• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1-11
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• 2002

Objective : Korean medicine treatment method is noted as alternative in treating traffic accidents(TA) victims recently. The main purpose of this research is to make a survey of the effective way of the Korean medicine treatment about TA victims. Methods : In following research, 389 cases of traffic victims who hospitalized in the Youngsaeng Korean Medicine Hospital & Youngsaeng Clinic from March 1, 2001 to November 30, 2001 were surveyed. The research is focused on finding out the distribution, such as sex and age, damaged part of the body of 389 TA victims, nature of damage of 389 TA victims, chief complaint of 389 TA victims, nature of damage by Korean medicine code classification, treatment given to 389 TA victims, Extract(Ex) medicine given to 389 TA victims, days in hospital of 389 TA victims. Results : The patients reached korean medicine hospital in fewer numbers from most of TA victims. As neck pain and L-spin sprain, most of symptoms was light and the treatment of medicine as well was limited for TA. The treatment method which was used for treating TA was acupuncture, cupping therapy, physical therapy, Ex medicine. Few ways could use the Ex medicine as well. Conclusions : The achieving rate of treatment was marked highly by using Haenggi(行氣) Hwalhyeol(活血) Guyea(祛瘀) and we confirmed a possibility for the treatment of TA in korean medicine treatment method. It needs to increase all kinds of treatment-ways which can treat successfully and needs to come into application of insurance. Korean medicine method will have possibility to take part in TA injury admission, by presenting basis to prove effectiveness of treatment-ways.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze clinical studies on effectiveness of herbal medicine in refractory nephrotic syndrome (RNS). Methods We searched the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with herbal medicine treatment on RNS from the Pubmed, CNKI, OASIS, NDSL, J-stage, and CiNii. The demographic data, duration of illness, intervention, treatment period, outcome, adverse events, and composition of herbal medicine were analyzed for this study. Results 11 RCT studies were selected and analyzed. The children in the control group were given western medicine therapy, and the treatment group was given herbal medicine along with the same western medicine of the control group. The most commonly used herbal medicines were the prescriptions to treat 'Kidney Deficiency with Blood Stasis (腎虛兼瘀血)' which composed of 'Promoting blood circulation (化瘀)', 'Diuresis-inducing (利水)', or 'Heating Yang (溫陽)' medicine based on 'Replenishing Kidney or Spleen (補腎, 補脾)' medicine. In the treatment group, proteinuria and serum lipid was significantly decreased, serum albumin was significantly increased, and total effective rate was significantly higher than the control group. Hypercoagulation and relapse rate was also significantly reduced. Adverse events were significantly lower in the treatment group. Conclusions Herbal medicine treatment on pediatric RNS can be suggested as a new treatment for children who have less response to the conventional therapy. It can also supplement the limitations of the western medicine by reducing adverse events from the steroids and immuno-suppressive agents, and lower the relapse rate as well.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.43-52
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• 2017

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare the impact of exercise with that of functional electrical stimulation (FES) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on muscle tone, calf muscle stiffness, and balance ability in patients with stroke. METHODS: Thirty patients with stroke were randomly divided into an FES group (n=15) and a TENS group (n=15), and a progressive task-oriented exercise was assigned to them. These exercises were performed non-synchronously from December 5, 2016 to January 31, 2017. Patients underwent TENS and simultaneously exercised for 30 minutes daily, 5 times a week for 4 weeks. To determine the effect of the interventions, muscle tone and stiffness of the medial and lateral region of gastrocnemius muscle were measured using the MyotonPRO instrument and balance was assessed using the Berg Balance Scale. RESULTS: Both groups revealed a significant decrease in muscle tone and stiffness of the medial part of gastrocnemius muscle before and after the interventions (p<.05). Berg Balance Scale scores increased significantly (p<.05). However, none of the other parameters were significantly different (p>.05). CONCLUSION: Our results prove that progressive task-oriented exercise along with FES and TENS decreases muscle tone and stiffness of the gastrocnemius muscle in patients with stroke and improves balance. TENS could serve as a complementary replacement for functional electrical stimulation for in-house training, as TENS poses less risk of muscle fatigue and has lesser contraindications than does functional electrical stimulation.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.147-153
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• 2019

