• 전기학회논문지
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• 제58권2호
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• pp.422-429
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• 2009

Meridian which used as the basic theory of acupuncture treatment, is an important functional connection system of acupuncture point in oriental medicine. Yangdorak and EAV have lack of precision because of using 2-electrode method, occurring high non-uniformed current density and electrode contact status on electrode placement spot. Therefore we implemented a meridian impedance measurement system for measuring meridian impedance using 4-electrode method. In order to confirm the precision of developed system, we made an constant current characteristic experiment using standard resistor. As a results of clinical study with 18 subjects, the meridian impedance showed that reproductivity and repeatability of HT7 acupuncture point are $0.515[k{\Omega}]{\pm}0.000$(mean${\pm}$standard deviation) and $0.515[k{\Omega}]{\pm}0.002$, respectively. And reproductivity and repeatability of PC7 are $0.521[k{\Omega}]{\pm}0.000$ and $0.521[{\Omega}]{\pm}0.001$ respectively. The proposed system was stable and reliable. Therefore this study proved AC impedance method to valid in measuring meridian impedance, and also verified precision and repeatability of the proposed meridian impedance measurement system. The proposed system will serve as more effective method of measuring meridian phenomena as a bioelectric signal in clinical practice.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.453-462
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Platycodon grandiflorum (PG), an oriental herbal medicine, has been known to improve liver function, and has both anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. However, little is known about the immune-enhancing effects of PG and its mechanism. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether fermented PG extract (FPGE), which has increased platycodin D content, activates the immune response in a murine macrophage cell line, RAW 264.7. MATERIALS/METHODS: Cell viability was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and the nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured using Griess reagent. Cytokine messenger RNA levels of were monitored by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying immunomodulatory actions of FPGE in RAW 264.7 cells, we have conducted luciferase reporter gene assay and western blotting. RESULTS: We found that FPGE treatment induced macrophage cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. FPGE also modulated the expression of NO and pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6. The activation and phosphorylation levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were increased by FPGE treatment. Moreover, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide, an activator of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK), significantly reduced both lipopolysaccharides- and FPGE-induced NF-κB reporter gene activity. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings suggest that FPGE may be a novel immune-enhancing agent acting via AMPK-NF-κB signaling pathway.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• 제6권6호
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• pp.491-498
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• 2012

Glycyrrhiza uralensis (or licorice) is a widely used Oriental herbal medicine from which the phenylflavonoids dehydroglyasperin C (DGC), dehydroglyasperin D (DGD), and isoangustone A (IsoA) are derived. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the antioxidant properties of DGC, DGD, and IsoA. The three compounds showed strong ferric reducing activities and effectively scavenged DPPH, $ABTS^+$, and singlet oxygen radicals. Among the three compounds tested, DGC showed the highest free radical scavenging capacity in human hepatoma HepG2 cells as assessed by oxidant-sensitive fluorescent dyes dichlorofluorescein diacetate and dihydroethidium bromide. In addition, all three compounds effectively suppressed lipid peroxidation in rat tissues as well as $H_2O_2$-induced ROS production in hepatoma cells. This study demonstrates that among the three phenylflavonoids isolated from licorice, DGC possesses the most potent antioxidant activity, suggesting it has protective effects against chronic diseases caused by reactive oxygen species as well as potential as an antioxidant food additive.

• 식품보건융합연구
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• 제6권2호
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• pp.23-26
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• 2020

Active and therapeutic sport recovery is becoming a popular and important component in approving performance for pro and recreational athletes alike. It is also helping in the realm of injury prevention. In the search of finding modalities that are widely effective, natural, and safe, acupuncture is a viable and cost-effective treatment for helping athletes achieve this goal. More direct related research is needed, but testimonials from pro athletes and the body of research that currently exists provides powerful evidence on acupunctures ability to help with enhancing recovery. Specializing in acupuncture and exercise science, Chris integrates acupuncture into musculoskeletal rehabilitation therapy or fitness training for pain modulation, speedy recovery, and enhanced performance. Clients can choose to focus on one-on-one corrective exercise therapy, manual and massage therapy, or acupuncture. However, for best results, Chris recommends all three. Other modalities that he uses in therapy are acu-taping, herbal therapy, nutrition supplementation, cupping, guasha, and stretching techniques. The corrective exercise component is one-on-one body balancing management, focusing on strength and conditioning, post physical rehab - exercise therapy, integrative sport specific exercise, weight loss, core strengthening, dynamic lumbar stabilization, active recovery techniques, and myo-fascial release techniques. The acupuncture component focuses on sport injuries, myofascial pain, peripheral neuropathy, arthritis, facial rejuvenation, stress, smoking cessation, addiction detoxification program, weight management, sport recovery and performance.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.87-99
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• 2011

