• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.38 no.2 s.149
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• pp.133-138
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• 2007

Regarding chemical changes in oriental drugs after food processing such as roasting, fermentation, and extrusion, fifty commonly-used medicinal plants were investigated. As a result, Aurantii nobilis Pericarpium (a tangerine peel from Citrus unshu Markovich) showed remarkably different HPLC profiles after being roasted. An increased peak was isolated by repeated chromatography and identified as 5-hydroxymethyl furfral (5-HMF) by means of instrumental analyses. The 5-HMF content of Aurantii nobilis Pericarpoum reached its maximum level after being roasted for 30 min at 225$^{\circ}C$ (49.2 mg/g extract, ca 42 times of increase over untreated control). Although there were no significant changes in in vitro biological activity such as antioxidative, anti-dementia, anti-hypertension, anti-coagulation, or cytotoxicity, before and after roasting process, our results suggested that simple heat treatment might improve the value of the above oriental drug since 5-HMF has been known to possess inhibitory activities toward nitric oxide formation, tyrosinase, and sickling of red blood cells.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.328-333
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• 2015

Objective : The goal of this study was to assess the effect of high-dose simvastatin on cerebral vasospasm and its clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in Korean patients. Methods : This study was designed as a prospective observational cohort study. Its subjects were aneurysmal SAH patients who had undergone aneurysm clipping or coiling. They were assigned to 1 of 3 groups : the 20 mg, 40 mg, and 80 mg simvastatin groups. The primary end-point was the occurrence of symptomatic vasospasm. The clinical outcome was assessed with the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score after 1 month and 3 months. The risk factors of the development of vasospasm were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Results : Ninety nine patients with aneurysmal SAH were treated and screened. They were sequentially assigned to the 20 mg (n=22), 40 mg (n=34), and 80 mg (n=31) simvastatin groups. Symptomatic vasospasm occurred in 36.4% of the 20 mg group, 8.8% of the 40 mg group, and 3.2% of the 80 mg group (p=0.003). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that poor Hunt-Hess grades (OR=5.4 and 95% CI=1.09-26.62) and high-dose (80 mg) simvastatin (OR=0.09 and 95% CI=0.1-0.85) were independent factors of symptomatic vasospasm. The clinical outcomes did not show a significant difference among the three groups. Conclusion : This study demonstrated that 80 mg simvastatin treatment was effective in preventing cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH, but did not improve the clinical outcome in Korean patients.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.196-198
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• 2008

Objective : Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been used in epilepsy patients refractory to standard medical treatments and unsuitable candidates for resective or disconnective surgery. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of VNS to patients who had refractory result to epilepsy surgery and patients with post-traumatic epilepsy. Methods : We analyzed the effect of VNS in 11 patients who had undergone previous epilepsy surgery and patients with intractable post-traumatic epilepsy associated with brain injury. All patients underwent VNS implantation between October 2005 and December 2006. Results : We evaluated seizure frequency before and after implantation of VNS and maximum follow up period was 24 months. In the first 6 months, 11 patients showed an average of 74.3% seizure reduction. After 12 months, 10 patients showed 85.2% seizure reduction. Eighteen months after implantation, 9 patients showed 92.4% seizure reduction and 7 patients showed 97.2% seizure reduction after 24 months. Six patients were seizure-free at this time. Conclusion : We conclude that the VNS is a helpful treatment modality in patients with surgically refractory epilepsy and in patients with post-traumatic epilepsy due to severe brain injury.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2010

Purpose: This study purposed to examine the effect on health educational curriculum by grasping knowledge, attitude, and the extent of practicing it after giving a health education curriculum for 17 hours. Methods: This study was a non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest conducted with the first-graders enrolled in a middle school students in Gyeonggi Province. A total of 191 completed questionnaires from the test group and the control group each were used for the final analysis. The survey period was from March 5 to March 13, 2009 before the education was given from July 20 to July 25, 2009 after the education. A total of 38 questions were used to measure knowledge and a total of 39 questions were used to measure attitude and practice. This study used $x^2$ test, ANOVA, and t-test, Paired t-test. Results: After the health education curriculum was given, the test group s knowledge of health education was found higher than that of the control group. There was a difference between two groups, but considering the perfect score of 38, the knowledge scores of both groups were not high. With regard to each group s attitude and practice of health education, the study compared the scores obtained before and after the education and found that the test group had higher scores than the control group, showing a significant difference. Conclusion: In order for a health education curriculum to successfully have favorable influence on the health of teenagers, the curriculum should be offered for a more extended period of time than 17 hours and as a compulsory course, not a selective one, so that all the students can develop their health management capabilities.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.399-405
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• 2011

