• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.570-591
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• 2018

Objective: This study was designed to investigate the correlation between gastric emptying measurement by ultrasonography and the findings of various questionnaires of functional dyspepsia (FD) or in Korean medicine to explore the possibility of quantification of questionnaires. Methods: Eighty-eight patients (44 patients with FD and 44 healthy controls) were recruited from October 2016 to November 2017. Gastric emptying half-time (T1/2) was measured by ultrasonography at fasting, and at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after meals (apple juice, 500 ml, 224 kcal). The average half-time (average T1/2) was calculated by averaging all measured half-times. A visual analogue scale (VAS), food retention questionnaire (FRQ), damum questionnaire (DQ), cold and heat questionnaire (CHQ), deficiency and excess questionnaire (DEQ), spleen-qi deficiency questionnaire (SQDQ), Nepean dyspepsia index-Korean version (NDI-K), and quality of life of NDI (NDI-QoL) were filled out by all participants. Correlation between the average T1/2 and questionnaires were analyzed for 79 patients (37 patients with FD and 42 healthy controls) after excluding missing and erroneous data. Results: The FRQ, DEQ, SQDQ, NDI-K, and NDI-QoL scores, especially for some gastrointestinal symptoms and general weakness-related symptoms, showed statistically significant correlations with average T1/2. Conclusions: Our results suggest that gastric emptying measurement by ultrasonography may be a quantitative substitute method for some Korean medical questionnaires or for some dyspepsia-related and deficiency-related items among them. However, further studies using various measurements of gastric emptying will be needed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.1030-1051
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• 2020

Objective: This study investigated the measurement interval in the ultrasonographic gastric emptying test for patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) and the correlation between gastric emptying and the findings of various questionnaires. Methods: In total, 119 patients (59 patients with FD and 60 healthy controls) were recruited from July 2018 to June 2020. Gastric volume (GV) and gastric emptying half-time (T1/2) were measured by ultrasonography at fasting and again at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after meals (apple juice, 500 mL, 224 kcal), and the average half-time (average T1/2) was calculated. Questionnaires on food retention (FRQ), phlegm pattern e (PPQ), cold and heat (CHQ), deficiency and excess (DEQ), and spleen-qi deficiency (SQDQ), stomach qi deficiency pattern (SSDQ), visual analogue scale (VAS), and Nepean dyspepsia index-Korean version (NDI-K) were completed by all participants. The differences in GV and T1/2 were analyzed in participants whose maximal GV occurred at 0 min versus after 0 min. The correlation of the average T1/2 with the questionnaire scores was also analyzed after excluding erroneous data. Results: Patients with FD who took a certain amount of time to reach maximal GV after meals had a greater gastric volume up to about 30 minutes after meals, and the PPQ, DEQ, and NDI-K scores, especially for upper gastrointestinal symptoms and general weakness-related symptoms, showed statistically significant correlations with average T1/2. Conclusions: Ultrasonography can be a quantitative evaluation tool for FD. However, further studies on measurement methods based on FD physiopathology are required.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.488-509
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• 2021

Purpose: Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic syndrome accompanied by repetitive digestive symptoms that appear in the upper gastrointestinal tract and are not caused by specific diseases. Psychological symptoms like anxiety, depression, insomnia, and somatization are frequently observed in FD. The purpose of this study was to review the effect of herbal medicine on the psychological symptoms that accompany FD. Methods: Database search (PubMed, EMBASE, KISS, Kmbase, KoreanMed, NDSL, OASIS, CNKI) was performed on February 24, 2021; a total of 1825 studies were searched. After the screening, 22 studies were included. Results: The studies were assessed by Cochrane RoB 2 and sorted into a table according to psychological symptoms. Meta-analysis was performed to estimate the effect of herbal medicine. Twenty of the twenty-two studies reported that herbal medicine was significantly more effective than the control group. Only three of the studies did not have a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Herbal medicine was significantly effective with or without Western medicine and had fewer adverse effects. Severe adverse effect was not reported. Psychological symptoms in FD affect onset and duration of FD, and some FD patients want to be treated for their anxiety before other symptoms. Reliable information about treatment for the psychological symptoms of FD is lacking. We reviewed the effect of herbal medicine treatment in this study, the results of which could be selected for primary or secondary treatment for FD.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2 s.70
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• pp.80-92
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• 2007

