• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was carried out to analyze the single-dose toxicity of Eun-Bi San pharmacopuncture injected into the muscle of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Methods: All experiments were performed at Biotoxtech, an institution certified to conduct non-clinical studies under the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations. Six week old SD rats reared by ORIENTBIO were chosen for this pilot study. The reason SD rats were chosen is that they have been widely used in safety tests in the field of medicine, so the results can be easily compared with many other databases. The Eun-Bi San pharmacopuncture was made in a clean room at the Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute (KPI, K-GMP). The constituents of the Eun-Bi San pharmacopuncture are Angelicae gigantis radix, Strychni semen and Glycyrrhizae radix. These were extracted at low temperature and low pressure in an aseptic room at the KPI. Doses of Eun-Bi San pharmacopuncture, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mL, were administered to the experimental groups, and a dose of normal saline solution, 1.0 mL, was administered to the control group. This study was performed under the approval of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee of Biotoxtech Co., Ltd. Results: No deaths or abnormalities occurred in any of the four groups. No significant changes in weight, hematological parameters or clinical chemistry between the control group and the experimental groups were observed. To determine if abnormalities existed in any organs and tissues, we used microscopy to examine representative histological sections of each specified organ; the results showed no significant differences in any of the organs or tissues. Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that treatment with Eun-Bi San pharmacopuncture is relatively safe and that its clinical use may be beneficial. Further evaluations and studies on this subject will be needed to provide more concrete evidence in support of these conclusions.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.197-208
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• 2015

Objectives : The purposes of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of Social Communication Questionnaire (K-SCQ) and to determine cut-off scores for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods : A total of 166 subjects with ASD and their 186 unaffected siblings were recruited through child psychiatry clinics of university hospitals. Board certified child psychiatrists screened all probands suspected to have ASD based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. To confirm the diagnoses, the Korean versions of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (K-ADI-R) were administered to all the subjects. All parents completed the K-SCQ and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). The non-ASD siblings were evaluated with the same instruments as the probands with ASD. We performed a factor analysis to examine the structure of K-SCQ. For testing the validity of K-SCQ, we compared the difference in Lifetime and Current scores of probands with ASD and their non-ASD siblings using t-test and analysis of covariance. Correlations between the K-SCQ and other measurements of ASD symptomatology, including K-ADI-R totals and domain scores and SRS, were examined. Receiver operation characteristic curve analysis was performed to extract cutoff scores discriminating affection status. Results : Four factors were extracted through factor analysis of K-SCQ ; 1) social relation and play, 2) stereotyped behavior, 3) social behavior, and 4) abnormal language. Cronbach's internal consistency was .95 in K-SCQ Lifetime, and .93 in K-SCQ Current. There were significant differences in total score of K-SCQ, both in Lifetime and Current between the ASD group and non-ASD siblings group (p<.05). K-SCQ scores were significantly correlated with K-ADI-R subdomain scores and SRS total scores (p<.05). The best-estimate cut-off scores of K-SCQ for diagnosis of ASD were 12 for 48 months and over, and 10 for below 47 months. Conclusion : Our findings suggest that the K-SCQ is a reliable and valid instrument for screening autistic symptoms in the Korean population. Lower cut-off scores than the original English version might be considered when using it as a screening instrument of ASD.