• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.64-77
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• 2023

Objectives : Recently, the number of patients with dry eye syndrome has been steadily increasing. However, established treatment for it does not yet exist. This study compared electronic moxibustion with acupuncture for patients with dry eye in terms of efficacy and safety. Methods : This trial was designed as an investigator-initiated, single-blinded, comparative, randomized controlled trial. Thirty patients with dry eye were randomized to the electronic moxibustion treatment group(EMG) or the acupuncture treatment group(AG) in equal proportion. The participants who assigned to the EMG were treated with electronic moxibustion to ten acupoints including both sides of BL2, GB14, TE23, and LI4 for 12 minutes. The participants who were assigned to the AG were treated with acupuncture to the same acupoints for 15 minutes. Over 4 weeks, each intervention was carried out twelve times in total. The primary outcome was the ocular surface disease index(OSDI). The secondary outcomes were the subjective symptoms visual analog scale(VAS), quality of life(QoL), Schirmer I test(SIT), and general assessment. Adverse events and vital signs were also investigated for safety assessment. Results : In intragroup comparisons, both the EMG and the AG significantly improved the OSDI scores, the subjective symptoms VAS scores, the QoL scores, and the SIT results after 4 weeks of the trial. However, there were no statistical differences in intergroup comparisons between the two groups after 4 weeks. The safety of electronic moxibustion and acupuncture was confirmed by no occurrence of serious adverse events. Conclusions : Both electronic moxibustion and acupuncture were effective for dry eye syndrome, and they were safe. Electronic moxibustion and acupuncture can be used for dry eye syndrome as equivalent treatments.

• Proceedings of the IEEK Conference
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• 2002.06e
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• pp.129-132
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• 2002

In this paper, we describe a millimeter-wave radiation system developed for stimulating acupuncture points, and an analyzing system developed for monitoring the change of physiological signals after the stimulation such as ECG, skin temperature, skin potential and skin resistance. The systems are to be used to investigate the treatment efficacy and biological effects of the millimeter-wave, and eventually, can be used to study the acupuncture meridian system theory in the traditional Korean medicine.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.217-225
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• 2007

Objectives: This sutdy aims to research the trend of the studies related with acupuncture treatment of asthma. Methods: We searched the electronic database and reviewed ReT studies comparing the effect of sham and real acupuncture published after 2000 Results: We selected eight articles. Effectiveness of asthma acupuncture treatment was generally insufficient. Three articles reported acupuncture to be effective in subjective symptoms and quality of life. Other three articles reported that acupucture treatment was moderately effective but, insignificant compared to sham acupuncture treatment. Some articles reported that acupucture treatment was significant in the decrease of drug dosage and immunologic regulation. Conclusion : For the study on acupuncture treatments in asthma, it is necessary that we conduct research on the various natures of acupuncture. More clinical data would be needed to prove the effects of acupuncture treatment in asthma.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to analyze acupuncture treatment methods and acupoint used to treat infertility in the last decade. The data were retrieved from 2010.1 to 2021.8. using national and international electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, OASIS, NDSL, and KISS). "Infertility," "sterility," "acupuncture," "electroacupuncture," "bloodletting," "pharmacopuncture," were used as search terms. All studies were mainly concerned with acupuncture treatment of infertility, but the studies which were not related included; (1) infertility or acupuncture treatment; (2) animal studies; (3) review/meta/protocol or clinical study; comparative studies and case reports which were excluded from this review. Only clinical trials for acupuncture treatment of infertility were included in this review (n = 18). For infertility treatment studies using acupuncture, polycystic ovarian syndrome was the main cause of infertility, the most common acupoint used was CV4, CV3, CV6, SP6, BL23, and the treatment effect significantly improved in the group receiving acupuncture treatment compared with the control group, or the group taking Western medicine alone. In some studies, the group using acupuncture treatment did not show side effects. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for infertility.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.151-170
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• 2007

Backgraounds : Recent studies provide the evidences that the efficacy of acupuncture may be no better than placebo or inconclusive. These results are very different from those of the actual clinical situations in many acupuncture medical institutions. Objectives : The present study was designed to evaluate the influencing factors which affect the efficacy of acupuncture scale(FEAS) as the methodological assessment tool of acupuncture for examining acupuncture interventions and to demonstrate the importance of it in randomized controlled trials of acupuncture. Data sources : Electronic data were retrieved from NDSL, Pubmed, sciencedirect, LWW, OVID, Black-Well Synergy, Wiley Interscience, EBSCO HOST, springer, PML, and Kluwer. No electronic data were collected from MEDLIS and MEDLAS. Study selection : The inclusion criteria were five systematic reviews included in Alberta study and all randomized controlled trials obtained from their references. Study analysis : The acupuncture rationale, methods of stimulation, treatment regimen, and the practitioner's background were rated by FEAS, and the scores were compared with those by other methodological assessment tools. Results : The number of positive conclusions of high-rank RCTs by FEAS was the same as or higher than that of high-rank RCTs by other methodological assessment tools. Conclusions : We have analysed 5 systematic reviews and their objectives 58 RCTs using FEAS. Practitioner's background has been described slightly in some reviews and studies. It may directly influence the effectiveness of acupuncture negatively in the systematic reviews.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.235-245
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• 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze public and researcher interests in suicide and related illnesses and acupuncture and acupressure treatment using Google Trends and some electronic databases. Methods: Search results for keywords "suicide," "acupuncture," "acupressure," and several illnesses related to suicide were analyzed in Google Trends from January 2004 to June 2023. Illnesses included anxiety, depression (including major depressive disorder), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorder (including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), substance use disorder, autism spectrum disorder, personality disorder (including borderline person- ality disorder), and chronic pain. Search results were extracted using relative search volume (RSV) scores between 0 and 100. Search terms were also searched in online databases, including PubMed, CNKI, and OASIS, to estimate the number of related studies, and descriptive analysis was conducted. Results: Google Trends analysis showed a strong positive correlation between the RSVs of "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and chronic pain," and "acupressure and PTSD." The electronic database search results produced numerous studies published on "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and depression," and "acupressure and anxiety." High interest in "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and chronic pain," and "acupressure and anxiety" was seen among the public and researchers. Interest in "suicide and chronic pain," "acupuncture and eating disorder," and "acupressure and PTSD" was higher in the public than among researchers, while "anxiety and suicide" and "anxiety and acu- puncture" showed opposite trends. Conclusions: The results of this research enable an understanding of public and researcher interest in suicide, acupuncture, acupressure, and suicide-related illnesses. The results also provide a basis for fu- ture research and examining public health implications in Korean medicine.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.9-27
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• 2005

