• The Journal of Traditional Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.113-127
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• 2006

Objectives: This study was produced to examine the effects of moxibustion that had been played important role to traditional oriental medical treatment on disease. Recently, it was reported that moxi-tar which is generated in the process of moxibustion as burning combustibles decreased nitric oxide(NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) generation in cellular experiments. Methods: Carrageenan-induced arthritis rat model was used to test the effect of moxi-tar as a chronic pain model. Diluted moxi-tar was single injected in several acupoints or combined with electroacupuncture (l ms, 2 Hz, and 2 mA) into contralateral ST36 acupoint for 30 min to assess the synergic effects. After the treatment, behavioral tests measuring stepping force were periodically conducted during the next 12 hours. Endogenous NO and iNOS, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and c-Fos protein expression in the spinal cord were examined on a rat model of carrageenan-induced arthritis. Results : After the induction of arthritis, rats subsequently showed a reduced stepping force of the affected limb for at least the next 4 days. The reduced stepping force of the limb was presumably due to a painful knee, since oral injection of indomethacin produced temporary improvement of weight bearing. Maxi-tar produced significant improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis lasting at least 9 hours. The magnitude of this improvement was equivalent to that obtained after an oral injection of 3 mg/kg of indomethacin and this improvement of stepping force was interpreted as an analgesic effect. Maxi-tar produced the improvement of stepping force of the affected hindlimb in a dose-dependent manner. Both NO production and iNOS, COX-2 protein expression increased by arthritis were suppressed by maxi-tar. Moxi-tar on combination with electroacupuncture (EA) produced more powerful and longer lasting improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis than either moxi-tar or EA did. Conclusion : The present study suggest that maxi-tar produces a potent analgesic effect on the chronic knee arthritis pain model in the rat and that moxi-tar-induced analgesia modulate endogenous NO through the suppression of iNOS/COX-2 protein expression.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.375-384
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• 2021

Objective: This study was designed to analyze the clinical features of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients who attended a Korean medicine hospital and the treatment effects through retrospective chart reviews. Methods: The medical records of 82 outpatients who had been diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and visited the Allergy, Immune, and Respiratory System Department of Kyung Hee Korean Medicine Hospital from 8 January 2015 to 8 January 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. To assess the treatment outcomes, we used the FVC (Forced Vital Capacity), DLCO (Diffusing capacity of the Lung for CO), 6-minute walk test, and HRCT (High Resolution Computed Tomography). Results: The study group consisted of 28 females and 54 males. The median age of the patients was 67.98±11.44 years. The chief complaints were cough (n=51) and dyspnea (n=49). Other frequent symptoms were general weakness (n=8), weight loss (n=4), and a fever (n=2). A total of 77 (93.90%) patients were prescribed Korean herbal medicine, and 52 (63.41%) patients were treated with acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping therapy, ICT, or pharmacopuncture. After treatments, FVC, DLCO, the 6-minute walk test, and HRCT were maintained or worsened slightly. Conclusions: This study presented the characteristics of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients treated by Korean medical therapies, and further studies of Korean medical treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients would be valuable.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.891-900
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the improvement of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after long-term combined Korean medical treatment. Methods: A patient diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and rehabilitation for four separate hospital stays. To evaluate their respiratory discomfort and limb weakness, we used Manual Muscle Testing, the Pulmonary Function Test, and the Korean Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Functional Rating Scale-Revised. Results: The weakness of the muscles of the lower extremities and respiratory function was improved. Conclusion: We consider that combined Korean medicine treatments might be an effective treatment for muscle weakness and respiratory discomfort of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. To verify the effectiveness of these treatments, further research is required.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.91-104
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• 2022

