• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.95-106
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• 2002

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of various electroacupuncture(EA) stimulation on NADPH-diaphorase and Neuropeptide Y(NPY) in the cerebral cortex of Sprague-Dawley Rats. We evaluated the changes of NADPH-d-positive neurons using a histochemical method and the changes of NPY-positive neurons using a double labeling immunohistochemical method. The staining intensities of NADPH-d-positive neuron and NPY-positive neurons were assessed in a quantitative fashion using a microdensitometrical method based on optical density by means of an image analyzer. As to frequency, the optical density of NADPH-d-positive neurons of 2Hz-1 time EA group was significantly higher than that of 100Hz-1 time EA group in M1, Cg, and that of 100Hz-3 times EA group was significantly higher than that of 2Hz-3 times EA group in Vi, Au, Cg and Ins. As to treatment-time, the optical density of NADPH-d-positive neurons of 2Hz-1 time EA group was higher than 2Hz-3 times EA group in Vi, Au, Cg and Ins. And in Vi 100Hz-1 time EA group and in M1 100Hz-3 times EA group was more efficient. As to frequency, the optical density of NPY-positive neurons of 2Hz-1 time was significantly higher in Vi, and that of 100Hz-1 EA group was higher in M1. And that of 2Hz-3 times EA group was higher than 100Hz-3 times EA group in Cg. As to treatment-time, the optical density of NPY-positive neurons of 2Hz-1 time EA group was significantly higer than 2Hz-3 times EA in S1, Vi, Au. And that of 100Hz-1 time EA group was significantly higher than that of 100Hz-3 time EA in Cg. The present results demonstrated that EA changes the activity in NO and NPY system in the cerebral cortex of SHR and EA stimulation, like frequency and treatment-time, is of importance for this effect.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.412-419
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• 2021

This study presents the case of a 73-year-old Korean male with dysphagia caused by achalasia and aimed to assess the effectiveness of Korean medical treatment. The outpatient was treated with acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and herbal medicine (Bunsimgieum-gami, Gyejigayonggolmolyeo-tang, Bangpungtongsung-san) for about 6 months. We evaluated the patient's symptoms whenever he visited the clinic. The patient improved significantly after Korean medical treatment. In particular, dysphagia disappeared after herbal medicine treatment. This case report suggests that Korean medical treatment could be effective in treating achalasia. Further studies are needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.444-452
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• 2007

Acupuncture treatment cures disease by regulating the functional excessiveness or deficiency which occurs in the meridian and visceral organs, and by letting stagnated Qi and Blood flow through the whole body and then controlling Qi. Whether or not to have Qi feeling is the main factor needed to manifest the efficacy of acupuncture. So it needs the very stimulus to make Qi felt rather than the simple stimulus. In order to have Qi feeling, it needs to acupuncture a patient according to patient's thinness or fatness, constitution, richness or poverty and age. And also it needs to vary the way to acupuncture a patient according to meridian, kinds of pulse, degrees of disease, new or old diseases, seasons with a disease and local areas of disease. In order to ascertain that it is important for the quality and quantity of acupuncture stimulus and the state of feeling acupuncture to get the efficacy of acupuncture, the experiment was planned to confirm whether the form and Qi of subject has different result according to the stimulated duration and depth. On the basis of the report that acupuncture on derma, when using electroacupuncture at Zusanli(ST 36) which denotes small intestinal motility, is more efficient than full depth acupuncture, I got the following result, after I observed whether the stimulated duration and depth give different efficacy according to the sex and weights of rat in experiment. The increased effects of small intestinal motility by electroacupuncture on Zusanli(ST 36) appeared after stimulating full depth for thirty minutes without distinction of sex and weights. This significant change was observed only in the female experimental group when I distinguished the sex. The small interstinal motility in rats by electroacupuncture at zusanli(ST 36) decreased in the 10 minutes' stimulated group and 30 minutes' stimulated group by duration on the one hand, and derma-deep stimulated group and full depth stimulated group by the depth of stimulus on the other hand, as the weights increased. This result shows that the duration and depth of acupuncture depends on the differences of acupuncture points, sex of the experimental animals, ages, and, weights. And the further study on the experimental and clinical differences and sextual differences need to be continued on.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.151-160
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to review the thread embedding treatment studies of obesity in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Methods : We reviewed 59 studies on cat-gut-embedding treatment of obesity which were published from 2005 to 2012. The studies were searched using the data base-CAJ(China Academic Journals; 中國期刊全文數據庫)(2005~2012). Results : Selected 59 studies were divided into 27 case series and 32 control studies. The number of studies has increased since 2005, more rapidly in 2011~2012. Most case series reported were about effectiveness of thread embedding monotherapy treating obesity. Control studies reported were about effectiveness of thread embedding treatment compared with acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and medicine. Most studies on thread embedding treatment of obesity showed that its effectiveness was very good. Conclusions : There have been many reports of thread embedding treatment studies of obesity in Traditional Chinese Medicine. We believed that these studies could be applied to the clinical practice and basic research in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.505-510
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• 2013

