• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.14-25
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• 2023

Objectives: South Korea, the United States, and the United Nations have imposed extensive economic sanctions against North Korea, which increased the use of traditional Korean medicine in North Korea to maintain its national health care system. This study attempts to study the latest trends of traditional Korean medicine research through bibliographic analysis of one of the North Korean medical journals. It will then provide insights into how traditional Korean medicine is used in North Korea. Methods: This study is based on 611 clinical research articles out of 931 articles extracted from 13 volumes of Koryo Medicine (2016 ~ 2019). The articles were classified according to the researched treatment, diseases and use alongside conventional drugs. Results: Based on the analysis of Koryo Medicine, the proportion of clinical research articles investigating the treatment effects was very high (65.6%). Also, clinical research using herbal medicine as treatment was the most common, accounting for 17.69% of the total. Some of the clinical research in Koryo Medicine were conducted in tandem with conventional drug treatment, especially on acupuncture. Conclusion: This study conducted a bibliographic analysis of Koryo Medicine to understand the current status of traditional Korean medicine within North Korea. The analysis identified main diseases, treatment methods, and integration with conventional drugs in the clinical research of traditional Korean medicine. As a country actively seeking to use traditional Korean medicine, North Korea will become an interesting field of global traditional medicine and complementary medicine research.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.12 no.2 s.17
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• pp.47-62
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• 2006

This research is intended to analyze the necessity of the integrated organization for the performance in order to the extension of scale and the systematic promotion concerning to the Korean medicine informational project, and to research the promotional method of Korean Medicine information through the constitution of organization for preparing the informational basic. There are three main important subjects to be done in this research project. The initial issue is to devise a comprehensive and systematic plan of Korean medicine information according to the Korean Medicine Rearing Raw('03. 8). Furthermore, it is necessary to reinforce the integrated informational ability of Organizations concerning to the Korean Medicine. Finally, with the above works accomplished, the overall standard of Korean Medicine Information should be settled. Initially, we compose an advisory committee of the Korean Medicine Information in the first year. The members of the committee include the informational coordinates of related government agencies, the experts in Korean Medicine Information, and specialists in the domains of computer science and information. In the next phase, we derive the promotional strategy for 'Center for Korean Medicine Information'. In other words, by means of analyzing the current issues and outstanding problems of on-going research projects and environments, the ultimate directions of the whole activities are established. Also, we build the medium and long-range road map of Korean Medicine Information Research by setting strategy for the policy projects related to the area. With the various research activities in this project, we can achieve the following practical strategic benefits. Firstly, we can lay a foundation for the Korean Medicine Information by establishing the fundamental plan for 'Korean Medicine Information Center'. Secondly, information strategic projects about 'Korean Medicine Information Center'. Secondly information strategic projects about 'Korean Medicine Information Development' can be performed in more systematic fashion and promoted by stages. Finally, by confirming the contents of the Korean Medicine of KMS system, we invent an opportunity of new project in the field of the Korean Medicine Information by means of practicing and managing the 'korean Medicine Information Custom Service'.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.153-160
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• 2018

The purpose of the study is to explore the possibility of Korean medicine treatment on back pain of Parkinson's disease patient through a case study. A Parkinson's disease patient suffering from back pain and both limbs pain was hospitalized and treated with acupuncture and traditional medicine. We evaluated the treatment effect with Numerial Rate Scale (NRS), Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire (ODI), EuroQol-Five Dimensions (EQ-5D), and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). As a result, back pain NRS, lower limbs pain NRS, ODI, EQ-5D, UPDRS turned out to be greatly improved from 9 to 3, 5 to 2, 80 to 64, -0.014 to 0.513, 122 to 37, respectively. This study suggested that Korean Medicine could be effective treatment for back pain of Parkinson's Disease. Further clinical studies are needed to obtain definite conclusion.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.131-138
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• 2016

Objectives: Chorea Hyperglycemia Basal Ganglia Syndrome(C-H-BG) is a syndrome with chorea-ballismus induced by hyperglycemia. This case study reports the clinical effect of Korean medicine treatment on C-H-BG. Methods: A 73-year-old male patient with left side chorea-ballismus visited Daejeon Korean Medicine Hospital. He had no diabetes mellitus(DM) history but the laboratory test result suggested nonketotic DM. We diagnosed him as C-H-BG and treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture and hyperglycemic medication. To evaluate chorea-ballismus, we checked Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale(AIMS) score everyday. Results: After 14 days of treatment, the chorea-ballismus improved and AIMS score decreased from 38 to 4. Gait disturbance caused by the symptom disappeared. Conclusions: We suggest that Korean medicine treatment can improve the symptom of C-G-BG.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.183-189
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• 2016

