• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.51-60
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• 2014

Objectives : This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Alismatis Rhizoma Herbal-acupuncture( AR-HA) at $KI_{10}$(Umgok) on nephritis induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) in rat. Methods : Rats were injected with LPS to induce nephritis. The rats in $KI_{10}$-AR-HA group were treated with AR-HA, $KI_{10}$-NP group with needle prick, $KI_{10}$-saline group with normal saline injection respectively at $KI_{10}$ three times for a week. Several experimental items were performed including measurements of the numbers of RBC, WBC, neutrophil in blood, the levels of creatinine, $TNF-{\alpha}$, CINC-1 in serum, creatinine, total protein in urine, MPO in kidney. Results : Needle prick stimulation at $KI_{10}$ significantly reduced WBC in blood of LPS-stimulated rats. Saline injection at $KI_{10}$ significantly reduced WBC in blood, $TNF-{\alpha}$ in serum, total protein in urine of LPS-stimulated rats. AR-HA at $KI_{10}$ significantly reduced WBC, neutrophil in blood, $TNF-{\alpha}$, CINC-1 in serum, creatinine, total protein in urine of LPS-stimulated rats. Conclusion : AR-HA at $KI_{10}$ has a therapeutic effect on nephritis in LPS-stimulated rat. There may be a synergism between $KI_{10}$(Umgok) stimulation and AR-HA solution.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-20
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• 2003

This study was examined for effects of acupuncture of Zusanli (ST36) on the abdominal thermography of health subject. The volunteers who participating in this study had taken rest for 20-30 mins in room temperature (23-$25^{\circ}C$) before the examination and informed them what to prohibit smoking, drinking and administration of drug for the previous day. The thermography of abdomen including a below part of the chest was taken using Infra-Red Imaging System (IR 2000, MEDI-CORE Co, Korea) by time interval of 15 minutes at 15 min before, just before and 15 min after, 30 min after and 45 min after acupuncture stimulation. Acupuncture was applied to the left ST36 acupoint for 30 mins. The results showed that acupuncture of ST36 significantly had more potencies of changes on all the of abdominal thermography than those of control group. Also, it was observed that the quantities of thermal changes following acupuncture of ST36 been increased significantly comparing that of control group at all the ROIs (region of interest). Observed the thermography classified by ROI, however, it was failed that acupuncture of ST36 could modulate the specific areas concerning to the abdominal pathway of Stomach Meridian. These results suggest that acupuncture of ST36 may modulate thermal distributions and changes of abdominal areas including the below of chest.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.145-158
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• 2020

Objectives : Mast cells, the multifunctional immune cells which can be activated by various stimulations, have been in the limelight recently at the fields of acupuncture research. This study aimed to investigate the association between the distribution of mast cell and acupoint specificity. We focused on the characteristics of mast cell distribution of acupoints in normal, pathologically sensitized, and acupoint-stimulated state. Methods : Literature searches were performed on PubMed and EMBASE for dates ranging to February 2019, by using terms "acupuncture", "moxibustion", "acupoint", "mast cell". Finally, 18 papers were collected by inclusion and exclusion criteria. To assess the quality of included studies, modified SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for animal studies was used. Results : Overall, the studies showed that the number of the mast cells was higher in acupoints than non-acupoints. After pathological sensitization, increasing tendency towards the mast cell number was reported in acupoints. The increase of mast cells was also observed after acupuncture or moxibustion. However, when the acupoint stimulation was repeated for several days in pathological models, the results did not show consistent tendency. In quality assessments, most of the studies showed unclear risk of bias. Conclusions : The studies showed a consistent trend about the association with mast cell distribution and acupoint specificity. However, we could not certainly affirm the relationship due to insufficient qualities of included studies. Not only the distribution but also the functions should be considered in further researches to identify the relationship between mast cells and acupuncture effect.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.183-194
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• 2009

Purpose : This study was performed not only to compare the brain activation regions associated with sexual arousal induced by visual stimulation and SP6 acupuncture, but also to evaluate its differential neuro-anatomical mechanism in healthy women using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 Tesla (T). Subjects and methods : A total of 21 healthy right-handed female volunteers (mean age 22 years, range 19 to 32) underwent fMRI on a 3T MR scanner. The stimulation paradigm for sexual arousal consisted of two alternating periods of rest and activation. It began with a 1-minute rest period, 3 minutes of stimulation with either of an erotic video film or SP6 acupuncture, followed by 1-minute rest. In addition, a comparative study on the brain activation patterns between an acupoint and a shampoint nearby GB37 was performed. The fMRI data were obtained from 20 slices parallel to the AC-PC line on an axial plane, giving a total of 2,000 images. The mean activation maps were constructed and analyzed by using the statistical parametric mapping (SPM99) software. Results : As comparison with the shampoint, the acupoint showed 5 times and 2 times higher activities in the neocortex and limbic system, respectively. Note that brain activation in response to stimulation with the shampoint was not observed in the regions including the HTHL in the diencephalon, GLO and AMYG in the basal ganglia, and SMG in the parietal lobe. In the comparative study of visual stimulation vs. SP6 acupuncture, the mean activation ratio of stimulus was not significantly different to each other in both the neocortex and the limbic system (p < 0.05). The mean activities induced by both stimuli were not significantly different in the neocortex, whereas the acupunctural stimulation showed higher activity in the limbic system (p < 0.05). Conclusions : This study compared the differential brain activation patterns and the neural mechanisms for sexual arousal, which were induced by visual stimulation and SP6 acupuncture by using 3T fMRI. These findings will be useful to understand the theory of traditional acupuncture and acupoint channel in scientific point of view.

