• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1997 no.05
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• pp.374-378
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• 1997

Operative procedures such as core drilling with and without fibular bone grafting have been recognized as the treatment methods for osteonecrosis of femoral head(ONFH) by delaying or preventing the collapse of the femoral head. In addition, core drilling with cementation using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) has been proposed recently as another surgical method. However, no definite treatment modality has been found yet while operative procedures remain controversial to many clinicians In this study, a finite element method(FEM) was employed to analyze and compare various surgical procedures of ONFH to provide a biomechanical insight. This study was based upon biomechanical findings which suggest stress concentration within the femoral head may facilitate the progression of the necrosis and eventual collapse. For this purpose, five anatomically relevant hip models were constructed in three dimensions : they were (1) intact(Type I), (2) necrotic(Type II), (3) core drilled only(Type III), (4) core drilled with fibular bone graft(Type IV), and (5) core drilled with cementation(Type V). Physiologically relevant loading were simulated. Resulting stresses were calculated. Our results showed that the volumetric percentage subjected to high stress in the necrotic cancellous region was greatest in the core drilled only model(Type III), followed by the necrotic(Type II), the bone graft (Type IV), and the cemented(Type V) models. Von Mises stresses at the tip of the graft(Type IV) was found to be twice more than those of cemented core(Type V) indicating the likelihood of the implant failure. In addition, stresses within the cemented core(Type V) were more evenly distributed and relatively lower than within the fibular bone graft(Type IV). In conclusion, our biomechanical analyses have demonstrated that the bone graft method(Type IV) and the cementation method(Type V) are both superior to the core decompression method(Type III) by reducing the high stress regions within the necrotic cancellous bone. Also it was found that the core region filled with PMMA(Type V) provides far smoother transfer of physiological load without causing the concentration of malignant stresses which may lead to the failure than with the fibular bone graft(Type IV). Therefore, considering the above results along with the degree of difficulties and risk of infection involved with preparation of the fibular bone graft, the cementation method appears to be a promising surgical treatment for the early stage of osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.25.1-25.11
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• 2022

IL-34 can promote osteoclast differentiation and activation, which may contribute to steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Animal model was constructed in both BALB/c and IL-34 deficient mice to detect the relative expression of inflammation cytokines. Micro-CT was utilized to reveal the internal structure. In vitro differentiated osteoclast was induced by culturing bone marrow-derived macrophages with IL-34 conditioned medium or M-CSF. The relative expression of pro-inflammation cytokines, osteoclast marker genes, and relevant pathways molecules was detected with quantitative real-time RT-PCR, ELISA, and Western blot. Up-regulated IL-34 expression could be detected in the serum of ONFH patients and femoral heads of ONFH mice. IL-34 deficient mice showed the resistance to ONFH induction with the up-regulated trabecular number, trabecular thickness, bone value fraction, and down-regulated trabecular separation. On the other hand, inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-12, IL-2, and IL-17A, showed diminished expression in IL-34 deficient ONFH induced mice. IL-34 alone or works in coordination with M-CSF to promote osteoclastogenesis and activate ERK, STAT3, and non-canonical NF-κB pathways. These data demonstrate that IL-34 can promote the differentiation of osteoclast through ERK, STAT3, and non-canonical NF-κB pathways to aggravate steroid-induced ONFH, and IL-34 can be considered as a treatment target.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.88-96
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• 2020

Objectives: Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is caused by a circulatory disorder. If symptoms are not present, the patient's progress is observed, but if symptoms are present, non-surgical methods or total hip replacement are performed. Several case reports have described the effects of Korean Medicine treatment on ONFH, but the number of cases is still small, and few studies have used blood stasis-based herbal medicines like Hwaeo-jeon (HEJ). This study reports the effectiveness of Korean Medicine treatments, including HEJ, on a case of ONFH. Methods: A patient diagnosed with ONFH by CT and MRI was treated with Korean Medicine treatments consisting of herbal medicine including HEJ, bee venom pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, cupping, and physical therapy. The improvement of pain was assessed using a numerical rating scale. Inflammation levels were determined by blood tests conducted during hospitalization. Results: Korean Medicine treatment, including herbal medicine, resulted in good clinical improvement responses, including reduced pain, improved mobility, and reduced inflammatory levels in the blood tests. Conclusions: Korean Medicine treatments, including HEJ, may be effective for ONFH patients. Further studies are needed to determine the recovery of osteonecrosis and the improvement of post-operative aftereffects using Korean Medicine treatments, as well as the reduction of pre-operative pain.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.281-286
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• 2019

