• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.291-297
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• 2022

Dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a type of progressive blindness that is primarily due to dysfunction and the loss of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The accumulation of N-retinylidene-N-retinylethanolamine (A2E), a by-product of the visual cycle, causes RPE and photoreceptor degeneration that impairs vision. Genes associated with dry AMD have been identified using a blue light model of A2E accumulation in the retinal pigment epithelium and transcriptomic studies of retinal tissue from patients with AMD. However, dry macular degeneration progresses slowly, and current approaches cannot reveal changes in gene transcription according to stages of AMD progression. Thus, they are limited in terms of identifying genes responsible for pathogenesis. Here, we created a model of long-term exposure to identify temporally-dependent changes in gene expression induced in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19) exposed to blue light and a non-cytotoxic dose of A2E for 120 days. We identified stage-specific genes at 40, 100, and 120 days, respectively. The expression of genes corresponding to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) during the early stage, glycolysis and angiogenesis during the middle stage, and apoptosis and inflammation pathways during the late stage was significantly altered by A2E and blue light. Changes in the expression of genes at the late stages of the EMT were similar to those found in human eyes with late-stage AMD. Our results provide further insight into the pathogenesis of dry AMD induced by blue light and a novel model in vitro with which relevant genes can be identified in the future.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2020

The sense of vision is the primary means by which we gather information from our surroundings, and vision loss, therefore, severely compromises the life of the affected individuals, their families, and society. Loss of vision becomes more frequent with age, and diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma are the major causes of vision impairment. To find active pharmacological compounds that might prevent or ameliorate the vision-threatening eye diseases, numerous studies have been performed, and some botanical compounds, including those extracted from ginseng, have been shown to possess beneficial effects in the treatment or prevention of common ocular diseases. In this review, we summarize the recent reports investigating the therapeutic effects of ginseng and ginsenosides on diverse ocular diseases and discuss their therapeutic potential.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.65-73
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• 2023

Background: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a significant visual disease that induces impaired vision and irreversible blindness in the elderly. However, the effects of ginseng berry extract (GBE) on the retina have not been studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the protective effects of GBE on blue light (BL)-induced retinal damage and elucidate its underlying mechanisms in human retinal pigment epithelial cells (ARPE-19 cells) and Balb/c retina. Methods: To investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of GBE on retinal damage in vitro, we performed cell viability assay, pre-and post-treatment of sample, reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), and western immunoblotting using A2E-laden ARPE-19 cells with BL exposure. In addition, Balb/c mice were irradiated with BL to induce retinal degeneration and orally administrated with GBE (50, 100, 200 mg/kg). Using the harvested retina, we performed histological analysis (thickness of retinal layers), qRT-PCR, and western immunoblotting to elucidate the effects and mechanisms of GBE against retinal damage in vivo. Results: GBE significantly inhibited BL-induced cell damage in ARPE-19 cells by activating the SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway, regulating NF-kB translocation, caspase 3 activation, PARP cleavage, expressions of apoptosis-related factors (BAX/BCL-2, LC3-II, and p62), and ROS production. Furthermore, GBE prevented BL-induced retinal degeneration by restoring the thickness of retinal layers and suppressed inflammation and apoptosis via regulation of NF-kB and SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway, cleavage of caspase 3 and PARP, and expressions of apoptosis-related factors in vivo. Conclusions: GBE could be a potential agent to prevent dry AMD and progression to wet AMD.

• 한국멀티미디어학회논문지
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• 제20권8호
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• pp.1291-1298
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• 2017

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is the most common medical imaging device with the ability to image the retina in eyes at micrometer resolution and to visualize the pathological indicators of many retinal diseases such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Accordingly, there have been research activities to analyze and process OCT images to identify those indicators and make medical decisions based on the findings. In this paper, we use a deep convolutional neural network for analysis of OCT volume data to distinguish AMD from normal patients. We propose a novel approach where images in each OCT volume are grouped together into sub-volumes and the network is trained by those sub-volumes instead of individual images. We conducted an experiment using public data set to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach. The experiment confirmed performance improvement of our approach over the traditional image-by-image training approach.

• BMB Reports
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• 제48권9호
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• pp.525-530
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• 2015

Activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway plays a pathogenic role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and is thus a potential target for the development of therapeutics for this disease. Here, we demonstrated that Wnt5a antagonized β-catenin response transcription (CRT) induced with Wnt3a by promoting β-catenin phosphorylation at Ser33/Ser37/Thr41 and its subsequent degradation in human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Wnt5a decreased the levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), which was up-regulated by Wnt3a. Furthermore, Wnt5a increased E-cadherin expression and decreased cell migration by down-regulating Snail expression, thereby abrogating the Wnt3a-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human RPE cells. Our findings suggest that Wnt5a suppresses the pathogenic effects of canonical Wnt signaling in human RPE cells by promoting β-catenin phosphorylation and degradation. Therefore, Wnt5a has significant therapeutic potential for the treatment of AMD. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(9): 525-530]

• 대한안과학회지
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• 제59권11호
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• pp.1039-1048
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• 2018

