Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by increased hemolysis which results in plasma heme overload and ultimately cardiovascular complications. Here, we hypothesized that increased heme in SCD causes upregulation of heme oxygenase 1 (Hmox1) which consequently drives cardiomyopathy through ferroptosis, an iron-dependent non-apoptotic form of cell death. First, we demonstrated that the Townes SCD mice had higher levels of hemopexin-free heme in the serum and increased cardiomyopathy, which was corrected by hemopexin supplementation. Cardiomyopathy in SCD mice was associated with upregulation of cardiac Hmox1, and inhibition or induction of Hmox1 improved or worsened cardiac damage, respectively. Since free iron, a product of heme degradation through Hmox1, has been implicated in toxicities including ferroptosis, we evaluated the downstream effects of elevated heme in SCD. Consistent with Hmox1 upregulation and iron overload, levels of lipid peroxidation and ferroptotic markers increased in SCD mice, which were corrected by hemopexin administration. Moreover, ferroptosis inhibitors decreased cardiomyopathy, whereas a ferroptosis inducer erastin exacerbated cardiac damage in SCD and induced cardiac ferroptosis in non-sickling mice. Finally, inhibition or induction of Hmox1 decreased or increased cardiac ferroptosis in SCD mice, respectively. Together, our results identify ferroptosis as a key mechanism of cardiomyopathy in SCD.

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Objectives: These cases are that of three girls who are diagnosed as precocious puberty. It seems that the incidence of precocious puberty is rapidly increasing these days. In addition to the psychosocial disturbances associated with precocious puberty, the premature pubertal growth spurt and the accelerated bone maturation result in reduced adult height. The aim of this study was to report the effect of Jowisengchung-tang in 3 cases of precocious puberty.Methods: Retrospective and comparative analysis of 3 children who had been diagnosed with preco cious puberty. Anthropometric measurements including height, weight, body fat, body fat percent, AHP and body mass index were measured. Endocrine investigations including estradiol, luteinizing hormone(LH), FSH were conducted. Pubertal stages were determined with a questionnaire using Tanner stages. Jowisengchung-tang was given to 3 precocious puberty girls.Results: After treatment, the hormone(estradiol index) and accompanying symptoms (breast bud with elevation of breast and papilla; enlargement of areola) were reduced compared with first visit day.Conclusions: We may conclude that Korean traditional treatment of Jowisengchung -tang is effective in patients with precocious puberty and menopausal symptoms.

Background This study aimed to obtain the symptom, prescription and therapeutic patterns for the treatment of patients with menopausal syndrome in major Korean medicine (KM) hospitals. Methods We used a retrospective chart review of climacteric disorder and postmenopausal syndrome patients by examining medical records (ICD-10, menopausal and female climacteric states: N95.1, Menopausal and perimenopausal disorder, unspecified: N95.9) from eight university KM hospitals in South Korea. Results The main symptoms of 1,682 patients with menopausal disorders visiting eight college-affiliated oriental medicine hospitals were hot flush, hyperhidrosis, fatigue, insomnia, and chest tightness. Guipi decoction, Si-wu guipi decoction, Qing-xin lianzi-yin, Jiawei xiao-yao-san and Guipi wen-dan decoction were the most commonly prescribed treatments for menopausal disorders. Patients were most often treated with a combination of herbal medicine and acupuncture. Conclusion Our study shows that the current prescribed herbal medicines were used for treating menopausal disorders in Korean medicine hospitals. However, the objectivity of the efficacy assessment should be studied further.

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the effects of Trogopterorum Faeces on the apoptostic cell death in breast cancer cells.Methods: In the experiment, the effects of Trogopterorum Faeces on proliferation rates and type of cell death were investigated using MCF-7 cells in vitro. The effects on expression levels of caspase 3 and caspase 9 were also investigated.Results: The effects on expression levels of caspase 3 and caspase 9 were also investigated. In the present results, treatment with Trogopterorum Faeces decreased proliferation rates in a dose dependent manner. ID 50 (50 % inhibitory dosage) was 177.2 μg/ml. In addition, treatment with Trogopterorum Faeces increased percentage of apoptotic cells. Finally the expression level of caspase 3 and caspase 9 were elevated by treatment with Trogopterorum Faeces respectively.Conclusions: This study suggests that Trogopterorum Faeces can trigger caspase dependent apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.