• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.66-87
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• 2013

Objectives: The aim of this study was to review systemically clinical trials on the trends of studies for Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the treatment of female sexual dysfunction and provide basic resource for future treatment and suggestions for improving research methods. Methods: Through medical website 'Pubmed', foreign clinical literatures about female sexual dysfunction were searched and domestic clinical literatures about female sexual dysfunction were searched using internet websites 'National assembly library', 'KISS', 'RISS', 'Korean traditional knowledge portal'. Results: Total 19 literatures were selected from January 2000 to June 2012. 15 foreign literatures were selected through medical website and 4 domestic literatures were chosen using internet websites or hand-searching. 5 literatures were published in 2008 and 13 literatures mentioned about age group of patients. FSFI is most common tool for female sexual dysfunction. 9 of 19 literatures were using Herbal medicine for treatment. 5 literatures were about CBT, 6 literatures were about Biofeedback and other one literatures are about Perineal massage. There were 14 Randomized controlled trials and 5 Non-randomized controlled trials. And randomized controlled trials were relatively low in risk of bias than non-randomized controlled trials. Conclusions: Upon these results, in similar future more clinical trials should be done and accumulate Evidence-based literatures.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.53-62
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• 2016

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to investigate for effective strategies to improve home exercise program (HEP) adherence in vestibular rehabilitation (VR). Design: Systematic review. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify effective strategies used to improve HEP adherence of patients in VR. Six databases, Academic Search Premier, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, PUBMED, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were searched from their inception to December 31, 2015. The keywords used for search were 'home program', 'home intervention', 'compliance', 'adherence', 'vestibular rehabilitation', 'motion sickness', and 'motion sensitivity'. Results: A total of eight studies were selected to be included in the review. There was 95.2% agreement between the two reviewers who reviewed the studies using a quality assessment tool. The overall inter-rater agreement (${\kappa}$=0.73) showed good agreement between the reviewers. Strong evidence was identified for 3 major categories of effective HEP adherence strategies, 1) providing patient with written summary of HEP; 2) asking patient to maintain a record of HEP and symptoms; and 3) providing tele-rehabilitation in form of email and/or telephone support along with in person treatment sessions. Also, based on strong evidence, computerized technology was not found to be superior to other strategies for improving patients' HEP adherence in VR. Conclusions: The effective strategies for improving HEP in VR include written summary of exercise, maintenance of log of HEP and symptoms and tele-rehabilitation along with in person treatment sessions.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.2649-2656
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• 2013

Background: Depression is common in breast cancer patients. The aim of this paper was to make a systematic review of its prevalence and associated factors oin breast cancer survivors. Materials and Methods: An extensive systematic electronic review (PUBMED, CINAHL, PsyINFO and Ovid) and handsearch were carried out to retrieve published articles up to November 2012, using Depression OR Dysthymia AND (Cancer OR Tumor OR Neoplasms as the keywords. Information about the design of the studies, measuring scale, characteristics of the participants, prevalence of depression and its associated factors from the included studies were extracted and summarized. Results: We identified 32 eligible studies that recruited 10,826 breast cancer survivors. Most were cross-sectional or prospective designed. The most frequent instrument used to screen depression was the Center for Epidemiological Studies for Depression (CES-D, n=11 studies) followed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, n=6 studies) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS, n=6 studies). CES-D returned about similar prevalence of depression (median=22%, range=13-56%) with BDI (median=22%, range=17-48%) but higher than HADS (median=10%, range=1-22%). Depression was associated with several socio-demographic variables, cancer-related factors, treatment-related factors, subject psychological factors, lifestyle factors, social support and quality of life. Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors are at risk for depression so that detection of associated factors is important in clinical practice.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2016