목적: 연령관련황반변성 환자에 대해 항혈관내피성장인자의 가능한 치료 방법에 따라 건강보험 재정에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 대상과 방법: 여러 치료 방법에 따른 건강보험 재정의 변화를 향후 5년(2018-2022년) 동안 추정하였다. 새로운 급여기준 이외 바이오시밀러 등장, 허가초과 비급여약제 사용 등을 고려한 시나리오에 대해서도 재정 영향을 분석하였다. 국민건강보험공단 청구자료 및 의료기관 자료를 기준으로 각 시나리오별로 향후 5년 동안 예상 진료환자 수, 치료 횟수를 추정하였으며, 재정부담을 추계하였다. 결과: 연령관련황반변성에서 현행의 사용형태로 기존 급여기준(평생 14회)이 유지되는 경우(시나리오 1) 2018년 기준 향후 5년간 보험소요재정은 약 4,403억 원으로 추정되었다. 2017년 12월에 변경된 급여기준하에서 5년간 보험소요재정은 약 5,601억 원으로 추정되었다. 2020년 이후 바이오시밀러 급여(시나리오 3), 현재 허가초과 비급여약제인 베바시주맙(시나리오 4)을 급여전환하는 경우에 각각 5,210억 원, 4,197억 원으로 예상되었다. 결론: 본 평생 14회라는 급여기준 삭제로 인해 건강보험 재정이 크게 증가할 것이 예상되었으나 실제 0.1 이하 그리고 반흔화/위축성 병변일 경우 급여 중단 등의 새로운 기준으로 중간폭으로 증가하는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 고령화로 인한 연령관련황반변성 유병환자의 증가를 고려할 때 바이오시밀러 및 베바시주맙 도입 등의 정책적 대안도 고려할 수 있다.

• 진공이야기
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.12-15
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• 2017

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is considered as one of promising medical and diagnostic technologies. The SERS effect is caused by the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from metal nanoparticles with narrow hot spots. The mechanism of LSPR, development of nanostructure fabrication, and corresponding researches are discussed. The flexible, label-free, low-cost, and highly-sensitive Au/ZnONRs/G is introduced. The Au/ZnONRs/G detects and distinguishes cataract, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic macular edema from aqueous humor. Comprehension of SERS provides further improvement in bio sensing technology including early diagnosis and prolonged life expectancy.realize highly stretchable electrodes.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제19권10호
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• pp.535-543
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• 2021

노인성 안질환과 구강질환은 비가역적 손상을 일으키기 때문에 삶의 질에 큰 영향을 미친다. 따라서 나이관련황반변성(AMD) 및 녹내장과 같은 노인성 안질환과 구강건강행태와의 관련성을 확인하고자 하였다. 제7기 2차년도(2017) 국민건강영양조사 자료를 이용하여 AMD 및 녹내장과 구강건강행태를 분석하였다. 녹내장과 AMD 유병자와 녹내장과 AMD 미보유자를 비교하기 위해 교차분석을 실시하였고, 복합로지스틱 회귀분석을 통해 AMD 및 녹내장과 구강건강행태와의 위험비를 확인하였다. 황반변성 및 녹내장의 유무에 따라 연령, 학력, 구강위생용품 사용, 발음불편 호소에서 통계적으로 유의한 차이가 있었다. 또한 녹내장 유무는 성별에서도 차이가 있었다. 구강건강행태와 노인성 안질환과의 일부 변수에서 유의한 연관성이 있었다. 구강건강행태는 AMD 및 녹내장 질환을 예방하는 데 위험 요인으로 작용할 수 있으므로 구강건강행태에 대한 인식도가 더욱 높아져야 할 것이다.

• 임상간호연구
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.54-65
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify influencing factors on vision-related quality of life in patients with retinal diseases receiving intravitreal injections by examining relationships among anxiety, depression, coping, eye health behaviors and vision-related quality of life. Methods: One hundred and five outpatients who were diagnosed with macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy were recruited from one university hospital during August 16, 2019 to March 25, 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage, mean, standard deviation), and t-tests, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson's correlations, and stepwise multiple regressions using the IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0. Results: The vision-related quality of life according to general characteristics of retinal disease patients with intravitreal injection showed significant differences in age (F=3.01, p=.034), subjective economic status (F=5.83, p=.004), types of retinal disease (t=2.62, p=.010), and disease in both eyes (t=-3.04, p=.003). The vision-related quality of life showed a significant positive correlation with age (r=.24, p=.012), and negative correlations with anxiety (r=-.66, p<.001), depression (r=-.48, p<.001), and emotion-focused coping (r=-.20, p=.036). The hierarchical regression analysis indicated that factors affecting vision-related quality of life in patients with retinal diseases were anxiety and subjective economic status, accounting for 47.0% of the variances of the vision-related quality of life. Conclusion: Based on our results, health professionals need to pay attention to patients with low socioeconomic status due to frequent treatments. Also, a program needs to be developed to decrease anxiety for outpatients receiving intravitreal injections to improve their vision-related quality of life.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.699-709
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• 2024

Oxya chinensis sinuosa (OC) is a well-known edible insect. Several researches on the health benefits of OC consumption have been performed to date; however, their effect on eye health remains largely unknown. This study aimed to assess the protective effects of OC extracts on the oxidative stress on the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells. Oxidative damage has been identified as one of the key regulatory factors in agerelated macular degeneration. H₂O₂-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, a well-known oxidative stress factor, can cause cell death in retinal pigment epithelia cells. In this study, we found that three OC extracts effectively prevented H₂O₂-induced ROS production and subsequent death of ARPE-19 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the OC extracts inhibited the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases including p38, JNK, and ERK. The OC extracts restored IκBα degradation induced by H₂O₂, indicating that OC extracts suppressed the activation of nuclear factorκB. Furthermore, the three OC extracts were shown to have antioxidant effects by upregulating the intracellular expression of key antioxidant proteins such as SOD, NQO, and HO-1. Here we demonstrated the antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of the OC extracts on ARPE-19, indicating their potential role in improving eye health. These results suggest that three OC extracts plays a critical role in oxidative stress-induced cell death protects in ARPE-19 cells.