• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.431-437
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• 2008

Sengmaek-san(Shengmai-san; SMS) is used in oriental medicine as one of the key herbal medicine for treating diverse symptoms including cardiovascular and neurological disorders. In the present study, the effects of SMS on axonal regeneration were investigated in the rat model given sciatic nerve injury. SMS treatment enhanced axonal regrowth into and the number of non-neuronal cells in the distal area after crush injury. GAP-43 protein levels were increased in the injured sciatic nerve compared to intact nerve and further upreguated by SMS treatment. GAP-43 protein was increased similarly in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) at lumbar 4 - 6 by nerve injury and SMS treatment, suggesting GAP-43 induction at gene expression level. SMS-mediated increase in phospho-Erk1/2 protein was observed in the DRG as well as in the injured nerve implying its retrograde transport into the cell body as the process of lesion signal transmission. The present findings suggest that SMS may be involved in enhanced axonal regeneration via dynamic regulation of regeneration-associated proteins.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1569-1575
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• 2007

In oriental medicine, Sukjihwang (SJH, Rehmanniae radix preparat) has been used as one of the key ingredients for the prescription of several herbal decoctions and applied clinically for the treatment of several diseases including nervous system and cardiovascular disease. Here, possible growth-promoting effects of SJH on injured spinal cord axons were investigated in the rats. SJH administration increased levels of active form of ERK1/2 protein and Cdc2 proteins in the injured spinal cord tissue. Anterograde DiI-tracing of corticospinal tract axons showed that SJH-treatment enhanced axonal arborization in the injury area and extensive axonal extension into the caudal area. In SJH-treated group, glial scar formed after spinal cord injury was confined in a smaller area compared to the control group, and the trabecula structure was well observed within the injury cavity. Furthermore, increased proliferation and migration of astrocytes in the injury cavity were observed by SJH treatment. Thus, these present data provide a biological evidence on potential importance of SJH therapy for the treatment of injured spinal cord.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.257-263
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• 2011

This study was designed to investigate the effects of Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture treatment and electroacupuncture therapy on the functional recovery and histological change, protein expression in spinal cord injury(SCI) rats. Experimental groups were divided into the Group I(normal control rat), Group II(Non-treatment after spinal cord injury induction), Group III(Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture treatment after SCI induction), Group IV (Electroacupuncture therapy after SCI induction), Group V(Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture treatment and electroacupuncture therapy after SCI induction). After operation, rats were tested at modified Tarlov test at 1 to 3 days with divided into 4 groups, and motor behavior test(BBB locomotor rating scale, Grid walk test) was examined at 3, 7, 14, and 21 days. For the observation of damage change and size of the organized surface in muscle and spinal cord, histopathological studies were performed at 21 days by H & E stain, and BDNF & NT-3 protein expression studies were performed at 21 days. Acco rding to the results, Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture treatment and electroacupuncture therapy can play a role in facilitating recovery of locomotion following spinal cord injury. Specially, Hominis placenta pharmacopuncture treatment and electroacupuncture combimed therapy after SCI induction was most improvement in functional recovery, BDNF, and NT-3 protein synthesis.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.219-225
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• 2019

The objective of this study is to observe the effectiveness of complex Korean Medicine treatments on pain reduction of patients after meniscal surgery. We analyzed 16 patients who have been diagnosed as Meniscal injury on Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI) scan and had admitted to Dunsan Korean Medical hospital from January 30, 2014 to April 30, 2019. The analysis was conducted as retrospective study which analyzes patient's medical records. Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS statistics 25 program. We used Numeric Rating Scale to evaluate pain reduction, Five-point likert scale to asses treatment satisfaction. The result showed that there were statistically significant pain reduction on the postoperative meniscal injury patients treated with complex Korean Medicine treatments. In conclusion, we found that the complex Korean Medicine treatments showed a positive effect on pain reduction of postoperative meniscal injury patients. Further research is required to confirm the effectiveness of Korean Medicine treatment.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.16-44
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• 2003

Skeletal muscle regeneration is a vital process for various muscle myopathies and muscular adaptation to physiological overload. Angiogenesis is the key event in the process of muscle regeneration, and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) plays an important role in it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of GaAlAs(830nm) laser and immunoreactivity of VEGF on angiogenesis after muscle contusion injury. Muscle contusion injury was induced in the triceps surae muscle by dropping a metal bead(31.4g). GaAlAs laser irradiation(power 20 mW, frequency 2000 Hz, treatment time 15 min) was applied directly to the skin of injured muscle daily for seven days. The experimental group I was irradiated immediately by laser after injury, whereas the experimental group II was irradiated after 1 day of injury. The control group was non-irradiated. The results of this study were as follows. 1. In morphological observation, there were no significant changes in experimental and control groups for 7 days. At 3 days, however, the splited muscle fibers were observed in experimental groups, and the muscle atrophy and granular tissue viewed at 7 days in control group. 2. The VEGF was expressed in muscle fiber that located in the interspace between gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. As the time coursed, the immunoreactivity of VEGF also seemed to be strong in the individual muscle fibers. 3. The experimental group I & II showed higher immunoreactivity of VEGF than control group(p<0.05). Then, the experimental group I showed higher than group II especially(p<0.05). These data suggest GaAlAs semiconduct diode laser irradiation(830nm) enhanced angiogenesis in the skeletal muscle induced contusion injury, and immediate laser irradiation after injury promoted the angiogenesis greatly than after 1 day of injury.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.992-996
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• 2006