Background: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy caused by aortic valve stenosis (AS) leads to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We sought to determine whether aortic valve replacement (AVR) decreases LV mass and improves LV function. Materials and Methods: Retrospective review for 358 consecutive patients, who underwent aortic valve replacement for degenerative AS between January 1995 and December 2008, was performed. There were 230 men and 128 women, and their age at operation was $63.2{\pm}10$ years (30~85 years). Results: There was no in-hospital mortality, and mean follow-up duration after discharge was 48.9 months (2~167 months). Immediate postoperative echocardiography revealed that LV mass index and mean gradient across the aortic valve decreased significantly (p<0.001), and LV mass continued to decrease during the follow-up period (p<0.001). LV ejection fraction (EF) temporarily decreased postoperatively (p<0.001), but LV function recovered immediately and continued to improve with a significant difference between preoperative and postoperative EF (p<0.001). There were 15 late deaths during the follow-up period, and overall survival at 5 and 10 years were 94% and 90%, respectively. On multivariable analysis, age at operation (p=0.008), concomitant coronary bypass surgery (p<0.003), lower preoperative LVEF (<40%) (p=0.0018), and higher EUROScore (>7) (p=0.045) were risk factors for late death. Conclusion: After AVR for degenerative AS, reduction of left ventricular mass and improvement of left ventricular function continue late after operation.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.435-440
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• 2010

Valproic acid (VPA) is a well-known anti-epileptic and mood stabilizing drug. A growing number of reports demonstrate that VPA is neuroprotective against various insults. Despite intensive efforts to develop new therapeutics for stroke over the past two decades, all treatments have thus far failed to show clinical effect because of treatment-limiting side effects of the drugs. Therefore, a safety-validated drug like VPA would be an attractive candidate if it has neuroprotective effects against ischemic insults. The present study was undertaken to examine whether pre- and post-insult treatments with VPA protect against brain infarct and neurological deficits in mouse transient (tMCAO) and permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) models. In the tMCAO (2 hr MCAO and 22 hr reperfusion) model, intraperitoneal injection of VPA (300 mg/kg, Lp.) 30 min prior to MCAO significantly reduced the infarct size and the neurological deficit. VPA treatment immediately after reperfusion significantly reduced the infarct size. The administration of VPA at 4 hr after reperfusion failed to reduce the infarct size and the neurological deficit. In the pM CAO model, treatment with VPA (300 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min prior to MCAO significantly attenuated the infarct size, but did not affect the neurological deficit. Western blot analysis of acetylated H3 and H4 protein levels in extracts from the ischemic cortical area showed that treatment with VPA increased the expression of acetylated H3 and H4 at 2 hrs after MCAO. These results demonstrated that treatment with VPA prior to ischemia attenuated ischemic brain damage in both mice tMCAO and pMCAO models and treatment with VPA immediately after reperfusion reduced the infarct area in the tMCAO model. VPA could therefore be evaluated for clinical use in stroke patients.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.1003-1012
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• 1996

The induction of a phenotype with preoperties may have clinical significance in the acceleration of the wound-healing process. Wound contraction involves a specialized cell known as the myofibroblast. The myofibroblasts can be identified by their intense staining of actin bundles with anti-actin antibody. Tissue-specific actin distribution is correlated with the contractile activity of the myofibroblasts and smooth muscle etc. This study was performed to determine the expression of actin filaments in the cytoplasm of cultured human gingival fibroblsts after GaAs laser(BIOSAER, Korea) irradiation. Human gingival fibroblasts were cultured from explants of normal interdental gingival tissue. The third-generation fibroblasts were used for immunohistochemical study. The cultured fibroblasts were exposed $0.53joule/cm^2$(lmW, 7 mimutes) of energy density, and then observed by immunohistochemical method using, rabbit anti0gelsolin, hen smooth muscle polyclonal antibody(Chemicon international inc.), and biotinylated goat anti-rabbit IgG(Vectastain) 24-, 36-, 48-hour after laser irradiation Following results were obtained ; 1. In nonirradiated cultures, round shaped active fibroblasts with abundant cytoplasm and prominet nucleoli were observed. 2. In 24- and 36-hour cultures after laser irradiation, spindle shaped cells with long process were observed. The intensity of stain was seen in cytoplasm of these modified fibroblasts. 3. In 48-hoour cultures after laser irradiation, stained spindle shape cell were not observed. The results suggest that the effect of the galium-arsenide laser treatment on cultured gingival fibroblasts is the rapid development of cytoplasmic actin filaments.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.240-246
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• 2016