Objectives: Many studies have been reported the efficacy of intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) as an antidote on acute lipophilic drug toxicity. Clozapine, highly lipophilic dibenzodiazepine neuroleptics, is an important medication in the schizophrenia therapy regimen. Acute intoxication with antipsychotics is one of the main reasons for the referral of poisoned patients to the hospital. We expected that ILE could be used for the therapy of acute clozapine intoxicated patients. Methods: We used two groups of consisting of six male rats. Both groups received a toxic dose of clozapine (40 mg/kg) intravenously, via the tail vein. After 15 minutes, they were treated with intravenous infusion of 18.6 mg/kg normal saline (NS group), or 18.6 mg/kg ILE 20% (ILE group). We evaluated blood pressure (BP) and heart rate by power lab apparatus through the tail artery, ataxia by a rat rotary circle, seizure scores and death in multiple times after starting clozapine administration. For biochemical and pathological evaluations the samples of tissue and blood were taken. Results: Our results demonstrated that ILE 20% could return hypotension-induced clozapine better than normal saline. Furthermore, ataxia and seizure have rectified more rapidly and deaths reduced. Clozapine administration causes pancreatitis and lung injury but fat emulsion did not show an optimal effect on tissue damages caused by clozapine toxicity. Conclusion: In conclusion, ILE can remove toxic signs of clozapine same as other lipophilic medicines, however, clinical uses of ILE for this intention requires more appraisement to determine the precise implication and safety.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.536-544
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• 2021

5-amino salicylic acid (5-ASA) is a standard therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) whereas more severe forms involve the use of steroids and immunosuppressive drugs. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan that has shown epithelium protective effects in experimental colitis recently. In this study, both 5-ASA (30 mg/kg) and HA (15 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg) were administered rectally and investigated for their potential complementary therapeutic effects in moderate or severe murine colitis models. Intrarectal treatment of moderate and severe colitis with 5-ASA alone or HA alone at a dose of 30 mg/kg led to a significant decrease in clinical activity and histology scores, myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in colitis mice compared to untreated animals. The combination of HA (30 mg/kg) and 5-ASA in severe colitis led to a significant improvement of colitis compared to 5-ASA alone. Combined rectal therapy with HA and 5-ASA could be a treatment alternative for severe cases of IBD as it was the only treatment tested that was not significantly different from the healthy control group. This study further underlines the benefit of searching for yet unexplored drug combinations that show therapeutic potential in IBD without the need of designing completely new drug entities.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.62 no.3
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• pp.25.1-25.9
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• 2022

Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a neurodegenerative disease that causes cognitive and behavioral disorders and reduces the quality of life in dogs and their guardians. This study reviewed the complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for CDS and compared the diagnosis and therapy of CAM between CDS in canines and dementia in humans. The evaluation tools for the diagnosis of CDS and dementia were similar in the neurological and neuropsychiatric examinations, daily life activity, cognitive tests, and neuroimaging, but the evaluation for dementia was further subdivided. In CAM, pattern identification is a diagnostic method for accurate, personalized treatment, such as herbal medicine. For herbal medicine treatment of cognitive impairment in canines and humans, a similar pattern identification classified as deficiency (Qi, blood, and Yin) and Excess (phlegm, Qi stagnation, and blood stasis) is being used. However, the veterinary clinical basis for verifying the efficacy and safety of CAM therapies for CDS is limited. Therefore, based on CAM evidence in dementia, it is necessary to establish CDS-targeted CAM diagnostic methods and therapeutic techniques considering the anatomical, physiological, and pathological characteristics of dogs.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2023

