• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.933-937
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to develop a diagnostic screening tool for the early detection of osteoporosis in persons with a predisposition for this condition and to facilitate effective management of the disease. Data are collected using questionnaires. The subjects are 120 women in a small city OB-GY clinic in South Korea, who are 6 months or more post menopausal and who have been examined for BMD. Two items in general syndrome of kidney vacuity(Shin Hur) : hears noises like streaming water or the sound of shrill chirrups of a cicada (OR=3.34, p<0.1), feels twinges in the back and knee(OR=4.10, p<0.05), one item in kidney yin vacuity: feels thirst and gets sore throat(OR=8.5, p<0.01) were proven as statistically significant risk factors in the identification of osteoporosis (Odds Ratio). The predictability score was 86.36%, and ROC curve was 0.84. This study attempted to identify risk factors in female osteoporosis so as to develop a screening tool for the purposes of early diagnosis, the effective management of osteoporosis patients and to modify the progress of their disease. Further studies are needed to elaborate this tool's ability to identify contributing factors in osteoporosis as defined by diagnostic evidence predicted by Oriental Medicine Theory.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.450-459
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• 2007

This study was performed to assess the relationships between bone mineral density(BMD), anthropometric measurements, and maternal factors in postmenopausal women. The anthropometric measurements were taken by a trained practitioner, and the maternal factors of the 85 subjects in Chungnam were acquired by an interview questionaire. The BMDs of the lumbar $spines(L_2-L_4)$, femoral necks(FN), ward's triangles(WT), and trochanters(TR) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DEXA). The BMDs(T-score) for $L_2-L_4$, FN, and WT were 0.996 $g/cm^2$(-1.601), 0.697 $g/cm^2(-1.657)$, and 0.793 $g/cm^2(-1.512)$ respectively, which were assessed as osteopenia by the T-score ; TR was noma1 at 0.718 $g/cm^2(-0.675)$. The 85 subjects in Chungnam were divided into three groups according to their BMD measurements for $L_2-L_4$ and FN, assessed by the T-score. The percentages in the osteoporosis, osteopenia, and normal groups were 32.9%, 42.4, and 24.7%, respectively. The average age was significantly the highest in the osteoporosis group than in the other two osteopenia and normal group(p<0.001). The subjects' BMDs were positively correlated with weight, height, BMI, waist, WHR, OBR and hip circumference, and negatively correlated with the age, duration time after menopause, lactation, the age of last delivery, menarche age, and number of children. The average age at menopause was 48.8. The osteoporosis group's average age at menopause was lower than those of the other groups. However, the BMD of the lumbar spine positively correlated with duration time after menopause and the BMD of the femoral neck with lactation, last delivery, menarch age, number of children. Therefore, researches are needed to find out the effective way to minimize the effect of age and other physiological conditions on the decrease of bone mass density.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.286-293
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• 2003

Several polyphenolic compounds and complex mixtures were isolated from brown algae species. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydarzyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of these compounds were evaluated to determine their physiological usefulness as antioxidants for vascular protection. The antioxidative protection of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was also evaluated and compared with that of catechin, because the generation of oxidized LDL is one of the most active and specific risk factors contributing to atherogenesis. Oral administration to rats of a commercially available sample ($VNP^{TM}$) containing 30% of these polyphenolic compounds and 70% dietary fiber revealed that the serum reducing capacity measured in terms of FRAP value was significantly elevated 30 min after the treatment, but declined rather quickly thereafter, indicating the good oral absorption of the compounds and their fast binding to the lumenal surface of the blood vessels. An eight-week, human, clinical trial (n=31) of $VNP^{TM}$ showed significant improvement in erectile function measured by IIEF (international index of erectile function) score. These results collectively demonstrated the usefulness of these polyphenolic compounds as fundamental chemopreventive agents against vascular risk factors originating from oxidative stress.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.71-77
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• 2011

