• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.183-195
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• 2007

Objectives : To determine whether individualized acupuncture (IA) provides greater pain relief and improved function compared with standardized acupuncture (SA) in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Methods: Design is a randomized single blind controlled trial with two intervention arms (IA vs SA) of 6 weeks' duration and 3 months follow up. An orthopedist diagnosed 50 patients' symptoms as knee osteoarthritis. Interventions were applied by 2 residents studying the acupuncture and moxibustion specially in Dongguk University International Hospital. Primary outcome measure is pain as measured by visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary measures of pain and disability include WOMAC, SF-36, LFI and KHAQ. Results : The 50 participants were well matched for age, sex, bad side, VAS, WOMAC, SF-36, LFI and KHAQ scores at the baseline. 3 participants dropped out. There have not been any adverse events in both groups. Participants in both groups experienced great improvement in all measures except SF-36at 3 and 6 weeks. At 18 weeks, the IA group experienced significantly greater improvement than the SA group in VAS but not in WOMAC, SF-36, LFI and KHAQ. Conclusions : Manipulation of IA seems to provide pain relief longer for osteoarthritis of the knee when compared with SA.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.143-154
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cervical acupotomy & acupunture on facial&trigemial nerve branch for peripheral facial paralysis and postauricular pain. Methods : We investigated 30 patients with peripheral facial paralysis who had visited at Department of Acupuncture & Moxibustion Medicine of Korean Medicine Hospital of Dong-Eui University from April 1st, 2013 to April 30th, 2014. Group A was treated by acupuncture and pharmacopuncture on facial&trigemial nerve branch and Cervical acupotomy and group B was treated by acupuncture and pharmacopuncture on routine facial paralysis acupuncture point without acupotomy. Results : The improvement of Yanagihara's score in group A is higher than group B during every period. The improvement of VAS score in group A is higher than group B during every period. Conclusions : These results suggest that cervical acupotomy and acupunture on facial & trigemial nerve branch may be effective for peripheral facial paralysis and postauricular pain.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.109-119
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• 2014

Objectives : The aim of this study is to observe clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of inpatients admitted to a Korean medicine hospital for shoulder pain based on magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) findings. Methods : 28 patients with MRI data were included. Data on MRI findings, duration of pain, and treatment effects were collected. To measure treatment outcomes, verbal numerical rating scale(VNRS), range of motion(ROM), and a clinical condition grading system were used. Results : 1. The patient population was 75.0 % female and 39.3 %(n=11) belonged to the 51~60-year-old age group. In the under 40 population, 1 or less MRI findings were found. 2. As for the type of disorder, 82.1 % of the patients were diagnosed with 'Supraspinatus lesion', 39.3 % with 'subacromial-subdeltoid(SA-SA) bursitis', and 28.6 % with 'Adhesive capsulitis' 3. Numerous correlations could be made between duration of pain and MRI findings. 'rotator cuff full thickness tear' was more prevalent in acute shoulder pain patients, and 'Adhesive capsulitis' in chronic patients. 4. VNRS and ROM at the time of discharge had significantly improved as compared to VNRS and ROM at the time of admission. 5. As for correlation between MRI findings and clinical condition grade, patients diagnosed with 'rotator cuff partial tear' reported to be in 'good' condition or better whereas those with 'rotator cuff full thickness tear' reported to be in 'fair' condition or worse. Conclusions : Patients admitted to a Korean Medicine hospital for shoulder pain had varying degrees of severity as shown on MRI. Almost all lesions responded well to Korean medicine treatment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.81-97
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study is analyzing the current research methodology of pharmacopucture for the treatment of animal cancer models. Methods : Four electronic databases were searched for animal studies published from January 2000 to September 2014 onward using these search terms "cancer, anticancer, pharmacopuncture, beevenom". Selected articles were described about animal cancer models. The methods used to induce cancer and the outcome measures used to assess the effects of pharmacopuncture on animal cancer models were analyzed. Results : 37 articles were included. For producing animal cancer models BALB/C mice(n=22) and C57BL/6 mice(n=17) were selected. And intravenous injection of B16-F10 melanoma cells into tail vein(n=14) or intraperitoneal injection of sarcoma-180 cells(n=14) were frequently used to induce cancer. Various pharmacopunctures were injected into acupoints $CV_{12}(n=19)$, $ST_{36}(n=8)$, $BL_{18}(n=8)$ or peritoneal cavity(n=6), tumor site(n=2), tail vein(n=2). Outcome measures were categorized into anti-cancer, anti-metastasis, general condition, cytotoxicity, immune response, toxicity. Median Survival Time(MST) and increase of life span(ILS)(n=26) was frequently used for evaluating anti-cancer effects. And pulmonary colonization assay(n=13) was frequently used for evaluating anti-metastasis effects Conclusions : Based on these data, further research would be needed to ascertain the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture for treating cancer and broaden the range of clinical applications.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.79-98
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• 2007

