Protective Effects of Emodin and Chrysophanol Isolated from Marine Fungus Aspergillus sp. on Ethanol-Induced Toxicity in HepG2/CYP2E1 Cells

Alcohol-induced liver injury progresses from fatty infiltration followed by a harmful cause of inflammation leading to an irreversible damage. In this study, two compounds (emodin and chrysophanol) isolated from marine fungus Aspergillus sp. were examined for their protective effects against ethanol-induced toxicity in vitro. Ethanol-induced HepG2/CYP2E1 cells were treated with the compounds at various concentrations, and the results showed that there was a dose-dependent decrease of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) activity and increase of glutathione (GSH) in the culture media with an increase in cell viability. Furthermore, the protective effects of the compounds were evaluated by protein expression levels of GGT, GSH, and CYP2E1 using Western blot. Among the compounds, emodin addressed to the ethanol-induced cytotoxicity more effectively compared to the chrysophanol. It could be suggested that emodin isolated from this genus would be a potential candidate for attenuating ethanol induced liver damage for further industrial applications such as functional food and pharmaceutical developments

Immediate Laparoscopic Nontransvesical Repair without Omental Interposition for Vesicovaginal Fistula Developing after Total Abdominal Hysterectomy

Immediate laparoscopic nontransvesical repair for vesicovaginal fistula may be an effective and feasible alternative to traditional repair in select patients

A Case Report with Lymphangiomatosis of the Colon

The incidence of lymphangiomas in the gastrointestinal tract is low, particularly in the colon and rectum, and most cases are solitary. Lymphangiomatosis of the colon are encountered infrequently with only one report in the English literature, and polypectomy was performed for the diagnosis in that case report. However, trends in the diagnosis of lymphangiomatosis of colon have been changing since the development of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), and this case is the first in that lymphangiomatosis of the colon was diagnosed without invasive procedures. Here we describe the case of 31-yr-old woman with lymphangiomatosis of the colon with numerous polyposis-like appearing lesions diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasonography and a colonoscopy

Necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome secondary to varicella in a healthy child

Varicella is usually considered to be a benign disease in healthy children; however, serious complications can occur such as necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock syndrome. We describe a 38-month-old girl with necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome following varicella. She was previously healthy and vaccinated against varicella at 12 months of age. She had been diagnosed with varicella three days prior to presenting at our facility; she developed fever, vomiting, and painful swelling on her left flank. Her skin lesions worsened, she became lethargic, and had episodes of hypotension and coagulopathy. Necrotizing fasciitis on the left abdominal wall, buttocks, and left thigh was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging, and group A Streptococcus was isolated from a tissue culture. She was diagnosed as necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, and successfully treated with repeated surgical debridement and fasciotomy, in addition to intensive antibiotics. Our experience suggests that necrotizing fasciitis in patients with varicella should be considered to be a rare complication even with widespread vaccine use. Early diagnosis and intensive treatment are required to prevent a fatal outcome

Anesthetic consideration for patients with severe tracheal obstruction caused by thyroid cancer -A report of 2 cases-

To achieve safe airway management, it is essential first to predict whether there will be difficulties in intubating or ventilating the patient's airway. An enlarged thyroid mass can produce a tracheal obstruction by compression or intraluminal invasion or both. We report two patients with thyroid cancer that obstructed the trachea by compression or invasion. There was no difficulty in endotracheal intubation of the patients with marked thyroid enlargement or in securing passage of the endotracheal tube through the compressed or narrowed portion of the trachea

