• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.46-63
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• 2017

Objectives The Korean Medicine (KM) PHR platform is a personalized healthcare service which allows individuals to keep and manage their own health records. When parents are reporting for their children from their memories, there is high possibility of recall errors. In these cases, it could be useful for doctors to collect the patient's symptoms through PHR platform. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical significance of the PHR by using the KM PHR platform in the pediatric clinic. Methods The PHR platform was used to collect child health information from parents and child care teachers. The collected data were analyzed in comparison with the results of screening by pediatrician. Results A total of 58 children were recruited, 44 of which health information were collected from their parents and their child care teachers. The remaining 14 children's health information were collected from their parents only. As a result the parents tended to perceive their children weaker than the child care teacher. Compared to other organs, there was a only significant difference in the heart weakness score and spleen weakness score in the comparison of the weak and healthy children. Conclusions Although the study was conducted on a small group of subjects, and used PHR platform developed specifically for adults to indirectly input child's symptoms, and analyzed their health information, there was a difference in health records between information providers. Development of PHR platform for children is needed to collect more reliable information.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2024

Objectives: This study investigated the pattern identification (PI) and clinical index of Parkinson's disease (PD) for personalized diagnosis and treatment. Methods: This prospective observational multi-center study recruited 100 patients diagnosed with PD from two Korean medicine hospitals. To cluster new subtypes of PD, items on a PI questionnaire (heat and cold, deficiency and excess, visceral PI) were evaluated along with pulse and tongue analysis. Gait analysis was performed and blood and feces molecular signature changes were assessed to explore biomarkers for new subtypes. In addition, unified PD rating scale II and III scores and the European quality of life 5-dimension questionnaire were assessed. Results: The clinical index obtained in this study analyzed the frequency statistics and hierarchical clustering analysis to classify new subtypes based on PI. Moreover, the biomarkers and current status of herbal medicine treatment were analyzed using the new subtypes. The results provide comprehensive data to investigate new subtypes and subtype-based biomarkers for the personalized diagnosis and treatment of PD patients. Ethical approval was obtained from the medical ethics committees of the two Korean medicine hospitals. All amendments to the research protocol were submitted and approved. Conclusions: An objective and standardized diagnostic tool is needed for the personalized treatment of PD by traditional Korean medicine. Therefore, we developed a clinical index as the basis for the PI clinical evaluation of PD. Trial Registration: This trial is registered with the Clinical Research Information Service (CRIS) (KCT0008677)

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.427-440
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• 2000

A comparative study was made about health resources, medical care service statistics and public health service statistics by health subcenters at Jangdong and Jangpyung townships, Jangheung County, Chollanamdo before and after the unification of two health subcenter to improve their function. 1. While two general physicians, one dentist, 4 nurse aids arid one oral hygienist were working at two health subcenters with simple facility with examination room and public health office in 1997 prior to the unification, in 1999 after the unification of two health subcenters 14 staff including a specialist physician, a general physician, a dentist, a herb hygienist, a radiology technician and a physical therapist were working in the new health subcenters equipped with appropriate facilities in two storey building. 2. In 1997 before the unification the yearly total income of two health subcenters was 78,815 thousand won(about 14,000 won per capita) and the amount was 140,376 thousand won(about 25,000 won per capita) in 1999 after the unification. And the income was used for operation of health subcenters excluding personnel expense. 3. While 90.5% of visitors to the health subcenters came for general medical care, and 91.6% came for the revisit before the unification, after the unification 71.2% came for general medical care, 10.8% for dental care, 16.5% for oriental physician's care, 29.7% for the first visit and 70.3% for revisit. Most common problem cared for was musculoskeletal disorder like arthralgia. Average treatment cost per person per month was 9,363 won before the unification and 8,309 won after the unification. 4. Through the comparison of execution rate of public health services before and after the unification. the practice rate of most health service among target population including visiting service for chronic illness, maternal and child health service and immunization service increased after the unification. The practice rate of tuberculosis control service, hypertension control and diabetes management was a little decreased. In conclusion, continuous effort to satisfy all persons in two townships and evaluation are necessary to coincide with the spirit of unification of two health subcenters.

