• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.48-61
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• 2018

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the ordinary symptoms, special symptoms and Body Mass Index (BMI) according to Sasang constitution in female college students. Also, we aimed to analyze the factors affecting BMI. Methods Forty-four female college students participated in this study. Sasang Constitution was determined by Questionnaire for Sasang Constitution Classification (QSCC) II. BMI was measured and ordinary symptoms were acqired through the questionnaire. Special symptoms was determined by Fatigue Severity Index (FSS), Premenstrual Symptom Screening Tool (PSST), ROME III, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), respectively. For statistical analysis, t-test, analysis of variance and correlation test has been used. Results There existed significant differences in ordinary symptoms and special symptoms between sasang constitutions. Taeumin had higher urine frequency than soyangin, soeumin had higher gap of feces than taeumin. Taeumin had higher BMI and ROME III score than soyangin and soeumin. They showed significant differences in ordinary symptoms and special symptoms according to BMI. Overweight and obese group is higher in water intake than low and normal group. Low weight and normal group is higher in gap of feces than overweight and obese group. High score group in PSST and ROME III showed high BMI than low score group. We analyzed the factors that affect BMI. BMI are highly correlated with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Also, FSS, PSST, ROME III and OSDI showed high correlation with each other. Conclusion Urine frequency and gap of feces are different among sasang constitutional types. The obese group and normal group showed significant differences in water intake, gap of feces, PSST and ROME III score. It is found that factors that affecting BMI are systolic and diastolic blood pressure. These results may lead to identifying the causes and factors of obesity in female college students related to Sasang constitution.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.326-332
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• 2015

Objectives The quality of life in cancer patients is important. The aim of this study is to report a case which showed symptoms improvement after treatment with modified Galgeunhaegi-tang. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records. The patient's body weight and the circumference of lower extremity were measured and the subjective symptoms such as chest pain were evaluated by the NRS(Numeric Rating Scale). And the frequency of defecation was checked daily. Results The patient had received chemotherapy from March to November 2014 for 8th times. During the chemotherapy, the patient developed symptoms such as weight gain, edema of lower extremity, chest pain, headache, low back pain, and constipation. But additional evaluation and management with western medicine couldn't solve the problem. So he started to take Korean medicine. And he was transferred to our cancer center to keep continuing the treatment. After the treatment, the body weight, the lower extremity circumference and the subjective severity of chest pain, headache, low back pain were all decreased. During hospitalization at our center, the patient didn't suffer from constipation. Conclusions An elderly non-small cell lung cancer patient showed the improvement of symptoms that were continued during chemotherapy. As we can see in this case, Korean medicine can be a solution of the symptoms induced by chemotherapy, if there is no symptom improvement with western medicine.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 2009

Cough is a common clinical problem to which various etiologies are attributable. In Korean medicine there are differentiations in etiology such as food-accumulation and Yin-deficiency. This study was aimed to analyze the relations between the time of cough and Korean syndrome differentiations and to compare the symptoms of Korean syndrome differentiations (food-accumulation and Yin-deficiency). Sixty-two cough patients were analyzed and classified into one of two syndrome differentiations by etiology. We compared the time of coughing and symptomatic characteristics of two: such as symptom differences and change of severity after treatment. Patients with food-accumulation were more prevalent than patients with Yin-deficiency. Among symptoms, anorexia, dyspepsia, nausea and nasal discharge were more prevalent in food-accumulation while pruritus of throat was prevalent in Yin-deficiency. Coughing at night was prevalent in Yin-deficiency and coughing at rising hour was prevalent in food-accumulation.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2010

