• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.121-130
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to report the clinical effects of the Graston Technique and Chuna manual therapy, combined with Korean Medical Treatment for fibromyalgia. Methods : We treated a patient diagnosed with fibromyalgia. We used acupuncture, the Graston Technique, Chuna manual therapy, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine, moxibustion and physical therapy. Outcomes were evaluated using the American College of Rheumatology Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria (ACR), the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). Results : The widespread pain index (WPI) scale score of the ACR decreased from 12 to 9, and the symptom severity scale (SS) score of the ACR decreased from 8 to 6. The FIQ score decreased from 63.69 to 50.15. On the NRS, lower back pain & lower limb pain decreased from 6 to 2; neck pain from 6 to 3; muscle tenderness & morning stiffness from 6 to 4; fatigue from 6 to 3; urticaria from 6 to 2. Conclusion : This case study suggests that the Graston Technique and Chuna manual therapy combined with Korean Medical Treatment may be effective treatments for fibromyalgia. However, further studies are needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.891-897
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• 2007

This experimental Study was designed to investigate the mechanism of Acanthopanacis Cortex Roots(ACR) 50% ethyl alcohol extract on the improvement of regional cerebral blood flow and cytokines production in cerebral ischemic rats. And was designed to investigate whether ACR inhibits lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) activity in neuronal cells The results were as follows; ACR significantly inhibited LDH activity in neuronal cells. These results suggest that ACR prevents the neuronal death. rCBF was significantly and stably increased by ACR(10 mg/kg, i.p.) during the period of cerebral reperfusion, which contrasted with the findings of rapid and marked increase in control group. In cytokine production of serum by drawing from femoral arterial blood at 1 hr after middle cerebral arterial occlusion, experimental group was significantly decreased $IL-1{\beta}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ production, and significantly increased IL-10 production compared with control group. In cytokine production of serum by drawing from femoral arterial blood at 1 hr after reperfusion, experimental group was significantly decreased $IL-1{\beta}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ production, and significantly increased IL-10 production compared with control group. According to above results, the author suggest that ACR had an anti-ischemic effect through the improvement of cerebral hemodynamics, and inhibitive effect on the brain damage by inhibited $IL-1{\beta}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ production, and accelerated IL-10 production.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9471-9473
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• 2014

Background: Since 2002, from October till December of each year, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health conducts a mammogram based breast cancer screening campaign in the whole country for women over 40 years of age. These mammograms are performed free of charge in governmental hospitals or for reduced fees in private hospitals. The aim of this study is to analyze the direct impact of this campaign on cancer detection and subsequent treatment. Materials and Methods: Radiologic records of women screened with a mammogram during the campaign period from October till December 2012 at Saint Joseph Hospital, Baouchrieh, Beirut, were reviewed. Results of mammograms were reported using the ACR score. Women with ACR score ${\geq}4$ were tracked and investigated. Results: 900 screening mammograms were performed; median age was 55.2 years (range:31-81 years). Some 826 (91.8%) had an ACR score of ${\leq}2$; 66 (7.3%) an ACR =3 and only 8 (0.89%) an ACR=4. Thus, less than 1% (8/900) of all screened women were considered at high risk and needed a close follow-up. Among these 8 women, 4 underwent surgery for an early breast cancer, one had synchronous metastatic breast cancer and two were lost to follow-up. Conclusions: To coclude, Among 900-screened women for BC, less than 1 % (8 out of 900) were at high risk of hiding a BC (ACR=4), half of them benefited from early therapy (4 women out of 900) and one was a false positive. Larger studies on national level should be accomplished to have a complete data on breast cancer screening in Lebanon. The results of these studies can affect the Lebanese health policy regarding BC.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.9-17
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• 2015

Background: Biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) extend the treatment choices for rheumatoid arthritis patients with insufficient response or intolerance to conventional DMARDs (cDMARDs). These agents have considerable efficacy compared with conventional DMARDs, but only a few head-to-head comparisons among these agents have been performed. The objective of this systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) was to compare the relative efficacy of Certolizumab with conventional DMARD to licensed bDMARD with cDMARD therapy for patients who failed to prior cDMARD treatment under the condition of the reimbursement coverage criteria in Korea. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE and Cochrane library. Key endpoints were the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) responses of 20/50/70 at six months. Bayesian outcomes were calculated as median of treatment effect, probability of the best, Odds Ratio (OR) and probability that OR was greater than one. Results: Compared with other bDMARDs, Certolizumab were associated with higher or comparable ACR response rates; in ACR20, the OR (probability of OR>1) was 2.08 (92.6%) for Adalimumab, 1.86 (85.7%) for Etanercept, 1.89 (79.5%) for Golimumab, 2.36 (92.1%) for Infliximab, 1.79 (87.0%) for Abatacept, 1.74 (80.8%) for Rituximab and 1.82 (86.8%) for Tocilizaumab. In ACR50 and ACR70, the ORs did not present significant differences. Conclusion: Certolizaumab with cDMARD was more effective or comparable than other bDMARDs in patients who failed prior cDMARD treatment.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.99-110
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• 2020

With hope and concern, the first Korean proton therapy facility was introduced to the National Cancer Center (NCC) in 2007. It added a new chapter to the history of Korean radiation therapy. There have been challenging clinical trials using proton beam therapy, which has seen many impressive results in cancer treatment. Compared to the rapidly increasing number of proton therapy facilities in the world, only one more proton therapy center has been added since 2007 in Korea. The Samsung Medical Center installed a proton therapy facility in 2015. Most radiation oncology practitioners would agree that the physical properties of the proton beam provide a clear advantage in radiation treatment. But the expensive cost of proton therapy facilities is still one of the main reasons that hospitals are reluctant to introduce them in Korea. I herein introduce the history of proton therapy and the cutting edge technology used in proton therapy. In addition, I will cover the role of a medical physicist in proton therapy and the future prospects of proton therapy, based on personal experience in participating in proton therapy programs from the beginning at the NCC.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.70-77
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• 2006

A cost effective analysis was performed for comparing leflunomide+methotrexate, etanercept monotherapy and etanercept+methotrexate for 6 months. For the patients with methotrexate-resistant RA, ACR20 data were extracted from the published clinical trials searched from Pubmed. The direct medical cost was estimated based on ACR guideline and Korean National Health Insurance reimbursement. Combination therapy of etanercept+methotrexate was found to be more cost-effective than etanercept monotherapy, which meant it was a better therapeutic strategy for methotrexate- resistant RA.

