Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is one of the most common dose-limiting side effects of neurotoxic chemotherapeutic agents that lead to decreased quality of life and dose reduction, delay or even cessation of treatment. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the effect and the underlying mechanisms of bee venom (BV) pharmacopuncture therapy for CIPN in animal models. We searched for the available experimental literature using BV for CIPN through the Pubmed databases. Ten experimental studies were finally included in this review. In the oxaliplatin or paclitaxel-induced CIPN animal model, BV significantly relieved pain caused both mechanical and cold stimulation. It was suggested that the effect of BV is mediated by the stimulation effect of spinal α1- and α2-adrenergic receptors as a potential mechanism. In the future, more experimental studies are needed.

Shihogayonggolmoryo-tang (ST) is a Korean medical herb cocktail which has been used to treat anxiety induced insomnia. In this study, we will examine sleep-promoting and anti-anxiety effects of ST, and investigate its mechanism. ICR mice were divided into three groups for the first examination : control group (n=11), ST50 group (50 mg/kg, po, n=11), ST200 group (200 mg/kg, po, n=11). Sleep-promoting effect was confirmed by measuring the sleeping duration time and sleeping onset time after thiopental sodium treatment (50 mg/kg, ip). ICR mice were divided into five groups for the second examination : control group (n=11), ST200 group (200 mg/kg, po, n=11), ST200+Flumazenil group (ST 200 mg/kg, po, flumazenil 0.3 mg/kg, ip, n=11), diazepam group (1 mg/kg, ip, n=11), diazepam+flumazenil group (diazepam 1 mg/kg, ip, Flumazenil 0.3 mg/kg, ip, n=11). Anxiety behavior and sleep-promoting effect was confirmed by open field test and measuring the sleeping duration time and sleeping onset time. Expression levels of c-fos in tuberomammillary nucleus (TMN) and ventrolateral preoptic nucleus (VLPO) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. ST treated group showed significantly decreased anxiety behavior and enhanced sleeping duration time and sleeping onset time concentration dependently. The expression of c-fos was significantly upregulated in VLPO as sleep-inducing center and TMN as downregulated in arousal center by ST treatment. In addition, all effects of ST were reversed by flumazenil. Our results suggest that ST has sleep-promoting and anti-anxiety effects through regulating arousal center (TMN) and sleep-inducing center (VLPO).

Donggwaja (Benincasae Semen), the seed of Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn., has been used in Korean traditional medicine to control the body heat and water retention caused by various diseases. Both the symptoms targeted by the herbal medicine in clinic and studies with disease mouse models support the potential anti-inflammatory effect of Donggwaja. However, it is less understood how Donggwaja exerts its possible anti-inflammatory effect. Here, we present evidence that Donggwaja suppresses macrophage inflammatory reactions via expressing tumor necrosis factor a-induced protein 3 (TNFAIP3 or A20) and suppressing NF-kB activity. The ethanol extract of Donggwaja (EED) showed no toxicity when added to RAW 264.7 cells less than 100mg/ml. When treating the cells for 16 h, EED significantly suppressed the nuclear localization of NF-kB, suggesting that EED suppresses NF-kB activity. Concordantly, a semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that EED decreased the expression of prototypic pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, IL(interleukin)-6, and IL-1b. EED induced in RAW 264.7 cells the expression of A20, a ubiquitin modulator that suppresses inflammatory signaling cascades initiated from TLR4 and TNF and IL-1 receptors, while not affecting the induction of Nrf2, an anti-inflammatory factor that could suppress the effect of NF-kB. These results suggest that EED exerts its suppressive effect on inflammation, at least in part, by expressing anti-inflammatory factor A20 and suppressing pro-inflammatory factor NF-kB activity.

