Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate how Cortex Phellodendri affects metabolic functional change in an experimental rat model of obesity.Methods: An obesity model was induced in a C57BL/6 mouse with a high-fat diet. Mice were divided into three groups (n=6) of normal diet, high-fat diet (=control), and high-fat diet with Cortex Phellodendri. After 12 weeks, we measured the three mice groups’ body weight, FBG, FBI, HOMA-IR, OGTT, the weight of epididymal fat and liver, the percentage of ATM, and the gene expression of TNF-α, IL-10, and CD68.Results: Cortex Phellodendri significantly reduced blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance levels. It also reduced ATM numbers and TNF-α and CD68 gene expression and increased IL-10 gene expression.Conclusions: This study suggests that Cortex Phellodendri normalized the blood glucose and reduced the expression of inflammatory markers. However, with respect to other indicators of metabolic function in obesity, there were no significant results.

Objectives: Buja and Cheono, containing aconitine known for its cardiotoxicity, are not commonly prescribed, but they are necessary for some clinical conditions. Hence, consequences for electrocardiography (EKG) after short- and long-term dosage of herbal medicine including Buja and Cheono are here reported.Methods: From September 2014 to April 2015, 36 patients belonging to the sixth internal medicine department of the Dong Eui Oriental Medicine Hospital took herbal medicine including Buja and Cheono, and after these doses, they underwent an EKG. Thirty-one patients who took the medicine for 7-8 days comprised the short-term group, and 18 patients taking the medicine for 17-106 days comprised the long-term group. The results of the EKGs for each group, before and after dosage with herbal medicine, are compared.Results: No significant changes in EKG appeared in either the short- or the long-term group after taking herbal medicine including Buja and Cheono.Conclusions: If Buja or Cheono are prescribed along with other suitable herbs by a doctor of Korean medicine, no cardiac trouble will occur on an EKG regardless of the term of the dosage.

Objectives: Given current vaccinations against the hepatitis B virus and changes in dietary lifestyles, the status of liver disorders, especially in the younger population, is different than it was in the past. This study aimed to discover the prevalence of the HBsAg positive and abnormal hepatic enzyme among college students.Methods: The study analyzed the medical examinations of 2,646 college students that were performed at Semyung University from March to September 2013.Results: A total of 11 out of 2,646 students (0.4%) showed as positive for the hepatitis B antigen, while 23.8% of students had the serum HBs antibody. A total of 212 students (8.0%) showed abnormally elevated serum levels of ALT, with significant differences between men and women. The prevalence of the abnormal serum ALT and its average value significantly increased according to an increase of BMI score, especially in male students.Conclusions: This study showed the importance of obesity as a causative factor in liver disorders, especially in the young generation. This finding will be useful for the development of therapeutics using Korean medicine in the future.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the change of area and average velocity of the center of pressure (COP) according to gait improvement in post-stroke hemiplegic patients.Methods: We measured the area and the average velocity of COP displacement of ten post-stroke hemiplegic patients while they stood quietly on a force plate at the time of dependent and independent gait . We also measured the area and the average velocity of COP displacement of normal persons to verify differences between them and post-stroke hemiplegic patients.Results: The area of COP displacement decreased significantly, and the average velocity of COP displacement tended to decrease, but not significantly. There were significant differences in the area and the average velocity of COP displacement between post-stroke hemiplegic patients and normal persons.Conclusions: The results of this study show that postural control ability improves as gait improves.

Objectives Hataedock is an orally administered herbal extract treatment for newborn babies that dispels toxic heat and meconium gathered by the fetus. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether Hataedock alleviates inflammatory skin damage in AD (Atopic Dermatitis)-induced NC/Nga mice through regulating and maintaining the skin barrier and anti-inflammation effects.Methods We established an AD model in three-week-old NC/Nga mice through the repeated application of DNFB (dinitrochlorobenzene) on days 28, 35, and 42 after Hataedock treatment was orally administered. We identified changes in the skin barrier and anti-inflammation effects through the histological and immunohistochemical changes of TNF- α, NF-κB p65, iNOS, COX-2, and apoptotic bodies.Results Skin damage and angiogenesis were mitigated in the HT (Hataedock) group. Damage to the intercellular space of the stratum corneum as well as hyperplasia, edema, the infiltration of lymphocytes, and the increase of capillaries decreased in the HT group. Our results suggest that Hataedock treatment significantly down-regulated levels of TNF- α by 38% (p<0.001) and of NF-κB p65 by 70% (p<0.001). But Hataedock up-regulated apoptosis by 183% in dermatitis-induced skin.Conclusions These results suggest that Hataedock alleviates AD through diminishing the various inflammatory cytokines in skin lesions that are involved in the initial steps of AD development. It might have potential applications for the prevention and treatment of atopic dermatitis.

