The purpose of this study is to determine whether the clinical activity of patients with atopic dermatitis(AD) correlate with their serum cytokine levels. 86 patients with AD were treated with KHS, YMH and GHT. On each visit to the clinic, their skin status was evaluated using the SCORAD index and serum IL-4, , IL-12, IL-13, IL-2 and IL-10 were measured by ELISA. After oral administration of herbal medicine, patients' skin status and subjective parameters such as pruritus and sleeplessness were significantly improved according to regression analysis. In particular, patients aged 0-9 showed stronger responses to treatment, which implies that the younger patients aged, the easier the treatment by herbal formula became. In analysis of the type of chosen herbal medicines, YMH treated group showed a stronger response in reduction of affected lesion, intensity of a lesion and subjective symptoms, while KHS treated group showed the least reduction. The levels of serum IL-4, and IL-2 correlated with disease activity. Moreover, in patients under 0-9, the IL-4 level had a corrleation with disease activity; patients under 10-19 showed a correlation between the levels of IL-4 and IL-2 and disease activity; patients under 20-29 showed a correlation between the levels of IL-2, IL-12 and and disease activity. In comparison with chosen herbal medicines, the groups treated with YMH or GHT treated group showed a correlation between the levels of IL-4, IL-12 and IL-2 and disease activity while KHS treated group did not. Our data suggest that serum levels of IL-4 and IL-13 are good indicators of clinical improvement in treating AD.
[6]-Shogaol is a major bioactive component of Zingiber officinale. Although [6]-shogaol has a number of pharmacological activities including antipyretic, analgesic, antitussive and anti-inflammatory effects, the specific mechanisms of its anti-allergic effects have not been studied. In this study, we present the effects of [6]-shogaol on mast cell-mediated allergic reactions in vivo and in vitro. Sprague–Dawley rats received intradermal injections of anti-DNP IgE was injected into dorsal skin sites. After 48 h, [6]-shogaol was administered orally 1 h prior to challenge with DNP-HSA in saline containing 4% Evans blue through the dorsal vein of the penis. In addition, rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMCs) were cultured and purified to investigate histamine release. In vitro, we evaluated the regulatory effects of [6]-shogaol on the level of inflammatory mediators in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus calcium ionomycin A23187-stimulated human mast cells (HMC-1). [6]-Shogaol reduced the passive cutaneous anaphylaxis reaction compared to the control group, and histamine release decreased significantly following the treatment of RPMCs with [6]-shogaol. In HMC-1 cells, [6]-shogaol inhibited the production of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8, as well as the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and phosphorylation of JNK in compound 48/80-induced HMC-1 cells. [6]-shogaol inhibited mast cell-mediated allergic reactions by inhibiting the release of histamine and the production of proinflammatory cytokines with the involvement of regulation of NF-κB and phosphorylation of JNK.
The pro-inflammatory S100 calcium binding protein A8 (S100A8) is elevated in the serum of patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but its function in Plasmodium vivax malaria is not yet clear. This function was investigated in P. vivax-infected patients in this study.
The bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi is the causative agent of scrub typhus, mite-borne disease, which causes an acute febrile illness in patients. An epidemiologic study was conducted to understand the characteristics of scrub typhus in South Korea.Reporting of tsutsugamushi disease is mandatory in South Korea since 1994. To investigate the prevalence of tsutsugamushi disease from 2001 to 2013, medical records from the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were reviewed. In total, 70,914 cases were reported during 2001-2013. Of these, 37.16% (26,349) were male and 62.84% (44,565) were female. The highest number of cases was in the 60-69-year-old age group (19,484; 27.48%), and 72.22% (51,212) were in the 50-79-year-old age group. There were 65,100 cases (91.80%) reported during October (24,964; 35.20%) and November (40,136; 56.60%). An almost four-fold increase in the number of patients was observed in 2013 (10,485 cases) compared to 2001 (2,637 cases). The highest number of patients was reported in the Jeonbuk (9,425; 13.29%) and lowest in the Jeju (362; 0.51%).A rapid increase in the incidence of patients with tsutsugamushi disease was observed in most areas from 2001 to 2013, with the majority of cases reported in the western and southern coast.
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