• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.43-50
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a school bullying prevention camp for adolescent perpetrators of school violence. Methods: A total of 95 adolescents (boys=73, girls=22) were included in this study. The changes after the program were evaluated using several self-rating scales for the assessment of the degree of depression, loneliness, impulsivity, self-esteem, and interpersonal reactivity compared with the baseline scales. Results: The school bullying prevention camp significantly reduced the degree of depression severity (z=-5.874, p<0.001) and impulsivity scale (z=-3.861, p<0.001), while increasing self-esteem (z=-2.091, p=0.037). The degree of depression severity (z=-4.635, p<0.001), loneliness (z=-2.168, p=0.030), and impulsivity (z=-2.987, p=0.003) significantly reduced, whereas self-esteem significantly increased (z=-2.221, p=0.026) for male students who had no history of child abuse. However, there were no significant changes after the program for the degree of depression, loneliness, impulsivity, self-esteem, and interpersonal reactivity among female students with a history of child abuse. Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that the development of diverse standardized guidance programs is necessary for teenagers with different characteristics and backgrounds. Such programs are expected to be more effective in preventing school violence.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.308-318
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• 2023

To determine the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating restless legs syndrome (RLS), we conducted a literature review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that utilized acupuncture as an intervention for patients diagnosed with RLS. Relevant clinical studies (n = 158) from seven databases (the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Embase, CNKI, KISS, RISS, and OASIS) were included based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and analyzed. Moreover, 6 RCTs were selected for review. In all six studies, it was indicated people who underwent acupuncture treatment showed significant improvements in their overall health. An increase in the treatment efficacy rate, sleep quality, and quality of life indicators after the acupuncture treatment was confirmed. The severity of pain as assessed using the visual analog scale (VAS) scores and International RLS Study Group Rating Scale (IRLSRS) scores and the severity of RLS symptoms were significantly reduced. Any significant side effects were not reported. Acupuncture is suggested as an effective and safe treatment method for RLS. However, further large-scale RCT studies are needed to confirm our findings.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.189-195
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• 2005

Objects:Some studies have suggested that brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF), one of the most important neurotrophins, is involved in pathophysiology of depression and suicide. This study was performed to determine whether there is an abnormality in plasma BDNF concentration in suicidal attempters. Methods:The subjects were 71 suicidal attempters who visited emergency rooms in multi-medical centers. All subjects had been interviewed by using Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV(SCID), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale(HDRS), Young Mania Rating Scale(YMRS), and Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS). The severity of the suicidal behavior was measured by Lethality of Suicide Attempt Rating Scale(LSARS) and Risk-Rescue Rating(RRR) system. Seventy-one age, sex, and diagnosis matched non-suicidal psychiatric patients who were consecutively admitted to a psychiatric ward during the same period recruited as psychiatric controls. They were drug-naive or drug-free at least more than 2 months. In addition, 80 healthy controls were randomly selected as normal controls. Plasma BDNF level was measured by the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) methods. Results:In overall F-test, differences of the plasma BDNF levels among the groups were statistically significant(F=20.226, p<0.001). In the multiple comparisons(Scheffe), while mean levels of plasma BDNF between normal controls and non-suicidal psychiatric patients were similar(p=0.984), the BDNF levels of suicidal attempters were lower than those of other two groups(p<0.001). LSARS and RRR did not reveal any significant correlations with BDNF levels in suicidal attempters. Conclusion:These results suggest that reduction of plasma BDNF level is related to suicidal behavior and BDNF level may be a biological marker of suicidal behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.147-155
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• 2008