Anti-Inflammatory Potential of Carpomitra costata

Marine algae have valuable health and dietary benefits. The present study aimed to investigate whether an ethanol extract of Carpomitra costata (CCE) could inhibit the inflammatory response to LPS. CCE attenuated the production of proinflammatory mediators, such as prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO), by inhibiting inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression in LPS-induced RAW264.7 macrophages. CCE also inhibited the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6. CCE suppressed the LPS-induced DNA-binding activity of (NF-κB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1). In addition, CCE attenuated the LPS-stimulated phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase/stress-activated protein kinase (JNK) and phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase/Akt (PI3K/Akt). Functional aspects of the JNK and Akt signaling pathways were analyzed using specific inhibitors, which attenuated the LPS-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines, and NO and PGE2 expression by suppressing AP-1 and NF-κB activity. In particular, the AP-1 signaling pathway is not involved in the production of inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β. These results suggested that CCE might exert its anti-inflammatory action by downregulating transcriptional factors (NF-κB and AP-1) through JNK and Akt signaling pathways. The current study suggested that CCE might be a valuable candidate for the treatment of inflammatory disorders

Cognitive Effects of Low-dose Topiramate Compared with Oxcarbazepine in Epilepsy Patients

Background and Purpose: Low-dose topiramate (TPM) monotherapy has recently been found effective for seizure control in newly diagnosed epilepsy. In higher dosages, TPM has been associated with relatively high rates of adverse cognitive effects; similar side effects have been seen after rapid titration or polytherapy. However, its cognitive effects during low-dose monotherapy have not been established. We evaluated the cognitive effects of low-dose TPM compared with oxcarbazepine (OXC), a drug that does not appear to affect cognitive function. Methods: Cognitive tests and subjective complaints of 30 patients with low-dose TPM monotherapy (50-200 mg/day) were retrospectively compared with those of 30 patients with OXC monotherapy at 1 year of medication. The two groups did not differ with respect to epilepsy-relevant variables, nor on baseline neuropsychological tests. Results: The TPM group showed a significant difference in the performance of delayed word recall (P<0.05), backward digit span (P<0.01), and verbal fluency (P<0.05) compared with the OXC group. The TPM group showed worse performances of digit span and verbal fluency. The OXC group showed better performances of delayed word recall. The incidence of cognitive complaints was higher in the TPM group (50%) than in the OXC group (20%) (P< 0.05). These cognitive effects shown in the TPM group were dose-related. The cognitive dysfunction was trivial with patients taking 50 mg/day TPM. Conclusions: Even at low-dose, TPM has a negative effect on working memory and verbal fluency compared with OXC. It can be demonstrated at 1 year of treatment

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate monotherapy for nucleos(t)ide analogue-naïve and nucleos(t)ide analogue-experienced chronic hepatitis B patients

Background/AimsThis study investigated the antiviral effects of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) monotherapy in nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA)-naive and NA-experienced chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients.MethodsCHB patients treated with TDF monotherapy (300 mg/day) for ≥12 weeks between December 2012 and July 2014 at a single center were retrospectively enrolled. Clinical, biochemical, and virological parameters were assessed every 12 weeks.ResultsIn total, 136 patients (median age 49 years, 96 males, 94 HBeAg positive, and 51 with liver cirrhosis) were included. Sixty-two patients were nucleos(t)ide (NA)-naïve, and 74 patients had prior NA therapy (NA-exp group), and 31 patients in the NA-exp group had lamivudine (LAM)-resistance (LAM-R group). The baseline serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA level was 4.9±2.3 log IU/mL (mean±SD), and was higher in the NA-naïve group than in the NA-exp and LAM-R groups (5.9±2.0 log IU/mL vs 3.9±2.0 log IU/mL vs 4.2±1.7 log IU/mL, P<0.01). The complete virological response (CVR) rate at week 48 in the NA-naïve group (71.4%) did not differ significantly from those in the NA-exp (71.3%) and LAM-R (66.1%) groups. In multivariate analysis, baseline serum HBV DNA was the only predictive factor for a CVR at week 48 (hazard ratio, 0.809; 95% confidence interval, 0.729-0.898), while the CVR rate did not differ with the NA experience.ConclusionsTDF monotherapy was effective for CHB treatment irrespective of prior NA treatment or LAM resistance. Baseline serum HBV DNA was the independent predictive factor for a CVR