• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.178-192
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• 2020

Objectives: The present study aimed to compare the impacts of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and behavioral treatment (BT) on weight loss and psychological outcomes among patients with three different subtypes of obesity: simple obesity, obesity with binge eating disorder, and obesity with depression. Methods: Embase, PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Research Information Sharing Service, and Korean Studies Information Service System were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials conducted on or before May 2020, that used CBT to treat obesity. Methodological quality was assessed using Cochrane's risk of bias tool 2 and publication bias was evaluated through the funnel plot using the trim and fill method, Egger's test, and Begg and Mazumdar rank correlation test. A meta-analysis was conducted using a random-effects model and the standardized mean difference with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine effect size. Results: Twenty-one randomized controlled trials with a total of 22 intervention arms and 2,590 patients were included. Our study results revealed that the effects of CBT, compared with BT, on weight loss distinctly differed across all patient subgroups. In the simple obesity group, CBT was more effective than BT (Hedges' g=0.138, CI=0.012~0.264); however, in the obesity with binge eating disorder group, BT was more effective than CBT (Hedges' g=-0.228, CI=-0.418~-0.038); in the obesity with depression group, the effect of CBT was not statistically different from that of BT (Hedges' g=0.276, CI=-0.307~0.859). Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm the outcomes observed in this study. Conclusions: Our results indicated that the effects of CBT on obesity treatment vary based on patient subtype. Therefore, our findings suggest that CBT or BT should be selectively recommended as a treatment strategy for different obesity subtypes.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.30-39
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• 2015

Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the heavy metal contents in commercial herbal medicines in Korea. Methods: Monitoring of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury was carried out on 116 samples of eleven types of herbal medicines. Among the total samples, 71 samples were domestic and 45 were imported. The samples were digested using the microwave method. The heavy metal contents were measured by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and a mercury analyzer. ICP-AES was used to analyze lead, arsenic cadmium. Mercury was analyzed by the amalgamation method. Results: The mean values of the heavy metal contents in the herbal medicines were Pb 0.64mg/kg, As 0.26mg/kg, Cd 0.07mg/kg and Hg 0.004mg/kg. Of the total samples, one violated the MFDS (Ministry of Food and Drug Safety) regulatory guidance on heavy metals in herbal medicines. Lead was detected at more than 5mg/kg in one sample. The measured values of arsenic, cadmium and mercury in the herbal medicines showed levels lower than the recommended levels for herbal medicines in MFDS regulatory guidance. In the comparison of domestic samples with imported herbal medicines, it was found that one domestic sample surpassed the maximum residue limits for lead. Conclusion: These results will be used to establish the regulation and control of heavy metal contents in herbal medicines. In addition, continuous monitoring is needed to ensure confidence in and the safety of these herbal medicines.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.113-125
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• 2018

This study aimed to investigate the latest trends in the relationship between atopic dermatitis(AD) and psychological factors(PF) and to examine it in korean medicine. We searched MEDLINE for this analysis with the title "atopic dermatitis" AND ("psychology" OR "psychological" OR "mental" OR "emotion" OR "anxiety" OR "depression") in recent 5 years and searched OASIS on the title "atopy" OR "psychology" OR "emotion" from 2002 to 2017. We selected 23 papers on MEDLINE, 7 papers on OASIS. In western medicine, Stress causes changes in the adrenal nerves, endocrine, and immunological mechanisms and exacerbates dermatitis, which is explained by HPA axis and sympathetic nerve axis, neurogenic inflammation, and cholinergic signals. In Korean medicine, Stress(神) exacerbates AD by affecting the five organs, especially the heart(心), causing inflammation(火熱). We studied the link between AD and PF in Western and Korean medicine. More research is needed in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.119-136
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• 2019