• The Korean journal of internal medicine
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.1224-1233
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• 2018

Background/Aims: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of add-on therapy with certolizumab pegol (CZP) in active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients of a single ethnicity. Methods: In this 24-week, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, eligible patients (n = 127) were randomized 2:1 to subcutaneous CZP + methotrexate (MTX; 400 mg at week 0, 2, and 4 followed by 200 mg every 2 weeks) or placebo + MTX. Results: At week 24, the American College of Rheumatology criteria for 20% (ACR20) response rate was significantly greater with CZP + MTX than with placebo (66.7% vs. 27.5%, p < 0.001). Differences in ACR20 response rates for CZP vs. placebo were significant from week 1 (p < 0.05) and remained significant through week 24. The CZP group reported significant improvement in physical function and disability compared to the placebo group (p < 0.001) at week 24, as assessed by Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index (KHAQ-DI). Post hoc analysis indicated that the proportion of patients who had ACR70 responses, Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) low disease activity, and DAS28 remission at week 24 was greater in CZP + MTX-treated patients who achieved a decrease in DAS28 ${\geq}1.2$ (43.8%) at week 4 than in nonresponders. Among 18 (22.2%) and 14 patients (35.0%) in CZP and placebo groups who had latent tuberculosis (TB), none developed active TB. Most adverse events were mild or moderate. Conclusions: CZP treatment combined with MTX in active RA patients with moderate to severe disease activity and an inadequate response to MTX resulted in rapid onset of efficacy, which is associated with better clinical outcome at week 24 and has an acceptable safety profile, especially in an intermediate TB-burden population.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Clinical Electrophysiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.85-93
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• 2007

Summary of background data: It is researched until now and the researches against the effect of position cold treatment the effect which pain threshold, change of skin temperature, researches the effective stiffness, the coldness in the patient it applied and relax an inflammation do the researches against were insufficient. Purpose: This project was to see how much it gives effect by using the cold air therapy an inflammation relief of rheumatoid arthritis patient. Methods: The medical subjects were 10 people from standard to diagnosis category of American College of Rheumatology(ACR) who had rheumatoid arthritis and to inspect informations about inflammation relief, have inspected ESR(erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and WBC(white blood cells). The experiment method was to let the patient bend the joint and lay down flat and treat with cold air from 10 cm away from joint line repeating 5 minutes treatment 1 minute rest and 3 minutes treatment. ESR and WBC cold air therapy reported with 5 days gap and each patient has been applied for 3 times. Result: The 5th day and 10th days ESR and WBC value shows when using cold air therapy, there was a reduction on rejected group but didn't last long, but 15th day it showed only on WBC it had its attention. Conclusions: So the cold air therapy shows it has positive effects on inflammation relief of rheumatoid arthritis patient.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.215-223
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the effects of Korean medicine treatment, including Onkyung-tang, on fibromyalgia. Methods: The patient was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, and chuna manual therapy for 13 days. To evaluate the improvements, we used a numeric rating scale (NRS), the American College of Rheumatology Preliminary Diagnostic Criteria (ACR), the neck disability index (NDI), and the Oswestry disability index (ODI). Results: After treatment, the scores for the NRS, ACR, NDI, and ODI all decreased compared with baseline. Conclusion: This study suggests that Korean medicine treatment that includes Onkyung-tang can be effective in reducing pain and increasing ability to function in patients with fibromyalgia.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2003

Objective : In order to study the effects of bee venom(BV) on the pain, edema, and acute inflammatory reactant of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients. Methods : Patients with RA who met the ACR(American College of Rheumatology) 1987 revised criteria for the diagnosis of RA were treated with the BV therapy twice a week for 3 months. Tender joint counts, swollen joint counts, Visual analog scale(VAS), morning in stiffness, ESR, C-reactive protein(CRP) were analyzed before and after BV therapy. Results : The results as follows: 1. Tender joint counts in patients after BV therapy were significantly lower than those before BV therapy($9.0{\pm}7.9$ vs $15{\pm}11.4$, p=0.002). 2. Swollen joint counts of the patients after BV therapy were significantly lower than those before BV therapy ($5.0{\pm}6.1$ vs $1.5{\pm}2.3$, p=0.001). 3. VAS in patients after BV therapy was significantly lower than before BV therapy($60.8{\pm}17.6$ vs $38.0{\pm}15.9$, p=0.000). 4. Duration of morning stiffness in patients after BV therapy was significantly reduced compared with that before BV therapy($119.1{\pm}112.6min$ vs $59.0{\pm}89.7min$, p=0.009). 5. ESR and CRP were not significantly changed before and after BV therapy, suggesting BV itself could make inflammatory reaction as well as therapeutic effect. Conclusions: BV therapy improved tender joint counts, swollen joint counts and duration of morning stiffness in this study, and further study is needed in log-term effect of BV therapy.