• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.43-52
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) in the treatment of simple obesity. Methods We used seven databases to perform a literature search using the keywords "Chuna OR Tuina" AND "Obesity." We selected randomized clinical trials in which Chuna was used as the main method for treating simple obesity. The risk of bias was assessed by three independent researchers using the Cochrane risk of bias. Results A total of 14 RCTs were selected and analyzed. The results of the meta-analysis showed a significantly higher efficacy rate in the patient group treated with CMT as the main treatment than that in the control group. Conclusions The results of this systematic review suggest that CMT is effective in the treatment of simple obesity. However, given the limitations such as the small number of studies and the high risk of bias in the studies, additional research is needed to lend further support to this claim.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.479-506
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• 2021

Background: Chronic neuropathic pain (NP) presents therapeutic challenges. Interest in the use of cannabis-based medications has outpaced the knowledge of its efficacy and safety in treating NP. The objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of cannabis-based medications in individuals with chronic NP. Methods: Randomized placebo-controlled trials using tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabidivarin (CBDV), or synthetic cannabinoids for NP treatment were included. The MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases were examined. The primary outcome was the NP intensity. The risk of bias analysis was based on the Cochrane handbook. Results: The search of databases up to 2/1/2021 yielded 379 records with 17 RCTs included (861 patients with NP). Meta-analysis showed that there was a significant reduction in pain intensity for THC/CBD by -6.624 units (P < .001), THC by -8.681 units (P < .001), and dronabinol by -6.0 units (P = .008) compared to placebo on a 0-100 scale. CBD, CBDV, and CT-3 showed no significant differences. Patients taking THC/CBD were 1.756 times more likely to achieve a 30% reduction in pain (P = .008) and 1.422 times more likely to achieve a 50% reduction (P = .37) than placebo. Patients receiving THC had a 21% higher improvement in pain intensity (P = .005) and were 1.855 times more likely to achieve a 30% reduction in pain than placebo (P < .001). Conclusion: Although THC and THC/CBD interventions provided a significant improvement in pain intensity and were more likely to provide a 30% reduction in pain, the evidence was of moderate-to-low quality. Further research is needed for CBD, dronabinol, CT-3, and CBDV.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.401-424
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• 2022

Objectives: As effective treatments for dementia are lacking in Western medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is considered a useful option. While the quality of life (QoL) is a vital outcome for patients with dementia, the QoL of patients receiving CAM for dementia remains ambiguous. This study aimed to determine the effect of CAM on QoL outcomes in dementia patients. Methods: A search was performed using the keywords "dementia," "Alzheimer's," "cognitive impairment," "Chinese," "Korean," "oriental," "herbal," "acupuncture," and "quality of life". All quantitative data were synthesized using R version 4.1.1. Results: Twenty-five randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 16 pre-post trials, and two cohort studies were selected for the systematic review. QoL in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD) (n=11, 25.6%) and geriatric QoL in dementia (GQOL-D, n=9, 20.9%) were the most utilized QoL instruments. Significant benefits in QoL were observed after receiving mind, body, combined mind and body, nursing, oriental medicine, and acupuncture therapies. In the meta-analysis, the combined effect was shown to significantly increase QOL-AD compared to before CAM interventions (standardized mean difference, SMD: 0.507; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.191~0.824; p<0.01). The overall synthesized estimates in the GQOL-D showed a significantly improved QoL (SMD: 0.537, 95% CI: 0.238~0.837 p<0.01; one group; SMD: 1.465, 95% CI: 0.934~1.996, p<0.01). The seven studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of CAM reported uncertain outcomes. Conclusions: This study showed that CAM interventions benefited patients with dementia by improving their QoL. While additional standardized research is required, CAMs are suggested as effective clinical management for patients with dementia. They are also suggested as complementing therapies for these patients.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.54-72
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the recent clinical study trends on Korean Medicine treatment for vaginitis during pregnancy. Methods: We searched articles published from electric databases including Oasis, KISS, Pubmed, and CNKI. The period was set from 2012 to 2021. Searched keywords were "임신 중 질염", "한약", "Vaginitis during pregnancy", "Herbal medicine", "妊娠合并阴道炎", "中药". Results: 34 articles were finally selected. Except 1 case series study, there were 33 RCTs, 1 article of which used both herbal decoction and herbal fumigation for treatment group (TG) ; 18 employed herbal fumigation only, and 14 took both herbal fumigation and western medicine. The total effective rate or cure rate in TGs, regardless of treatment methods, was higher than that of control group in all RCT studies. Conclusions: Our review found that Korean medicine alone or combined with western medicine is more effective for alleviating symptoms of vaginitis during pregnancy than the control group.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.sup1
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• pp.147-159
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Complementary and alternative medicines can be used to alleviate climacteric symptoms that significantly affect the quality of life of postmenopausal women. Isoflavones are the most common plant-based therapies for postmenopausal changes, but the results of previous studies have been controversial. MATERIALS/METHODS: To investigate whether isoflavones would affect menopausal symptoms as well as ovarian hormones, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. The PubMed and EMBASE databases were used to perform the systematic search. Included studies were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the impact of isoflavone supplementation on menopausal symptoms. RESULTS: Eleven studies were included for the final quantitative assessment. Isoflavone intervention was varied between 49.3 and 135 mg of isoflavones per day for 12 wk-2 yrs. The meta-analysis showed that supplementation of isoflavones significantly increased the estradiol levels (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.615, P = 0.035) and Kupperman index (SMD = 3.121, P = 0.003) but had no significant effect on hot flashes, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone. However, both estradiol and the Kupperman index showed significant heterogeneity among studies (I² = 94.7%, P < 0.001 and I² = 98.1%, P < 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Although the results showed a significant SMD in estradiol and the Kupperman index, the results should be interpreted with caution due to the high heterogeneity. Further validation with a larger RCT will be necessary. Overall, isoflavone supplementation has distinct effects on the climacteric symptoms and hormonal changes in postmenopausal women.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.675-702
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• 2023

Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of using Yijung-tang to treat chronic gastritis through a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: The search was conducted using keywords such as "gastritis", "Lizhong", "Yijung", and "Chronic gastritis" on July 31, 2023. A meta-analysis was conducted according to outcome measurements, such as total effective rate (TER), Traditional chinese medicine symptom score (TSS), gastric hormones, and symptom relief time, using the Review Manager website. Results: A total of 11 RCT studies were selected. The treatment group (Yijung-tang-gagam or Yijung-tang-gagam+Western medicine) showed significant improvement effects in terms of TER, TSS, serum gastrointestinal hormones (motilin (MTL), gastrin (GAS), and somatostatin (SS)), and symptom relief time compared to the control group (Western medicine). TER-RR : 1.20, 95% CI : 1.11 to 1.30, P≤0.00001, RR : 1.21, 95% CI : 1.14 to 1.28, P≤0.00001; MTL-MD : 35.99, 95% CI : 30.79 to 41.20, P≤0.00001); GAS-MD : 103.33, 95% CI : 97.62 to 109.04, P≤0.00001); SS : MD : -37.19, 95% CI : -41.75 to -32.64, P≤0.00001; symptom relief time (nausea)-MD : -1.96, 95% CI : -2.47 to -1.45, P≤0.00001; symptom relief time (colic)-MD : -1.75, 95% CI : -2.31 to -1.18, P≤0.00001. Conclusion: This study suggests that Yijung-tang is effective against chronic gastritis. However, the number of studies was insufficient, and the diagnosis and evaluation criteria were not standardized. Furthermore, because of the low quality of the included studies, more clinical studies need to be conducted to increase the possibility of clinical use.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.189-196
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• 2011