Objectives This study was conducted to report the safety of vomit-inducing treatment (Tu Fa, 吐法) by Melonis Calyx, particularly with respect to clinical features and liver and kidney functions.Methods Patients treated with Melonis Calyx powder between September 2013 and September 2014 were assessed retrospectively.Results Less than 3 grams of Melonis Calyx powder can induce mild abdominal discomfort and produce no harmful effects on liver and kidney functions.Conclusions Through this study, a vomit-inducing treatment using less than 3 grams of Melonis Calyx can be considered safe enough to be used in clinics, with a cautious approach with respect to dehydration.

The bark of Magnolia officinalis has been used in traditional oriental medicine to treat a variety of mental disorders including anxiety and depression. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of M. officinalis ethanol extract on stress-induced alterations in learning and cognitive function using a passive avoidance test (PAT) and also on anxiety-related behavior using the elevated plus-maze test (EPM) in female rats . The degree of Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the region of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the locus coeruleus (LC) was measured using an immunohistochemical method. Corticosterone concentrations in serum were also measured. The ethanol extract from Magnolia officinalis was orally administered to female rats 30 minutes before evaluating their immobilization stress and anxiety-related behavior using an elevated plus-maze test and a passive avoidance test. Time spent in the open arms of the EPM increased in the M. officinalis-treated group compared with that of the saline-treated control group. In the passive avoidance test, the memory and cognitive function improved in the M. officinalis extract-treated group. M. officinalis extracts reduced elevated corticosterone concentrations in serum. Also, stress-induced TH increases were suppressed in the M. officinalis extract-treated group in the LC and the VTA region. These results suggest that M. officinalis might prove to be an effective anxiolytic anti-stress agent.

Objectives This study investigated the effect of purified safflower (Carthamus tinctorius Linne) and safflower seed (Carthamus tinctorius L. seed; CS) extract, using hot water and ethanol extract methods , on the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3E1 cells.Methods The safflower and safflower seed were extracted with hot water and ethanol. The samples were concentrated by a rotary evaporator and then freeze-dried using a freeze-dryer. The MC3T3E1 cells were propagated and maintained in DMEM (Gibco) containing 10% FBS and a 1% antibiotic antimycotic solution. To induce osteogenic differentiation, the cells were treated for 14 days with DMEM with 10 mM β-glycerophosphate and 50 μM ascorbic acid. Extract doses were confirmed by the results of an MTT assay, and treatment of the extracts was performed in a differentiation medium every two days. The ALP staining and activity were tested after osteogenic differentiation for five days, and after 14 days, osteogenic differentiation was determined by alizarin red S staining. The mRNA expressions of osteogenic-related genes were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR.Results In the results of the MTT assay, all concentrations of safflower extracts had no toxicity in the MC3T3El cells. But in the groups of 100 ng/ml and 200 ng/ml concentrations of safflower seed extracts, the cell viability was significantly reduced by up to 40-50%. So we fixed the treatment concentration of the extract at 50 ng/ml. In the ALP and alizarin red S staining, all extract groups increased osteogenic differentiation compared with the control group. The water-safflower extract group showed the highest mRNA level of Alp, Runx2, and Dlx5 genes. The mRNA level of Ocn, an osteogenic gene related to late-stage differentiation, in the ethanol-safflower extract group increased the mineralization more significantly than in other groups.Conclusions These data suggest that the extract of safflower increases the osteoblastic differentiation activates of MC3T3E1 cells like the extract of safflower seed. The water-extract and ethanol-extract of safflower have effects on different stages of osteogenesis in MC3T3El. Not only safflower seed but also safflower will be useful therapeutic reagents for age-associated chronic diseases such as osteoporosis.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between gastric emptying measured by ultrasonography and Korean medical instruments of diagnosis and assessment in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. Among the subgroups of FD, postprandial distress syndrome (PDS) is related to gastric motility disorder.Methods Ten patients with FD and particularly with PDS as well as 10 healthy controls were enrolled in the study from September to November 2015. The gastric emptying shown as the half-life of gastric volume (T_1/2) was measured by ultrasonography. The severities of spleen qi deficiency and dyspepsia symptoms were assessed by a spleen qi deficiency questionnaire (SQDQ) and the Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean version (NDI-K), respectively. In addition, a food retention questionnaire (FRQ), a damum questionnaire (DQ), a cold and heat questionnaire (CHQ), a deficiency and excess questionnaire (DEQ), and a visual analogue scale (VAS) of distention and fullness were completed by every participant.Results In comparison with the control group, the FD group showed significantly higher scores for the SQDQ, NDI-K, FRQ, DQ, DEQ, and VAS of distention and fullness. T_1/2 was also significantly higher in the FD group than in the control group. There were significant correlations between T_1/2 and the SQDQ score. However, there were no significant correlations between T1/2 and other questionnaire scores except for one item of the NDI-K.Conclusions According to these findings, it was determined that measuring gastric emptying using ultrasonography could be a quantitative indicator to diagnose spleen qi deficiency in FD patients.

