• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.36.1-36.8
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• 2021

The objective of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of the short-term application of insect-based diet in canine allergic dermatitis. Total 19 atopic dogs with concurrent cutaneous adverse food reactions were enrolled and classified into 3 groups. The treatment group (n = 7) was fed insect-based diet, the positive control group (n = 6) was fed salmon-based diet, and the negative control group (n = 6) was fed commercial or homemade diet for 12 weeks. The degree of skin lesions was evaluated based on canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI-4). Additionally, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and pruritus visual analog scale were evaluated. All indices were evaluated every 4 weeks after the initial administration of hypoallergenic diets. In the treatment group, significant decrease in the CADESI-4 score was observed at 8 weeks compared to the baseline score (p = 0.031). There were significant differences in the CADESI-4 score between the groups at 8 weeks (p = 0.008), 12 weeks (p = 0.012), and TEWL at 12 weeks (p = 0.022). This preliminary result demonstrates the potential hypoallergenicity of an insect-based diet through features that diminish cutaneous lesions and skin barrier dysfunction.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.38-56
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• 2022

Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyze the trend of recent randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used herbal medicine for the treatment of tic disorders in China and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the treatment. Methods RCTs published from January 2017 to December 2021 were searched for using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). These were then analyzed using herbal medicine treatment methods and their results. Results A total of 35 randomized controlled trials were selected and analyzed. In most studies, evaluation indicators such as the Yale tic symptom scale and total effective rate were significantly improved in the herbal medicine treatment group compared to the control group. The most commonly used herb for tic disorder was Uncaria Rhynchophylla (釣鉤藤), followed by Glycyrrhizae Radix (甘草), Gastrodiae Rhizoma (天麻), Paeoniae Radix Alba (白芍藥), Batryticatus (白殭蠶), Poria (茯笭), and Bupleuri Radix (柴胡). In all studies that reported adverse events, herbal medicine was identified as a relatively safe treatment with fewer adverse reactions or no significant difference compared with the control group. Conclusions Based on the results of RCTs, herbal medicine has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of intellectual disability. However, additional well-designed large-scale clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.585-591
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• 2022

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) extract has been shown to have beneficial effects in patients with atherosclerosis, suggesting that KRG extract may be effective in preventing subsequent ischemic stroke in patients with severe atherosclerosis. Methods: This double-blind, placebo-controlled trial randomized patients with severe atherosclerosis in major intracranial arteries or extracranial carotid artery, to ginseng group and placebo group. They were given two 500-mg KRG tablets or identical placebo tablets twice daily for 12 months according to randomization. The primary endpoint was the composite of cerebral ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack during 12 months after randomization. The secondary endpoints were change in volumetric blood flow of the intracranial vessels and the incidence of newly developed asymptomatic ischemic lesions. Any adverse events were monitored. Results: Fifty-eight patients were randomized from June 2016 to June 2017, 29 to ginseng and 29 to placebo, and 52 (28 and 24, respectively) completed the study. One patient in the placebo group, but none in the ginseng group, experienced ischemic symptoms (p = 0.46). Changes in volumetric blood flow and the presence of ischemic brain lesions did not differ significantly in the two groups, and none of these patients experienced adverse drug reactions. Conclusion: Ginseng was well tolerated by patients with severe atherosclerosis, with these patients showing good compliance with ginseng dosing. Ginseng did not show significant effects compared with placebo, although none of the ginseng-treated patients experienced ischemic events. Long-term studies in larger patient populations are required to test the effect of ginseng.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.99-109
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• 2021

Objectives: Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the treatment of herbal medicine for patients with COVID-19 asymptomatic infections. Method: In English, search engines such as 'PubMed', 'Science Direct', and 'Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL)' were used. In Chinese, search engines such as 'China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI)' and Wanfang were used. The keywords for the search engines were 'COVID-19', 'asymptomatic infection', 'Korean Medicine', 'traditional Chinese medicine', 'herbal medicine', and etc. Only clinical studies using herbal medicine for patients without fever or respiratory symptoms were selected. We excluded the cases that do not fit the research topic. Results: A total of 5 studies were finally selected. Among them, four of them used integrated herbal medicine and Western medicine, and one of the studies treated exclusively for herbal medicine. There were a total of seven prescriptions for herbal medicine used in the study. Outcome variables were used as following: lab test, nucleic acid conversion time, hospitalization period, chest CT, and etc. In the RCT study, herbal medicine and Western medicine decreased nucleic acid conversion time, average hospitalization time compared to the control group, but it was not statistically significant. No other adverse reactions were reported in all studies. Conclusion: According to the results, integrated herbal medicine and Western medicine might be an effective treatment for patients with COVID-19 asymptomatic infection reducing hospitalization period, time of nucleic acid turning negative. No severe adverse effects were reported. However, it is thought that better-designed research will be needed in the future.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.5.1-5.10
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• 2024