Hypothyroidism alone can lead to myocardial fibrosis and result in heart failure, but traditional hormone replacement therapy does not improve the fibrotic situation. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), a new gas signaling molecule, possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-fibrotic capabilities. Whether H₂S could improve hypothyroidism-induced myocardial fibrosis are not yet studied. In our study, H₂S could decrease collagen deposition in the myocardial tissue of rats caused by hypothyroidism. Furthermore, in hypothyroidism-induced rats, we found that H₂S could enhance cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE), not cystathionine β-synthase (CBS), protein expressions. Finally, we noticed that H₂S could elevate autophagy levels and inhibit the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signal transduction pathway. In conclusion, our experiments not only suggest that H₂S could alleviate hypothyroidism-induced myocardial fibrosis by activating autophagy and suppressing TGF-β1/SMAD family member 2 (Smad 2) signal transduction pathway, but also show that it can be used as a complementary treatment to conventional hormone therapy.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.305-320
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• 2020

Background and objective: The problem that follows the increase of dementia patients is the burden of caregivers caring for dementia patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of horticultural therapy programs improving the quality of life and reducing the depression and burden of caregivers of the elderly with dementia. Methods: In this study, 19 caregivers of the elderly with dementia were selected, and the experiment was conducted by dividing the control group (n=9) and the experimental group (n=10) by random distribution. The experimental group was given eight horticultural therapy programs twice a week for a total of 4 weeks. Subjects were assessed using the depression(CES-D), quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), and care burden scales. The evaluation results were verified at a 95% significance level using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results: In the case of depression, the control group's score tended to increase, and the experimental group's score appeared to decrease, but it was not a statistically significant change. In the quality of life, the control group was not statistically significant, but scores decreased overall. On the other hand, in the experimental group, the general quality of life increased significantly from 11.60 to 14.20 points (p = .02), and the total quality of life increased to a marginally significant level from 61.59 points to 68.85 points (p = .059). In the post-test of the total care burden score, a marginally significant difference was found between the control group (94.44 points) and the experimental group (82.50 points; p = .079). Conclusion: This study confirmed the applicability to reduce the burden of caregiving and improve the deterioration of quality of life of the caregivers. In particular, the results will serve as an opportunity to confirm accessibility in a new way to support the caregiver of dementia patients by demonstrating the applicability of horticultural therapy at a time when problems such as the burden of supporting the caregiver are emerging as social problems.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.109-115
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• 2009

The principal objective of this study was to assess the radical scavenging activities and total polyphenols, flavonoids, and flavonol contents of takju, a Korean traditional rice wine. The antioxidant properties of the wine and takju samples were evaluated using five distinct assays: specifically, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS); hydroxyl; superoxide anion; and nitric oxide (NO) radical-scavenging activity assays. In this study, the takju evidenced strong scavenging activities against the hydroxyl, superoxide anion, and NO radicals. Furthermore, the total polyphenol contents of T-2 were similar to those previously observed in white wine (p<0.05). However, the flavonoids and flavonol contents of all takju samples were significantly (p<0.05) lower than that of white wine. The results of this study show that takju possesses a powerful radical scavenging activity against a variety of oxidative systems. The findings of this study also indicate that takju should be considered a useful antioxidant, and that their functional compound reduces oxidative stress.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.249-264
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• 2004

Objective : This study is designed to find out the effects of Sulguanjul-Bang No.1 on osteoarthritis in knee joint. Methods : 45 patients with symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee joint were enrolled in a short term 8-week open clinical trial. The 45 patients were taken Sulguanjul-bang No.1 two times a day before meals for 8 week. After 8 week treatment period, the following parameters were analyzed ; Visual analogue Scale(VAS) as first effective parameter, Lysholm index score, patient's global assessment, passive movement range of the knee joint. Results : Sulguanjul-bang No.1 treatment led to significant improvement in the pain and symptoms of osteoarthritis as determined by all efficacy measures. After 8 weeks of therapy, there was significant improvement in VAS and Lysholm index; squat, sit down and up, crepitaion, swelling. The range of motion was improved in 6 of 9 cases. The improvement in patient's global assessment was seen in 84%. Conclusion : Sulguanjul-bang No.1 was very beneficial effect in pain relief and improvement functions on osteoarthritis.