The Effects of Acupuncture Stimulation for Brain Activation and Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy: Functional MRI Study

We attempted to investigate whether acupuncture stimulation at HT7 can have an effect on brain activation patterns and alcohol abstinence self-efficacy. Thirty-four right-handed healthy subjects were recruited for this study. They were randomly assigned into two groups: the HT7 (Shenmen) group and the LI5 (Yangxi) group. Acupuncture stimulation was performed using a block paradigm during fMRI scanning. Additionally, the Korean version of Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale (AASES) was used to determine the effect of acupuncture stimulation on self-efficacy to abstain from alcohol use. According to the result of fMRI group analysis, the activation induced by HT7 stimulation was found on the bilateral postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, claustrum, insula, and anterior lobe of the cerebellum, as well as on the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum (p<0.001, uncorrected). According to the AASES analysis, the interaction effect for gender and treatment was marginally significant (F(1,30)=4.152, p=0.050). For female group, the simple main effect of treatment was significant (F(1,11)=8.040, p=0.016), indicating that the mean change score was higher in the HT7 stimulation than in the LI5 stimulation. Therefore, our study has provided evidence to support that HT7 stimulation has a positive therapeutic effect on the alcohol-related diseases

Inhibitory Effect of Inflexinol on Nitric Oxide Generation and iNOS Expression via Inhibition of NF-κB Activation

Inflexinol, an ent-kaurane diterpenoid, was isolated from the leaves of Isodon excisus. Many diterpenoids isolated from the genus Isodon (Labiatae) have antitumor and antiinflammatory activities. We investigated the antiinflammatory effect of inflexinol in RAW 264.7 cells and astrocytes. As a result, we found that inflexinol (1, 5, 10 μM) suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) as well as the production of nitric oxide (NO) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and astrocytes. Consistent with the inhibitory effect on iNOS and COX-2 expression, inflexinol also inhibited transcriptional and DNA binding activity of NF-κB via inhibition of IκB degradation as well as p50 and p65 translocation into nucleus. These results suggest that inflexinol inhibits iNOS and COX-2 expression through inhibition of NF-κB activation, thereby inhibits generation of inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells and astrocytes, and may be useful for treatment of inflammatory diseases

A Case of Primary Ovarian Lymphoma Presenting as a Rectal Submucosal Tumor

Primary ovarian lymphoma is a rare malignancy whose symptoms or signs are usually nonspecific. In this article, we report a very rare case initially presenting as a rectal submucosal-tumor-like lesion with a defecation disturbance caused by primary ovarian lymphoma with bilateral involvement. A 42-year-old woman visited chungnam national university hospital complaining of persistent defecation disturbance for 6 months. Colonoscopy demonstrated compression of the rectum by an extrinsic mass mimicking a rectal submucosal tumor. Magnetic resonance imaging detected bilateral ovarian tumors, 9.3 cm and 5.4 cm each in diameter, compressing the rectum without enlarged lymph nodes. The diagnosis was established following a bilateral adnexectomy and histological studies of the excised tissue. The tumor was classified as a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The patient was prescribed six cycles of standard CHOP (cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone) regimen and is presently on treatment

Effect of inflexinol on LPS-induced NF-B activity and degradation of IB in RAW 264

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Inhibitory Effect of Inflexinol on Nitric Oxide Generation and iNOS Expression via Inhibition of NF-B Activation"</p><p></p><p>Mediators of Inflammation 2007;2007():-.</p><p>Published online 3 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1874678.</p><p></p>7 cells (a) and astrocytes (b). The cell treated with 1 g/mL of LPS only or LPS plus diffent concentrations (1, 5, 10 M) of inflexinol at 37°C for 1 hour. Equal amounts of total protein (40 g) were subjected to 10% SDS-PAGE. Nuclear translocation of p50 and p65, and degradation of IB were detected by Western blotting using specific antibodies. -actin protein was used here as an internal control. Similar results were obtained from at least three different sets of experiment

Effect of inflexinol on LPS-induced NF-B-dependent luciferase activity in RAW 264

<p><b>Copyright information:</b></p><p>Taken from "Inhibitory Effect of Inflexinol on Nitric Oxide Generation and iNOS Expression via Inhibition of NF-B Activation"</p><p></p><p>Mediators of Inflammation 2007;2007():-.</p><p>Published online 3 Apr 2007</p><p>PMCID:PMC1874678.</p><p></p>7 cells (a) and astrocytes (b). RAW 264.7 cells and astrocytes were transfected with p-NF-B-Luc plasmid (5× NF-B), and then treated with LPS (1 g/mL) alone or with inflexinol (1, 5, 10 M) for 37°C for 8 hours. Luciferase activity was then determined as described in . Values represent the mean ± (SE) of three independent experiments with triplicate, and each luciferase activity was calibrated by amount of protein. * indicates significantly different from the LPS-treated group ( < .05). Effect of inflexinol on LPS-induced NF-B DNA binding activity in RAW 264.7 cells (c) and astrocytes (d). The activation of NF-B was investigated using EMSA as described in . Nuclear extracts from RAW 264.7 cells and astrocytes with LPS alone (1 g/mL) or with inflexinol (1, 5, 10 M) were subjected to DNA binding reaction with P end-labeled oligonucleotide specific to NF-B. Specific DNA binding of NF-B complex is indicated by an arrow. Similar results were obtained from at least three different sets of experiment