• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.121-127
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• 2012

Purpose: Improved survival of patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has drawn attention to the potential for late consequences of previous treatments among survivors, including metabolic syndrome. In this study, we evaluated changes in 3 parameters, namely, random blood glucose, body mass index (BMI), and Z score for BMI (Z-BMI), in children with ALL during chemotherapy and after completion of treatment. Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with ALL from January, 2005 to December, 2008 at Saint Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, who completed treatment with chemotherapy only were included (n=107). Random glucose, BMI, and Z-BMI were recorded at 5 intervals: at diagnosis, before maintenance treatment, at completion of maintenance treatment, and 6 and 12 months after completion of maintenance treatment. Similar analyses were conducted on 2 subcohorts based on ALL risk groups. Results: For random glucose, a paired comparison showed significantly lower levels at 12 months post-treatment compared to those at initial diagnosis ($P$ <0.001) and before maintenance ($P$ <0.001). The Z-BMI score was significantly higher before maintenance than at diagnosis ($P$ <0.001), but decreased significantly at the end of treatment ($P$ <0.001) and remained low at 6 months ($P$ <0.001) and 12 months ($P$ <0.001) post-treatment. Similar results were obtained upon analysis of risk group-based subcohorts. Conclusion: For a cohort of ALL patients treated without allogeneic transplantation or cranial irradiation, decrease in random glucose and Z-BMI after completion of chemotherapy does not indicate future glucose intolerance or obesity.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.77-92
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• 2005

Objective : The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Acanthopanax senticocus(AS) herbal acupuncture on the metabolic syndrome in high-fat diet fed mice. Methods : ICR mice were fed with high-fat diet to induce the metabolic syndrome. During the inducement of the metabolic syndrome, the groups were treated with AS herbal acupuncture with different concentrations(125mg/kg, 250mg/kg and 500mg/kg) to the point of Sinsu(BL23) everyday for 5 weeks. Thereafter, body weight, feed efficiency ratio, blood pressure, blood glucose, insulin level, insulin resistance, oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT), lipid profile(TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, NEFA), mass of liver, histology of white adipose tissue(WAT) and brown adipose tissue(BAT), and expression of GLUT-4 and UCP-1 mRNA were measured. Results : The risk factors of metabolic syndrome such as obesity, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM), insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia were aggravated by high-fat diet for 5-weeks. AS herbal acupuncture inhibited the development of weight gain, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, hypertension, dylipidemia and expression of GLUT-4 in WAT and UCP-1 mRNA in BAT, and also improved oral glucose intolerance and distribution of adipose tissue.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.362-366
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• 2007

The leaves of Ligularia stenocephala (Compositae) are used as a vegetable food to treat anxiety, weakness and menstrual disorder and are said to be effective against diabetic disease in Korea. This research was aimed to develop this vegetable food as a functional food to treat diabetic disease. Oral administration of MeOH extract exhibited significant hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats at 100 and 200 mg/kg dose. This extract inhibited the increase of body weight, water consumption, food intake, blood glucose, lowered atherogenic index, and overcome glucose intolerance in the STZ-treated rat. These results suggest that the leaves of Ligularia stenocephala could be developed as a functional food with anti-diabetic effect.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.238-246
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• 2020

Background: Dietary fat has been suggested to be the cause of various health issues. Obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and kidney disease are known to be associated with a high-fat diet (HFD). Obesity and associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), are currently a worldwide health problem. Few prospective pharmaceutical therapies that directly target NAFLD are available at present. A Traditional Chinese Medicine, ginseng-plus-Bai-Hu-Tang (GBHT), is widely used by diabetic patients to control glucose level or thirst. However, whether it has therapeutic effects on fat-induced hepatic steatosis and metabolic syndrome remains unclear. Methods: This study was conducted to examine the therapeutic effect of GBHT on fat-induced obesity, hepatic steatosis, and insulin resistance in mice. Results: GBHT protected mice against HFD-induced body weight gain, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia compared with mice that were not treated. GBHT inhibited the expansion of adipose tissue and adipocyte hypertrophy. No ectopic fat deposition was found in the livers of HFD mice treated with GBHT. In addition, glucose intolerance and insulin sensitivity in HFD mice was also improved by GBHT. Conclusion: GBHT prevents changes in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in a HFD mouse model. Our findings provide evidence for the traditional use of GBHT as therapy for the management of metabolic syndrome.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.419-426
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• 2021

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of 8 weeks of treatment with a combination of evogliptin and leucine, a branched-chain amino acid, in mice with high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetes. Treatment with evogliptin alone or in combination with leucine reduced the body weight of the mice, compared to the case for those from the HFD control group. Long-term treatment with evogliptin alone or in combination with leucine resulted in a significant reduction in glucose intolerance; however, leucine alone did not affect postprandial glucose control, compared to the case for the mice from the HFD control group. Furthermore, the combination of evogliptin and leucine prevented HFD-induced insulin resistance, which was associated with improved homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance, accompanied by markedly reduced liver fat deposition, hepatic triglyceride content, and plasma alanine aminotransferase levels. The combination of evogliptin and leucine increased the gene expression levels of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, whereas those of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 and stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 were not altered, compared to the case in the HFD-fed mice (p<0.05). Thus, our results suggest that the combination of evogliptin and leucine may be beneficial for treating patients with type 2 diabetes and hepatic steatosis; however, further studies are needed to delineate the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of this combination.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.35-49
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• 2011

