Objective To observe the therapeutic effect of Deduhonghua-7 powder on liver fibrosis and its correlation with matrix metalloproteinases ( MMPs) and transforming growth factor β1 ( TGF-β1 ) .Methods The rats were divided into 4 groups, blank group, model group, control group, experiment group, 8 rats each group.The CCl4 was used to induce rat liver fibrosis.The control group was given colchicine pill, CMC sodium cellulosate was used to prepare 2% of colchicine suspen-sion, once time per day, 0.2 mL · kg-1 each time.The experiment group was given Deduhonghua-7 powder, CMC sodium cellulosate was used to prepare 3% of Deduhonghua-7 powder suspension, once time per day, 0.2 mL· kg -1 each time; blank group and model group were given same volume of pure water.All rats were sacrificed after 40 days of medication.Western blot was acted to detect the matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13),tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) protein expression.The PCR was used to detect the changesoftype Ⅰ, Ⅲ collagen, TGF -β1 mRNA gene expression.Results The MMP-1, MMP -13 protein expression in rats of model group was down -regulated compared with blank group ( P<0.05 ).The TIMP-1 protein expression was up-regulated compared with blank group ( P<0.05 ) . The mRNA expressions of typeⅠprocollagen, typeⅢprocollagen and TGF-β1 were increased compared with blank group(P<0.05).The MMP-1, MMP-13 protein expression of control group and experiment group were significant-ly up-regulated compared with model group.The TIMP-1 protein expression significantly down-regulated compared with model group.The mRNA gene expression of type I procollagen, typeⅢprocollagen and TGF-β1 were down-regulated compared with model group ( P<0.05 ).Conclusion Deduhonghua-7 powder regulate and maintain the stabilization of MMP/TIMP to block the expression of TGF-βand inhibit the transcription of type I,Ⅲ collagen and TGF-β1 mRNA to reach the purpose of detention of occurrence and development of liver fibrosis.

No abstract available.
Carbon Dioxide* ; Carbon* ; Foreign Bodies* ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Granuloma ; Lasers, Gas* ; Lip*

Pleural metastasis from breast cancer is a common manifestation. While pleural effusion is the most frequent finding, it is relatively rare for pleural nodularity and plaque that do not accompany pleural effusion. We report a patient with a rapidly growing huge pleural mass without pleural effusion caused by breast cancer. The patient was treated for severe dyspnea caused by the pleural mass. Along with the case report, we performed a systematic review of management of dyspnea in terminal cancer patients.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Dyspnea* ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleural Neoplasms

OBJECTIVES: The early onset of mood symptoms in bipolar disorder has been associated with poor outcomes in many studies. However, aspects of the clinical course of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents are controversial. The goal of this article is to review the clinical characteristics and longitudinal course of children and adolescents with bipolar disorders. METHODS: Searches were conducted in MedLine, PsycINFO, KISS, and RISS using the terms phenomenology, clinical course, outcome, BPD, pediatric, children and adolescents. Twenty-one reports were selected : either original articles reporting symptoms and clinical characteristics of subjects (ages 5-18 years), or published articles in reviewed journals about bipolar disorder in children and adolescents. RESULTS: Approximately 70% of subjects with bipolar disorder recovered from their index episode, and 50% had at least 1 syndromal recurrence, particularly depressive episodes. For 60% of the follow-up time, subjects had syndromal or subsyndromal symptoms with numerous changes in symptoms and shifts of polarity. Approximately 20% of BP-II subjects converted BP-I. CONCLUSION: Bipolar disorders in children and adolescents are characterized by episodic illness with subsyndromal and syndromal episodes with mainly depressive and mixed symptoms and rapid mood changes. Extensive follow-up time is needed to evaluate the continuity of bipolar disorder symptoms from childhood to adulthood.
Adolescent ; Bipolar Disorder ; Child ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Recurrence

OBJECTIVE: To investigate employment status after spinal cord injury (SCI) and identify personal, family, and injury characteristics those affect their employment in South Korea. METHODS: Participants were 334 community-dwelling persons 20-64 years of age who had sustained SCI for more than one year. Investigators visited each participant's home to carry out the survey. Bivariate and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to identify personal, family, and injury characteristics that influenced employment after SCI. RESULTS: Employment rate decreased significantly from 82.5% to 27.5% after SCI. Logistic regression showed that the probability of employment was higher in men than women, and in individuals older than 45 years at the time of injury than those aged 31-45 years of age. Moreover, employment was higher in individuals injured for longer than 20 years than those injured for 1-5 years and in individuals with incomplete tetraplegia than those with complete paraplegia. Employment was lower in individuals with SCI caused by industrial accidents than those injured in non-industrial accidents. CONCLUSION: Injury characteristics are the most important predictors of employment in persons with SCI. For persons with lower employment rate, individualized vocational rehabilitation and employment-support systems are required.
Accidents, Occupational ; Employment* ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Paraplegia ; Quadriplegia ; Rehabilitation, Vocational ; Republic of Korea* ; Research Personnel ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord*

