• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.525-538
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• 2018

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a trauma-induced psychiatric disorder characterized by impaired fear extermination, hyperarousal, and anxiety that may involve the release of monoamines in the fear circuit. The reported pharmacological properties of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) include anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, anti-atherosclerotic, and neuropsychiatric activities. However, the anxiolytic-like effects of TMP and its mechanism of action in PTSD are unclear. This study measured several anxiety-related behavioral responses to examine the effects of TMP on symptoms of anxiety in rats after single prolonged stress (SPS) exposure by reversing the serotonin (5-HT) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction. Rats were given TMP (10, 20, or 40 mg/kg, i.p.) for 14 days after SPS exposure. Administration of TMP significantly reduced grooming behavior, increased the time spent and number of visits to the open arm in the elevated plus maze test, and significantly increased the number of central zone crossings in the open field test. TMP administration significantly reduced the freezing response to contextual fear conditioning and significantly restored the neurochemical abnormalities and the SPS-induced decrease in 5-HT tissue levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. The increased 5-HT concentration during TMP treatment might be partially attribute to the tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid mRNA level expression in the hippocampus of rats with PTSD. These findings support a role for reducing the altered serotonergic transmission in rats with PTSD. TMP simultaneously attenuated the HPA axis dysfunction. Therefore, TMP may be useful for developing an agent for treating psychiatric disorders, such those observed in patients with PTSD.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.151-159
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study was designed to estimate the effect of Damjeonggyeok acupuncture on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder patient due to a series of traffic accidents by using Symptoms Check List-90-Rivision(SCL-90-R). Methods : This report have been observed among 30 patients who admitted our department for whiplash injury associated disorders during 04-01-2009 to 09-31-2009. The PTSD patients was divided into 2 groups. One group was treated general oriental medical treatment(Group A) and the other group was treated Damjeonggyeok acupuncture with general oriental medical treatment(Group B). SCL-90-R and visual analogue scale(VAS) were checked before and after treatment for evaluating the improvement of whiplash injury associated disorders with PTSD. Results : 1. Both Group A and Group B showed good effect on decreasing of VAS and improving of psychological symptoms after traffic accident. 2. Group B symptoms about SCL-90-R Conclusions : Damjeonggyeok acupuncture with general oriental medical treatment can be recommended as a useful therapy to treat patients who have PTSD. Further study is needed to confirm the effectiveness of Damjeonggyeok acupuncture on whiplash injury associated disorders with PTSD.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2012

Objective : The purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between symptom severity and neurocognitive factors in traumatic head injury patients. In addition, the effect of frontal lobe damage on these parameters was examined. Methods : We selected 18 patients who had brain damage for the moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (MSTBI) group, and 17 patients who met the diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) without the finding of brain damage for the comparison group. For the evaluation of neurocognitive function, K-WAIS, Rey-Kim Memory Test, K-FENT, WCST, and MMPI-2 were used. Results : The results of the comparison (using the malingering scale) revealed that the values of PDS and PK, which express the severity of symptoms, and the values of the validity scale F, F (B), and F (P) were significantly higher in the overly-expressed group. F (B) in overly-expressed group and PK, Pt, and Sc in the properly-expressed group had significant correlation with the severity of symptoms. F (B), S, and Stroop error inhibition in PTSD, and PK, Pt, Sc, and MQ in MSTBI had significant correlation with the severity of symptoms. The results of the comparison based on the finding of frontal lobe damage revealed that PDS, EIQ, and MQ ware significantly higher in the group without brain damage. Conclusions : It was revealed that each neurocognitive factor was correlated with the severity of symptoms. There was a decrease in complaints or symptoms reported by the frontal lobe injury group, and this is believed to be due to degenerative change in the personality and emotional functioning of these patients following frontal lobe damage.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.214-227
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• 2019

Purpose: This study examined the socio-demographic factors, the disaster related factors, the physical health related factors and the psychological factors of older adults exposed to natural disaster and these factors may possibly cause the occurrence of PTSD. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed using the secondary data from the 3rd Disaster Victims Panel Survey (2012-2017). The data from 1,397 disaster victims were analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis. Results: Compared with the younger adult disaster victims, the elderly were more likely to have symptoms of PTSD (15.0% vs. 12.1%). Factors such as the number of years since being exposed to the disaster, anxiety, depression and social adjustment were significantly associated with occurrence of PTSD for both older and younger adults. Female gender was the additional risk factors for the older adults, while marital status, income, having witnessed another person's injury or death, and having lost a home were associated with the occurrence of PTSD. Conclusion: The elderly were more likely to develop PTSD as compared with younger adults. More targeted post-disaster mental health services to the elderly with the symptoms of depressive, anxiety and impaired social adjustments, should be provided to improve their mental health.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.120-127
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• 2007

Bereavement is the state of loss resulting from death. Grief is the emotional response associated with loss, intense and acute sorrow resulting from loss. Complicated grief represent a pathological outcome involving social, physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual morbidity. The common psychiatric disorders associated complicated grief or abnormal grief responses include clinical depression, anxiety disorders, alcohol abuse or other substance abuse, and dependence, psychotic disorders, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Grief tasks involve a series of stage or phases following an important loss that gradually permit adjustment and recovery. Three phases of grief involve phase 1 (walking the edges), phase 2 (entering the depths), and phase 3 (reconnecting the world). For intervention to be effective they need to be individually tailored to abnormal grief reaction or unresolved grief reaction. Clear understandings of complicated grief, abnormal responses, factors increasing risk after bereavement will often enable us to prevent psychiatric disorders in bereaved patients.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.42-47
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• 2009

