• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.46-58
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report weight changes and analyze adverse events in diabetic patients with Gamitaeeumjowee-Tang for weight loss. Methods: A retrospective chart review of weight change and adverse events was performed during the 10-week weight loss program using Gamitaeeumjowee-tang with low-calorie diets for diabetics(n=61). Weight and BMI changes were compared before and after the program and calculated the percentage of people who lost more than 5% of their weight, also identified whether subjects felt satiated or not. Adverse events were evaluated in terms of causality, severity and system-organ classes. Results: After 10-week weight loss program, significant weight loss (5.9±2.32kg, 7.73% reduction from baseline) and BMI reduction (2.9±0.86) were reported (n=61). Those who lost more than 5 percent of their body weight accounted for 88.5%, and also 88.5% of the participants felt full to help control their appetite. In assessing the causality of adverse events, 'Unlikely' was the most common (66%) and in severity evaluations, almost all symptoms were mild. Insomnia was the most frequently reported during the first 8 weeks, and constipation was reported the most afterwards. Conclusions: A combination of Gamitaeeumjowee-tang and low-calorie diets for 10 weeks appears to help weight reduction without serious adverse events in diabetic patients. Future well-designed prospective clinical studies testing the effectiveness and safety of this weight loss program are warranted.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.389-400
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• 2022

Objectives: Depression is a highly prevalent disease, and the market for antidepressant drugs continues to grow at a steady rate. Although current antidepressants are reported to be effective, because of their low remission rate and side effects, new antidepressants are needed. The use of Banhahubak-tang (BHT) to treat the symptoms of depression is supported by experimental evidence. The proposed study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of BHT in treating depression. Methods: A randomized, waitlist-controlled, parallel clinical trial will be conducted to assess the efficacy of BHT in depression. A total of 84 participants with depression will be randomized into the intervention group or waitlist-control group at a 1:1 ratio. Patients in the intervention group will be administered BHT three times a day for four weeks and followed up for four more weeks after therapy completion. Patients in the waitlist-control group will undergo the same intervention and follow-up after a four-week waiting period. The primary outcome is change in the Korean version of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (K-HDRS) scores for major depressive disorders after four weeks. The secondary outcomes include scores on the K-HDRS, Korean Symptom Check List 95 (KSCL-95), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Korean version (STAI-K), State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-Korean version (STAXI-K), and the Instrument on Pattern Identifications for Depression and EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D). Conclusions: This trial will provide high-quality clinical evidence of the efficacy and safety of BHT in the management of depression.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.29-40
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• 2022

Objective : This study assessed the effect of a combination of Korean medicine on a thyroid papillary cancer patient who was diagnosed with local lymph node metastasis after thyroidectomy and lymph node dissection but did not want surgery. Methods : Gami-Palmultang administration and moxibustion(large Bmoxa cautery) were performed for six years. Treatment outcomes were evaluated with Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), blood test/ CT imaging results, and patient's statements. Results : After the treatment, all symptoms have been alleviated, the quality of life has increased, and it has been maintained without further metastasis of tumors for six years. Conclusion : Korean medicine treatment along with active observation can be an alternative to patients who do not want surgical treatment after recurrence of local lymph nodes in thyroid papillary cancer, and can have positive results in improving the quality of life.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.37-47
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• 2023

This review article explores the psychological characteristics, comorbid mental disorders, and psychosocial assessments throughout the solid organ transplant journey, spanning the pre-transplant, peri-transplant, and post-transplant phases for transplant recipients. The psychological burden and anxiety in the pre-transplant phase are high for organ failure patients with complex physical difficulties who are deciding to undergo transplantation and are on the waiting list. The pre-transplant psychosocial evaluation covers various aspects, including the patient's readiness, awareness of, and commitment to transplant treatment, medical compliance, psychopathological conditions such as cognitive function and personality disorders, lifestyle factors, including substance abuse, as well as various psychosocial factors like social support. During the peri-transplant phase, mental health problems such as postoperative delirium should be carefully recognized and addressed. After transplantation, it is essential to assist patients in coping with the various stressful experiences they encounter, manage psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and insomnia, and improve treatment adherence and quality of life during long-term care for the transplanted organ. Managing psychiatric problems in post-transplant patients requires a deep understanding of immunosuppressant medications and a keen awareness of associated risks, including adverse effects and potential drug interactions. This comprehensive review emphasizes the significance of proactive mental health care and psychosocial evaluation, highlighting the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to enhance the quality of life and overall success of transplant patients throughout all phases of transplantation.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.178-184
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• 2023