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of osmotic release oral system-methylphenidate (OROS-MPH) in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Methods: This was an 8-week open label study of OROS-MPH monotherapy. The subjects were 113 children with ADHD aged 6-12 years. Outcome measures were the Korean version of the parent ADHD Rating Scale (K-ARS), Korean version of the Conners Parent Rating Scale (K-CPRS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity and Clinical Global Impression-Improvement. Side effects were monitored using Barkley's Side Effect Rating Scale. We compared the change-over-time in the mean scores of the outcome measure according to the comorbidity of disruptive behavior disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, and tic disorder. Results: The mean K-ARS and K-CPRS scores were significantly decreased, regardless of the comorbidity. The mean doses of OROS-MPH and dropout rate did not differ significantly according to comorbidity. The OROS-MPH was well tolerated, regardless of the comorbidity. However, children with tic disorder reported a higher frequency of tics or nervous movements between the $2^{nd}\;and\;8^{th}$ week than those without tic disorder. Conclusion: The OROS-MPH is effective for decreasing the symptoms of ADHD, and it is well tolerated, even by patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2011

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms in stroke patients and to compare characteristics of different rating scales - Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression (HAD.D)- with regard to diagnosis and severity assessment for post-stroke depression. Methods: Participants included 44 stroke patients who could communicate. At admission, all study participants received a semi-structured interview using the HDRS and a self-completed questionnaire using the BDI and the HAD-D. Pearson's correlation method was used to examine associations among the three depression scales. The BDI and HAD-D were compared based on HDRS criteria, and the sensitivity and specificity using cut-off values were analyzed. Results: The HDRS showed that 52.30% of stroke patients had depressive symptoms on the BDI and HAD-D it was 59.10%. The HDRS correlated significantly with the BDI (r=0.81, p<0.01) and HAD-D (r=0.55, p<0.01). The BDI correlated significantly with HADS (r=0.50, p<0.01). After calculating the area under the ROC curve to decide on HDRS criteria, the BDI (AUC=0.91, 95% CI: 0.83.0.99) showed a significantly larger area compared to the HAD.D (AUC=0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.94). The cut-off value of the BDI was 12.50 points with a sensitivity of 81.00% and a specificity of 76.20%. Conclusion: These findings show that the BDI is a useful screening test for depression that most closely predicts the HRDS score.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.73-77
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• 2021

Objective : The Hoarding Rating Scale-Self-Report (HRS-SR) is a five-item scale that simply assesses the hoarding symptoms. We evaluated the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Korean version of the HRS-SR (HRS-SR-K). Methods : A total of 144 individuals completed the self-administered questionnaires including HRS-SR-K, Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised-Korean version (OCI-R-K), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Psychometric properties of the HRS-SR-K were analyzed. Results : The Cronbach's α value for internal consistency of the HRS-SR-K was excellent (Cronbach's α=0.84). The construct validity was analyzed on the basis of principal component analysis and one-factor structure of the original scale was maintained. The HRS-SR-K total score and each item scores were more strongly correlated with the hoarding subscale score in OCI-R-K (convergent validity, r=0.71, p<0.01) than the corresponding scores of nonspecific depression or anxiety measures (discriminant validity). Conclusion : The HRS-SR-K is a simple and reliable self-report scale for examining the severity of hoarding symptoms.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare characteristics of two groups (pruritus and non pruritus group), in hemodialysis patients. Method: The degree of ichting in 130 patients treated at the D Medical Center Hemodialysis Unit was examined by itching severity & sites tool, itching observation tool and itching NRS tool. The data were collected from October 1 to 12, 2007 and analyzed by student t-test and Mann-Whitney test. Result: Sixty three patients (48.3%) of hemodialysis patients had pruritus. The severity and number rating scale score of pruritus in one day before hemodialysis was higher than during and after hemodialysis. The frequency of dialysis and usage of anti-histamine drug were significantly lower in nonpruritis group than in pruritus group (F=5.209, p=.022, F=6.549, p=.010). The other general characteristics, hemodialysis-related characteristics and laboratory data were not significantly different between the two groups. The depression score was significantly higher in pruritus than in nonpruritus group (t=-2.505, p=.017). But there were no significant differences in hostility and anxiety between the two groups. Conclusion: Residual renal function and depression were associated with pruritus in hemodialysis patients. Efforts for preservation of residual renal function and emotional support may decreased severity and frequency of pruritus in hemodialysis patients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.50-58
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• 2014