Recently, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) was given the status of an approved form of psychotherapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. However, its effectiveness in the treatment of other anxiety disorders such as phobia is yet to be determined given that controlled studies have provided mixed results. This report summarizes the case of a child with a specific phobia (i.e. nighttime fear) which was successfully treated with two sessions of EMDR. This result suggests the further and thorough evaluation of this technique for use in childhood phobic disorders.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.80-87
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate prevalence and clinical characteristics of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in North Korean defectors (NKD). Methods : The study population consisted of 300 NKDs registered in the multi-regional adaptation center (Hana Center), within three years of settling in South Korea. We conducted in-person interviews and a survey with each subject, based on the North Korean version of the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview (NK-CIDI) and various clinical scales. Results : Lifetime prevalence of PTSD in NKDs was 15.3%, approximately nine times higher than South Koreans (1.7%). Although experiencing broader type of traumas with higher rate than South Koreans, NKDs revealed lower odds of PTSD in most type of trauma (p<0.05). Conclusion : NKDs are at higher risk of experiencing different types of trauma than the general population in South Korea, and it is further validated that prevalence of PTSD is also higher. Careful evaluation for comorbid psychiatric symptoms and type of traumas prior to PTSD treatment for NKDs is necessary to facilitate more appropriate intervention for each subject, according to personal experience.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.159-169
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• 2021

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze research trends and find whether Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of refugees could affect structural or functional changes of brains of those under MRI, focusing on volumes, functional connectivities, and metabolites. Methods: A literature search was done using PubMed, Embase, RISS, and KMBase to identify studies that matched our research purpose. A total of eight studies were identified using Prisma flow diagram by two reviewers independently. Results: Eight studies were identified. Three studies were on North Korean defectors as subjects. The number of studies that observed structural changes, functional changes, and metabolite changes in brains was 2, 5, and 2, respectively. Although each study observed various parts of the brain, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was observed commonly in three studies. The PTSD group showed reduction of ACC volume and N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) metabolite in ACC compared to the non- PTSD group. When exposed to negative stimuli, the PTSD group showed higher neural activity than the non-PTSD group, but not vice versa. Conclusion: ACC showed significant difference in volume, neural activity, and NAA metabolite between the PTSD and the non-PTSD group, resulting in significant differences in structural changes, functional changes, metabolite changes, respectively. This study showed the need for conducting more research using various biomarkers to clarify the relationship between PTSD of refugees and their brain changes.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.217-225
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess socio-demographic, disaster-related, physical health-related, psychological, and social factors that may adversely affect disaster victims' QoL (Quality of Life). Methods: A cross sectional study was designed by using the secondary data. From the 3rd Disaster Victims Panel Survey (2012~2017), a total of 1,659 data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA, and multivariate linear regression. Results: Older people with lower health status lacking financial resources prior to a disaster were more at risk of low levels of QoL. Lower levels of perceived health status, resilience, and QoL were reported by disaster exposed individuals, while their depression was higher than the depression in the control group of disaster unexposed ones. Resilience, social and material supports were positively associated with QoL whereas depression and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders) were negatively associated. Conclusion: These findings suggest that psychological symptoms and loss due to disasters can have adverse impacts on the QoL of disaster victims in accordance with their prior socio-demographic background. They also indicate that targeted post-disaster community nursing intervention should be considered a means of increased social support as well as physical and mental health care for disaster victims.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.39-47
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• 2022

Objective : This study investigated brain functional connectivity in male firefighters who showed subclinical post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Methods : We compared the data of 17 firefighters who were not diagnosed with PTSD and 18 healthy controls who had no trauma exposure. The following instruments were applied to assess psychiatric symptoms: Korean version of the Post-traumatic stress disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5-K), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). For all subjects, functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed, and functional connectivity was compared between the two groups (family-wise error-corrected p<0.05). Additionally, correlations between psychiatric symptoms and functional connectivity were explored. Results : The following connectivity was higher than that of healthy controls: 1) the central opercular cortex-superior temporal gyrus, 2) planum polare-parahippocampal gyrus, 3) angular gyrus-amygdala, and 4) temporal fusiform cortex-parahippocampal gyrus. The functional connectivity of 1) the lateral occipital cortex-inferior temporal gyrus, 2) superior parietal lobule-caudate, and 3) middle temporal gyrus-thalamus were lower in firefighters. In firefighters, the connectivity of the planum polare-parahippocampal gyrus showed a negative correlation with the severity of arousal symptoms (rho=-0.586, p=0.013). The connectivity of the middle temporal gyrus-thalamus showed a positive correlation with the severity of intrusion (rho=0.552, p=0.022) and arousal symptoms (rho=0.619, p=0.008). The connectivity of the temporal fusiform cortex-parahippocampal gyrus was negatively correlated with intrusion (rho=-0.491, p=0.045) and arousal (rho=-0.579, p=0.015). Conclusion : Our results indicate that the brain functional connectivity is associated with occupational trauma exposure in firefighters without PTSD. Therefore, this study provides evidence that close monitoring and early intervention are important for firefighters with traumatic experience even at a subthreshold level.