• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제47권2호
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• pp.65-75
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• 2021

Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) has recently associated to the increase in antiresorptive and anti-angiogenic drugs prescriptions in the treatment of oncologic and osteoporotic patients. The physiopathogenesis of MRONJ remains unclear and available treatments are unsatisfactory. Newer pharmacological treatments have shown good results, but are not curative and could have major side effects. At the same time as pharmacological treatments, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising therapeutic modality for tissue regeneration and repair. MSCs are multipotential non-hematopoietic progenitor cells capable to differentiating into multiple lineages of the mesenchyme. Bone marrow MSCs can differentiate into osteogenic cells and display immunological properties and secrete paracrine anti-inflammatory factors in damaged tissues. The immunomodulatory, reparative, and anti-inflammatory properties of bone marrow MSCs have been tested in a variety of animal models of MRONJ and applied in specific clinical settings. The aim of this review is to discuss critically the immunogenicity and immunomodulatory properties of MSCs, both in vitro and in vivo, the possible underlying mechanisms of their effects, and their potential clinical use as modulators of immune responses in MRONJ, and to identify clinical safety and recommendations for future research.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.22-31
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• 2021

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and it results in a high rate of death worldwide, with an increased prevalence with age despite advances in lifestyle management and drug therapy. Atherosclerosis is a chronic progressive inflammatory process, and it mainly presents with lipid accumulation, foam cell proliferation, inflammatory response, atherosclerotic plaque formation and rupture, thrombosis, and vascular calcification. Therefore, there is a great need for reliable therapeutic drugs or remedies to cure or alleviate atherosclerosis and reduce the societal burden. Ginsenosides are natural steroid glycosides and triterpene saponins obtained mainly from the plant ginseng. Several recent studies have reported that ginsenosides have a variety of pharmacological activities against several diseases including inflammation, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. This review focuses on describing the different pharmacological functions and underlying mechanisms of various active ginsenosides (Rb1,-Rd, -F, -Rg1, -Rg2, and -Rg3, and compound K) for atherosclerosis, which could provide useful insights for developing novel and effective anti-cardiovascular drugs.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제48권3호
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• pp.266-275
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• 2024

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a rare subpopulation of cancer cells that exhibit stem cell-like characteristics, including self-renewal and differentiation in a multi-stage lineage state via symmetric or asymmetric division, causing tumor initiation, heterogeneity, progression, and recurrence and posing a major challenge to current anticancer therapy. Despite the importance of CSCs in carcinogenesis and cancer progression, currently available anticancer therapeutics have limitations for eradicating CSCs. Moreover, the efficacy and therapeutic windows of currently available anti-CSC agents are limited, suggesting the necessity to optimize and develop a novel anticancer agent targeting CSCs. Ginseng has been traditionally used for enhancing immunity and relieving fatigue. As ginseng's long history of use has demonstrated its safety, it has gained attention for its potential pharmacological properties, including anticancer effects. Several studies have identified the bioactive principles of ginseng, such as ginseng saponin (ginsenosides) and non-saponin compounds (e.g., polysaccharides, polyacetylenes, and phenolic compounds), and their pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, antifatigue, and neuroprotective effects. Notably, recent reports have shown the potential of ginseng-derived compounds as anti-CSC agents. This review investigates the biology of CSCs and efforts to utilize ginseng-derived components for cancer treatment targeting CSCs, highlighting their role in overcoming current therapeutic limitations.

• 성인간호학회지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.106-116
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to assess the quality and to evaluate the effectiveness of music interventions in reducing agitation in older adults with dementia. Methods: Randomized controlled studies and randomized crossover studies were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AGELINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Korea Med, Kmbase, RISS, National Assembly Digital Library, KISS, and RICH. Two reviewers independently retrieved articles, extracted data, and assessed the quality of studies. Results: In total, 10 studies were selected from 1095 unique citations. All included studies were conducted in long term care settings. Overall, risk of bias for included studies was low to moderate. The weighted average effect size across studies was -0.39 (95%CI [-0.69, -0.10], p=.009, $I^2=63%$). Music therapy was effective to reduce agitation of the older adults with dementia. Conclusion: Music intervention can be an effective non-pharmacological intervention for the reduction of agitation in dementia. Future studies need to use rigorous research method and to provide description of research methods in greater detail. In addition, future studies are required to explore the effects of music therapy according to severity of agitation and dementia.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• 제15권4호
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• pp.373-379
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• 2011

Current therapeutic methods for suppressing muscle spasticity are intensive functional training, surgery, or pharmacological interventions. However, these methods have not been fully supported by confirmed efficacy due to the aggravation of the muscle spasticity in some patients. In this study, a combined system was developed to treat with a low-level laser and to monitor the region of the treatment using an optical spectroscopic probe that measures oxygen saturation and deoxygenation during low-level laser therapy (LLLT). The evaluation of the wavelength dependence for LLLT was performed using a Monte Carlo simulation and the results showed that the greatest amount of heat generation was seen in the deep tissue at ${\lambda}$ = 830 nm. In the oxy- and deoxygenation measurements during and after the treatment, oxygen-Hb concentration was significantly increased in the laser-irradiated group when compared to the control group. These findings suggest that LLLT using ${\lambda}$ = 830 nm may be of benefit in accelerating recovery of muscle spasticity. The combined system that we have developed can monitor the physiological condition of muscle spasticity during the laser treatment in real time and may also be applied to various myotonia conditions such as muscle fatigue, back-pain treatment/monitoring, and ulcer due to paralysis.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.195-203
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• 2012

