Korean Studies on Blood Stasis: An Overview

Blood stasis is one of the important pathological concepts in Korean medicine. We analyzed the Korean studies concerning blood stasis. We searched for articles in eight electronic databases from their inception to September, 2014. We included reviews, clinical studies, and preclinical studies that had studied blood stasis and excluded articles in which blood stasis was not mentioned or in which the original authors had not explained blood stasis. Of 211 total included studies, 19 were reviews, 52 were clinical studies, and 140 were preclinical articles. “Stagnant blood within the body” was the most frequently mentioned phrase of the traditional concept of blood stasis. Traumatic injury was the most frequently studied disease/condition in the clinical studies. In the preclinical studies, coagulopathy was studied most frequently, followed by hyperviscosity, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, neoplasm, ischemic brain injury, and atherosclerosis. Hyeolbuchukeo-tang and Angelicae Gigantis Radix were the most frequent formula and single herb, respectively, used in the blood stasis researches. The results showed that blood stasis was mainly recognized as disorder of circulation and many studies showed the effectiveness of activating blood circulating herbs for diseases and pathologies such as traumatic injury or coagulopathy. Further studies are needed in the pathologic mechanisms and various diseases of blood stasis

Korean Studies on Blood Stasis: An Overview

Blood stasis is one of the important pathological concepts in Korean medicine. We analyzed the Korean studies concerning blood stasis. We searched for articles in eight electronic databases from their inception to September, 2014. We included reviews, clinical studies, and preclinical studies that had studied blood stasis and excluded articles in which blood stasis was not mentioned or in which the original authors had not explained blood stasis. Of 211 total included studies, 19 were reviews, 52 were clinical studies, and 140 were preclinical articles. "Stagnant blood within the body" was the most frequently mentioned phrase of the traditional concept of blood stasis. Traumatic injury was the most frequently studied disease/condition in the clinical studies. In the preclinical studies, coagulopathy was studied most frequently, followed by hyperviscosity, hyperlipidemia, inflammation, neoplasm, ischemic brain injury, and atherosclerosis. Hyeolbuchukeo-tang and Angelicae Gigantis Radix were the most frequent formula and single herb, respectively, used in the blood stasis researches. The results showed that blood stasis was mainly recognized as disorder of circulation and many studies showed the effectiveness of activating blood circulating herbs for diseases and pathologies such as traumatic injury or coagulopathy. Further studies are needed in the pathologic mechanisms and various diseases of blood stasis

High Housing Density-Induced Chronic Stress Diminishes Ovarian Reserve via Granulosa Cell Apoptosis by Angiotensin II Overexpression in Mice

Repeated and prolonged stress causes hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) dysregulation. Excessive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity has been linked to inadequate activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis, which controls the growth and development of ovarian follicles and oocytes. Therefore, we assessed the ovarian reserve under high-housing-density-induced prolonged stress, and investigated the mechanisms underlying diminished ovarian reserve in this study. Eight-week-old female C57BL/6 mice were housed for 10 weeks under different housing densities. We then assessed hormone levels, performed histology and immunohistochemistry analyses of ovarian follicles, evaluated ovarian mRNA expression, and measured angiotensin II-mediated apoptosis in vitro. More densely housed mice presented increased corticosterone levels and decreased follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormone levels. Moreover, mice exposed to prolonged ordinary stress showed a reduced level of serum anti-Müllerian hormone and an increased number of atretic ovarian follicles. Stressed mice showed increased levels of angiotensinogen and angiotensin II in the ovaries and serum. Furthermore, our in vitro study confirmed that high-housing-density-related stress induced granulosa cell apoptosis, resulting in diminished ovarian reserves. Collectively, our findings highlight the importance of women managing everyday stress to maintain their reproductive health

Dried Ginger Extract Restores the T Helper Type 1/T Helper Type 2 Balance and Antibody Production in Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunocompromised Mice after Flu Vaccination

Dried ginger (Zingiberis Processum Rhizoma (ZR)) is frequently used to prevent or treat common cold and flu. This study aimed to investigate the influence of ZR extracts on influenza-specific antibody production in cyclophosphamide (Cy)-induced immunocompromised mice. Female BALB/c mice were injected three times with saline or Cy. To investigate the effect of ZR, either distilled water or ZR was administered orally to mice daily for 10 days after Cy injection. After ZR administration, the mice were immunized with the 2017/2018 influenza vaccine. Pretreatment with ZR extracts enhanced influenza-specific antibody production in Cy-induced immunocompromised mice after flu vaccination and restored the influenza antigen-specific T helper (Th) type 1/Th2 balance to the normal state. Further, ZR suppressed the eosinophil enrichment caused by Cy injection in the spleen. We demonstrated that ZR can be used to increase antibody production in immunocompromised individuals before vaccination

