• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.235-245
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• 2021

Objectives: To provide clinical evidence of pharmacopuncture treatment for post-stroke depression by reviewing randomized controlled trials on Traditional Chinese medicine pharmacopuncture for post-stroke depression. Methods: Randomized controlled trials on pharmacopuncture treatment for post-stroke depression were searched from the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Literature searches of English and Chinese databases were performed. Selected literature was assessed with the Jadad scale. Results: Twelve papers were selected from 20 studies. The following results were obtained: 1) Pharmacopuncture was used for post-stroke depression; 2) Dengzhan-Xixin was the most used injection medicine for post-stroke depression; 3) BaiHui (GV20) was the most used in pharmacopuncture treatment; 4) Based on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), it was confirmed that all studies using pharmacopunture had significant efficacy. Conclusions: For the treatment of post-stroke depression, Dengzhans-Xixin was commonly used as an injectable medication. Additional research studies on pharmacopuncture including its practical use are needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.361-369
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• 2018

The purpose of this study was to review the herbal medications of asthma through clinical studies in Korea and to be utilized in the treatment of asthma and in other clinical studies. All clinical researches about asthma published up to 13th February 2018 were found in two domestic electric databases, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System(OASIS) and National Discovery for Science Library(NDSL). Twenty-seven articles were selected and of these, there were 14 articles of before and after studies(BAS), 8 of case series(CS), 4 of case reports(CR) and 1 of the randomized controlled trial(RCT). The most frequently used prescription was "Cheongsangboha-tang(淸上補下湯)". There were various TCM patterns, and Tae-Eum-In(太陰人) was the most common Sasang constitution(四象體質). Frequently used evaluations to assess treatment effects were lung function tests such as Forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1) and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Adult Korean Asthmatics(QLQAKA) questionnaire responses. We have found that herbal medicine treatment can be an effective treatment to improve the symptoms and the quality of life of asthmatic patients. But we consider that large-scale systematically designed clinical researches are needed additionally.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.281-290
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• 2018

Objectives: The objective of this study was to review the research trends in the treatment of acupuncture on schizophrenia in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods: Articles in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from September 2008 to August 2018 were reviewed. The selected articles were evaluated by the Jadad Scale. Results: 11 articles were selected from a total of 33 articles. 1 study was single group before-and-after study while the other 10 studies were randomized controlled trial studies. Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders-3 was most frequently used as a diagnostic criterion. Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale was most commonly used as an outcome measurement. From Jadad Quality Assessment Scale of the 11 articles, the quality of the studies generally was low. Conclusions: BaekHoi (GV20) and YinDang (EX-HN3) are most commonly used in acupuncture treatment. According to this study, acupuncture treatment in addition to western medication on schizophrenia is more effective as compared to the controls. In future, this study could be primary data for development of more clinical research on the treatment of schizophrenia in Korean medicine.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.201-211
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to comprehensively review Korean domestic studies and investigate the research trends of pharmacopuncture therapy on cervical pain caused by traffic accidents. Methods: Domestic studies between February 1999 and May 2020 from four Korean databases were searched with combinations of keywords 'cervical pain', 'traffic accident', 'whiplash injury', and 'pharmacopuncture'. Results: 17 studies were selected for review, including 7 randomized controlled trials, 5 retrospective observational studies, 3 case reports, and 2 non-randomized controlled trials. Each study was reviewed by published year, study type, types of pharmacopuncture solutions, selected acupuncture points, dosage of pharmacopuncture solutions, frequency of treatment, concurrent treatments, outcome measurements, and the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture therapy. The results are as follows: (1) It showed that the total number of published studies had increased slightly in the last 10 years compared to the previous decade. (2) The pharmacopuncture solutions used in the studies were in the following order: Bee-Venom (蜂毒), Jungsongouhyul (中性瘀血), Hwangryunhaedoktang (黃連解毒湯) and Soyeom (消炎). Frequently used acupuncture points were GB20, GV21, A-shi point, GV16, EX-B2, and SI15 in order. (3) The most commonly used total injection dosage was 1.0 cc at a time, and the frequency of treatment was twice a week. (4) Concurrent treatments such as acupuncture, herbal medication, physical therapy and Chuna manual therapy were performed in all 17 studies. (5) Pharmacopuncture therapy showed positive effects on cervical pain caused by traffic accidents in all 17 studies reviewed. Conclusion: Pharmacopuncture therapy was effective in cervical pain caused by traffic accidents in all 17 studies selected. Further studies will be needed using more larger scales and more objective data to confirm the effectiveness of pharmacopuncture therapy and to generalize its application.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.262-272
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• 2020

