• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.9
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• pp.344-349
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• 2012

Purpose: Short sleep duration is associated with obesity. Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (6-OHMS), the principal metabolite of melatonin, is closely related with sleep. We evaluated the difference in urinary 6-OHMS levels between obese girls and normal weight girls, and the relationship of urinary 6-OHMS with other hormones regulating body weight and metabolism. Methods: A total of 79 girls (6.3 to 12.4 years) were included in this study, of whom 34 were obese; 15, overweight; and 30, normal-weight. We examined their pubertal status and bone age. Fasting serum levels of total ghrelin, leptin, insulin, and first morning urinary 6-OHMS were measured. Homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated from the fasting insulin and glucose levels. Results: There was no significant difference in the creatinine adjusted 6-OHMS levels between the obese girls and the control group. Urinary 6-OHMS did not show any correlations with body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, total ghrelin, leptin, and HOMA-IR. Negative correlations were found between urinary 6-OHMS levels and chronological and bone ages. Conclusion: Our results suggest that melatonin production is not reduced consistently in obese girls.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2008

Purpose: Hypoestrogenism caused by ovariectomy, disease, or menopause is associated with increased obesity in women. Altered fat distribution and weight gain are consequences of menopausal hypoestrogenism, but the mechanisms responsible are not completely known. This study examined the effect of estrogen on obesity in ovariectomized rats. Method: The groups of female rats were 4 weeks post ovariectomy (OVX) or, 4 weeks post-sham operation (SHAM), and 2 weeks post ovariectomy followed by 2 weeks replacement with estradiol benzoate (ER-$16{\mu}g$/kg, subq, qd). Serum ghrelin level was measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA). The expression of adrenergic receptors in adipose tissue was measured by Western blotting assay. Result: OVX significantly increased body weight, serum cholesterol. Two weeks estrogen replacement reduced body weight accompanied by the increment of serum ghrelin and the reduction of the receptor ratio of adrenergic ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_1$, and ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_3$. Conclusion: We provide evidence that estrogen reduces obesity through the altered receptor ratio of adrenergic ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_1$, and ${\alpha}_{2A}/{\beta}_3$ in adipose tissue in ovariectomized rats.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.4636-4644
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of line dance exercise on HOMA-IR and energy metabolic factors in postmenopausal obese women. The subjects were 24 obese women composed of the line dance group(n=12) trained for 12-week and the control group(n=12). The variables of body composition, HOMA-IR and energy metabolic factors were measured in all the subjects before and after the 12-week line dance exercise. The results of the study in the line dance group were as follows; The body weight, %fat, BMI, WHR and VFA had significantly decreased, but LBM had increased. The ghrelin, HDL-C had significantly increased, but leptin, insulin, glucose, HOMA-IR, TC, TG, LDL-C, SBP and DBP had decreased. And ghrelin, leptin, insulin, and glucose were the energy metabolic factors affecting the HOMA-IR in the line dance group. Therefore, regular and continuous line dance exercise will be effective for preventing the life-style diseases with improvement of the energy metabolic factors and insulin resistance by decreasing the body fat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.654-660
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• 2013

Three Korean native steers ($779{\pm}24$ kg) fitted with duodenal cannulas were used in a $3{\times}3$ Latin square design to investigate the influence of oral administration of soluble proteins, intact casein (IC) and acid hydrolyzed casein (AHC), on gastro-intestinal hormone (GIH) secretion in the blood and pancreatic ${\alpha}$-amylase activity in the duodenum. Oral treatment consisted of a basic diet (control), IC (C+100% protein), or AHC (C+80% amino acid, 20% peptide) for 21 d. Blood and duodenum samples were collected for measurement of serum GI hormones, and pancreatic ${\alpha}$-amylase activity was determined at 900, 1030, 1330, 1630, and 1930 h after feeding on d 21 of treatment. The levels of serum cholecystokinin (CCK) and secretin in the IC treatment group were higher compared to the other treatment groups (p<0.05). In addition to the changes in CCK and secretin levels upon IC treatment, the pancreatic ${\alpha}$-amylase activity in the duodenum was higher in the IC group compared to the control diet group (p<0.05). The response of serum ghrelin to IC and AHC treatment was in accordance with the response of serum secretin. The level of peptide fragments flowing in the duodenum was higher in the IC treatment group than the other treatment groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that an increase in duodenal CCK and secretin upon IC oral administration increased pancreatic ${\alpha}$-amylase secretion. In addition, ghrelin may be associated with GI hormone secretion in Korean native steers.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.166-174
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• 2012

To determine the effects of Mahaengeuigam-tang(MHEGT) on obesity, the obesity-related factors (gastrin, CGRP, ghrelin, glucagon-like peptide-1, insulin, orexin, leptin, serotonin, NPY) were investigated in the stomach, pancreas, brain of mice by immunohistochemical methods for 4 weeks after Mahaengeuigam-tang(MHEGT) administration. The change of boy weight decreased in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. The immunohistochemical density of the gastrin and CGRP positive cells on pylorus of stomach increased in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. The number of ghrelin immunoreactive cells on stomach decreased in MHEGT administered groups than that of control group. The immunohistochemical density of GLP-1 in the pancreas decreased in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. The immunohistochemical density of insulin positive cells in the pancreas decreased in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. The immunohistochemical density of orexin and NPY positive neurons in the diencephalon was slightly stronger in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. The immunohistochemical density of serotonin and leptin positive neurons was stronger in MHEGT administered group than that of control group. These results demonstrate that Mahaengeuigam-tang(MHEGT) increased the immunohistochemical density of factors related to appetite inhibitors, and decreased the immunohistochemical density of factors related to stimulator of food intake in stomach, pancreas and brain.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2012

