• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.85-99
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• 2007

This study aimes to understand trends in alternative medicine use as new therapeutic ways to overcome the limits of western medicine, and is primarily concerned with function of alternative medicine to influence cancer theraphy in the United States after 1970s. Features of oriental medicine and western medicine through the comparison of Quantum medicine and Newton physics are pointed as the basic theory in alternative medicine. Homeopathic medicine, Chiro practice, Aroma theraphy, Transcendental meditation, Acupuncture is shortly is shortly introduced by alternative medicine use. The advantage of this study is to gain as follows : Firstly, To be recognized alternative function of cancer theraphy by Western nations including United States. Secondly, To understand the integrative program utilized as the alternative ways of cancer theraphy in the field. Thirdly, To understand side effects in alternative medicine use. :astly, To recommand marketing stratigies on alternative medicine services to develop Korean health tourism. In conclusion, it is increasingly emphasized that the importance of alternative medicine in relation to health promotion in the western nations. Western travelers expect that alternative medicine service is attractive and effective as the complementary function on incurable disease. Health tourism to experience alternative medicine services by travel will be expected one of the key industries in the future.

• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.25.1-25.8
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• 2013

Homoeopathically prepared Condurango 30C is traditionally used in amelioration of certain types of cancer by homeopathic practitioners. In this study, ability of Condurango 30C in amelioration of the conventional benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-induced lung cancer in rat has been tested. After one month of scheduled oral feeding of BaP, lung cancer is routinely developed after four months in rats. Tumorbearing rats were then treated with Condurango 30C for the next one ($5^{th}$), two ($6^{th}$) and three ($7^{th}$) months, respectively, and sacrificed. Efficacy of post-cancer treatment by Condurango 30C was evaluated against controls (placebo) by different study parameters like: body and lung weights, number and diameter of lung tumour nodules, lung architecture, DNA damage, anti-oxidant activity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. Administration of this homeopathic remedy caused increase of body weight and decrease of lung weight, decrease in number and diameter of lung tumour nodules, particularly after one and two months of drug treatment. BaP intoxication significantly increased lipid peroxidase (LPO) with concomitant decrease in activities of different antioxidants, while Condurango 30C administration certainly reduce their levels than normal and cancerous groups, notably after one and two months' of drug treatment. Condurango 30C showed capability to induce ROS-mediated cell death evidenced from the study of ROS activities at different time-points. Further, the remedy possibly achieved its anticancer goal through mediation of DNA-nicks that possibly led cancer cells to the apoptotic pathway. Thus, Condurango 30C has anticancer potential in BaP-induced lung cancer of rats via tissue damage recovery and ROS-mediated programmed cell death.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.20 no.1 s.32
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• pp.239-249
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• 2007

Background : Allergic rhinitis is the most frequently occuring immunological disorder. It affects men, women and children and represents significant cost in terms of suffering and loss of productivity. Objective & Methods : We referred to the information through Entrex Pubmed from 2004 to 2007 January about alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis, 9 treatises. Results : About 9 treatises, 2 treatises were for the acupuncture treatment, I treatise was for the acupuncture and chinese herbal medicine, 2 treatises were for the single substance(butterbur, soy sauce ingredients), 1 treatise was for the homeopathic preparation, 1 treatise was for the ayur-veda herbal treatment, 1 treatise was for the ultraviolet light phototherapy, 1 treatise was for the systematic review of alternative medicine. Except 2 treatises for the acupuncture treatment, 6 treatises used the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled methods. As a result, we found 5 treatises that treat group had more improvement than control group, 3 treatises that treat group had no difference control group on effect significantly. 1 review article exhibited the most of alternative medical literatures were inadequate methodologically and therapeutic efficacy alternative treatment for allergic rhinitis was not supported by currently available evidence. Conclusion : We found that treatises about the alternative medicine for allergic rhinitis were more and more published. We were supposed that many internal treatises were published adequately by methodology to prove Korean medical treatment effects for allergic rhinitis.

• CELLMED
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.26.1-26.5
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• 2012

Adverse side-effects and lack of scientific validation of some chemotherapeutic agents prevent the use of many traditional medicines claimed to have anti-cancer effects. Ethanolic extract of Conium maculatum has long been used in traditional and alternative systems of medicine including homeopathy for the treatment of glandular enlargements, cancerous tumours or hard lumps of testicles, prostate, ovaries, breasts and/ or uterus, particularly in the breast. However, if and how it acts still remains scientifically unknown. This study aims to test if Conium extract (CE), used as mother tincture of Conium in homeopathy, has demonstrable anti-cancer potentials without having much cytotoxicity in normal cells. Cytotoxicity of the drug was tested by conducting MTT assay on both normal (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) and HeLa cells. We also evaluated DNA fragmentation and DNA damage by DAPI and diphenylamine assay. The LDH activity assay was done to evaluate the percentages of apoptosis and necrosis. ROS accumulation also was evaluated to pin-point the actual events of apoptosis. Administration of drug clearly demonstrated its anti-cancer potentials as evidenced by the DNA damage analysis. The ROS activity also increased in case of the CE treated cells. LDH data revealed that the mode of cell death was mainly apoptotic and not necrotic. CE appears to induce apoptosis of cancer cells through ROS mediated pathway, and has negligible cytotoxicity against normal cells.

• CELLMED
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.10.1-10.8
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• 2013

Cancer is one of the major dreaded diseases causing high mortality. Lung cancer is second in position of all cancer related deaths and mainly divided into two morphologic sub-types: small-cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is an aggressive neoplasm which hardly responds to any conventional chemotherapy. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) belongs to the ErbB family of receptor tyrosine kinase that is mainly over-expressed in NSCLC. EGFR is mainly involved in the pathogenesis and progression of different carcinoma. In vivo and in vitro studies suggest that EGFR and EGF like peptides are often over-expressed in human NSCLC and these proteins are able to induce cell transformation. The conventional therapies mostly inhibit the EGFR activity and expression level in human NSCLC with the use of some EGFR-inhibitors like HKI-272, EKB569, CL-387785 etc. and some synthetic chemotherapeutic drugs like erlotinib, gefitinib, plumbagin, docetaxel, cisplatin etc., alone or in combination of two or more drugs. These therapies selectively act by competitive inhibition of the binding of adenosine triphosphate to the tyrosine kinase domain of the EGFR, resulting in inhibition of the EGFR signaling pathway. But these chemotherapeutic drugs have some cytotoxic activities to the normal cells and have some adverse side-effects. Recent studies on some traditional alternative therapies including some herbal and plant extracts, active ingredients like curcumin, different homeopathic drugs, etc. can target EGFR-signalling in NSCLC with less toxic side-effects are being currently developed.