Avascular necrosis (AVN) is defined as the cellular death of bone and bone marrow components due to the loss of blood supply, and associated with post-traumatic or non-traumatic events. AVN usually involves the epiphysis of a long bone, such as the femoral and humeral heads, which are susceptible to osteonecrosis. Many studies have been conducted but they were restricted to investigations of femoral head avascular necrosis. The presence of osteonecrosis in the proximal femur may impair biological fixation after total hip arthroplasty. We report a 56-year-old male patient with avascular necrosis located not only at the femoral head, but also in the entire femur, including the medullary cavity, who underwent total hip arthroplasty 2 years earlier along with a review of the relevant literature.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.239-248
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• 2022

To determine the effect of Korean medicine treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head (ANFH) this study reviewed both single ingredients and bioactive compounds in the treatment of ANFH in a rat model. Literature was retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar using the keywords "femur head necrosis," "natural extract," and "rat." The data from studies analyzed included: rats' characteristics, development methods of ANFH, natural extracts administration, observation methods, and outcome indicators. Two independent researchers screened all articles retrieved and 26 studies were chosen. The most used rat species was the Sprague Dawley rat (76.9%). To induce ANFH, steroid injections (46.2%), and oral gavage (53.8%) were typically used. Studies focused mainly on factors affecting bone formation (65.3%), and apoptosis (53.8%). Research on ANFH focused on using traditional natural substances mentioned in classical literature to confirm its effectiveness against anti-inflammation, osteogenesis, and cell death. ANFH has a diverse etiology, therefore research models such as genetic analysis of human-derived samples from ANFH patients may shed more light on the condition. Moreover, research into herbal medicines and pharmacoacupuncture treatment of ANFH should precede.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.427-434
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• 2008

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is a multifactorial disease and certain individuals are more at risk or may be predisposed to it. An altered lipid metabolism is one of the major risk factors for osteonecrosis, especially corticosteroid therapy and alcoholism. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A. (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors, stalin used as lipid-clearing agent, have been known to decrease the risk of osteonecrosis in patients receiving steroids and affect coagulation and fibrinolysis. Therefore we evaluated the association of HMG-CoA reductase gene polymorphisms and haplotypes between osteonecrosis patients and normal controls. We directly sequenced the HMG-CoA reductase gene in 24 Korean individuals, and identified five sequence variants. Four SNPs (-6933C>T, -6045T>G, +12673G>A, and +18128C>T) were selected and genotyped in 349 male ONFH patients and 300 male control subjects. The genotypes, allele frequencies, and haplotypes of the polymorphisms in the total patients as well as in the subgroup by etiology were not significantly different from those in the control group. In addition, no significant differences between each genotype of the polymorphisms and plasma lipid level could be found in the control group. These results suggest that the polymorphisms and haplotypes of HMG-CoA reductase gene are unlikely to be associated with a susceptibility to ONFH.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
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• v.1997 no.11
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• pp.245-248
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• 1997