Objective : hypothesis. First of all, there exists electric property in meridian and meridian point. Second of all, energy flowing in meridian is related with electric property. Third of all, there is electronic interaction between the operator who performs acupuncture therapy and the receiver who is given acupuncture therapy. Forth of all, acupuncture effects may depend on the electric capacity which is transferred between the operator and the receiver via acupuncture needle. Methods : Under the hypothesis, I studied the effects of electric charge in ST37(+) and ST39(-) generated by Apchim (押鍼) manipulation which was stimulated at ST36 point. And compared with data on the changes of electric charge from the hand of the operator during acupuncture stimulation. Electric charge induced via acupuncture needle from the operator may be important factor that causes the changes of electric charge in meridian and acupoint in the receiver. Therefore we investigated the changes of electric charge induced by the operator using Maclab 400 by the following methods. The one was in stable electric circle condition and the other was in unstable electric circle condition. In this experiments, the changes of electric charge from the stimulation type of Apchim manipulation performed in our lab condition in acupuncture therapy was induced at least three factor, one was the difference of bio-potentials between the operator and the receiver of acupuncture therapy, another was the depth of acupuncture insertion from the skin of the receiver the other was an electromyogram of the receiver. Results :The data imply that the first factor should make a capacitance current when the operator touched the acupuncture needle which was inserted in the receiver. Therefore, the results suggest that capacitance currents stimulus in electronic view may be important factor in acupuncture therapy between the operator and the receiver of acupuncture therapy.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.184-193
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to understand the temperature characteristics depending on the thickness and material of the needle used with the Electronic Warm Acupuncture Device (EWAD). Methods : We controlled experimental environment and measured temperature changes of a silicon phantom in which K-type thermocouples were inserted at depths of 2, 7 mm. EWAD perfomed with acupuncture needles of various thicknesses (0.25×60 mm, 0.40×60 mm, and 0.50×60 mm) and materials (Gold 0.40×50 mm). We set non-needle (only heated with EWAD skin heater) group as a control group. Results : The maximum temperature and temperature changes of 0.40 mm, 0.50 mm needle group were significantly higher than the non-needle group. The highest temperature range in all needle groups was 0.50 mm needle group (41.44±0.31℃). However, the 0.25 mm needle group was not significantly different from the non-needle group. Maximum temperature of gold needle group was significantly higher than stainless steel needle group. Temperature changes of gold needle group were higher than stainless steel group at the depth of 7 mm. Conclusions : It was found that needle thickness and material of acupuncture had an effect on the temperature of the EWAD. When performing EWAD treatment, consideration of thickness and material of acupuncture is needed. Future research is needed using phantoms that can reflect actual clinical situations and better mimic the human body.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.187-196
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• 2019

This study was performed to review clinical research studies involving acupuncture treatment for primary headache disorders to provide a basic reference for future studies. Clinical studies of primary headache disorders treated with acupuncture were retrieved from 3 Korean electronic databases (NDSL, OASIS, and RISS). The studies were classified by year of publication, type of study, type of acupuncture, outlined acupoints, methods used for filiform needles, pharmacopuncture, auricular acupuncture, and thread-embedding acupuncture. Thirty-eight trials were reviewed, of which 33 used filiform needles, 6 pharmacopuncture, 1 auricular acupuncture, and 1used thread-embedding. Most of the studies reported that acupuncture treatment was effective in treating primary headache disorders. Some studies reported statistically significant effects, but the results overall were inconsistent. Therefore, there is insufficient evidence to support the treatment of acupuncture to resolve headaches. On the basis of these results, further studies should be performed to qualitatively and quantitatively determine the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for primary headache disorders.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2002.07d
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• pp.2712-2714
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• 2002

Recently, the high blood pressure is appeared the most frequent disease of a man's the whole sickness. But, to treat this disease is uncertain and produces an adverse reaction of a medicine therapy. Also, a patients are burden high price for doctor's treatment. Therefore, we studied effectively and financially to execute the treatment of the high blood pressure using the Chinese Medicine Theorem that recently arousing a great interest of the people. The main theories of this paper are Blood Vessel Theory and Acupuncture. The composed circuits are low-frequency generating circuit, charging-discharging circuit. The former will substitute a needle that use in the acupuncture therapy method and the latter will charge and discharge the bioelectric action potential of a patient in Ear Acupuncture Point. Also, all circuits will be controlled a micro-computer circuit.