• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.29-42
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• 2008

Objective: To find the related factors and the symptoms of menopause in male workers. Method: This Study is targeted on 369 people(40's; 219, 50's; 150) who are married and being 40 years old or more with working for over ten year. Results: First, the symptom of menopause in proportion to age is, 40's appeared in order of 'Decrease in ability to play sport', and 50's appeared in order of 'Less strong erection'. Second, the symptom of menopause was higher from the difference between general characteristic and work characteristic when people have old age. Third, the symptom of menopause was lower from difference among life habits when people do some exercises regularly, and no overeating. Fourth, the symptom of menopause was much lower from the difference of subjective health state when people feel comfort without any disturbance to their daily life, as they feel much younger than their ages, and feel healthy. Fifth, the variables affected to the symptom of menopause were age, do exercise whether or not, subjective health state when people feel much younger than their ages, and feel healthy. Conclusion: the symptom of menopause is not only for women but also for men. And it is not only for people who are old but we could find some abilities from young ages, too.

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2010

A recent report demonstrated that in human aging brain after menopause/andropause luteinizing hormone (LH) is localized in the cytoplasm of pyramidal neurons of hippocampus and a significant increase of LH is also detected in the cytoplasm of pyramidal neurons and neurofibrillary tangles of Alzheimer's disease brain compared to age-matched control brain. It was suggested that the decreased steroid hormone production and the resulting LH expression in the neurons vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease pathology may have some relevance to the development of Alzheimer's disease. It is, however, unclear whether the presence of LH in neurons of human aging and Alzheimer's disease brain is due to intracellular LH expression or to LH uptake from extracellular sources, since gonadotropins are known to cross the blood brain barrier. Moreover, there is no report by using the brain of experimental animal that LH is expressed in such neurons as found in the human brain. In the present study, we found that LH immunoreactivity is localized in the pyramidal neurons of cerebral cortex and hippocampus of 12 and 18 months old rats but can not detect any immunoreactivity for LH in the young adult (3-5 months old) rats. To confirm that these LH immunoreactivity results from de novo synthesis in the brain but not the uptake from extracellular space, we performed RT-PCR and found that mRNA for LH is detected in several regions of brain including cerebral cortex and hippocampus. These findings suggest us that LH expression in old rat brain may play an important role in aging process of rat brain.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.305-313
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• 2019

Men's climactic syndrome, andropause, or testosterone deficit syndrome, is one of the new problems with the health of older men in the age of aging. This phenomenon is a natural phenomenon occurring in men as they age, clinically characterized by a decrease in blood testosterone levels and a marked decrease in physical and mental activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hydrothermal extract of Taraxacum coreanum by comparing the levels of nitric oxide (NO) in the cavernosum and the levels of male hormone in the blood. Taraxacum coreanum extract increased NO production in vitro and in vivo in a dose-dependent manner. Levels of dihydrotestosterone and 17-hydroxyysteroid dehydrogenases, as well as levels of neurogenic nitric oxide synthase and cGMP, increased significantly in elderly rats (22 weeks) after 4 weeks of daily intake of Taraxacum coreanum extract. However, prostaglandin $E_2$, testosterone, and sexually-hormone-binding globulin levels were not different among all groups. Furthermore, total sperm and motile sperm counts were also no significant difference. Overall, these results suggest the possibility of Taraxacum coreanum extract as a safe and effective natural substance for enhancing NO, cGMP and free testosterone.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2023

Purpose: Around 70% of the Iranian population had received two doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines by the end of 2021. In this study, we evaluated the reasons for vaccination refusal among people in Ahvaz, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 800 participants (400 vaccinated and 400 unvaccinated) were recruited. A demographic questionnaire was completed through interviews. The unvaccinated participants were asked about the reasons for their refusal. The Shapiro-Wilk test, independent t-test, chi-square test, and logistic regression were used for analyzing data. Results: Older people were 1.018 times more likely to refrain from vaccination (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.039; p=043). People who were manual workers as well as those who were unemployed/housewives were 0.288 and 0.423 times less likely to receive vaccination, respectively. Those with high school education and married women were 0.319 and 0.280 times less likely to receive vaccination, respectively (95% CI, 198-0.515; p<0.001; 95% CI, 0.186-0.422; p<0.001). Participants who had hypertension or suffered from neurological disorders were more likely to receive the vaccination. Finally, people affected with severe COVID-19 infection were 3.157 times more likely to get vaccinated (95% CI, 1.672-5.961; p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that lower level of education and older age were contributed to reluctance for vaccination, while having chronic diseases or being already infected with severe COVID-19 infection were associated with more acceptance of vaccination.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.790-800
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• 2017

As men get older, total testosterone levels decline gradually, and concentrations of free and bioavailable testosterone decline sharply with each decade beyond their 30s. Andropause or testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) is defined as a decrease in sexual satisfaction or decline in general well-being accompanied by low levels of testosterone in older men. This male climacteric is characterized by nervousness, reduced potency, decreased libido, irritability, fatigue, depression, memory problems, sleep disturbances, and hot flushes. Cirsium japonicum (CJ) is used as a traditional medicine for hemorrhage, blood congestion, and inflammation in Korea. However, there is no report on the efficacy of CJ treatment for TDS. In this study, we observed the mitigating effect of CJ extract (CE) and fermented CJ extract (FCE) on symptoms of TDS. In elderly male rats, total and testosterone levels, hind limbs muscles, forced swimming time, and total and motile sperm counts significantly increased after daily intake of CE and FCE for 6 weeks. In contrast, sex hormone binding globulin, retroperitoneal fat, total serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels were significantly reduced in CE and FCE groups. However, there was no difference in prostate specific antigen, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase levels among all groups, which means CE and FCE did not have putative adverse effects. In a cell experiment, we also observed that CE and FCE enhanced expression of genes related to testosterone biosynthesis but reduced genes involved in testosterone conversion. On the whole, these positive effects on TDS were greater in FCE compared to CE. Thus, these results suggest the potential of FCE as a promising natural product for recovering testosterone levels and alleviating TDS.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.305-311
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• 2016

This study investigated the effects of a mixture of fenugreek seeds and Lespedeza cuneata extracts on testosterone synthesis in TM3 cells that were oxidatively stressed with $H_2O_2$. In order to oxidatively stress TM3 cells, the cells were treated with $50{\mu}M$ hydrogen peroxide for 4 hr in serum-free media. Yagwanmun-horopa mixture (YHM) showed neither cytotoxicity nor increment of cell proliferation in the oxidatively stressed TM3 cells in any concentration. When the cells were treated with hydrogen peroxide, testosterone levels decreased, but the testosterone level was returned to that of the control level in the presence of YHM. In order to find out the reasons for the increase of testosterone, the expression of the genes involved in the synthesis or disintegration of testosterone. On the other hand, the levels of $3{\beta}$-HSD4 and 17, 20-desmorase, which are involved in testosterone synthesis, were decreased through the use of hydrogen peroxide and were recovered through YHM treatment. Aromatase and $5{\alpha}$-reductase2, which convert testosterone to estradiol and dihydrotestosterone, respectively, were increased through the use of hydrogen peroxide, and were returned to control level through YHM treatment. These results suggest that YHM does not affect TM3 cell proliferation. However, YHM increases the expression of testosterone-synthesizing enzyme, which was decreased through oxidative stress, and decreases the expression of testosterone- converting enzyme, which was increased through oxidative stress. Therefore, it is reasonable that YHM has strong recovery activity on testosterone to normal level, even in the oxidatively stressed TM3 cells which mimics the andropause state.