Tardive dyskinesia is characterized by choreiform movements, or rhythmic abnormal involuntary movements of the face, mouth, tongue, trunk, and limbs. It is frequently associated with the use of neuroleptic medications. The choreiform movements are irreversible in some patients, even after the drug is withdrawn. Although no reliable treatment for tardive dyskinesia exists, atypical antipsychotics are associated with a significantly lower incidence of tardive dyskinesia than typical antipsychotics. Moreover, recent reports suggest that atypical antipsychotics may have a beneficial effect on tardive dyskinesia remission. Until recently, evidence for the effectiveness of aripiprazole on tardive dyskinesia has been mixed. Aripiprazole has a unique mechanism of action and has various effects in tardive dyskinesia. The drug acts as a partial D2 receptor agonist that can stabilize D2 up-regulation, and as a partial 5-HT1A receptor agonist and a 5-HT2A receptor antagonist, and can increase the release of dopamine in the striatum.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Chorea ; Dopamine ; Dyskinesias ; Extremities ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mouth ; Movement Disorders ; Piperazines ; Quinolones ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT1A ; Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A ; Tongue ; Up-Regulation ; Aripiprazole

Objectives: Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is often comorbid with other psychiatric disorders in childhood. This study aimed to investigate comorbid psychiatric symptoms and associated factors in elementary school children with symptoms of ODD. Methods: The participants consisted of 205 mother-offspring pairs. Psychiatric symptoms were measured using the Diagnostic Predictive Scales and Korean Child Behavior Checklist. Psychiatric comorbid symptoms were compared between children with ODD symptom and those without ODD symptom. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the odds ratio of psychiatric symptom on ODD. Results: ODD group had a significant association with internalizing and externalizing problem (p=0.001, p<0.001, respectively). ODD group were more comorbid with anxiety disorder, depressive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and conduct disorder. Among psychiatric disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=18.620, p<0.001) and conduct disorder (AOR=9.529, p=0.014) were associated with ODD symptom. Conclusion These findings suggest that children with ODD symptom had significantly higher rates of comorbid psychiatric symptoms. And GAD and conduct disorder are related to ODD symptom.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common microangiopathies of diabetes mellitus (DM). It is due to abnormal blood glucose metabolism caused by insufficient insulin secretion or decreased activity. Its pathogenesis is complex, related to multi-gene inheritance and environmental factors. At present, the etiologic study of DR has been gradually deepened at home and abroad, but the epidemiological study of minority DR is lacking. This paper reviews DR's characteristics, ethnic differences and its characteristics in ethnic minority.

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to examine the influence of death counseling on perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death and dying among family caregivers of hospice patients. Methods: Death counseling developed based on the SPIKES model was provided to 37 family caregivers in a hospice and palliative care unit. Perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death were assessed with a self-administered structured questionnaire, and participants’ scores before and after counseling were compared using the paired t-test. Results: Significant changes were found in perceptions, preparedness, and anxiety regarding death after counseling. Compared to before counseling, the scores for perceptions of death (t=-4.90, P＜0.001) and preparedness for death and dying (t=-16.23, P＜0.001)improved, while anxiety (t=3.72, P=0.001) decreased after counseling. Some changes were also found in the types of support that family caregivers needed to prepare for the death of their family members in the hospice care unit. Conclusion The findings demonstrate that death counseling could help family caregivers prepare for the death of their loved ones.Hospice and palliative care providers should play a key role in supporting family caregivers of hospice patients by developing strategies for counseling.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impacts of end-of-life care competency and ethical dilemmas on psychological burnout in nurses who care for terminal cancer patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 160 nurses who cared for terminal cancer patients was conducted. The participants were recruited from the hospice-palliative care wards, hematology or oncology wards, or intensive care units of three general hospitals in a single metropolitan area. Data were collected using a self-administered survey to assess end-oflife care competency, ethical dilemmas, psychological burnout, and general sociodemographic characteristics. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the independent ttest, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical linear regression analysis using SPSS for Windows (version 26.0). Results: Psychological burnout was significantly correlated with end-of-life care competency (r=-0.23, P=0.003) but not with ethical dilemmas. The results of the hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that end-of-life care competency (β=-0.280, P=0.010) and ethical dilemmas (β=0.275, P=0.037) were significant predictors of psychological burnout, after adjusting for age, religious status, clinical experience, and unit type. Conclusion The current study’s findings demonstrate that end-of-life care competency and ethical dilemmas are crucial factors that affect psychological burnout in nurses who care for terminal cancer patients. Substantive education programs must be developed to improve nurses’ competencies in end-of-life care and ethical dilemmas to decrease psychological burnout.