Electroacupuncture (EA) is a modified form of acupuncture that utilizes electrical stimulation. We previously showed that EA stimulated rats were divided into responders that were sensitive to EA and non-responders that were insensitive to EA based on the tail flick latency (TFL) test. The dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) gene was more abundantly expressed in the hypothalamus of responder rats than non-responder rats. To determine whether overexpression of DBH gene expression in the hypothalamus modulate EA analgesia, we constructed a DBH encoding adenovirus and which was then injected into the hypothalamus of SD rats. Microinjection of DBH or control GFP virus into the hypothalamus had no changes on the basal pain threshold measured by a TFL test without EA treatment. However, the analgesic effect of EA was significantly enhanced from seven days after microinjection of the DBH virus, but not after injection of the control GFP virus. DBH expression was significantly higher in the hypothalamus of DBH virus injected rat than control GFP virus or PBS injected rats. Moreover, expression of the DBH gene did not affect the body core temperature, body weight, motor function or learning and memory ability. Although the functional role of DBH in the hypothalamus in the analgesic effect of EA remains unclear, our findings suggest that expression of the DBH gene in the hypothalamus promotes EA analgesia without obvious side-effects.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.101-115
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• 2004

Objective : The present studies investigated the effects of 120 Hz high frequency electroacupuncture (EA) on the stress-induced stomach dysfunction in relation to its effect on the level of stress hormones and gastric mucosal damages. The gastric mucosal injury was induced by cold-restraint stress and two acupoints corresponding to Zusanli and Sanyinjiao in man were used. Methods : Cold-restraint stress produced typical gastric lesions in all rats of the stressed groups, but the number of ulcers as well as the mean ulcer diameter were reduced by 120 Hz EA pre-treatment. Results : The degranulation value of gastric mast cell was significantly higher in cold-restrained rats than in control ones. However, with the significant reduction of degranulation values of gastric mast cells in EA pre-treated rats compared with cold-restrained rats. Cold-restarint stress induced an elevated mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory gene such as cyclooxygenases-2 and tumor necrosis factor $(TNF)-{\alpha}$, but these expression were down-regulated in EA pre-treated rats. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that while the $inhibitory-{\kappa}B{\alpha}$ and $TNF-{\alpha}$ immunorection in the surface epithelium of the stomach tended to increase, both reactions in the EA pre-treated rats showed similar pattern as observed in controls. Conclusion : These results suggest that 120 Hz EA may act as a therapeutical means for gastric mucosal damages through an activation of pituitary adrenal system. It could be concluded that 120 Hz high frequency electroaucupuncture affords a good protective potential against stress-induced gastrointestinal dysfunction.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.177-193
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• 2003

Objective : The present studies investigated the effects of 120Hz high frequency electroacupunctue(EA) on the stress-induced stomach dysfunction in relation to its effect on the level of stress hormone and gastric mucosal damages. The gastric mucosal injury was induced by cold-restraint stress and two acupoints corresponding to Zusanli and Sanyinjiao in man were used. Methods: Cold-restraint stress produced typical gastric lesions in all rats of the stressed groups, but he number of ulcers as well as the mean ulcer diameter were reduced by 120 Hz EA pre-treatment. The cold-restraint stress also induced an increase in catecholamine response involving epinephrine, norepinephrine and dopamine, but an slight decline were observed in EA pre-treated rats compared with cold-restrained rats. Results: The degranulation value of gastric mast cell was significantly higher in cold-restrained rats than in control ones. However, with the significant reduction of degranulation values of gastric mast cells in EA pre-treated rats compared with cold-restrained ones, $PGE_2$ content in the gastric mucosa of EA pre-treated rats was also different from that observed in cold-restrained rats. Cold-restraint stress induced an elevated mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory gene such as cyclooxygenases-2 and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-${\alpha}$, but these expression were down-regulated in EA pre-treated rats. Immunohistochemecal analysis showed that while the inhibitory-${\kappa}B{\alpha}$ an TNF-${\alpha}$ immunoreaction in the surface epithelium of the stomach tended to increase, both reactions in the EA pre-treated rats showed similar pattern as observed in controls. Conclusions : These results suggest that 120 Hz EA may act as a therapeutical means for gastric mucosal damages through a activation of pituitary adrenal system. it could be concluded that 120 hz high frequency electroacupuncture affords a good protective potential against stress-induce gastrointestinal dysfunction.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.264-273
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• 2019

