Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (동의신경정신과학회지)

The Korean Society of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (대한한방신경정신과학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Treated with Korean Medicine: A Case Report

  • Song, Sue-jin (Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Sung, Yung-wei (Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Koo, Byung-soo (Department of Neuropsychiatry, College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University)
  • Received : 2017.11.25
  • Accepted : 2017.12.21
  • Published : 2017.12.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the effects of Korean medicine on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) patient. Methods: A 85-year old female patient diagnosed with AD was treated with herbal medicine formula Chungsimyeonja-tang (淸心蓮子湯), Woohwangchungsim-won (牛黃淸心元), and acupuncture. Korean version of Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE-K) scores were used at baseline and post treatment as outcome measures to evaluate clinical symptoms of the patient. Results: Improvements in MMSE-K post treatment scores were observed compare to those at baseline. BPSD were also alleviated. Such changes were visually noticeable. Conclusions: Herbal medicine and acupuncture treatment were effective in alleviating symptoms of AD. Further studies with a larger sample size and randomized clinical trials are needed to obtain more reliable and valid treatment outcomes.

Keywords

References

  1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), American Psychiatric Association, Arlington 2013.
  2. Brookmeyer R, Evans DA, Hebert L, Langa KM, Heeringa SG, Plassman BL, Kukull WA. National estimates of the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2011;7(1):61-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2010.11.007
  3. Lancet. Amnesic disorders. 2012;380(9851):1429-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61304-4
  4. Alzheimer's Association. 2017 Alzheimer s disease facts and figures. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2017;13(4):325-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2017.02.001
  5. Yan H, Li L, Tang XC. Treating senile dementia with traditional Chinese medicine. Clinical interventions in aging. 2007;2(2):201.
  6. Na DR. Clinical Appraoch of Dementia. Journal of Korean Medical Association. 2002;45(4):361-7. https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2002.45.4.361
  7. Wang J, Zuo X, Dai Z, Xia M, Zhao Z, Zhao X, Jia J, Han Y, He Y. Disrupted functional brain connectome in individuals at risk for Alzheimer s disease. Biological psychiatry. 2013;73(5):472-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.03.026
  8. Cummings JL, Cole G. Alzheimer Disease. JAMA. 2002; 287(18); 2335-8. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.18.2335
  9. Ho YS, So KF, Chang RC. Drug discovery from Chinese medicine against neurodegeneration in Alzheimer s and vascular dementia. Chinese medicine, 2011;6(1):15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8546-6-15
  10. Lim S H, Jeon ES, Lee J, Han SY, Chae H. Pharmacognostic outlooks on medical herbs of Sasang typology. Integrative Medicine Research. 2017;6(3):231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2017.06.005
  11. Kim JY. Noble D. Recent progress and prospects in Sasang constitutional medicine: A traditional type of physiome-based treatment. Progress in biophysics and molecular biology. 2014;116(1):76-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2014.09.005
  12. Jeong HJ, Choi IY, Kim MH, Kim HM, Moon PD, Hong JW, Kim SH. Chungsim-Yeunja-Tang decreases the inflammatory response in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with cerebral infarction through an NF-${\kappa}B$ dependent mechanism. Journal of neuroinflam - mation. 2010;7(1):85. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-2094-7-85
  13. Jung WS, Ryu JM, Kim YJ, Park SU, Jahng GH, Park JM, Moon SK, Ko CN, Cho KH. Uhwang Chungsim Won decreases blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI signal response to a motor stimulation task. Chinese journal of integrative medicine, 2015;21(7):493-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11655-012-1031-0
  14. Lee DY, Lee KU, Lee JH, Kim KW, Jhoo JH. A normative study of Mini-Mental State Examination in the Korean elderly. Journal of the Korean Neurological Association. 2002;41(3):508-25.
  15. Choi SH, Na DL, Lee BH, Hahm DS, Jeong JH, Jeong Y, Koo EJ, Ha CK, Ahn SS. The validity of the Korean version of Global Deterioration Scale. Journal of the Korean Neurological Association. 2002;20(6):612-7.
  16. Choi SH, Na DL, Lee BH, Hahm DS, Jeong JH, Yoon SJ, Yoo KH, Ha CK, Han IW. Estimating the validity of the Korean version of expanded clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale. Journal of the Korean Neurological Association. 2001;19(6):585-91.
  17. Lawlor BA. Behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia: the role of atypical antipsychotics. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2004;65(11):5-10.