• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.107-119
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• 2021

Objectives: This study was aimed to report changes in clinical symptoms and signs after treatment with Korean medicine in patients who suffered from calf edema due to deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Methods: A 46-year-old male patient, who discharged home after receiving standardized treatment for acute DVT in the right leg, suffered pain and heat sense due to edema of the affected calf. Oral administration of herbal medicine (Gyejibongnyeong-hwan 4 g, twice daily) and acupuncture therapy were given to him for 6 weeks. The change in chief complaints, Villalta score, the right and left side difference of the circumference and the skin surface temperature of both calves, and blood level of D-dimer were observed before and after treatment. Results: The patient's chief complaints began to significantly improve from 2 weeks after treatment, and disappeared completely within 4 weeks. At the end of the treatment, a substantial decrease in the difference between the right and left calves in the circumference and skin surface temperature was observed. This effect was maintained even at the time of follow-up 3 months after the end of treatment, and the patient completely recovered indoor and outdoor life to the level before onset. Conclusions: This case suggests that Korean medicine treatment, including Gyejibongnyeong-hwan administration and acupuncture therapy, can be a viable option to improve edema and related clinical problems in the affected limbs due to DVT.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.112-135
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study was to summarize clinical studies conducted over the last five years that investigated the effect of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease and to propose a better process of study. Methods: Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Korea Studies Information Service (KISS), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were systemically searched for clinical trials that had investigated the effect of acupuncture on the course of Parkinson's disease from May 2016 to April 2021. Results: A total of 23 studies met all the inclusion criteria. In most reports, acupuncture had significant positive effects on the course of Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, there were no serious adverse events associated with acupuncture in any of the studies. In addition to the acupuncture methods that showed effectiveness in previous studies, various types of acupuncture have been used to treat sub-symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The outcome measures were subdivided through individual symptom evaluation and mechanical analysis. Follow-up assessments were also performed to analyze the continuous effect. Conclusion: In the clinical studies conducted over the last five years, many studies investigated the various types of acupuncture used to treat Parkinson's disease and the segmentation and diversification of outcome measures focusing on individual symptoms, and a new approach for excluding placebo effects through follow-up studies has been made. Further attempts like these are needed to overcome methodological flaws in studies on the effects of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.1018-1028
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• 2022

Objectives: Parkinson's disease is characterized by progressive, irreversible damage to dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, as well as motor and non-motor symptoms. This disease currently has no dependable disease-modifying treatment. In this paper, we describe the treatment of a 67-year-old female with Parkinson's disease using acupuncture and exercise therapy. Case Presentation: Clinical symptoms and the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Society Brain Bank Diagnostic Criteria were used to diagnose the patient with Parkinson's disease. Over a 12-week period, the patient visited a Korean medicine hospital 18 times and was treated with acupuncture and exercise therapy in addition to anti-Parkinson's drugs. Before and after treatment, clinical examinations were performed using tools such as the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Fall Efficacy Scale, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire, Berg Balance Scale, and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale. Furthermore, functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to assess cortical hemodynamics. All clinical examination results improved after 12 weeks of intervention. In particular, improvements on the Total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and Part III of this scale demonstrated large, clinically important differences. Conclusion: This case suggests that combining acupuncture and exercise therapy could produce an effective treatment for Parkinson's disease patients.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.345-378
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the recent trends of clinical research on acupuncture using electroencephalogram (EEG) as the outcome measurement. Methods: Nine domestic and foreign databases were searched to collect related studies published up to November 3, 2021. The participants, intervention, outcomes, results of the included studies were extracted and analyzed. Results: A total of 18 studies were selected. Neurological diseases and mental disorders were included in most studies, and vascular dementia were most frequently investigated. Electroacupuncture and body acupuncture intervention were most frequently conducted in seven studies. The most commonly used outcomes using EEG was EEG abnormality. However, in most studies there was accurate description of the EEG measurement. Most studies showed significant difference in EEG outcomes after intervention. The quality of included studies was poor. Conclusions: EEG as diagnostic markers and outcome measurements is increasingly studied. Standardized EEG measurement and the consistent EEG finding for specific diseases are needed to perform the future rigorous studies on EEG as diagnostic and outcome tools.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.56-73
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• 2022

Objectives: This study was aimed to review the effect of acupuncture for insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Methods: Researchers searched data through 5 online databases up to December 2021. The data was limited to randomized controlled trial studies on patients diagnosed with insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Results: 8 Randomized controlled trials were included in this study. 6 of studies were published in Chinese, in China. 2 were published in English. Intervention of treatment group were composed of simple acupuncture. Intervention of control group were made up with Estazolam, Alprazolam, Lorazepam and sham-acupuncture. Outcome measurements were Total effective rate, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Kupperman index, Menopause Quality of Life scales (Men-QoL), the level of hormones (E2, FSH, LH) etc. In all outcome measurements, treatment group were more effective than control group and it was statistically significant. Conclusions: Acupunture therapy is effective for treating insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is most frequently used for sleep assessment indicator. 神門 (HT7) is the most frequently used acupoint for treatment group. However because insomnia in climacteric syndrome is easy to recur, additional long-term research is needed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.58-62
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• 2022

