• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.22-31
• /
• 2021

Objectives: We conducted a retrospective chart review to investigate the effects of Korean Medicine (KM) treatment on weight loss in patients with morbid obesity (body mass index [BMI]≥30 kg/m²) and to compare the effects of KM counseling and non-counseling on weight loss. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of patients with morbid obesity who received KM treatment for at least 1 month. We evaluated the effects of KM treatment on body weight, BMI, body fat, fat mass, EuroQol-5D, and the Korean version of the obesity-related quality of life scale (KOQOL). We also assessed the liver and kidney functions, and adverse events. We performed a comparative analysis between the counseling and non-counseling groups. Results: A total of 37 patients who underwent 4 weeks of KM treatment involving Wolbi-tang, electroacupuncture, and KM counseling were included in this study. Twenty-one patients were assigned to the counseling group and sixteen patients to the non-counseling group. There was a significant decrease in weight, BMI, fat mass, and KOQOL (P<0.05) with improvements in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides. The counseling group had a greater reduction in body weight, BMI, body fat, and fat mass compared to the non-counseling group, although it was not significant. In the BMI below 35 (n=25), the reduction ratio of body weight, body fat mass, and body fat was higher in the counseling group than in the non-counseling group; additionally, body fat decreased significantly in counseling group (P<0.05). No severe adverse effects were observed. Conclusion: KM treatment could be effective for weight loss, especially in patients with morbid obesity, KM counseling could also be a good tool for weight loss, typically in patients with BMI<35 kg/m².

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.125-135
• /
• 2022

Objectives: A restrospective chart review were conducted to investigate the overall weight loss effect of the integrated Korean medicine treatment on obese patients (body mass index [BMI] ≥25 kg/m²) in Korean medicine clinic and analyze the difference in the effect according to lifestyle behaviors. Methods: The medical records of 43 obese patients were retrospectively analyzed including body weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body composition who received integrated Korean medicine treatment for 4 weeks at 24 Korean medicine clinics in Daejeon metropolitan city. All outcome measures were evaluated again 8 weeks after the end of treatment at week 12 for follow-up. EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), the Korean version of the obesity-related quality of life scale (KOQOL) and patient's satisfaction were also evaluated. The analysis was divided according to the treatment period and observation period, and subgroup analysis was performed according to drinking and exercise habits. Results: Body weight, body fat, waist circumference, hip circumference, body fat were significantly reduced at week 4 and week 12. Theses weight reduction effects were significantly greater within treatment period (0 to 4 week) than observation period (4 to 12 week). Especially in the non-exercise group, the changes in body fat mass and body fat percent showed a significant difference between the treatment period and the observation period. KOQOL were also significantly improved at 12 week, but not in EQ-5D. No severe adverse events were observed. Conclusions: The integrated Korean medicine treatment could be effective to treat obesity including weight loss. It is necessary to prevent additional weight regain through regular exercise even after Korean medicine treatment.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.57-63
• /
• 2008