Objectives: Whiplash injury is one of the major diseases in recent times because of increasing traffic accidents. This review aims to analyze the overall trend of studies on pharmacopuncture for whiplash injury after traffic accidents. Methods: We searched through 4 Korean electronic databases from 2001 up to October 2020 for relevant clinical studies for whiplash injury after traffic accidents, regardless of the patients' age, gender, or race. We included studies that had an intervention group receiving pharmacopuncture therapy with or without other additional treatments, and also included studies that had a control group receiving sham treatment or active treatment such as physical therapy and herbal medication. For the clinical outcomes, we did not place any restrictions on evaluation scales if they are objective metrics. Results: We included 6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 10 non-randomized controlled trials (nRCTs). 10 nRCTs were divided into 4 categories that were case-control studies, case series, case report, and retrospective observational study. In RCTs, Hwangryun-haedoktang (黃蓮解毒湯) pharmacopuncture was the most frequently used. In nRCTs, Jungsong-ouhyul (中性瘀血) pharmacopuncture, and bee venom pharmacopuncture were the most frequently used. As target points of Hwangryun-haedoktang pharmacopuncture, Ashi-points, Jianjing (GB21), and Fengchi (GB20) were the most frequently used. As target points of Jungsong-ouhyul pharmacopuncture, Ashi-points were the most frequently used. And as target points of Bee venom pharmacopuncture, Fengchi (GB20) was the most frequently used. Conclusion: Hwangryun-haedoktang pharmacopuncture, bee venom pharmacopuncture, and Jungsong-ouhyul pharmacopuncture were mainly used for whiplash injury, and their usual target points were Jianjing (GB21), Fengchi (GB20), and Ashi-points. However, a high level of evidence should be conducted through studies with systematic methodology in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.105-121
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• 2022

Objectives This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of electro-acupuncture for sciatica. Methods We searched 13 online databases (Kmbase, Research Information Sharing Service [RISS], National Digital Science Library [NDSL], Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System [OASIS], Koreanstudies, Koreantk, DBpia, PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, Medline, China National Knowledge Infrastructure [CNKI], J-stage) to find randomized-controlled clinical trials (RCTs) that used electro-acupuncture for sciatica. Efficacy rate and visual analogue scale (VAS) were mainly analyzed as a main evaluation criteria. Results Among 583 articles that were searched, 24 RCTs were finally selected and 18 RCTs were statistically analyzed. Electro-acupuncture was more effective than acupuncture in terms of efficacy rate (p<0.00001) and VAS (p<0.00001). Also, Electro-acupuncture was more effective than western medication in terms of efficacy rate (p=0.0005). However, the effectiveness of electro-acupuncture was not identified compared to physical therapy (p=0.42). Electro-acupuncture significantly improved efficacy rate when combined with physical therapy than physical therapy alone (p<0.0001). In addition, electro-acupuncture plus Chuna manual therapy compared to Chuna manual therapy alone showed positive results for efficacy rate (p=0.05) and VAS (p<0.0001). Conclusions Based on results, the effectiveness of electro-acupuncture for sciatica was identified. However, this study has limitations because the RCTs included in this study were small in number and published in a particular region. Although this study could be a groundwork for well designed research for sciatica.

• The Journal of Health Technology Assessment
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.22-26
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• 2013

Objectives: Balancing benefits and risks through the drug life cycle has been discussed for many decades. The objective of this study was to review the processes and tools currently proposed for benefit-risk assessment of medicinal drugs. It aimed to establish scientific and efficient drug safety management system based on the synthetic analysis of benefit-risk evidence. Methods: We conducted a review of exiting literatures published by regulatory agencies or initiatives. Not only quantitative methodologies but also qualitative method were compared to understand their key characteristics for the benefit and risk assessment of drugs. Results: Recently, benefit-risk assessments have more structured approaches to decision making as part of regulatory science. Regulatory agencies such as European Medicines Agency, FDA have prepared plans to apply benefit-risk assessment to regulatory decision making. Also many initiatives such as IMI (Innovative Medicine Initiative) have conducted research and published reports about benefit-risk assessment. For benefit-risk assessment, four kinds of methods are necessary. Frameworks such as BRAT (Benefit Risk Action Team) framework, PrOACT-URL provide guidance for the whole process of decision-making. Metrics are measurements of risk benefit. The estimation techniques are methods to synthesis and combine evidences from various sources. The utility survey techniques are necessary to explicit preferences of various outcome from stakeholders. Conclusion: There is the lack of widely accepted, validated model for benefit-risk assessment. Nor there is an agreement among academia, industry, and government on methods for the quantitative valuation. It is also limited by available evidence and underlying assumptions. Nevertheless, benefit-risk assessment is fundamental to improve transparency, consistency and predictability for decision making through the structured systematic approaches.