Objectives : Microglia play a crucial role in electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia on neuropathic pain. The role of chemokines in producing analgesic effects of EA, however, is largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the role of chemokines in producing analgesic effects of EA in the neuropathic pain model. Methods : Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into three groups (anesthetized group (ANE), non-acupoint EA group (NAP), and ST36 - GB34 EA group (ACU)). Neuropathic pain was induced by tight ligation of L5 spinal nerve. Mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity of hind paw was tested. Western blot tests and immunofluorescence assay for C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) levels and microglia activation were performed on spinal cord L5/6. EA was treated once daily from the 3rd day after surgery for 5 days. Results : EA treatments applied to ST36 and GB34 significantly reduced both mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity after two and three times of treatment, respectively. While CCL2 expression significantly increased in neuropathic rats, it was significantly reduced in the ACU. In addition, co-localization of CCL2 and activated microglia significantly decreased in the ACU compared to those of ANE and NAP in the spinal cord L5/L6 dorsal horn. Conclusions : The present results suggest that EA applied to ST36 and GB34 modulates the reduction of CCL2 release from the injured neurons and consequently decreases microglia activation in the spinal cord. Regulation of chemokine induced spinal activation of microglia plays a key role in analgesic effects of EA in the rat model of neuropathic pain.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.35-45
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• 2002

Acupuncture and herbal medicine have been used to prevent and treat the cerebrovascular accident, such as a stroke, and many studies of acupuncture and moxibustion concerning to the stroke have been undertaken in the human and various animals. However, it was not published the protective effect of the electroacupuncture (EA) of Huan-do (GB30) on the transient forebrain ischemia injury. The neuroprotective effects of EA (2 ms, 10 Hz, and 1 - 2 mA) of GB30 on the transient forebrain ischemia injury was investigated by western blot of nNOS and hematoxylin and eosin stain in Sprague-Dawley rats. The transient forebrain ischemia injury resulted in increased expression of nNOS in the brain for 6 hrs after ischemia, and EA decreased significantly expression of nNOS protein in brain increased by transient forebrain ischemia injury. The survived neuronal cell stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) decreased in the hippocampus by the 7 days after ischemia comparing with the normal. Comparing with the normal, the survived neurons seriously decreased cell in the hippocampus after the injury. However, the proportion of survived neurons was increased in EA treatment. These results suggest that EA of GB30 have neuroprotective effects on transient forebrain ischemia injury.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.147-158
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• 2002

Objective : The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of stimulation on different sites of the body on MBP(mean blood pressure) and HR(heart rate). Methods : Six healthy men have participated in this study. Before and after 10 min, exercise on a running machine of l0km/hr, acupressure, plain acupuncture and electroacupuncture(50Hz) stimulation was practiced on GV20, LI4, ST36, BL40 and non-acupoints on T4 and T10 respectively for 20 min. and in a control group without any treatment. The changes of MBP and HR after exercise have been observed for 20 min. at 5 minute intervals. Results : Compared with control, no significant difference was observed in research of the blood pressure measurement regardless of methods nor sites of stimulation. But there were trends of reduction in the heart rates in all experimental groups. Especially, in the group of acupressure on T10 before exercise, GV20, T10 after exercise and electroacupuncture on GV20, LI4, BL40 after exercise there was statistically significant decreases in heart rates. Conclusion : From the present experiment, it is concluded that somatic stimulation has effect on the heart rates but not on the blood pressures, and the presence of effective sites on the decreases of heart rates suggest that this effect may depend on sites of stimulation.