Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was the 3rd leading cause of death in 2012 worldwide. It is particularly severe in the elderly, who are at risk of death by coughing, mucous hypersecretion, and finally breathlessness. Recently, anti-COPD drug development has increased, and many animal screening systems have been studied. Tobacco smoke animal models are the best known animal screening system, but have several preparation requirements, such as a tobacco smoke generator and a separate facility to prevent smoke release. Accordingly, we evaluated the properties of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) murine model for COPD screening and the effect of the time elapsed from 0 to 72 hr after LPS intranasal instillation on various biomarkers of COPD severity, such as WBC and neutrophils in bronchoalveolar fluid (BALF), IgE in serum, histopathology in the lung, and cytokines (IL-8, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and TGF-β) and chemokines (CCL-2, CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11) in the respiratory system. Although from 48 hr after LPS treatment several factors which could be evaluated as biomarkers for COPD establishment such as WBC and neutrophil in BALF, IgE in serum, cytokines (IL-8, TNF-α, and IFN-γ), and chemokines (CCL-2, CXCL1, CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11) increased at 72 hr the increment of important factors for COPD establishment such as IgE, fibrosis in the lung, and cytokines (IL-8, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) was more clear. Based on our results, we concluded that the optimal time after LPS intranasal instillation is 72 hr.
Aged ; Animals ; Biomarkers ; Cause of Death ; Chemokines ; Cough ; Cytokines ; Dyspnea ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Lung ; Mass Screening ; Mice* ; Models, Animal ; Neutrophils ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Respiratory System ; Smoke ; Tobacco

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the analgesic effect of needle electrical stimulation (NES) according to the electrode placement in acute arthritic rat model. METHOD: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (120 rats, 250+/-50 g) were injected with a mixture of 3% carrageenan and 3% kaolin into the right knee joint. Rats were randomly assigned into one of four groups: Group I, control group (n=30); Group II, arthritic limb-induced control group (n=30); Group III, NES application group on the ipsilateral arthritic limb (n=30); Group IV, NES application group on the contralateral arthritic limb (n=30). We applied the NES (2 Hz, 200micro s, 20 min) to group III and IV. We assessedthe change of paw withdrawal latency (PWL) and the immunoreactivity of c-fos by immunohistochemistry at baseline, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours after induction of arthritis. RESULTS: NES was more effective in Group III and IV than group II 8 hours after the induction of arthritis (p < 0.001) based on the results of PWLs and c-fos immunoreactivity. The analgesic effects of Group III were greater than those of group IV (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Contralateral NES on arthritic limb reduced pain in arthritic rat model as effectively as ipsilateral NES.
Analgesia* ; Animals ; Arthritis ; Carrageenan ; Electric Stimulation* ; Electrodes* ; Extremities ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kaolin ; Knee Joint ; Male ; Models, Animal* ; Needles* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

OBJECTIVE: To verify the effect of thermo-undulation therapy on the patients with chronic low back pain. METHOD: 115 patients with back pain (mean age: 51.2 year-old; male, female: 46, 69) were recruited. Experimental group (n=85) was subjected to thermo-undulation therapy for 30 minutes, once a day, five days a week during eight weeks and control group (n=30) was administered with sham procedure. Before and after the therapy, range of motion (ROM) the spine and flexibility of lower extremity muscles were evaluated with goniometry. The functional status was measured by Roland Morris disability questionnaire and quality of life was measured by the SF-36 (36-Item Short Form Health Survey Instrument) and SF-12 scales. The STAI-6 (Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) was used for anxiety. We checked the intensity of pain by visual analog scale (VAS) and evaluated the effect of far-infrared ray with Digital Infrared Thermographic Imaging (DITI) technique. RESULTS: After therapy, the scores of muscle flexibility, spine ROM, VAS, Roland Morris disability questionnaire, SF-36, SF-12 and STAI-6 showed a tendency to improve in experimental group (p<0.05), but no significant differences compared with control group (p>0.05). Only the temperature differences of experimental group by DITI were significantly lower than those of control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Thermo-undulation therapy may be an adjuvant therapy for chronic low back pain.
Anxiety ; Back Pain ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Low Back Pain* ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Muscles ; Pliability ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Spine ; Visual Analog Scale ; Weights and Measures