In the 18th century, Xu Lingtai (徐靈胎) and Yoshimasu Todo (吉益東洞) were medical revolutionaries. They emphasized researches about synthesis of formulae, efficacy of medication and observation and then classification of clinical phenomena, so they assumed a modern scientific character. But, there were clear differences between their academic thoughts. In this paper, we examine the causes of difference in three fields, i.e. traditional culture, viewpoints of talented people and academic personality. The first, difference was due to traditional culture. Chinese medicine has a long history and heavy traditional culture. Yin-Yang (陰陽) theory, Five Phase(五行) theory, Viscera and Bowels (臟腑) theory and Meridian and Collateral (經絡) theory stemmed from everyday practice, and Chinese people learn these theories from experience and observation. From the standpoint of Chinese people, particularly scholarly doctors [儒醫] such as Xu Lingtai, it was easy to debate medical theories. In contrast, Japanese traditional culture didn't have as long a history as China. Thus as a necessity, it was harder to disseminate traditional Chinese medicine theories in Japan. Yoshimasu Todo simplified it by cutting out the superfluous traditional Chinese medicine theory, so at that time it must have been shocking to the Japanese medical world's trends. The second, difference was due to viewpoints of talented experts. From the standpoint of Xu Lingtai, above all, medicine is just a learning, only a kind of technique, even more not a means of living. Xu Lingtai was concerned with the appearance of very talented experts such as 'great man' (偉人), and 'exceptional man' (奇士) who carried out medical research. Instead of cultivating a few talented people, Yoshimasu Todo tried to produce a large number of clinicians quickly who could treat ordinary people. The third was due to personality difference. As Xu Lingtai threw away Confucianism and studied medicine in his youth, although he had a critical attitude, he was always mild-mannered. Yoshimasu Todo always had a clearly critical and rebellious nature. Personality influenced their literary spirit and learning style, so although both advocated reactionism, the academic thought of Xu Lingtai was reformative and mild, while that of Yoshimasu Todo was revolutionary and fierce. Xu Lingtai and Yoshimasu Todo had considerably similar research domains and academic thought, so it is proper for them both to serve as examples for making a comparative study of medical history in China and Japan in 18th century.

• 재활간호학회지
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.51-60
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• 1998

The result of studying papers about management of lower back pain published in domestic and foreign nursing and medical magazines in these 10 years is as follows ; 1. General characteristic of lower back pain ; 1) In sex distribution, there were more men than women in 5 papers and more women than men in 4 papers among 9 papers surveryed. 2) In age distribution, thirties to forties of patients had more lower back pain as surveyed by general hospitals and fifties to sixties of patients had more lower back pain as surveyed by oriental medical hospitals. 3) In cause factor, there were 50 to 65% of sprain, 32 to 44% of herniated intervertebral disc and 13 to 29% of degenerative changes. 4) In symtom distribution, there were 26 to 57% of lower back pain, 42 to 65% of lower back pain with radiating pain and 34 to 99% of paravertevral muscle spasm. 5) In period of pain management distribution, 18 to 40% of patients experienced pain for less than 6 months and 59 to 82% of them experienced pain for more than 6 months in 3 papers among 4 papers. 6) In surveying the treatment, 66 to 88% of patients had conservative treatment and there were treatments of general hospital, oriental medicine, self remedy and traditional practice in conservative treatment. 7) In job distribution, 12 to 50% of them were housekeepers, 23 to 31% office workers, 4.6 to 36% blue color workers and 11 to 15% students. 2. As psychological character lower back pain paients had anxiety, depression, anger-hostility, phobic anxiety, neurasthenia, hypochondriasis, and interpersonal sensitivity. 3. To distinguish the cause of lower back pain, plain lumbar roentgenogram, straight leg rasing test, eletromyelogic findings, somatosensory evoked potentials CT and MRI were performed. 4. To relieve lower back pain. epidural adhesiolysis, epidulal injection of local anesthetic in mixture with steroid, lumbar spinal root block, low level laser therapy, acupuncture like transcutaneous nerve stimulation(AL TENS), topical capsaicin and lumbar orthotics were used in medical field, and relaxation technique was used in nursing field. 5. Mckenzie's extension exercise and William's flexsion exercise for lower back pain were used in medical field and Yoga exercise was applied in nursing field. 6. The more school education and self efficacy were high, the better they had active coping lower back pain positively and the less self efficacy was the more they had serious pain. As a result of studying the paper there have been very little research for lower back pain in nursing fields of Korea and foreign countries. Because 60 to 80% of population expeience lower back pain at least more than once, it is necessary to develop the study and clinical practice for management of lower back pain.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.140-151
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• 2002

