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Anti-wrinkle properties of Angelica gigas Nakai root extracts using mineral-rich water.
Kang, JW, Cho, HE, Choi, HM, Lee, IC
Journal of cosmetic dermatology. 2023;(1):328-334
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Angelica gigas Nakai is used as an herbal pharmaceutical material in Korea. AIMS To investigate the anti-wrinkle effects of A. gigas Nakai root extracts (ARE) using mineral-rich water in in vitro and clinical trials. MATERIALS AND METHODS The cell viability of ARE was evaluated using a water-soluble tetrazolium salt assay. After evaluating ARE's cytotoxicity, we used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit to assess the effects of ARE on type I collagen in human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). During a double-blinded in vivo clinical study, participants were randomly assigned to use the sample and placebo formulations for the left and right sides of their face over an 8-week period. We evaluated the anti-wrinkle properties of the formulations using PRIMOS Lite and a global photodamage score. RESULTS A. gigas Nakai root extracts cytotoxicity was evaluated in HDFs. We demonstrate that ARE increased type I collagen production by 40% at 50 μg/ml as compared with the control. The use of an ARE lotion significantly reduced the presence of crow's feet wrinkles in comparison with the use of the placebo after 8 weeks. Additionally, use of the ARE lotion led to decreased photodamage scores, indicating anti-wrinkle effects. CONCLUSION The use of ARE with mineral-rich water has anti-wrinkle effects in in vitro and clinical trials.
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Understanding Viral Infection Mechanisms and Patient Symptoms for the Development of COVID-19 Therapeutics.
Choi, HM, Moon, SY, Yang, HI, Kim, KS
International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;22(4)
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Plain language summary
The outbreak of a novel coronavirus was reported in Wuhan, in the Hubei province of China, in December 2019. This virus was officially designated as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) because of its phylogenetic and taxonomic similarities to other coronaviruses. The aim of this review was to understand the viral infection mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2, the clinical features of Covid-19 and the mechanisms through which Covid-19 can be effectively treated with existing drugs. Literature shows that: • SARS-CoV-2 is usually transmitted by inhalation or contact with infected droplets. Inhaled droplets or aerosol carrying the virus then infect and spread through the respiratory tracts. • Severe inflammatory response is a remarkable feature of Covid-19 symptoms. This is caused by delayed viral clearance, which induces chronic systemic inflammation and widespread tissue damage, even leading to cytokine storms. • The incubation period is generally 5-6 days, but it ranges from one day to as much as two weeks. • Interstitial pneumonia and subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome are the leading causes of death in patients with Covid-19. • There is no licensed treatment for Covid-19, only a combination of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drug treatments are being used. Authors conclude that their finding may provide new insights into the development of therapeutics by understanding the various clinical and basic research studies currently underway.
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has become a worldwide pandemic. Symptoms range from mild fever to cough, fatigue, severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and organ failure, with a mortality rate of 2.2%. However, there are no licensed drugs or definitive treatment strategies for patients with severe COVID-19. Only antiviral or anti-inflammatory drugs are used as symptomatic treatments based on clinician experience. Basic medical researchers are also trying to develop COVID-19 therapeutics. However, there is limited systematic information about the pathogenesis of COVID-19 symptoms that cause tissue damage or death and the mechanisms by which the virus infects and replicates in cells. Here, we introduce recent knowledge of time course changes in viral titers, delayed virus clearance, and persistent systemic inflammation in patients with severe COVID-19. Based on the concept of drug reposition, we review which antiviral or anti-inflammatory drugs can effectively treat COVID-19 patients based on progressive symptoms and the mechanisms inhibiting virus infection and replication.
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Relationship Between Arteriovenous Fistula Stenosis and Circulating Levels of Neutrophil Granule Proteins in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients.