This study conducted a questionnaire for students of Pusan National University Graduate School of Korean Medicine who practiced using the Oriental Medicine Diagnosis System (ODS). From the questionnaire, this study investigated current state of application and perception of AI in Korean Medicine and explored the direction of ODS improvement and utilization. The survey questions consisted of six questions examining the satisfaction of the diagnostic expert system, five questions evaluating the availability of the diagnostic expert system, and six questions to predict the impact of AI on the Korean medicine community. The survey analysis showed high satisfaction with practice using ODS. On the other hand, the possibility of using ODS, especially in clinical use, was evaluated as relatively low compared to the satisfaction of the practice. Therefore, the overall impact of AI on the Korean medical community is not expected to be large. Although there are difficulties in standardization of clinical data due to the academic characteristics of Korean medicine, it is necessary to continue attempts to apply AI. By actively introducing educational tools using the latest AI techniques to the diagnosis experience and doctor-patient role in a practice, students will be able to increase their satisfaction with their practice and respond appropriately to the state-of-the-art medical environment.

To analyze the clinical efficacy of acupuncture for spastic hemiplegia after stroke, this study was accomplished by considering Randomized Controlled Trials. We searched for papers that performed acupuncture for spastic hemiplegia after stroke in the China Academic Journal of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, from January 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020. In total, 23 reports were included in this review. There are 18 studies conducted with more than 50 subjects and less than 100 subjects. The largest number of treatment was 20 times. 28days(4weeks) was the largest number of treatment period, which accounted 10 studies. The most frequently used evaluation index was The Fugl-Meyer Assessment(FMA) and Clinical Efficacy, each used 21 times and 17 times. The most frequently used acupuncture point was LI3, which was used 13 times. The retention time was 30 minutes and 11 studies were conducted. Western medicine treatment was the most common control group in 15 studies. Most of studies showed result of the intervention group was statistically significant, compared with the control group. These results suggest that acupuncture for spastic hemiplegia after stroke was effective and it was statistically more significant than the control group. However, it is difficult to confirm a conclusion, because the quality of most of studies was low.

Many prior studies on neck pain after a traffic accident (TA), but there is a lack of research on risk factors for post-TA neck pain in Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between post-traffic neck pain and the demographic characteristics of TA patients and to find any factors affecting the neck pain after TA. In this study, 120 TA patients in a Korean medicine hosipital were analysized. The Korean version of the Neck disability Index (NDI) and Numeral Rating Scale (NRS) were used. Data were summarized by frequency(%) and mean(standard deviation). Pearson correlation test, Independent sample t-test, chi-squre test, one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA were performed. The IBM SPSS Advanced Statistics for window, version 20.0 was used for statistical processing. All p-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. NDI and NRS were highly correlated. NRS and NDI showed higher scores for women, those in 30s, BMI≥25, and side collisions, but there were no statistically significant differences. For women, the direction of collision was observed to affect NDI. In this study, it was confirmed that the NDI and NRS had a high correlation. However, it was confirmed that sex, degree of obesity, direction of traffic accident collision are not factors that significantly affect the intensity of neck pain and the functional disorder by neck. It is necessary to conduct an additional study by larger scale.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and sleep duration according to individual characteristics, and the relationship between sleep quality and cold type. A total of 1998 participants aged 30-55 who participated in a community cohort study at KIOM's Oriental Medicine Data Center (KDC) was analyzed. Cold type was diagnosed with a common the Questionnaire of Cold Pattern Identification (8 items). Sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. The participants in this study were classified into 1193 with cold type and 805 with non-cold type. The poor sleep quality was found in more women than men, and the Body Mass Index (BMI) was higher in the non-cold type. In the cold type group, average sleep quality was poor and sleep duration was short. There was a statistically significant correlation between cold score, sleep quality, and sleep duration. Cold type was related to the sleep quality. The risk of poor sleep quality increased 1.46 with increased cold type (95% CI = 1.16-1.84, p <.001). In particular, it was found that various programs to improve the quality of sleep, focusing on the cold type among personal characteristics, are needed to maintain adequate sleep to improve the sleep quality. In the future, when analyzing the relationship between cold type and sleep quality, it is thought that an attempt to derive other objective quantitative indicators is needed.