Patterns of Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine by Stroke Patients at Two University Hospitals in Korea

This study measured the prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among Korean stroke patients. Questionnaire-based 20-min interviews were conducted at the hospitals by a trained nurse after an outpatient visit. It included questions on demographic information, clinical information and the utilization of CAM. Of 304 stroke-patient respondents, 164 (54%) had used CAM, of which 66% had started taking CAM products following suggestions from family members and other relatives. Of the 57% of users who felt that CAM was effective, 84% considered that it improved the symptoms of stroke and 16% felt it was effective in achieving psychological relaxation. Of the eight CAM categories used by respondents, 92% used traditional Oriental medical treatments, 36% used plant- and animal-derived over-the-counter health care products, 24% used minerals and vitamins, and 11% used manual therapies. The majority of stroke patients (68%) were trying a new type of CAM, and half of the respondents (45%) relied on the knowledge of their general practitioner about CAMs when deciding whether to use them. Most of the stroke patients in this study used CAM, and a half of them reported beneficial effects. Despite the presence of adverse side effects, they tended to be used without discussion with chief physicians, and hence physicians should be actively involved in the usage of CAM

Measurements of the Dimensions and Doppler Flow Velocities of the Aorta, Main Pulmonary Artery, Ductus Arteriosus, and Branch Pulmonary Artery in the Normal Human Fetus-a Preliminary Study on the Flow Distribution-

In order to assess the growth and flow distribution of the great arteries and their major branches in the human fetal heart, a prospective fetal echocardiographic study on 127 pregnant women was performed, The vascular dimensions and Doppler average velociues of the aorta, main pulmonary artery, branch pulmonary artery and ductus arteriosus were measured from videotapes. Dimension ratios and average velocity ratios were calculated only when both values for comparison were measured in the same examination. The flow volumes of the aorta and main pulmonary artery were calculated when possible. The measured and calculated values were correlated with the gestational period. The vessel diameters and average velocities in each site increased linearly from gestational period of 15 weeks to 40 weeks. The diameter ratio of the main pulmonary artery to the aorta increased slightly from 1.13 at gestational age of 15 weeks to 1.31 at term. The diameter ratio of the ductus arteriosus to the branch pulmonary artery was 1.28( +- 0.18) and did not change with gestational period. The average velocity ratio between the main pulmonary artery and the aorta was 0.88( +- 0.24) and the ratio between the ductus and branch pulmonary artery was 1.71 (+- 0.54) and these ratios were not significant when compared to fetal growth. The calculated flow volumes of the aorta and the main pulmonary artery increased polynominally with increasing gestation. The flow ratio between the main pulmonary artery and the aorta was about 1.37. The ductal and branch pulmonary arterial flows were not calculated. However the flow ratio between the ductus arteriosus and one branch pulmonary artery was estimated by the product of (diameter ratio)" x (average velocity ratio) between two sites, which was 2.8. In the human fetus, the relative size of aortic and pulmonary pathways and the flow distribution seem to be different from the results obtained from animal studies

Results of Hepatic Resections at S. N. U. H.: A Ten-year Experience

The medical records of 399 patients who underwent hepatic resection between January 1981 and December 1990 were reviewed. Information regarding the results of hepatic resection in terms of operative indication, operative procedure, operative morbidity and mortality, was abstracted. Until the end of 1990, a total of 402 hepatic resections were completed including 319 primary malignancies, 4 secondary malignancies, 2 gallbladder carcinomas, 42 intrahepatic cholelithiasis, 35 benign masses. Major hepatic resections were performed on 117 patients(29%). Of the 117 patients, 60(51%) had histologically proven liver cirrhosis. Minor hepatic resections were performed on 285 patients (71%). Sepsis was the most frequent complication, manifested primarily as wound infection(71 cases) or intra-abdominal infection(25 cases). Nonfatal hepatic failure occured in 9 patients with cirrhosis and 1 patient without cirrhosis. There were 38 operative deaths among 402 hepatic resections, for an overall operative mortality of 9.4 %. Twenty five of these patients died from hepatic failure after operation, accounting for 66 % of the total operative mortality. There has been an increasing frequency of hepatic resection during the last five years. Indications for resection increased from 87 to 195 resections for hepatocellular carcinoma. The cumulative data show a decrease in the complication rate and operative mortality. In the recent period, nonlethal postoperative complications have occured in 135 of 286 patients (47%). The overall survival rates in 172 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma excluding operative mortalities and palliative resections and reresections, were 71.0 %, 39.8%, 28.3% for 1, 3, and 5 years, respectively

