ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: In this study, we investigated the effects of chronic alcohol and excessive iron intake on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and the progression of alcoholic liver injury in rats. METHODS: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into four groups (Control, EtOH, Fe, and EtOH + Fe), and fed either control or ethanol (36% of total calories) liquid diet with or without 0.6% carbonyl iron for eight weeks. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, liver malondialdehyde concentrations were measured by colorimetric assays. Liver histopathology was examined by Hematoxylin-eosin staining of the fixed liver tissues. The integrity of the hepatic mtDNA and nuclear DNA was measured by long-range PCR. The gene expression levels of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 (Nd4) were examined by real-time PCR. RESULTS: Serum ALT and AST activities were significantly higher in the EtOH+Fe group, as compared to the Control group. Similarly, among four groups, liver histology showed the most severe lipid accumulation, inflammation, and necrosis in the EtOH + Fe group. PCR amplification of near-full-length (15.9 kb) mtDNA showed more than 50% loss of full-length product in the liver of the EtOH + Fe group, whereas amounts of PCR products of a nuclear DNA were unaffected. In addition, the changes in the mtDNA integrity showed correlation with reductions in the mRNA levels of mitochondrial gene Cox1 and Nd4. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that the liver injury associated with excessive iron and alcohol intake involved mtDNA damage and corresponding mitochondrial dysfunction.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Male , Rats , Alanine Transaminase , Alcoholics , Aspartate Aminotransferases , Diet , DNA , DNA, Mitochondrial , Electron Transport Complex IV , Ethanol , Gene Expression , Genes, Mitochondrial , Inflammation , Iron , Liver , Malondialdehyde , NADH Dehydrogenase , Necrosis , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , RNA, MessengerABSTRACT
PURPOSE: We analyzed climacteric symptoms, bone mineral density (BMD), serum estradiol (E2) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) to identify the health benefits of meridian massage in perimenopausal women. METHODS: There were 16 women in the experimental group and 17 people in the control group. Meridian massage was performed for 4 weeks, 3 times a week for 20 minutes each session. The data were collected pre-treatment, posttreatment and 4 weeks after treatment. SPSS/WIN 11.5 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: After meridian massage, there were significant differences in climacteric symptoms (U = 65.50, p = .011) and BMD (U = 65.50, p = .011) between the two groups. The E2 level showed a significant difference between the two groups pre- and posttreatment (U = 75.00, p = .028). FSH showed a significant increase when measured at 4 weeks after the treatment as compared with the amount when measured post-treatment within the control group (z = -2.249, p = .025), experimental group showed a stable change in FSH. but there was no significant difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed the effects of Meridian massage in decreasing climacteric symptoms, inhibiting the decrease of BMD and stabilizing serum hormone in perimenopausal women. Therefore, it can be considered for use as a nursing intervention for health management in perimenopausal women.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Bone Density , Climacteric , Estradiol , Follicle Stimulating Hormone , Insurance Benefits , Massage , Statistics as TopicABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of meridian massage on menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. METHOD: The research design was a nonequivalent control group pre-post experimental design. The subjects of the study were middle-aged women who had had no menstruation in the last 12 months after the last menstrual bleeding. Cards of invitation on bulletin boards of several apartments were placed to recruit the subjects. The cards of invitation included: purpose of the study, eligibility criteria, method and period. Eighteen women in the experimental group and 16 women in the control group were conveniently assigned, respectively. The experimental group received 20 min meridian massage 3 times per week for 4 weeks. The menopausal symptoms and Shin-hur were measured and compared between the two groups before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed with the SPSS program by Fisher's exact test, Wilcoxon Sign Rank test, Mann Whitney U-test and Spearman's rank correlation. RESULT: The experimental group showed a significant decrease of menopausal symptoms (U=77.00, p=.020) and Shin-Hur (U=76.00, p=.017). There was a significantly positive correlation between menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur (r=.497, p=.003). CONCLUSION: Meridian massage was effective in improving menopausal symptoms and Shin-Hur in middle-aged menopausal women. Thus it can be useful as a nursing intervention for menopausal women.