Search

We present a case of Korean pediatric patient with pre-B cell type acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with trisomy 5 as a sole cytogenetic anomaly. Here, we compare and describe the present case with previous pediatric case reports and provide a review of the literature. This case report may help elucidate the poor prognostic impact of trisomy 5 as a sole cytogenetic anomaly in pediatric patients with ALL. Additional studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Background Although herbal medicines (HMs) are widely used in Asian and Western countries, medicinal information concerning their hepatic toxicity or interaction with conventional medicines (CMs) is sparse. Purpose The aim of our study was to estimate the prevalence of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) among total inpatients prescribed HMs or CMs. Furthermore, we noted all medications suspected to be associated with hepatotoxicity in the liver injury group during the period of hospitalization. Study design We retrospectively observed medical records of 1169 inpatients in a single medical center from January 2012 to July 2014. Methods Based on a database of the 1169 inpatients at a single medical center, we researched the occurrence rate and type of liver injury according to the criteria of the Council for International Organization of Medical Science (CIOMS). We also utilized a simplified Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) score for probable causality assessment between drugs and liver injury. Results Among a total of 1169 inpatients, 13 cases whose baseline LFTs had been in the normal range at admission had abnormal liver parameters at the time of follow-up, and 11 of them (0.94%) were attributed to drugs: 0.43% (5 of 1169) to HMs, 0.43% (5 of 1169) to CMs, and 0.09% (1 of 1169) to combined drug classes. Two of them were found to have liver injury because of pneumonia and sepsis. As for liver injury type, 8 cases were hepatocellular, 2 were cholestatic, and 1 was of mixed pattern. The common causative HMs for hepatotoxicity were Ephedrae Herba and Scutellariae Radix, while CMs included antidepressants, antihistamines, and antibacterials. Conclusions We investigated approximate incidence rates and analyzed suspicious drugs associated with liver damage, which revealed a low frequency of liver injury induced by HMs. However, further study, based on a well-designed, long-term, multicenter prospective study, will be required to determine the safety of HMs.

UV–VIS spectra of uranium ions provided information not only on the electronic state of U(III)–Cl and U(IV)–Cl species, but also on the metal–ligand bonding properties. The 5f – 6d transition lines in the electronic absorption spectra of U(III) and U(IV) provided key information on the covalent bonding properties of U(III)–Cl and U(IV)–Cl complexes. The position and intensities of 5f – 6d and 5f – f5 transitions varied depending on the oxidation state and bonding properties. The 5f – 6d transitions of U(III) ion occur at a lower energy of as low as the 400–600 nm range with decreased intensity. However, U(IV) ions occur at the much higher ~ 250 nm range. The 5f – 6d / 5f – 5f intensity ratio indicated the degree of covalency. The U(III)–Cl species exhibited stronger covalent bonding than the U(IV)–Cl. This means that U(III)–Cl bonding is stronger than U(IV)–Cl species. Compared with uranium ions, Eu(II) ion showed no measurable covalent bonding under the same conditions, which means that Eu(II)–Cl bonding is predominantly ionic in nature. The bond strength (covalency) was evaluated in the order of U(III)–Cl > U(IV)–Cl ≫ Eu(II)–Cl. The reduction rate of U(IV) is ~ 4 times faster than that of the oxidation of U(III), indicating that U(III)–Cl is more stable than U(IV)–Cl species. The UV–VIS spectral analysis method may also be effective in investigating the bonding properties of neptunium and plutonium ions with chloride ligands in molten salt media.

We prepared neptunium chloride complexes electrochemically and performed spectroelectrochemical measurements of neptunium ions in LiCl–KCl eutectic melts at 450 °C, where the neptunium concentrations studied were in the range of 0.1–1 mM. We observed a highly absorbing f–d transition band of Np3+ at 383 nm, which was used to determine an formal potential of the Np4+|Np3+ redox couple (E°′ = 0.45 V vs. Ag|Ag+) with a solution of concentration as low as ~0.1 mM. This result agreed well with the value (E°′ = 0.42 V vs. Ag|Ag+) determined by cyclic voltammetry with a ~15 mM solution.

