• 대한약침학회지
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• 제4권1호
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• pp.5-21
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• 2001

The influence of electroacupuncture (EA), a traditional Chinese medical treatment, on type Ⅱ collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) was examined in DBA/1J mice in vivo. Mice were immunized intradermally twice at the 3-week interval with bovine type Ⅱ collagen(C Ⅱ). EA stimulation, begun on the 21 simultaneously with the second immunization, was applied at the acupoint equivalent to GV4 three times a week for 3 weeks. The results showed that EA delayed the onset, attenuated the severity of arthritis, and reduced the anti-collagen antibody level. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of EA on the productions of endogenous $interleukin-1{\Beta}$ (IL-1 beta) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and the levels of IL-1 beta mRNA in splenocytes and synovial tissues from C Ⅱ immunized mice on the 45 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages of normal mice by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). EA stimulation significant inhibited the concentrations of splenic endogenous IL-1 beta and serum PGE2. The expression of IL-1 beta mRNA in spleen cells was obviously down-regulated and that in synovial tissues was modestly affected by EA. COX-2 mRNA was highly expressed in cultured peritoneal macrophages when stimulated with LPS. Previous treatment with EA also reduced LPS-stimulated induction of COX-2 mRNA. These data suggest that EA has an inhibitory effect on murine CIA, and the partial mechanism of its therapeutic result may be attributed to inhibiting the productions of IL-1 beta and PGE2 by suppression the IL-1 beta and COX-2 gene activations.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제27권2호
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• pp.82-90
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• 2024

Objectives: Nitric oxide is the most important mediator of penile erection after the onset of sexual excitement. It activates cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), increasing penile blood flow. Most pharmaceutical medications prevent enzyme phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) from breaking down cGMP, thus keeping its level high. However, due to the adverse effects of pharmacological therapies, herbal drugs that improve sexual function have gained attention recently. This study aimed to investigate the combined effects of ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, and L-arginine amino acid on the sexual performance of individuals with erectile dysfunction (ED) using the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) questionnaire. Methods: Over three months, 98 men with erectile dysfunction were randomly assigned to receive either 500 mg of herbal supplements or placebo pills. Each herbal tablet contained 100 mg of protodioscin, 35 mg of ginsenosides, and 250 mg of L-arginine. Results: The results showed that the changes in the average scores of ILEF-5 within each group before and after the intervention indicated that all parameters related to the improvement of sexual function in patients with erectile dysfunction improved in the herbal treatment group (p < 0.001). The herbal group significantly improved IIEF-5 scores in nondiabetics (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the changes of IIEF-5 scores between the two intervention and control groups in diabetic patients. Conclusion: In conclusion, ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, and L-arginine have properties that increase energy and strengthen sexual function, making them suitable for patients with sexual disorders.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.53-61
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• 2004

Substantial evidence suggests that behavioral and reinforcing effects of cocaine can be mediated by the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. It has been shown that repeated injections of cocaine produce increase in locomotor activity, expression of the immediate-early gene, c-fos in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), which was one of the main dopaminergic terminal areas. Herbal-acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention has been widely used for the treatment of many functional disorders such as drug abuse. Coptidis Rhizoma (CR) and its main component, berberine (BER) were selected as herbal medicine of herbal-acupuncture. Both medicines have been known to have the therapeutic effect on the central nervous system. In order to investigate the effects of CR and BER herbalacupuncture at shenmen (HT7) point (CR/H and BER/H) on the cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization, the influence of CR/H and BER/H on repeated cocaine-induced locomotor activity, the change of c-Fos expression in the brain by immunohistochemistry were examined. Male SD rats were given CR/H (0.4mg/kg) and BER/H (0.1mg/kg) 30 min before daily injections of cocaine hydrochloride (15mg/kg. i.p.) 10 days. After 3 days withdrawal, rats received a challenge injection of cocaine (15mg/kg, i.p.). Systemic challenge with cocaine produced much larger increased locomotor activity, accumbal Fos-like immunoreactivity in the NAc. Pretreatment with CR/H and BER/H significantly inhibited cocaine-induced locomotor activity, the change of c-Fos expression in the rats. Our data demonstrated that the inhibitory effects of cocaine-induced behavioral sensitization by CR/H and BER/H were closely associated with the reduction of presynaptic dopamine release in the NAc. These results suggest that CR/H and BER/H can be effectively applied to cocaine addiction.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제18권4호
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• pp.20-25
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• 2015