Background and Purpose：Nausea, vomiting and weight loss are common problems that are encountered in the course of cancer patient treatment who are receiving radiotherapy. In this study, we are aiming to analyze the effect of megestrol acetate on quality of life of head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy, resulting from improvement of weight loss, appetite and nutritional status via multicenter, open-labeled, observational clinical trial. Material and Methods：A total of 270 patients from 10 medical institutes who are receiving radiotherapy or who have completed radiotherapy within 3 months, between February 2007 and February 2008, were selected as candidates for the study. Megestrol acetate suspension(megace) was given to the subjectives once a week for 4 weeks with the amount of 20ml(megestrol 800mg). Measurement of weight and questionnaire surveys were carried out three times: at the start of the study, 4 weeks after the start of the medication, and 4 weeks after the end of the medication, respectively. Results：The group who has received megace had a total number of 199, and control group was 70. The group who have received megace showed mean weight loss of 1kg in 8 weeks, compared with the weight loss of 5.5kg in control group, which showed that the medication was effective in reducing the amount of weight loss(P=0.027). The group who received megace had a tendency to report a reduced rate of decrease in the score of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and QOL score, but it did not have statistical significance(P>0.05). Conclusion：Megestrol acetate have reduced the degree of weight loss significantly, and it has a tendency to reduce the rate of decrease in appetite, aggravation of nausea and vomiting, and quality of life.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.10 no.3
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This study was to analyze the research trend centering on the theses to hospice released in Korea. Methods: The researcher collected the academic degrees and theses published on the book of the academic society from 1991 to 2004, and examined 110 domestic papers of hospice. Results: 1) The number of articles increased 3 years after 1997, 52 (47%) theses were published in $2000{\sim}2002$. 97 (88%) articles were quantitative studies, and 13 (12%) were qualitative studies. 2) As for the subject, the results were: patients with end stage 44 (40%), nurse 18 (16%), hospice care system, facilities, and literature review 12 (10%). 3) As for main concepts of correlational studies 15 (13%), the results were: quality of life, activities of volunteers, suffering experience of nurse, and so on. 4) The subjects and contents of survey, the results were: pain control and need for nursing care in patients, need for spiritual and physical care in family, and so on. 5) The treatment of experimental research, the results were: hospice nursing, educational program, informational support, spiritual nursing, supportive nursing intervention, home hospice care, information services for control of cancer pain, and so on. 6) In the theme of the qualitative studies, the results were: experience of dying patients, perceive of hospice care and death, experience of family of terminal ill patients, meaning of dying in Korean. 7) In the instrument in studies, the results were: MQOL, EQOL, QOL, NIC, Need Scale, Spiritual Well-being Scale, Spiritual Perspective Scale, Coping for Grief Scale, K-CPAT, VAS, BPI, Depression Scale, Strait-anxiety Scale, Care-giver Burden Inventory, Burnout Inventory, Mental quality. Conclusion: More research needs to be encouraged in experimental and qualitative research fields. Researches should be conducted for the establishment of the basis of practical and theoretical framework and hospice polices.

• 한국노년학
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.197-215
• /
• 2021

This study aims to evaluate Person Centered Care practice and characteristics of care services in Korean long-term care facilities using Dementia Care Mapping as a tool. DCM, systematic observational evaluation tool for measuring dementia patients' QOL, was transformed into self-report rating scale. The process of transforming DCM into a scale of 34 items involves operationalization of DCM concepts and it's adaptation into Korean long-term care practices. Review by research team of Bradford university was added to maintain DCM concept and meaning in this scale. The scale with Cronbach alpha of .88 was surveyed on 343 care workers. Survey result shows PCC value practiced by them is 3.77(of 5 likert scale) and values on each categories of PCC reveal the characteristics of care in Korean facilities; attachment(4.02), comfort(3.95), inclusion(3.89), identity(3.67) and occupation(3.41). Dementia care in Korean facilities focuses on recipients'safety, comfort but lacks individualistic care and the meaningful and fulfilling occupation for patients. Looking at the organizational and individual factors influencing DCM values, the small facilities showed higher PCC values and there are no significant difference in PCC values between public and private facilities. Managers and care workers with career of 1~2 years showed higher PCC values compared to other career ranks and lengthes. This study suggests care practice should be centered on personhood of patients in long-term care facilities, for which introduction of unit care and education of PCC for service providers including support personnel are needed. DCM and Korean DCM scale developed in this study are suggested for the PCC-based assessment on care quality.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-24
• /
• 2003