Objectives In this study, we divided Korean asthma patients into excess syndrome or deficiency syndrome groups according to clinical phenotype. Genetic analysis was conducted to investigate the association of exonic SNPs in the CD46 gene polymorphism with the clinical phenotype based on the differentiation syndrome of the bronchial asthma patients.Methods There were 95 healthy patients (control group) and 53 asthma patients. (The deficiency syndrome group included 24 and the excess syndrome group 29). We searched the exonic areas of the CD46 gene in the NCBI website SNPs with <0.01 minor allele frequency (MAF) and <0.01 heterozygosity. We finally selected two SNPs: rs138843816, Ser13Phe and rs7144, 3’-UTR. Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was calculated using SNPStats.Results There were significant differences in the codominant 1 model and the dominant model between the healthy group and the asthma group. There were significant differences between deficiency syndrome group and the excess syndrome group in the genotype frequencies and in the codominant 1 model, the dominant model, and the log-additive model. The allele frequency of rs7144C showed a significant difference between the deficiency syndrome group and the excess syndrome group. Two-SNP haplotype analysis showed a significant difference in frequency in the deficiency syndrome group and in the excess syndrome group. There were significant differences between the healthy group and the excess syndrome group in the codominant 1 model, the dominant model, and the log-additive model. The frequency of the rs7144 C allele exhibited a significant difference in the demonstration. SNP haplotype analysis between the healthy group and the excess syndrome group showed a significant difference in the frequency of the CT haplotype and the CC haplotype.Conclusions The results indicate that two CD46 SNPs (rs138843816, Ser13Phe and rs7144, 3′–UTR) might be associated with the symptomatic excess syndrome in Korean asthma patients.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to improve the knowledge of the low-level laser therapy (LLLT) field and to review research reports on LLLT to understand the current situation with respect to the clinical indication and current research trends.Methods A survey was carried out on the subject of low-level laser therapy to September 2012, using the PubMed search engine. Selected literature was checked by two reviewers and was classified according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th (ICD-10) over 10 years.Results We selected 469 studies in total, of which 142 were case reports, 118 were case-controlled trials, and 209 were randomized controlled trials of LLLT. According to the ICD-10 classification of diseases, the K code and M code being the most common, 399 studies have been published in the last 10 years. This shows that the study and clinical indications of low-level laser therapy have rapidly increased over the past 10 years.Conclusions Low-level laser therapy has been used most frequently with respect to dentistry and pain and musculoskeletal disorders. Recently, interest in and research into LLLT has increased for various diseases. With the establishment of standard conditions for low-level laser therapy, supported by aggressive clinical utilization and systematic clinical research, LLLT will be a very useful treatment and a useful alternative method in many medical fields.

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the experimental studies which was performed by single or complex herbal medicines on hypothyroidism.Methods I searched the domestic experimental studies about single or complex herbal medicines’ effects on hypothyroidism that published since 2000 on 4 Korean databases by keywords, ‘thyroid gland’, ‘hypofunction’, ‘hypothyroidism’.Results 11 single herbal medicines and 9 complex herbal medicines in 20 experimental studies have reported their effectiveness and safetiness in PTU-induced hypothyroidism rats by evaluating the changes of several biochemical and hematological indexes.Conclusions In order to make new and more effective medicines on hypothyroidism, there should be further studies by using combinations of herbal medicines and the differences of their mechanisms.