• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.57-60
• /
• 2017

Objectives: Studies involving patients with spinobulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), which is often referred to as Kennedy's disease, similar to those involving patients with progressive muscular disease (PMD), are rare. This paper reports a case study involving the use of Korean medicine to treat a patient with SBMA. Methods: We treated a patient with SBMA with unique symptoms by using various kinds of pharmacopuncture and herbal medicines for about two and a half years. After the treatment had ended, we evaluated the patient's conditions and the side effects of the treatment. Results: After treatment, the patient's symptoms were stabilized, and the patient suffered no abnormalities or side effects. No special changes in condition were noted during treatment period, and the patient was very satisfied with his response to treatment. Conclusion: Existing treatments have some considerable after effects and are difficult to apply in domestic clinics. In this regard, our findings should open possibilities for new clinical guidelines. Nevertheless, the limitations associated with this case study should be resolved, and more studies need to be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.79-85
• /
• 2002

Objective : In 1983 Autosomal dominent spinocerebellar ataxia(ADCA) has been classified to four types by a useful clinical features according to Harding. Since 1993 ADCA referred to as SCA by molecular genetic characteristics. We focused on the improvement of clinical symptoms in SCA patient through oriental medical treatment. Methods ＆ Results : The assessment included neurophysiological examination and clinical symptoms. For example slow saccade, gaze limitation, upward and lateral, nystagmus, truncal and gait ataxia. The patient(M/30) was clinically charaterized by ocular abnormalities, trunkal and gait ataxia and the MRI showed atrophy of cerebellar vermis. The patient was taken both common acupuncture and Dong-Si venepuncture on Hwasan with herbal medicine. Before the treatment Rt. ocular movement were slowed and a significant eye fixation was observed always in abduction and intermittently presented trunkal and gait ataxia. During the treatment trunkal and gait ataxia has not been presented and ocular obnomalities changed to normal state. This case suggests the possibility of oriental medical treatment on SCA but further observation is needed on this patient.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.183-187
• /
• 2011

Progressive hemifacial atrophy, also known as Parry-Romberg syndrome, is an uncommon degenerative condition which is poorly defined. It is characterized by a slow and progressive atrophy affecting one side of the face. The onset usually occurs during the first two decades of life. Characteristically, the atrophy progresses slowly for several years, and then it becomes stable. Ophthalmic involvement is common, with progressive enophthalmos which is a frequent finding. Cutaneous pigmentation is common in such conditions, however its extension to the conjunctiva is rarely reported. We report a case of Parry Romberg syndrome with characteristic clinical and radiographic presentation accompanied with rare ocular findings. The clinical features, radiological findings, and differential diagnoses to be considered, and the available treatment options are discussed in this report.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.137-140
• /
• 2016

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive, severe neuromuscular disorder in which degeneration of alpha motor neurons in the spine progressively weakens and ultimately paralyzes the proximal muscles. It occurs in one per 6,000-10,000 infants, and is a genetic disorder with the second-highest mortality rate worldwide. An 18-year-old male patient with SMA was referred for general anesthesia for difficulty in performing dental treatment due to limited mouth opening caused by temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain. However, the patient had a high risk of general anesthesia complications, so TMJ pain during mouth opening was reduced through local anesthesia of the TMJ. Fortunately, the anesthesia was successful in reducing pain during mouth opening, enabling the patient to receive dental treatment with an adequate mouth opening.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.150-159
• /
• 2004

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of DHEA on hindlimb muscles(soleus, plantaris and gastrocnemius) in a focal brain ischemia model rat. Method: Twenty-seven male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: CINS(cerebral ischemia + normal saline), CIDH(cerebral ischemia + DHEA), or SHNS(sham + normal saline). Both the CINS and CIDH groups underwent a transient right middle cerebral artery occlusion operation. In the SHNS group, a sham operation was done. 0.34mmol/kg DHEA was administered daily by an intraperitoneal injection for 7days. Results: The muscle weight, muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the Type I muscle fiber of soleus and Type II muscle fiber of plantaris and gastrocnemius, myofibrillar protein content of gastrocnemius, and muscle strength in the CINS group decreased compared with the SHNS group. The muscle weight, muscle fiber cross-sectional area of the Type II muscle fiber of plantaris and gastrocnemius, myofibrillar protein content of soleus, and muscle strength in the CIDH group increased compared with the CINS group. Conclusion: It was identified that muscle atrophy could be induced during 7 days after a cerebral infarction, and DHEA administration during the early stages of a cerebral infarction might attenuate muscle atrophy.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.245-262
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review clinical studies of traditional Korean medicine treatment (herb medicine) on vaginal atrophy. Methods: Key words "Vaginal atrophy", "Vulvovaginal atrophy", "Vaginal dryness", "Atrophic vaginitis", "Herb medicine", "Acupuncture", "Moxibustion", "Catgut embedding" were searched on 11 database systems (PMC, CENTRAL, EMBASE, CNKI, KTKP, KISS, NDSL, OASIS, DBpia, KMBASE, RISS) on May 31th 2019. In all searches, limits were set for MeSH (human) and language (English, Chinese or Korean). Results: 18 controlled clinical trials were collected in accordance with the selection and exclusion criteria. The types of intervention were herbal medicine, and types of herbal medicine were decoction, cream, suppository, oil, ect. The study results and methods of intervention were analyzed. Conclusions: Among the 18 trials, 5 studies showed that herbal medicine with hormone or antiprotozoal therapy was more effective than hormone or antiprotozoal therapy alone. And 2 studies showed that herbal medicine treatment was more effective than oil treatment of topical use. There was no abnormal vaginal bleeding, breast swelling and pain in TCM group.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.163-171
• /
• 2018