Purpose: It is hypothesized that robotic gastrectomy may surpass laparoscopic gastrectomy after the operators acquire long-term experience and skills in the manipulation of robotic arms. This study aimed to evaluate the long-term learning curve of robotic distal gastrectomy (RDG) for gastric cancer compared with laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG). Materials and Methods: From October 2008 to December 2015, patients who underwent LDG (n=809) were matched to patients who underwent RDG (n=232) at a 1:1 ratio, by using a propensity score matching method after stratification for the operative year. The surgical outcomes, such as trends of operative time, blood loss, and complication rate, were compared between the two groups. Results: The RDG group showed a longer operative time (171.3 minutes vs. 147.6 minutes, P<0.001) but less estimated blood loss (77.6 ml vs. 116.6 ml, P<0.001). The complication rate and postoperative recovery did not differ between the two groups. The RDG group showed a longer operative time and similar estimated blood loss compared with the LDG group after 5 years of experience (operative time: 159.2 minutes vs. 136.0 minutes in 2015, P=0.003; estimated blood loss: 72.9 ml vs. 78.1 ml in 2015, P=0.793). Conclusions: In terms of short-term surgical outcomes, RDG may not surpass LDG after a long-term experience with the technique.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.594-601
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• 2002

The current study was carried out to evaluate neuroprotective effects of Citri Pericarpium after transient global ischemia in gerbils. Male Mongolian gerbils weighing 60-80g were anesthetized with 2% isoflurane mixed with 30% oxygen and 70 % nitrogen. Bilateral common carotid arteries were occluded for 5 minute with microaneurysm dips. On 3 or 7 days after ischemic surgery, the gerbils were sacrificed. The brain were removed, embedded in paraffin and sectioned at 8㎛-thickness. Gerbils that received ischemic insult for 5 min showed extensive neuronal damage in the hippocampal CA1 region, and the number of viable neuronal cell was 51.0±2.5/mm, 32.2% of normal group at 7 days after ischemic surgery. In animals that underwent the extract of Citri Pericarpium treatment, the number of viable neuronal cell were significantly better preserved at 110.58±3.58/mm, 72.0% of normal group than those of ischemic group (P<0.01). In the immunohistochemistry of Bax and Bcl-2, the Citri Pericarpium treated group down-regulated the expression of Bax protein at 72hr after transient global ischemia. In contrast, Bcl-2 protein level was not changed. The appearance in TUNEL assay is similar to the pattern of Bax protein. The water extract of Citri Pericarpium significantly reduced the number of TUNEL-positive CA1 pyramidal neurons at 72hr. The results suggest that Citri Pericarpium has potential neuroprotective effects in the transient global ischemia and the increase in the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax may contribute to the anti-apoptotic effect of Citri Pericarpium.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.212-216
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• 2011

Purpose: Ameloblastomas are rare benign tumors of odontogenic origin, and compose about 1% of all oral and maxillomandibular cysts and tumors. Because this neoplasm has a high rate of local recurrence, segmental mandibulectomy with a 1~2 cm safety margin and immediate microsurgical reconstruction is an accepted treatment modality. The authors experienced four mandibular reconstruction cases that underwent secondary dental implantation. Here, the authors describe these cases and their long-term results. Methods: Four patients with ameloblastoma of the mandible underwent segmental mandibulectomy and reconstruction with a free fibula osseous flap from January 1999 to May 2005, followed by secondary dental implantation. Recurrence, bony union, implant osseointegration, and functional and aesthetic results were evaluated by radiologic imaging, by physical examination, and by using photographs. Results: All free flaps survived with no evidence of flap loss. To date, no recurrence has been noted clinically or radiologically. Imaging after mandibular reconstruction with a free fibular flap revealed satisfactory bony unions and mandibular contours. The patients achieved good aesthetic and functional results after the secondary implantation. Conclusion: Mandibular reconstruction using a fibular osseous flap and secondary dental implantation can produce good functional and aesthetic results after segmental mandibulectomy for ameloblastoma.