Bee Venom Alleviated Edema and Pain in Monosodium Urate Crystals-Induced Gouty Arthritis in Rat by Inhibiting Inflammation

Bee venom (BV) acupuncture has anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects; therefore, it was used as a traditional Korean medicine for various musculoskeletal disorders, especially arthritis. In this study, we investigated the effect of BV on monosodium urate (MSU) crystal-induced acute gouty rats. An intra-articular injection of MSU crystal suspension (1.25 mg/site) was administered to the tibiotarsal joint of the hind paw of Sprague Dawley rats to induce MSU crystal-induced gouty arthritis. Colchicine (30 mg/kg) was orally administered 1 h before MSU crystal injection as a positive control, and BV (0.5 mg/kg) was injected into the tibiotarsal joint immediately after MSU crystal injection. The ankle thickness, mechanical allodynia, and expression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL6, COX2 and iNOS) and chemokines (MIP-1α, MIP-1β, MCP-1, GRO-α, MIP-2α) were then evaluated. BV reduced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which are important mediators of MSU crystal-induced inflammatory responses. This anti-inflammatory effect was also confirmed histologically to attenuate synovitis and neutrophil infiltration. We demonstrated that BV markedly ameliorated ankle edema and mechanical allodynia in gouty rats. These results suggest that BV acupuncture is a potential clinical therapy for acute gouty management

Bee Venom Stimulates Growth Factor Release from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells to Promote Hair Growth

Limited evidence suggests that stimulating adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) indirectly promotes hair growth. We examined whether bee venom (BV) activated ASCs and whether BV-induced hair growth was facilitated by enhanced growth factor release by ASCs. The induction of the telogen-to-anagen phase was studied in mice. The underlying mechanism was investigated using organ cultures of mouse vibrissa hair follicles. When BV-treated ASCs were injected subcutaneously into mice, the telogen-to-anagen transition was accelerated and, by day 14, the hair weight increased. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) revealed that BV influenced the expression of several molecules, including growth factors, chemokines, channels, transcription factors, and enzymes. Western blot analysis was employed to verify the protein expression levels of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and phospho-ERK. Both the Boyden chamber experiment and scratch assay confirmed the upregulation of cell migration by BV. Additionally, ASCs secreted higher levels of growth factors after exposure to BV. Following BV therapy, the gene expression levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-1 and 6, endothelial cell growth factor, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-C were upregulated. The findings of this study suggest that bee venom can potentially be utilized as an ASC-preconditioning agent for hair regeneration

Article Fixed-Base Comb with Window-Non-Adjacent Form (NAF) Method for Scalar Multiplication

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Fixed-Base Comb with Window-Non-Adjacent Form (NAF) Method for Scalar Multiplication

Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is one of the most promising public-key techniques in terms of short key size and various crypto protocols. For this reason, many studies on the implementation of ECC on resource-constrained devices within a practical execution time have been conducted. To this end, we must focus on scalar multiplication, which is the most expensive operation in ECC. A number of studies have proposed pre-computation and advanced scalar multiplication using a non-adjacent form (NAF) representation, and more sophisticated approaches have employed a width-w NAF representation and a modified pre-computation table. In this paper, we propose a new pre-computation method in which zero occurrences are much more frequent than in previous methods. This method can be applied to ordinary group scalar multiplication, but it requires large pre-computation table, so we combined the previous method with ours for practical purposes. This novel structure establishes a new feature that adjusts speed performance and table size finely, so we can customize the pre-computation table for our own purposes. Finally, we can establish a customized look-up table for embedded microprocessors

Healthcare usage and cost for plantar fasciitis: a retrospective observational analysis of the 2010–2018 health insurance review and assessment service national patient sample data