• Journal of Evidence-Based Herbal Medicine
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.1-6
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• 2008

The internet is closely related to the lives of modern people in the 21st Century. Exchanging information with others over the internet in any place through is possible nowadays and such exchanging information has been developed at rapid speed also in the areas of medical care. The internet is an important and rapidly-evolving source of health-related information, and many patients with atopy dermatitis attempt to find information from the internet. This study was performed to investigate the current information available in atopy dermatitis on the internet in Korea. We chose three portal sites and two network communities to analyze the information in which the topic of 'atopy' could be found. Among the 2,024 web sites and 5,613 network communities, 98.2% of the web sites and 71.7% of the communities were related products or service advertisements, and some of them provided incorrect of exaggerated information. There were only 42 web sites and 75 available communities with genuine information, and most of these also presented unattested treatment methods, including alternative therapies. It is quite understandable that patients with atopy dermatitis want to seek information related to their disease and the internet has the potential to be a useful source of information. However, there are no regulations to control the accuracy and quality of information on the internet. We should take an active role in identifying the accuracy and evaluating the quality.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.37-54
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of this study is to analyze the treatment and treatment's effect for seizures disease in children by reviewing Korean clinical studies. Methods 13 articles which were published from August, 2002 to August, 2016 were obtained from the National discovery for science leader (NDSL), Research information sharing service (RISS), Google Scholar, and Oriental medicine advanced searching integrated system (OASIS) by using keyword 'Seizure', 'Convulsion', and 'Epilepsy'. Results Most of the study cases were with epilepsy children. The most frequently used herbal medicine was Gwakhyangjeonggi-san gami, and the most commonly used acupoints were LI4 and LR3. Treatment periods range from 13 days to 14 months, and all of the seizures were completely cured or relieved after the treatments. Conclusions This study shows that there are common symptoms and treatments for seizures in children. The reported different treatments can be used in primary medical care. Developing guideline standards of the seizure treatments can be possible with further studies.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.1-16
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• 2012