Objectives: Recently, thread-embedding therapy (TET) has been widely applied in Korean medicine for cosmetic purposes such as reducing skin wrinkles. An inserted thread was reported to have induced continuous stimulation, followed by support for connective tissue regeneration. However, the potential role of TET in hair-growth has not yet been reported. Methods: We designed this study to evaluate whether TET has a hair-growth-promoting effect. C57 black 6 (C57BL/6) mice were divided into three groups: normal saline-treated, minoxidil-treated, and thread-embedded groups. Normal saline or 5% minoxidil was topically sprayed on the dorsal skin of the mice once a day for 16 days. Medical threads were embedded into the dorsal skin of the mice in a single application. Hair growth activity was evaluated by using dermoscopic and microscopic observations. Sections of the dorsal skin were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Expressions of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), fibroblast growth factor-7 (FGF-7), and fibroblast growth factor-5 (FGF-5) were detected by using immunohistochemical staining. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was adopted to measure the messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of FGF-7 and FGF-5. Results: TET enhanced anagen development in the hair follicles of C57BL/6 mice. The expressions of BrdU and PCNA, both of which imply active cellular proliferation, were increased by using TET. Moreover, TET increased the expression of FGF-7, an anagen-inducing growth factor, while decreasing the expression of FGF-5, an anagen-cessation growth factor, both at the protein and the mRNA levels. Conclusion: TET enhanced hair re-growth in C57BL/6 mice. TET regulated the expressions of anagen-associated growth factors and activated the proliferation of hair follicular cells in depilated skin lesions. Considering its long-lasting effect, TET may be a good alternative therapeutic for the treatment of alopecia.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제4권2호
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• pp.95-103
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• 2001

Background : Central poststroke pain(CPSP) can occur as a result of lesion or dysfunction of the brain from stroke and may cause many difficulty in the social activities and daily life. In this study, we evaluate the clinical effectiveness of east-west medical management for CPSP through VAS(visual analogue scale), infrared themography, MBI(Moderfied Barthel Index) and Rankin scale. Methods : We treated thirty patients with oriental medical treatment method and western & oriental medical treatment method. Each group has fifteen patients of the CPSP. We evaluated their pain(characterizes tingling and burning sensation, aching, hyperalgesia, and allodynia) through VAS(visual analog scale) pain score, the skin temperature of pain site by infrared thermography and assessed their mobility & rehabilitation ability through MBI(Moderfied Barthel Index), Rankin scale before and after pain treatment. Results : The skin temperature of pain site was lower than non-pain site. The difference of skin temperature improved from $0.65{\pm}0.45^{\circ}C$ to $0.39{\pm}0.25^{\circ}C$ after oriental medical treatment and $0.68{\pm}0.54^{\circ}C$ to $0.27{\pm}0.24^{\circ}C$ after western & oriental medical treatment VAS scores improved from $7.9{\pm}1.4$ to $4.7{\pm}1.6$ after oriental medical treatment and $8.1{\pm}1.3$ to $4.6{\pm}1.2$ after western & oriental medical treatment. MBI scores improved from $61.40{\pm}13.58$ to $85.00{\pm}13.85$ after oriental medical treatment and $52.26{\pm}13.52$ to $77.13{\pm}12.04$ after western & oriental medical treatment. And Rankin scale scores improved from $3.33{\pm}0.72$ to $2.46{\pm}0.74$ after oriental medical treatment and $3.60{\pm}0.82$ to $2.66{\pm}0.81$ after western & oriental medical treatment Conclusion : The difference of skin temperature and Rankin scale scores more significantly improved after western & oriental medical treatment than oriental medical treatment. According to the results, we thought east-west medical management is very useful treatment for CPSP and rehabilitation of the patients with stroke.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Objectives: Condurango is widely used in various systems of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) against oesophageal and stomach ailments including certain types of cancer. However, until now no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy and dose with proper experimental support. Therefore, we examined if ethanolic extract of Condurango could ameliorate benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-induced lung cancer in rats, in vivo to validate its use as traditional medicine. Methods: Fifteen male and 15 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests. Results: A histological study revealed gradual progress in lung tissue-repair activity in Condurango-fed cancer-bearing rats, showing gradual tissue recovery after three months of drug administration. Condurango has the capacity to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may contribute to a reduction in anti-oxidative activity and to an induction of oxidative stress-mediated cancer cell-death. Condurango-activated pro-apoptotic genes (Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, p53, cytochrome-c, apaf-1, ICAD and PARP) and down-regulated antiapoptotic-Bcl-2 expression were noted both at mRNA and protein levels. Studies on caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage by western blot analysis revealed that Condurango induced apoptosis through a caspase-3-dependent pathway. Conclusion: The anticancer efficacy of an ethanolic extract of Condurango for treating BaP-induced lung cancer in rats lends support for its use in various traditional systems of medicine.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.43-56
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• 2004