Objectives : Our primary objective lies in understanding the current landscape of translational research on acupuncture, moxibustion and pharmacopuncture. Methods : We searched our own selection of keywords of acupuncture, moxibustion and pharmacopuncture and translational research from three overseas databases (Pubmed, Scopus, Medicine) and four domestic databases (DBpia, KISS, Riss4u, Korea Med). Results : We have chosen 41 articles in total-40 articles on acupunture, 6 article on moxibustion(5 articles were duplicated in use in each category). Origin-wise, 48.8 %/24.8 %/17.0 % of our articles pool came from USA/China/Korea, respectively. UK, Austria, Thailand and Italy contributed the rest of our article pool. For those articles written in USA and China, review articles were the most common type. For the US articles, all 10 review articles were non-systematic reviews, while, for China's contribution, one out of 4 review articles were systematic review. Type-wise, our research pool's breakdown is as follows ; 17 review articles, 11 experimental research, 2 randomized controlled trials(RCT), 1 clinical trial, 4 conference reports, 1 letter, 1 study protocol and 4 uncategorized. Topic-wise, brain-neurology was most frequently referred with 8 articles, followed by parkinson's disease (3 articles) and epilepsy (2 articles). Conclusion : 1. In terms of research submission articles, Korea appears to be lacking translational research on acupuncture, moxibustion and pharmacopuncture, compared to USA and China, in our view. 2. Unlike the cases of USA and China, most of Korean translational research is limited to doing a T1 level of translational research. In order to bring bench-to-bedside to light. we believe, there should be more studies, and thereby a certain level of activation, to the T2 level of translational research in Korea. 3. Further, in our view there should be more efforts to improve article quality at the T1 level of translational research, which eventually becomes the fundamentals of the next level of research (i.e. T2 research), as well as to increase the number of research submissions, going forward.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.21-30
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• 2009

Objectives : Being introduced in the 1980s, laser acupuncture studies have been steadily carried on such as its thermal effects on human body. However, the mechanisms of effect are not yet clearly explained. Generally, laser acupuncture could be favorable for pediatric patients or people under special conditions (hemophilia, needle-phobia, pathogen-carriers, etc.) because of lower risk of infection, bleeding, pain or fainting. But there are still problems for using laser acupuncture equivalently as the traditional metal needle. The goal of this study is to review the fundamentals, history and present trend of laser acupuncture study, and to suggest how to develop laser acupuncture as an oriental medical device. Method : We performed literature search using PubMed(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) and Scopus(http://www.scopus.com). Search conditions are laser acupuncture, laser needle, LLLT(as title or abstract) or Litscher G(as author). Main target studies are physical fundamentals, clinical trials, physiological results and device proposals. Results : Many research have shown the similarities of laser acupuncture and traditional metal acupuncture and have reported clinical and physiological effects of laser acupuncture. But, still laser acupuncture is not widely used in Korea due to high-cost of equipments and the lack of clear understanding of laser devices. Additionally, there are still challenges in standardization and device development. Conclusions : Frequencies, laser modes, waveguides, adaptor types, polarization and signal modulations are suggested as future study subjects on laser acupuncture. More various studies and efforts for device development have to be performed to provide oriental medical doctors with evidence based confidence about usage of laser acupuncture.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.215-224
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• 2009

Objectives : Low back pain is the most prevalent condition for receiving Korean traditional medical treatment. The aim of this review is to provide fundamental data for development of low back pain classification and assessment criteria which can be used in clinical trials and clinical practice. Methods : Domestic and international clinical studies on oriental medicine treatment for low back pain were searched through on-line databases. The searched articles were reviewed and the evaluation tools used in the studies were investigated. Results : A total of 38 possibly relevant articles in Pubmed were identified, of which 34 articles included assessment criteria for low back pain. And 38 articles were reviewed in the Journal of Korean Oriental Medicine and the Journal of Korean Acupuncture & Moxibustion Society. 29 articles used pain scales, 24 used functional scales, and 20 among 34 articles in PubMed used both pain and functional scales. The majority of articles which published in Korea used worthless assessment scales of simple grades. There was no articles which used assessment scales related to the concepts of Korean traditional medicine. Conclusions : Our review of articles suggests that we would use both pain and functional scales. Future assessment scales should include the concepts of Korean traditional medicine.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.546-554
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of exercise programs in patients with type II diabetes mellitus. Method: Two investigators systematically searched and reviewed English articles from PUBMED from 1988 to 2004, selecting randomized controlled trials on structured exercise programs for DM patients. Out of 87 studies identified, a meta analysis was done for eleven studies which satisfied inclusion criteria and focused on glycemic indices, lipid indices, and cardiac function indices. Results: The means and standard deviations were compared for experimental groups that received exercise-only or exercise and diet programs and control groups that received no intervention or only diet education. The groups were considered homogeneous as the p value of the Q score in each variable group was over 0.05. The experimental groups demonstrated a moderate positive effect on HbA,c and $VO_{2max}$ (d=0.55 & 0.5), and a small positive effect on fasting blood glucose and cholesterol (d=0.38 & 0.27) compared to the control groups. HDL and LDL cholesterol levels, however, showed a very low positive effect (d=0.11 & 0.12) in the experimental groups. Aerobic exercise was more beneficial than resistance exercise on $HbA_1c$ (d=0.59 vs 0.28) in the groups. Conclusions: Regular exercise has a positive effect on $HbA_1c$, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and $VO_{2max}$ in Type 2 diabetic patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5517-5523
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• 2012