We investigated the effects of short-term food restriction and repeated fasting and refeeding on appetite regulating hormones and adiponectin activity in rats. To investigate the acute and chronic effects of food restriction in vivo, Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into a control group (CON), a 1 day fasting group, a 2 days fasting gruop, a 3 days fasting gruop, a fasting and refeeding for 1 week gruoup and a fasting and refeeding for 2 weeks group. Blood glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol decreased in all fasting groups compared to those in the CON group. Free fatty acid of all fasting groups was higher than those in the CON, and were lowest in the three cycle fasting and refeeding group. Blood insulin following short-term food restriction was lower than that in the CON. blood ghrelin increased significantly (p < 0.01) following the short-term food restriction, However, blood ghrelin in the repeated fasting and refeeding groups decreased significantly decreased (p < 0.01) compared to that in the CON and short-term food restriction group. In contrast, blood leptin decreased significantly (p < 0.01) in the short term food restriction group and the three cycle of fasting and refeeding group but increased in the six cycle of fasting and refeeding group. No significant differences in adiponectin contents were observed in the short-term food restriction group. But, adiponectin increased significantly (p < 0.01) following the fasting and refeeding cycles. Blood adiponectin and blood leptin levels were showed positively correlated ($r^2$ = 0.469) when all samples were analysed together.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.497-505
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• 2012

To determine the effects of Banggihwanggi-tang(BGHGT) on obesity, the obesity-related factors[gastrin, calcitonin gene related peptide(CGRP), serotonin, ghrelin, obestatin, glucagon-like peptide-1(GLP-1), insulin, orexin, leptin] were investigated in the stomach, pancreas, brain of mice by immunohistochemical(IHC) methods for 4 weeks. The change of body weight was more reduced in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC density of the gastrin and CGRP positive cells on pylorus was higher in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The number of ghrelin immunoreactive cells on stomach was lower in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC of GLP-1 positive cells did not observe in the stomach of BGHGT administered groups. The IHC density of GLP-1 in the pancreas was lower in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC density of insulin positive cells in the pancreas was lower in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC density of orexin positive neurons in the diencephalon was slightly higher in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC density of NPY and leptin positive neurons was slightly higher in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. The IHC density of serotonin positive neurons was higher in BGHGT administered group than that of control group. Therefore, we conclude that BGHGT activates appetite inhibitor through appetite related enteroendocrine cells and neuropeptides in stomach, pancreas and brain, and this activation may also be responsible for the inhibition of feeding behavior.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.137-142
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• 2011

Extremely low frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF) have the ability to produce a variety of behavioral and physiological changes in animals. The stomach, as the most sensitive part of the neuroendocrine organ of the gastrointestinal tract, is crucial for the initiation of a full stress response against all harmful stress. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine whether ELF-MF stimuli induce changes in the activity of neuroendocrine cells, considering their involvement in endocrine or paracrine effect on surrounding cells. The exposure to ELF-MF (durations of 24 h and 1 or 2 weeks, 60 Hz frequency, 0.1 mT intensity) altered the distribution and occurrence of gastrin, ghrelin and somatostatinpositive endocrine cells in the stomach of rats. The change, however, in the secretion of those hormones into blood from endocrine cells did not appear significantly with ELF-MF exposure. Comparing with sham control, ELF-MF exposure for 1 and 2 week induced an increase in $BaSO_4$ suspension propelling ratio of gastrointestinal tract, indicating that ELF-MF affects gastrointestinal motility. Our study revealed that ELF-MF exposure might influence the activity of endocrine cells, an important element of the intrinsic regulatory system in the digestive tract. The pathophysiological character of these changes and the mechanism responsible for neuroendocrine cell are still unclear and require further studies.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.111-118
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Pueraria lobata (PL) extract on obesity related hormones in rats with estrogen deficiency. Methods: The experiments were performed with the use of ovariectomized rats as estrogen-deficient obesity rat model. They were grouped Normal (sham operation group), Control (ovariectomy group), 50 mg/kg PL (ovariectomy group＋50 mg/kg of PL), 100 mg/kg PL (ovariectomy group＋100 mg/kg of PL), 200 mg/kg PL (ovariectomy group＋200 mg/kg of PL). PL extract was orally administered for 8 weeks once a day. Body weights and serum levels of hormones, such as leptin, estradiol, cholecystokinin (CCK), ghrelin, and adiponectin were estimated by ELISA. Results: PL extract significantly decreased body weight, the serum levels of leptin in estrogen-deficient obesity rats. PL extract significantly increased the serum levels of estradiol and CCK. However, PL extract did not directly effect on the levels of ghrelin and adiponectin in estrogen-deficient obesity rats. Conclusions: It is concluded that PL extract reduced body weight, and regulate the hormones related to energy metabolism. PL extract decreased the serum levels of leptin. PL extract increased the serum levels of estradiol and CCK. These results indicate that PL might have potentials for treatment of obesity and complications during the menopause caused by estrogen-deficiency.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.126-137
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• 2005

New insights in the complex metabolic pathways and its control mechanism for energy homeostasis have refined our understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity. It is now recognized that there are several additional regulatory mechanism such as peripheral signals including leptin, ghrelin, GLP-1 and PYY and cellular signals including uncoupling proteins and ${\beta}$ Adrenergic receptors, which contribute to the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure, respectively. In addition, the function of adipocyte as an endocrine organ in energy homeostasis has been recently emphasized. Recent findings suggest that elevated levels of adipokines, such as leptin, adiponectin, resistin and TNF-${\alpha}$, in addition to increased free fatty acid level could be related to the pathophysiology of insulin resistance in obesity. For effective treatments and prevention of obesity, further studies on the circuits of neural and endocrine interactions in the regulation of energy homeostasis are needed.