Notch signaling is required for maintaining stem-cell features of neuroprogenitor cells derived from human embryonic stem cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies have provided important findings about the roles of Notch signaling in neural development. Unfortunately, however, most of these studies have investigated the neural stem cells (NSCs) of mice or other laboratory animals rather than humans, mainly owing to the difficulties associated with obtaining human brain samples. It prompted us to focus on neuroectodermal spheres (NESs) which are derived from human embryonic stem cell (hESC) and densely inhabited by NSCs. We here investigated the role of Notch signaling with the hESC-derived NESs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From hESCs, we derived NESs, the <it>in-vitro </it>version of brain-derived neurospheres. NES formation was confirmed by increased levels of various NSC marker genes and the emergence of rosette structures in which neuroprogenitors are known to reside. We found that Notch signaling, which maintains stem cell characteristics of <it>in-vivo</it>-derived neuroprogenitors, is active in these hESC-derived NESs, similar to their <it>in-vivo </it>counterpart. Expression levels of Notch signaling molecules such as NICD, DLLs, JAG1, HES1 and HES5 were increased in the NESs. Inhibition of the Notch signaling by a γ-secretase inhibitor reduced rosette structures, expression levels of NSC marker genes and proliferation potential in the NESs, and, if combined with withdrawal of growth factors, triggered differentiation toward neurons.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that the hESC-derived NESs, which share biochemical features with brain-derived neurospheres, maintain stem cell characteristics mainly through Notch signaling, which suggests that the hESC-derived NESs could be an <it>in-vitro </it>model for <it>in-vivo </it>neurogenesis.</p

Antitumor activity of sorafenib-incorporated nanoparticles of dextran/poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) block copolymer

Sorafenib-incoporated nanoparticles were prepared using a block copolymer that is composed of dextran and poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) [DexbLG] for antitumor drug delivery. Sorafenib-incorporated nanoparticles were prepared by a nanoprecipitation-dialysis method. Sorafenib-incorporated DexbLG nanoparticles were uniformly distributed in an aqueous solution regardless of the content of sorafenib. Transmission electron microscopy of the sorafenib-incorporated DexbLG nanoparticles revealed a spherical shape with a diameter < 300 nm. Sorafenib-incorporated DexbLG nanoparticles at a polymer/drug weight ratio of 40:5 showed a relatively uniform size and morphology. Higher initial drug feeding was associated with increased drug content in nanoparticles and in nanoparticle size. A drug release study revealed a decreased drug release rate with increasing drug content. In an in vitro anti-proliferation assay using human cholangiocarcinoma cells, sorafenib-incorporated DexbLG nanoparticles showed a similar antitumor activity as sorafenib. Sorafenib-incorporated DexbLG nanoparticles are promising candidates as vehicles for antitumor drug targeting

Enhancement of radiation response in human cervical cancer cells in vitro and in vivo by arsenic trioxide (As2O3)

AbstractArsenic trioxide (As2O3) inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis in certain types of cancer cells including acute promyelocytic leukemia, prostate and ovarian carcinomas, but its effect on response of tumor cells to ionizing radiation has never been explored before. Here we demonstrate that As2O3 can sensitize human cervical cancer cells to ionizing radiation both in vitro and in vivo. As2O3 in combination with ionizing radiation have a synergistic effect in decreasing clonogenic survival and in the regression of established human cervical tumor xenografts. Pretreatment of the cells with As2O3 also synergistically enhanced radiation-induced apoptosis. Apoptosis of the cells by combined treatment of As2O3 and radiation was associated with reactive oxygen species generation and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, resulting in the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3. The combined treatment also resulted in an increased G2/M cell cycle distribution at the concentration of As2O3 which did not alter cell cycle when applied alone. These results indicate that As2O3 can synergistically enhance radiosensitivity of human cervix carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting a potential clinical applicability of combination treatment of As2O3 and ionizing radiation in cancer therapies

Subchronic oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The antibacterial effect of silver nanoparticles has resulted in their extensive application in health, electronic, consumer, medicinal, pesticide, and home products; however, silver nanoparticles remain a controversial area of research with respect to their toxicity in biological and ecological systems.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study tested the oral toxicity of silver nanoparticles (56 nm) over a period of 13 weeks (90 days) in F344 rats following Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guideline 408 and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Five-week-old rats, weighing about 99 g for the males and 92 g for the females, were divided into four 4 groups (10 rats in each group): vehicle control, low-dose (30 mg/kg), middle-dose (125 mg/kg), and high-dose (500 mg/kg). After 90 days of exposure, clinical chemistry, hematology, histopathology, and silver distribution were studied. There was a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the body weight of male rats after 4 weeks of exposure, although there were no significant changes in food or water consumption during the study period. Significant dose-dependent changes were found in alkaline phosphatase and cholesterol for the male and female rats, indicating that exposure to more than 125 mg/kg of silver nanoparticles may result in slight liver damage. Histopathologic examination revealed a higher incidence of bile-duct hyperplasia, with or without necrosis, fibrosis, and/or pigmentation, in treated animals. There was also a dose-dependent accumulation of silver in all tissues examined. A gender-related difference in the accumulation of silver was noted in the kidneys, with a twofold increase in female kidneys compared to male kidneys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The target organ for the silver nanoparticles was found to be the liver in both the male and female rats. A NOAEL (no observable adverse effect level) of 30 mg/kg and LOAEL (lowest observable adverse effect level) of 125 mg/kg are suggested from the present study.</p