The objective of this study was to develop a critical pathway of integrative medicine to improve the quality of life of lung cancer patients who received standard western medicine treatments. A total of 10 medical professionals, including western and Korean medicine doctors, and nurses participated in a validation survey and revised clinical pathway. Then we applied the critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients who admitted at Korean medicine hospital and evaluated quality of life at the beginning and discharge of admission using European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire(EORTC QLQ). More than 80% of the respondents gave a score of 3 (appropriate) or more for all items in the validation survey and we modified the clinical pathway by adding 'bed rest'to the activity item. When applying the revised critical pathway to 11 lung cancer patients, the score of 'Nausea and vomiting', 'Insomnia' in EORTC QLQ-30 and 'chest pain'in EORTC LC-13 showed statistically significant improvements in the before-and-after admission comparision. The application of revised inpatient critical pathway of integrative medicine for lung cancer showed improvement in some symptoms. Development of more critical pathway in various clinical setting and larger scaled application studies of critical pathway are needed.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.15-26
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• 2024

Objectives: The objective of this study is to develop a specialized clinical research protocol for acupuncture treatment specifically designed for disaster survivors based on insights from an expert survey. Methods: An expert panel comprising specialists in neuropsychiatry, acupuncture, and clinical research methodology was assembled. Initial data to inform the clinical research protocol design was collected utilizing open-ended responses, multiple-choice questions, and a 5-point Likert scale to gauge agreement levels. Next, this data was disseminated to a panel of experts. A cohesive clinical research protocol was then formulated during a core panel meeting by integrating insights from a panel of 10 experts. Results: The protocol developed herein entails a non-randomized controlled study involving participants aged 19~64 years old who have been identified as high-risk or cautious according to the National Trauma Center screening test. The study design includes the establishment of an active control group, which allows for the assessment of an additional effect through comparison with conventional therapy. The selected acupuncture approach involves a combination of manual acupuncture and ear acupuncture. For clinical outcome assessment, the Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale for DSM-5 was proposed to gauge trauma symptoms. Representative scales for various domains such as depression, anxiety, anger, insomnia, pain, and quality of life were also provided for reference. Conclusions: The developed protocol is anticipated to streamline the swift design and initiation of clinical trials during disaster scenarios. It is also designed to be scalable, thereby enabling its application in both non-randomized control group studies and single-group before-and-after comparisons.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.208-213
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• 2024

Depression is one of the greatest health concerns in the world. Symptoms include emotion disorders, loss of appetite, reduction in interest, and insomnia. The prevalence of depression is increasing rapidly around the world and in South Korea. Elderly people are vulnerable to depression, resulting in serious socioeconomic problems. Depression in the elderly can cause sleep disorders, cognitive impairment, memory impairment, and many other diseases. Additionally, depression can cause frailty, which is associated with increased falls, chronic diseases, and mortality. Therefore, this study empirically analyzed sleep disorders in relation to depression, the link between exercise and the hippocampus in mitigating depression, and physical activity and exercise in the management of depression for successful aging.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2002

Objective: Stress is known to be a common cause of short-term insomnia and insomniacs often complain that stress induces sleep problems. However, previous studies on the correlation between stress and sleep do not show consistent results. We aimed to investigate the effects of minor stressful events on sleep among college students. Method: Physically and mentally healthy college student volunteers filled out a self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate their stress and sleep. To find out the status of average stress and sleep, the volunteers filled out K-DSI and daily sleep assessments on three consecutive days. In addition, we surveyed the amount of caffeine beverage intake and assessed the degree of depression and anxiety. Results: The total number of students participating in this study was 202, 101 men and 101 women. Minor stress turned out to significantly affect non-restorative sleep and secondary symptoms of insomnia (awakening difficulty, displeasure, feeling of dissatisfaction with sleep, physical uneasiness or pain at awakening, daytime sleepiness, depressive moods, tiredness and concentration difficulty). However, global PSQI score, self-reported sleeping hours, sleep latency, awakening frequency, frequency and duration of napping, were not explained by stress scores. Conclusion: In this study, minor stresses seemed to affect sleep, especially secondary symptoms caused by non-restorative sleep. We can thus infer that minor stresses impair the restorative effects of sleep by inducing arousal, and the direct relationship the two can be confirmed by polysomnogram.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.1368-1373
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• 2008