The study examined clinical effect of the 'Sexiang Shuhuo Jing' on serum CK and LDH activities and skeletal muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA expression concentration 140days after skeletal muscle injury in rats. The clinical research consisted of observing and measuring the serum CK, LDH activities and skeletal muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA expression, at the time of injury and during recovery. All experimental data were analyzed by repeated measurement with ANOVA on of SPSS(11.5v), accepting level for all significances was above ${\alpha}\;=.05.$ The results were as follows: That skeletal muscle injury in rats there existed a substantial increase serum CK, LDH activities and expression of skeletal muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA And Sexiang Shuhuo Jing treatment group's serum CK, LDH activities lower and faster recovery than control group. The 1 st day after skeletal muscle injury, Sexiang Shuhuo Jing treatment group's skeletal muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA expression was much more higher than control group, after 2 day's faster recovery normal level than control group. There existed a substantial increase again serum CK, LDH activities and skeletal muscle ${\alpha}-actin$ mRNA expression 3rd days after injury in control group. But in Sexiang Shuhuo Jing treatment group's can't be found that.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.81-86
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• 2021

Purpose: This study investigated the clinical outcomes of trauma patients with blunt thoracic aortic injuries at a single institution. Methods: During the study period, 9,501 patients with traumatic aortic injuries presented to Trauma Center of Gil Medical Center. Among them, 1,594 patients had severe trauma, with an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of >15. Demographics, physiological data, injury mechanism, hemodynamic parameters associated with the thoracic injury according to chest computed tomography (CT) findings, the timing of the intervention, and clinical outcomes were reviewed. Results: Twenty-eight patients had blunt aortic injuries (75% male, mean age, 45.9±16.3 years). The majority (82.1%, n=23/28) of these patients were involved in traffic accidents. The median ISS was 35.0 (interquartile range 21.0-41.0). The injuries were found in the ascending aorta (n=1, 3.6%) aortic arch (n=8, 28.6%) aortic isthmus (n=18, 64.3%), and descending aorta (n=1, 3.6%). The severity of aortic injuries on chest CT was categorized as intramural hematoma (n=1, 3.6%), dissection (n=3, 10.7%), transection (n=9, 32.2%), pseudoaneurysm (n=12, 42.8%), and rupture (n=3, 10.7%). Endovascular repair was performed in 71.4% of patients (45% within 24 hours), and two patients received surgical management. The mortality rate was 25% (n=7). Conclusions: Traumatic thoracic aortic injuries are life-threatening. In our experience, however, if there is no rupture and extravasation from an aortic injury, resuscitation and stabilization of vital signs are more important than an intervention for an aortic injury in patients with multiple traumas. Further study is required to optimize the timing of the intervention and explore management strategies for blunt thoracic aortic injuries in severe trauma patients needing resuscitation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.289-297
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• 1996

Excitatory amino acids (EAA) are thought to play an important role in producing cell death associated with ischemic and traumatic spinal cord injury. The present study was carried out to determine if the response characteristics of spinal sensory neurons in segments adjacent to degeneration sites induced by EAA are altered following these morphological changes. Intraspinal injections of quisqualic acid (QA) produced neuronal degeneration and spinal cavitation of gray matter. The severity of lesions was significantly attenuated by pretreatment with a non-NMDA antagonist NBQX. In extracellular single unit recordings, dorsal horn neurons in QA injected animal showed the increased mechanosensitivity, which included a shift to the left in the stimulus-response relationship, an increased background activity and an increase in the duration of after-discharge responses. Neuronal responses, especially the C-fiber response, to suprathreshold electrical stimulation of sciatic nerve also increased in most cases. These results suggest that altered functional states of neurons may be responsible for sensory abnormalities, e.g. allodynia and hyperalgesia, associated with syringomyolia and spinal cord injury.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.67-86
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• 2002

Three routes have been identified triggering neuronal death under physiological and pathological conditions. Excess activation of ionotropic glutamate receptors cause influx and accumulation of $Ca^{2+}$ and $Na^+$ that result in rapid swelling and subsequent neuronal death within a few hours. The second route is caused by oxidative stress due to accumulation of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. Apoptosis or programmed cell death that often occurs during developmental process has been coined as additional route to pathological neuronal death in the mature nervous system. Evidence is being accumulated that excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and apoptosis propagate through distinctive and mutually exclusive signal transduction pathway and contribute to neuronal loss following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Thus, the therapeutic intervention of hypoxic-ischemic neuronal injury should be aimed to prevent excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in a concerted way.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.681-687
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• 2010

Sibjeondaebo-tang (SJDBT) is an oriental medicinal prescription for the treatments of diverse symptoms including neurological disorders. In order to investigate its potential role for neural regulation following nerve injury, neurite outgrowth of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in culture was investigated. In DRG neurons which were preconditioned by sciatic nerve injury, neurite outgrowth was enhanced by SJDBT treatment. When preconditioned DRG neurons were co-cultured with astrocytes prepared from injured spinal cord tissue, neurite outgrowth was similarly facilitated by SJDBT. Astrocytes in co-culture showed more intense signals of vimentin protein by SJDBT compared to saline control. Sukjihwang (SJH), a conventional herbal component of SJDBT prescription, did not induce any significant changes in neurite extension of DRG neurons compared to control cells. These data suggest that SJDBT may be the therapeutic agent for nervous system disorders related to nerve damage.