Immunodominance hierarchy of influenza subtype-specific neutralizing antibody response as a hurdle to effectiveness of polyvalent vaccine

Strengthening of immunodominance hierarchy of influenza subtype-specific neutralizing antibody response by annual polyvalent vaccinations could increase the variation of vaccine effectiveness by subtype. Therefore, we suggest the assessment of neutralizing antibody titer prior to seasonal vaccination and recommend the inoculation of only strains lower than protective levels

Perception of pattern identification in traditional medicine: a survey of Korean medical practitioners

AbstractObjectiveTo survey assesses the perception of pattern identification (PI) diagnosis of Traditional Medicine (TM) by Korean medical doctors (KMDs).MethodsA total of 14 485 KMDs affiliated with the Association of Korean Medicine were sent surveys via email, and 1646 (11.1%) responded to the questionnaire on their perception of PI diagnosis.ResultsOf the 1646 respondents, more than ninety percent (1562, 94.9%) reported that they treated patients using PI. The most critical problem with PI diagnosis was the lack of objective diagnostic indicators (561, 34.1%). Ninety percent had issues diagnosing patients because of different diagnoses between KMDs (1491, 90.5%). The majority of respondents thought herbal medicine was most related to PI (1528, 92.8%). Half of the respondents answered that PI of Ba Gang was the most commonly used PI system. Participants reported that it was most important to study standardisation of PI diagnosis and to develop standardised PI diagnoses using the classification system of the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases. The foremost PI type that physicians thought should be included in standardisation and objectification of PI of TKM was the PI of Ba Gang.ConclusionOur data suggest that we should focus on the standardisation of PI diagnosis and PI of Ba Gang in future research on PI diagnosis in TM. However, we cannot completely discount the possibility that a biased selection of subjects and a low response rate limit the generalisability of the findings

Programmed death-1 (PD-1)-dependent functional impairment of CD4 + T cells in recurrent genital papilloma

Genital papilloma is caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and recurs frequently. Although T cells are known to play a critical role in the control of HPV infection and papilloma development, the function and phenotype of these cells in the lesion remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we examined the function and phenotype of CD4+ T cells isolated from the lesions of primary (n = 9) and recurrent (n = 11) genital papillomas. In recurrent papillomas, the frequency of proliferating (Ki-67+) CD4+ T cells was significantly reduced compared with primary papillomas. Cytokine production was evaluated by intracellular cytokine staining in anti-CD3/anti-CD28-stimulated CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells from recurrent lesions showed impaired production of IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. Of interest, the frequency of cytokine-producing CD4 + T cells significantly correlated with the frequency of Ki-67 +CD4+ T cells. We also studied expression of programmed death-1 (PD-1), a T-cell exhaustion marker. The frequency of PD-1 +CD4+ T cells was significantly increased in recurrent lesions and inversely correlated with the frequency of cytokine-producing CD4+ T cells. The functional significance of PD-1 expression was determined in blocking assays with anti-PD-L1, which restored cytokine production of CD4+ T cells from recurrent lesions. Taken together, in recurrent genital papilloma lesions, proliferation, and cytokine production by CD4+ T cells are impaired and the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction is responsible for the functional impairment of CD4+ T cells. © 2013 Springer-Verlag

Conceptualization and utilization of blood stasis syndrome among doctors of Korean medicine: Results of a web-based survey

This survey aimed to assess the conceptualization of and utilization of blood stasis syndrome within traditional East Asian medicine among Doctors of Korean Medicine (DKMs). A survey was conducted with 22 questions classified into four categories (the present status, problems and requirements of a BSS diagnosis; the concept, diseases and prescriptions regarding BSS; the present status and problems with the Korean standard classification of diseases (KCD) relevant to BSS and the demographic characteristics of the survey respondents). A total of 17,550 DKMs affiliated with the association of Korean medicine were sent surveys via e-mail. Of the 678 respondents, more than half (53%) had difficulties with the diagnosis of BSS because objective measurement methods were not readily available. Most respondents (88%) thought that the development of an objective diagnostic method for BSS was necessary. Regarding the concept of blood stasis, “an abnormal mass in organ and tissue” considered the most significant indicator, followed by extravasated blood, the blood circulating sluggishly and a disorder of the blood cells. According to 606 DKMs, a traumatic injury was the most frequent reason for BSS in the clinic. And the Dangkwisoo-san was most frequently mentioned prescription for BSS in the clinic. The majority of respondents (76%) reported that it was necessary for an additional code of BSS in KCD. Our data suggest the need to develop more objective diagnostic tools for BSS diagnosis. Future research into BSS should consider DKMs’ perceptions of BSS, diseases relevant to BSS and KCD codes. However, we cannot completely discount the possibility that the low response rate could indicate a biased selection of respondents and limit the interpretations of our study results