Background: External parasites, particularly ticks and fleas, are among the most common problems affecting dogs. Chemical medicines are commonly used to prevent and eliminate such external parasites, but their improper use can cause adverse reactions, and the toxins they contain may remain in the environment. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro efficacy of Zanthoxylum limonella, citronella, clove, peppermint, and ginger essential oils against dog ticks and fleas and to test the sensitivity of dogs' skin to these essential oils. Methods: The five essential oils were tested for in vitro efficacy against ticks and fleas, and the two most effective essential oils were then tested on the dogs' skin. Results: The results revealed that these five essential oils at 16% concentrations effectively inhibited the spawning of female engorged ticks. In addition, all five essential oils had a strong ability to kill tick larvae at concentrations of 2% upward. Furthermore, 4% concentrations of the five essential oils quickly eliminated fleas, especially clove oil, which killed 100% of fleas within 1 h. A 50%, 90%, and 99% lethal concentration (LC₅₀, LC₉₀, and LC₉₉) for the essential oils on tick larvae in 24 h were found to be low values. LC₅₀, LC₉₀, and LC₉₉ for the essential oils on flea in 1 h was lowest values. Clove oil at 16% concentration was the most satisfactory essential oil for application on dogs' skin, with a low percentage of adverse effects. Conclusions: This study confirmed the effectiveness of essential oils for practical use as tick and flea repellents and eliminators. Essential-oil-based pharmaceutical can replace chemical pesticides and provide benefits for both consumers and the environment.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.27-41
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• 2024

Objectives This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture for rotator cuff disorder. Methods We searched nine online databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese Academic Journals, Korean studies Information Service System, Rsearch Information Sharing Service, ScienceON, KMbase, Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System) and two related journals up to April 2024 to identify randomized controlled trials that applied electroacupuncture to rotator cuff disorder. Selected studies were analyzed for risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, and a meta-analysis was performed with RevMan version 5.4.1. Results Out of 175 studies, eleven randomized controlled trials were selected for final analysis. Most studies showed that electroacupuncture had effect on rotator cuff disorder. In the meta-analysis, electroacupuncture combined with rehabilitation treatment was significantly more effective than rehabilitation treatment alone in improving visual analog scale (p<0.00001). Almost studies did not report any side effects or adverse reactions to electroacupuncture treatment. Conclusions This systematic review suggests that electroacupuncture is an effective treatment for pain management in rotator cuff disorder. However, the lack of adverse effect reporting and a high risk of bias indicate the need for high-quality randomized controlled trials from various countries.

• Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2024

Purpose: The effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination schemes and the combination of vaccines of various platforms for administering booster doses is still being studied since it will depend on the population's response to vaccines. We aimed to evaluate the safety, protection, and immunogenicity of the Salvadorean population's third dose booster COVID-19 vaccine and the potential benefit of homologous vs. heterologous regimens. Materials and Methods: This is an analytical observational cohort study in a population aged 18 to 65 years that was primarily vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Sinovac, or Pfizer/BioNTech. Volunteers were recruited (n=223) and followed up for 3 months after receiving the 3rd vaccine (BNT162b2) as a booster. Adverse reactions were monitored, serum anti-spike immunoglobulin G (IgG) was assessed by chemiluminescence, and a polymerase chain reaction was carried out when subjects developed clinical signs. Results: The cohorts finally included 199 participants, and we observed only mild adverse effects in all cohorts. A significant increase in specific IgG levels was found after the booster dose in all cohorts. The heterologous scheme with Sinovac showed the greatest increase in antibody titer, and a decrease was observed in all participants after 3 months. During the follow-up period, 30 participants showed symptomatology compatible with COVID-19, but only four were laboratory-confirmed and they showed mild clinical signs. Conclusion: These findings indicate that the booster doses used were safe and promoted an immediate increase in immunogenicity, which decreased over time. The heterologous regimen showed stronger immunogenicity compared to the messenger RNA-based homologous scheme.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.476-485
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• 2024

