluronic acid. Conclusion: Type IV collagen as a single noninvasive serologic biomarker for hepatic fibrosis and FIB-4 as a hepatic fibrosis score are beneficial in predicting advanced hepatic fibrosis and determining proper diagnosis and treatment strategies before fibrosis progresses in obese children with NASH.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제11권2호
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• pp.204-209
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• 2008

저자들은 뇌하수체저하증을 동반한 조기에 발병된 소아 비만 환자에서 비알코올성 지방간질환의 진행으로 인한 간경화를 경험하였기에 이를 보고하는 바이며, 향후 뇌하수체저하증이 동반된 비만 환자에서 비알코올성 지방간질환의 발생 및 진행에 대한 주의 깊은 관찰이 필요할 것으로 사료된다.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제36권2호
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• pp.67-77
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• 2019

The paradigm of chronic liver diseases has been shifting. Although hepatitis B and C viral infections are still the main causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the introduction of effective antiviral drugs may control or cure them in the near future. In contrast, the burden of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing for decades, and 25 to 30% of the general population in Korea is estimated to have NAFLD. Over 10% of NAFLD patients may have nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a severe form of NAFLD. NASH can progress to cirrhosis and HCC. NASH is currently the second leading cause to be placed on the liver transplantation list in the United States. NAFLD is associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome. The pathophysiology is complex and associated with lipotoxicity, inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis, and insulin resistance. The only proven effective treatment is weight reduction by diet and exercise. However, this may not be effective for advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Therefore, effective drugs are urgently needed for treating these conditions. Unfortunately, no drugs have been approved for the treatment of NASH. Many pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop new drugs for the treatment of NASH. Some of them are in phase 2 or 3 clinical trials. Here, pharmacologic therapies in clinical trials, as well as the basic principles of drug therapy, will be reviewed, focusing on pathophysiology.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.147-158
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• 2016

The liver lies at the intersection of multiple metabolic pathways and consequently plays a central role in lipid metabolism. Pathological disturbances in hepatic lipid metabolism are characteristic of chronic metabolic diseases, such as obesity-mediated insulin resistance, which can result in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Tissue damage induced in NAFLD activates and recruits liver-resident and non-resident immune cells, resulting in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Importantly, NASH is associated with an increased risk of significant clinical sequelae such as cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, and malignancies. In this review, we describe the immunopathogenesis of NASH by defining the known functions of immune cells in the progression and resolution of disease.

• Laboraroty Animal Research
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• 제34권4호
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• pp.133-139
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• 2018

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is becoming common chronic liver disease because of the increasing global prevalence of obesity and consequently Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the mechanism for progression of NAFLD to NASH and then cirrhosis is not completely understood, yet. The triggering of these hepatic diseases is thought from hepatocyte injury caused by over-accumulated lipid toxicity. Injured hepatocytes release damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), which can stimulate the Kupffer cells (KCs), liver-resident macrophages, to release pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, and recruit monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs). The increased activation of KCs and recruitment of MDMs accelerate the progression of NAFLD to NASH and cirrhosis. Therefore, characterization for activation of hepatic macrophages, both KCs and MDMs, is a baseline to figure out the progression of hepatic diseases. The purpose of this review is to discuss the current understanding of mechanisms of NAFLD and NASH, mainly focusing on characterization and function of hepatic macrophages and suggests the regulators of hepatic macrophages as the therapeutic target in hepatic diseases.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제50권10호
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• pp.987-994
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• 2007

목 적 : 본 연구는 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증을 가진 소아 및 청소년에서 흑색가시세포증이 어떤 임상적 의의를 가지는지 알아보고자 하였다. 방 법 : 동아대학교의료원 소아청소년과에서 한개 이상의 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증으로 진료 받았던 49명의 소아 및 청소년들을 대상으로 하였다. 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증은 고혈압, 이상지질혈증, 공복혈당장애, 내당능장애, 비알콜성지방간염, HOMA-IR 값이 3.16 이상으로 인슐린 저항성이 있는 경우로 정의하였다. 나이, 비만도, 사춘기 발달 상태, 혈압, 공복 혈장 인슐린, 공복 혈장 포도당, 경구당부하검사 2시간 후 혈장 포도당, 간기능 검사, 혈장 지질 검사, HOMA-IR 값을 흑색가시세포증의 유무에 따라 비교 분석하였다. 결 과 : 32(65.3%)명에서 흑색가시세포증이 관찰되었다. 28 (57.1%)명의 환아에서 비알콜성지방간염이 관찰되었으며, 이상지질혈증은 28명(57.1%), 고혈압은 27명(55.1%), 공복혈당장애는 23명(46.9%), 내당능장애는 6명(16.2%)에서 관찰되었다. HOMA-IR 값이 3.16 이상으로 인슐린 저항성을 가진 환아는 12명(24.5 %)에서 관찰되었다. 내당능장애와 HOMA-IR 값이 3.16 이상인 인슐린 저항성은 흑색가시세포증을 동반한 중등도 이상의 비만군에서 의미있게 발생 빈도가 증가되었다(P<0.05, P<0.05). 비만도는 흑색가시세포증이 있는 환아에서 $42.4{\pm}13.0%$로 흑색가시세포증이 없는 환아의 $34.3{\pm}1.8%$ 보다 높았다(P<0.05). 흑색가시세포증이 동반된 환아에서 확장기 혈압이 높았으며($79.4{\pm}6.9mmHg$ vs $75.4{\pm}5.6mmHg$, P<0.05), 공복 인슐린($10.6{\pm}6.0{\mu}IU/mL$ vs $6.2{\pm}5.4{\mu}IU/mL$, P<0.01)은 증가되어 있었다. 흑색가시세포증이 동반된 환아에서 HOMA-IR 값($2.6{\pm}1.4$ vs $1.4{\pm}1.3$, P<0.01)이 높았으며, QUICKI 값($0.61{\pm}0.14$ vs $0.81{\pm}0.27$, P<0.01)은 낮았다. 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증을 많이 가지고 있을수록 흑색가시세포증의 발현 빈도가 증가되었다(P< 0.01). 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증이 동반된 환아에서 흑색가시세포증의 발생 위험인자를 평가하기 위해 시행한 binary logistic regression model에서 비만도와 공복 혈장 인슐린이 높을수록, 공복혈당장애가 있을 경우 흑색가시세포증의 발생 위험이 증가하였다. 결 론 : 흑색가시세포증은 비만으로 인한 대사적 합병증을 조기에 진단할 수 있는 임상적인 지표로써 유용하게 사용되어질 수 있을 것으로 생각된다.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.275-285
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• 2014

Macrophages, found in circulating blood as well as integrated into several tissues and organs throughout the body, represent an important first line of defense against disease and a necessary component of healthy tissue homeostasis. Additionally, macrophages that arise from the differentiation of monocytes recruited from the blood to inflamed tissues play a central role in regulating local inflammation. Studies of macrophage activation in the last decade or so have revealed that these cells adopt a staggering range of phenotypes that are finely tuned responses to a variety of different stimuli, and that the resulting subsets of activated macrophages play critical roles in both progression and resolution of disease. This review summarizes the current understanding of the contributions of differentially polarized macrophages to various infectious and inflammatory diseases and the ongoing effort to develop novel therapies that target this key aspect of macrophage biology.