| The pulse diagnosis is an important method in Oriental Medicine. Recently, there have been continuous attempts to replace the finger palpation by Oriental medical doctors (OMDs) by more objective tools based on machines, e.g., pulse analyzers. To improve the performance of the pulse analyzers, both the machine-appropriate interpretations for the pulse images appeared in the literature and the improvement in the repeatability and reproducibility of the measurement sensors are to be developed. As an attempt towards the transformation of the pulse images in terms of machine-appropriate language, in this work, we suggest an upgraded algorithm for the solid/deficient pulses, which are the two representative pulse images informing us how strong the pulse pressure is. It has been argued that one could determine the solid/deficient pulses by the maximum pulse pressure from pulse analyzers. However, by a clinical test, we found that the maximum pulse pressure alone is not sufficient to determine the solid/deficient pulses. In addition to the maximum pulse pressure, the mean pulse pressure averaged over for five different hold-down pressures(3-D MAC) is needed to improve the agreement with the OMD\\\\\\\'s decision for the solid/deficient pulse. We found that, among the data diagnosed with having either the solid pulse or deficient pulse by OMDs, the novel algorithm showed 86.0% diagnosis rate and 81.6% concordance rate. |
| The present study was conducted to investigate the anti-allergic activity of Saingheylyunbooem(SHU)). We investigated the anti-allergic effects of SHU in RBL-2H3 basophilic leukemia cells by compound 48/80, a mast cell degranulator in mice. SHU inhibited β-hexosaminidase and histamine release from compound 48/80 stimulated RBL-2H3 cells. The in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of SHU in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were investigated. SHU inhibited NO production effectively dowregulated the expression of iNOS mRNA and iNOS protein expression in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. These result provide evidences that SHU may be beneficial in the treatment of allergic inflammtory disease. |
Caesalpinia sappan L. (C. sappan) has long been used in traditional medicine as an emmenagogue, hemostatic and anti-inflammatory agent. The present study investigated the effects of water extract of C. sappan in human lymphoma U937 cells. The proliferation of U937 cells was decreased by C. sappan in a dose-dependently manner. Anti-proliferative effect of C. sappan on U937 cells was associated with G2/M phase arrest, which was mediated by regulating the expression of p21 protein. Moreover, phosphorylation of JNK and p38 was increased by C. sappan. Blockade of JNK and p38 was significantly inhibited C. sappan-induced G2/M phase arrest. Taken together, these results suggest that Anti-proliferative effect of C. sappan on U937 is assocated with G2/M phase cell cycle arrest by expression of p21 protein and, JNK and p38 activation.
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Inflammation is a double-edge sword, functioning as a response against external stimuli, but excessive inflammation can lead to a harmful result. Inflammation is important in the development of vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and restenosis. Sohamhyung-tang(SHHT) is one of major herbal prescriptions from \\\\\\\"Sanghanron\\\\\\\", treating congested heat in thorax. It can be seen as an origin of several prescriptions for Hyungbi(胸痺, thoracic congestion), with its major component Trichosanthes semen. This study was done to determine whether SHHT reduces the production of nitrite, index of NO, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in Lipopolysaccharide(LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 cells. The results show that SHHT inhibited LPS-induced production of NO and PGE2, and iNOS and COX-2 expression, meaning SHHT has a significant anti-inflammatory effect. Based on these results, we suggest that SHTT can be used for prevention and treatment of diseases which starts from chronic inflammatory reactions.
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