• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.163-173
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• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to see the effect of beevenom on inhibition of Alopecia Universalis. Methods : Beevenom was injected subcutaneously through the borderline of head scalp alopecia starting and, also, region feeling stiff tension. Results : Hair falling off seized and scalp tension was vanished. Conclusions : Beevenom seemed to inhibit the progression of Alopecia by recirculating the blood flow as stiff tension over head was solved and anti-inflammatory effect of beevenom seizing inflammation on the scalp. Further evaluation with big sample size control study would be required to manifest the rationale and effectness of Beevenom over Alopecia Universalis.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.19-27
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• 2006

Objectives : Type analysis is done on pharmacopuncture related papers published in the Journal of Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion from the inaugural issue to August 2006 issue. Methods : Journal search engine KSI ISS and KSI KISS were mainly used and additional sources were complemented by the index issue and English journals. Results : 1. The number of journals associated with pharmacopuncture is 438 papers. 2. For type analysis of the type of studies, experiment papers outnumbered other types with 355 cases, followed by 70 for clinical trials, and 14 for literary studies. 3. For type analysis of the pharmacopuncture extracts, bee venom related papers were most numerous with 101 cases. And nextis 52 experiment papers and 41 clinical trials. 4. Type analysis on the type of illnesses listed in experiment papers, 81 for anti-cancer ${\cdot}$ immune disorders ${\cdot}$ anti-oxidation, 61 papers concentrated on arthritis, etc. Conclusion : Since 1984 to August 2006 issue ranging 22 years, type analysis revealed that the number of journals pertaining to pharmacopuncture has risen steadily over the years and nearly half of papers published recently are dealing with pharmacopuncture. Pharmacopuncture is a treatment method based on the unique theory of Korean traditional medicine. And effort and academical approach on pharmacopuncture are expected to receive positive evaluation.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.107-114
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to analyze actual status of foreign patients who visited hospital of Korean medicine and suggest developmental direction of korean medical tourism. Methods : This study includes 675 foreign patients who visited spine-specialized hospital of Korean medicine from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012. Based on computerized medical records, patients' age, gender, country, date of initial and last visit, chief complaint, treatment period and species of treatment were collected. These data were used for analyzation of actual condition of medical tourism at hospital of Korean medicine. Results : A total of 675 foreign patients visited spine-specialized hospital of Korean medicine. 395 patients(59 %) were female and the forties was the most common by ages. Patients from Japan were the most common followed by Russia and United States of America. Patients visited hospital 5.1 times during 27.4 days in average. There were 526 cases of spinal pain and only 52 cases were non-musculoskeletal disease. The most frequently performed treatment was general acupuncture treatment while moxibustion and bee venom acupuncture were remarkably infrequently treated. Conclusions : The result of this study suggests potential possibility of development of Korean medical tourism focused on disease cure as well as current trend of beauty and Korean medical experience at the Korean medical tourism field.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.35-41
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• 2020

The aim of this study was to examine pharmacopuncture treatment for lateral epicondylitis, and to contribute to developing a standardized treatment regimen by reviewing trends in clinical trials. Five randomized controlled trials, 1 case-control study, and 8 cohort studies published after 1999, that involved pharmacopuncture for lateral epicondylitis, were selected from Korean and international online databases (n = 8). The type of pharmacopuncture, dose, frequency, efficacy, and adverse events were analyzed. Seven types of pharmacopuncture were used, namely Bee Venom, Illicium henryi Diels, Akebiae Caulis, Angelicae sinensis Diels, Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort, Hominis Placenta, and Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix. Dose, treatment duration, and treatment frequency varied widely. One study assessed the treatment efficacy according to frequency. Nine studies lacked data on adverse events. The quality of 5 randomized controlled trials was low. Although pharmacopuncture treatment appeared to be effective for lateral epicondylitis, it was difficult to standardize the regimen for lateral epicondylitis.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.159-169
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• 2019

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the use of Korean Medicine for treating cauda equina syndrome. Methods We searched for studies of the use of Korean Medicine for the treatment of cauda equina syndrome in 8 electronic databases and analyzed these studies. Results We found 297 studies on cauda equina syndrome from 8 electronic databases. We excluded 230 duplicate studies, 53 studies that did not involve the use of Korean Medicine and 1 review article. In addition, 13 case studies (13 patients) were included. Acupuncture, herbal medicine (13 times), moxibustion (9 times), pharmacopuncture (8 times), physical therapy (6 times), cupping therapy (5 times), and the bladder stimulation technique (4 times) were used. ST36 for acupuncture, Bojoongikgi-tang as a herbal medicine, CV4 for moxibustion, bee venom as a pharmacopuncture material and BL23 in pharmacopuncture point were the most frequently used. Conclusions Korean Medcine for cauda equina syndrome was effective. However, we found limited evidence regarding Korean Medicine for cauda equina syndrome. Thus, we think various type of studies including much more case reports, for cauda equina syndrome should be performed in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.13-21
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture treatment (AT) in the tendency of increase of the need for AT for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) worldwide and to investigate the advancements in AT research in Korea and the future directions of research on this topic. Methods : Until May 2017, the PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and four Korean databases were searched. The searched keywords were "Parkinson's disease", "Acupuncture", and "Intervention study". The intervention groups from all screened original studies were analyzed and the methods used to determine the effect of AT on PD were examined. Results : A total of 17 studies were grouped by country on the basis of the first author's position, of which 10 studies were conducted in China, four in the United States, two in Korea, and one in Brazil. The most common type of intervention was electroacupuncture (nine studies), followed by AT (six studies), and a combination of AT and bee venom AT (two studies). The most frequently used acupoints in AT were Baihui (GV20), Taichong (LR3), Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6), and Yanglingquan (GB34). The most commonly used tool for evaluation of PD was the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, which assesses motor functions. Conclusion : The screened studies reported that there were no adverse effects of AT on drug therapy, and AT reduced the dose of drugs used in PD treatment. Future studies on PD treatment with AT should use the acupoints GV20, LR3, ST36, SP6, and GB34, and the meridians Gallbladder meridian and Governor Vessel. Clinical studies on PD should use CONSORT or STRICTA to ensure the quality of national studies and allow the development of new tools for the assessment of the effect of AT on PD using the above criteria.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.78-90
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• 2010