Objectives : This study investigated the influence of traumatic experience on the ego identity, self-esteem, and general psychopathology of adolescent North Korean refugees. Methods : The participants were 146 adolescents North Korean refugees who attended H High School for North Korean refugees. We divided the subjects into two groups according to the severity of their traumatic experience : the more-traumatic-experience group and the less-traumatic-experience group. Each group performed self-report assessments including an assessment to reveal demographic characteristics, the Traumatic Experiences Scale for North Korean Defectors, the Scale for Ego identity, the Scale for Self-esteem and the Symptom Check-90-Revision (SCL-90-R). Statistical analysis of t-test and multiple regression utilized SPSS 12.0 for Window for comparison between more-traumatic-experience group and less-traumatic-experience group. Results : The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder among adolescents North Korean refugees was 37%. The factor with the greatest influence on ego identity was length of time living in South Korea, while, for self-esteem the most influential factor was perception of health. The more-traumatic-experience group had lower self-esteem scores on some subscales of the Scale for Ego identity. They had higher scores on all SCL-90-R subscales than the less-traumatic-experience group. Conclusion : Adolescent North Korean refugees experienced high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder. The more traumatic-experience-group had lower self esteem and poorer ego identity and mental health than the less-traumatic-experience group.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2008

Objective : This study was conducted to evaluate the changes in the levels of neurotransmitters and cortisol in patients with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to evaluate their correlation with symptoms after long-term pharmacological treatment. Methods : Twenty-eight Vietnam veterans with chronic PTSD and 34 non-PTSD patients were consecutively recruited. The Combat Exposure Scale (CES), Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (M-PTSD), Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS) were used to evaluate symptom severity. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to measure the plasma levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine, and a radioimmunoassay (RIA) was performed to evaluate the plasma level of cortisol. Results : Plasma cortisol was significantly lower in PTSD patients than in control subjects, while there was no significant difference in plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine between the two groups. The scores of M-PTSD, CAPS, HAMD and HAMA were signigicantly higher in PTSD patients than control group. Conclusion : After long-term treatment, the levels of neurotransmitters in PTSD patients returned to within the normal range, and the patients' symptoms showed some improvement. However, the core symptoms of PTSD continued to appear intermittently, and they are thought to be associated with hormonal systems, such as the HPA axis. It is also suggested that PTSD should be considered to be a complex disorder associated with multiple systems and that combinations of the effective medications for each system should be used to treat patients with PTSD.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.37-42
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• 2013

In this present study, we determined the immunoregulatory activity of ginsenoside Rd extract from Panax ginseng. To determine the activity, we tested Rd against $CD4^+$ Th cells in a murine model of type 1 diabetes, which involves Th1-dominant immunity. The type 1 diabetes was caused by streptozotocin (STZ) and the severity of the diabetes was evaluated by measuring the degree of hyperglycemia, a major symptom of diabetes. The data resulting from experiments showed that ginsenoside Rd induced a greater level of Th1 type cytokines [IFN-${\gamma}$ & IL-2] than Th2 type [IL-4 & IL-10] (P<0.05), which was determined by cytokine profile analysis. In the animal model of diabetes, the depletion of $CD4^+$ Th cells by a treatment of anti-CD4 mAb resulted in considerably lower values of blood-glucose levels than those of the mAb-untreated mice, which indicates that the Th1 immune response from $CD4^+$ Th cells are responsible for diabetes. Based on these observations, the effect of Rd on diabetes was examined in the same animal model. Results showed that Rd-treated mice groups had increased levels of blood glucose compared to Rd-untreated mice groups that were used as a negative control (P<0.05). In other words, Rd aggravated the diabetes via the Th1 immune response. In conclusion, ginsenoside Rd had an immunoregulatory activity of Th1-dominant immunity.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.140-151
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• 2014

Objectives: Cold hypersensitivity has been regarded to be associated with digestive function. This study is aims to evaluate the correlation between digestive function and coldness of hands. Methods: We made a research of 80 women who is in ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ University. The patients were subjected to thermometer, and those with thermal difference between upper arm and palm were diagnosed with cold hypersensitivity. The patients were divided into two group by cold hypersensitivity group (n=20), and non-cold hypersensitivity group (n=19), and 39 women are mesured by Nepean dyspepsia index-Korean version (NDI-K) to evaluate the severity of functional dyspepsia. Results: There was no difference between two groups on age, height, weight. In functional dyspepsia symptom score, 6 symptoms (Pain in upper abdomen, Burning in upper abdomen, Cramps in upper abdomen, Pressure in upper abdomen, Vomiting, Bad breath) out of 15 were significantly increased in cold hypersensitivity group compared with non-cold hypersensitivity group. And in quality of life score, 3 domains (Tension/sleep, Interference with daily activities, Knowledge/control) out of 5, and total quality of life score were significantly decreased in cold hypersensitivity group compared with non-cold hypersensitivity group. Conclusions: This study shows the correlation between cold hypersensitivity and digestive function.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2021

