• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.1154-1167
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• 2022

In this study, we investigated the anti-amnesic effect of Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) bark extract (KRPBE) against amyloid beta_1-42 (Aβ_1-42)-induced neurotoxicity. We found that treatment with KRPBE improved the behavioral function in Aβ-induced mice, and also boosted the antioxidant system in mice by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, and reducing glutathione (GSH) levels. In addition, KRPBE improved the cholinergic system by suppressing reduced acetylcholine (ACh) content while also activating acetylcholinesterase (AChE), regulating the expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), postsynaptic density protein-95 (PSD-95), and synaptophysin. KRPBE also showed an ameliorating effect on cerebral mitochondrial deficit by regulating reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and ATP levels. Moreover, KRPBE modulated the expression levels of neurotoxicity indicators Aβ and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, p-IκB-α, and IL-1β. Furthermore, we found that KRPBE improved the expression levels of neuronal apoptosis-related markers BAX and BCl-2 and increased the expression levels of BDNF and p-CREB. Therefore, this study suggests that KRPBE treatment has an anti-amnestic effect by modulating cholinergic system dysfunction and neuroinflammation in Aβ_1-42-induced cognitive impairment in mice.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.155-173
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• 2018

Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) is an unwanted adverse event in any operation. It leads to functional limitations and psychological trauma for patients, and leaves the operative team with feelings of failure and humiliation. Therefore, it is crucial that preventive strategies for CPSP are considered in high-risk operations. Various techniques have been implemented to reduce the risk with variable success. Identifying the risk factors for each patient and applying a timely preventive strategy may help patients avoid the distress of chronic pain. The preventive strategies include modification of the surgical technique, good pain control throughout the perioperative period, and preoperative psychological intervention focusing on the psychosocial and cognitive risk factors. Appropriate management of CPSP patients is also necessary to reduce their suffering. CPSP usually has a neuropathic pain component; therefore, the current recommendations are based on data on chronic neuropathic pain. Hence, voltage-dependent calcium channel antagonists, antidepressants, topical lidocaine and topical capsaicin are the main pharmacological treatments. Paracetamol, NSAIDs and weak opioids can be used according to symptom severity, but strong opioids should be used with great caution and are not recommended. Other drugs that may be helpful are ketamine, clonidine, and intravenous lidocaine infusion. For patients with failed pharmacological treatment, consideration should be given to pain interventions; examples include transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, botulinum toxin injections, pulsed radiofrequency, nerve blocks, nerve ablation, neuromodulation and surgical management. Physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and lifestyle modifications are also useful for relieving the pain and distress experienced by CPSP patients.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.81-87
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• 2020

Cognitive impairment is symptoms of dementia, a degenerative brain disease that is drawing attention in a rapidly aging society. This study was conducted to investigate the improvement of cognitive function of Leonurus japonicus on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice and the effect and mechanism of memory recovery. In vivo studies were conducted on mice orally pretreated with L. japonicus in doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg (p.o.) and scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) were injected 30 min before the behavioral task. Antioxidant activity was assessed by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) assay and 2,2-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition activity evaluated by Ellman's method. In behavior studies showed that L. japonicus has an improved the memory of scopolamine-treated mice in Y-maze, passive avoidance and Morris water maze test. In addition, L. japonicus was also exerted free radical scavenging activity and inhibited acetyl cholinesterase activity. These results suggest that L. japonicus improves short-term and long-term memory in scopolamine-induced memory decline model and prevents scopolamine-induced memory impairments through in reduced oxidative stress and acetyl cholinesterase inhibition effect. Thus, L. japonicus is related to functional medicinal materials for prevention and treatment of human dementia patients.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.60 no.11
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• pp.337-343
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• 2017

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood. This disorder, in addition to its main symptoms, creates significant difficulties in education, social performance, and personal relationships. Given the importance of rehabilitation for these patients to combat the above issues, the use of virtual reality (VR) technology is helpful. The aim of this study was to highlight the opportunities for VR in the rehabilitation of children with ADHD. This narrative review was conducted by searching for articles in scientific databases and e-Journals, using keywords including VR, children, and ADHD. Various studies have shown that VR capabilities in the rehabilitation of children with ADHD include providing flexibility in accordance with the patients' requirements; removing distractions and creating an effective and safe environment away from real-life dangers; saving time and money; increasing patients' incentives based on their interests; providing suitable tools to perform different behavioral tests and increase ecological validity; facilitating better understanding of individuals' cognitive deficits and improving them; helping therapists with accurate diagnosis, assessment, and rehabilitation; and improving working memory, executive function, and cognitive processes such as attention in these children. Rehabilitation of children with ADHD is based on behavior and physical patterns and is thus suitable for VR interventions. This technology, by simulating and providing a virtual environment for diagnosis, training, monitoring, assessment and treatment, is effective in providing optimal rehabilitation of children with ADHD.

• Journal of the Korean society of biological therapies in psychiatry
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.129-141
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• 2018