Purpose: Surfactants have been used to improve oxygenation for infants with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). We evaluated the change of pulmonary indices after surfactant therapy for MAS through a systematic meta-analysis. Methods: Relevant randomized controlled studies (RCTs) were identified by database searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL, up to June 2011, and by additional hand searches. Data were extracted regarding pulmonary indices, such as the oxygen index and arterial alveolar oxygen gradient. Meta-analyses were separately conducted for the studies of surfactant lavage therapy and surfactant bolus therapy. The risk of bias was assessed, and clinical as well as statistical heterogeneities were also investigated. Results: Two RCTs for bolus surfactant therapy and two RCTs for surfactant lavage therapy were identified. The oxygenation index results were heterogeneous between the two studies in which bolus surfactant therapy was given, while a/A $PO_2$ showed significantly better results in the treatment group over time after use of surfactant (12 hours: WMD 0.08, 95% CI 0.04-0.12; 24 hours: WMD 0.17, 95% CI 0.06-0.28). For surfactant lavage therapy, both studies consistently suggested an interventional benefit in terms of the pulmonary indices although it did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Surfactant therapy appeared to improve oxygenation of infants with MAS. Since a limited number of RCTs are available in the current literature and those studies were also clinically heterogeneous in terms of illness severity and the method of surfactant use, further research is needed to gather evidence to support surfactant therapy in MAS.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to report possibility of acupuncture or moxibustion for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) by reviewing literature about its effectiveness. Methods : In this review, PubMed, SCOPUS, Science Direct and CINAHL of EBSCOhost were used to search medical journals, using keywords "Parkinson's disease and acupuncture" and "Parkinson's disease and moxibustion". The search range included randomized controlled trials (RCT) about Parkinson's disease combined with another disease and other treatments with acupuncture or moxibustion. Non-randomized controlled trial (nRCT), case study, animal experiment, human experiment, review, survey, essay, letter, and protocol for review were excluded. Results : From 311 studies, 111 were selected during the title and the screening. Finally, 16 RCTs (15 for acupuncture research and one for moxibustion) were included in this review, after scanning and matching the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The number of patients varied between 5 and 88. A total of 12 studies using electroacupuncture (EA) were classified into acupuncture studies. The body acupuncture studies numbered 4, scalp acupuncture 4, body and scarp acupuncture mixed studies 4, and bee venom, ear and abdomen acupuncture were each one study. In evaluation methods, total effective rate method was used in 9 studies, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) was used in 8, and the Webster score in 2. In addition, the Berg balance scale (BBS), 30 m walking time, steps to walk 30 m, PD motor function score, and Motor Performance Series by Schoppe (MLS) method were used for evaluation. In 15 of the 16 studies, the verum acupuncture group showed significant improvement compared with the control. In 9 studies using total effective rate method, the effective rate was reported as 80.0-97.3% in verum acupuncture groups and 52.6-86.4% in controls. Conclusions : Acupuncture may be a plausible alternative method to care for the long term symptoms and treat movement impairment of Parkinson's disease. However, to confirm this result, high quality studies including randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trials are warranted.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.32-37
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• 2012

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to obtain some understanding about Korean medicine treatment on language disorder in cerebral palsy for future practice and the research, from the clinical studies. Methods: The literature was searched using the database-China Academic Journals (CAJ). Clinical studies of Korean medicine treatment for language disorder in cerebral palsy, including Randomized controlled trial (RCT), case control study, case series, case report were analyzed. Results: Fifteen Clinical studies met our inclusion criteria; One case study and six case series, one non-randomized controlled trial and seven RCTs. Acupuncture treatment, especially Head acupuncture, was the major treatment for language disorder of cerebral palsy in clinical studies, as it was used in fourteen studies. Acupoint massage, tuina, and acupoint injection were employed as treatment methods in the studies. Acupuncture treatment was used for language disorder of cerebral palsy combined with language therapy and other rehabilitation treatment in many studies. The effectiveness in the treatment groups, regardless of treatment methods, was higher than that of control group in all RCT studies. Conclusions: The results of this study could be used in the practice and the future study about language disorder of cerebral palsy.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.17-29
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• 2012

Objectives : The study was designed to evaluate the effects of scalp acupuncture treatment on patients with insomnia in China. Methods : A journal search was performed using China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) from 1994 to 2011. Key words used within the search were 'insomnia' and 'scalp acupuncture'. Results : 19 studies were selected. 9 RCTs and 2 case control studies showed that scalp acupuncture therapy reported better results than routine acupuncture, western medicine, and herbal medicine therapy. 8 case reports described a significant improvement in patients with insomnia by scalp acupuncture. Conclusions : There have been many studies regarding scalp acupuncture on patients with insomnia in China and these studies can be applied to clinical practices within Korea.