• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.16-34
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• 2023

Herpes zoster (HZ) results from the reactivation of a varicella-zoster virus infection and is accompanied by moderate-to-severe pain in most patients. The most common treatment is medication; however, there are still limitations. Acupuncture reportedly has meaningful therapeutic effects and is a possible alternative option in HZ. However, no systematic reviews examining the use of acupuncture and electro-acupuncture (EA) alone have been published; in this study, we therefore aimed to systematically review those techniques. We searched for clinical trials of acupuncture and EA treatment for HZ up to October 2022. Trials that used acupuncture were included. Outcomes were visual analog scale (VAS) and effective rate. Secondary outcomes were time to pain relief, time to pain elimination, incrustation, decrustation, lastly incidence of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). In total, 22 randomized controlled trials were included in this research. Compared with conventional medication therapy, acupuncture was associated with a significant improvement in VAS, effective rate, and times to pain relief and elimination. Times to new blister cessation, incrustation, and decrustation (days) were significantly improved. Furthermore, the incidence rate of PHN was lower in acupuncture groups. The results suggest that acupuncture could be a reasonable treatment option for patients with HZ who suffer from pain and accompanying symptoms.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.238-244
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• 2023

Background: Occipital neuralgia (ON) is an established risk factor for headaches in the posterior cervical region. Several conservative treatments by nerve decompression and pain relief are available for ON, but these treatments have limitations. Acupuncture treatment, which is known to demonstrate analgesic effects, involves various stimulation methods, and several studies have reported their clinical benefit. No recent systematic review (SR) has compared each acupuncture type for ON treatment. Thus, this SR aims to investigate the clinical effectiveness of each acupuncture type for treating ON. Methods: We will identify relevant studies using electronic databases, including EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), Korean Medical Database, KoreaMed, and National Digital Science Library (NDSL) from the inception until August 2023. The primary outcome will include the numerical change of pain symptoms (visual analog scale and numerical rating scale) and effective rate. Safety and secondary outcomes will include adverse events and quality of life. We will compare the conservative treatment with the acupuncture treatment using network meta-analysis. The Cochrane Collaboration "risk of bias" tools will be used to assess the quality of included trials. The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation will be used to examine the evidence level. Conclusion: This study will provide clinical evidence of several acupuncture types for ON and help clinicians decide on the best.

• 한국축산식품학회지
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• 제43권5호
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• pp.859-876
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• 2023

It is known that animal-origin medicine could be one of effective treatment to remedy atopic dermatitis (AD) by controlling the cytokines. Cicadidae Periostracum (CP), the slough of Cryptotympana pustulata, has been frequently used for treating AD and skin affliction in traditional Korean Medicine. This study is aimed at investigating the ameliorating effects of CP on AD and its potential mechanism. The dinitrochlorobenzene sensitized mice were treated with CP for 2 weeks. The various biomarkers and the dermatitis scores presented that CP treatment can induce the visual and biological improvements of AD model. Pruritus, the most serious symptom of AD, which can cause repeated scratching behaviors and finally lead to lichenification, was reduced with CP treatment by regulating the inflammatory reactions. In addition, CP treatment diminished the number of mast cells that are known for causing inflammatory reactions. Moreover, it is proven that CP can decline secretion of interleukin-22, which means CP treatment has anti-inflammatory effects. CP treatment can correct the imbalance of helper T (Th)1 and Th2, downregulating thymic stromal lymphopoietin that leads to decrease of mRNA level of inflammatory cytokines. The crucial role of CP treatment is controlling of the Janus kinase 1/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 pathway. In addition, CP treatment has the inhibitory effects on kallikrein related peptidase (KLK) 5 and KLK7. Taken together, CP treatment can ameliorate most symptoms and problems caused by AD disease, improving the AD patients' life quality.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제11권4호
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• pp.493-501
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• 2022

