DW2007 Ameliorates Colitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis in Mice by Correcting Th17/Treg Imbalance and Inhibiting NF-κB Activation

In the previous study, the rhizome mixture of Anemarrhena asphodeloides and Coptis chinensis (DW2007), improved TNBS-, oxazolone-, or DSS-induced colitis in mice by regulating macrophage activation. Therefore, to understand the effect of DW2007 on the T cell differentiation involved in the adaptive immunity, we measured its effect on both Th17 and Treg cell differentiation in splenocytes, in the lamina propria of mice with DSS-induced colitis (DIC), and in the spleens of mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Results showed that DW2007 potently inhibited the differentiation of splenocytes into Th17 cells, but increased Treg cell differentiation in vitro. In the colon of wild type and TLR4−/− mice with DIC, DW2007 potently suppressed DSS-induced colon shortening and myeloperoxidase activity. DW2007 also suppressed collagen-induced paw thickening, clinical index, and myeloperoxidase activity in CIA mice. Overall, DW2007 potently suppressed Th17 cell differentiation in mice with CIA and DIC, but increased Treg cell differentiation. Moreover, DW2007 strongly inhibited the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, as well as the activation of NF-κB. Based on these findings, DW2007 may ameliorate inflammatory diseases by regulating the innate immunity via the inhibition of macrophage activation and the adaptive immunity via the correction of disturbed Th17/Treg cells.

Accuracy of Tablet Counts Estimated by Members of the Public and Healthcare Professionals

PURPOSE: Intentional and accidental drug intoxication is commonly seen in the emergency department. When treating intoxicated patients, the amount of the ingested drug is crucial albeit often difficult. We investigated the tablet counts when asked to hold tablets in their fists and hands (semi-quantitative terms). METHODS: The widths and lengths of the participants'hands were measured. Then, the subjects were asked to hold 5-mm round, 10-mm round, 10-mm oval, and 15-mm elliptical tablets using their hands and fists and to estimate the number of tablets they were holding. Differences between the estimated and actual numbers of tablets were examined. RESULTS: A total of 47 members of the public and 33 healthcare professionals were included in our study. In analyses of differences between the actual and estimated amounts of tablets held in the participants'hands and fists, the actual amount was higher than the estimated amount for all tablet types and in both groups. When participants held the tablets in the same manner (handful or fistful), the differences between the actual and estimated amounts were greater for 5- than 15-mm-sized tablets (p<0.05) CONCLUSION: Treatment of patients presenting with drug overdoses to the emergency department should be based on the assumption that the actual amount of drugs ingested is likely greater than the amount stated by the patient.

Management of Cyanide Intoxication with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy / 대한구급학회지

Cyanide intoxication results in severe metabolic acidosis and catastrophic prognosis with conventional treatment. Indications of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) are expanding to poisoning cases. A 50-year-old male patient arrived in the emergency room due to mental change after ingestion of cyanide as a suicide attempt 30 minutes prior. He was comatose, and brain stem reflexes were absent. Initial laboratory analysis demonstrated severe metabolic acidosis with increased lactic acid of 25 mM/L. Shock and acidosis were not corrected despite a large amount of fluid resuscitation with highdose norepinephrine and continuous renal replacement therapy. We decided to apply ECMO and CRRT to allow time for stabilization of hemodynamic status. After administration of antidote infusion, although the patient had the potential to progress to brain death status, vital signs were improved with correction of acidosis. We considered the evaluation for organ donation. We report a male patient who showed typical cyanide intoxication as lethal metabolic acidosis and cardiac impairment, and the patient recovered after antidote administration during vital organ support through ECMO and CRRT.

