• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.105-113
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• 2011

Objectives: To examine the current status of clinical research in oriental medicine, and to assess 'risk of bias'(ROB) of randomized clinical trials(RCTs) in oriental medicine in Korea. Methods: Special committee for EBM, KOMS(Korean Oriental Medicine Society) reviewed 17 journals related to oriental medicine in Korea (from the first issue to May 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2010), and PubMed (1966 to May 2010). Then we selected eligible RCTs in terms of oriental medicine, and assessed 'risk of bias'. Results: We reviewed 12,653 articles from the 17 journals, and 41 articles from CENTRAL and PubMed. After non-clinical articles were excluded, 1,004 articles were left. Among them, the number of eligible studies in terms of oriental medicine was 306. In these eligible studies, 130 were RCTs. Of RCTs, 69 were on acupuncture, 25 on herbal medicine. The proportion of 'unclear' is high in the criteria of 'Allocation concealment', 'Blinding of participants and personnel', 'Blinding of outcome assessment' and 'Other bias'. On the other hand, 'low' has high in the criteria of 'Incomplete outcome data' and 'Selective reporting'. Conclusions: Risk of bias on oriental medicine is unclear in terms of 'allocation concealment' and 'blinding'. For high-quality research in oriental medicine, further research should be needed on randomization and blinding in the RCTs.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.25-42
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• 2017

Objectives The goal of this review was to investigate clinical, experimental and literature studies of Korean medicine on atopic dermatitis (AD) of Korean children in Korean medicine literature, seeking for the better research methods for more effective treatments. Methods Electronic investigations were practiced on AKOP (The Association of Korean Oriental Pediatrics, http://www.akop.or.kr) to collect theses which were published by J Pediatr Korean Med. The key word 'Atopy' was used for searching to ensure that every related thesis was collected. The publication date was limited from 1996 to 2016. The selected literatures were assessed mainly according to distributions of study type, publication year, scale, treatment and its efficacy. Results 55 papers were selected from 59 studies. In these collected 55 related theses, there were 29 experimental studies (52.73%), 18 clinical studies (32.73%), 8 review studies (14.55%). In the 29 experimental studies, there were 20 studies (68.97%) using NC/Nga mouse as subjects. The mite antigen was used to trigger AD by 8 studies (27.59%). The studies have been utilizing DNCB and DNFB instead of mite antigen since 2011. All the experimental studies showed that the Korean medicine was effective in AD. In total 18 clinical studies, 3 studies (16.67%) were case reports, only 1 thesis (5.56%) was conducted by case control study and the rest were case series studies. 7 studies (38.89%) of 18 studies diagnosed AD according to Hanifin and Rajka's diagnostic criteria (1980), only 1 study (5.56%) according to the Korean standard and the rest 10 studies (55.56%) didn't mention diagnostic criteria. 12 clinical studies (66.67%) showed efficacy in treating AD. There were 10 studies (55.56%) only employing internal treatments and 1 thesis (5.56%) didn't mention the exact prescription. Naesowhajungtang-kamibang, Saenghyeoryunbue-um were used 3 times (16.67%) as the internal medicine respectively. 5 theses (27.78%) were combined with acupuncture therapy. Hegu (LI4), Sanyinjiao (SP6) were used in 4 theses, and Taichong (LR3), Quchi (LI11), Zusanli (ST36) in 3 theses. The number of acupoints chosen from The Spleen meridian of Foot-Taiyin was the largest. There were 8 review theses. 2 were about the foreign oriental medicine, 3 were about the external medicine or external treatment methods, and 3 other studies were about severity scoring systems, the methodological study in the latest clinical study, overview for pattern and results of herbal medicine-derived AD clinical researches. Conclusions The experimental studies and clinical studies showed the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatments. However, this study still needs improving by conducting more comparative studies and using better research methods, in order to find more effective treatments to improve clinical efficacy.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.109-115
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• 2019