The seed of the Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf seed (CLMS) extract has been prescribed to alleviate obesity by practitioners of traditional Korean medicine. Here, we investigated the effect of CLMS extract on PPARγ 2 and c/EBPα and obesity responses in C57BL/6J obese mice fed on a high fat diet. The mouse body index, blood profile, and fat accumulation levels in the liver were measured. The protein expression levels of PPARγ 2 and c/EBPα in the mice livers were also measured to determine the molecular mode-of-action of the reducing effect of CLMS extract on mouse adipogenesis. The results showed that HFD-induced mouse obesity, fat accumulation, and serum cholesterol were alleviated by the CLMS extract addition. Moreover, PPARγ 2 and C/EBPα, proteins, those are related to the adipogenesis, were downregulated by the CLMS extract intake considerably. This study indicates that as a food additive, CLMS extract has a reducing effect on the high-fat diet induced fat accumulation and on body weight through the downregulation of adipogenesis.

Background/aims Fructose malabsorption (FM) mimics symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and its prevalence has increased. Diagnosing FM in IBS is challenging because of its overlap with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). We assessed the prevalence of FM by comparing patients with IBS with asymptomatic control individuals after excluding SIBO using the glucose hydrogen breath test (HBT). Methods Patients diagnosed with IBS and asymptomatic control individuals were enrolled prospectively. Dietary habits were assessed with the Food Frequency Questionnaire. After excluding SIBO, participants underwent HBTs with both 15 g and 25 g of fructose. Results Thirty-five patients with IBS and 35 age- and sex-matched asymptomatic control individuals were enrolled. The 15-g fructose HBT yielded positive results in 7 of the 35 (20.0%) patients with IBS and in 2 of 35 (5.7%) controls (P = 0.070). The 25-g fructose HBT was positive in 16 of the 35 (45.7%) patients with IBS and in 8 of the 35 (22.9%) controls (P = 0.040). Analysis of the Food Frequency Questionnaire responses showed no significant differences between the 2 groups in dietary intake, although patients with IBS showed a significantly higher mean fiber intake than controls (21.24 ± 11.35 g vs 15.87 ± 7.07 g, respectively, P = 0.040). Conclusions The 25-g fructose HBT identified FM in a significantly higher percentage of SIBO-negative patients with IBS than in asymptomatic control individuals, suggesting that FM may correlate with IBS. Education regarding dietary control of foods containing fructose may be useful for the management of patients with IBS.

Objectives: This case report was conducted to introduce the effectiveness of herbal decoction on patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). Methods: We closely observed two patients who were admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine 1 of Kyung-Hee Korean Medical Hospital due to ITP. We gave a herbal decoction to these patients and then analyzed the changes in their general conditions as well as blood test results. Results and Conclusions: The treatment with herbal decoctions was helpful for ITP patients.

Background: Liver steatosis was caused by lipid accumulation in the liver. Alisma orientale (AO) is recognized as a promising candidate with therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). HepG2 hepatocyte cell line is commonly used for liver disease cell model. Method: The HepG2 cells were cultured with the NEFAs mixture (oleic and palmitic acids, 2: 1 ratio) for 24 h to induce hepatic steatosis. Then different doses of Alisma orientale extract (AOE) was treated to HepG2 for 24 h. Incubated cells were used for further experiments. Results: The AOE showed inhibitory effects on lipid accumulation in the Oil Red O staining and Nile red staining tests with no cytotoxicity at a concentration of 300 mu g/mL. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) mRNA and protein expression level were down-regulated after AOE treatment. Bcl-2 associated X protein (Bax) and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) mRNA expression level were decreased as well as p-JNK (activated form of JNK), Bax, cleaved caspase-9, caspase-3 protein expression level. Anti-apopototic B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) protein level increased after AOE treatment. In addition, inflammatory protein expression including p-p65, p65, COX-2 and iNOS were inhibited by AOE treatment. Conclusion: The results suggest that AOE has anti-steatosis effects that involve lipogenesis, anti-lipoapoptosis, and anti-inflammation in the NEFA-induced NAFLD pathological cell model.

