Effects of DA-5513 on alcohol metabolism and alcoholic fatty liver in rats / 한국실험동물학회지

Hangover is characterized by a number of unpleasant physical and mental symptoms that occur after heavy alcohol drinking. In addition, consistently excessive alcohol intake is considered as a major reason causes liver disease. The present study investigated the in vivo effects of DA-5513 (Morning care® Kang Hwang) on biological parameters relevant to hangover relief and alcoholic fatty liver. Blood alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations were determined in rats administered a single dose of alcohol and treated with DA-5513 or commercially available hangover relief beverages (Yeomyung® and Ukon®). The effects of DA-5513 on alcoholic fatty liver were also determined in rats fed alcohol-containing Lieber-DeCarli diets for 4 weeks. Serum liver function markers (aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities) and serum/liver lipid levels were assessed. Blood alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations were lower in the groups treated with DA-5513 or Yeomyung®, as compared with control rats. However, Ukon® did not produce any significant effects on these parameters. Treatment with DA-5513 significantly reduced serum aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities and markedly reduced serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as compared with control rats. Histological observations using Oil Red O staining found that DA-5513 delayed the development of alcoholic fatty liver by reversing hepatic fat accumulation. These findings suggest that DA-5513 could have a beneficial effect on alcohol-induced hangovers and has the potential to ameliorate alcoholic fatty liver.

The Pharmacological Effects of Benachio-F(R) on Rat Gastrointestinal Functions

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a prevalent idiopathic upper gastrointestinal (GI) disorder characterized by diverse symptomatology including epigastric pain or discomfort, postprandial fullness, and early satiety. Although its pathophysiological mechanisms have not yet been fully established, the available studies suggest that the etiology of FD is invariably multifactorial. Benachio-F(R) (BF) is a proprietary liquid formulation of 7 herbal extracts that has been proposed to address this multifactorial etiology using multi-drug phytotherapy. The pharmacological effects of BF, in comparison with those of two other herbal products (Whalmyungsu(R); WM and Iberogast(R); IB) were evaluated in rats. In a laparotomy-induced rat model of delayed GI transit, BF significantly accelerated the delayed gastric emptying caused by morphine, apomorphine, and cisplatin, and also significantly increased mean gastric transit, as compared to the control animals. BF markedly increased gastric accommodation in rats and produced higher gastric volume values than did the control treatment. The effects of BF were generally comparable or superior to those of WM and IB in these models. Furthermore, BF significantly stimulated biliary flow, as compared to the control treatment. These results indicated that BF might have great potential as an effective phytotherapeutic agent capable of reducing GI symptoms and increasing quality of life in FD patients.

Erectile potentials of a new phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, DA-8159, in diet-induced obese rats / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>AIM</b>To examine the changes in the erectile function in diet-induced obese rats and investigate the oral efficacy of DA-8159, a new phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor, on penile erection in obese rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The rats were fed a high-energy diet for 12 weeks and divided into three groups: an obesity-resistant (OR) control group, an obesity-prone (OP) control group, and an OP-DA-8159 treatment (DA-8159) group. The electrostimulation-induced erectile responses were measured in all groups. The body weight, plasma cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels were also measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the OP control group, the maximum intracavernous pressure (ICP) and ICP/blood pressure (ICP/BP) ratio after electric stimulation were significantly lower than those in OR control group. The corresponding area under the curve (AUC) of the ICP/BP ratio, the detumescence time and the baseline cavernous pressure were also lower than those in the OR control group, but this difference was not significant. The body weight gain, plasma cholesterol and triglyceride level in the OP group were significantly higher than those in the OR group. After administering the DA-8159, a significant increase in the maximum ICP and the ICP/BP ratio were observed. The corresponding AUCs in the DA-8159 group were also higher than those in the two control groups. Furthermore, the detumescence time was significantly prolonged after treatment with DA-8159.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>These results demonstrate that diet-induced obesity affects the erectile function in rats and these erectile dysfunction (ED) can be improved by the treatment with DA-8159, indicating DA-8159 might be a treatment option for ED associated with obesity.</p>

