Jungdae Kim

A Descriptive Statistical Approach to the Korean Pharmacopuncture Therapy

This paper reviews trends in research related to Korean pharmacopuncture therapy. Specifically, basic and clinical research in pharmacopuncture within the last decade is summarized by introducing categorical variables for classification. These variables are also analyzed for association. This literature review is based on articles published from February 1997 to December 2008 in a Korean journal, the Journal of the Korean Institute of Herbal Acupuncture, which was renamed the Journal of the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute in 2007. Among the total of 379 papers published in the journal during this period, 164 papers were selected for their direct relevance to pharmacopuncture research and were categorized according to three variables: medicinal materials, acupuncture points and disease. The most frequently studied medicinal materials were bee-venom pharmacopuncture (42%), followed by meridian-field pharmacopuncture (24%), single-compound pharmacopuncture (24%), and eight-principle pharmacopuncture (10%). The frequency distributions of the acupuncture points and meridians for the injection of medicinal materials are presented. The most frequently used meridian and acupuncture point was the Bladder meridian and ST36, respectively. Contingency tables are also displayed to analyze the relationship between the categorized variables. Chi-squared analysis showed a significant association between the type of pharmacopuncture and disease. The trend in research reports on Korean pharmacopuncture therapy was reviewed and analyzed using a descriptive statistical approach to evaluate the therapeutic value of this technique for future research.

Effectiveness of slow freezing and vitrification for long-term preservation of mouse ovarian tissue.

This study was conducted to evaluate the interaction between cryo-damage and ART outcome after cryopreservation of mouse ovarian tissues with different methods. Either a vitrification or a slow freezing was employed for the cryopreservation of B6CBAF1 mouse ovaries and follicle growth and the preimplantation development of intrafollicular oocytes following parthenogenesis or IVF were monitored. Both cryopreservation protocols caused significant damage to follicle components, including vacuole formation and mitochondrial deformities. Regardless of the cryopreservation protocols employed, a sharp (P < 0.0001) decrease in follicle viability and post-thaw growth was detected. When IVF program was employed, significant (P < 0.05) decrease in cleavage and blastocyst formation was notable in both modes of cryopreservation. However, such retardation was not found when oocytes were parthenogenetically activated. In the IVF oocytes, slow freezing led to better development than vitrification. In conclusion, a close relationship between cryopreservation and ART methods should be considered for the selection of cryopreservation program.

Primo vascular system as a new morphofunctional integrated system.

The purpose of this review is to describe the methodology, instruments, and subject animals used until now for studies of the meridian (Kyungrak) system and the primo vascular system (PVS). The PVS is observed as an anatomical system distributed in cavities, organs, and tissues throughout the body. We analyzed the most important points of the PVS based on the results obtained until the present. Our main effort has been directed to describing the main thesis relating to the morphological structures and their topography, the functional mechanisms of the PVS, and possible roles of the PVS in pathological processes. The substance of the PVS in all its aspects is as a system covering the whole body and regulating and coordinating the biological processes that are the basis for life. In conclusion, we suggest that the finding of the PVS represents the discovery of a new integrated morphological-functional system.

Scanning Spontaneous Photon Emission From Transplanted Ovarian Tumor of Mice Using a Photomultiplier Tube

A scanning system for the detection of spontaneous ultraweak photon emission from nude mice with transplanted tumors is presented. A photomultiplier tube (PMT) with an effective area of 15 mm diameter was used for measuring photon emission in a wavelength range from 300 to 650 nm. Tumors were induced in nude mice by transplantation of an ovarian cancer cell line into the back of mice. The PMT was moved for scanning over the whole body of a mouse placed in a dark box. The profiles of the intensities of photon emissions from the tumor mice are presented and compared with those obtained from the control mice.

Association of a microRNA-323b polymorphism with the persistence of hepatitis B virus infection by the enhancement of viral replication

Recent studies have shown that some mammalian microRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in antiviral defence. However, little is known about the role of miRNA‐323b in hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐host interaction. We explored whether single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of miRNA‐323b affects HBV replication in a Korean HBV cohort. Genotyping was performed in a total of 1439 subjects composed of 404 spontaneously recovered (SR) subjects as normal controls and 1035 chronic carriers (CC) of HBV who were further classified into 313 patients with chronic hepatitis, 305 patients with liver cirrhosis and 417 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. To confirm the effect of SNP of miRNA‐323b on HBV replication in vitro, HepAD38 cells were transfected with miRNA‐323b wild type or miRNA‐323b SNP plasmid vectors, and HBV replication was induced for 5 days. HBV DNA was isolated and quantified using real‐time PCR. The polymorphism rs56103835C>T in the pre‐miRNA region of miRNA‐323b revealed significant minor allele frequency (0.273). rs56103835C>T SNP showed significantly affect persistence of HBV in CC group compared with SR group (OR = 1.29, P = 0.009 in a codominant model; OR = 1.29, P = 0.03 in a dominant model; and OR = 1.78, P = 0.03 in a recessive model). In vitro, the total intracellular HBV DNA content was significantly reduced by miRNA‐323b wild‐type plasmid vector transfection (P = 0.014). The polymorphism of miRNA‐323b was significantly associated with persistence of HBV by the enhancement of HBV replication (P = 0.021). Our findings provide a novel perspective on the role SNP of miRNAs in host–virus interactions in HBV infection.

