Fungal otomastoiditis is a rare disease, but can be fatal for immunocompromised patients. Recently, there have been increasing cases of otologic infection caused by Candida auris. Candida auris can be easily misdiagnosed for other species and treatment is difficult due to multidrug resistance. Clinician should be aware of this rare pathogen, and it should be treated with appropriate antifungal agent with surgical debridement.

Stroke is one of the most frequent causes of death along with cancer and cardiac diseases, and the administration of neuroprotective agents within 6 h of the onset of stroke are known to reduce neuronal cell death caused by stroke-induced ischemia. However, no effective neuroprotective agent is available to treat cerebral ischemia.Inflammation plays a critical role in ischemic brain injury, and anti-inflammatory measures reduce injury and enhance stroke recovery. 1) Moreover, the inflammatory reactions involved are increased by reperfusion after focal brain ischemia and are due to a substantial influx of neutrophils and leukocytes into infarcted regions driven by specific adhesion molecules and cytokines. These species aggravate tissue damage by releasing oxygen radicals 2) and cytotoxic products, 3) and among these nitric oxides (NO) and the prostaglandins are two types of pleiotropic mediators produced at inflammatory sites by constitutive enzymes and by cyclooxygenase (COX-1), COX-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). 4) COX-2 and iNOS are known to be expressed in cerebral ischemia and contribute to the ischemic damage induced by postischemic inflammation. Microglia, resident brain inflammatory cells, also become activated in cerebral ischemia and release several inflammatory mediators, such as NO, tumor necrosis factor-a, interleukin-1b, and glutamate. 5-7)The flower buds of Buddleja officinalis MAXIM (Loganiaceae) are used to treat stroke, headache, and neurological disorders in traditional Korean medicine. 8) B. officinalis contains terpenoids, flavonoids, phenylethanoids, and saponins, 9) and has been reported to protect PC12 cells from apoptosis and the oxidative stress induced by the 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP ϩ ), 10) as well as to inhibit eicosanoid generation by leukocytes. 11)In the present study, the neuroprotective effects of the methanol extract of B. officinalis (BOME) and of its fractions were studied in ischemic brain injury using a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) rat model. We also investigated whether BOME inhibits the inductions of COX-2, OX-42 and iNOS in vivo and LPS-stimulated NO production in mouse BV2 microglial cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS Preparation of Plant ExtractsThe flower buds of B. officinalis were purchased at the Kyungdong Oriental drug store (Seoul, Korea). Dried buds (800 g) were extracted by sonication using an 85% methanol aqueous mix. The 85% methanol filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to give the methanol extract (BOME; 99.26 g, 12.41%). The extract was then fractioned sequentially into water (BOWF; 22.4 g, 2.8%), butanol (BOBF; 1.32 g, 0.16%), ethyl acetate (BOEF; 12.68 g, 1.56%), and hexane (BOHF; 14.35 g, 1.36%). Samples were dried in vacuo and stored at Ϫ20°C until required for neuroprotective assessment.Samples Treatment Samples were dispersed in an aqueous solution of Tween 20 (5% w/v) and administered orally at a dosage of 100 mg/kg at 30 min before the onset of MCAo and 2 h after the surgery. Rats in the control group received vehicle in...

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Background/aims:Gelidium elegans (GE) is known to have antiobesity effects and beneficial effects on functional bowel symptoms in preclinical studies. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of GE intake on bowel symptoms in obese human adults.Methods:This 12-week single-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study was performed from September 2016 to May 2017. Consecutive obese subjects were randomly assigned (1:1) to either GE (1 g) or placebo (1 g) once daily group for 12 weeks. Patients’ bowel symptoms were evaluated using the Bristol Stool Form Scale, Constipation Scoring System (CSS), and Patient Assessment of Constipation-Symptoms (PAC-SYM) questionnaire.Results:The stool symptom score of PAC-SYM significantly improved in the GE group compared with the placebo group after the 12-week treatment (P = .041). Abdominal discomfort score of CSS significantly decreased at 12 weeks compared to that at baseline in the GE group (P = .003), but not in the placebo group (P = .398). In addition, abdominal discomfort score of CSS slightly decreased in the GE group compared with the placebo group after the 12-week treatment (P = .060). However, stool consistency, total CSS score, and PAC-SYM score did not change significantly in both GE group and the placebo group over the 12-week treatment period.Conclusions:GE treatment for 12 weeks improved the stool symptom score on the PAC-SYM and abdominal discomfort score on the CSS in obese adults. However, further research is needed in large-scale human studies.