Toxic Hepatitis Induced by Occupational Dimethylacetamide Exposure / 대한산업의학회지

Dimethylacetamide is widely used in the production of plastics, resins, synthetic fibers, and gums and in purification and crystallization processes. Inhalation of the vapor or skin absorption of the liquid of dimethylacetamide(DMAC) can cause liver damage. Toxic hepatitis possibly attributable to DMAC exposure occurred in seven works among 178 employees who had worked on a new spandex-fiber production line. A large amount of DMAC is used as a spinning solvent for synthetic fibers in the factory. The patients were aged 23-47 years old and composed of five males and two females. They were involved in the process of polymerization(1 patient), spinning(1), take-up(4) and packaging(1). The mean duration of exposure was 10 weeks. They experienced fatigue, dizziness and jaundice. The patients showed elavated total bilirubin, alanine aminotransferase(ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase(AST) levels. The serologic test for viral hepatitis A, B and C were negative, as were the abdominal ultrasonographic scans. Based on the presumptive diagnosis of DMAC-induced toxic hepatitis, they were removed from the workplaces. One or two months after removal from the work, the transaminase levels returned to normal. The patients had no history of significant alcohol use, blood transfusion, recent medication, and drug abuse. As a result, authors could not find any attributable cause of toxic hepatitis but the toxicity by DMAC exposure.

Related factors of high frequency hearing loss in the noise-exposed male workers / 대한산업의학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to assess the risk factors assumed to be related to the high frequency hearing loss in the noise-exposed male workers. METHODS: 712 occupationally noise-exposed male workers were included in this cross sectional study. The subjects filled out a questionnaire on the history of noise exposure, hearing protection, otologic diseases, tobacco smoking, and were tested on height, weight, hematocrit, serum total cholesterol level, fasting plasma glucose level and arterial blood pressure level. Pure tone audiometry and otoscopy were conducted and the subjects were allocated into two groups according to whether they had 4000 Hi hearing loss or not. RESULTS: The multiple logistic regression analysis showed that military noise exposure, poor wearing status of the hearing protection devices, increased age, long noise exposure duration, mean arterial pressure less than 80mmHg, high fasting plasma sugar are the factors significantly related to high frequency hearing loss (P<0.05). On the contrary, there was no significant relationship between noise intensity, body mass index, serum total cholesterol level, smoking and high frequency hearing loss. Low hematocrit was shown to be a significant factor with a p-value less than 0.1. CONCLUSIONS: High frequency hearing loss in the noise-exposed male workers is related to military noise exposure, use of hearing protection devices, age, noise exposure length, fasting glucose level and mean arterial pressure, in this order. Appropriate use of the hearing protection devices has a great impact on the prevention of the noise-induced hearing loss.

The Effect of Adrenaline on the Blockade of Compound Action Potential by Local Anesthetics in Rat Sciatic Nerves / 대한마취과학회지

BACKGROUND: Adrenaline has often been used to prolong the local anesthetic effect during surgical procedures. As a possible explanation for this, a local vasoconstriction caused by adrenaline has been proposed. However, in a recent study, clonidine, an alpha2 adrenergic receptor agonist, was reported to block the conduction of mammalian nerves in vitro. Thus, there is a possibility that adrenaline may block nerve conduction by acting on the adrenergic receptor. The present study is performed to see : (1) If adrenaline directly affects nerve conduction ; (2) If adrenaline affects conduction blockade caused by local anesthetic. METHODS: Recordings of compound action potentials (CAPs) of A- and C-components were obtained from isolated sciatic nerves of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Dose-response curves of lidocaine and adrenaline regarding depression of CAPs were determined. Effects of adrenaline on the lidocaine-induced nerve block was assessed by comparing the effect of lidocaine (3.5x 10 5) with a lidocaine-epinephrine mixture (Lido-Epi, 3.5 x10 5 lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine). RESULTS: Adrenaline, near the clinical concentrations, had no effect on the size of either A- or C-component of CAPs. The ED50 of lidocaine was 3.5x 10 5. Lidocaine depressed A-CAP 45.9+/- 7.0 when compared with baseline value, and the Lido-Epi solution depressed A-CAP to 41.7+/- 5.0 (P > 0.05). Lidocaine depressed C-CAP 59.8 +/- 3.4 when compared with the baseline value, and the Lido-Epi solution depressed C-CAP to 60.5 8.1 (P > 0.05). Consequently, adrenaline did not augment lidocaine induced nerve blockade. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that adrenaline applied to the peripheral nerve has no effect either on nerve conduction itself or on conduction block produced by lidocaine.