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Abdomen , Acupressure , Acupuncture Points , Massage/methods , Meridians , Postmenopause , Women's HealthABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was to investigate the relation among social support, drinking and smoking and to identify factors affecting high school students' smoking and drinking behaviors. METHODS: Data were collected from 361 high school students (182 students in 2 preparatory schools and 179 students in 2 vocational high schools) who were selected through convenient sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5 for Windows. RESULTS: Factors affecting smoking behavior were drinking(OR=15.86. p<0.01), school type(R=11.82, p<0.01), school record(OR=46.62. p<0.001), pocket money (OR= 10.91. p<0.01) and brother's smoking (OR=9.09. p<0.05). Factors affecting drinking behavior were smoking(OR=8.32. p<0.01), school type(OR=2.53. p<0.01), school record(OR=2.35. p<0.01), pocket money(OR=2.01. p<0.05), father's educational background(OR=2.126. p<0.05), mother's drinking(OR= 1.83. p<0.05) and relationship with teacher (OR=2.44. p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The behaviors of drinking and smoking in high school students were highly correlated with each other. School record, school type, pocket money and family member's behaviors influenced student's behaviors. Further study is required to estimate the effect of drinking and smoking intervention programs according to student's characteristics such as school record, school type, pocket money management, and family members' influence.
Subject(s)
Humans , Drinking Behavior , Drinking , Smoke , SmokingABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of hand moxibustion for reduction of pain during menstruation. METHOD: Fifteen women were selected as subjects and data collection was conducted from September to December 2003. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Digital Infrared Thermotraphic Image (DITI) were used to measure the degree of pain and body heat. RESULT: The results showed that there was a significant reduction of pain during menstruation when hand moxibustion was performed. Also, there were significant differences in the change of body heat. These were left hands (Z=-2.805, p=.005), right hands (Z=-2.805, p=.005) and lower abdomen (Z=-2.803, p=.005). CONCLUSION: It was found that hand moxibustion decreased pain during menstruation and increased body heat. Therefore, hand moxibustion may be a good method for intervention to decrease pain during menstruation.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Abdomen , Data Collection , Hand , Hot Temperature , Menstruation , MoxibustionABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to identify health promotion behavior, self-efficacy and role stress of family caregivers who care for hospitalized cancer patient, The results would be used to provide the necessary basic data for promoting healthy behavior of the family caregivers to the cancer patient. The results were as follow : 1) The level of health promotion behavior was significantly different depending on the existence of care givers religion and type of help from family members. There was a positive relationship between the performance level of health promotion behavior and perceived health status or age. There was a negative correlation between the performance level of health promotion behavior and time cared for. 2) The level of self-efficacy was significantly different depending on gender and if the subject was employed. There was a positive relationship between perceived health status and intimacy with patient. 3) The level of role stress was significantly different in genders and relationships with patients. 4) There was a positive relationship between health promotion behavior and self-efficacy.
Subject(s)
Humans , Caregivers , Health Promotion , Health StatusABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to identify health promotion behavior, self-efficacy and role stress of family caregivers who care for hospitalized cancer patient, The results would be used to provide the necessary basic data for promoting healthy behavior of the family caregivers to the cancer patient. The results were as follow : 1) The level of health promotion behavior was significantly different depending on the existence of care givers religion and type of help from family members. There was a positive relationship between the performance level of health promotion behavior and perceived health status or age. There was a negative correlation between the performance level of health promotion behavior and time cared for. 2) The level of self-efficacy was significantly different depending on gender and if the subject was employed. There was a positive relationship between perceived health status and intimacy with patient. 3) The level of role stress was significantly different in genders and relationships with patients. 4) There was a positive relationship between health promotion behavior and self-efficacy.