Background/Aims: Sedation has become a standard practice for patients undergoing gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy. However, considering the serious cardiopulmonary adverse events associated with sedatives, it is important to identify patients at high risk. Machine learning can generate reasonable prediction for a wide range of medical conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors associated with sedation during GI endoscopy and develop a predictive model for hypoxia during endoscopy under sedation. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled 446 patients who underwent sedative endoscopy at the Korea University Ansan Hospital. Clinical data were used as predictor variables to construct predictive models using the random forest method that is a machine learning algorithm. Results: Seventy-two of the 446 patients (16.1%) experienced life-threatening hypoxia requiring immediate medical intervention. Patients who developed hypoxia had higher body weight, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, and Mallampati scores. Propofol alone and higher initial and total dose of propofol were significantly associated with hypoxia during sedative endoscopy. Among these variables, high BMI, neck circumference, and Mallampati score were independent risk factors for hypoxia. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the random forest-based predictive model for hypoxia during sedative endoscopy was 0.82 (95% confidence interval, 0.79-0.86) and displayed a moderate discriminatory power. Conclusions: High BMI, neck circumference, and Mallampati score were independently associated with hypoxia during sedative endoscopy. We constructed a model with acceptable performance for predicting hypoxia during sedative endoscopy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.23
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• pp.10273-10276
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• 2015

Objective: To explore the clinical effects of nimotuzumab combined with chemotherapy in the treatment of late gastric cancer. Methods: A total of 34 reoccurrence or metastatic patients with late stage gastric cancer who were confirmed by histopathology and/or cytology were selected and randomly divided into observational and control groups, of 17 cases each. Patients in the control group were treated with the standard DCF plan, while patients in observational group additionally received nimotuzumab. The short-term and long-term efficacy and adverse reactions in the 2 groups were followed. Results: The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 64.7% (11/17) and 82.4% (14/17) in observational group and 25.0%(4/16) and 37.5%(6/16) in the control group(ORR and DCR between 2 groups, ${\chi}^2=5.2412$, P=0.0221 and ${\chi}^2=6.9453$, P=0.0084). The median progression-free survival (PFS) time and median overall survival (OS) time were 6.50 months and 12.50 months in observational group and 4.50 months and 8.25 months in the control group (P=0.0212; P=0.0255). The main toxic and side effects in the 2 groups were reduced leukocytes and hemoglobin, gastrointestinal reactions and hair loss and these were relieved after symptomatic treatment and nutrition support therapy. There were no differences in the occurrence of toxic and side effects between the 2 groups. Conclusions: Nimotuzumab combined with DCF plan is effective in treating late stage gastric cancer. A larger scale study is now warranted for confirmation of the findings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4629-4631
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• 2015

Background: The research was to compare the efficacy and side effects of cisplatin or lobaplatin in combination with mitomycine (MMC) and vincristine in treating patients with cervical squamous carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Cervical squamous carcinoma patients who were pathologically diagnosed with stage Ib-IIb from April 2012 to May 2013 in the general hospital of Chinese People's Libration Amy were enrolled. All patients were confirmed without prior treatment and were randomly divided into two groups, Group A and B. Efficacy and side effects were evaluated after one cycle of chemotherapy. Results: Group A (n=42) were treated with Loubo$^{(R)}$ (Lobaplatin) $50mg/m^2$, MMC $16mg/m^2$ and Vincristine $2mg/m^2$ every 21 days. Group B (n=44) were treated with Cisplatin $100mg/m^2$, MMC $16mg/m^2$ and Vincristine $2mg/m^2$ every 21 days. All 86 patients completed one cycle of chemotherapy with cisplatin or lobaplatin in combination with MMC and vincristine. No difference was observed regardiing short-term effect between two groups. Main side effects were bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal reactions including decrease of white blood cells, platelet and nausea/vomiting. Grade III-VI liver and kidney impairment was not reported in two groups. In group A the incidence of uterine artery spasm in the process of drug delivery was significantly lower than the group B. Conclusions: Cisplatin or lobaplatin with MMC and Vincristine in the interventional treatment of cervical squamous carcinoma were effective, especially after uterine artery perfusion chemotherapy at tumor reduction and tumor downstaging period. The adverse reactions of concurrent chemotherapy are tolerable, and low physical and mental pressure even more less stimulation of vascular in treatment with lobaplatin. However, the long-term effects of this treatment need further observation.