Objective : To investigate the current status of prescription drugs in Oriental medical institutes and to draw up a future plan for the revitalization of Oriental medical health insurance, this survey has been performed. Method : The survey has been made with 321 doctors working at Oriental medical institutes in Daegu and Kyungbuk areas for a period of 3 month from June 1, 2010 until September 1, 2010. Result : 1. When it comes to the current status of the use of herbal drugs in Oriental Health insurance, most of doctors surveyed prescribe insurance drugs, and they prescribe insurance drugs to patients, who are less than 20% of total patients visiting their clinics. 2. The awareness of Herbal Health Care Drugs is investigated. When it comes to the understanding of the difference between insurance drugs(powder type drugs) and granular type drugs, doctors admit that they differ only in one aspect, whether or not their being covered by health insurance. Based on the survey results on the understanding of insurance coverage of granular type drugs, doctors, even though they long for granular type drugs to be accepted as insurance drugs, are worrying whether the number of outpatients might dwindle due to increased insurance co-payments. They also point out that the biggest obstacles in the expansion of the granular type drugs as insurance drugs are the lack of understanding of the government and the objection of the Health Insurance Review and Assesment service (HIRA) for fear of increased insurance claims. 3. Upon investigation on Oriental medicine doctors' understandings of herbal pharmaceutical industry, it is found that doctors' responses on pharmaceutical industry are not all positive ones('new product development and neglect of R&D infrastructure' and 'smallness of industry'). When it is investigated what area needs the greatest improvement in herbal pharmaceutical industry, 'securing sufficient capital, good manufacturing, and strengthening quality control', is the highest. 4. When it is asked what are the most needed in order to improve herbal health insurance medicine, responses such as 'the increase in the accessibility to and the utilization of Oriental medical clinics through the diversification of the means of prescriptions', 'the improvement of insurance benefits(cap adjustments)', 'increase the proportion of high quality medicinal plants', 'the ceiling of co-payments(deductible) at 20,000 won or more', 'expansion of the choices of formulations', 'formulational expansions of tablets and pills', and finally 'admittance and expansion of granular type drug as insurance drug' are the highest. 5. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the current status of the usage of Oriental health care herbal drugs, the followings are observed. First, the frequency of use of health insurance drugs by the doctors who use health insurance with general characteristics shows similar differences in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.001), average number of daily patients (p<0.05). Secondly, as to the willingness of the expanded usage of insurance drugs, similar differences are observed in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05). 6. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the perception of Herbal health care drugs, the followings are observed. First, inspecting general characteristics and insurance claims due to increased co-payments(deductible amount) reveals similar differences in case of working period (p<0.01) and in case of total monthly sales amount (p <0.01). Secondly, inspecting general characteristics and the obstacles that hinder granular type drugs from being accepted as health care insurance drugs shows similar differences in case of working period (p<0.05). 7. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the understanding of Oriental Herbal pharmaceutical companies, the followings are observed. First, opinions on the general characteristics of pharmaceutical companies, when examined with variance analysis, shows similar differences in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05). Secondly, when opinions are examined on general characteristics and the problems of herbal pharmaceutical companies, similar differences are found in case of working period (p<0.01) and in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.001). Lastly, opinions on the general characteristics and reforms of pharmaceutical companies, similar differences are observed in case of working period (p<0.001). 8. Upon investigating the general characteristics of the improvement of insurance Herbal drugs, the followings are observed. First, regarding general characteristics and insurance benefits, similar differences are observed in case of working period (p<0.05), in case of total monthly sales amount (p<0.05), and in case of average number of daily patients (p<0.01). Secondly, opinions on the general characteristics and the needs for the improvement of Herbal insurance drugs are examined in 5 different aspects, which are the approval of granular type drugs as insurance drugs, the expanded practices of the number of prescription insurance drugs, the needs of a variety of formulations, the needs of TFT of which numbers of Oriental medical doctors are members for the revision of the existing system, and the needs of adjusting the current ceiling of the fixed amount and the fixed rate. When processed by the analysis of variance, the results show similar differences in case of average number of daily patients (p<0.01). Conclusion : From the results of this study the first measures to take are, to reform overall insurance benefit system, including insurance co-payment system(fixed rate cap adjustment), to expand the number of the herbal drugs to be prescribed matching with insurance benefit accordingly, and to revitalize herbal medicine insurance system through the change of various formulations. In addition, it is recommended to improve the effectiveness of herbal medicine by making plans to enhance the efficacy of herbal medicine and by enabling small pharmaceutical companies to outgrow themselves.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.15-21
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate inhibitory effects of steamed Polygonatum odoratum extract (POE) on differentiation and adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Methods : Polygonatum odoratum (P. odoratum) extract was extracted with ethyl acetate. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in POE were measured for antioxidant activity. The spectrophotometric method was used to determine the DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activity and ferric-reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP). MTT assay was examined for cell toxicity, oil red O staining was performed for intracelluar adipogenesis in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Western blot analysis for measurement of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein ${\alpha}$ ($C/EBP{\alpha}$), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor${\gamma}$ ($PPAR{\gamma}$) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) expressions were performed. Results : The results revealed that POE has antioxidant activities. Contents of total polyphenolics and flavonoids were $50.83{\pm}1.52$ GAE mg/100g dry weight of POE and $17.05{\pm}2.47$ RE mg/100g dry weight of POE, respectively. DPPH radical scavenging activity, and FRAP in 10 mg/ml concentration were $92.1{\pm}0.6%$, $244.8{\pm}9.0{\mu}M$ Fe(II) and ABTS inhibition in 5 mg/ml concentration was $84.8{\pm}4.1%$. Treatment of POE in adipocytes inhibited the differentiation and adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 adipocytes compared to those of vehicle control. Additionally, protein expressions of $C/EBP{\alpha}$ and $PPAR{\gamma}$, major transcription factor for the adipogenic genes, were significantly decreased compared to those of vehicle control (p<0.05). Futhermore, phosphorylation of AMPK was increased in 3T3-L1 adipocytes treated with POE compared to that of vehicle control (p<0.05). Conclusions : we demonstrate that steamed P. odoratum extract (POE) has potentiating antioxidant activities, inhibits differentiation and lipid accumulation and also induces energy expenditure in adipocytes, which may contribute to antiobesity property.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.54-74
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• 2018

