No abstract available.
Diabetes Mellitus* ; Hypertension*

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress is important in both diabetic complications and the development and the progression of type 2 diabetes via the effects on the pancreatic beta-cells. EGCG (epigallocatechin galleate), a major constituent of green tea, has been known to have beneficial effects on various diseases through the mechanisms of antioxidant and cell signaling modulation. But, very small numbers of studies were published about the direct effects of EGCG on the pancreatic beta cell lines. We performed this study to see the protective effect of EGCG on pancreatic beta cell line under H2O2 and the mechanisms of this phenomenon. METHODS: We used INS-1 cells and hydrogen peroxide as an oxidative stressor. Their viabilities were verified by MTT assay and FACS. The activity of glutathione peroxidase was assessed by total glutathione quantification kit. Western blot and semi-quantitative RT-PCR for the catalase, SOD (superoxide dismutase), PI3K and Akt were performed. Functional status of INS-1 cells was tested by GSIS (glucose stimulated insulin secretion). RESULTS: The biological effects of EGCG were different according to its concentrations. 10 micrometer EGCG effectively protected hydrogen peroxide induced damage in INS-1 cells. The expression and the activity of SOD, catalase and the glutathione peroxidase were significantly increased by EGCG. EGCG significantly increased PI3K and Akt activity and its effect was inhibited partially by wortmannin. GSIS was well preserved by EGCG. CONCLUSION: EGCG in low concentration effectively protected INS-1 cells from the oxidative stress through the activation of both antioxidant systems and anti-apoptosis signaling. Further studies will be necessary for the more detailed mechanisms and the clinical implications.
Androstadienes ; Blotting, Western ; Catalase ; Diabetes Complications ; Glutathione ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Hydrogen Peroxide ; Insulin ; Insulin-Secreting Cells ; Oxidative Stress ; Tea

The aim of this report was to discuss the development and content of a guide on clinical performance and basic clinical skills for medical students. We published the first edition of this guide in 2010 and will publish the second edition in 2016. Initially, we took a survey on important clinical presentations and fundamental clinical and technical skills in 41 medical schools in Korea. Ultimately, we chose 80 core clinical presentations and 56 clinical skills. In the guide to basic clinical skills, we described the physical examination and technical skills according to the preprocedural preparation, procedure, and postprocedural process. In the guide on clinical performance, we reviewed patient encounters-from history taking and the physical examination to patient education. We included communication skills, principles of patient safety, and clinical reasoning schemes into the guides. In total, 43 academic faculty members helped develop the basic clinical skills guide, 75 participated in establishing the clinical performance guide, and 16 advisors from 14 medical specialty societies contributed to the guide. These guides can help medical students approach patients holistically and safely.
Clinical Competence/*standards ; Educational Measurement/*methods ; Humans ; *Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Republic of Korea ; *Students, Medical

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Statins have been a mainstay of treatment for primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease through their beneficial effect on lipid profile. However, their effect on the HDL cholesterol level has been determined to be equivocal or unclear. This study sought to investigate HDL cholesterol response to statin treatment in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the effect of statins in 217 patients with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia through chart review. Patients who were using medications such as fibrates, niacin, or thiazolidinediones, or had a plasma creatinine concentration greater than 1.5 mg/dL, a fasting triglyceride level greater than 300 mg/dL, or chronic liver disease, were excluded from the study. RESULT: The mean level of LDL cholesterol was significantly decreased, and the percentage of patients who achieved the normal LDL cholesterol level was increased in this study. The mean HDL cholesterol level after statin treatment was decreased by 2.3%. The percent change of HDL cholesterol was affected by baseline HDL cholesterol level, percent change of total cholesterol, percent change of LDL cholesterol, and baseline total cholesterol level. When subjects were divided into quintiles according to baseline HDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol level was found to be increased in the lowest two quintiles while it was decreased in the highest two quintiles. CONCLUSIONS: There were some patients whose HDL cholesterol level was decreased after statin treatment, depending on their baseline HDL cholesterol level. We think further study on the effect of statins on HDL level will be needed in the future.
Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Coronary Disease ; Creatinine ; Dyslipidemias ; Fasting ; Fibric Acids ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; Niacin ; Plasma ; Retrospective Studies ; Secondary Prevention ; Thiazolidinediones