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a disorder characterized by sustained or intermittent, involuntary muscle contractions which cause twisting, repetitive movements and abnormal postures. In this case report, a CD patients was treated with transfer energy capacitive and resistive (TECAR) therapy and conventional Korean medicine, which consists of acupuncture, Chuna manual medicine, pharmacopuncture and herbal medicine. For outcome measures, this study evaluated Cobb's angle, EuroQol five dimension scale (EQ-5D), numerical rating scale (NRS), neck disabillity index (NDI) and cervical range of motion. As a result, improvements were found in Cobb's angle ($18.65^{\circ}$ to $15.90^{\circ}$), EQ-5D score (0.808 to 0.862), NRS (5 to 3), NDI (16 to 8) and angle of cervical lateral bending ($15^{\circ}$ to $25^{\circ}$). In conclusion, this study shows that combined therapy of conventional Korean medicine treatment and TECAR therapy can be effective for CD patients.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.132-143
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to provide basic information on Korean medical research and treatment through analysis of breast cancer patients, who visited ${\bigcirc}{\bigcirc}$ university Korean medicine hospital. Methods: To analyze characteristics of breast cancer patients who visited korean medicine hospital, we searched medical records from January 1, 2016 to May 13, 2019, and 86 breast cancer patients were analyzed. Results: 1. The general characteristics of the subjects are as follows. The average age was $47.65{\pm}9.62years$ and 40's was the most (46.51%). The average height was $159.78{\pm}4.91cm$ and the average weight was $57.29{\pm}9.34kg$. The average body mass index (BMI) of the patients was $22.40{\pm}3.50kg/m^2$. 2. The stage distribution record indicated stage０ (9.72%), stageI (31.94%), stageII (34.72%), stageIII (20.83%) and stageIV (2.78%). 14 patients with unknown stage were excluded. 3. Before coming to the korean medicine hospital, of the 86 patients, 72 (83.72%) patients received surgical therapy, 55 (63.95%) patients received chemotherapy and 44 (51.16%) patients received radiotherapy. 11 (12.79%) patients chose oriental medicine as their primary treatment option. 4. The mean duration from diagnosis to hospital visit was $13.87{\pm}15.53months$. Among the total 86 patients, 46 (53.49%) patients visited for symptom relief during the follow-up period. 5. The most common symptom was general weakness in 29 (33.72%) patients, followed by hot flash, myalgia, insomnia, digestion disorder, numbness, edema, arthralgia, operation site pain, cold sensation and mastalgia. 6. Among 86 patients, 55 (63.95%) patients received acupuncture and moxibustion together. The most prescribed herbal medicine to subjects was Sibjeondaebo-tang-gamibang and Cheonhye-dan (25%). Conclusions: These results could be helpful to provide basic data on the Korean medical approach of breast cancer patients.

• The Journal of Traditional Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.113-127
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• 2006

Objectives: This study was produced to examine the effects of moxibustion that had been played important role to traditional oriental medical treatment on disease. Recently, it was reported that moxi-tar which is generated in the process of moxibustion as burning combustibles decreased nitric oxide(NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) generation in cellular experiments. Methods: Carrageenan-induced arthritis rat model was used to test the effect of moxi-tar as a chronic pain model. Diluted moxi-tar was single injected in several acupoints or combined with electroacupuncture (l ms, 2 Hz, and 2 mA) into contralateral ST36 acupoint for 30 min to assess the synergic effects. After the treatment, behavioral tests measuring stepping force were periodically conducted during the next 12 hours. Endogenous NO and iNOS, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and c-Fos protein expression in the spinal cord were examined on a rat model of carrageenan-induced arthritis. Results : After the induction of arthritis, rats subsequently showed a reduced stepping force of the affected limb for at least the next 4 days. The reduced stepping force of the limb was presumably due to a painful knee, since oral injection of indomethacin produced temporary improvement of weight bearing. Maxi-tar produced significant improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis lasting at least 9 hours. The magnitude of this improvement was equivalent to that obtained after an oral injection of 3 mg/kg of indomethacin and this improvement of stepping force was interpreted as an analgesic effect. Maxi-tar produced the improvement of stepping force of the affected hindlimb in a dose-dependent manner. Both NO production and iNOS, COX-2 protein expression increased by arthritis were suppressed by maxi-tar. Moxi-tar on combination with electroacupuncture (EA) produced more powerful and longer lasting improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis than either moxi-tar or EA did. Conclusion : The present study suggest that maxi-tar produces a potent analgesic effect on the chronic knee arthritis pain model in the rat and that moxi-tar-induced analgesia modulate endogenous NO through the suppression of iNOS/COX-2 protein expression.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.1009-1019
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study was to report the improvement of Guillain-Barre syndrome after long-term combination treatment with Korean medicine. Methods: A patient was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome and treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and exercise, including quadruped walking after three hospital admissions. To evaluate muscle strength and weakness, we measured manual muscle function, gait pattern, and the speed of quadruped walking. Results: The patient's muscle weakness in the extremities and gait stance were improved. The speed of quadruped walking was increased. Conclusion: We consider that combined treatment with Korean medicine might be effective for the muscle weakness of Guillain-Barre syndrome with a poor prognostic factor. To verify the effectiveness of this treatment, further research is needed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.71-80
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• 2021