This study was done to compile 104 experimental theses which are related to the antitumor and immuno-activating therapies between February 1990 through February 2002. Master's and doctoral theses were dassified by schools, degrees, materials, effects, experimental methods of antitumor and immunoactivity, and results. The following results were obtained from this study : 1. Classifying the theses by the school, 34.6% were presented by Daejeon University, 29.8% by Kyung-hee University and 11.5% by Won-kwang University. Of all theses, 51.0% were aimed for the doctoral degree and 43.3% were for the master's degree. All of three universities have their own cancer centers. 2. Classifying the theses by herb materials, complex prescription accounted for 60.3%, single herb accounted for 24.8% and herbal acupuncture accounted for 14.2%. Considering the key principles of the traditional medicine, complex prescription was much more thoroughly studied than single herb prescription. The results showed that the complex prescription had both antitumor activity and immuno-activating activity, which might reflects on multi-activation mechanisms by complex components. 3. Classifying the theses by the efficacy of herbs examined, in single herb, invigorating spleen and supplementing was 35.5%, expelling toxin and cooling was 29.0%, activating blood flow and removing blood stasis was 12.9%. In herbal acupuncture, invigorating spleen and supplementing was 52.9%, expelling toxin and cooling was 29.4%. In complex prescription, pathogen-free status was 41.9%, strengthening healthy qi to eliminate pathogen was 35.5%, strengthening healthy qi was 22.6%. It is presumed that the antitumor and immunoactivating therapy based on syndrome differentiation is the best way to develop oriental oncology. 4. Classifying the theses by antitumor experiments, cytotoxic effect was 48.1 %, survival time was 48.1 % and change of tumor size was 42.3%. Survival rate was not necessarily correlated with cytotoxicity. These data reflect the characteristic, wholistic nature of the oriental medicine which is based on BRM (biological response modifier). 5. Classifying the theses by immunoactivating experiments, hemolysin titer was 51.0%, hemagglutinin titer was 46.2% and NK cell's activity was 44.2%. In the future studies, an effort to elucidate specific molecular and cellular mechanisms of cytokine production in the body would be crucial. 6. Classifying the theses according to the data in terms of antitumor activity, 50% was evaluated good, 24.0% was excellent, and 15.5% have no effect. In an evaluation of immuno-activating activity, 35.9% was excellent and 18.0% showed a little effect. The index point, as described here, may helps to use experimental data for clinical trials. Changes in index points by varying dosage implicate the importance of oriental medical theory for prescription. 7. In 167 materials, IIP (immunoactivating index point, mean : 3.12±0.07) was significantly higher than AIP(antitumor index point, mean : 2.83±0.07). These data demonstrate that the effect of herb medicine on tumor activity depends more on immunoactivating activity than antitumor activity. This further implies that the development of herbal antitumor drugs must be preceded by the mechanistic understanding of immunoactivating effect. 8. After medline-searching tumor and herb-related articles from NCBI web site, we conclude that most of the studies are primarily focused on biomolecular mechanisms and/or pathways. Henceforth, we need to define the biomolecular mechanisms and/or pathways affected by herbs or complicated prescriptions. 9. Therefore, the most important point of oriental medical oncology is to conned between experimental results and clinical trials. For the public application of herbal therapy to cancer, it is critical to present the data to mass media. 10. To develop the relationship of experimental results and clinical trials, university's cancer clinic must have a long-range plan related to the university laboratories and, at the same time, a regular consortium for this relationship is imperative. 11. After all these efforts, a new type herbal medicine for cancer therapy which is to take care of the long-term administering and safety problem must be developed. Then, it would be expected that anti-tumor herbal acupuncture can improve clinical symptoms and quality of life (QOL) for cancer patients. 12. Finally, oriental medical cancer center must be constructed in NCC (National Cancer Center) or government agency for the development of oriental medical oncology which has international competitive power.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.9
• /
• pp.6099-6111
• /
• 2015