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonograph and fine-needle aspiration cytologic examination (USG-FNAC) in the staging of axillary lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients.Methods: We conducted an electronic search of the literature addressing the performance of USG-FNAC in diagnosis of axillary lymph node metastasis in databases such as Pubmed, Medline, Embase, Ovid and Cochrane library. We introduced a series of diagnostic test indices to evaluate the performance of USG-FNAC by the random effect model (REM), including sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratios and area under the curve (AUC). Results: A total of 20 studies including 1371 cases and 1289 controls were identified. The pooled sensitivity was determined to be 0.66 (95% CI 0.64-0.69), specificity 0.98 (95% CI 0.98-0.99), positive likelihood ratio 22.7 (95% CI 15.0-34.49), negative likelihood ratio 0.32 (95% CI 0.25-0.41), diagnostic OR 84.2 (95% CI 53.3-133.0). Due to the marginal threshold effect found in some indices of diagnostic validity, we used a summary SROC curve to aggregate data, and obtained a symmetrical curve with an AUC of 0.942. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis indicated that the USG-FNAC techniques have acceptable diagnostic validity indices and can be used for early staging of axillary lymph node in breast cancer patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5747-5752
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• 2012

Purpose: The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in the treatment of locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods: The search strategy included Pubmed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Internet Web, Chinese Biomedical Database and Wanfang Database. We also searched reference lists of articles and the volumes of abstracts of scientific meetings. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma were included. Meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.1.0. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system (GRADE) was used to rate the level of evidence. Results: Five studies were included. Risk ratios of 1.02 (95%CI 0.89-1.15), 0.93 (95%CI 0.72-1.21), 1.07 (95%CI 0.87-1.32), 0.95 (95%CI 0.80-1.13) were observed for 3 years overall survival, 5 years failure-free survival, 5 years locoregional failure-free survival and 5 years distant metastasis failure-free survival. There were no treatment-related deaths in both groups of five studies. Hematologic and gastrointestinal toxicity were the most significant for patients during adjuvant chemotherapy. The level of evidence was low. Conclusion: Compared with concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone, concurrent chemotherapy followed by adjuvant chemotherapy did not improve prognosis. More toxicity was found during adjuvant chemotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5817-5821
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• 2012

Background/Aims: Glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) is a multifunctional enzyme that plays a critical role in the detoxification of varieties of carcinogenic metabolites. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the association between GSTM1 polymorphism and nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) risk, but the findings among those studies are inconsistent. To assess this relationship more precisely, we performed a meta-analysis of all available studies on the subject. Methods: Case-control studies were identified by searching Pubmed, Embase, ISI Web of Science, and Wanfang databases through September 6, 2012. We used the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) to evaluate the association of GSTM1 polymorphism with NPC susceptibility. Subgroup analyses by pathological types, sex and smoking status were performed to further identify the association. Results: Overall, 11 published studies with 1,513 cases and 2,802 controls were finally included into this meta-analysis according to the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis of total studies showed that the null genotype of GSTM1 was significantly associated with increased risk of NPC, when comparing with the non-null genotype (OR=1.51, 95%CI=1.33-1.72, POR<0.001). The association was still statistically significant in subgroup analysis of patients with nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OR=1.73, 95%CI=1.24-2.42, POR=0.001). Males with the null genotype of GSTM1 were more likely to subject to NPC than females. In addition, the association between the null genotype of GSTM1 and NPC risk was strongest in individuals with exposure to smoking. Sensitivity analysis by sequential omission of any individual studies one at a time further demonstrated the significant association. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the null genotype of GSTM1 is a risk factor for NPC, and there is a gene-smoking interaction in this association.