Objectives : In order to investigate effects and immune improvement of distilled red-ginseng herbal Acupuncture, expression of Cox-1, Cox-2, and mRNA of Bcl-2 and Bax were analyzed in A549 cell in vivo. Survival time and expression of cytokine mRNA were measured for the mice with Sarcoma-180 induced abdominal cancer. Methods : Balb/c mouse was treated with distilled red-ginseng Herbal Acupuncture at Wisu($BL_{21}$) and Chung- wan($CV_{12}$) to investigate anti-cancer effects and immune response. Results : 1. For expression of mRNA of Cox-1 using RT-PCR, the control group and the experiment groups didn't show significant differences. For Cox-2, both experiment groups and the normal group showed significant differences. 2. For expression of mRNA of Bcl-2 using RT-PCR, experiment groups showed slight decrease compared to the control group. For Bax, no significant changes were shown between the control group and experiment groups. 3. For survival time, all of experiment groups showed 11.1% increase compared to the control group. 4. For IL-2 and IL-4 productivity using Flow cytometry, all of experiment groups didn't show any significance. 5. For IL-2 productivity using ELISA, all of experiment groups didn't show any significance. 6. For expression of cytokine mRNA using RT-PCR, significant increase of IL.-2 and IL-4 were witnessed in the experiment group II compared to the control group. Significant increase of IL-10 was shown in all off experiment groups compared to the control group. Conclusion : According to the results, we can expect that distilled red-ginseng Herbal Acupuncture may be further effccts in anti-cancer and immune improvement if increasing concentration.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제8권2호
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• pp.23-28
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• 2005

Objective : It has long been known about the osteogenic effect of CTF-HAS on bone tissues. However, it has not been determined the effect of CTF-HAS on cancer cells. The purpose of this study is to screen the CTF-HAS mediated differentially expressed genes in cancer cells such as HepG2 hepatoma cells lines. Methods : CTF-HAS was prepared by boiling and stored at $-70^{\circ}C$ until use. For proteomic analysis, total protein was analyzed by 2D gel electrophoresis and Q-TOF mass spectrometer. Results : In proteomic analysis, three spots were identified by 2D-gel electrophoresis and Q-TOF analysis. One down-regulated protein was heat shock 70kDa protein 5 and up-regulated proteins were chaperonin and 2-phospho -pyruvate-hydratase ${\alpha}-enolase$ by 1.5mg/ml of CTF-HAS. Discussion : Proteomic analysis approach were performed to screen the differential expression genes. The screened genes will be used for the better understanding in therapeutic effect of CTF-HAS on cancer field.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제2권1호
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• pp.51-62
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• 1999

This study was designed to investigate the effects of Guizibokryungwhan Herbal-acupuncture on the intravascular coagulation. At first 36 mice were divided normal group(n=6) and experimental group(n=30). Normal group had no treatment and experimental group was induced intravascular coagulation by injected endotoxin 0.5mg/kg into the caudal vein. The experimental group was divided Sample-A(n=12), Sarnple- B(n=12) and control group(n=6). Control group was administrated normal saline. Sample-A was injected Guizibokryungwhan Herbal-acupuncture manufactured by extraction method and Sample-B was injected Guizibokryungwhan Herbal-acupuncture manufactured by water-alcohol method. Then Sample-A and Sample-B was injected high and low concentration. All treatments were done to Kwanwon acupuncture point once a day for 5 days s.c.. The results were following. 1. Compared with the control group, the platelet count was significantly increased in high-concentrated Sample-A and Sample-B group. 2. Compared with the control group, the concentration of fibrinogen was significantly increased in all experimental groups. 3. The prothrombin time was sjgnificantly shortened in high-concentrated Sample-A and Sample-B group as compared with the control group. 4. The activated partial thromboplastin time was significantly shortened in high-concentrated Sample-A group as compared with the control group. 5. The Guizibokryungwhan Herbal-acupuncture has a concentration-dependent effects on the intravascular coagulation.

• 대한약침학회지
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• 제4권3호
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• pp.85-92
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• 2001

Objective : This study was purposed to investigate the acute. subacute toxicity of Herbal acupuncture with Juglandis Semen(JsD) in mice and rats. Methods & Results: Balb/c mice were injected intraperitoneally with JsD for $LD_{50}$ and acute toxicity test Sprague-Dawley rats were injected intraperitoneally with JsD for subacute toxicity test. Results: The results obtained were summarized as follows; 1. LD50 was uncountable as could not find the expired of treat group. 2. The clinical signs and body weight changes of mice treated with 0.2cc, 0.4cc JsD were not affected during the acute toxicity test. 3. In acute toxicity test of serum biochemical values of mice, total protein was increased in treat-l group, compared with normal group, and total cholesterol was increased in treat-2 group, compared with normal group.(P<0.05) 4. In subacute toxicity test, main toxic syndrome was not found. 5. The body weight was decreased in treat-2 group, compared with normal group and relative liver weight was decreased in treat-1, 2 group, compared with normal group in subacute toxicity test.(P<0.05) 6. In subacute toxicity test, WBC, MCH, MCHC were decreased in treat-2 group and RBC was increased in treat-2 group, compared with normal group in complete blood count test.(P<0.05) 7. In subacute toxicity test, treat groups were not changed serum biochemical values of rats, compared with normal group.(P<0.05) Conclusions: According to the results, Herbal-acupuncture with Juglandis Semen caused no toxicity.