This study was carried to identify whether acupuncture at several meridian points can affect the human anesthesia or not through the analysis of serum intermediates, such as, melatonin, serotonin, TSH, cortisol in human serum. We investigated the effect of accupuncture on the change of serum intermediates which have frequently been made a subject of discussion owing to its hyponic and sedative properties in practice. The result obtained were as follow ; 1. Serum melatonin levels was hardly affected at 40 minutes after general acupuncture on Hab-Gog, Nae-Gwan, and the other meridian points as compared with that($5.64{\pm}1.02pg/ml$) of resting control group. But on day 1 after acupuncture, these tend to increase significantly ($7.95{\pm}2.05pg/ml$ to $8.21{\pm}1.57pg/ml$, p <0.05). On the other hand, control group under sleep showed the serum level of $7.39{\pm}1.03pg/ml$. Additional acupuncture at In-Dang induced the increased melatonin level, especially at 40minutes after acupuncture(p <0.05). 2. Serotonin level in resting control serum recorded $51.14{\pm}8.17{\mu}g/ml$. Acupuncture at determined meridian point intend to increase average level of serotonin, but not significant. However observation on day 1 after acupuncture at Hab-Gwan meridian point and under sleeping showed the significantly increased serotonin level, $74.05{\pm}35.83{\mu}g/ml$, $70.44{\pm}13.08{\mu}g/ml$, respectively. 3. TSH level in intact human serum recorded $0.85{\pm}0.24{\mu}IU/ml$. and the serum exposed to acupuncture showed the irregular pattern of TSH level in a mean range of $0.76{\pm}0.44{\mu}IU/ml$ to $1.06{\pm}0.38{\mu}IU/ml$, regardless of meridian point or time after acupuncture. 4. The values of serum cortisol in control group were $11.76{\pm}2.06{\mu}g/dl$ in resting, $7.51{\pm}2.85{\mu}/dl$ under sleep, respectively. The level of serum cortisol in 40minutes after acupuncture was markedly (p <0.05) reduced to the serum levels of $5.65{\pm}2.58{\mu}g/dl$ (Hab-Gog, Nae-Gwan), $7.58{\pm}3.21{\mu}g/dl$ (Gyo-Gam, Sin-Mun besides Hab-Gog, Nae-Gwan), $6.43{\pm}3.54{\mu}g/dl$ (In-Dang besides to Hab-Gog, Nae-Gwan), respectively, as compared with control, intending to increase a little on day 1 after acupuncture. From the above results, the analysis of serum intermediates suggest that acupunctuation at meridian points applied to at this study act upon the phase of light anaesthesia or hypnosis, at the same time affect pituitary-adrenal axis rather than hypothalamus-pituitary axis in the secretary system of hormone and also don't affect dorsal-raphe nucleus according to the observation of change transition in serum intermediates, such as TSH, serotonin, and cortisol.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

Objectives : This study was conducted to analyze the single dose toxicity of Mecasin (Gami-Jakyak Gamcho buja Decoction) herbal acupuncture administered in the vein of Sprague-Dawley rats. Methods : All experiments were performed at the Medvill, an institution licensed to conduct nonclinical studies, under the Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) regulations. Sprague-Dawley rats were chosen in this pilot study. In the experiment, Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups of five male and five female animals per group. Doses of Mecasin herbal acupuncture, at 0, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mg/kg, were given to the experimental groups, and a dose of normal saline solution, at 2 ml/kg, was administered to the control group. Mecasin herb acupuncture and normal saline were injected into the vein at once, and we observed mortality, clinical signs, weights, and gross findings for 14 days after injection. This study was conducted under the approval of the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee. Results : There is no death or abnormality in any of the four groups. All groups put on weights favorably. There are no significant gross findings in necropsy examinations. Conclusions : The above results showed that intravenous injection of 500-2,000 mg/kg of Mecasin herb acupuncture did not cause any changes in weight or, in the results of necropsy examinations, in mortalities. Therefore, the toxicity of Mecasin herb acupuncture was not confirmed, and the presumptive lethal dose of Mecasin herb acupuncture was higher than 2,000 mg/kg. The outcomes suggest that treatment with Mecasin herbal acupuncture is relatively safe. Further evaluations on this subject are needed to yield more concrete evidence.