This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing the effects of aquatic exercise and land-based exercise in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. 7 studies (n=449) met selection and exclusion criteria out of 287 potential studies obtained from the literature search via Ovid-Medline, Cochrane Library CENTRAL, CINAHL, RISS and KISS. The overall risk of bias of selected studies using SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) checklist for randomized controlled trials (RCT) was regarded as low. As a result of meta analysis, Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) for pain was -0.26(95% CI -0.49, -0.03, p=0.03, $I^2=14%$), which implies that aquatic exercise groups had significant less pain than land-based exercise groups. On the other hand, there was no significant difference between aquatic exercise groups and land based exercise groups for flexion Range of Motion (ROM) (-0.12, 95% CI -0.51, 0.27, p=0.53, $I^2=0%$), extension ROM (-0.04, 95% CI -0.55, 0.48, p=0.89, $I^2=43%$), physical function (-0.12, 95% CI -0.44, 0.19, p=0.44, $I^2=0%$), Quality of Life (QOL) (-0.15, 95% CI -0.54, 0.24, p=0.46, $I^2=0%$). This study has some limitations due to few RCTs comparing aquatic exercise groups and land-based exercise groups in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, further RCTs should be conducted along with long-term outcomes.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.111-131
• /
• 2002

Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) received a great deal of attention from the Orient and West as a tonic agent, health food and/or alternative herbal therapeutic agent. However, controversy with respect to scientific evidence on pharmacological effects especially, evaluation of clinical efficacy and the methodological approach still remains to be solved. Author reviewed those articles published since 1980 when pharmacodynamic studies on ginseng have intensively started. Special concern was paid on metabolic disorders including diabetes mellitus, circulatory disorders, malignant tumor, sexual dysfunction, and physical and mental performance to give clear information to those who are interested in pharmacological study of ginseng and to promote its clinical use. With respect to chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, malignant disorders, and sexual disorders, it seems that ginseng plays preventive and restorative role rather than therapeutics. Particularly, ginseng plays a significant role in ameliorating subjective symptoms and preventing quality of life from deteriorating by long term exposure of chemical therapeutic agents. Also it seems that the potency of ginseng is mild, therefore it could be more effective when used concomitantly with conventional therapy. Clinical studies on the tonic effect of ginseng on work performance demonstrated that physical and mental dysfunction induced by various stresses are improved by increasing adaptability of physical condition. However, the results obtained from clinical studies cannot be mentioned in the indication, which are variable upon the scientist who performed those studies. In this respect, standardized ginseng product and providing planning of the systematic clinical research in double-blind randomized controlled trials are needed to assess the real efficacy for proposing ginseng indication. Pharmacological mode of action of ginseng has not yet been fully elucidated. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic researches reveal that the role of ginseng not seem to be confined to a given single organ. It has been known that ginseng plays a beneficial role in such general organs as central nervous, endocrine, metabolic, immune systems, which means ginseng improves general physical and mental conditons. Such multivalent effect of ginseng can be attributed to the main active component of ginseng,ginsenosides or non-saponin compounds which are also recently suggested to be another active ingredients. As is generally the similar case with other herbal medicines, effects of ginseng cannot be attributed as a given single compound or group of components. Diversified ingredients play synergistic or antagonistic role each other and act in harmonized manner. A few cases of adverse effect in clinical uses are reported, however, it is not observed when standardized ginseng products are used and recommended dose was administered. Unfavorable interaction with other drugs has also been suggested, which the information on the products and administered dosage are not available. However, efficacy, safety, interaction or contraindication with other medicines has to be more intensively investigated in order to promote clinical application of ginseng. For example, daily recommended doses per day are not agreement as 1-2g in the West and 3-6 g in the Orient. Duration of administration also seems variable according to the purpose. Two to three months are generally recommended to feel the benefit but time- and dose-dependent effects of ginseng still need to be solved from now on. Furthermore, the effect of ginsenosides transformed by the intestinal microflora, and differential effect associated with ginsenosides content and its composition also should be clinically evaluated in the future. In conclusion, the more wide-spread use of ginseng as a herbal medicine or nutraceutical supplement warrants the more rigorous investigations to assess its effacy and safety. In addition, a careful quality control of ginseng preparations should be done to ensure an acceptable standardization of commercial products.