Gastric ulcer has multifactorial etiology, and the development of ulcer is known to be caused by gastric acidity, pepsin secretion, gastric motility and gastric mucosal blood flow. The ulcer results from the tissue necrosis and apoptotic cell death triggered by mucosal ischemia, free radical formation and cessation of nutrient delivery. The gastric mucosa is usually exposed to a wide range of aggressive insults, and has developed efficient mechanisms to repair tissue injury. The apoptotic process of gastric mucosa is triggered by the induction of such proapoptotic gene expression, such as BAX. The Bcl-2 family of proteins plays a pivotal role in the regulation of apoptosis. The maintenance of gastric mucosa integrity depends upon the ratio between cell proliferation and cell death. Stress-inducing factors may affect Bcl-2/BAX ratio and thus the rate of apoptosis through modulation of the expression of both proteins depends upon the experimental model. In addition to the regulation of apoptosis, new vessels have to be generated in order to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen and nutrients to the healing gastric mucosa. This events are regulated by several factors. Among them, such polypeptide growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates essential cell functions involved in tissue healing including cell proliferation and differentiation. The purpose of this study was carried to investigate whether Rhei Rhizoma administration might protect apoptotic cell death and promote angiogenesis in gastric mucosa. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups; normal, saline, cimetidine and Rhei Rhizoma-treated group. The saline, cimetidine and Rhei Rhizoma extracts were orally administrated to each group and gastric ulcer was induced by HCl-EtOH solution. After 1 hour, the stomachs were collected for histological observation and immunohistochemistry. In results, Rhei Rhizoma proves to promote to heal wound in gastric ulcer in conclusion and the significant changes of BAX, Bcl-2 and VEGF quantity in gastric mucosa were observed. These results suggest that Rhei Rhizoma extract may promote incision wound healing and has protective effects on gastric ulcer in rats.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.245-251
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• 2008

Dietary restriction (DR) is the most efficacious intervention for retarding the deleterious effects of aging. DR increases longevity, decreases the occurrence and severity of age-related diseases, and retards the physiological decline associated with aging. The beneficial effects of DR have been mostly studied in non-neuronal tissues. However, several studies have showed that DR attenuate neuronal loss after several different insults including exposure to kainate, ischemia, and MPTP. Moreover, administration of the non-metabolizable glucose analog 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) could mimic the neuroprotective effect of DR in rodent, presumably by limiting glucose availability at the cellular level. Based on the studies of chemically induced DR, it has been proposed that the mechanism whereby DR and 2DG protect neurons is largely mediated by stress response proteins such as HSP70 and GRP78 which are increased in neurons of rats and mice fed a DR regimen. In addition, DR, as mild metabolic stress, could lead to the increased activity in neuronal circuits and thus induce expression of neurotrophic factors. Interestingly, such increased neuronal activities also enhance neurogenesis in the brains of adult rodents. In this review, we focus on what is known regarding molecular mechanisms of the protective role of DR in neurodegenerative diseases and aging process. Also, we propose that DR is a mild cellular stress that stimulates production of neurotrophic factors, which are major regulators of neuronal survival, as well as neurogenesis in adult brain.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.563-572
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate incidence and related factors of the metabolic syndrome in a Korean medicine hospital. The 716 subjects were analyzed using biochemical data and survey who took medical examination in Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital for general health check-up. This investigation was conducted from February in 2008 to July in 2010. The metabolic syndrome was diagnosed according to the definition by the NCEP ATP III. The abdominal obesity guidelines for waist circumference applied by the WHO Western Pacific Region, IASO and IOTF: The Asia-Pacific Perspective in 2000. Incidence of metabolic syndrome was 12% (14.6% in men, 8.2% in women). The groups that have two metabolic risk factors were 21.9% in men and 7.5% in women. The incidence increased with ageing. The mean of metabolic syndrome`s triglyceride was in hypertriglyceridemia, and that of their BMI in men was in primary obese and that of their AST, ALT, ${\gamma}$-GTP means were in abnormal liver function. Smokers in men have metabolic syndrome 10 times more than non-smokers in men. Exercisers that do the exercise once or twice a week in women have metabolic syndrome 0.2 times more than non-exerciser in women. Women that have family history of stroke, were associated with metabolic syndrome by $x^2$-test. Men that have family history of hypertension, have metabolic syndrome 4 times more than otherwise men. Men that have family history of diabetes mellitus, have metabolic syndrome 3 times more than otherwise men.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.582-588
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• 2011

