Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai ethyl acetate fraction protects the liver against chronic alcohol-induced liver injury and fat accumulation in mice

Sasa (S.) quelpaertensis Nakai (Korean name, Jeju-Joritdae), which has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities, is a type of bamboo grass distributed widely in Jeju Island, Korea. S. quelpaertensis leaves are used for therapeutic purposes in traditional Korean medicine. This study examined the hepatoprotective effects of the S. quelpaertensis ethyl acetate fraction (SQEA) in a mouse model to mimic alcoholic liver damage. The mice were administered orally with 30% alcohol (5 g/kg) once per day with or without SQEA treatments (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 14 days consecutively. Alcohol consumption increased the serum alcohol content and histopathological changes but reduced the liver weight. Moreover, the livers of the alcohol group exhibited the accumulation of malondialdehyde and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), and lipid droplet coating protein perilipin-2. On the other hand, SQEA dosedependently attenuated the alcohol-induced serum ethanol content and liver histopathological changes but increased the liver weight.Moreover, SQEA attenuated the level of CYP2E1 and inhibited alcohol-induced lipogenesis in the liver via decreased perilipin-2 expression. These results suggest that SQEA can provide a potent way to reduce the liver damage caused by alcohol consumption.

Sasa quelpaertensis Nakai ethyl acetate fraction protects the liver against chronic alcohol-induced liver injury and fat accumulation in mice

Sasa (S.) quelpaertensis Nakai (Korean name, Jeju-Joritdae), which has anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities, is a type of bamboo grass distributed widely in Jeju Island, Korea. S. quelpaertensis leaves are used for therapeutic purposes in traditional Korean medicine. This study examined the hepatoprotective effects of the S. quelpaertensis ethyl acetate fraction (SQEA) in a mouse model to mimic alcoholic liver damage. The mice were administered orally with 30% alcohol (5 g/kg) once per day with or without SQEA treatments (100 and 200 mg/kg) for 14 days consecutively. Alcohol consumption increased the serum alcohol content and histopathological changes but reduced the liver weight. Moreover, the livers of the alcohol group exhibited the accumulation of malondialdehyde and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), and lipid droplet coating protein perilipin-2. On the other hand, SQEA dosedependently attenuated the alcohol-induced serum ethanol content and liver histopathological changes but increased the liver weight.Moreover, SQEA attenuated the level of CYP2E1 and inhibited alcohol-induced lipogenesis in the liver via decreased perilipin-2 expression. These results suggest that SQEA can provide a potent way to reduce the liver damage caused by alcohol consumption.

Validity of iPad for Remote Diagnosis of Rib Fracture

PURPOSE: In elderly and patients with underlying diseases, mortality rate is increased when compared to rib fractures which occurred in other patients. Because there is a shortage of emergency physicians or real-time consultation with radiologists in many countries, it is necessary to receive a formal image reading remotely from an expert. We suggested the use of iPad in X-ray reading and compared the diagnostic validity of iPad, which was highly portable, with that of liquid crystal display (LCD) monitor. METHODS: Fifty four X-ray cases of rib fracture and 54 cases without rib fracture were randomized and reviewed by 10 emergency physicians. A total of 108 cases were divided 1st to 54th and 55th to 108th. Two sessions were separated with a four-week interval. If the reviewer interpreted the 1st to 54th with iPad, they did 55th to 108th with LCD monitor. Reviewers reported the presence of rib fracture, the number of fractured ribs, and diagnostic confidence of 5-scale. RESULTS: The interobserver agreement among reviewers in LCD and iPad was 0.551, 0.524 in Fleiss-kappa value. The intraobserver agreement between tools for each reviewer was 0.410-0.859 (Mean=0.628+/-0.150). Reviewers showed sensitivity over 0.810 regardless of the tool; 0.810- 0.966 (Mean=0.879+/- 0.054) in LCD, 0.828-1.000 (Mean=0.898+/-0.052) in iPad. The specificity was 0.520- 0.860 (Mean=0.750+/-0.117) in LCD and 0.560-0.880 (Mean=0.708+/-0.111) in iPad. Therefore, remote consultation of X-ray by iPad with a specialist was possible with minimized temporal and spatial limits in the emergency room. CONCLUSION: In our study, there was no statistical difference in the diagnosis of rib fracture by X-ray via iPad or LCD. Therefore, remote consultation of X-ray by iPad with a specialist in the emergency room was possible, with temporal and spatial limits by iPad.