Parkinson's disease is one of the typical neurodegenerative disease and it is caused by the destruction of substantia nigra in brain leading to lack of dopamine secretion, and it presents 4 major motor symptoms such as tremor, bradykinesia, stiffness, postural instability. Furthermore, it causes many non-motor symptoms such as anosmia, REM sleep conduct disorder, orthostatic hypotension, dementia and autonomic ataxia such as lack of adjusting blood pressure, hyperhydrosis, constipation. Dopaminergic therapy is the most commonly used strategy, but long term treatment of levodopa induce various adverse effects. Thus, many people are focusing on new therapies other than established therapies, and there are many tries and approaches with paradigm shift. Our medical team was able to get 4 cases of PD patients who are hospitalized in our hospital, treated by Whole Body Gi-Hyeol Therapy consisting of acupuncture therapy, herbal therapy, and mental therapy, and their conditions improved in perspective of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale(UPDRS), Heart Rate Variability(HRV), and Quality of life. Among all 4 cases, UPDRS score and quality of life score is gotton better, and among 2 cases SDNN, RMS-SD, TP, LF, HF scores are finely increased. And PDQ-39 score which shows quality of life is also improved. However, in spite of these improvements and positive results, there were no meaningful improvement in a hurt from a fall which is important to the aged, muscular atrophy which causes bone fracture and SMI(Skeletal Muscle Mass Index) which is indicator of osteoporosis. Thus, supplementary treatment about Whole Body Gi-Hyeol Therapy such as more active nutrition intervention, safe and effective kinesitherapy is needed, and from now on continuous case reports and systematic clinical research which has control group must be carried out.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.95-104
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study was to observe effectiveness of ultrasound-guided Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy at acromioclavicular joint of shoulder in patients with anterior shoulder pain. Methods We analyzed medical records of 9 patients hospitalized with anterior shoulder pain who had admitted to Department of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University from March 1, 2021 to June 13, 2021. 9 patients were treated the treatment of Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy on acromioclavicular joint under ultrasonic guidance with Korean medicine treatment (such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxabustion, etc). The study was conducted as a retrospective observation study which analyze the patient's medical records. We used numeric rating scale (NRS) to evaluate pain reduction and the shoulder range of motion (ROM) to evaluate function improvement twice (before pharmacopuncture treatment and 5 days later treatment). Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 25 program (IBM Co., Armonk, NY, USA). Results The average of numeric rating scale reduced statistically significantly from 5.56±1.13 to 3.11±1.36 (p=0.004). The average of shoulder flexion ROM increased statistically significantly from 166.67±8.17° to 175.00±8.37° (p<0.05). And the average of shoulder abduction ROM increased statistically significantly from 158.57±20.35° to 172.86±12.53° (p<0.05). Both NRS and shouler ROM showed statistically significantly improve after treatment. Conclusions This study shows ultrasound-guided Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy at acromioclavicular joint of shoulder has a meaningful clinical effect on the improving shoulder pain and ROM especially on flexion and abduction.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-47
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the current characteristics and prescriptions of outpatients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Methods: We searched medical records from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 and found out 31 patients who first visited with PCOS. Results: The average age of PCOS patients was $26.48{\pm}5.15years$ old, average height was $162.16{\pm}5.56cm$, average weight was $55.27{\pm}9.34kg$, and average BMI was $21.01{\pm}3.48kg/m^2$ A total of 24 patients who had received western treatment for PCOS in the past, 13 people received oral contraceptions, 4 hormones, 2 metformin, one hormone and metformin, also 4 people were treated for assisted reproductive technologies due to infertility. There were only two patients who combined Korean and Western treatments. The most common menstrual-related symptoms of PCOS patients were oligomenorrhea (48.4%) and dysmenorrhea (22.6%). Other symptoms were the highest in the cold symptoms (54.8%), followed by infertility (9.7%). The average number of patients visiting the hospital was $6.26{\pm}7.2$, with 22 (71.0%) coming from 1 to 5. The average treatment period for patients was $10.1{\pm}10.8weeks$, with 41.9% the largest for 1 to 4 weeks. Acupuncture (93.5%), moxibustion (96.8%) herbmed (96.8%) was treated to most PCOS patients. The most commonly used herbal medicines were Ongyeong-tang (35.5%), Ijin-tang-gami (19.4%), Dodam-tang-gami (12.9%), and Jogyeongjongok-tang-gami (12.9%). Conclusions: These results could be helpful to treat PCOS patients in Korean gynecologic clinical fields.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.103-112
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• 2019

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate pain reduction and treatment satisfaction of patients with rib fracrture treated with Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy under ultrasonic guided - thoracic paravertebral space (TPVS), and also compare to the patients with non-guided pharmacoacupuncture. Methods We studied medical records of 6 patients hospitalized with rib fractures were analyzed retrospectively at department of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation from March 1, 2019 to May 31, 2019, The 3 patients had performed the treatment of Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy on TPVS under ultrasonic guidance with Korean Medicine treatment (such as herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxabustion, etc) and the other 3 patients had performed the treatment of Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy on TPVS through non-guided. We used numeric rating scale to assess improvements in pain and the five-point likert scale was used to assess treatment satisfaction. Statistical analysis was carried out using the IBM SPSS Statistics 24 program. Results The purpose of this study is to investigate pain reduction and treatment satisfaction of patients with rib fracrture treated with Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy under ultrasonic guided - TPVS, and also compare to the patients with non-guided pharmacoacupuncture. Conclusions After analyzing 6 studies, we could imply that the treatment of Soyeom pharmacopuncture therapy on TPVS under ultrasonic guidance could be more effective on pain reduction and improvement of treatment satisfaction with rib fracture compared to those who were treated with non-guided pharmacoacupuncture.