Oh, DJ, Lee, JH, Kwon, YE, Choi, HM
Annals of vascular surgery. 2021;:226-235
Abstract
BACKGROUND Arteriovenous fistula (AVF) stenosis leading to its failure is a major cause of morbidity in hemodialysis patients; however, detailed pathogenesis of AVF stenosis is still under investigation. To date, monocytes/macrophages have been considered pivotal players in chronic inflammation of vascular disease including atherosclerosis and AVF stenosis. However, recent evidence strongly suggests that neutrophils and neutrophil granule proteins are important contributors to vascular disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between AVF stenosis and neutrophil activation by measuring circulating levels of neutrophil elastase (NE) and lactoferrin, enzymes released on neutrophil activation, as well as other inflammation markers including neutrophil counts. METHODS This was a single-center, prospective observational study conducted on 83 prevalent hemodialysis patients with AVF. Blood levels of biomarkers and sonography (US) measurement were assessed at baseline and 1 year after enrollment. Clinical follow-up continued for one more year (a total of 2 years for each patient) to observe any AVF events. RESULTS Circulating levels of both NE and lactoferrin positively correlated with the degree of AVF stenosis. Patients with significant AVF stenosis had older AVFs, higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and higher circulating levels of NE and lactoferrin. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, both circulating levels of NE and NLR remained independent predictors of significant AVF stenosis. CONCLUSIONS Circulating levels of NE and the NLR were identified as independent predictors of at-risk AVF with significant stenosis. Our data suggest the potential role of neutrophil and innate immunity activation on the development of AVF stenosis.
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Dysregulated Autophagy Mediates Sarcopenic Obesity and Its Complications via AMPK and PGC1α Signaling Pathways: Potential Involvement of Gut Dysbiosis as a Pathological Link.
Ryu, JY, Choi, HM, Yang, HI, Kim, KS
International journal of molecular sciences. 2020;(18)
Abstract
Sarcopenic obesity (SOB), which is closely related to being elderly as a feature of aging, is recently gaining attention because it is associated with many other age-related diseases that present as altered intercellular communication, dysregulated nutrient sensing, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Along with insulin resistance and inflammation as the core pathogenesis of SOB, autophagy has recently gained attention as a significant mechanism of muscle aging in SOB. Known as important cellular metabolic regulators, the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α) signaling pathways play an important role in autophagy, inflammation, and insulin resistance, as well as mutual communication between skeletal muscle, adipose tissue, and the liver. Furthermore, AMPK and PGC-1α signaling pathways are implicated in the gut microbiome-muscle axis. In this review, we describe the pathological link between SOB and its associated complications such as metabolic, cardiovascular, and liver disease, falls and fractures, osteoarthritis, pulmonary disease, and mental health via dysregulated autophagy controlled by AMPK and/or PGC-1α signaling pathways. Here, we propose potential treatments for SOB by modulating autophagy activity and gut dysbiosis based on plausible pathological links.
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Grape Seed Extract Supplementation Attenuates the Blood Pressure Response to Exercise in Prehypertensive Men.
Kim, JK, Kim, KA, Choi, HM, Park, SK, Stebbins, CL
Journal of medicinal food. 2018;(5):445-453
Abstract
We tested the hypothesis that exaggerated pressor responses observed in prehypertensive males (N = 9) during dynamic exercise are attenuated following acute dietary supplementation with grape seed extract (GSE) (i.e., a single dose). Effects of placebo and GSE (300 mg) on systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), total vascular conductance (TVC), and rate × pressure product (RPP) in response to two submaximal cycling workloads (40% and 60% VO2peak) were compared 2 h after ingestion of GSE or placebo on different days, 1 week apart. Endothelial function was also evaluated using flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Placebo treatment had no effect on any of the variables. GSE supplementation attenuated MAP at both workloads (40% VO2peak: 115 ± 1 vs. 112 ± 2 mmHg; 60% VO2peak: 126 ± 2 vs. 123 ± 2 mmHg) and RPP at the lower workload. Conversely, SV, CO, and TVC were augmented during both workloads. FMD was augmented by GSE (18.9 ± 2.0 vs. 12.4% ± 2.0%). These findings indicate that in exercising prehypertensive males, a single dose of GSE reduces blood pressure, peripheral vasoconstriction, and work of the heart and enhances O2 delivery; effects that may be due, in part, to endothelium-dependent vasodilation. We propose that acute GSE treatment represents an intervention that may minimize potential increases in the risk of cardiovascular events during dynamic exercise in prehypertensives.