Cu(II) sorbed on kaolinite (KGa-1b) was studied using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy over various pH, ionic strength, and Cu(II) concentration conditions. Two different absorption lines, namely, an isotropic ( g iso = 2.193) and an anisotropic signal ( g || = 2.365 and g ⊥ = 2.088) were observed at room temperature. The signals were assigned to an outer-sphere and an inner-sphere Cu(II) surface complex, respectively. The intensity of the two signals varied with the sorption conditions or post-sorptional treatments such as rinsing and dehydration/rehydration. The intensity of the isotropic signal was not directly proportional to the amount of sorbed Cu(II). Rinsing of the Cu-loaded surface had a different impact on the signal intensity depending on the sorption pH. The isotropic signal together with the anisotropic signal was simultaneously observed on the kaolinite surface air-dried at room temperature for as long as 13 months. On the other hand, only the anisotropic signal was observed on the surface dried at 105 °C overnight. The re-wetting of the once dried kaolinite with deionized water immediately restored the isotropic signal. These results show that an outer-sphere surface complex is the dominant form of the sorbed copper ions and that the drying and aging of the surface convert the outer-sphere complex into the inner-sphere complex or surface precipitate, at least a part of which was reversibly converted back into the outer-sphere complex by the rehydration of the surface. This work suggests that dehydration during aging as well as solution variables such as pH, concentrations of Cu(II) and competing cations can have an impact on the amount and long-term fate of the outer-sphere Cu(II) complex formed on the kaolinite surface.

Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important outcome factor in chronic diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study used the Korean translation of the disease-specific, self-administered Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) to compare HRQOL in ulcerative colitis (UC; n = 98), Crohn's disease (CD; n = 49), and intestinal Behcet's disease (BD; n = 34). In addition to the current status, patients were asked retrospectively to recall their symptoms at the beginning and during the worst period of their disease. Disease activity was measured by St. Mark's Activity Index, Crohn's disease Activity Index (CDAI), and the Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI). In all IBD patients, including those with BD, the IBDQ total score during the worst period was significantly lower than that at present and that at the beginning of the disease. However, there were no significant differences between groups regarding the total IBDQ score or its various dimensions. In UC a strong correlation between IBDQ scores and St. Mark's Activity Index was observed (r = -0.708, P < 0.001). IBDQ scores were also highly correlated with CDAI and HBI in both CD (r = -0.506, P < 0.001 for CDAI; r = -0.600, P < 0.001 for HBI) and BD (r = -0.687, P < 0.001 for CDAI; r = -0.531, P < 0.001 for HBI). However, the current IBDQ score was not related to demographic parameters such as gender, age, educational status, economic status, and marital status as well as disease factors such as duration of disease, history of operation or hospital admission, extent of disease in UC, involved region in CD, and clinical type in BD. We conclude that the Korean IBDQ is a responsive and promising instrument for measuring HRQOL of IBD patients in clinical trials. In addition, the IBDQ can be helpful in developing a disease-specific activity index in BD.

Purpose Myofascial trigger points are a common component of musculoskeletal neck pain. Capsaicin, a vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor agonist, has been shown to induce pain in human tendon tissues and to increase trigger point sensitivity in humans. TRPV1 receptor agonists, with repeated use, inhibit the initiation of transmission of pain-related neurotransmitters and may alleviate pain. This study evaluated the efficacy of a hydrogel patch containing capsaicin 0.1% compared to a placebo hydrogel patch without capsaicin to treat chronic myofascial neck pain.