Objective: The aim of this study was to review case reports about adverse events of acupuncture or moxibustion treatments in Korea. Methods: Electronic literature searches were performed for adverse events of acupuncture or moxibustion treatments in Korea up to October 2009. Results: Sixteen case reports or case series were retrieved in total. Among them, 10 were reporting about acupuncture, 5 about pharmaco-acupuncture (3 bee venom acupuncture and 2 others), and 1 was reporting about moxibustion treatment. The incidence of adverse effects couldn't be proven due to the lack of prospective studies. Conclusion: Acupuncture treatment seems to be one of the safer forms of medical interventions, when performed by skilled Korean medical doctors. However, prospective studies are necessary to reach conclusions about safety. In addition, a system for collecting and managing adverse effects of Korean medical interventions as well as a reeducation system for clinicians is needed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.127-149
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• 2004

Objective : Ossification of ligaments within spinal canal, i.e., OPLL and OLF, is uncommon clinical entity as a cause of the progressive compression myelopathy or radiculopathy. More and more cases being reported in the field of occidental medicine, but very few cases have been reported in the field of oriental medicine. The purpose of this study is to report on oriental medical approaches to OPLL and OLF. Methods : Subjects of this study are 3 cases of OPLL and 3 cases of OLF who visited Won-kwang oriental medical hospital(Dept. of acupuncture and Moxibustion) from May, 2002 to October, 2003. These patients undergo oriental medical treatment such as acupuncture, cupping, Bee-Venom therapy and herbal medication and so on. We made a comparison JOA scores between before treatment and after treatment and we evaluated results of treatment. Results : The results of treatment in these six cases are as follows ; One case was evaluated 'Excellent', one case was evaluated 'Good', two cases were evaluated 'Fair' and two cases were evaluated 'Failure'. One of these cases had a surgical operation after discharge from this hospital. Conclusions : After oriental medical care for these cases, there are some improvements such as decrease of pains, relief of myelopathy etc. But, it had little effect on some cases, therefore we considered that more special study to find various and effective methods of oriental medical treatment for these diseases should be made.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.190-194
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• 2017

A 70-year-old Korean female with diplopia and left ptosis due to oculomotor nerve palsy presented to the hospital. The patient was treated with electroacupuncture, sweet bee venom pharmacopuncture, and moxibustion. She also received acupuncture and herbal medicines Siryeng-tang and Boikyangwi-tang. The change in length (mm) from the medial canthus to the lateral iris was measured to evaluate limitation of eye movement, and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for diplopia. Limitation of eye movement and diplopia was used to determine diplopia. The limitation of eye movement and diplopia were improved after the administration of the Korean medicines. Korean medicine may be effective in treating limitation of eye movement and diplopia due to oculomotor nerve palsy.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.85-93
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• 2005

목적 : 본 연구는 봉독 약침액이 BV2 microglial cell에서 LPS로 유발된 염증반응에 대한 억제효과를 관찰하고자 하였다. 방법 : 봉독 약침액의 항염증작용을 관찰하기 위하여 BV2 microglial cell에 봉독약침액을 1시간전에 농도별$(0.1,\;1,\;100\;{\mu}g/ml)$로 전처치한 후 LPS $(5\;{\mu}g/ml)$로 24시간 동안 처리하여 RT-PCR, western blot, $PGE_2$, assay, NO synthesis assay등의 방법으로 관찰하였다. 결과 : LPS 염증유발에 의해서 BV2 microglial cell에서 COX-2 및 NOS 발현이 증가하였고, 이 러한 증가는 prostaglandin E2 및 NO 합성을 증가시켰다. 이에 반하여 봉독약침액으로 전처치한 군에서는 COX-2 및 NOS 발현을 억제시켜 결과적으로 prostaglandin 합성 및 NO 합성을 억제시킴을 확인할 수 있었다. 또한 LPS 염증유발에 의해서 활성화된 NF-kB의 발현을 억제 시켰다. 결론 : 봉독약침 액은 LPS 염증유발에 의해서 증가된 prostaglandin E2 및 NO 합성을 억제시킴으로써 여러 가지 염종질환의 치료에 유효한 효과가 있을 것으로 사려 된다.