Objective: The purpose of this study is to present basic data for appropriate therapeutic intervention by confirming changes in the autonomic nervous system and pain by applying high-frequency deep diathermy to the lower abdomen in patients with primary dysmenorrhea. Design: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: Thirty-eight women aged 18-50 years who complained of regular menstrual cycles (24-32 days) and primary dysmenorrhea symptoms were randomly assigned to a high-frequency therapy group (5, 7, or 9 mins) and a superficial heat therapy group (20 min). High frequency treatment group: The subject was in a supine position, and radio frequency was applied to the lower abdomen below the umbilicus. The radio frequency therapy device used in this study uses a 300 kHz capacitive electrode and a 500 kHz resistive electric transfer to deliver deep heat. Superficial heat treatment Group: Subjects applied a hot pack to the lower abdomen for 20 minutes while lying on their back. Evaluations were made of Heart rate variability and Visual Analogue Scale. Results: In subjects with menstrual pain, there was a significant difference in pain between the high-frequency therapy group and the superficial heat therapy group (p=0.026). However, there was no significant difference between the autonomic nervous system and the stress resistance (p>0.05). Conclusions: As a result of this study, high-frequencytreatment using radiofrequency was effective in relieving pain because it can penetrate deeper tissues than conventional hot packs using superficial heat. In particular, it was found that the optimum effect was obtained when high frequency was applied forfive-seven minutes.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.31-36
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• 2023

This report presents the case of a 14-year-old male with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in both temporomandibular joints (TMJs), in whom a bone scan and laboratory tests were used to confirm the diagnosis. The patient visited the Department of Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine at the affiliation hospital with a complaint of a 1-year history of bilateral TMJ pain and sound. Clinical examination revealed bilateral TMJ and masseter muscle pain during mouth opening and palpation. Radiological examination revealed no significant morphological changes in either TMJ. The patient was prescribed medications at the first visit to address the pain, inflammation, and stiffness. A bone scan and laboratory tests were planned/scheduled for differential diagnosis between simple arthralgia and osteoarthritis. The bone scan revealed increased radiotracer uptake in both TMJs. The laboratory tests revealed a RA factor of 82.4 IU/mL, which is more than four times the normal range. The final diagnoses were bilateral TMJ early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. We created a stabilization splint and referred the patient to the Department of Rheumatology for further evaluation of the ERA. After fitting of the stabilization splint and giving instructions regarding its use, the patient has been receiving monthly follow-up checks for symptoms and undergoes follow-up blood tests every 3 months. About 14 months after the initial visit, the pain had significantly decreased from a Visual Analog Scale score of 5 to 1, and the RA factor decreased to 66.6 IU/mL. A regular follow-up check will continue until the end of growth.

• 대한한의학회지
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• 제44권2호
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• pp.132-148
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the clinical features of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and the effectiveness and safety of Korean medicine treatment at the Public health center. Methods: The study was conducted among 11 patients with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome who attended a single public health center from January to December 2022. We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 11 patients and collected clinical characteristics, previous treatments, Korean medicine treatments, outcome variables (Numeral Rating Scale (NRS), Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ), Visual Analog Scale (VAS)), adverse events, etc. Results: Of the 11 patients, six were women, and the average age of all patients was 68.27±12.31 years. The most common symptom were cough(n=9, 81.82%) and sore throat(n=9, 81.82%), followed by sputum, fatigue, rhinorrhea, and loss of appetite, etc. All 11 patients were treated with herbal medicine, with Samso-eum(n=6, 54.55%), Yeonkyopaedok-san(n=5, 45.45%), and Haengso-tang(n=3, 27.27%) being the most commonly used. After herbal medicine treatment, the median cough NRS decreased from 5 to 1, and the median sore throat NRS decreased from 4 to 1, both of which were statistically significant. One patient reported adverse event of dyspepsia and heartburn, but it was mild. Conclusions: The study presented the clinical features of the post-acute COVID-19 syndrome and suggested that Korean medicine treatment at public health centers may be effective and safe in alleviating associated symptoms.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제39권3호
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• pp.255-264
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• 2023

