• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.361-371
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• 2016

Objective This case study was about a long-term clinical effects after using Korean medicine treatment and western treatment in three Soyangin patients with Parkinson's disease. In this study, we reported significant improvement of non-motor and motor symptoms of these patients after Sasang constitutional medicine treatments for more than a year. Method The patients were identified as Soyangin and treated with Yangguksanhwa-tang, Hyeongbangdojeok-san and acupuncture. The Hoehn & Yahr scale, Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) were used to assess the overall function of the patients. And the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) was used to assess the change of chief complaints after the treatments. Result and Conclusion The non-motor and motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease improved after Sasang constitutional medicine and western medicine treatments for more than a year. Furthermore these patients' chief complaints improved without increasing of amount of western medicine (levodopa). In conclusion, this study showed that Sasang constitutional medicine with western medicine can be effective treatment for long-term clinical care of Parkinson's disease.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2016

Objectives: There are no studies which have investigated the health related quality of life(HRQOL) about stroke patients according to the medical care utilization behavior by longitudinal analysis. The purpose of this study is to analyze the quality of life(QOL) and quality adjusted life years(QALYs) of stroke patients of western and combined treatment group by longitudinal analysis. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 37 new patients who initiated diagnosis with stroke in 2009 from Korea Health Panel Data. We analyzed the HRQOL of stroke patients and calculated the QALYs after medical use initiation for up to 3 years according to the medical care utilization behavior. Results: Overall, the quality of life of stroke patients was lowered somewhat from 0.8431 to 0.7864 in 2009~2012. Western treatment group was appeared slightly declined in from 0.8527 to 0.8231 and combined treatment group was shown to be falling from 0.8173 to 0.6875. The QALYs of total patients were calculated 2.3654 and western treatment group were 2.4436, combined treatment group were 2.1542 during the 4 year period. The difference of QALYs between two groups was 0.2894 QALYs. Conclusions: Although there was a small difference in QALYs of the two groups, it is not certain that the difference is come from medical care utilization behavior. Further studies should be needed to confirm the relation of the medical care utilization behavior and quality of life by considering severity of the stroke.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.56-74
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the trend of herbal medicine treatment, treatment's effect and stability for Crohn's disease by reviewing clinical studies published over the past 5 years. Methods 22 articles which were published from 2017 to August, 2021 were obtained from the ScienceON, Research information sharing service (RISS), Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS), Oriental medicine advanced searching integrated system (OASIS), China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), Pubmed. We analyzed the literature in regards to the treatment methods and results. Results There were 6 case reports, 1 controlled clinical trial, and 15 randomized controlled trial and in most cases, herbal medicines and Western medicines were administered in combination. The pathology of damp-heat due to spleen deficiency was the most common, and Sijunzi-tang and Shenling Baishu san were the most commonly used. As a result of the treatment, it was found that the combined administration of the herbal medicine and the Western medicine was more effective than the administration of the Western medicine alone. Conclusions Herbal treatment of Crohn's disease induced high cure rate safely than when only western treatment was applied. Future studies on safety and studies that can suggest specific guidelines for the combined administration of western and herbal medicines are needed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.202-211
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• 2016

Objective: This clinical study reports on a case of generalized edema with hypoalbuminemia and pleural effusion improved by combined traditional Korean and Western medical treatments in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia medicated with dasatinib.Method: Combined traditional Korean and Western medical treatment was carried out, including herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and albumin injection. We examined the serum albumin, measured the circumference of both thighs and ankles to estimate the volume of the edema, and evaluated the pleural effusion symptoms.Results: The serum albumin increased, and generalized edema and pleural effusion improved significantly after the administration of Bojungchiseub-tang-gami.Conclusion: These results showed that complications of generalized edema and pleural effusion associated with dasatinib medication have the potential to be improved via combined traditional Korean and Western medical treatments.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.92-109
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study was to appraise the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) for the treatment of acute gout. Methods: Since no suitable study could be found in the domestic database, we performed a literature search up to the end of December 2020 using four international electronic databases. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effectiveness of EA in the treatment of acute gout were included. The risk of bias was evaluated from the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: Eight appropriate RCTs were included and analyzed. Three evaluation tools were mainly used: Total Effective Rate (TER), Uric acid (UA), and Pain score (VAS). In the case of TER, in all eight cases, electroacupuncture alone and combined treatment showed a statistically significant level of improvement compared to Western medicine treatment. In the case of VAS score, electroacupuncture alone and combined treatment showed a more significant effect than Western medicine treatment. In the case of UA level, electroacupuncture combined treatment showed a more significant effect than western medicine treatment. Although not all three evaluation tools were used in all studies, the majority of studies showed that electroacupuncture was effective for acute gout patients. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that EA treatment may be effective for acute gout. It should be noted, however, that the studies included in this study were geographically biased, small in number, and mostly at high risk of bias. More well-designed studies are needed in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.109-118
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• 2021