Objectives : Functional dyspepsia (FD) is one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases. Nevertheless, there are many unknown mechanisms of autonomic functioning in FD patients. This study was designed to investigate the relationship between FD and biosignals from heart rate variability (HRV) and Yangdorak diagnosis. Methods : 32 patients (22 female, 10 male; mean age 40) and 32 healthy volunteers (21 female, 11 malemean; age 38) participated in this study. First gastrointestinal symptoms rating scale (GSRS) was assessed by questionnaires in both groups to evaluate the types of gastrointestinal symptoms. Second, HRV and Yangdorak diagnosis were measured in both groups. Results : 1. The FD group in this study mainly had the complaint of 'bloating' symptoms. 2. There was statistically no significant difference between Yangdorak (total average and 24 acupoints) and HRV values except logarithmic low-frequency band (lnLF) and total power (TP) in frequency domain. 3. There was statistically no significant relationship between HRV and Yangdorak in either group. However, most Yangdorak values were positively related with some HRV values (low-frequency, low-frequency/high-frequency ratio and high-frequency, etc) in the control group. Conclusions : FD patients had relatively lesser sympathetic domain than healthy subjects, indicated by decreased lnLF and TP. Particularly, there were positive relationships and significant differences between Yangdorak and HRV in young healthy subjects. This suggests that biosignals from HRV may be a useful method that can differentiate FD from healthy state in those of young age.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.142-150
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• 2008

1. Objective The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics and the improvement in the symptoms of the patients who administrated Hyungbangjihwang-tang. 2. Methods We examined 793 case report forms(CRFs) from six oriental medical hospitals and three regional oriental medicine clinics. These CRFs are recorded from november 2007 to july 2008. All constitutions of cases were diagnosed not only by Sasang constitution experts but also through clinical experiences. The traits of the patients and the effects of their treatment were examined. 3. Results and Conclusion 1. The chief complaints in which the patients showed improvement were Headache, fatigue, lumbago, dyspepsia. 2. The ordinary symptoms in which the patients showed improvement were insomnia, fatigue, constipation, dyspepsia, headache. 3. The average food intake of the patients was normal(65.2%) and their feces had intermediate hardness (semi-soft). The color of their urine was either clear or yellow. 4. The amount of the patients' sweat was appropriate (39.1%) Their water intake was approximately normal, and they preferred drinking the cold water. 5. Among the diseases that the patients previously had chronic gastritis(19.6%) had the highest frequencies. 4. Conclusion: The above results show that Hyungbangjihwang-tang can be considered beneficial to headache, fatigue, lumbargo, insomnia, constipation, dyspepsia patients whose food intake is normal, whose sweat level is either appropriate, who prefer to drink cold water, and who are suffering from chronic gastritis.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.431-436
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• 2021

Objectives: This study aims to determine whether Korean medicine improves epigastric symptoms of biliary dyskinesia without unfavorable side effects. Methods: A 37-year-old woman who had chronic dyspepsia with intermittent back pain had gallstone-like sludge identified on ultrasound scan. We administered Saenggan-tang and used ultrasound examination to observe the changes in symptoms such as dyspepsia, the occurrence of back pain, and gallbladder contraction. Results: After 2 months of taking Saenggan-tang, symptoms such as dyspepsia, abdominal pain, headache, and back pain improved. In addition, biliary motility improvement was evaluated by ultrasonography. Moreover, there was no occurrence of any side effects. Conclusion: This study suggests that Korean medicine might be effective for managing biliary dyskinesia.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.769-778
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• 2007

Background & Object : Postprandial epigastric fullness is one of common symptoms in functional dyspepsia, but its pathophysiological mechanism has still been unknown. In this study, its association between postprandial epigastric fullness and pyloric valve disturbance was studied through analysis of bowel sounds and electrogastrography. Methods : Bowel sounds and electrogastrography were recorded together for fasting 15 min and postprandial 40 min. Parameters of bowel soundincluding motility index, sound to sound interval, standard deviation of sound to sound interval, sounds per minute, % of bowel sound, sound length, intensity, dominant frequency of sounds, and postprandial / fasting ratio of dominant frequency of sounds were analyzed with a specialized program. By electrogastrography, regularity of slow waves and power ratio were obtained. Results : Significances of bowel sounds appeared in motility index (p=0.046), dominant frequency of fasting (p=0.048), postprandial (p=0.003), and the ratio of postprandial/fasting (p=0.000); those of EGG parameters were shown in postprandial regularity of slow waves (p=0.006) and power ratio (p=0.011). Conclusion : Pyloric valve disturbance was a cause of postprandial epigastric fullness in patients with functional dyspepsia. Analysis of bowel sound might be useful in diagnosing its existence.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.143-149
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• 2023