Objectives : The aim of this study is to report the effect of long-term acupuncture on a amblyopia derived from astigmatism. Methods : A 39-month-old-female child presented with decreased visual acuity with simple astigmatism and amblyopia in the left eye. She took long-term acupuncture treatment once or twice a week for almost four years. And the autorefractor follow-up were conducted per every 6 months. Results : At the initial visit, naked eye visual acuity was 0.1/0.7(OD/OS), Sph. +0.00D, Cyl. -2.25D, AXIS 148° in the right eye, and Sph. +0.00D, Cyl. -0.25D, AXIS 49° in the left eye. After acupuncture treatment for about 4 years without correctional glasses, the visual acuity of the right eye was 1.0, the right eye had Sph. +0.00D, Cyl -0.50D, AXIS 146°, and the left eye had Sph. -0.25D, Cyl -0.50D, AXIS 154°. The visual acuity was maintained until 1 year follow up as 0.9/1.0(OD/OS). Conclusions : This study shows the possibility of using acupuncture treatment for amblyopia derived from astigmatism.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.10-25
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this review is to validate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment on dry eye syndrome. Methods : Through foreign online databases(Pubmed, Cochrane Library) and domestic online databases(Science On, OASIS) we only searched for Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) that performed acupuncture for dry eye syndrome from January 2010 to December 2022. Results : The most commonly used acupoints were 風池(GB20), 贊竹(BL2) and the most commonly used meridian was the gall bladder meridian of foot-shaoyang. The most commonly used evaluation criteria was Tear Break Up Time(TBUT) followed by Schirmer Test and Ocular Surface Disease Index(OSDI). In most of 8 studies, acupuncture treatment showed significant therapeutic effects. Conclusions : According to this study results, acupuncture can be suggested to effective way for treating dry eye syndrome. More clinical studies are needed to prove the effectiveness of the acupuncture on dry eye syndrome.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.19-32
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• 2023

Objectives The purpose of this study is to systematically review the degree of pain and function improvement in acupuncture treatment for patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were searched from Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, WanFang Data, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Citation Information by NII (CiNII), Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS), ScienceON, KoreaMed, and Korean Medical Database (KMbase). The methodological quality of selected RCTs' were evaluated according to Cochrane RoB2 tool. Results Total of 158 studies were identified and 7 RCTs were selected for systematic review. Frequently used evaluation method were visual analogue scale and Kujala scores. All studies showed significant effect on pain reduction and knee function between before and after treatment, but showed partial significance between the intervention and control group. Conclusions Research showed that acupuncture treatment is an effective treatment for improving the pain and function of PFPS, but it is difficult to conclude that it has a significant effect compared to other treatments. Selected studies included subjective evaluation indicators and the total of selected studies were small, so the interpretation of the results is limited. Also most of the included studies are evaluated to have some concerns of bias. Therefore, subsequent research should continously be done in more objective and systematic method.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.235-245
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• 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze public and researcher interests in suicide and related illnesses and acupuncture and acupressure treatment using Google Trends and some electronic databases. Methods: Search results for keywords "suicide," "acupuncture," "acupressure," and several illnesses related to suicide were analyzed in Google Trends from January 2004 to June 2023. Illnesses included anxiety, depression (including major depressive disorder), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorder (including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa), substance use disorder, autism spectrum disorder, personality disorder (including borderline person- ality disorder), and chronic pain. Search results were extracted using relative search volume (RSV) scores between 0 and 100. Search terms were also searched in online databases, including PubMed, CNKI, and OASIS, to estimate the number of related studies, and descriptive analysis was conducted. Results: Google Trends analysis showed a strong positive correlation between the RSVs of "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and chronic pain," and "acupressure and PTSD." The electronic database search results produced numerous studies published on "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and depression," and "acupressure and anxiety." High interest in "suicide and depression," "acupuncture and chronic pain," and "acupressure and anxiety" was seen among the public and researchers. Interest in "suicide and chronic pain," "acupuncture and eating disorder," and "acupressure and PTSD" was higher in the public than among researchers, while "anxiety and suicide" and "anxiety and acu- puncture" showed opposite trends. Conclusions: The results of this research enable an understanding of public and researcher interest in suicide, acupuncture, acupressure, and suicide-related illnesses. The results also provide a basis for fu- ture research and examining public health implications in Korean medicine.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.140-149
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• 2023

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to present the effect of subcision, microneedle therapy system and herbal peeling therapy which is treatment of Korean medicine to atrophic acne scar patients. Methods : We administered subcision, microneedle therapy system and herbal peeling therapy to atrophic acne scar patients and tested the results by Qualitative Global Acne Scarring Grading System and Korean Acne Grading System as well. Results : After the treatment, all of the patients showed improvements in Qualitative Global Acne Scarring Grading System and Korean Acne Grading System as well. Qualitative Global Acne Scarring Grading System of patients changed from grade 2.71±0.71 to grade 1.14±0.86 along with the change of Korean Acne Grading System from grade 1.57±0.57 to grade 1.00±0.00. Conclusions : Subcision, microneedle therapy system and herbal peeling therapy may be effective in the treatment of moderate to severe acne scars, and could be applied in clinical practice.