The objective of this study is to examine the difference about manner of utilization and satisfaction on western and oriental medical care. The data came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2001 and 2005. The Andersen model of health behavior was employed to make this analysis. The major statistical methods used in this analysis are chi-square test and logistic regression. The major findings are as follows; Medical care is totally increased in 2005 in comparison with 2001, but medical care in the oriental side is decreased. There is no significant variables in predisposing factors such as sex, age, education level and spouse. Of health behavior factors, the average persons in health state are more favorable in oriental care rather than western care. Oriental care is favorably taken in health insurance subscribers and residents in a large city of enabling factors. The patients with musculoskeletal disease are more dependent in oriental care than western medical care. In conclusion, the findings show that it is largely related to patients' health state, medical insurance, living area and disease types to take oriental medical care. These characteristics should be considered in establishing policies of the oriental medical care in the future.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.380-384
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• 2010

The present paper attempts to investigate the factors which may affect the attitude toward Oriental Medicine among the university students in Korea and China. The research on determining factors that may influence the attitude toward the Oriental Medicine can provide the answers for the question how the traditional things can acquire their present position and make a development in modern society. The East Asian countries such as Korea and China have promoted the western-style changes and development, thinking that modernization means the westernization. Given this, the research on the attitude toward Oriental Medicine can be a good case study that shows how tradition sustains its place and develops. The present study makes two hypotheses in order to analyze the factors which make the influence on the attitude toward the Oriental Medicine: Hypothesis there will be no significant difference between the socio-demographic variables and attitude toward Oriental Medicine. Hypothesis there will be significant differences between traditionalism, modernity, nationalism, and attitude toward Oriental Medicine. The statistical results show that hypothesis 1 was confirmed in the case of the gender of the participants, whereas it was not confirmed in the case of the birthplace, economic status, and nationality. And hypothesis 2 was not confirmed in the relations between nationalism and modernity and the attitude toward Oriental Medicine, whereas it was confirmed in the relations between traditionalism and the traditional medical concept and attitude toward Oriental Medicine.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.327-338
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to obtain information from married women regarding obesity-related factors and psychological eating behaviors, and to compare those variables among three groups, namely underweight, normal, and obese. The participants completed questionnaires regarding general obesity-related factors, major food servings/day, physical activity, dieting behaviors, perceptions of body image, and psychological eating behaviors. The results were as follows: The obese women reported a higher percentage of family history of obesity (74.8%) than the normal (43.5%) or underweight (28.2%) women. Most of the obese women (90.0%) accurately perceived their body image compared to 72.5% of the underweight and 56.6% of the normal weight women(p<0.001). No significant differences were found among the three groups for daily hours of exercise or computer use. In the case of hours of television watched daily, significant differences were found among the groups (obese 104 min/day, normal 87 min/day, underweight 76/min, p<0.05). Only 17.9% of the obese women reported eating 2 servings of milk products/day and only 23.2% of them reported eating 3 servings of protein foods/day as compared to the normal (25.4%, 18.0%) and underweight (29.4%, 41.7%) (p<0.01) women. About 98% of the obese and 78.5% of the normal weight women wanted to loose weight compared to only 10% of the underweight women (p<0.001). Psychological eating behavior was significantly correlated with subject BMI ($r^2$=0.32, p<0.01). Also, more obese women were unsatisfied with their body and had emotional eating behaviors as compared to the normal and underweight women, and this was statistically significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, the obese women had high perception rates of their body image, but had negative-psychological eating behaviors. Special behavior therapy is needed for obese women who show body dissatisfaction, emotional eating behaviors, long hours of daily TV viewing, and low intakes of protein and milk products.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.357-368
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• 2020

This study evaluated soccer-specific fitness early and late season to check the conditioning status of K3 league soccer players. Evaluation factors included body composition, agility, quickness, endurance and isokinetic limb muscle strength. As a result, the factors that showed improvement in the late season were skeletal muscle mass, agility and quickness, and body composition, endurance and isokinetic limb muscle strength were not different from each other. The factors that showed improvement in the second half of the season are thought to be due to the learning effect of repetitive training, competition participation during the season. Lastly, endurance and lower extremity strength did not show improvement in the second half of the season due to the fact that no specific training was performed during the season. Taken together, it is necessary to periodically check the fitness status of athletes to develop and apply a fitness training program suitable for competition, transition and preparation period.