Operative interventions for the management of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) include core drilling, with or without vascularized fibular bone grafting. Nevertheless, their clinical results have not been consistently satisfactory. Recently, a new surgical procedure that incorporates cementation with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) after core drilling has been tried clinically. In this study, a biomechanical analysis using a finite element method(FEM) was undertaken to evaluate surgical methods and their underlying surgical parameter. Our finite element models included five types. They were (1) normal model (Type I), (2) necrotic model (Type II), (3) core decompressed model (Type III). (4) fibular bone grafted model (Type IV), and (5) cemented with PMMA model (Type V). The geometric dimensions of the femur were based on digitized CT-scan data of a normal person. Various physiological loading conditions and surgical penetration depths by the core were used as mechanical variables to study their biomechanical contributions in stress transfer within the femoral head region. In addition. the peak von Mises stress(PVMS) within the necrotic cancellous bone of the femoral head was obtained. The fibular bone grafted method and cementation method provided optimal stress transfer behaviors. Here. substantial increase in the low stress level was observed when the penetration depth was extended to 0mm and 5mm from the subchondral region. Moreover, significant decrease in PVMS due to surgery was observed in the fibular bone grafted method and the cementation method when the penetration depths were extended up to 0 and 5mm from the subchondral region. The drop in PVMS was greater during toe-off than during heel-strike (57% vs. 28% in Type IV and 49% vs. 22% in Type V). Both the vascularized fibular bone grafting method (Type IV) and the new PMMA technique (Type V) appear to be very effective in providing good stress transfer and reducing the peak Von-Mises stress within the necrotic region. Overall results show that fibular bone grafting and cementation methods are quite similar. In light of above results, the new cementation method appears to be a promising surgical alternative or the treatment of ONFH. The use of PMMA for the core can be less prone to surgical complication as opposed to preparation of fibular bone graft and can achieve more immediate fixation between the core and the surrounding region.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.37-53
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• 2022

Objectives This study was conducted to investigate a randomized controlled trial study on the clinical treatment of herbal medicines for avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Methods By March 2022, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) was reviewed about randomized controlled trial studies on the herbal treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head through. The publication year, evaluation criteria, treatment period, treatment method and effectiveness were analyzed for articles published from 2017 to 2022. Results 16 articles were selected and 14 kinds of herbal medicines were used. In most studies, Western medical treatments such as injection therapy, oral drug administration, traction therapy and mid-frequency electric therapy were treated alone in the control group, and a combination of Western medical treatment and herbal treatment was administered to the experimental group. Conclusions In China, there have been many studies on herbal treatment for avascular necrosis of the femoral head. In Korea, more clinical studies on the herbal treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head are needed. This study will be helpful for future research in Korean medicine on avascular necrosis of the femoral head.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.195-204
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• 2021

Objectives The purpose of this study is to report the effects of Korean medicine treatments including Chuna manual therapy, pharmacopuncture and acupuncture for two patients who have pain in hip joint diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head. Methods The treatment effect was evaluated with a numeric rating scale (NRS), range of motion (ROM), physical examination (Patrick test), and score of Harris hip score (HHS). Results After treatment, symptoms of the two patients such as hip joint pain and gait dysfunction were improved. The NRS decreased from 8 (right [Rt.]), 7 (left [Lt.]) to 4 (Rt.), 3 (Lt.) in case 1 and from 9 to 2 in case 2. Also the patients showed improvement in ROM and score of HHS increased from 55.5 to 88.5 in case 1 and from 63.5 to 85.5 in case 2. In addition, positive Patrick test improved to negative. Conclusions Korean medicine treatments including Chuna manual therapy, pharmacopuncture and acupuncture can be effective in relieving pain and recovering the fucnction of hip joint associated with avascular necrosis of the femoral head, even when surgery is recommended. Although further study such as controlled studies is needed.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.206-213
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• 1994

We studied 90 patients(179 femoral heads) with avascular necrosis of femoral head, who had been performed X-ray, bone scan and MRI to compare of the findings of AVN on bone scan between each other, retrospectively. The patients were 82 males and 9 females, their mean age was 45 years. Radiographic stages were classified by Steinberg modification, radionuclide stages were classified as followed; stage o(or type 0) : normal, stage 1 : faint ring like uptake around the femoral head, stage 2: intense ring like uptake, stage 3: irregular increased uptake with central photon defect, stage 4 : Intense diffuse increased uptake at femoral head and stage 5 : hip joint deformity with relatively mild increased uptake. The findings of MRI were classified according to extent, location, early or advanced lesion, signal intensity of the lesion and joint effusion. 156(87%) of 179 femoral heads had avascular necrosis, 68(75.5%) of 90 patients had bilateral AVN, 35 femoral heads had early stage and 120 had advanced stage. The detection rate of AVN by X-ray and bone scan were 85% (134), 91.6% (143), respectively. Early AVN with atypical types of bone scan showed larger extent, moderate to large amount of joint effusion, soft tissue hypertrophy within joint, and secondary degenerative changes. Bone scan had relatively high detection rate in the diagnosis of AVN of femoral head, and demonstrated various types depending on the disease stage.