Abstract Background Plantar fasciitis (PF) is the most common cause of heel pain in adults, and the number of patients and medical expenses are increasing annually. However, studies on this condition are lacking. There is a need to investigate universally administered PF treatment and the associated costs. Therefore we analyzed the South Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service data to investigate the distribution and healthcare usage of patients with PF. Methods A cross-sectional retrospective observational design was used in this study. Patients diagnosed with PF (ICD-10 code M72.2) between January 2010 and December 2018 in South Korea, of whom 60,079 had used healthcare at least once, were included in the study. We assessed healthcare usage and cost due to PF, treatment method, and visit route. All statistical analyses were performed with descriptive statistics using SAS 9.4 version. Results The number of treated cases of PF and patients with PF was 11,627 cases and 3,571 patients in 2010, respectively, which increased annually to 38,515 cases and 10,125 patients by 2018, respectively. The 45-54-year-old age group had the highest number of patients; the patient population was predominantly women. Physical therapy was used frequently in Western medicine (WM) institutions, where > 50% of the medicines prescribed to outpatients were analgesics. In contrast, acupuncture therapy was most commonly used in Korean medicine (KM) institutions. A high percentage of patients who visited a KM institution, followed by a WM institution, and then returned to the same KM institution had visited the WM institution for radiological diagnostic examination. Conclusion This study analyzed nine years of period data from a patient sample of claims data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service to examine the current status of health service use for PF in Korea. We obtained information on the status of WM/KM institution visits for PF treatment, which could be useful for health policymakers. Study findings regarding treatments often used in WM/KM, the frequency of treatments, and their costs could be used as basic data by clinicians and researchers

Analysis of Conservative Treatment Trends for Lumbar Disc Herniation with Radiculopathy in Korea: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study

This study aimed to analyze the trends in conservative treatment and associated medical costs for lumbar intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy in Korea. This population-based cross-sectional study included patients aged ≥ 20 years with at least one “intervertebral disc disorder with radiculopathy” claim (Korean Standard Classification of Diseases (KCD)-7 code: M511) who sought treatment from tertiary, general, or Korean Medicine hospitals or clinics between 2010 and 2019 and whose data were extracted from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patients Sample database. Intervention frequency, ratio, and medical costs, including medication, were analyzed. The number of patients with lumbar intervertebral disc disorders and radiculopathy undergoing conservative treatment increased by >30%, and medical costs increased from USD 3,342,907 to USD 5,600,456 during the 10-year period. The non-surgical treatments mainly used were medication and physiotherapy, and the most commonly prescribed medication was non-opioid analgesics. Meanwhile, the number of patients who used nerve plexus and root and ganglion nerve blocks showed the most significant increase. In conclusion, the number of patients with radiculopathy who received nerve blocks, particularly nerve plexus and root and ganglion nerve blocks, and related expenditure increased, implying a gradual shift in medical decisions from systemic pain reduction to specific and targeted pain treatments. Future studies and clinical practice guidelines may require further inspection of real-world practice to advise optimal treatment choices for an effective treatment plan

Association between liver enzymes and bone mineral density in Koreans: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Osteoporosis is a major health concern for both men and women, and associated fractures incur substantial economic burden. While there are a multitude of studies on bone mineral density (BMD) and liver diseases, not many studies have assessed the association between liver enzyme levels and BMD in homogeneous populations. Methods The current study investigated the association between serum liver enzyme levels and BMD at various sites in Koreans. Out of 21,517 surveyees of the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2010–2012), 7160 participants’ data on BMD, serum liver enzymes, and full covariate data were included for cross-sectional analysis. BMD at the femoral neck, lumbar spine, entire femur, and whole body was assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA), and liver enzymes included aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and gamma(γ)-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels. Differences in participant characteristics by BMD and liver enzyme levels were analyzed, and complex sample design regression analysis adjusted for multiple covariates was performed to assess the relationship between liver enzymes and BMD. Results Negative associations were seen with GGT and BMD at all sites (P ≤ 0.02), ALT with lumbar spine (P = 0.0013), and AST with lumbar BMD (P = 0.0009). In particular, GGT presented strong negative associations with BMD in postmenopausal women and elder men. Conclusions This study demonstrates a negative relationship between liver enzyme levels and BMD, and suggests that a significant association exists between osteoporosis/decreased BMD and liver disorders

Association between ophthalmologic and otolaryngologic symptom experience and TMDs in Koreans aged ≥ 20 years participating in KNHANES V (2010–2012).

<p>Association between ophthalmologic and otolaryngologic symptom experience and TMDs in Koreans aged ≥ 20 years participating in KNHANES V (2010–2012).</p