Objectives : The objective of this study is to report a case of a male atopic dermatitis patient accompanying seborrheic capitis and nummular eczema improved by Korean medicine therapy and lifestyle modification. Methods : A male patient was hospitalized for eczematous lesions in the head, face, and both hands which relapsed on March 2021. For 15 days, he took Korean medicine therapy including acupuncture, Bangpungtongseongsan-gagam, pharmacopuncture, and wet dressing with Hwangryunhaedok-tang. Simultaneously, lifestyle correction also conducted during administration. On the other hand, corticosteroid and antihistamine were prescribed from internal medicine of our hospital for the first 10 days because of severe skin lesions. As an outpatient, he was continuously treated by the same Korean medicine therapy except herbal decoction weekly for about 7 months after discharge. To assess symptoms, scoring atopic dermatitis(SCORAD) index, taking photos, and numerical rating scale(NRS) were used. Results : After 15 days of hospitalization, the SCORAD index decreased to 30.0, which was about a half of the initial SCORAD index(61.2). NRS score also dropped from 6 to 3. Despite stopping western medicine administration, skin lesions and subjective symptoms of the patient were steadily improved without aggravation. For 7 months of continued outpatient treatment, atopic dermatitis were steadily ameliorated despite temporary aggravation and improvement of symptoms, and seborrheic capitis was not relapsed. The final SCORAD index and NRS on November 9th, 2021 were 24.7 and 1, respectively. Conclusions : These results suggests that Korean medicine therapy contributes to improving SCORAD index, subjective symptoms, and skin lesions of the patient. Furthermore, lifestyle modification is also important as much as proper treatment for caring atopic dermatitis patients.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the trends of researches on oriental medicine treatments for supraspinatus tendinopathy. Methods We used five databases for searching researches; Korean studies Information Service System, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System, Research Information Sharing Service, PubMed, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Only randomized controlled trials suitable for the subject were selected. The methodological quality of included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results Twenty randomized controlled trials were analyzed. There were 9 types of treatment interventions; acupuncture, acupotomy, pharmacopuncture, electroacupuncture, fire needling, warming needle, catgut-embedding therapy, herbal medicine, cupping. The most frequently used treatment intervention was acupuncture and acupotomy. There were 9 outcome measurements including visual analog scale (VAS), Constant-Murley Score (CMS), and range of motion. The most used measurement was VAS. As a result of meta-analysis, acupuncture was more effective than control group in VAS. Additionally, acupotomy was clinically significant compared to control groups in VAS and CMS. Conclusions In this review, we analyzed researches on effectiveness of oriental medicine for supraspinatus tendinopathy. A provisional conclusion can be produced that acupuncture and acupotomy showed beneficial effect to supraspinatus tendinopathy. Although there were some RCT studies, many of them had a high risk of bias, so it is hard to conclude that our study can include overall clinical status. Further well-designed trials are needed.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.5 no.1 s.8
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• pp.113-133
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• 2002

Objective: To investigate effects of Cervi Cornu on Adjuvant Athritis in rats, the edema inhibit rate, the anaJgesic effects, the number of WBC, RA facter, Platelet, the quantity of CRP, total protein, albumin and globuline in the blood serum were measured in the arthritis part. Results: The results obtained as fonows ; 1. After arthritis of Sprague dawley(SD) rats was induced by injecting Freund's complete adjuvant for 2 weeks, any treatment was not for Control group, acupunctured for Treat Ⅰ group. normal saJine was ora] administrated for the Treat Ⅱ group, Cervi Cornu Ex. was oral administrated for Treat Ⅲ, and Cervi Cornu Herbal-acupullcture was injected for Trea Ⅳ group during 2 weeks every other day. Selected point was on pressure pain point in both groups. And then the edema inhibit rate were checked. The edema inhibit rate was $46.03\%$ in Treat I group, $43.24\%$ Treat IV group, $37.44\%$ in Treat III. there was significance in the edema inhibit rate between Control group and Treat group, in order of Treat Ⅰ, Ⅳ, Ⅲ.(p<0.05) 2. The analgesic effects was $7.58{\pm}1.80$(${\times}10$gm) in Control group. $11.00{\pm}1.10$(${\times}10$gm) in Treat Ⅰ group. $99.92{\pm}1.28$(${\times}10$gm) in Treat Ⅲ group and $14.67{\pm}1.03$(${\times}10$gm) in Treat Ⅳ group. There was significance in the analgesic effects between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 3. The number of WBC was $14.72{\pm}1.48$(${\times}10^3$㎕) in control Group, $10.26{\pm}1.13$(${\times}10^3$㎕) in Treat Ⅰ group, $11.00{\pm}1.13$(${\times}103$㎕) in Treat Ⅱ Group and $9.63{\pm}1.75$(${\times}10^3$㎕) in Treat Ⅳ group. There was significance in the number of WBC between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 4. The content of total protein in the blood serum were $6.13{\pm}0.05$g/dl in control group, $5.73{\pm}0.14$g/dl in Treat I group, $5.88{\pm}0.13$g/dl in Treat Ⅲ group and $5.90{\pm}0.13$g/dl in Treat IV group. There was significance in The content of total protein in the blood serum between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 5. The contests of albumin in the blood serum were $2.32{\pm}0.12$g/dl in the Control group, $2.35{\pm}0.05$g/dl in Treat Ⅰ group, $2.35{\pm}0.05$g/dl in Treat Ⅱ group, $2.30{\pm}0.06$g/dl in Treat Ⅲ group, $2.42{\pm}0.08$g/dl in Treat IV group. There was no significance in The content of albumin in the blood serum between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 6. The contests of globulin in the blood semm were $3.68{\pm}0.08$g/dl in the Control group, $3.43{\pm}0.12$g/dl in Treat Ⅰ group, $3.55{\pm}0.10$g/dl in Treat IV group. There was significance in The content of globulin in the blood serum between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 7. The numbers of RA factor were $3.47{\pm}0.54$IU/ml in Control group and $2.38{\pm}0.50$IU/ml in Treat Ⅱ group. There was significance inThe numbers of RA factor between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 8. The numbers of platelet were $1126.33{\pm}1126.33{\pm}85.93{times}10^3$/㎕ in Control group, $1043.33{\pm}80.80{times}10^3$/㎕ in Treat Ⅰ group, $1116.82{\pm}77.93{times}10^3$/㎕ in Treat Ⅱ group, $1164.17{\pm}94.02{times}10^3$/㎕l in Treat Ⅲ group, $1076.67{\pm}54.84{times}10^3$/㎕ in Treat Ⅳ group. There was no significance in The numbers of platelet between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) 9. The quantity of CRP were $0.05{\pm}0.01$mg/ml in Control group, $0.05{\pm}0.01$mg/ml in Treat Ⅰ group, $0.06{\pm}0.01$mg/ml in Treat Ⅱ group, $0.05{\pm}0.00$mg/ml in Treat Ⅲ group, $0.05{\pm}0.00$mg/ml in Treat Ⅳ group. There was no significance in The quantity of CRP between Control group and Treat group(p<0.05) Concluslon : From these results, it is shown Cervi Comu Herbal-acupuncture more efffective thaJJ Cervi Cornu Ex. on Adjuvant Arthritis in rats.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.213-223
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• 2013