Dental implants using titanium have greatly advanced through the improvement of designs and surface treatments. Nonetheless, the anatomical limits and physiological changes of the patient are still regarded as obstacles in increasing the success rate of implants further, even with the enhancement of implant products. So there have been many efforts to overcome these limits. The intrinsic potential for bone regeneration can be stimulated through adjuvant treatments with the continuous improvement of implant properties, and this can play an important role in achieving optimum osseointegration toward peripheral bone tissue and securing ultimate long-term implant stability in standard surgical procedures. For this purpose, various chemical, biological, or biophysical measures were developed such as bone grafts, materials, pharmacological agents, growth factors, and bone formation proteins. The biophysical stimulation of bone union includes non-invasive and safe methods. In the beginning, it was developed as a method to enhance the healing of fractures, but later evolved into Pulsed Electromagnetic Field, Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound, and Low-Level Laser Therapy. Their beneficial effects were confirmed in many studies. This study sought to examine bone-implant union and its latest trend as well as the biophysical stimulation method to enhance the union. In particular, this study suggested the enhancement of the function of cells and tissues under a disadvantageous bone metabolism environment through such adjunctive stimulation. This study is expected to serve as a treatment guideline for implant-bone union under unfavorable circumstances caused by systemic diseases hampering bone metabolism or the host environment.

• BMB Reports
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• 제48권8호
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• pp.438-444
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• 2015

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of inherent diseases characterized by massive accumulation of undigested compounds in lysosomes, which is caused by genetic defects resulting in the deficiency of a lysosomal hydrolase. Currently, enzyme replacement therapy has been successfully used for treatment of 7 LSDs with 10 approved therapeutic enzymes whereas new approaches such as pharmacological chaperones and gene therapy still await evaluation in clinical trials. While therapeutic enzymes for Gaucher disease have N-glycans with terminal mannose residues for targeting to macrophages, the others require N-glycans containing mannose-6-phosphates that are recognized by mannose-6-phosphate receptors on the plasma membrane for cellular uptake and targeting to lysosomes. Due to the fact that efficient lysosomal delivery of therapeutic enzymes is essential for the clearance of accumulated compounds, the suitable glycan structure and its high content are key factors for efficient therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, glycan remodeling strategies to improve lysosomal targeting and tissue distribution have been highlighted. This review describes the glycan structures that are important for lysosomal targeting and provides information on recent glyco-engineering technologies for the development of therapeutic enzymes with improved efficacy. [BMB Reports 2015; 48(8): 438-444]

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.38-43
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• 2011

Chronic tic disorder or Tourette syndrome is known to be a chronic neuro-behavioral disease for which cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) strategies have recently been introduced. Here, we report the effectiveness of CBT in a case of childhood chronic tic disorder, which is very common in clinical settings. The DSM-IV clinical diagnosis was applied by a child psychiatrist. The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, Kovac's children's depression inventory, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Abbreviated Conners' Rating Scales, and the Dupaul ADHD Rating Scales were used. This case involved a pharmacological treatment-refractory patient over the previous year. Thus, psychiatric consultation was undertaken. Subsequently, we administered five sessions of CBT for four weeks, consisting of symptom evaluation and planning, habit reversal training, and ventilation training. Following four weeks of CBT administration, there were improvements in the scores of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale and the Clinical Global Improvement scale. Our observations indicate that CBT may be effective in the treatment of childhood tic disorder.

• 척추신경추나의학회지
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.15-29
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• 2017

Objectives: To systematically review and evaluate the effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) on Pediatric Enuresis. Methods: We searched 12 English, Chinese and Korean databases by using relevant search terms up to October 2017. Every randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of CMT for Pediatric Enuresis were considered for inclusion. The methodological quality of RCTs was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Eleven RCTs with 1110 participants were included. The meta-analysis of 11 studies revealed that CMT had statistically significant effects for Pediatric Enuresis compared to other medications in terms of effective rate. Safety issues are minor. Conclusions: This systematic review suggests that CMT may have positive effects on Pediatric Enuresis and safe treatment as a non-pharmacological treatment, but evidence is limited. For a better quality review, more and high-quality RCTs with standardized interventions are needed to offer sufficient evidence on the effects of CMT for Pediatric Enuresis.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제31권1호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Autophagy is a process of eliminating damaged or unnecessary proteins and organelles, thereby maintaining intracellular homeostasis. Deregulation of autophagy is associated with several diseases including cancer. Contradictory dual roles of autophagy have been well established in cancer. Cytoprotective mechanism of autophagy has been extensively investigated for overcoming resistance to cancer therapies including radiotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and chemotherapy. Selective autophagy inhibitors that directly target autophagic process have been developed for cancer treatment. Efficacies of autophagy inhibitors have been tested in various pre-clinical cancer animal models. Combination therapies of autophagy inhibitors with chemotherapeutics are being evaluated in clinal trials. In this review, we will focus on genetical and pharmacological perturbations of autophagy-related proteins in different steps of autophagic process and their therapeutic benefits. We will also summarize combination therapies of autophagy inhibitors with chemotherapies and their outcomes in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Understanding of current knowledge of development, progress, and application of cytoprotective autophagy inhibitors in combination therapies will open new possibilities for overcoming drug resistance and improving clinical outcomes.