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a chronic and recurrent upper gastrointestinal symptom that has no organic cause. A 49-year-old male patient positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) visited the clinic because of FD and constipation. He received complex Korean medicine treatment, including acupuncture and herbal medicines, from April 14 to July 18, 2022 (27 times) in the outpatient department. Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS), Nepean Dyspepsia Index (NDI), FD-related quality of life (FD-QoL), Euro QoL visual analog scale (EQ-VAS), and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) were used as evaluation tools in this study. Symptoms were relieved after 3 months of treatment, and his QoL improved (GSRS, 15-3; NDI, 110-21; FD-QoL, 52-20 [eating status, 10-3; liveliness status, 12-8; psychological, 1-0; role-functioning status, 18-9]; EQ-VAS, 40-65; NRS, 8-4). The results revealed that complex Korean medicine treatment could alleviate FD and constipation in patients with HIV.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.734-739
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to propose a diagnostic method for classifying patients with dyspepsia by symptom type. The correlation between symptom types and X-ray findings was studied in 62 patients with indigestion. Methods: In this study, the complaints and abdominal X-ray findings were collected for 62 patients who visited the outpatient Korean medicine clinic. The medical information related to dyspepsia was grouped for similar patients and classified by symptom type. Results: The patients with dyspepsia were classified into three types according to their medical symptoms: Distention type (N=43, 68.3%), Abdominal Pain type (N=16, 25.5%), and Constipation type (N=12, 19.0%). Intestinal fecal findings (80.6%) on x-rays were noted in most of the cases, followed by intestinal gas pattern findings (14.5%). Conclusion: Classifying patients with dyspepsia by symptom types is an appropriate diagnostic method due to the unclear pathophysiology of indigestion and the difficulty in applying a Korean medical dialectic. Irrespective of the symptom types, the large number of fecal material findings (80.6%) on x-rays means an effect on the interior environment of the body where intestinal feces accumulate easily and decreased gastrointestinal motility in patients with indigestion. This can be correlated with "food accumulation (食積)" as intestinal feces are tangible substances. In addition, gas in the intestine increases visceral sensitivity, causing abdominal distention or pain. The gas pattern findings (14.5%) on x-ray were observed in the "Distention type" and "Abdominal pain type," but not in the "Constipation type."

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.8-36
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• 2017

Objectives : The aim of this study is to review the methodology of clinical trials conducted with the acupuncture and moxibustion treatment on functional dyspepsia. Methods : We searched four international databases and three Korean databases including English, Korean and Chinese, through March 2016 for randomized controlled trials(RCT) and non-randomized case-control trials(CCT) that evaluated the effects of the acupuncture and moxibustion on functional dyspepsia. We abstracted the designs of the trials and the method of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment according to the Standards for Reporting Interventions in Clinical Trials of Acupuncture. Results : A total 117 papers were reviewed. The 106 studies were conducted in China. There were 111 RCTs(95%), and 6 CCTs(5%). Sixty eight studies(59%) were conducted with the manual acupuncture, 29 studies of electro-acupuncture(25%), 11 studies of moxibustion(9%), 5 studies of acupoints embedding therapy(4%), 4 studies of acupoint injection therapy(3%) were conducted. ST36, CV12, ST25 were most frequently used for acupoints to treat functional dyspepsia. In 59 studies(50%), western medication was used in the control group, and the effects of acupuncture and moxibustion were evaluated with the symptoms in most studies. Conclusions : These results suggest that it is necessary to develop more detailed reporting standards about acupuncture and moxibustion treatment method as the method of acupuncture and moxibustion is getting more diverse, and more objective tools are needed in evaluating functional dyspepsia.