• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2008

Objectives : This study aimed to test potential modifying effects of education on the association between apolipoprotein E ${\varepsilon}4$ (Apo E4) and cognitive decline. Methods : A community cohort(N=683) aged 65 or over completed the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE-K) at baseline and two years later(1999-2001). Apo E polymorphisms were genotyped, and classified into that with or without Apo E4. Educational levels were categorized into people with or without education. Covariates included demographic(age, gender), life style(smoking, alcohol drinking), clinical (depression, sleep disorder, vascular risk factors) characteristics. Results : The association between Apo E4 and cognitive decline was significant only in the old persons with no education. The interaction term between education and Apo E4 on cognitive decline was significant(p=0.040). Conclusion : Elders with no education might be more vulnerable to the impact of Apo E4 on cognitive decline, which suggests gene-environment interaction.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.211-223
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• 2009

Objectives : The aim of this research is to analyze the current trend of the studies about eridian muscle and to provide background for further studies. Methods : Reviewing 33 domestic oriental medical studies about meridian muscle, and comparative analysis was made. These studies were classified by method, theme and subtitle. Results : 1. According to the classification by study method, number of literary studies are 22(67%), which is more than half, number of experimental studies are 5(15%) and clinical studies are 6(18%). 2. According to the classification by study theme in literary study, percentage of 'Structure amp; Movement of Meridian Muscle' took 64%, Theory study of Meridian Muscle' took 14%, 'Application of Concept of Meridian Muscle' took 14%, 'Treatment of Meridian Muscle disorder' took 9% arranged in order. 3. In 'Theory study of Meridian Muscle', there were not only literary approaches but also Deficiency-Excessiveness(虛實) and historical approaches. Study about 'Structure & Movement of Meridian Muscle' includes analysis of muscle and Myofascial pain syndrome. On this background, it is necessary to recognize the linkage and motion analysis of Meridian Muscle. Therefore, studies were changed into interpretation about Anatomy trains, analysis of motion. The study about 'Treatment of Meridian Muscle disorder' provided the various treatment method-Acupuncture, Manual therapy, Ashi(阿是)-point therapy, CHUNA therapy etc.- in literary study. The study about the 'Application of Concept of Meridian Muscle' has been performed in relation to Embedding Therapy, Kyungkuen chuna, Ki-gong therapy. 4. Experimental Studies were all Anatomical Studies. Studies were done in trial of discovering the actual existence, but revealed problem in interpretating the meaning of Meridian Muscle. 5. Clinical Studies based on Ashi(阿是)-point therapy CHUNA Muscles Along Meridians Release Therapy etc, were performed. Experimental studies about Meridian Muscle were assessed as low grade according to Jadad Scale. There were no studies which were based on well-organized Meridian Muscle theory. Conclusions : There needs to be more discussion about concept of Meridian Muscle and proceed more reliable experimental studies with organized Meridian Muscle theory. Further objective studies about treatment of Meridian Muscle should be done.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.27-36
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• 2011

Objective : The purpose of this clinical research was to analyze the correlation between disease severity and disease specific quality of life adjusted by general quality of life measure in adult patients with atopic dermatitis attending Wonkwang Univ. Sanbon Oriental Medical Center. Methods : A total of 35 patients participated in atopic dermatitis clinical trial from June 1st, 2010 to June 30th, 2011 were included in this study. SCORing Atopic Dermatitis(SCORAD) index, Dermatologic Life Quality Index(DLQI), Health Utility Index III(HUI-III) and EuroQoL 5-Dimension(EQ-5D) have been estimatied. Baseline statistical analysis and normality test were done by using Student t-test, Shapiro-Wilk test and ladder test. Pearson analysis and Spearman analysis were conducted to examined the correlation of each variables. Hierachial regression analysis was performed using related variables. Statistical significance was achieved if the probability was less than 5%. Results : There were statistically significance between DLQI and SCORAD index, and also between DLQI and EQ-5D. However there was no significant between DLQI and HUI-III. In the hierachial regression analysis, after adjusting for demographic variables (gender, age) and general quality of life (EQ-5D), SCORAD index significantly predict the intensity of disease specific quality of life (DLQI). Conclusions : We confirmed the correlation between SCORAD index and DLQI, and developed the inference for regression equation of DLQI using SCORAD index, EQ-5D and demographic variables.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.67-76
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• 2011

