Yonsei medical journal
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Yonsei medical journal · Nov 2011
Analgesic mechanism of electroacupuncture in an arthritic pain model of rats: a neurotransmitter study.
We investigated what kinds of neurotransmitters are related with electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia in an arthritic pain model of rats. ⋯ The analgesic effects of EA are related to opioid, adrenergic, serotonin and dopamine receptors in an arthritic pain model of rats.
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Dietary supplementation with nutrients enhancing immune function is beneficial in patients with surgical and critical illness. Malnutrition and immune dysfunction are common features in hospitalized patients. Specific nutrients with immunological and pharmacological effects, when consumed in amounts above the daily requirement, are referred to as immune-enhancing nutrients or immunonutrients. ⋯ Therefore it is considered conditionally essential under these conditions. This review discusses the physiological role of glutamine, mode and dose for glutamine administration, as well as improvement of certain disease state after glutamine supplementation. Even though immunonutrition has not been widely assimilated by clinicians other than nutritionists, immunonutrients including glutamine may exert beneficial influence on diverse patient populations.
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Yonsei medical journal · Nov 2011
The association of SERPINE2 gene with COPD in a Chinese Han population.
Polymorphisms of several candidate genes have been studied and associated with the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One such candidate is the SERPINE2 (Serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade E member 2) gene. ⋯ Our data suggested that there was no significant association between SERPINE2 polymorphism and COPD susceptibility in the Chinese Han population.
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Yonsei medical journal · Nov 2011
Case ReportsPrenatal diagnosis of congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia (CLAH) by molecular genetic testing in Korean siblings.
Congenital lipoid adrenal hyperplasia (CLAH) is caused by mutations to the steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) gene associated with the inability to synthesize all adrenal and gonadal steroids. Inadequate treatment in an infant with this condition may result in sudden death from an adrenal crisis. We report a case in which CLAH developed in Korean siblings; the second child was prenatally diagnosed because the first child was affected and low maternal serum estriol was detected in a prenatal screening test. To our knowledge, this is the first prenatal diagnosis of the Q258X StAR mutation, which is the only consistent genetic cluster identified to date in Japanese and Korean populations.
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Yonsei medical journal · Nov 2011
Co-immunization of plasmid DNA encoding IL-12 and IL-18 with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine against progressive tuberculosis.
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has widely been used to immunize against tuberculosis, but its protective efficacy is variable in adult pulmonary tuberculosis, while it is not efficiently protective against progressive infection of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains. In this study, the protective effects of plasmid DNA vaccine constructs encoding IL-12 or IL-18 with the BCG vaccine were evaluated against progressive infection of M. tuberculosis, using mouse aerosol challenge model. ⋯ Co-immunization of IL-12 DNA vaccine with the BCG vaccine induced more protective immunity and was more effective for protection against progressive infection of M. tuberculosis.