Objectives The objective of this study was to appraise the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) for the treatment of cervical vertigo. Methods We performed a literature search using nine electronic databases up to the end of November 2020. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which appraised the effect of EA in the treatment of cervical vertigo. The risk of bias was evaluated from the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results Thirteen appropriate RCTs were included and analyzed. The efficacy rate of the EA group was statistically higher compared with the control group treated with western medicine (p<0.00001). EA treatment significantly improved efficacy rate when combined with western medicine than western medicine alone (p<0.0001). Also EA used with combined therapy (traction, traditional chinese medicine, injection) significantly improved efficacy rate compared with combined therapy alone (p=0.02). Meta-analysis of thirteen studies demonstrated positive results for using EA for the treatment of cervical vertigo. Conclusions Based on results, EA treatment could be effective in cervical vertigo. However, it should be noted that the studies included in this research are regionally biased and small in number. Further well-designed research should be required.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.301-314
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to provide clinical evidence to support the use of herbal medicine combined with western medicine for BPSD. Methods: Studies were identified by searching CNKI, Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, SCIENCEON, RISS, KMbase, KISS, OASIS. Literature searches of Chinese, English, and Korean databases were performed. Two authors independently extracted the data and evaluated the quality of each study. Results: The literature search identified 203 articles. Of these, 7 were selected for the analysis. The risk of bias in most studies was unclear. The most frequently used diagnostic tools were the NINCDS-ADRDA and DSM-IV. The most commonly used results indicator was NPI. In 6 of the 7 papers, combination treatment (herbal & Western medicine) was statistically significantly more effective than single treatment (Western medicine alone) for BPSD. No significant adverse events were reported. Conclusions: Herbal medicine in combination with Western medicine is more effective for treating BPSD than Western medicine alone. However, the quality of the studies used in this study was uncertain and the sample size was too small. Based on the findings of this study, more high-quality clinical trials are needed to confirm the efficacy of combination treatment.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.161-166
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• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics and direction of treatment for peripheral facial palsy (PFP) based on medical collaboration between Western and Korean medicine departments. Methods: There were 195 outpatients with PFP identified retrospectively by examining electronic medical records. These patients were treated with Korean and Western medicine from January 1^st, 2018 to December 31^st, 2018 at the Kyung Hee University hospital. Records were analyzed according to the patients' demographic characteristics and clinical features of the collaborative combined treatment. Results: According to the collaborative treatment pathway, the number of patients consulted from Western medicine departments was more than consulted from Korean department for the first time. The time taken by the Western medicine departments to consult with the patients at the Korean center for the first time was 14.9 days from the onset of symptoms. Acupuncture was the most frequently used Korean medicine treatment. The total treatment period for Korean medicine sessions and intervals were 91.9 days, 23 times and 3.6 days, respectively. When the Korean medicine center consulted with Western medicine departments, the time taken until the first consultation was 8.5 days from the onset of symptoms. Medication was the most used treatment, prescribed after 3.1 days. The most frequently used clinical test was an electromyogram, and this was performed after 20.5 days. The total treatment period, sessions and intervals were 21.2 days, 2.8 times and 5 days, respectively. Conclusion: The clinical status of collaborative treatment for PFP was determined including the timing and interval of consultation according to treatments.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.145-149
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• 2022

This study examined the effectiveness of Korean-Western cooperative treatment for patients with plantar fasciitis. Fifty patients received Korean medicine treatments (acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine) and Western medicine treatments (polydeoxyribonucleotide, and extracorporeal shock wave therapy). Evaluation methods used were comparison before and after ultrasound (P9), and numeric rating scale scores. Results revealed a significant improvement in the level of pain and evaluation of improvement using ultrasound. Moreover, it was suggested that Korean-Western cooperative medicine treatment may be effective for the treatment of plantar fasciitis.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.57-76
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• 2022

Objectives: This review is aimed to figure out the effectiveness of herbal medicine for treating threatened abortion by analyzing randomized controlled trials. Methods: We searched relevant studies using seven databases including 4 domestic databases and 3 foreign databases. Data retrieval was conducted on May 18, 2022. and the papers published from January 1, 2018 to May 18, 2022 were included. The risk of bias was assessed by using Cochrane's risk of bias tool. Results: 182 studies were searched in domestic and foreign databases, and 9 studies were finally selected. Among 9 studies, the treatment group was treated with only oral herbal medicine in 4 studies and with combined treatment of herbal medicine and western medicine in 5 studies. On the other hand, the control group was treated with only western medicine. In all 9 studies, evaluation indexes in the treatment group showed more effectiveness than those of the control group, evaluation indexes were different for each study though. Conclusions: Herbal medicine was more effective for treating threatened abortion whether using it alone or combining with western medicine compared to using western medicine alone. Additional studies which include large number are needed to confirm long-term effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine treatment.