Common promoter polymorphism in monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 is associated with serum triglyceride levels and body mass index in non-diabetic individuals

Aims  Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that chronic low‐grade inflammation related to innate immunity may play an important role in the pathophysiology of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The monocyte differentiation antigen CD14 gene (CD14) acts as the receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and augments monocyte/macrophage inflammatory responses.

Impact of guideline adherence on patient outcomes in early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer.

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines on survival outcomes in patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer. METHODS Our institutional cancer registry data on 266 patients with Stage I epithelial ovarian cancer was reviewed retrospectively and compliance with treatment guidelines for surgery and adjuvant treatment was determined. Patients were categorized according to adherence or non-adherence. The primary endpoints were recurrence-free survival and disease-specific survival. Hazard ratios (HRs) for survival were estimated with a Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS Of the 266 patients, 71 (26.7%) underwent adequate surgical staging in accordance with the guidelines. The guidelines for adjuvant chemotherapy were followed adequately in all 71 patients that were adherent to surgical staging and in 163 of the 195 patients with non-adherence to surgical staging (83.6%). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for prognostic factors, identified higher recurrence-free survival (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.15-0.88) and disease-specific survival (HR, 0.42; 95% CI, 0.16-1.12) among patients whose treatment adhered to both surgical and chemotherapy guidelines, although disease-specific survival was not statistically significant. When excluding clear cell histology from the cohort, the guideline-adherent group had significantly better disease-specific survival than the non-adherent group (HR, 0.13; 95% CI, 0.02-0.94). CONCLUSION The results of this study suggest that adherence to NCCN guidelines may improve survival outcomes in patients with early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, particularly in cases other than clear cell histology.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Acupuncture: A Feasibility Study on the Migration of Tracers after Injection at Acupoints of Small Animals

OBJECTIVES Acupuncture meridians in traditional Oriental medicine are known to be channels connecting specific points in the surface of the body to corresponding internal organs. We investigated the permeation and the transport of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and tracer after injection at acupoints of small animals, such as rats and mice. METHODS A geometric and systematic arrangement of acupuncture points on human skin surfaces has been depicted in traditional Oriental medicine, and the positions of the acupoints of small animals were determined by the application of a proportion on the animals corresponding to the morphological structures in humans. After injecting the materials at various acupoints, the agent migration behaviors inside the body were monitored by MRI. The distributions of the injected materials were reconstructed in 3-dimensional images for a more intuitive presentation. RESULTS The widely-used gadolinium-compound contrast agent was not useful. Rather, a recently developed fluorine compound was effective for imaging the migration of the agent after injection into the acupoints BL18, 20, and 23. CONCLUSIONS The final distributions of the agent from each injection point corresponded to the respective organs of the acupoints. The results suggested different migration paths and destinations for pharmacopuncture drugs.

Image analysis of bioparticles accumulation and diamagnetic alignment in high-gradient magnetic field

Magnetic properties of biological particles are measured in high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) analysis, revealing the concentrating process of nucleoprotein particles, ferritin, red blood cells, and eggs. A magnetic force acting on micrometer and submicrometer biological particles having diamagnetic or paramagnetic susceptibility with respect to the solution causes their movement and accumulation in gradient magnetic fields dependent on the values of the magnetic moments. The methods developed enable us to obtain the magnetic moments values of single particles and their assembly directly from magnetic separation and image analyses without assuming the detection of sizes. Our precision methods for the measurement of the capture traveling (magnetic diffusion) time and the accumulation (magnetic sedimentation) radius in HGMS show that it is really possible to determine the weak dia- or paramagnetic shifts of magnetic susceptibility up to 0.7x10(-10) (SI units). HGMS analysis of the concentrating process of nucleoprotein granules (microcells, DNA granules, or nucleosome core particles) with polarization microscopy reveals phase transitions for DNA in granules, and separation accumulation of particles enables the determination of the diamagnetic susceptibility and anisotropy properties. Magnetic concentration effects always occur in living systems because micrometer-located gradient magnetic fields inside an organism are strong enough to cause drifts of cellular complexes and organelles of micrometer and submicrometer sizes. We report the appearance of superparamagnetic contamination inside developing shrimp eggs. In the developing shrimps eggs, ferritin aggregates are observed under weak gradient magnetic fields and diaparaferromagnetic changes are detected. A significant interruption of egg development is revealed in such fields.

Discovery of a novel fibrous tissue in the spinal pia mater by polarized light microscopy

Abstract It is very well known that spinal meninges are composed of three layers, dura, arachnoid and pia mater, and that the main components of pia mater are collagen and reticular fibers. However, the distribution of those fibers has not been extensively investigated but just described as a mesh of fibers. In this study, we detected novel structures, which are composed of unidirectionally arranged fibers, in a rat spinal pia mater by using a polarized light microscope. They were seen as three parallel lines, one of which ran along a posterior spinal vein and the rest two of which ran along a pair of posterior spinal arteries. Histological analysis including Masson’s trichrome, picrosirius-red staining, Gordon & Sweet’s staining and immunohistochemistry with anti-collagen type 1 and 3 antibodies uncovered that they are mainly composed of collagen fibers and some reticular fibers. In addition, a putative primo vessel was detected in the novel fibrous tissue, which was proven out to be different from a blood vessel. In conclusion, we report a newly detected fibrous structure in the spinal pia mater, which may contribute to provide tensile force to the spinal meninges and to harbor the primo vascular system inside.