Management of Cyanide Intoxication with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy / 대한중환자의학회지

Cyanide intoxication results in severe metabolic acidosis and catastrophic prognosis with conventional treatment. Indications of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) are expanding to poisoning cases. A 50-year-old male patient arrived in the emergency room due to mental change after ingestion of cyanide as a suicide attempt 30 minutes prior. He was comatose, and brain stem reflexes were absent. Initial laboratory analysis demonstrated severe metabolic acidosis with increased lactic acid of 25 mM/L. Shock and acidosis were not corrected despite a large amount of fluid resuscitation with highdose norepinephrine and continuous renal replacement therapy. We decided to apply ECMO and CRRT to allow time for stabilization of hemodynamic status. After administration of antidote infusion, although the patient had the potential to progress to brain death status, vital signs were improved with correction of acidosis. We considered the evaluation for organ donation. We report a male patient who showed typical cyanide intoxication as lethal metabolic acidosis and cardiac impairment, and the patient recovered after antidote administration during vital organ support through ECMO and CRRT.

Effects of Estrogen Receptor Polymorphisms on Bone Markers and Serum Lipid Levels / 대한진단검사의학회지

BACKGROUND: In post-menopausal women, osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases which are partly due to estrogen deficiency, occur more common than in pre-menopause women. Estrogen action is supposed to be mediated by an estrogen receptor (ER) and two polymorphisms of the ER gene in particular, Pvu II and Xba I, have been described for several years for genetic association studies. Authors have investigated the frequencies and patterns of the ER gene polymorphisms and their association with bone markers and lipid levels. METHODS: For 121 women who visited the health promotion center of Kyungpook National University Hospital, the ER gene polymorphisms were determined by the Pvu II and Xba I restriction enzymes following polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The distributions of ER Pvu II and Xba I restriction fragment length polymorphisms were as follows: PP 15.7%, Pp 47.9%, pp 36.4% and XX 5.8%, Xx 31.4%, xx 62.8%, respectively. And in a combination of two polymorphisms, ppxx was the most common, followed by PpXx, Ppxx, PPXx, PPXX and PPxx in that order. No significant genotypic differences were found in bone mineral density, bone markers and menopausal status. LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels were significantly different by genotypes in premenopausal women (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that ER polymorphisms might be associated with LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Further evaluation in a larger population would be helpful to determine the effects of ER polymorphisms on lipid metabolism and therapeutic trial for cardiovascular diseases in women.

Evaluation of Serum CTX and Osteocalcin Using Elecsys 2010 / 대한임상병리학회지

BACKGROUND: In contrast with bone formation markers, most of available indices of bone resorption are urine markers and show relatively high degree of variability. The serum resorption assay has therefore been developed. We evaluated serum bone-derived degradation products of type I collagen C-telopeptide (s-CTX) and serum osteocalcin by Elecsys 2010 (Hitachi Boehringer Mannheim, Tokyo, Japan). METHODS: For 18 healthy controls, 15 osteopenic and 7 osteoporotic patients samples, serum CTX and serum osteocalcin were measured by Elecsys 2010 using -CrossLaps/serum (Roche Diagnostic Corp., Indianapolis, USA) kit and N-MID Osteocalcin (Roche Diagnostic Corp. kit, respectively. DPD by Immulite (Diagnostic Products Corp., LA, USA) using Pyrilinks-D(TM) (Diagnostic Products Corp.) kit and serum osteocalcin for correlation by Gamma counter (Hewlett Packard, Meriden, USA) using ELSA-OSTEO (CIS, Cedex, France) kit were measured. RESULTS: The within-run and between-run coefficient of variation (CV) values of s-CTX were 6.41% and 6% in low concentrations and 3.84% and 7% in high concentrations, respectively. The within-run and between-run CV values of serum osteocalcin were 2.21% and 6% in low concentrations and 1.25% and 3% in high concentrations, respectively. The dilution recovery of s-CTX and serum osteocalcin was 100-169% (mean, 134%) and 80-138% (mean, 104%), respectively. S-CTX and DPD (R=0.369, P=0.019), and serum osteocalcin by Elecsys 2010 and RIA (R=0.889, P<0.001) showed positive correlations, respectively. CONCLUSTIONS: S-CTX and serum osteocalcin by Elecsys 2010 exhibits good analytical performance and correlate with DPD and serum osteocalcin by RIA, respectively. Therefore, these may replace DPD and serum osteocalcin by RIA and can be used for bone resorption and formation markers, respectively.