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Effects of chronic dietary nitrate supplementation on the hemodynamic response to dynamic exercise.
Lee, JS, Stebbins, CL, Jung, E, Nho, H, Kim, JK, Chang, MJ, Choi, HM
American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology. 2015;(5):R459-66
Abstract
While acute treatment with beetroot juice (BRJ) containing nitrate (NO3 (-)) can lower systolic blood pressure (SBP), afterload, and myocardial O2 demand during submaximal exercise, effects of chronic supplementation with BRJ (containing a relatively low dose of NO3 (-), 400 mg) on cardiac output (CO), SBP, total peripheral resistance (TPR), and the work of the heart in response to dynamic exercise are not known. Thus, in 14 healthy males (22 ± 1 yr), we compared effects of 15 days of both BRJ and nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (NDBRJ) supplementation on plasma concentrations of NOx (NO3 (-)/NO2 (-)), SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP), CO, TPR, and rate pressure product (RPP) at rest and during progressive cycling exercise. Endothelial function was also assessed via flow-mediated dilation (FMD). BRJ supplementation increased plasma NOx from 83.8 ± 13.8 to 167.6 ± 13.2 μM. Compared with NDBRJ, BRJ reduced SBP, DBP, MAP, and TPR at rest and during exercise (P < 0.05). In addition, RPP was decreased during exercise, while CO was increased, but only at rest and the 30% workload (P < 0.05). BRJ enhanced FMD-induced increases in brachial artery diameter (pre: 12.3 ± 1.6%; post: 17.8 ± 1.9%). We conclude that 1) chronic supplementation with BRJ lowers blood pressure and vascular resistance at rest and during exercise and attenuates RPP during exercise and 2) these effects may be due, in part, to enhanced endothelium-induced vasodilation in contracting skeletal muscle. Findings suggest that BRJ can act as a dietary nutraceutical capable of enhancing O2 delivery and reducing work of the heart, such that exercise can be performed at a given workload for a longer period of time before the onset of fatigue.
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Amlodipine and cardiovascular outcomes in hypertensive patients: meta-analysis comparing amlodipine-based versus other antihypertensive therapy.
Lee, SA, Choi, HM, Park, HJ, Ko, SK, Lee, HY
The Korean journal of internal medicine. 2014;(3):315-24
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIMS: This meta-analysis compared the effects of amlodipine besylate, a charged dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blocker (CCB), with other non-CCB antihypertensive therapies regarding the cardiovascular outcome. METHODS Data from seven long-term outcome trials comparing the cardiovascular outcomes of an amlodipine-based regimen with other active regimens were pooled and analyzed. RESULTS The risk of myocardial infarction was significantly decreased with an amlodipine-based regimen compared with a non-CCB-based regimen (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84 to 0.99; p = 0.03). The risk of stroke was also significantly decreased (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.79 to 0.90; p < 0.00001). The risk of heart failure increased slightly with marginal significance for an amlodipine-based regimen compared with a non-CCB-based regimen (OR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.98 to 1.31; p = 0.08). However, when compared overall with β-blockers and diuretics, amlodipine showed a comparable risk. Amlodipine-based regimens demonstrated a 10% risk reduction in overall cardiovascular events (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.99; p = 0.02) and total mortality (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91 to 0.99; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Amlodipine reduced the risk of total cardiovascular events as well as all-cause mortality compared with non-CCB-based regimens, indicating its benefit for high-risk cardiac patients.