• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.138-142
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• 2014

Burning mouth syndrome is characterized by intra-oral burning sensation without any organic abnormalities. This syndrome is associated with various etiological factors such as neuropathy, malnutrition, menopause and depression. Several medications have been tried for the treatment. Those are analgesics, hormones, anticonvulsants and antidepressants. However, optimal effective pharmacologic treatment remains still unknown. The purpose of this case study is to report the clinical effectiveness of gabapentin in the treatment of burning mouth syndrome in postmenopausal women with comorbid depression. We report two menopausal women. Antidepressants were effective for improving depressive symptoms, but it had no effects on intra-oral burning sensation. Gabapentin reduced intra-oral burning sensation effectively for all two patients. One patient reported 55% reduction(a decrease from 9 to 4 on VAS), the other patient reported 35% reduction(from 8 to 5) of the intra-oral burning sensation during 16 weeks. The minimal effective daily dose of gabapentin was 300mg. This study suggests that gabapentin might be a useful, effective therapeutic option for treating burning mouth syndrome in postmenopausal women with comorbid depression. Further prospective clinical studies are needed to investigate the effectiveness of gabapentin in patients with burning mouth syndrome.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.175-202
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted towards developing a screening tool for syndrome differentiation in the diagnosis of menopause in menopausal and perimenopausal women. Methods: We conducted a literature review of studies on menopausal diagnosis based on syndrome differentiation, and examined well-founded differentiated syndromes and their respective clinical symptoms. Based on the findings, we created a questionnaire through consultations with Oriental medicine experts in physiology, pathology, and diagnostics. Finally, the research team conducted an expert Delphi study on differentiated syndromes and the associated clinical symptoms. Results: Seven differentiated syndromes were selected, including Liver Depression (肝鬱), Kidney Yin Deficiency (腎陰虛), Kidney Yang Deficiency (腎陽虛), Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency (肝腎陰虛), Kidney Yin and Yang Deficiency (腎陰陽兩虛), Heart-Kidney Noninteraction (心腎不交), and Dual Deficiency of Heart and Spleen (心脾兩虛); 4 disease locations, including liver (肝), heart (心), spleen (脾), and kidney (腎); and 3 disease natures, including Yin Deficiency (陰虛), Qi Stagnation (氣滯), and Blood Deficiency (血虛). In addition, we added 3 supplemental disease natures, including Yang Deficiency (陽虛), Qi Deficiency (氣虛), and Heat (火熱), in consideration of syndrome differentiation categories that may possibly be added in a follow-up clinical questionnaire. Conclusions: This resulted in a total of 7 differentiated syndromes, 4 disease locations, and 6 disease natures. We translated the clinical symptoms of these 17 categories into Korean Hangeul. After consulting with 5 Oriental medicine experts and a psychology expert, we produced a questionnaire for use in diagnosing menopause based on syndrome differentiation. The calculation of scores for the syndrome differentiation screening tool will be confirmed through clinical research based on the results of a review of existing literature.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.85-91
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• 2015

Objectives: Postmenopausal symptoms are subject to many factors. Recently, obesity has been suggested as a factor of hot flush. So this study aims to report the relationship between body composition and Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), The Menopause-specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) of postmenopausal women. Methods: We studied 42 climacteric women who had visited Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong from April 2011 to July 2014. 42 women had filled out MRS, MENQOL, and they had taken body composition tests. Pearson correlation tests were conducted. (Correlation was statistically significant at the 0.05 level) Results: Correlation between psychological subscale of MENQOL and Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR) was statistically significant (pearson correlation coefficient=0.385; p-value=0.012). But other subscales of MRS and MENQOL were not statistically related with body composition. Conclusions: WHR could be an important factor of psychological health of menopausal women. So, abdominal fat reduction must be considered when curing menopausal symptoms. In connection with climacteric depression, well-designed studies would be necessary.

• Journal of Menopausal Medicine
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.169-175
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• 2018

Objectives: The rate of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in women diagnosed as they age is one of the main concerns of health cares. Recently new strategies used to prevent progressions of MetS toward the diagnosis of diabetes have focused on plant flavonoids. This study was aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of flavonoids fraction of Mespilus germanica leaves (MGL) on MetS in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Methods: Twenty-four adult female Wistar rats, weighing 200 to 250 g, were divided into 3 groups: Sham surgery, OVX + Salin, or OVX + Flavonoid. Three weeks after ovariectomy, animals displayed MetS criteria received flavonoid injection (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) for 21 days. Then the body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, visceral fat, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, lipid profiles and tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$) were measured. Results: Treatment with flavonoids fraction of MGL significantly decreased serum level of insulin (P = 0.011), glucose (P = 0.024), $TNF-{\alpha}$ (P = 0.010), also MetS Z score (P = 0.020) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (P = 0.007). Lipid profiles and visceral fat showed insignificant reduction. Conclusions: Flavonoids of MGL attenuates some of the MetS components possibly via reduction in $TNF-{\alpha}$ inflammatory cytokine.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.56-73
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• 2022

