• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2023

Objectives: This study was performed to analyze randomized controlled trial, which studied the effect of herbal medicine treatment on Antiphospholipid antibody positive recurrent abortion. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trial of last 20 years based on Antiphospholipid antibody positive recurrent abortion and herbal medicine. The paper search was conducted through 7 online databases on July 16, 2022. Results: 9 studies were selected after selection and exclusion criteria. 5 studies compared combined treatment of herbal and western medicine, with western medicine alone. 4 studies compared herbal medicine alone with western medicine. Comparing with control group, the treatment group showed much improvement on conversion rate of anti-phospholipid antibodies, serum hCG and progesterone levels, pregnancy duration or fertility rates, and various symptoms. Conclusions: In this study, we found out benefit of herbal medicine with Antiphospholipid antibody positive recurrent abortion. For reliable evidence, further research is needed to establish safety of herbal medicines, standardize symptom criteria and specify the treatment course.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.79-85
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• 2012

Objective : This study was aimed to report a patient accompanied by alcoholic derogation acute abdominal pain treated with oriental medicine combined with conventional treatment. Methods : A 36 year old female patient complained of acute abdominal pain for one year from Apr. 2009. She had treated at local general hospital. But the symptom was not reduced. Instead, it was aggravated on Jul. 2010. The main symptoms were left flank pain, chest discomfort, nausea and anorexia. The patient was treated by oriental medicine (herbal medicine (Chunggan-plus), acupuncture, moxibustion, etc) combined with conventional medicine from Jul. 10th, 2010 to Jul. 17th, 2010. We observed the patient with evaluation of laboratory test and imaging scan. Results : Most of the symptoms of the patient were improved. Especially, the abdominal pain were disappeared from grade 3 to grade 0. No side effects were noted during treatment. Conclusion : This results suggest that the oriental medicine combined with western medicine may effective to treat alcoholic derogation acute abdominal pain.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.21-39
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• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review the overseas clinical study trends on Chinese Medicine treatment for Pre-eclampsia. Methods: We searched articles published from Pubmed, Embase and CNKI. The period was set from 2004 to 2023. Searched keywords were "Pre-eclampsia", "Preeclampsia", "Chinese medicine", "Herbal medicine", "子癎前期", "子癎前症", "中藥", "中醫". Results: 21 articles were finally selected. There were 16 RCTs, 3 case control studies, 2 case series. 2 articles used both acupuncture and western medicine, 19 articles used both herbal medicine and western medicine. 風池 (GB20), 太衝 (LR3), 足三里 (ST36) were the most frequently used acupoints, Paeoniae Radix alba (白芍藥) is the most frequently used in herbal medicine treatment. Conclusions: Our review found that chinese medicine combined with western medicine is more effective for alleviating symptoms of pre-eclampsia.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.59-76
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• 2017

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect on both herbal medicine periodic therapy and western medicine for polycystic ovary syndrome subfertility. Methods: We searched 8 electronic databases and search keywords were 'PCOS' and 'periodic therapy' or 'cyclic treatment'. We included randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) using the periodic therapy combined western medicine for PCOS patients. Results: We selected 8 studies. In studies, there were three studies in which the menstrual cycle was divided into 2 periods, one study divided into 3 periods, and four study divided into 4 periods. The meta-analysis of the 7 trials indicated that pregnancy rates integrated clomiphene and periodic therapy were higher than clomiphene alone. Conclusions: The periodic therapy combined western medicine for PCOS subfertility patients seems to improve pregnancy rates from this research. However, this result should be taken cautiously by unclear risk of bias. It would be necessary to fulfill further clinical study with herbal medicine periodic therapy on PCOS in Korean medicine to establish standard evidence of them.

• The Journal of the Society of Stroke on Korean Medicine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

It is difficult to combine oriental and western medicine. Each medicine has a different academic background, perspective on the world, and studying methodology. The claim that two paradigms can not be combined is not obtained from an actual verification, but this means it is so hard to combine two medicines having different backgrounds. The amalgamation of oriental and western medicine should be phased in on the basis of the continuous reciprocal understanding and commitment. First, the strength and weakness of each medicine over the treatment and research are required to be identified. Then, a few complementary areas can be chosen enabling a trial of fusion on a small scale. A cycle of problem solving and a new research can be set by analyzing research results obtained through the implementation over a period of time. In other words, the researchers of oriental and western medicine should repeat a continuous and gradual complementary research process by identifying issues to be improved and complemented through a consensus. Once the methodology obtained through the process of problem solving and proficient implementation is established in a stable condition, a method to widen the fusion area by expanding the operating area and implementation method can be chosen. However, the integral system of oriental medicine shouldn't be substituted by mechanical idea or reductionism. What should be done primarily for oriental medicine is to objectify things through quantification. In particular, the oriental treatment should accept the microscopic diagnosis to determine the structure and observe the biochemical change.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.214-237
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• 2023