Objectives: People often fail to maintain their weight even though they have succeeded in weight loss. The purpose of this study was to review previously published study results with regards to the predictive factors associated with weight loss maintenance after successful weight loss. Methods: The authors searched for the articles related to weight loss maintenance after successful weight loss, published up until June 2019 on PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Embase, Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), and Koreanstudies Information Service System (KISS). A total of 76 articles were finally selected. From the study results, changeable and unchangeable predictors were extracted, and these predictors were examined according to detailed categories. Results: The changeable predictors of weight loss maintenance included behavioral factors, psychological factors and treatment process-related factors, whereas the unchangeable predictors included genetic and physiological factors, demographic factors, history of treatment on obesity-related factors. The main factors of weight loss maintenance were changeable predictors such as healthy eating habits, dietary intake control, binge eating control, regular exercise and physical activity, depression and stress control, social supports, self-regulation, self-weighing and initial weight loss and unchangeable predictors such as low initial weight and maximum lifetime weight. Conclusions: The results of our review results suggest that changeable and unchangeable predictors of weight loss maintenance should be carefully examined during treatments of obesity.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.112-135
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study was to summarize clinical studies conducted over the last five years that investigated the effect of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease and to propose a better process of study. Methods: Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Korea Studies Information Service (KISS), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were systemically searched for clinical trials that had investigated the effect of acupuncture on the course of Parkinson's disease from May 2016 to April 2021. Results: A total of 23 studies met all the inclusion criteria. In most reports, acupuncture had significant positive effects on the course of Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, there were no serious adverse events associated with acupuncture in any of the studies. In addition to the acupuncture methods that showed effectiveness in previous studies, various types of acupuncture have been used to treat sub-symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The outcome measures were subdivided through individual symptom evaluation and mechanical analysis. Follow-up assessments were also performed to analyze the continuous effect. Conclusion: In the clinical studies conducted over the last five years, many studies investigated the various types of acupuncture used to treat Parkinson's disease and the segmentation and diversification of outcome measures focusing on individual symptoms, and a new approach for excluding placebo effects through follow-up studies has been made. Further attempts like these are needed to overcome methodological flaws in studies on the effects of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.136-146
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• 2022

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate weight change and analyze adverse events in overweight and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who were prescribed with Gamitaeeumjowee-tang. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for medical records of patients with PCOS, who were administered with Gamitaeeumjowee-tang for a period of 12 weeks between January 2019 and December 2021. Outcomes were total weight loss/weight loss rate, the percentage of patients who lost more than 5% and 10% of their baseline weight. Adverse events (AEs) reported by patients were evaluated by severity, causality and system-organ classes. Results: A total of sixty-seven patients were included (mean±standard deviation, Age 28.78±5.25 years, weight 76.78±12.84 kg, body mass index 29.2±4.26 kg/m²). The average total weight loss in PCOS patients was 6.57±3.07 kg and the average weight loss rate was 8.55±3.65%. The percentage of patients with more than 5% and 10% weight loss compared to their baseline weight was 86.56% and 25.37% respectively. The analysis of adverse events are as follows: Causality assessment with World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre of AEs showed 'Unlikely' was the most common (71.7%) and severity evaluations with Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events showed almost all symptoms were mild (98.9%). Conclusions: Gamitaeeumjowee-tang helps to lose weight of PCOS patients, which is overweight or obese, and no serious adverse events have occurred. Additional well-designed clinical studies are recommended.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.55-60
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• 2017

The pulmonary function test (PFT) is an essential data source for evaluating the effect of drugs on the lungs or the status of lung function. However, the numeric values of PFT cannot be easily used for clinical studies without labor-intensive manual efforts, because PFTs are usually recorded as image files. This study was aimed at constructing a de-identified, open-access PFT database with various clinical information. For constructing the PFT database, optical character recognition (OCR), regular expression, and the parsing technique were used to extract alphanumeric data from the PFT images in a Korean tertiary teaching hospital. This longitudinal observational database contains 413,000 measurements of PFT from 183,000 patients.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.116-127
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Gamitonggyung-tang on Primary Dysmenorrhea. Methods: We treated 33 cases of primary dysmenorrhea patients with Gamitonggyung-tang for three menstrual cycles. We estimated the effects by Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Menstrual Distress Questionnaire (MDQ) and checked amount of the analgesics taken during menstrual phase. Results: After treatment, the mean of VAS, MDQ Score and amount of the analgesics taken were decreased. Conclusions: This case shows that Gamitonggyung-tang is effective in treating primary dysmenorrhea patients.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.106-123
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• 2016