Objectives: This study was aimed to review the effect of acupuncture for insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Methods: Researchers searched data through 5 online databases up to December 2021. The data was limited to randomized controlled trial studies on patients diagnosed with insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Results: 8 Randomized controlled trials were included in this study. 6 of studies were published in Chinese, in China. 2 were published in English. Intervention of treatment group were composed of simple acupuncture. Intervention of control group were made up with Estazolam, Alprazolam, Lorazepam and sham-acupuncture. Outcome measurements were Total effective rate, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Kupperman index, Menopause Quality of Life scales (Men-QoL), the level of hormones (E2, FSH, LH) etc. In all outcome measurements, treatment group were more effective than control group and it was statistically significant. Conclusions: Acupunture therapy is effective for treating insomnia in climacteric syndrome. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is most frequently used for sleep assessment indicator. 神門 (HT7) is the most frequently used acupoint for treatment group. However because insomnia in climacteric syndrome is easy to recur, additional long-term research is needed.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.98-108
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• 1996

Korean women are now living almost 1/3 of their life after menopause. Sex-steroid hormone deficiency adversely affect various fields of physical & mental activity and quality of life during this period. Therefore, replacement of deficient hormone is thought to be natural therapeutic modality. Postmenopausal syndrome is recently redefined as an endocrinopathy with both short-and long-term sequelae, as a result of cessation of ovarian function. Hormone replacement therapy taken at or near time of menopause alleviates shot-term acute menopausal symptoms such as vasomotor disturbances and psychological problems. HRT also beneficially affects some of intermediate symptoms such as urogenital atrophy and cutaneous problems. The major benefits of long-term use were reductions in risk of long-term sequelae, that is, total fracture by 50-60%, cardiovascular disease by 50% and cerebrovascular disease by 30-40%, respectively. In addition, HRT may also positively influence Alzheimer's disease, reduce the colorectal cancer risk and increase longevity of the life. In conclusion, all postmenopausal women should consider preventive HRT when there are no contraindications.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.99-110
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the comparison between metabolic syndrome indicators and nutrient intakes in Korean menopausal women from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examinations Survey data (2010~2012). Menopausal Status were classified into premature menopause(n=214) and natural menopause(n=2,546). Among the nutrient groups, retinol intake was a significant factor in natural menopausal women according to BMI levels and riboflavin intake was another significant factor in premature menopausal women according to fasting glucose levels. The results suggested that micronutrient including retinol, riboflavin, fiber and calcium were significantly associated with metabolic syndrome risk in Korean postmenopausal women. Further research is required for elucidating the association between nutrient intakes and incidence of metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women within a large population in prospective studies.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.85-90
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences of risk factors of Metabolic syndrome according to menopausal status. From the database of the 5th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V) conducted in 2012, data of 3,537 women who responded to health interview and health examination questionnaires. The presence of Metabolic syndrome was assessed using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria. The prevalence of Metabolic syndrome was 17.3% in premenopause and 54.3% in postmenopause. BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglyceride, and Ferritin were higher in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women. However, postmenopausal women had lower HDL cholesterol and TIBC when compared to premenopausal women. Hypertension was the most prominent characteristic of postmenopausal women. Low HDL cholesterol showed up as a meaningful factor in premenopausal women. According to multiple regression analysis, waist circumference, fasting glucose, and HDL cholesterol were independent predictors of menopause. Therefore, obesity control and blood lipids management is recommended for postmenopausal women.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.73-84
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristics of the pulse energy in women who complain of climacteric and menopausal symptoms. Methods: We analyzed the values of pulse energy on 45 climacteric and menopausal women. The patients' symptoms were assessed by Kupperman's index and Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 for window program, one way ANOVA, pearson correlation coefficient. Results: The results were as follows. 1. The pulse energy of the Left Chon was significantly largest and Left Cheok was comparatively smallest. 2. There was no statistically significant correlation in the pulse energy of Left Chon minus Left Cheok, Kupperman's index, MRS total sum score. Conclusions: The results suggest that the pulse energy of the Left Chon tends to be increased and Left Cheok decreased in climacteric and menopausal women.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.114-125
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• 2011

Objectives: To understand relations general characteristics, lifestyle habits including smoking, alcohol habit, exercise, eating habit and menopausal symptoms measurement indicators during treatment for hot flush in menopausal women. Methods: The participants were 159 women (45~60 yr) who were not currently on hormone therapy, and had reached hot flash scores of 10 or higher. The evaluating indexes of this trial are hot flush score, hot flush visual analogue scale(VAS), Hot flush consistence time, sweating visual analogue scale(VAS), Menopause Rating Scale(MRS), Menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire(MENQOL), Kupperman's Index. Results: 1. When the participants divided according to body mass index(BMI), overweight group showed a high score in all indicators. Therefore, obesity can aggravate the symptoms of menopause. 2. When the participants divided according to drinking habits, Hot flush consistence time of non-alcohol group showed a statistically significant difference. However, the sample size is uneven. Additional studies will be needed. 3. When the participants divided according to eating habits, Hot flush consistence time of regular group showed a statistically significant difference. However, the sample size uneven. Additional studies will be needed. 4. When the participants was divided depending on whether exercise, non-exercise group showed a high score in all indicators. Thus, exercise will be able to improve menopausal symptoms. Conclusions: Improvement of obesity and exercise will be able to improve menopausal symptoms.