Central diabetes insipidus is caused by the insufficient secretion of vasopressin and has been reported in great variety of disorder of brain tumor, systemic infiltrative disease such as histiocytosis, amyoidosis and vasculitis, leukemia, and other autoimmune diseases. But there has been reported only 3 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with central diabetes insipidus. The exact pathophysiologic process of pituitary gland involvement in SLE has been unknown, although there are some evidence that vascular impairment and autoantibodies to pituitary gland may be contributory factors. Here, we report a case of central diabetes insipidus complicated by neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus.
Autoantibodies ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Brain Neoplasms ; Diabetes Insipidus, Neurogenic* ; Histiocytosis ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Lupus Vasculitis, Central Nervous System ; Pituitary Gland ; Vasculitis ; Vasopressins

BACKGROUND: Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is one of the important growth factors involved in the epithelialization during cutaneous wound healing. Peptide EGF has been used for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcer. But the inferiority of cost-effectiveness and the inconvenience of daily application might have restricted its wide clinical usage. EGF gene therapy could dramatically improve the efficacy and inconvenience through long-term expression and bypassing the EGF degradation by hostile non-specific proteinases expressed in the wound bed. METHODS: EGF DNAs were amplified via PCR. For the more effective secretion from the transfected cell, we inserted furin cleavage site into EGF plasmids. The efficacy of novel plasmid pbeta-EGF was verified by transfection into the various animal cell lines, and the biologic potency of expressed EGF was confirmed via phosphorylation of PI3K and GSK3beta by Western blotting. RESULTS: We tested various kinds of human EGFs. One of the human EGF isoforms, EGF(828) including a membrane-anchoring domain was successfully released as the mature EGF protein in the cell culture media. Also EGF plasmid including furin cleavage site showed more than 2-fold increased EGF expression compared with the sequence without furin cleavage site. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, these findings suggest that mature EGF could be released easily out of cells by modifying EGF DNA sequence. Our novel EGF plasmid DNA could markedly increase the efficiency of non-viral gene therapy for diabetic foot ulcer.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cell Line ; Clone Cells ; Cloning, Organism ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Foot ; DNA ; Epidermal Growth Factor ; Furin ; Genetic Therapy ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; Peptide Hydrolases ; Phosphorylation ; Plasmids ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Protein Isoforms ; Transfection ; Ulcer ; Wound Healing

BACKGROUND: OneTouch Diabetes Management Software (OTDMS) is an efficient way to track and monitor the blood glucose level. It is possible to download data from the OneTouch Ultra via the meter's data port, and to transform the numbers of the blood glucose level into a graph, a chart, or statistics. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether the use of OTDMS in consultation hours would improve patients' knowledge of diabetes mellitus (DM), compliance, satisfaction with doctor and medical treatment, doctor-patient reliability, and glucose control. METHODS: All patients were randomized into either the OTDMS group using OneTouch Ultra or the control groups not using it. Both groups had conventional DM education and only the OTDMS group used data from OTDMS as explanation materials during consultation hours. At enrollment and after 6 months, we performed a questionnaire survey consisting of the diabetes knowledge test, items for compliance of treatment, patient's satisfaction, doctor-patient reliability, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). RESULTS: We analyzed 6-month follow-up data from 92 patients (OTDMS 42 vs. control 50). Both groups showed significant improvements in HbA1c, diabetes knowledge, compliance, reliability, and satisfaction after 6 months. However, there were no significant differences between OTDMS and control groups overall. Only "weekly frequency of checking blood glucose level" of compliance and "trying to follow doctor's order" of reliability showed better results in the OTDMS group. CONCLUSION: Using the OTDMS system for explanation during consultation hours seems to be more helpful to improve patient's compliance and reliability, especially for checking blood glucose level and trying to follow the doctor's order.
Blood Glucose ; Compliance ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2* ; Disease Management ; Education ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glucose ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Self Care