Objectives : The aim of this study was to analyze relationship between post-stroke depression (PSD) and cold, heat, deficiency and excess patterns. Methods : Twenty-eight PSD patients were recruited from STROKE center and measured with questionnaires for cold, heat, deficiency and excess patternvalues and saliva for cortisol awakening response (CAR). Saliva samples were collected immediately, 15, 30 and 45 min after awakening. In addition, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) were conducted for PSD severity. We conducted correlation analysis to find the relationship between cold, heat, deficiency and excess patterns and CAR or BDI and HDRS. Results : Deficiency and excess patterns werepositively correlated with area under the curve with respect to the increase (AUCi), but not with area under the curve with respect to the global (AUCg), in CAR. Furthermore, it was negatively correlated with BDI and HDRS, while cold and heat patterns were not correlated with CAR, BDI and HDRS. Conclusions : In terms of deficiency and excess patterns, the higher the PSD severity, the higher the deficiency and the lower the PSD severity, the higher the excess. However, there was not a significant relationship between PSD and cold and heat patterns.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.90-95
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• 2013

Botulinum toxin, a neurotoxin, is known to be an inhibitor of cholinergic neuromuscular transmission. Recently, it was reported that the administration of botulinum toxin is effective for the treatment of focal neurological motor disorders such as cervical dystonia, blepharospasm, hemifacial spasm, spasmodic dysphonia, and writer's cramp. Several case studies reported that the botulinum toxin was administered for the treatment of motor tic or vocal tic. It was found that this toxin reduces the frequency and severity of the tic as well as the premonitory urge and symptoms. In our case study, a noticeable decrease of motor tic symptom was observed after an intramuscular injection of 300mg of botulinum toxin in an 18-year-old patient with Tourette's disorder who showed only a little improvement of motor tic and vocal tic symptoms after treatment with antipsychotic drugs for several years. This case is reported in our study and literature survey was undertaken for reviewing similar cases. In our study, an 18-year-old boy diagnosed with Tourette's disorder based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition presented with the following scores : the Clinical Global Impression scale, Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (motor/vocal/severity), Premonitory Urge Score, Korean Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Rating scale, and Kovac Depression scale which were performed prior to the treatment were 5, 21/5/50, 100, 17, and 18 points, respectively. Two weeks after the injection of botulinum toxin, the scores were 4, 17/5/40, 50, 16, and 19 points, respectively. Eight weeks after the injection of botulinum toxin, they had become 3, 15/5/30, 25, 16, and 20 points, respectively, which clearly indicates a noticeable decrease of motor tic symptom.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.14-20
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• 2009

Objective : The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between plasma serotonin concentration and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in chronic PTSD patients who have been taking medication. Methods : Plasma serotonin level of 14 PTSD patients and a control group of 28 Vietnam War veterans was measured by HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography). The Combat Exposure Scale (CES), Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (M-PTSD), Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), and Hamiltion Anxiety Scale (HAS) were used to evaluate PTSD symptom severity. Results : Serotonin level was significantly higher in the PTSD group than in the control group (p=0.036, p=0.006, respectively). M-PTSD (p<0.001), CAPS (p<0.001), HRSD (p<0.001), and HAS (p<0.001) scale scores were significantly higher in the PTSD group than in the control group; however, the CES score failed to show a significant improvement (p=0.964). There were no significant differences between plasma serotonin and PTSD symptoms. Conclusion : In chronic PTSD patients who have been taking medications, we can not predict treatment effect and symptom severity by measuring only plasma serotonin levels. PTSD is a complicated disorder which may likely be related to a variety of neurotransmitter systems. Therefore, further research which investigate relationships with norepinephrine, dopamine, and other neurotransmitters as well as serotonin is needed to improve the treatment of PTSD.