A mixed dysarthria with combinations of hypokinetic, ataxic, and spastic components is a common clinical feature of multiple system atrophy (MSA). Due to the rapid progress of dysarthria after diagnosis, people with MSA experience difficulty with verbal communication, which eventually affects their quality of life negatively. In this study, SPEAK $OUT!^{(R)}$, an intensive 1:1 treatment of dysarthria for improving functional communicative ability, was provided to twelve people with MSA. To evaluate the efficacy of SPEAK $OUT!^{(R)}$ in people with MSA, aerodynamic, acoustic, and perceptual analyses were conducted. Pre-and post-therapy data included maximum phonation time, vocal intensity, and fundamental frequency during /a/ sustained phonation and passage reading; frequency range between high /a/ and low /a/ phonation; jitter, shimmer, and HNR for vocal quality; speech rate during passage reading; and perceptual evaluation scores for articulation precision and intonation. The participants achieved statistically significant improvement in vocal intensity, pitch range, vocal quality, speech rate, and speech intelligibility. In conclusion, SPEAK $OUT!^{(R)}$ is a feasible treatment for people with MSA to efficaciously improve their speech ability.

• Journal of Electrodiagnosis and Neuromuscular Diseases
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.130-134
• /
• 2018

A 36-year-old male patient developed diffuse low back pain. His past medical history was unremarkable and had no family history of neuromuscular disease. He had no bladder and bowel problems. Creatine kinase was 172 U/L (normal < 170). Other fluid and blood chemistry tests were normal. Manual muscle test grades of extremities and sensory examination were normal. Muscle stretch reflexes were normal. Fasciculations and myotonia were not detected. Straight leg raising test was negative. There was no spinal root compression, spinal stenosis, or signal intensity change of spinal cord on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Fatty change and atrophy of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar paraspinal muscles were noted on MRI. Nerve conduction studies were normal. Electromyography showed 1+ positive sharp waves in the lumbar paraspinal muscles. Electromyography of upper and lower extremity muscles revealed no abnormal spontaneous activity. We report a rare case of severe paraspinal muscle atrophy with fatty degeneration in a Young Adult.

• Biomedical Science Letters
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.190-200
• /
• 2023

Skeletal muscle, essential for metabolism, thermoregulation, and immunity, undergoes myogenic differentiation that results in myotube formation. Trans-anethole (TA), the major constituent in essential oil produced by anise, star anise, and fennel, whose function in skeletal muscle has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we investigated whether TA influenced muscle differentiation in mouse C2C12 myoblasts. Cells were induced to differentiate using a differentiation medium with or without TA (50 or 200 mg/mL) daily for 5 days. We measured myotube length and diameter after differentiation days 1, 3, and 5 and analyzed the expression of myogenic markers (myoblast determination protein 1, myogenin, myocyte enhancer factor 2, muscle creatine kinase, and myosin heavy chain) and atrophy-related genes (atrogin-1 and muscle ring finger-1 [MuRF-1]) using quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, we observed the expression of total protein kinase B (Akt) and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) using western blotting. Our data showed that TA significantly induced the formation of smaller and thinner myotubes and reduced the myogenic factor expression. Furthermore, the atrogin-1 and MuRF-1 expression markedly increased by TA. Consistent with these findings, TA significantly decreased the expression of total Akt and p-Akt. Taken together, these results indicate that TA inhibits myogenic differentiation of C2C12 cells via reduction of both total Akt and p-Akt. Our findings may provide valuable insights into the impact of PAA on individuals at risk of muscle atrophy.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.159-168
• /
• 2008

Objectives : The present study has been undertaken to investigate the effects of Dipsaci Radix on Muscle Fiber Atrophy and MyoD Expression in Gastrocnemius of MCAO Rats Methods : In order to investigate effects of Dipsaci radix on the skeletal muscle atrophy following stroke, cerebral infarct was induced by the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in the rats. Water extract of Dipsaci radix (184.4 mg/100 g) was treated for 4 weeks, once a day orally, after the MCAO. Effects were evaluated with muscle fiber type composition and cross-sectioned area of muscle fibers in gastrocnemius of the unaffected & affected hind limbs. And MyoD protein expression in gastrocnemius was demonstrated with immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Results : Obtained results were as follows; 1. Infarct volume was not attenuated by Dipsaci radix treatment in the MCAO rats. 2. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, the increase of type-I fibers and the decrease of type-II fibers were induced by Dipsaci radix treatment. 3. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, decreases of cross-sectioned areas of type-I and type-II fibers were attenuated by Dipsaci radix treatment. 4. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, MyoD positive cells were increased by Dipsaci radix treatment. 5. At the affected-side hind limb of the MCAO rats, MyoD expressions were increased by Dipsaci radix treatment. Conclusions : These results suggest that Dipsaci radix has a protective effect against muscle atrophy, through the inhibition of the muscle cell apoptosis, following the central nervous system demage.