Objectives: The aim of this review was to investigate studies on fire needle and to propose for the better method of studies in the future. Methods: Studies related to fire needle were searched with electric database for this study, and 10 domestic and overseas databases were included. Results: 19 clinical studies were analyzed in terms of condition, time of heating, number and frequency of treatment, number of heating, safety procedure or device aid reports of adverse events. Also 3 review studies were summarized. The number of studies was increasing and the kind of diseases to treat with fire noodle were various. Especially musculoskeletal diseases like ligament lesion and lumbago were noticeable. Heating-after-insertion method was recently proposed but the use of term was confusing. The report of adverse events or safety procedure was rare. Also there was an effort to develop more convenient and safer device. Conclusions: High quality clinical trial en fire needle is needed especially to compare 2 methods, heating-after-insertion and heating-before-insertion. And studies need to report safety procedures and adverse events to evaluate the safety of fire needle therapy.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.173-177
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• 1986

Since March 1985, we have treated cancer patients with local hyperthermia using a 2,450-MHz microwave thermogenerator. Prior to clinical trial, a 2,450-MHz microwave generator remodeled from a household electric range was tested and evaluated to test its clinical applicability. We studied the thermoprofile and tried to find out suitable electric power ranges to produce optimal temperature of $42-44^{\circ}C$ in a lump of meat, agar phantom and animal tumor models. The present study confirmed the intratumoral temperature to be $1-3^{\circ}C$ higher than in surrounding normal tissue.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.157-165
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• 2021

Objective: This study aimed to identify the clinical effectiveness of two different penetration depths of micro-osteoperforations (MOPs) on the rate of orthodontic tooth movement. Methods: Twenty-four patients requiring the removal of the upper first premolar teeth were selected and randomly divided into two groups. The control group participants did not undergo MOPs. Participants in the experimental group underwent three MOPs each at 4-mm (MOP-4) and 7-mm (MOP-7) depths, which were randomly and equally performed to either the left or right side distal to the canine. The retraction amount was measured on three-dimensional digital models on the 28th day of retraction. MOP-related pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS). Between-group statistical differences in the VAS scores were determined using an independent t-test and those in canine retraction were determined using analysis of variance and post-hoc Tukey test. Results: No significant difference was found between the MOP-4 (1.22 ± 0.29 mm/month) and MOP-7 (1.29 ± 0.31 mm/month) groups in terms of the canine retraction rate. Moreover, both the groups demonstrated a significantly higher canine movement than the control group (0.88 ± 0.19 mm/month). MOPs did not significantly affect the mesialization of the posterior teeth (p > 0.05). Moreover, the pain scores in the MOP-4 and MOP-7 groups were similar and showed no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: Three MOPs with a depth of 4 mm can be performed as an effective method to increase the rate of tooth movement. However, three MOPs with depths of 4-7 mm does not additionally enhance tooth movement.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.62 no.5
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• pp.526-535
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• 2019

Objective : While the risk of aneurysmal rebleeding induced by catheter cerebral angiography is a serious concern and can delay angiography for a few hours after a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), current angiographic technology and techniques have been much improved. Therefore, this study investigated the risk of aneurysmal rebleeding when using a recent angiographic technique immediately after SAH. Methods : Patients with acute SAH underwent immediate catheter angiography on admission. A four-vessel examination was conducted using a biplane digital subtraction angiography (DSA) system that applied a low injection rate and small volume of a diluted contrast, along with appropriate control of hypertension. Intra-angiographic aneurysmal rebleeding was diagnosed in cases of extravasation of the contrast medium during angiography or increased intracranial bleeding evident in flat-panel detector computed tomography scans. Results : In-hospital recurrent hemorrhages before definitive treatment to obliterate the ruptured aneurysm occurred in 11 of 266 patients (4.1%). Following a univariate analysis, a multivariate analysis using a logistic regression analysis revealed that modified Fisher grade 4 was a statistically significant risk factor for an in-hospital recurrent hemorrhage (p=0.032). Cerebral angiography after SAH was performed on 88 patients ${\leq}3$ hours, 74 patients between 3-6 hours, and 104 patients >6 hours. None of the time intervals showed any cases of intra-angiographic rebleeding. Moreover, even though the DSA ${\leq}3$ hours group included more patients with a poor clinical grade and modified Fisher grade 4, no case of aneurysmal rebleeding occurred during erebral angiography. Conclusion : Despite the high risk of aneurysmal rebleeding within a few hours after SAH, emergency cerebral angiography after SAH can be acceptable without increasing the risk of intra-angiographic rebleeding when using current angiographic techniques and equipment.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.317-324
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• 2017