• 대한한방내과학회지
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.792-812
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• 2010

In the 18th century, Xu Lingtai (徐靈胎) and Yoshimasu Todo (吉益東洞) were famous doctors advocating ancient medicine, though they lived in different countries, China and Japan. We compared their major books, analyzed their academic thoughts and then took conclusions as below. 1. The first, for instance "Classified Prescriptions of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, 傷寒論類方" and "Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions, 類聚方". Based on essential thought that a prescription and a syndrome should correspond, these books arranged and classified the Zhang Zhongjing (張仲景)'s texts."Classified Prescriptions of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases", based on the thought that principles, methods, formulas and medicinals (理法方藥) were integrated in prescriptions, tried to find out the implicit treatment rules in prescriptions and syndromes through analyzing "Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases, 傷寒論". On the other hand, because Classified Assemblage of Prescriptions focused on the syndromes of ancient prescriptions (古方), it classified and collected the related texts of Treatise on Cold Damage Diseases and "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber, 금궤요략", and then suggested only simple instructions on how to prescribe medicine. So in this book, the trend of experience was clear. 2. The second, there is "100 Kinds Records from Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, 神農本草經百種錄" and "Description work of herbal pharmacology comprised of excerpts from Shanhanlun and medical experiences, 藥徵". Though both of these books are professional oriental pharmacology publications that advocate reactionism, there were remarkable differences in writing style between them. "Description work of herbal pharmacology comprised of excerpts from Shanhanlun and medical experiences" was based on "Treat on Cold Damage Diseases" and "Synopsis of Prescriptions of the Golden Chamber", just explained the effects of medications and discussed 'matter of course (所當然)', but not discussed 'the reason why (所以然)'. In explaining style of syndromes, it confirmed through research, and emphasized the inductive method. On the other hand, "100 Kinds Records from Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica based on "Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, 神農本草經", explained the nature of medications and discussed 'the reason why (所以然)'. In explaining style of syndromes, it annotated and explained, and emphasized the process of reasoning. 3. The third, there is "Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine, 醫學源流論" and Severance of Medical evils, 醫斷". Aiming the then medical theories fallen in confused state, these books brought order out of chaos, clarified the categories of medical research, and emphasized the scientific method that could put theories into practice and verify them. The difference is that "Severance of Medical Evils" researched only macroscopic viewable clinical phenomena, and even denied the existence of names of diseases and etiological causes. Thus, it emphasized the accumulation of experiences, laid emphasis on "watching and realizing (目認)", and "understand and taking in (解悟)". Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine extremely emphasized the research of 'something not occuring (未然)', that is to say, induced notions of a disease from observing clinical phenomena, furthermore based on these, predicted the 'something not occuring (未然)' and emphasized researching 'the reason why (所以然)'. As regards how they deal with the traditional theories and post-Zhang Zhongjing's medicines, "Severance of Medical evils" took completely denying attitudes. In case of "Discuss the Headwaters of Medicine", it could be used reasonably through specific situation and detailed analysis. Collectively speaking, there were some differences between medical theories of Xu Lingtai and Yoshimasu Todo. Actually, these differences were whether he tried to research the essence of disease, whether he tried to consider it rationally, and how he treated various opinions occurring in the theories of traditional medicine and clinical experience.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제17권4호
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• pp.113-119
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• 2000

Objectives : Wrist ganglion is one of the most common diseases on the wrist joint. So far acupuncture, medication, drainage and local anesthetic excision therapy have been used for this disease, but the development of more effective treatment method is being expected because of frequent recurrence and side effect. Considered that most ganglion is polycystic, on the basis of classic centro-square acupuncture, newly transformed centro-square acupuncture was applied to this report. Methods : All the patients with wrist ganglion was divided into two groups. Newly transformed centro-square acupuncture was app(ied to one group composed of 11 patients and classic centro-square acupuncture to the other group with 19 patients. Classic centro-square acupuncture is made up of slanting and straight insertion. the former is a method that tips of 4 needles are inserted from the outersurface of wrist ganglion oriented to the center of the ganglion, the latter is that tip of one needle is inserted on the center of the ganglion straightly. In the newly transformed centro-square acupuncture, straight insertion of dry needle was taken place of by syringe needle in order to drain phlegm. In this report, classic and newly transformed centro-square acupuncture were used somewhat differently from original ones. Moxibustion was applied after removing all the needles. In newly transformed centro-square acupuncture, moxibustion was also applied after drainage of phlegm and slanting insertion. Results : 1. Wrist ganglion was frequently developed around the acupoint of Tae-Yeon(Tai Yuan, LU9) and Yang-Ji(Yang Chi, TE4) and the difference between occurrence of development on the left and right hand had no significancy. 2. The mean number of treatment for recovery : The newly transformed centro-square acupuncture had fewer treatment than classic one. 3. The newly transformed centro-square acupuncture was more effective than classic one. 4. As a result of following up 6 to 72 months after wrist ganglion had been eliminated, there was no recurrence. Conclusion : In the treatment of wrist ganglion, newly transformed centro-square acupuncture can be regarded as more useful method in the clinical practice, because it has comparatiely shorter duration of treatment and is more effective.