Objectives : The study of Traditional Korean medical therapy has recently become a popular academic field as proven to be an great alternative to the limitation of Western medical treatment. However, there has been little study examining the Quality of life to investigate the Effectiveness of Recent Traditional Korean Medical Therapy on Treating Allergic Rhinitis. Thus, this study aims to reveal the characteristics of Allergic Rhinitis patients, their clinical symptoms, and other accompanying diseases. Moreover, it attempts to investigate the sense of improvement and satisfaction from the Allergic Rhinitis patients treated with Traditional Korean Medical therapy by examining Quality of Life Questionnaires. Subject and Method : A total of 380 subjects that consists of allergic rhinitis patients and non patients were participated in this study. 330 allergic rhinitis patients were divided into two groups; the experimental group (230 subjects) was treated with Traditional Korean Medical therapy, and the control group (100 subjects) was not treated with any other therapy. Also, the normal control group (50 subjects) who had no symptoms of the allergic rhinitis was participated in this study as well. All the subjects were asked to answer to the questionaries that consist of two parts such as recalling the symptoms that they had 3 month ago, and describing the current symptoms that they had the present. The experimental group also was asked to answer the quality of life questionnaire before and after the therapy. Results: The results of investigating recent Traditional Korean therapy are as follows: 1. The reservoir rate of other disease was 39.0% in the control group and 34.8% in the experimental group. These were higher than the rate of the normal control (10.0%), which reveals the clinical characteristics of allergic rhinitis patients. 2. The symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis showed improvement after Traditional Korean medical therapy, which can be shown by its statistical significance. (p=.000<.001). 3. 97.0% of the Allergic Rhinitis patients treated with the Korean Therapy answered the improvement of symptom within 4 weeks, and 88.3% of the patients were satisfied with the Traditional Korean medical therapy. 4. The Nasal symptoms had prominently positive effect at the most as the symptoms significantly affect sleep disturbances, ocular symptoms, activity limitation, and emotional problems.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.197-205
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• 2016

Objectives : To report the clinical application and safety of Traditional Korean Medical treatment for patients with low back pain during pregnancy. Methods : Three patients who suffered from low back pain during pregnancy were treated with acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine for 12 to 21 days. Numeric rating scale (NRS) of low back pain and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were checked to measure the outcome. A liver function and renal function test was carried out to identify any drug-induced liver or renal injury, and any adverse events were monitored thoroughly until delivery. Results : Low back pain reduced on NRS in all cases, and no serious adverse effects were found in the patients or infants. Conclusion : This study suggests that Traditional Korean Medical treatment is a candidate therapy for relieving low back pain during pregnancy, and also is safe for both patients and infants.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.129-144
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• 2016

Objectives : This study aims to review the actual use of acupuncture manipulation in clinical trials and to discuss the directions of studies, to be conducted in the future. Methods : Through five search engines, clinical trial papers were collected, which had involved the use of acupuncture treatment since 2001 when STRICTA was published. The selected papers were classified based on whether acupuncture manipulation and De-Qi were stated. The comparison status of domestic and foreign, status by year, target diseases, and therapeutic interventions were also investigated. Results : 54 % domestic and 69 % foreign papers mentioned acupuncture manipulation or De-Qi. Among them, acupuncture manipulation was used in 40 % domestic and 53 % foreign papers. There was no significant difference around 2010 when the revised edition of STRICTA was published. The use of acupuncture manipulation was the highest in studies that targeted musculoskeletal disorders. Besides that, the use of acupuncture manipulation was higher in cases where acupuncture was used for therapeutic interventions than it was for basic manipulation or combination therapy. Conclusion : Compared to the importance of acupuncture manipulation and De-Qi, there was actually a smaller number of papers that clearly suggested information on acupuncture manipulation and De-Qi. The reason is considered to be a lack of studies to establish the mechanism and effectiveness of each acupuncture manipulation method and studies that objectified the amount of stimulation incurred by the acupuncture manipulation methods. It is necessary to properly utilize acupuncture manipulation by actively conducting these studies.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.79-87
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• 2010