• Journal of the korean academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.185-196
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• 2024

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs) can occur at any age, including childhood and adolescence, and pain-related TMDs can affect growth and quality of life. In the present study, recent trends in the diagnosis and treatment of TMDs in children and adolescents were analyzed over a 10-year period. Using 10 years of data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) and Jeonbuk National University (JBNU) Dental Hospital, patients between 0 and 19 years of age diagnosed with K07.6 (temporomandibular joint disorders) were analyzed by 5-year bins. Both datasets indicated a higher prevalence in females (1.2-fold in HIRA, 1.5-fold in JBNU) and in ages 15 to 19 years (72.1% in HIRA, 74.7% in JBNU). HIRA reported a 42.3% increase in prevalence per 100,000 people, from 651.4 in 2011 to 927.0 in 2020. JBNU reported K07.66 (masticatory muscle disorders) as the most common diagnosis in subjects under 10 years of age and K07.60 (internal derangement of temporomandibular joint) in those over 10 years of age. In addition, both were treated mainly by a combination of physical therapy and medication, and the treatment rate increased in accordance with age. Because TMDs can affect various structures in the orofacial region and cause pain that tends to differ with age, an early and specific diagnosis appropriate for age is important for treatment. Therefore, pediatric dentists need to promptly recognize TMDs in children and adolescents and consult with specialists as the prevalence increases.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.245-252
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• 2024

Ginseng is a traditional herbal medicine used for prevention and treatment of various diseases as a tonic. Recent scientific cohort studies on life prolongation with ginseng consumption support this record, as those who consumed ginseng for more than 5 years had reduced mortality and cognitive decline compared to those who did not. Clinical studies have also shown that acute or long-term intake of ginseng total extract improves acute working memory performance or cognitive function in healthy individuals and those with subjective memory impairment (SMI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or early Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia who are taking AD medication(s). Ginseng contains various components ranging from classical ginsenosides and polysaccharides to more recently described gintonin. However, it is unclear which ginseng component(s) might be the main candidate that contribute to memory or cognitive improvements or prevent cognitive decline in older individuals. This review describes recent clinical contributors to ginseng components in clinical tests and introduces emerging evidence that ginseng components could be novel candidates for cognitive improvement in older individuals, as ginseng components improve SMI cognition and exhibits add-on effects when coadministered with early AD dementia drugs. The mechanism behind the beneficial effects of ginseng components and how it improves cognition are presented. Additionally, this review shows how ginseng components can contribute to SMI, MCI, or early AD dementia when used as a supplementary food and/or medicine, and proposes a novel combination therapy of current AD medicines with ginseng component(s).

• Hip & pelvis
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2024

Gout is triggered by the accumulation of uric acid in the body, leading to hyperuricemia. Genetic, metabolic, and environmental factors can influence this condition. Excessive uric acid buildup results in the formation of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals, which precipitate in specific areas of the body, including the joints, where they can cause symptoms of gout. While the acute and chronic symptoms of gout have been well-documented, diagnosis of gout affecting the hip joint poses significant challenges. The global incidence of gout, the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis, is on the rise. Evaluation of the clinical signs, laboratory results, and imaging results is generally required for diagnosis of gout in cases where MSU crystals have not been detected. Hyperuricemia is considered a primary cause of arthritis symptoms, and comprehensive guidelines for treatment are available. Therefore, the choice of medication is straightforward, and moderate effectiveness of treatment has been demonstrated. Gout is a chronic disease, requiring lifelong uric acid-lowering medications, thus application of a treatment strategy based on the target blood uric acid concentration is necessary. Consequently, cases of gout will likely be observed more frequently by hip surgeons in clinical scenarios in the future. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the pathophysiology of gout and subsequently examine recent advances in diagnostic methods and therapeutic agents based on an understanding of its underlying mechanisms. In addition, literature on gout-related issues affecting the hip joint, providing a useful reference for hip surgeons is examined.