Reducing the Side-Effects of Cisplatin to Improve the Social Acceptance of Chemotherapy as CAM Adjunct in Cancer Treatment

Background:In sociology, the prevalence of cancer is interpreted as a broken social contract that requires behaviour change. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a vital social phenomenon, whose usage is socially patterned out. Perceptions of the limitations of chemotherapy and radiotherapy among cancer patients have contributed to the preference for CAM use, particularly plant-derived polysaccharides like HemoHIM, which contain cisplatin. This research was undertaken to show whether co-administration of vitamin C with cisplatin in chemotherapy can prevent or reduce the side-effects of cisplatin nephrotoxicity. Objectives:The objective of this study was to overturn social perceptions of conventional therapy as associated with nephrotoxicity. It investigates the renoprotective effects of high-dose vitamin C by performing an animal experiment to determine body weight, organ weight, and biochemical blood parameters; as well as to measure inflammatory cytokines. Design:Mice were randomly divided into five groups (control; and 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg of vitamin C with cisplatin). All groups except for the control group were intraperitoneally injected with 5- mg/kg cisplatin for 10 days, and the mice in the respective groups were orally administered each 500-, 1000-, 2000- mg/kg vitamin C 2 h prior to cisplatin treatment. After 10 days, the mice were sacrificed, and their blood samples and kidney tissues were obtainedfor further analysis. Setting and location:Republic of Korea Methods:Blood samples from animal experiments and tissue preparation were analyzed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Results:The intraperitoneal injection of cisplatinreduced body weight, and elevated levels of blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, and uric acid. It also triggered an inflammatory response in the mouse kidney by inducing the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNFα, IL-6, and IL-1β and increasing in the expression of iNOS, and IL-4. Renal injury was decreased by the administration of vitamin C; the oral administration of vitamin C (500, 1000, 2000 mg/kg) decreased or normalized the renal function through the attenuation of cisplatin-induced inflammatory cytokines and the modulation of biochemical parameters (ALT, AST, cholesterol, TG, HDL, LDL, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, and Uric acid) following the intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin. Conclusion:The results of our present study suggest that the co-administration of vitamin C with cisplatin chemotherapy is a promising method to prevent or reduce the side effects of cisplatin nephrotoxicity. These findings can remodel how the Korean society thinks, approaches and fights cancer by showing how nephrotoxicity can be counteracted to ensure social acceptance of CAM as an adjunctive to cisplatin therapy. Keywords:Complementary and alternative medicine, CAM, Vitamin C, Renoprotective therapy, Cisplatin, Nephrotoxicity, High-dose vitamin C DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/81-11 Publication date:October 31st 2020

On SS-nn-absorbing ideals

Let $R$ be a commutative ring with identity, $S$ a multiplicative subset of $R$ and $I$ an ideal of $R$ disjoint from $S$. In this paper, we introduce the notion of an $S$-$n$-absorbing ideal which is a generalization of both the $S$-prime ideals and $n$-absorbing ideals. Moreover, we investigate the basic properties, quotient extension, existence and amalgamation of $S$-$n$-absorbing ideals.Comment: 18page

Eosinophilic Otitis Media: CT and MRI Findings and Literature Review

Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a relatively rare, intractable, middle ear disease with extremely viscous mucoid effusion containing eosinophils. EOM is associated with adult bronchial asthma and nasal allergies. Conventional treatments for otitis media with effusion (OME) or for chronic otitis media (COM), like tympanoplasty or mastoidectomy, when performed for the treatment of EOM, can induce severe complications such as deafness. Therefore, it should be differentiated from the usual type of OME or COM. To our knowledge, the clinical and imaging findings of EOM of temporal bone are not well-known to radiologists. We report here the CT and MRI findings of two EOM cases and review the clinical and histopathologic findings of this recently described disease entity

Increased Immunoendocrine Cells in Intestinal Mucosa of Postinfectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome Patients 3 Years after Acute Shigella Infection - An Observation in a Small Case Control Study

PURPOSE: Postinfectiously irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) develops in 3-30% of individuals with bacterial gastroenteritis. Recent studies demonstrated increases in inflammatory components in gut mucosa of PI-IBS patients even after complete resolution of infection. We aimed to investigate histological changes in colon and rectum of PI-IBS subjects after long term period of infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We recruited PI-IBS subjects who had been diagnosed IBS after complete resolution of enteritis caused by shigellosis outbreak 3 years earlier. We compared unmatched four groups, PI-IBS (n = 4), non PI-IBS (n = 7), D-IBS (n = 7, diarrhea predominant type) and healthy controls (n = 10). All of them underwent colonoscopic biopsy at three areas, including descending colon (DC), sigmoid colon (SC) and rectum, which were assessed for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)/peptide YY (PYY)-containing enterochromaffin (EC) cell, intraepithelial (IEL) and lamina propria T lymphocyte (CD3), CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells and CD68/calprotectin+ macrophages. RESULTS: All subjects had no structural or gross abnormalities at colonoscopy. In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, CD3 lymphocytes, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68 + macrophages were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In D-IBS, PYY containing EC cells, IELs, and CD3 lymphocytes were increased compared to control (p < 0.05). In PI-IBS, 5-HT containing EC cells tended to increase and PYY containing EC cells, CD8 lymphocytes, mast cells, and CD68+ macrophages were increased compared to non PI-IBS (p < 0.05). Calprotectin + marcrophages were decreased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and IBS compared to control. CONCLUSION: The immunoendocrine cells were sporadically increased in PI-IBS, non PI-IBS and D-IBS compared with control. Our findings in a very small number of patients suggest that mucosal inflammation may play a role in long-term PI-IBS, and that other sub-groups of IBS and larger scale studies are needed to confirm this observation.ope

Lifestyle Modification in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder in which the upper respiratory tract is closed repeatedly during sleep. Treatment of OSA includes continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), intraoral devices, and upper respiratory tract surgery, among which CPAP is known as the most effective treatment method. However, even in the case of CPAP, adherence rates during long-term follow-up are lowered considerably due to inconvenience of wearing, and low adherence rates limit its therapeutic effect. Therefore, studies have been carried out to confirm the effect of lifestyle modification which corrects modifiable risk factors of OSA, such as obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of weight loss and aerobic exercise to improve the severity of OSA, and to examine the effect of drinking and smoking on OSA. In consideration of the difficulty of modifying one’s lifestyle through traditional individual counseling, we propose the use of smart devices in the management of patients’ lifestyles

An Active and Soft Hydrogel Actuator to Stimulate Live Cell Clusters by Self-folding

The hydrogels are widely used in various applications, and their successful uses depend on controlling the mechanical properties. In this study, we present an advanced strategy to develop hydrogel actuator designed to stimulate live cell clusters by self-folding. The hydrogel actuator consisting of two layers with different expansion ratios were fabricated to have various curvatures in self-folding. The expansion ratio of the hydrogel tuned with the molecular weight and concentration of gel-forming polymers, and temperature-sensitive molecules in a controlled manner. As a result, the hydrogel actuator could stimulate live cell clusters by compression and tension repeatedly, in response to temperature. The cell clusters were compressed in the 0.7-fold decreases of the radius of curvature with 1.0 mm in room temperature, as compared to that of 1.4 mm in 37 degrees C. Interestingly, the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) in MCF-7 tumor cells exposed by mechanical stimulation was expressed more than in those without stimulation. Overall, this new strategy to prepare the active and soft hydrogel actuator would be actively used in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and micro-scale actuators