Objectives : The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Hominis Placenta pharmacopuncture therapy and sweet bee venom therapy on peripheral facial paralysis. Methods : Clinical studies were done 36 patients who were treated peripheral facial paralysis to Dept. of Acupuncture and Moxibusition, of Oriental Medicine Dong-Eui University from June 15, 2009 to January 5, 2010. Subjects were randomly divided into 2 groups. : Hominis Placenta Pharmacopuncture treated group (group A, n=18), sweet bee venom treated group (group B, n=18). In group A, we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and Hominis Placenta pharmacopuncture therapy. In group B, we treated patients with dry needle acupuncture and sweet bee venom therapy. All process of treatment were performed by double blinding method. To investigate the effectiveness of treatment applied for two groups, we used Yanagihara's unweighed grading system at before treatment, after 1week, 2weeks, 3weeks and 4weeks of treatment. Results : The Yanagihara's scores of group B were higher than those of group A, but not statistically significant. The improvement indexs of group A and group B were different, but not statistically significant. Conclusions : There were no significant differences statistically between Hominis Placenta pharmacopuncture therapy and sweet bee venom therapy on peripheral facial paralysis.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.133-147
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• 2009

Objectives : To review RCTs on acupuncture treatment for low back pain in order to establish a standard acupuncture treatment model in treating low back pain. Methods : RCT articles on traditional acupuncture treatment for low back pain were searched through online database. Study Quality was assessed using the FEAS. Results : Ten out of the one hundred six articles searched were reviewed. Among the ten articles reviewed, six articles compared acupuncture treatment with no treatment or non-penetrating sham acupuncture. All six articles concluded significantly positive effect of acupuncture compared to the control. Conclusions : The ideal acupuncture treatment model for low back pain was obtained as follows. A sterile disposable stainless steel(0.30mm${\times}$40mm) should be inserted to more than six acupuncture points on the BL, GV and GB meridians such as $BL_23$, $BL_25$, $BL_40$, $BL_60$, $GV_4$ and $GB_30$. Sparrow pecking method to obtain 'de-qi' is recommended and repeated stimulation during the 20 minute retention time is necessary. Ideal treatment frequency would be more than one a week for about 7 weeks.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.121-136
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• 2016

Objectives : Despite various treatment for Shoulder-hand syndrome being presented, only a few studies that examine the direct efficacy of acupuncture exist. The aim of this study is to establish a base for further research by reviewing studies on acupuncture treatment for Shoulder-hand syndrome. Methods : Clinical studies involving the effects of acupuncture for Shoulder-hand syndrome, published on July 19th 2016, were obtained from Pubmed, RISS, OASIS, the Journal of Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the Journal of Korean institute of pharmacopuncture, the Korean Journal of Acupuncture, NDSL, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, DBpia, and KISS. Selected studies were evaluated by the Jadad scale and FEAS. Results : Among a total of two hundred and fifteen articles, thirteen articles (RCT 9, SR 1, Meta analysis 1, CCT 1 article, Case series 1) that meet the criteria were selected. Among 13 articles, one article was published in Korea. And apart from this one article, twelve studies were published in China. All studies reported that the experimental group treated by acupuncture had significantly better effects compared to the control group. However, the overall quality assessment of the studies is low. Conclusion : Despite several limitations, various studies to prove limited yet effective acupuncture treatment on Shoulder-hand syndrome provides much significance. Subsequent studies conducted by the complementary systematic review of the studies and well-designed clinical trials using the methodological quality will be needed to more firmly validate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on Shoulder-hand syndrome.