A Case of Primary Jejunal Mucinous Adenocarcinoma Diagnosed by Single Balloon Enteroscopy / 대한소화기내시경학회지

The small bowel rarely develops neoplasm, and tumor of the small bowel accounts for only 1~2% of all gastrointestinal neoplasm. Most cases of jejunal and ileal adenocarconoma are of the well or moderately differentiated type. Mucinous adenocarcinoma is diagnosed when the amount of extracellular mucin in a tumor is over 50% and its incidence in the small bowel is very low. A 49-year-old man presented with postprandial abdominal pain and vomiting for the previous 2 months. The abdominal computed tomography scan showed about a 6.5 cm-sized mass at the proximal jejunum. Single balloon enteroscopy was done preoperatively for making the diagnosis and the biopsy showed mucinous adenocarcinoma of the proximal jejunum. Under the diagnosis of primary jejunal cancer. We report here on our case for which a definite diagnosis was made before surgery by performing single balloon enteroscopy, and we review the relevant medical literature.

A case of sparganosis presenting as hematochezia / 대한내과학회지

Sparganosis is a parasite infection caused by a sparganum, which is a plerocercoid larva of cestodes in the genus Spirometra. Recently, we experienced an unusual case of sparganosis of the descending colon in a 68.year.old female who presented with acute abdominal pain and severe hematochezia. At colonoscopy, a large hematoma was seen in the descending colon. The biopsy specimen showed the degenerating sparganum of a parasitic worm. We report this with a brief review of literature.

The Role of Genetic Polymorphism of Cytochrome P450 2E1 in Bladder Cancer in Korea / 한국역학회지

Although the association of genetic polymorphisms in glutathione S-transferase(GST) and N-acetyltransferase(NAT) with bladder cancer has been reported, limited numbers of studies have been indicated the association of CYP2E1 with bladder cancer, particularly in Asian population. A hospital based case-control study was conducted in South Korean, consisting of 232 histologically confirmed prevalent bladder cancer cases and 165 controls to evaluate the association between genetic polymorphisms of CYP2E1(RsaI) and development of bladder cancer. The frequency of CYP2E1(RsaI) c1/c1 genotype in bladder cancer cases was higher than in controls; 114 of 201(56.7%) vs. 62 of 146(42.5%). Men with CYP2E1(RsaI) c1/c1 genotype had increased risk of development of bladder cancer compared to men with at least one c2 allele(OR=1.7, 95% CI=1.1-2.7). The bladder cancer risk increased as the number of c1 allele increased(p for trend=0.005). The risk increased as the amount of smoking increased(p for trend=0.009). When data were analyzed for the interaction between smoking and CYP2E1 genetic polymorphisms, smokers with c1/c1 genotype have 2.5 greater risk in development of bladder cancer(95% CI=1.0-6.2) compared to nonsmokers with c2 allele(p for interaction=0.008). Our findings suggest that the interaction between genetic polymorphisms of CYP 2E1 (RsaI, c1/c1) and smoking may play an important role for development of bladder cancer among Koreans.

The Usefulness of the Secondary Database for Occupational Asthma Surveillance System in Korea / 한국역학회지

Occupational asthma is defined as a disease that is characterized by airway narrowing and bronchial hyperresponsiveness caused by specific working environment. It is estimated that occupational asthma cases in Korea have been underreported. This study, using Korean Medical Insurance Data(KMID), examined the distribution of asthma patients' occupations and the frequency of high risk occupations for occupational asthma in Seoul, Korea to evaluate the usefulness of the KMID data as a database for active occupational asthma surveillance system. Six hundreds and forty two(30.7%) of 2093 patients who were finally chosen as a study population by using 1995-year KMID, were contacted by telephone. 296 persons(47.4%) of 642 patients replied that they were diagnosed as asthma. The occupations of 296 asthma patients were classified by Korean standardized industrial classfication (KSIC). The most common occupations included Wholesale and Retail trade(19.5%), Real estate, Renting and Business activities(14.9%), Construction(14.9%), Manufacturing(12.3%). Forty(13.5%) of 296 patients who could be classified by KSIC were working at high risk jobs for occupational asthma. KMID could be used as a useful data for occupational asthma surveillance system if the limitations of KMID, which is the accuracy of diagnosis, data accessibility, difficulty of following up study subjects, would be solved. The prevalence of occupational asthma could be estimated if the follow-up study diagnosing occupational asthma for asthma patients working in high risk jobs would be held.