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasma gondii Infection in High School Students in Cheju Province / 예방의학회지

OBJECTIVES: To assess the seroprevalence and risk factors of toxoplasmosis in high school students in Cheju Province, Korea. METHODS: A total of 4,570 high school students from 18 schools in Cheju Province were investigated for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies(IgG) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Risk factors for toxoplasmosis, such as place of residence, type of house, contact with cats and other pets, and rare meat consumption, were examined by questionnaire. RESULTS: The overall antibody positive rate was 5.5% and ranged from 2.6 to 11.5% by school. There was no significant difference between males and females. Statistical analyses of the questionnaire data indicated that the risk factors for seropositivity were: (1) birth place (Cheju/others), (2) place of residence (rural/urban), (3) dietary habits (vegetarian/non vegetarian), (4) eating rare meat, (5) exposure to pets and (6) hepatitis B. CONCLUSION: We confirmed that the prevalence of the anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody in a population of high school students in Cheju Province was to the previously reported prevalence.

A COMPARISON OF ACCURACY BETWEEN FIXTURE IMPRESSION AND ABUTMENT IMPRESSION FOR DENTAL IMPLANTS / 대한치과보철학회지

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy between fixture impression and abutment impression using strain gauges. The master model used in this study was a partially edentulous mandibular metal cast with two fixture analogs on both sides. On the left, two fixture analogs were parallel, whereas right side, posterior fixture analog exhibiting a 15-degree lingual inclination. From master cast, 10 impression were made for each of the three impression methods. The master frameworks was fabricated on the master model, and two-element strain gauge was attached to a master framework. The master framework was seated on each cast, and gold screws were tightened to 10 Ncm using a torque controller. AI-1600 strain measurement system was used for strain maesuring. Impression methods studied were : Group 1:abutment impression Group 2:fixture impression Group 3:combined impression (anterior:fixture impression, posterior:abutment impression) The results were as followed. 1. The strain values on X-axis and Y-axis according to the three impression methods showed no significant difference. 2. The strain values on parallel and angulated groups according to the three impression methods showed no significant difference. 3. The parallel group exhibited significantly higher accuracy in adaptation than angulated group for all experimental groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, it is considered that accuracy of implant prostheses is more affected by implant angulation than impression methods.

Evaluation of Platelet Concentrates Stored for Five Days in Domestic Second Generation Platelet Storage Containers / 대한임상병리학회지

No abstract available.

Comparison Study of Reticulocyte Enumeration by H*3 RTX(TM), FACScan(TM), and Manual Counting / 대한임상병리학회지

BACKGROUND: Reticulocyte counts provide clinically useful informations and the most widely used method for counting reticulocytes is a manual microscopic procedure. Although manual method is inexpensive and relatively simple to perform, it is labor intensive and imprecise. So, more rapid and more reproducible methods are needed. METHODS: Reticulocyte counts on 96 blood samples were performed by conventional manual method, H*3 RTX(TM)(Bayer, U.S.A.), and FACScan(TM)(Beckon Dickinson, U.S.A.). The changes of reticulocyte count after storage of samples and certain time intervals after preparation were also examined. RESULTS: Reticulocyte counts(%) by manual method, H*3 RTX(TM), and FACScanM were 2.05+/-2.16, 1.95+/-2.24 and 2.51+/-1.94, respectively. There was no statistically significant differences between manual counting and H*3 RTX(TM)(P>0.05). However, there were significant differences between H*3 RTX(TM) and FACScan(TM), manual counting and FACScan(TM)(P<0.05). Correlation coefficients of three comparisons were all above 0.920. Statistically not confirmed the reticulocytosis sample showed decreasing tendency of reticuocyte count by H*3 RTX(TM) after storage of the sample and prepared sample and others were relatively stable in H*3 RTX(TM)and FACScan(TM). CONCLUSIONS: The result of the mean difference between H*3 RTX(TM) and manual counting is statistically insignificant. So, the H*3 RTX(TM)can be used interchangeably with manual counting atter consideration of cost-effectiveness.