Objectives Our study aimed to present the distinctive correlates of formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia, using the Clinical Language Disorder Rating Scale (CLANG). Methods We compared clinical characteristics between schizophrenia patients with (n = 84) and without (n = 82) formal thought disorder. Psychometric scales including the CLANG, the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), the Calgery Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Word Fluency Test (WFT) were used. Results After adjusting the effects of age, sex and total scores on the BPRS, YMRS and WFT, the subjects with disorganized speech presented significantly higher score on the abnormal syntax (p = 0.009), lack of semantic association (p = 0.005), discourse failure (p < 0.0001), pragmatics disorder (p = 0.001), dysarthria (p < 0.0001), and paraphasic error (p = 0.005) items than those without formal thought disorder. With defining the mentioned item scores as covariates, binary logistic regression model predicted that discourse failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 5.88, p < 0.0001) and pragmatics disorder (aOR = 2.17, p = 0.04) were distinctive correlates of formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia. Conclusions This study conducted Clinician Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity (CRDPSS) and CLANG scales on 166 hospitalized schizophrenia patients to explore the sub-items of the CLANG scale independently related to formal thought disorders in schizophrenia patients. Discourse failure and pragmatics disorder might be used as the distinctive indexes for formal thought disorder in patients with schizophrenia.

• Journal of Interdisciplinary Genomics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.21-24
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• 2021

Purpose: Activating mutations of the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) are a rare genetic disorder, and result in autosomal dominant hypocalcemia with hypercalciuria (ADHH). ADHH exhibited varying degrees of hypocalcemia. In this study, we report the clinical and molecular characteristics of activating variants in CASR patients diagnosed in Korea. Methods: This study included three patients with activating variants of CASR confirmed by biochemical and molecular analysis of CASR. Clinical and biochemical findings were reviewed chart retrospectively. Mutation analysis of CASR was performed by Sanger sequencing. Results: Subject 1 showed severe symptoms from the neonatal period and had difficulty in controlling the medications that were administered. Subject 2 was identified as having a novel variant of CASR with hypocalcemia and a low parathyroid hormone that were found in the neonatal period. During a course without medication, hypocalcemia occurred suddenly around 2 years of age. Subject 3 was diagnosed with hypoparathyroidism with hypocalcemic seizures starting from the neonatal period. About 4 years without taking medication with any symptom. However, at 10 years old revisited by repetitive hypocalcemic seizure events. Subject 1 and 3, were heterozygous for c.2474A>T (p.Y825F), c.2395G>A (p.E799K) located in the transmembrane domain (TMD) of CASR. Subject 2 was heterozygous for c.403A>C (S430L) located in the extracellular domain (ECD) of CASR. Conclusion: We reported 3 patients who have activating CASR variant with different onset and severity of symptoms. In the future, further study is needed to determine how the protein level according to the location of the mutation of CASR affects the degree of symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

Since non-cardiac chest discomfort (NCCD) can result in substantial healthcare burden and lower quality of life, interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been investigated for the relief of NCCD. In this review, we aimed to summarize the evidence on the efficacy of the CBT for the treatment of NCCD while introducing a newly-developed computerized CBT program for NCCD. Studies applying CBT to individuals with NCCD were searched for from both English and Korean electronic databases. Among 37 studies, 11 randomized controlled trials, 4 case-control studies, 1 case series, and 2 review articles were eligible for this review. Efficacy of conventional CBT for NCCD was shown in a series of studies as most of them reported improved symptom severity of NCCD or NCCD-related anxiety. However, a substantial variability existed among these studies in participants, treatment procedures and durations. High attrition rates were also reported in these studies on conventional CBT. Computerized CBT could be an alternative to the conventional CBT as it can be standardized and more easily accessible, but it was only reported in one previous study. In addition to the literature review, we presented a newly-developed computerized CBT program for NCCD which may overcome some of the limitations of conventional CBT. A computerized CBT could be an alternative treatment of NCCD, however, need further studies on its usefulness.