This study was done to calculate the specific indicators of Fire-Heat Pattern Identification and Yin Deficiency Pattern Identification settled by tentative Korean Standard Differentiation of the Symptoms and Signs for Stroke. The subjects were 764 hospitalized patients with stroke, and a list of registry was made for each of them. Frequency and Correlations among Fire-Heat and Yin Deficiency indicators were studied. Fire-Heat pattern group included 175 patients out of 764, Yin Deficiency pattern group included 103 patients out of 764. Among the indicators of Fire-Heat pattern, those, in order of highest frequency, were 'heat vexation and aversion to heat', 'reddened complexion', 'thirst'. Among the indicators of Yin Deficiency pattern, those, in order of highest frequency, were 'dry mouth', 'red tongue', 'fine and rapid pulse'. Among the Fire-Heat pattern indicators, 'yellow fur' and 'thirst', 'heat vexation in the chest' and 'vexation and insomnia' showed most significant correlation. Among the Yin Deficiency pattern indicators, 'aphtha or tongue sore' and 'heat in the palms and soles', 'red tongue' and 'dry fur' showed most significant correlation. 'Reddened complexion', 'dry eyes', 'surging and parid pulse', 'heat vexation and aversion to heat' are classify between Fire-Heat pattern and Yin Deficiency pattern. 'Surging and parid pulse', 'Reddened complexion' are mostly representative of Fire-Heat pattern and 'fine and rapid pulse' are mostly representative of Yin Deficiency pattern.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.2 s.28
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• pp.28-39
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• 1994

Clinical studies were made on 79 cases with thalamic hemorrhage diagnosed by computed tomographic scan and only localized on the thalamic area, were admitted to the Kyung San University Taegu Oriental Medical Hospital from August 1990 to March 1994. The age and sex distribution, sites of hematoma, recurrence rate, incidence of hypertension, inducing factor, prodromal syndroms, symptoms and neurologic signs on admission, relationship between the hospital course and many factors affecting the prognosis such as age, side of hematoma, level of consciousness, volume of the hematoma. ventricular hemorrhage were analysed. The results were summarized as follows; 1. The most prevalent age group was above 60 years of age with 50-59 years, 70-79 years, 40-49 years and 80-89 years of age in the order of frequency. Male to female ratio was 1:1.55. 2. The ratio of left hematoma to the right was 1.32:1. The recurrence rate of cerebrovascular accident was 17.7% 3. The incidence of hypertension was 69.6% and inducing factors of thalamic hemorrhage in the order of frequency were physical work(29.1%), drinking or eating(13.9%), walking(12.7%) and rest(12.7%), The prodromal syndroms were numbness of extremities(5.1%), headache(2.5%), fatigue(2.5%), dizziness(1.3%), insomnia(1.3%), but prodromal syndrom was not found in 89.9% of thalamic hemorrhage. 4. The symptoms and neurologic signs on admission in the order of frequency were motor disturbance(98.7%), dysarthria(82.3%), positive Babinski sign(78.5%), headache(69.6%), dizziness(62.0%). hemisensory deficit(48.1%). nausea or vomiting(39.2%), absent or sluggish light reflex(35.4%), changes of consciousness (35.4%), dysphagia (20.3%), voiding difficulty.(13.9%), facial palsy(6.3%), aphasia(3.8%), seizure(38%), 6th N. palsy(3.8%) and small pupil(1.3%). 5. The rate of improvement was found almost equally in the 4th, 5th and 6th decades, but it was shown with dramatic decrease in the over 7th decades. The hospital course had no relationship with the side of hematoma but the level of consciousness had influence upon the prognosis. 6, The small hematoma had better outcome than large in the volume of hematoma under 15cc, but volume of the hematoma had no influence upon the prognosis because the rate of improvement was 75.0% in the volume of hematoma over 15cc. The hospital course had no relationship with ventricular hemorrhage.