Sweet potato symptomless virus 1 (SPSMV-1) is a single-stranded circular DNA virus, belonging to the genus Mastrevirus (family Geminiviridae) that was first identified on sweet potato plants in South Korea in 2012. Although SPSMV-1 does not induce distinct symptoms in sweet potato plants, its co-infection with different sweet potato viruses is highly prevalent, and thus threatens sweet potato production in South Korea. In this study, the complete genome sequence of a Korean isolate of SPSMV-1 was obtained by Sanger sequencing of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons from sweet potato plants collected in the field (Suwon). An infectious clone of SPSMV-1 (1.1-mer) was constructed, cloned into the plant expression vector pCAMBIA1303, and agro-inoculated into Nicotiana benthamiana using three Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains (GV3101, LBA4404, and EHA105). Although no visual differences were observed between the mock and infected groups, SPSMV-1 accumulation was detected in the roots, stems, and newly produced leaves through PCR. The A. tumefaciens strain LBA4404 was the most effective at transferring the SPSMV-1 genome to N. benthamiana. We confirmed the viral replication in N. benthamiana samples through strand-specific amplification using virion-sense- and complementary-sense-specific primer sets.

• Clinical Pain
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.20-25
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• 2017

Objective: To find that the patients who conducted home self-exercise in conjunction with intra-articular corticosteroid injection will have better improvement in subacromial subdeltoid (SASD) bursitis symptoms than those who received only an injection. Method: A prospective, nonrandomized, comparison study was conducted in outpatient rehabilitation clinic in a tertiary university hospital. Patients diagnosed with SASD bursitis with physical examination and ultrasound evaluation were included and received ultrasound guided injection (UGI). Patients were divided into two groups according to the compliance of self-exercise: UGI-exercise group and UGI only group. Visual analog scale (VAS) was checked before, at 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the UGI. A patient's global impression of change (PGIC) survey was made at 3 months after the UGI. Results: A total of 82 patients with SASD bursitis were included. At 3 weeks after the injection, the mean VAS for the UGI-exercise group was 2.6 ± 1.7 and for UGI only group was 1.9 ± 1.3 (p=0.030). At 3 months after the injection, the mean VAS for the UGI-exercise group was 4.0 ± 1.3 and for UGI only group was 5.4 ± 1.4 (p<0.001). Conclusion: We concluded that home-based self-exercise of the shoulder provides an additional benefit for pain alleviation possibly with prolonging the effect of injection in SASD bursitis.

• 영어영문학
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.515-527
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• 2011

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Winifred Watson's novel of 1938, is a fairytale in novel form. Set in London of 1938, the story revolves around a one-day adventure of an ill-starred but truthful governess who is granted a second chance. This light-hearted comedy of manners was turned into a film by director Bharat Nalluri in 2008. An Anglo-American collaboration, co-scripted by Simon Beaufoy and David McGee, the film converts Watson's quaint novel into an edged heritage piece that encapsulates the 1930s, the problematic decade between the two World Wars. The film, while sustaining the narrative core of Watson's Cinderella story, attempts to place it firmly within a wider current of the novel's setting or London in 1938, tapping into the major concerns of the interwar years that engage with characters in one way or another. Stylistically, the film presents Art Deco as a main visual idiom to convey the prevailing mood of nihilism and decadence of the day. The setting here takes on significance in that it offers a telling counterpoint to the giddy superficial world of the novel. The 1930s was a highly charged decade under the threat of fascism and the Great Depression, fraught with economic and socio-political tensions and apprehensions. The film makes an explicit reference to the dismal context which is suppressed in the original text. The thirties is, therefore, portrayed as a decade of contradiction. It features gay buoyant festivity, rampant consumerism, and shifting morals and attitudes towards love, marriage and sexuality. Yet lurking beneath the surface glamour are the symptoms of crises and the deep-seated anxieties on the eve of World War II. In this way, Watson's novel of manners has been recreated into a defining film on the 1930s with its period feel propped by the atmospheric lighting, the exuberant Jazz score, and the splendid Art Deco costume and production design.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제44권5호
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• pp.911-919
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• 2023

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report the efficacy of using Korean medicine treatment on dizziness diagnosed as Dam Hun. Methods: The patient received herbal medicine treatment of Banhabakchulchunma-tang and acupuncture from May 18, 2023 to June 3, 2023. To evaluate the treatment, we used the Korean Version of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (K-DHI) to measure dizziness. The degree of dizziness, headache, and dyspepsia was also evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: The patient's VAS scores improved after treatment. The change in the K-DHI scores showed that the patient's dizziness symptoms were relieved. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that Korean medicine therapies may be effective for treating dizziness.