Objectives: This study aimed to verify the classification of atopic dermatitis into the digestive and respiratory disorder on the basis of a literature study.Methods: We searched for the term "atopic dermatitis" in KISS, RISS, NDSL, DBPIA, and OASIS. On further filtering the searched paper further by including the terms "Korean medicine", "literature study" and excluding "acupuncture", we found eight papers relevant to the literature study of atopic dermatitis. The reviewed papers included keywords of Oriental medicine such as Sub-yeol (濕熱), Bi-heo (脾虛), Poong-sub (風濕), Hyeol-heo (血虛). We classified keywords as "digestive system" or "respiratory system" and compared the clinical symptoms of classified Each category keywords.Results: Atopic dermatitis was classified into four categories : acute digestive disorder, chronic digestive disorder, acute respiratory disorder, and chronic respiratory disorder. The four categories of atopic dermatitis showed differences based on region, dermal symptoms, associated symptoms, and affected age group.Conclusions and Discussions: This study suggests a new theory of Atopic dermatitis classification. The theory is similar to that stated in former classification; however, it focuses on the digestive and respiratory disroder. All of atopic dermatitis into digestive disorder show both digestive symptoms and dermal symptoms. However, atopic dermatitis into respiratory disorder shows only respiratory symptoms. Thus, this study can establish a relationship between Western and Oriental medicine's study of atopic dermatitis using keywords such as "digestive disorder" and "respiratory disorder".

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.114-134
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• 2017

Objectives: This study aims to investigate the changes of women's postpartum symptoms, including their weights, edema index and quality of life (QOL) over the first six weeks after childbirth. Methods: The study participants were 31 postpartum women treated in the Dept. of Obstetrics & Gynecology, at Woo-Suk University Korean Medicine Hospital, from May 20th to August 5th, 2016. In the first 2 weeks of the postpartum period, the main data collection method was to interview each patient and write down all of their complaints, and additionally referring to each participant's PHR (Personal Health Records). At the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th week, the researcher interviewed participants by phone once a week. The participants' weight, edema index (ECW/TBW) and the quality of life (by EQ-VAS) were measured at 1st and 2nd week after childbirth. And, EQ-VAS was assessed once more at the 6th week after childbirth. As a last step, the participants responded to a survey on satisfaction regarding their postpartum care with Korean Medicine. Results: 1. In the 1st one week after childbirth, edema was the most frequent complaint. It was about joint pain of the upper limbs in the 2nd and 3rd weeks, sweating in the 4th week, and joint pain of the upper limbs in the 5th and the 6th weeks. 2. In the 1st two weeks of the postpartum period, the weight of the participants decreased from $66.33{\pm}9.30kg$ to $62.60{\pm}8.92kg$ (p<0.001) and the edema index ECW/TBW decreased from $0.399{\pm}0.010$ to $0.385{\pm}0.0 4$ (p<0.001). The EQ-VAS significantly improved from $61.77{\pm}17.72$ to $73.51{\pm}14.67$ (p<0.001). In the last 4-weeks of the postpartum period, the EQ-VAS decreased from $74.30{\pm}14.25$ to $73.63{\pm}13.35$, but this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.749). 3. Regarding the satisfaction with postpartum care with Korean Medicine, 60% of the participants responded that it was 'Excellent' and 40% said it was 'Good'. Conclusion: Over the entire postpartum period, the most frequent complaints were about musculoskeletal symptoms. Postpartum care with Korean Medicine treatments in the early postpartum period improves various postpartum symptoms and the quality of life for postpartum women.