• Proceedings of the KSMRM Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.85-85
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• 2003

Purpose： To investigate whether or not acupuncture of GB34 produces a significant response of the modulation of somatomotor areas by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. Materials and methods： The acupoint, GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after stroke. Using 3T MRI scanner, functional MR imaging of the whole brain was peformed in 12 normal healthy subjects during two stimulation paradigms; acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points. This study investigates the activation of the motor cortex elicited by a soft and an intensified stimulation of GB 34.Three different paradigms were carried out to detect any possible modulation of the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) response in the somatomortor area to motor stimulation through acupuncture.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.89-93
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• 2002

We report a preliminary fMRI evidence of modulation of somatomotor areas by acupuncture in GB34 acupoint. GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after stroke. Using 3T MR scanner, functional MR imaging was performed in five normal volunteers in two stimulation paradigms; acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points. Group analysis form five individuals showed that bilateral sensorimotor areas (BA 3,4,6 and 7) showed stimulation related BOLD signal contrast of approximately 6% whereas very few areas were activated when sham stimulation is given. Our results suggest that acupuncture fMRI study can be safely conducted in 3T environment and stimulation in GB34 modulate the cortical activities of the somatomotor area in human.

• Proceedings of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society Conference
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• 2002.08a
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• pp.21-25
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• 2002

We report a preliminary fMRI evidence of modulation of somatomotor areas by acupuncture in GB34 acupoint. GB34, located in the back of the knee, is known to be effective in recovering motor function after stroke. Using 3T MR scanner, functional MR imaging was performed in five normal volunteers in two stimulation paradigms; acupuncture manipulation on GB34 and sham points. Group analysis from five individuals showed that bilateral sensorimotor areas (BA 3,4,6 and 7) showed stimulation related BOLD signal contrast of approximately 6％ whereas very few areas were activated when sham stimulation is given. Our results suggest that acupuncture fMRI study can be safely conducted in 3T environment, and stimulation in GB34 modulate the cortical activities of the somatomotor area in human.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.85-99
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• 2006

Objectives : Proper acupuncture stimulation is associated with a characteristic set of sensation usually referred to as 'De-Qi'. In order to develop the appropriate sham acupuncture, various sensations to each stimulation should be considered through analysis of the profiles of acupuncture sensation. It was therefore investigated to compare the acupuncture sensation scale (ASS) of two types of sham acupuncture to that of the real acupuncture. Methods : Ninety-four participants (mean age 26.4, range 26-49) were asked to complete five point-Likert scale ASS developed by Vincent et al. after real or two-kinds of sham acupuncture stimulation: blunted tip sham acupuncture (BT) and round tip sham acupuncture (RT). Needling was done at LI4 acupoint on non-dominant hand and stimulated for 30 seconds with real or two-kinds of sham needle. Finger withdrawal latency (FWL) of each group was also measured to evaluate the pain sensitivity to noxious heat stimuli. Results : BT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, shock, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture stimulation. RT acupuncture significantly less produced penetrating, burning, electric, numb, intense, hurting, pulling, aching, shasharp, shock, stinging, tingling, throbbing sensation than real acupuncture. Each group did not demonstrate the differences of pain sensitivity to noxious stimuli. Conclusions : These results indicated that types of tip of acupuncture produced different kinds of acupuncture sensation. Our finding provides a general information of sensations to two kinds of sham acupuncture for development of ideal placebo sham needle.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.1-20
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• 2003

This study was examined for characteristics of acupuncture of LU10 on the abdominal thermography of health subject. The volunteers who participating in this study had taken rest for 20 - 30 mins in room temperature $(23-25^{\circ}C)$ before the examination and informed them what to prohibit smoking, drinking and administration of drug for the previous day. The thermography of abdomen including a below part of the chest was taken using Infra-Red Imaging System (IR 2000, MEDI-CORE Co., Korea) by time interval of 15 minutes at 15 min before, just before and 15 min after, 30 min after and 45 min after acupuncture stimulation. Acupuncture was applied to both LU10 for 30 mins. The results showed that acupuncture of LU10 for 30 mins had more potencies of changes on all the ROIs of abdominal thermography than those of control group. Also, those responses were significantly clear at the A1, A3, A6, A7 and A9 areas. It was observed that the quantities of thermal changes following acupuncture of LU10 been increased significantly comparing that of control group at the all ROIs (region of interest). These effects have more potencies at the upper (A1 and A2) and below (A7, A8, A9) abdominal areas than midline ones (A4, A5, and A6). These results suggest that acupuncture of LU10 having the characteristics of controls of chill and fever (寒熱) may modulate thermal distributions and changes of abdominal areas including the below of chest.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.41-49
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• 2002

Objectives : The aim of the present study is to observe effects of acupuncture related with the nerve system, Inferior mesenteric nerve activity(IMNA) was examined on BL60 acupuncture closely connected with the bladder and HT8 with little tied. Materials and methods : Acupunctures were performed during 100 seconds after stabilization. IMNA was measured by micromanipulator, preamplifier, mean arterial pressure(MAP) and heart rate were observed by blood pressure transducer, 4-channel transducer amplifier in anesthetized rat. Results : On BL60 acupuncture, the heart rate was not significantly decreased but IMNA, MAP were significantly decreased and Maximum peak of IMNA was increased during inserted acupuncture, decreased after ejected acupuncture respectively. On HT8 acupuncture, IMNA was decreased during acupuncture than before acupuncture but the others did not showed signigicant difference. Conclusions : Our results demonstrated a meridian interaction between BL60 acupoint in the bladder channel and Inferior mesenteric sympathetic nerve related to the bladder. This fact suggest that BL60 acupuncture have effect on the bladder through the nerve system. Meanwhile, IMNA was decreased during HT8 acupuncture. This result is supposed HT8 to have not meridian function but acupoint function by another mechanism. It needs to be closely examined other meridians and nerve by the optimal approaching method.