Suicide is a behavior that is intended to cause death by itself and requires medical treatment, resulting in suicidal attempt or completion. Suicide causes loss of life, damages the body, costs a lot of medical expenses, and causes families to fall into sorrow and suffering therefore this suicide is a huge loss to family and society. There have been attempts to reduce and prevent suicide by understanding the mechanism of suicide. The mechanism of suicide can be thought of as psychological mechanism and biological mechanism. In the past, if we considered the psychological and biological mechanisms separately, the development of neuroscience now connects and integrates these two. Psychological factors affect biological factors and biological temperaments also affect perception or thinking about the situation and increase psychological vulnerability. Distant factors in suicidal behavior-such as childhood adversity and family and genetic predisposition-increase the lifetime risk of suicide. They alter the response to stress and other processes through changes in gene expression and regulation of emotional and behavioral characteristics. Distant factors affect the biological system and consequently changes in these systems can increase the risk of suicide. In other words, the distal factor does not directly induce suicidal behavior but rather acts indirectly through developmental or mediating factors. These mediating factors are impulsive aggressive and anxious trait, and chronic use of substances. The mechanism of this disorder is the abnormality of the serotonin system and the abnormality of the lipid level. Proximal factors are associated with the onset of suicide events and include changes in the major neurotransmitter systems, inflammatory changes, and dysfunction of glial cells in the brain. A series of studies, including a variety of research methods and postmortem and in-vivo imaging studies, show the impairment of the serotonergic neurotransmitter system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis stress response system for suicidal behavior. These disorders lead to suicidal behavior due to difficulty in cognitive control of mood, pessimism, reactive aggression, abnormality in problem solving abilities, excessive response to negative social signals, severe emotional distress, and cognitive dysregulation of suicidal ideation.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.250-258
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• 2023

The effectiveness of mindfulness techniques in addressing mental health conditions in workers is uncertain. However, it could represent a therapeutic tool for workers presenting with such conditions. Our objective was to assess the effects of mindfulness-based practices for workers diagnosed with mental health conditions. We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Participants included were workers with a mental health condition. Interventions included any mindfulness technique, compared to any nonmindfulness interventions. Outcomes were scores on validated psychiatric rating scales. A total of 4,407 records were screened; 202 were included for full-text analysis; 2 studies were included. The first study (Finnes et al., 2017) used Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) associated or not with Workplace Dialogue Intervention (WDI), compared to treatment as usual. At 9 months follow-up, for the ACT group, depression scores improved marginally (standardized mean difference [SMD]: -0.06, p = 0.021), but anxiety scores were worse (SMD: 0.15, p = 0.036). Changes in mental health outcomes were not statistically significant for the ACT + WDI group. In the second study (Grensman et al., 2018), no statistically significant change in mental health scales has been observed after completion of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy compared to cognitive behavioral therapy. Substantial heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. This systematic review did not find evidence that mindfulness-based practices provide a durable and substantial improvement of mental health outcomes in workers diagnosed with mental health conditions.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 1997

Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA), a chronic and systemic inflammatory disorder, is characterized by joint pain, swelling and stiffness. Patients with RA suffer from joint pain and overall pain. The painful and disabling consequences of RA are accompanied by a variety of affective, cognitive, and behavioral changes. The purpose of this paper was to explore and describe the life experiences of RA patients by eliciting verbal description of their experiences. Participants were nine persons who were diagnosed with RA, and had had it for more than six months. They were asked open ended and descriptive questions in order for them to talk about their experiences in their on terms. Interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analyzed by Colaizzi method. From the protocols, 213 significant statements about life experience were organized into 83 formulating meanings which were then grouped into five theme clusters. The major themes that emgerged from the analysis were' Emotional Disturbances', 'Trying to Adapt to the Progress of Disease', 'Progress of Treatment'. 'Change of Role Performances', 'Experiences related to Family'. The result of this study showed that RA patients and families need nursing care based on a deep understanding of their lived experiences in everyday life. Nurses and other health workers must develop rehabilitation programs that focus on the pain control, functional independence and psychosocial factors.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.342-354
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was to estimate the effectiveness of an intervention program using the trans-theoretical model on the stages of change, the process of change, decisional balance, self-efficacy, the levels of medication adherence, and blood pressure difference. Methods: A similar experiment was conducted using a nonequivalent control group pre- and post-test design. The study subjects were 108 hypertensive patients. The program was administered to the experimental group while educational materials were given to the control group. Descriptive analysis, 2-test, t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA were used with SPSS 17.0 to analyze collected data. Results: After treatment with this program, the experimental group showed stage of change ($x^2=52.917$, p<.001), cognitive (F=13,528, p<.001), behavioral process of change (F=10.808, p<.001), benefits (F=5.569, p=.012), loss of medication adherence (F=15.661, p<.001), self-efficacy (F=5.407, p=.011), levels of medication adherence (F=51.442, p<.001). Conclusion: There was a significant improvement in the experimental group who participated in the TTM medication adherence intervention program. Given that this intervention program motivated and stimulated hypertensive patients to adhere to the prescribed medications, the TTM medication adherence intervention program is expected to be an effective and practical intervention method for health improvement.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.55-59
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• 2014

Dehydroevodiamine HCl (DHED) has been reported to prevent memory impairment and neuronal cell loss in a rat model with cognitive disturbance. We investigated the effect of DHED on memory impairment and behavioral abnormality caused by stress. We demonstrated that DHED can improve stress-induced memory impairments and depression-like behaviors by using open-field test, Y-maze test and forced swimming test. DHED treatment significantly recovered the decreases in the levels of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) proteins caused by stress and the decreases in cell viability. Our results suggested that DHED is a potential drug candidate for neuronal death, memory impairment and depression induced by stress.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.242-246
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• 2016

Craniosynostosis is the premature fusion of calvarial sutures, resulting in deformed craniofacial appearance. Hence, for a long time, it has been considered an aesthetic disorder. Fused sutures restrict growth adjacent to the suture, but compensatory skull growth occurs to accommodate the growing brain. The primary goal for the management of this craniofacial deformity has been to release the constricted skull and reform the distorted shape of the skull vault. However, the intellectual and behavioral prognosis of affected children has also been taken into consideration since the beginning of the modern era of surgical management of craniosynostosis. A growing body of literature indicates that extensive surgery, such as the whole-vault cranioplasty approach, would result in better outcomes. In addition, the age at treatment is becoming a major concern for optimal outcome in terms of cosmetic results as well as neurodevelopment. This review will discuss major concerns regarding neurodevelopmental issues and related factors.