Kim Youn-Jung

BACKGROUND: Experimental studies suggest potential anti-carcinogenic properties of vitamin D against breast cancer risk, but the epidemiological evidence to date is inconsistent. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases along with a hand search for eligible studies to examine the association between vitamin D status (based on diet and blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)) and breast cancer risk or mortality in a meta-analysis. A random-effect model was used to calculate a pooled adjusted

Evidence suggests that the C-terminal truncation of α-synuclein is equally important as aggregation of α-synuclein in Parkinson disease (PD). Our previous results showed that an endopeptidase, matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3), was induced and activated in dopaminergic (DA) cells upon stress conditions. Here, we report that MMP3 cleaved α-synuclein in vitro and in vivo and that α-synuclein and MMP3 were co-localized in Lewy bodies (LB) in the postmortem brains of PD patients. Incubation of α-syn

AIMS: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies in order to assess quantitatively the effect of dairy consumption on risk of metabolic syndrome. METHODS: We searched for eligible studies published up to March 2015 through the PubMed and Embase databases and reviewed the references of relevant articles. Random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled relative risks with 95% CIs after adjusting for several confounders. RESULTS: We identified nine prospecti

Depression is caused by a variety of factors, especially stressful life events. Chronic stress-induced depression has detrimental effects on hippocampal integrity. Environmental enrichment (EE) is a beneficial intervention for improving anxiety, fear, and stress. We aimed to investigate the antidepressive effects of EE in a depressive rat model (DEP) that was subjected to chronic stress. The control group ( n = 10) was kept under normal conditions, while depressive rats ( n = 8 per group) were r

The protective effect of ginsenoside Re, isolated from ginseng berry, against acute gastric mucosal lesions was examined in rats with a single intraperitoneal injection of compound 48/80 (C48/80). Ginsenoside Re (20 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg) was orally administered 0.5 h prior to C48/80 treatment. Ginsenoside Re dose-dependently prevented gastric mucosal lesion development 3 h after C48/80 treatment. Increases in the activities of myeloperoxidase (MPO; an index of neutrophil infiltration) and xanthine

Vascular dementia (VaD) is a progressive cognitive impairment caused by a reduced blood supply to the brain. Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) is one cause of VaD; it induces oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption, damaging several brain regions. Vitamin C plays a vital role in preventing oxidative stress-related diseases induced by reactive oxygen species, but it is easily oxidized and loses its antioxidant activity. To overcome this weakness, we have d

Adolescence is a critical period of establishing social relations through social interactions that affect the emotional development associated with stress responses, anxiety, depression, and cognitive development. We investigated the behavioral and neurobiological changes induced by handling and social isolation in adolescent rats to determine social interaction effects. Rats were randomly divided into groups and used as a control, a handling, and a social isolation group. After 12 weeks, the ha

Mean body mass index was higher and pattern-recognition receptor-mediated cytokine mRNA expression was lower in obese than in non-obese children with OME.

Aging is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to cognitive impairment, and an increase in oxidative stress as a major cause is an important factor. It has been reported that aging-related cognitive impairment is associated with increased oxidative damage in several brain regions during aging. As a powerful antioxidant, vitamin C plays an important role in preventing oxidative stress, but due to its unstable chemical properties, it is easily oxidized and thus the activity of antioxidants is red

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic value of body tissue composition at the upper thigh level for 1 year mortality in elderly patients with proximal femur fracture. Methods This retrospective cohort study included consecutive elderly (aged ≥65) patients diagnosed with proximal femur fracture based on the findings of pelvic bone computed tomography (CT) performed at the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital and treated with surgery between 2010 and 2017