Objectives Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common reason for people in Korea to visit Korean medical institutions. To assess actual amounts of use in the treatment of LBP in Korean medicine and to provide objective base line data for policy decision making, research regarding the current state of LBP patients' treatment in Korean medical institutions are in need. Methods The current study was designed as a retrospective chart review to investigate descriptive characteristics of LBP patients. The clinical records of 304 patients who were hospitalized for the treatment of LBP in Korean rehabilitation medicine inpatient clinics of five different Korean medicine hospitals were analyzed. The percentage of patient characteristics such as sex, age, average duration of admission, insurance type, diagnosed LBP related disease code, and rates of interventions applied were assessed. Results 1. The female sex was significantly predominant among patients with LBP : 105 patients (34.5%) were male and 199 patients (65.5%) were female. Percentage of the patients' age appeared as followed : 76 people (25.0%) were in their 50s, 64 people (21.1%) were in their 40s, 51 people (16.8%) were in their 30s, 37 people (12.2%) were in their 60s, and 33 people (10.9%) were in their 70s. Approximately half of the total LBP patients investigated were older than 50. 2. The average duration of admission was 16.2 days. Approximately one third (30.3%) of the patients were hospitalized for 8 to 14 days. 3. Female patients tended to stay admitted in hospitals slightly longer than male patients. Elderly (age 60~79) patients stayed in hospitals longer (17.8 days) compared to younger (age 20~39) patients (13.5 days). 4. More than half of the patients (171 cases, 56.3%) had their hospital bills covered with automobile insurance. 40.1% (122 cases) of the patients had medical insurance to cover their hospital bills. The average duration of admission of patients who had automobile insurance was 14.2 days, while that of the patients who had medical insurance was 18.4 days. 5. "Sprain and strain of the lumbar spine and pelvis" was the most commonly used (195 cases, 64.1%) disease code in patients with LBP. Patients diagnosed as "lumbar and other intervertebral disc disorders with radiculopathy" required the longest admission duration (22.1 days). 6. Herbal medication was applied to all of the patients during admission. Acupuncture was applied to all of the patients except one case diagnosed as spinal stenosis. Physical therapy, cupping therapy, moxibustion therapy, chuna therapy, and pharmacopuncture therapy were applied to 94.7, 92.8, 85.2, 83.9, and 49.7% of the patients, respectively. 7. There were certain differences among Korean medicine hospitals in terms of the LBP patients' duration of admission, type of insurance, frequency of the disease code use, type of intervention applied. Conclusions It is thought that the current study can be used as reference data in assessing the current state of LBP treatment in Korean rehabilitation medicine and a basis for future research. Provided improvements of certain limitations of the current study in future researches, such data would act as better base line data in policy decision making.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.201-219
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• 2007