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Irisin, a newly identified hormone, is associated with energy homeostasis. We investigated whether aged garlic extract (AGE) and exercise training intervention could improve body weight, insulin sensitivity, skeletal muscle fibronectin domain containing protein 5 (FNDC-5) levels, and plasma irisin in high-fat diet (HFD). MATERIALS/METHODS: Male Sprague Dawley rats were fed a ND (normal diet, n = 5) or HFD (n = 28) for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, all rats were divided into 5 groups for the next 4 weeks: ND, (normal diet, n = 5), HFD (high-fat diet, n = 7), HFDA (high-fat diet + aged garlic extract, n = 7), HFDE (high-fat diet + exercise, n = 7), and HFDEA (high-fat diet + exercise + aged garlic extract, n = 7). Exercise groups performed treadmill exercises for 15-60 min, 5 days/week, and AGE groups received AGE (2.86 g/kg, orally injected) for 4 weeks. RESULTS: Significant decreases in body weight were observed in the ND, HFDE, and HFDEA groups, as compared with the HFD group. Neither intervention affected the masses of the gastrocnemius muscle or liver. There were no significant differences in glucose levels across the groups. The homeostatic model assessments of insulin resistance were significantly higher in the HFD group, as compared with the ND, HFDA, HFDE, and HFDEA groups. However, skeletal muscle FNDC-5 levels and plasma irisin concentrations were unaffected by AGE or exercise in obese rats. AGE supplementation and exercise training did not affect skeletal muscle FNDC-5 or plasma irisin, which are associated with insulin sensitivity in obese rats. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the protection against HFD-induced increases in body fat/weight and insulin resistance that are provided by AGE supplementation and exercise training may not be mediated by the regulation of FNDC-5 or irisin.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Diet ; Diet, High-Fat ; Exercise ; Fibronectins ; Garlic* ; Glucose ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver ; Male ; Models, Animal* ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Plasma ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

No abstract available.

The authors analized statistically 403 cases of C.N.S. tumors confirmed by pathology in the boundary of Daegu city and Kyungbook province from January 1984 to December 1986. The results were as follows: 1) The each cases of male and female were 220(54.6%) and 183(45.4%). 2) Intracranial tumors were 288 cases(71.5%), spinal tumors 75(18.6%), and others 40(9.9%). 3) Numbers of C.N.S. tumors were 8.7/100,000 population in city and 6.3/100,000 in country. 4) Among the intracranial tumors, glioma(30.9%) was the most common and followed by meningioma(16.3%) and metastatic tumor(8.7%). Among the spinal tumors, metastatic tumors was 34.6%, neurofibroma 30.7%, and meningioma 5.3%. 5) The majority of intracranial tumors were found in supratentorial region(76.3%), in which area frequency of tumor incidence were as follows; glioma, meningioma, metastatic tumor. Among the infratentorial area(22.6%), the sequence of tumor incidence were glioma, medulloblastoma, and neurilemmoma, 6) Tumors predominantly in male were oligodendroglioma(2:1), metastatic tumor(1.8:1), and medulloblastoma(1.7:1), and in female were meningioma(1:2), neurilemmoma(1:1.7), and pituitary tumor(1:1.5). 7) Peak age incidence of glioma, meningioma, and neurilemmoma were from 40 to 60 years, pituitary tumor and oligodendroglioma were 30 to 50 years, craniopharyngioma and ependymoma were around 10 years old, and metastatic tumor was 50 to 70 years old. 8) In the spinal tumors, the most favorable site of longitudinal axis was thoracic area(62.7%) and transverse location was epidural space(45.3%). 9) The most common site of metastatic tumor were came from lung(29.1%) in brain metastasis and prostate(19.2%) in spine.
Aged ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms* ; Central Nervous System* ; Child ; Craniopharyngioma ; Daegu ; Ependymoma ; Female ; Glioma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Medulloblastoma ; Meningioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurofibroma ; Oligodendroglioma ; Pathology ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Spine