Background: Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang (BZYQT) has long been used for the treatment of severe weakness caused by general fatigue, loss of appetite, or indigestion. The aim of this feasibility study is to assess the effectiveness and safety of BZYQT for the treatment of functional dyspepsia (FD) with spleen qi deficiency. Methods: This study will be conducted at a single center as a prospective, nonrandomized, nonblinded, single-arm feasibility study. A total of 30 participants diagnosed with FD in accordance with the Rome III criteria will be enrolled. All patients will receive BZYQT for 4 weeks. The primary outcome is the change in the Nepean Dyspepsia Index-Korean version (NDI-K) scores between the baseline and 4-week images. The secondary outcomes include the tongue coating thickness, blood parameters, and BZYQT Questionnaire score. The NDI-K score will be acquired four times, at Weeks 0 (baseline), 2 (during treatment), 4 (after treatment), and 8 (after follow-up). Written informed consent will be obtained from all study participants prior to enrollment. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Kyung Hee University Korean Medicine Hospital. This study protocol is registered with the national clinical trial registry of the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Results will be published in a journal and will be disseminated both electronically and in print. Discussion: The results of this study may serve as a guide for researchers seeking to effectively evaluate the effects of BZYQT.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.25 no.8
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• pp.450-461
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• 2022

A randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical study was used to determine the cognitive functions related to working memory (WM) and antioxidant properties of fermented Laminaria japonica (FLJ) on healthy volunteers. Eighty participants were divided into a placebo group (n = 40) and FLJ group (n = 40) that received FLJ (1.5 g/day) for 6 weeks. Memory-related blood indices (brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF; angiotensin-converting enzyme; human growth hormone, HGH; insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1) and antioxidant function-related indices (catalase, CAT; malondialdehyde, MDA; 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine, 8-oxo-dG; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS) were determined before and after the trial. In addition, standardized cognitive tests were conducted using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Batteries. Furthermore, the Korean Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (K-WAIS)-IV, and the Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) were used to assess the pre and post intake changes on WM-related properties. According to the results, FLJ significantly increased the level of CAT, BDNF, HGH, and IGF-1. FLJ reduced the level of TBARS, MDA, and 8-oxo-dG in serum. Furthermore, FLJ improved physical activities related to cognitive functions such as K-WAIS-IV, MoCA-K, Paired Associates Learning, and Spatial Working Memory compared to the placebo group. Our results suggest that FLJ is a potential candidate to develop functional materials reflecting its capability to induce antioxidant mechanisms together with WM-related indices.

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2022

The Randomized Control Trial (RCT) is the most well-established and widely used statistical methodology in clinical research; however, applying thorough RCT to cancer patients presents challenges such as ethical concerns, high costs, short clinical periods, and limitations in collecting various side effects. To address this issue, the propensity score matching method, which takes advantage of the benefits of observational research while compensating for the drawbacks of randomized control trials, is used in a variety of fields. In recent years, 28 studies on the effectiveness of Korean medicine on tumors have been conducted abroad using the Propensity Score Matching Method, but none have been conducted in Korea. The majority of studies have focused on liver cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, and stomach cancer, with endpoints such as survival time, incidence rate, quality of life, and treatment outcomes revealing statistical differences in how Korean medicine intervention affects treatment outcomes. As a result, well-established studies using the propensity matching score methodology should be useful in evaluating the impact of Korean medicine in oncology treatments.