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture and electroacupuncture for temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD). We searched 11 databases to find randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) published between January 2018 and January 2023 that used acupuncture and electroacupuncture to treat patients with TMD. We performed a meta-analysis of 18 RCTs involving 1,109 patients. Nine studies reported that the treatment and control groups showed improvement in the evaluation index post-treatment. The results of the meta-analysis showed that the treatment groups receiving acupuncture combined with manual therapy had significantly improved visual analog scale score and dysfunction index than the control groups receiving manual therapy. Moreover, the treatment groups receiving acupuncture combined with Western medicine had statistically improved maximum mouth opening than the control groups using Western medicine. In conclusion, acupuncture and electroacupuncture have clinical effects on TMD patients. Given that 11 studies were obtained from the Chinese database, a regional bias would be considered. Furthermore, the included studies had high a risk of bias in terms of randomization, concealment, and blinding. Further studies are required to correct these limitations.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.62-67
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• 2012

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a promising agent for management of cancer because of its selective cytotoxicity to cancer cells. However, some cancer cells have resistance to TRAIL. Accordingly, novel treatment strategies are required to overcome TRAIL resistance. Here, we examined the synergistic apoptotic effect of apigenin in combination with TRAIL in Huh-7 cells. We found that combined treatment of TRAIL and apigenin markedly inhibited Huh-7 cell growth compared to either agent alone by inducing apoptosis. Combined treatment with apigenin and TRAIL induced chromatin condensation and the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). In addition, enhanced apoptosis by TRAIL/apigenin combination was quantified by annexin V/PI flow cytometry analysis. Western blot analysis suggested that apigenin sensitizes cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis by activating both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathway-related caspases. The augmented apoptotic effect by TRAIL/apigenin combination was accompanied by triggering mitochondria-dependent signaling pathway, as indicated by Bax/Bcl-2 ratio up-regulation. Our results demonstrate that combination of TRAIL and apigenin facilitates apoptosis in Huh-7 cells.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.119-135
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to confirm the effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine treatment for treating pregnancy-induced hypertension. Methods: We searched for randomized controlled trials of pregnancy-induced hypertension treated with herbal medicine, through nine databases. Interventions and results of the selected clinical studies were analyzed. Results: Eleven randomized controlled trials were finally included according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Treatment group was treated with herbal medicine alone in two studies, and with herbal medicine and western medicine in nine studies. Control group was treated with western medicine. Taxilli Ramulus (桑寄生) (54.5%) was the most frequently used herb in herbal medicine treatment. In all of eleven studies, treatment group was more effective for pregnancy-induced hypertension than the control group. Conclusions: This study suggested that herbal medicine treatment alone or combined with western medicine treatment could be helpful in improving the therapeutic effect on pregnancy-induced hypertension and reducing side effects as well. However, in order to obtain stronger evidence of herbal medicine treatment for pregnancy-induced hypertension, more high-quality and well-designed randomized controlled trials should be conducted.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.293-307
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• 2021

Objectives: This study investigates the effects and safety of Bojungikgi-tang for stress urinary incontinence by systemic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: RCTs were selected from articles published until December 2019 in seven domestic and foreign databases. The quality of the literature was evaluated using Cochrane's risk of bias (RoB) tool, and RevMan 5.3 was used to synthesize the results. Results: A total of 694 patients with stress urinary incontinence participated in eight RCTs. Meta-analysis showed that the total effective rate of treatment that combines pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) and Bojungikgi-tang was significantly higher than that of PFMT alone. The volume of urine leakage per hour after the combined treatment was significantly lower than that of PFMT alone. The International Consultation on Insurance Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) scores from combining PFMT and Bojungikgi-tang were significantly lower than those for PFMT alone. Conclusion: This study suggests that Western medical treatment combined with Bojungikgi-tang for urinary incontinence from stress might be more effective in improving symptoms than conventional Western medical treatment alone. However, the number of studies included in the meta-analysis was insufficient, and the quality of the selected literature was generally low. Therefore, high-quality clinical studies on herbal medicine treatment for urinary incontinence would be required in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.76-82
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• 2023

Objectives : This study is to report the treatment of chronic suppurative otitis media with Bojungikgi-tang and acupuncture without western medicine. Methods : A 57-year-old female patient visited my korean medical clinic on November 19, 2019 with complaints of ear fullness and yellowish effusion in the left ear. The patient had perforated eardrum with yellowish effusion. For the first month she took Bojungikgi-tang 3 times a day and received acupuncture 5-6 days a week without western treatment. The next month, only acupuncture treatment was performed twice a week. The condition of the eardrum and otorrhea was observed through an otoscope, and the degree of ear fullness and head heaviness were evaluated by visual analogue scale. Results : During the treatment, the eardrum was reperforated once, but it was regenerated, the otorrhea disappeared, and all other symptoms improved. Afterwards, it was confirmed through follow-up that the eardrum was maintained in a regenerated state. Conclusions : These results show that the combined treatment of herbal medicine and acupuncture is effective for chronic suppurative otitis media.