Objectives : We studied Effects of Hagocho(prunella vulgaris L.), Gamgook(chrysanthemum indicum L.) and Galgeun(pueraria Radix) aqua-acupuncture on the hyperlipidemic rat. methods : We investigated lowering lipid effect, oxidative capacity, concentration of TNF-${\alpha}$, IL-6, Leptin and histological consideration in hyperlipidemic rat. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing about 400g were divided into 5 groups of control, Ⅰ: Hagocho (prunella vulgaris L.)+Gamgook (chrysanthemum indicum L.) and Gokji aqua-acupuncture, Ⅱ: Hagocho(prunella vulgaris L.)+Gamgook (chrysanthemum indicum L.) and Joksamri aqua-acupuncture, Ⅲ: Hagocho(prunella vulgaris L.)+Galgeun(pueraria Radix)and Gokji aqua-acupuncture and Ⅳ: Hagocho (prunella vulgaris L.)+Galgeun(pueraria Radix) and Joksamri aqua-acupuncture. Results : Contents of plasma ${\beta}$-lipoprotein, contents of IL-6, TNF-${\alpha}$ and leptin, Plasma triglyceride and glucose, plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol, liver total cholesterol, liver triglyceride, plasma and liver TBARS, free fatty acids showed a tendency to decrease in the aqua-acupuncture groups compared to those of control group. The activities of GOT and GPT showed no significantly different in all treatment groups. Values of super oxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activity showed a tendency to increase in the aqua-acupuncture groups. Histological consideration of heart, kidney and liver in the aqua-acupuncture groups showed slight vasodilation and fat accumulation compared to those of normal rat. Conclusions : These results indicated that prunella vulgaris L., chrysanthemum indicum L. and pueraria Radix aqua-acupuncture at gokji(LI11) and Joksamri(ST36) suppressed adipose tissue mass and lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant system in hyperlipidemic rat.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.611-616
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• 2013

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. Although much progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis of ALD, there remains no effective therapy for it. Accumulated evidence indicates that oxidative stress is the main pathological factors in the development of ALD. Ethanol administration causes accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), including superoxide, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide. ROS, in turn, cause lipid peroxidation of cellular membranes, and protein and DNA oxidation, which results in hepatocyte injury. In addition to pro-oxidants formation, antioxidants depletion caused by ethanol administration also results in oxidative stress. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of Shiryung-tang extract on the chronic alcoholic liver injury induced by EtOH. Male Sprague Dawley rats were used in this study. All rats were maintained under standard laboratory conditions ($23{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, 12h light/12h dark cycles). All animals (n=30) were randomly divided into following groups: (1) Normal group, treated with distilled water (n=10); (2) Control group, treated with ethanol (n=10); (3) Sample group, treated with ethanol + pharmacopuncture (n=10). For oral administration of ethanol in Control and Sample group, the ethanol was dissolved in distilled water in concentrations of 25%(v/v). Throughout the experiment of 8 week, the rats were allowed free access to water and standard chow. Sample group were administrated by Shiryung-tang extract daily for 8 weeks. Control group were given normal saline for same weeks. As a results, the oral administration of ethanol for 8 weeks leads to hepatotoxicity. The levels of hepatic marker such as HDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase were altered. The ethanol also increased lipid peroxidation and depletion of antioxidant enzyme activities as well as hepatic tissue injury. However, the treatment of Shiryung-tang extract prevented all the alterations induced by ethanol and returned their levels to near normal. These data suggest that Shiryung-tang extract could have a beneficial effect in inhibiting the oxidative damage induced by chronic ethanol administration. Therefore, Shiryung-tang extract can be a candidate to protect against EtOH-induced liver injury.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.100-113
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• 2017

Objectives: Bee Venom has been used to relieve pain and to treat various diseases, such as arthritis, cancer and skin disease. Although Bee Venom has used extensively in gynecological fields, we don't have enough evidence with it. This study is to investigate efficacy and safety of Bee Venom on women by investigating papers, then we are going to suggest the direction of research. Methods: We searched for papers which had Bee Venom from Pubmed, OASIS, Journal of Korean Obstetrics & Gynecology, Journal of Korean Medicine up to August 2017, then classified according to the type of studies. Results: Eleven papers have been finally selected. One paper was a case report about atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. Four papers were in vivo studies about 1 endometriosis and 1 polycystic ovarian syndrome and 2 human cervical cancer. Among eight papers that were in vitro studies, four papers were reported about ovarian cancer and four papers reported about human cervical cancer. Among ten papers that were experimental studies, two papers have been studied both in vivo and in vitro. Most of studies have shown that Bee Venom is useful for gynecological disorders. Conclusions: It has been identified that Bee Venom could be a good treatment for female disorder. However, more clinical reports and well-designed studies will be needed.