Objectives The purpose of this study is to investigate recent trend of diseases in Korean pediatrics and adolescent patients treated with oriental medicine. Methods Using data from the Korean statistical information service and healthcare bigdata hub, top 500 diseases pediatrics and adolescents that were treated with oriental medicine from 2012 to 2016 in admission and outpatient department was collected. Results From the inpatient study, majority of the subjects were between 15 to 19 years old (62.74%), followed by 10 to 14 years old, 5 to 9 years old and under 5 years old. In the outpatient department study, majority was 15 to 19 years old (36.51%), followed by 10 to 14 years old, under 5 years old, 5 to 9 years old. In systemic division of admission part, the most common disease was musculoskeletal related which was 72.32%, followed by brain, nerve, respiratory, dermatology and digestive related diseases. In systemic division of outpatient department, respiratory disease was the most common (41.81%), followed by digestive, dermatology, brain and nerve diseases. For under 5 years old patient group, respiratory disease was the most common, 29.86%, followed by dermatology, musculoskeletal, digestive related diseases. For 5 to 19 years old group of patients, musculoskeletal disease was most common. For the 5 to 14 years old patient group, respiratory related disease was the most common followed by dermatology and digestive diseases. For 15 to 19 years old patient group, digestive disease was the most common followed by respiratory and dermatology related diseases. For under 5 to 9 years old outpatient group, respiratory disease was the most common, and for under 5-year-old group, digestive, growth development, and dermatology disease were common. For the 5 to 9 years old group of patients, musculoskeletal related disease was the most common followed by digestive and dermatology related diseases. For the 10 to 19 years old patient group, musculoskeletal was the most common. For the 10 to 14 years old patient group, respiratory related disease was the most common followed by digestive, dermatology disease. For the 15 to 19 years old patient group, digestive related disease was the most common followed by respiratory, dermatology diseases. Musculoskeletal disease increased every year, in both inpatient and outpatient. Respiratory, brain, nerve, digestive related diseases were generally decreased. In outpatient, respiratory diseases were increased every year but brain, nerve, digestive related diseases were generally decreased. Conclusions More studies about the oriental medicine in chronic disease, such as allergy, metabolic syndrome, in Korean pediatrics and adolescents are needed.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.99-129
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• 2013

Objective : Most disease of the aged comprise chronic illness, hence the diet is important. Yet, the study on diet methodology for the remedy of the aged folks' aliments is scarce. The diet for the aged must be easy to digest- in regard to the physiological features of the aged, delightfully chewable, while meeting the expectation and guaranteeing nutrition-supply and remedial efficacy. Material and Method : This study is designed to accomplish following things with the Yang-lo-bong-chin-seo, a text on maintaining and upbringing the health for the aged: (1) classify the food recorded in the text in terms of cooking methods, (2) then sort the main ingredients in remedial herbal rice porridge(Yak-sun-jook) in food material science manner, (3) evaluate the cooking methods of the porridge for each and various symptoms, and (4) assess the features of each ingredient of the porridge, the value of it both in oriental medicine's and nutrition's scope. Results : 1) Among 64 main dishes recorded in Yang-lo-bong-chin-seo, rice porridge composes the majority, which is 64%. Stew and soup account for 60% of side dishes. 2) In 15 food cures, 43 remedial herbal rice porridges(Yak-sun-jook) were recorded. 3) Yak-sun-jook utilizes most chinese herbs as its food material. 4) Yak-sun-jook is made more with vegetable ingredients than animal ingredients and consist highly of chinese herbs. 5) Main ingredients in the porridges are effective in disease cure in addition to sufficient, well-balanced nutrition. 6) Cooking method of the porridge is grinding chinese herbs into powder or boiling them for a long time. Conclusion: All forementioned steps build the informational foundation - for this purpose the information be utilized - for making possible the development and the devising of pragmatic and feasible Remedial herbal rice porridge(Yak-sun-jook).

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.149-162
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• 2013

Objectives : This study was conducted to estimate the future demand and supply of physicians for korean medicine from 2016 year to 2026 year in order to make an adequate manpower policy in a way of keeping a balance between demand and supply. Methods : Baseline projection method and trend analysis(a polynomial log power equation model) were used in the estimation of future supply and demand respectively. We used data about the amount of oriental doctors from Ministry of Health and Welfare Statistics Yearbook and the treatment days from HIRA Statistics Yearbook. Results : It was projected that the total number of physician of Korean medicine will be 25,178 registered and 18,967 available in clinical setting. According to polynomial equation model which explained the trend of demand and had the highest score of $R^2$ among the equation models, 3,800~5,600 physician in Korean medicine will be oversupplied in 2016 year, 9,000~10,700 physicians in 2021 year and 15,700~17,000 persons in 2026 year depends on annual working days which is 265days, 255days or 239days. Log equation model also showed that overall excess supply of physician manpower in Korean medicine. Conclusions : Alternative manpower policies for Korean medicine doctors should be implemented in a way of both dwindling supplies and growing demand in Korean medical service in terms of Korean medical services utilization and improving physician's productivity.