Objectives: This article reviewed research on smoking behaviors and smoking-related health problems among university students to suggest evidences for developing smoking control strategies for them. Methods: Domestic research papers were screened through Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS), Medical Library Information System (MEDLIS), Korean Medical Database (KMbase), and digital national assembly library. International papers were searched mainly via PubMed. Results: Smoking prevalence among male college students were found to be over 50% in majority of Korean studies. While studies on smoking-related health problems were scant in Korea, several recent studies overseas showed possible effects of smoking on health among young adults, including decreased lung function, respiratory symptoms, cardiovascular problems, glucose intolerance, buccal disease, depressive symptoms, and so forth. Besides, smoking behaviors were closely related with other risk behaviors including drinking, and several psychosocial factors. Conclusions: To explore the smoking problem among college students, the first step should be a national representative survey with scientific methods. More research should be focused on the smoking-related problems among college students. To prevent smoking among college students, smoking prevention education, and smoking cessation counseling, and the initiatives of smoke free campus are needed.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.319-328
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• 2020

High fructose intake induces hyperglycemia and hypertension. However, the mechanism by which fructose induces metabolic syndrome is largely unknown. We hypothesized that high fructose intake induces activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), resulting in hypertension and metabolic syndrome. We provided 11-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats with drinking water, with or without 20% fructose, for two weeks. We measured serum renin, angiotensin II (Ang II), and aldosterone (Aldo) using ELISA kits. The expression of RAS genes was determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. High fructose intake increased body weight and water retention, regardless of food intake or urine volume. After two weeks, fructose intake induced glucose intolerance and hypertension. High fructose intake increased serum renin, Ang II, triglyceride, and cholesterol levels, but not Aldo levels. High fructose intake increased the expression of angiotensinogen in the liver; angiotensin-converting enzyme in the lungs; and renin, angiotensin II type 1a receptor (AT1aR), and angiotensin II type 1b receptor (AT1bR) in the kidneys. However, expression of AT1aR and AT1bR in the adrenal glands did not increase in rats given fructose. Taken together, these results indicate that high fructose intake induces activation of RAS, resulting in hypertension and metabolic syndrome.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.180-185
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• 2012

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, a chronic metabolic disorder which results from a high blood glucose level, is one of the most prevalent and costly diseases of our time. Considering increasing rates of obesity and the aging population in Korea, the number of diabetic patients is likely to rise rapidly in the future. There are five conventional diabetic drugs which work through different mechanisms; sulfonylureas, biguanide, meglitinide, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors, and thiazolidinedione. Although they all have antidiabetic effects, some side effects such as hypoglycemia, weight gain and gastrointestinal intolerance are associated with them. Incretin based therapies, utilizing glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, which have a lower risk of adverse side effects, have recently been introduced. At present PPAR-targeting drugs are being actively developed. In this research review, particular emphasis has been placed on the current trends and possible biological targets for the new generation of antidiabetic drugs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.39-49
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• 2021

High fructose diet is associated with the global metabolic syndrome (MtS) pandemic. MtS develops in early life, depending on prenatal and postnatal nutritional status. We hypothesized that ovariectomy increases the chances of developing MtS in adult offspring following high fructose intake by the mother. Pregnant C57BL/6J mouse dams drank water with or without 20% fructose during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, the pups were fed regular chow. The offspring were evaluated until they were 7 months of age after the mice in each group, both sexes, were gonadectomized at 4 weeks of age. The offspring (both sexes) of the dams who had high fructose intake developed MtS. In the offspring of dams who drank tap water, orchiectomy increased the body weight gain and body fat accumulation, while ovariectomy increased the body fat accumulation as compared to the sham controls. In the offspring of dams with high fructose intake, orchiectomy decreased the body weight gain, body fat accumulation, visceral adiposity, and glucose intolerance, while ovariectomy exacerbated all of them as compared to the sham operations. These data indicate that ovariectomy encourages the development of MtS in adult offspring after maternal high fructose intake, while orchiectomy prevents the development of MtS. The sex difference indicates that male and female sex hormones play contradictory roles in the development of MtS.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1316-1321
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• 2012

Adipokines, adipocyte-derived protein, have important roles in various kinds of physiology including energy homeostasis. Chemerin, one of adipocyte-derived adipokines, is highly expressed in differentiated adipocytes and is known to induce macrophage chemotaxis and glucose intolerance. The objective of the present study was to investigate the changes of chemerin and the chemokine-like-receptor 1 (CMKLR1) gene expression levels during differentiation of the bovine adipocyte and in differentiated adipocytes treated with tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$), adiponectin, leptin, and chemerin (peptide analog). The expression levels of the chemerin gene increased at d 6 and 12 of the differentiation period accompanied by increased cytoplasm lipid droplets. From d 6 onward, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-${\gamma}2$ (PPAR-${\gamma}2$) gene expression levels were significantly higher than that of d 0 and 3. In contrast, CMKLR1 expression levels decreased at the end of the differentiation period. In fully differentiated adipocytes (i.e. at d 12), the treatment of TNF-${\alpha}$ and adiponectin upregulated both chemerin and CMKLR1 gene expression levels, although leptin did not show such effects. Moreover, chemerin analog treatment was shown to upregulate chemerin gene expression levels regardless of doses. These results suggest that the expression of chemerin in bovine adipocyte might be regulated by chemerin itself and other adipokines, which indicates its possible role in modulating the adipokine secretions in adipose tissues.