Stress induces degeneration of brain structures and functions. Particularly, hippocampus is sensitive to stressful stimulations. In the present study, the change of synaptic related molecules in the mouse dentate gyrus was examined with immunohistochemistry after restraint stress. We subjected mice to restraint stress for 6 h per day for 4 days. As a result, the number of Ki-67, a marker for proliferation, and doublecortin (DCX), a marker for neurogenesis, immunoreactive cells was decreased in the stress group. On the other hand, the intensity of calbindinD-28k, a marker of pre-existing granule cells, immunoreactivity was increased in the granule cell layer after 4 days restraint stress. As well as, the immunoreactivity of synaptic related molecules, postsynaptic density-95 (PSD-95), growth association protein-43 (GAP-43) and beta-NADPH-d reactivity were increased in the inner molecular layer of dentate gyrus after 4 days restraint stress. In conclusion, this study shows that repeated restraint stress suppresses neurogenesis in dentate gyrus and strengthens synaptic plasticity of existing granule cells.
Animals ; Brain ; Dentate Gyrus* ; Hand ; Hippocampus ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice* ; Neurogenesis ; Plastics*

Voluntary running is known to dramatically increase the cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the adult mouse hippocampus. However, it is crucial to realize that adding excitatory neurons could result in serious maladaptive outcomes for hippocampal circuit function. To investigate the response of mature granule cells on the increase of cell proliferation during voluntary running, we investigated the temporal change of calbindin-D28k (a marker for mature granule cells) using immunohistochemistry during voluntary running with upregulated neurogenesis. By using immunohistochemsitry for Ki-67 and doublecortin (DCX), we observed that the cell proliferation and differentiation of granule cells increased at 1 week of voluntary running. We found that, at 6 weeks of voluntary running, the cell proliferation and differentiation of granule cells returned to sedentary control levels. On the other hand, calbindin-D28k immunoreactivity decreased in the granular cell layer of the dentate gyrus and CA3 region of hippocampus after 1 week of voluntary running. At 6 weeks of voluntary running, the density of the calbindin-D28k in the granular cell layer and CA3 region was returned to the sedentary control level. These results demonstrate that the cell proliferation and differentiation are increased at early point of voluntary running, and the granule cell activity in the dentate gyrus is temporally changed for response to the increase of cell proliferation and differentiation during voluntary running.
Adult ; Animals ; Calbindin 1* ; Cell Proliferation ; Dentate Gyrus* ; Hand ; Hippocampus ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mice* ; Neurogenesis ; Neurons ; Running*

We found that the expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is increased in the hippocampus during exercise (Moon et al., 2006). However, the upstream regulatory factor on the eNOS expression in the hippocampus during exercise has not been clear. In this study, we investigate the role of acetylcholine (ACh) as a regulatory factor for the eNOS expression and activity in the hippocampus during exercise. The results of the present study demonstrate that voluntary wheel running exercise for two weeks increases the expression and activity eNOS. In addition, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immnunoreacitvity within the hippocampus was increased after 2 weeks exercise. We further found that the upregulation of ACh with treatment of physostigmine, a booster of ACh releasing, increase the expression and activity of eNOS in the hippocampus. This present study provides the evidence that the upregulation of eNOS during exercise may be mediated by ACh in the hippocampus.
Acetylcholine ; Choline ; Choline O-Acetyltransferase ; Hippocampus ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; Physostigmine ; Running ; Up-Regulation

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the effects of shift work on abdominal obesity among young and middle-aged female nurses during a 5-year retrospective study. METHODS: This retrospective study included female nurses (20–39 years old) who worked at a university hospital in Korea and had available health screening results from 2010–2015. Among 2,611 employees, 934 healthy 20–39-year-old female nurses were identified, and data regarding their demographic information (age and date of employment), waist circumferences (WC), and lifestyle factors (alcohol and exercise) were obtained. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC of ≥80 cm, based on the World Health Organization’s Asia-West Pacific standard in 2000. The mean WC change from baseline was analyzed using the paired t test, and the association between shift work and abdominal obesity was analyzed using the generalized estimating equation. RESULTS: Compared to all day workers (both age groups), the 20–29-year-old nurses did not exhibit significant changes in WC at each follow-up. However, among the 30–39-year-old nurses, shift workers exhibited a significant change in WC (vs. baseline) during years 4 and 5, compared to day workers. After adjusting for effective confounders and stratifying the participants according to age, the 20–29-year-old nurses exhibited an odds ratio of 3.21 (95 % confidence interval: 1.29–7.98) for shift work-associated obesity, although the odds ratio for the 30–39-year-old nurses was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: In the study population, shift work was associated with a significant change in mean WC among 30–39-year-old nurses, and the shift work-associated risk of abdominal obesity was significant among 20–29-year-old nurses. These results indicate that shift work may influence abdominal obesity differently in 20–29-year-old and 30–39-year-old female nurses.
Female* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Global Health ; Humans ; Korea ; Life Style ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Mass Screening ; Obesity ; Obesity, Abdominal* ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies* ; Waist Circumference

Epithelial ovarian carcinoma is a high mortality neoplasm in gynecologic malignancy. It usually can metastasize to distant organs such as pleura, liver, lung, and lymph nodes. However, the skin metastases are not common and related to very poor prognosis. Here we report a 54-year-old patient with ovarian clear cell carcinoma with skin metastases on the anterior chest at 11 months after initial diagnosis. Although she received palliative chemotherapy, she expired due to disease progression 2 months later after the diagnosis of skin metastases.
Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell* ; Diagnosis ; Disease Progression ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Liver ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Pleura ; Prognosis ; Skin Neoplasms ; Skin* ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Occupational physicians (OPs) have complex relationships with employees, employers, and the general public. OPs may have simultaneous obligations towards third parties, which can lead to variable conflicts of interests. Among the various studies of ethical issues related to OPs, few have focused on the Korean OPs. The aim of the present survey was to investigate the ethical contexts, the practical resolutions, and the ethical principles for the Korean OPs. METHODS: An email with a self-administered questionnaire was sent to members of the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, comprising 150 specialists and 130 residents. The questionnaire was also distributed to 52 specialists and 46 residents who attended the annual meeting of the Korean Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics in October 2015, and to 240 specialists by uploading the questionnaire to the online community ‘oem-doctors’ in February 2016. The responses to each question (perception of general ethical conflicts, recognition of various ethical codes for OPs, core professional values in ethics of occupational medicine, and a mock case study) were compared between specialists and residents by the chi-squared test and Fisher’s exact test. RESULTS: Responses were received from 80 specialists and 71 residents. Most participants had experienced ethical conflicts at work and felt the need for systematic education and training. OPs suffered the most ethical conflicts in decisions regarding occupational health examination and evaluation for work relatedness. Over 60% of total participants were unaware of the ethical codes of other countries. Participants thought ‘consideration of worker’s health and safety’ (26.0%) and ‘neutrality’ (24.7%) as the prominent ethical values in professionality ofoccupational medicine. In mock cases, participants chose beneficence and justice for fitness for work and confidential information acquired while on duty, and beneficence and respect for autonomy in pre-placement examinations. CONCLUSIONS: This study evaluated the current perception of and attitude toward ethical issues among the Korean OPs. These findings will facilitate the development of a code of ethics and the ethical decision-making program forthe Korean OPs. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40557-017-0182-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Beneficence ; Codes of Ethics ; Confidentiality ; Education ; Electronic Mail ; Environmental Medicine ; Ethics* ; Occupational Health ; Occupational Medicine ; Social Justice ; Specialization