A 84 year old male patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was treated by Jeungsonbaekchulsan and Gakbyeongyeonsu-tang for ten days. In the course of treatments, this patient was evaluated with Roussel Uclaf Casusality Assessment Method (RUCAM), showing results of drug induced liver injury. Herb medicine was immediately discontinued, followed by therapeutic laser treatments once a day for one week combined with 2 weeks of GODEX$^{(R)}$ administration. Transaminase results were lowered and changes in blood test results were time-effective changes. Therapeutic laser therapy could be considered effective on drug induced liver injury with further studies.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.695-706
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• 2021

Objectives: This study reports a case of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in which the patient experienced improved limb weakness, facial paralysis, paresthesia, and systemic pain after Korean medicine treatment. Methods: A 25-year-old female patient diagnosed with GBS received the herbal medicine Banhasasim-tang Soft Ext., acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and rehabilitation treatment. To confirm the change in symptoms, the manual muscle test (MMT), Korean Version of Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), Yanagihara grading system (Y-score) and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) were performed. Results: After Korean medicine treatment, there was a significant improvement in GBS-related clinical symptoms. Conclusions: Korean medicine treatment could be effective in improving symptoms of limb weakness, facial paralysis, paresthesia, and systemic pain related to GBS. However, this study has limitations as a case report, and more studies are needed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.1041-1049
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• 2023

Objectives: The aim of this study is to describe the effects of treatment with traditional Korean medicine on a patient with voiding dysfunction caused by cerebral infarction. Methods: The patient was treated with herbal medicine, moxibustion, acupuncture, and electroacupuncture. The effects of these treatments were evaluated using the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index and a post-void residual volume. Results: In this study, the Korean medicine Dangguishaoyao-san-hap-Jeoryeong-tang resulted in improvements in this patient with post-stroke urinary retention and successful removal of the indwelling catheter. Conclusion: The results suggest that traditional Korean medicine may be effective in ameliorating dysfunction caused by cerebral infarction.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.100-106
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• 2022

Posterior ankle impingement syndrome is one of the impingement syndromes characterized by posterior ankle pain that occurs during forced plantar flexion. This report presents a case of a 48-year-old PAIS patient with os trigonum syndrome accompanied by tenosynovitis of flexor hallucis longus. She was treated with complex Korean medicine to a good effect. The Numeric Rating Scale and the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level were used to measure the impact of Korean medicine on the patient's pain and quality of life. Decreased NRS and increased EQ-5D-5L scores reflected improvement in her symptoms within 25 days. This study suggests complex Korean medicine treatment for PAIS may be beneficial for alleviating pain and improving quality of life.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.565-570
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to report a clinical case of a patient with CIPN (Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy) successfully treated with Korean medicine interventions including acupuncture, herbal medicine and moxibustion. The patient is a female with CIPN who was diagnosed with ascending colon cancer and suffering from paresthesia of extremities after chemotherapy of platinum compounds. The patient was treated mainly with electroacupuncture (Ex-LE 10), indirect moxibustion and herbal medicine (Ucha-Shinki-hwan granule). The clinical outcomes were measured by NCI CTCAE grade, EORTC QLQ-C30 (CIPN20) scale and patient's assessment of symptoms. In this case, the NCI CTCAE grade was improved from II to I. The scores of global health status and functional scale in QLQ-C30 were increased and symptom scale was decreased. Especially, this case shows a noticeable decrease in sensory scale in QLQ-CIPN20. In patient's general assessment, the scale was changed from 10 to 5. Korean medical interventions including acupuncture, herbal medicine and moxibustion could potentially be an effective treatment for CIPN if further researches are conducted.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.146-158
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• 2021

Background: This study was designed to statistically analyze the year, gender, age, insurance type, and condition/disease of patients who were admitted to the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine at DaeJeon Korean Medicine Hospital over a 5-year period (2015-2020). Methods: Patients who visited the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine at DaeJeon Korean Medicine Hospital were classified according to year, gender, age, insurance type, and condition/disease. The statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS 23.0. Results: There is an increasing number of patients attending the Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Medicine year-on-year over the 5-year period, with a higher frequency of females than males each year. The largest age groups represented in these patients were those aged in their 50s, followed by those aged in their 40s, and 60s. Furthermore, the number of patients using health insurance was greater than those using automobile insurance each year. Of the 5,061 patients, the most common group was the patients (n = 991) who reported sprain and strain of cervical spine, followed by lumbar spine, lumbar herniation of the intervertebral disc, and facial paralysis. Conclusion: The number of patients seeking traditional Korean medicine treatment continues to increase, particularly in the 40s to 60s age group, with a larger proportion using health insurance and sprain or strain of the cervical spine. The results of this study may be used as a local (Daejeon) reference to develop Korean medicine policies, such as setting up medical benefits for patients using Korean medicine hospitals.