• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.149-157
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• 2021

This study aims to report the effectiveness of complex Korean medicine (KM) therapy on a somatic symptom disorder (SSD) patient. A 58-year-old woman had severe somatic pain for more than six months and showed accompanying anxiety and depression. KM doctors administered complex KM therapy to control her pain and psychological conditions. Her pain was rated using the numerical rating scale and her anxiety and depression symptoms with beck anxiety inventory and beck depression inventory. The somatic symptoms as well as the anxiety and depression significantly improved after KM treatment. This study suggests that complex KM therapy for SSD may be effective to manage both somatic and psychological symptoms.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.172-180
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• 2000

Objectives : We investigated the characteristics of perceived stress response and relationship between some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms(esp., dyspepsia) and subscales of perceived stress response inventory(PSRI) in patients with upper gastointestinal disorder when they perceived stress. Methods : 84 patients with upper gastrointestinal disorder(gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer etc.) and 94 normal controls completed the PSRI developed by Korean psychiatrists. The patient group performed the questionnaire including some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms. Results : Internal consistency was statistically significant in all subscales of PSRI. The patient group was significantly higher at total score of PSRI, general somatic symptom subscale score, specific somatic symptom score than control group. As the result of stepwise regression analysis for relationship between some variables of gastrointestinal symptoms ans subscales of PSRI, specific somatic symptom subsclae closely related with illness duration, past illness history and severity of symptom, and the lowered cognitive function & general negative thinking subscale related with the existence of emotional distress. Conclusion : Patients with upper gastrointestinal disorder showed stronger perceived stress response than control group and they experiences somatic symptoms related to autonomic nervous system and/or gastrointestinal symtoms rather than emotional, cognitive, behavioral symtoms when they perceived stress. They also responded to stress as they expeirenced specific somatic symtom when they had long illness duration, past illness history, and high severity of symptom and the existence of emotional distress could develop lowered congnitive function and general negative thinking.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.100-107
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• 2017

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate strategies used to cope with stress and the cognitive characteristics of somatic symptom perception in patients with generalized anxiety disorder(GAD). Methods : A total of 55 patients meeting DSM-5 criteria for GAD and 55 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated subjects using The Way of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder for 7 Item (GAD-7). We analyzed data using an independent t-test and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results : In terms of SCQ, GAD patients presented significantly lower scores on seeking social support and higher scores on wishful thinking than normal controls. GAD patients had significantly greater amplification of physical sensation in SSAS and higher scores in physical, psychological interpretation subsets of SIQ than normal controls. GAD-7 scores were positively correlated with physical interpretation scores on SIQ. Conclusion : Results reveal that patients with GAD have insufficient coping strategies for stress, greater amplification of body sensations, and tendency towards a physical, psychological interpretation of somatic symptoms.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.116-122
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• 2007

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the strategies used to cope with stress and the cognitive characteristics of somatic symptom perception in patients with panic disorder. Methods : A total of 101 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria for panic disorder and 60 normal controls were recruited for participation in this study. We evaluated the subjects using The Way of Stress Coping Questionnaire (SCQ), Somato-Sensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), Symptom Interpretation Questionnaire (SIQ), and the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS). We analyzed the data using an independent t-test and Pearson correlation analysis (p<0.05). Results : The patients who used emotionally focused coping strategies scored significantly lower on the SCQ. The patients with panic disorder showed greater amplification of body sensations in the SSAS, a significantly higher score on the physical interpretation subset of the SIQ, and a lower score on the environmental interpretation subset of the SIQ than the normal controls. The PDSS scores were positively correlated with the SSAS score and physical interpretation score on the SIQ. Conclusion : These results show that patients with panic disorder have poor emotionally focused strategies for coping with stress, greater amplification of body sensations, and a tendency towards a physical interpretation of somatic symptoms.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.10
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• pp.881-888
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• 2018

During the cortical development, cells in the brain acquire somatic mutations that can be implicated in various neurodevelopmental disorders. There is increasing evidence that brain somatic mutations lead to sporadic form of epileptic disorders with previously unknown etiology. In particular, malformation of cortical developments (MCD), ganglioglioma (GG) associated with intractable epilepsy and non-lesional focal epilepsy (NLFE) are known to be attributable to brain somatic mutations in mTOR pathway genes and others. In order to identify such somatic mutations presenting as low-level in epileptic brain tissues, the mutated cells should be enriched and sequenced with high-depth coverage. Nevertheless, there are a lot of technical limitations to accurately detect low-level of somatic mutations. Also, it is important to validate whether identified somatic mutations are truly causative for epileptic seizures or not. Furthermore, it will be necessary to understand the molecular mechanism of how brain somatic mutations disturb neuronal circuitry since epilepsy is a typical example of neural network disorder. In this review, we overview current genetic techniques and experimental tools in neuroscience that can address the existence and significance of brain somatic mutations in epileptic disorders as well as their effect on neuronal circuitry.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.217-230
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• 2017

Objectives: This study was conducted to review studies on somatization disorder in traditional Chinese medicine. Methods: We reviewed studies in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) to 2017. Keywords were 軀體化障碍, Somatization disorder, somatic symptom disorder. We included Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), and excluded non-Randomized Controlled Trial (nRCT), non-related somatization disorder or traditional Chinese medicine, non-clinical trials, dissertations for degrees. Jadad scale and Cochrane Library's Risk of Bias (RoB) were used for assessment of the quality of studies. Results: Twelve studies were selected. The Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders-3 (CCMD-3) was most frequently used as diagnostic criteria for somatization disorder. As for outcome measurement, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) was used most commonly. Meta-analysis of 10 studies revealed effective rate of Chinese Herbal Medicine groups (CHM) was significantly higher than Western Medicine groups (WM) (RR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.27, p=0.02, $I^2=40%$). There was no significant difference in effective rate of CHM+WM and WM (RR: 1.12, 95% CI: 0.84 to 1.49, p=0.46, $I^2=83%$). And also, effective rate of Acupuncture group (Acu) revealed no significant difference compared to that of WM (RR: 1.17, 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.44, p=0.13, $I^2=84%$). For HAMD, there was significant difference in CHM vs, WM group and Acu vs. WM group. Quality of selected 12 RCTs was low. Conclusions: Therapies practiced in traditional Chinese medicine may be effective options for somatization disorder. treatment. For further clinical studies in Korean medicine, this study could be groundwork for development of diagnosis and treatment on somatization disorder.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.261-271
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• 2009

Objectives : This study was performed to report the effect of music-listening intervention and relaxation for somatoform disorder. Methods : A 51 year-old female patient suffered from several somatic symptoms without identifiable physical cause. We saw her symptoms were related to her psychological factors. We applied music-listening intervention and relaxation besides Korean traditional medical treatment to make her be aware of her psychological condition such as inner conflict and know symptoms are related to her psychological condition. Results : After the music-listening intervention and relaxation, the patient revealed her unrecognized hidden feelings and emotions and got some insights about herself. Then somatic symptoms such as dysesthesia and urinary frequency and anxiety were decreased considerably. Conclusions : These results suggest that the music-listening intervention and relaxation can be effective on improvement of soma to form disorder.

• Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the discriminant validity and the clinical cut off scores of the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 (CBCL 1.5-5) in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and non-ASD. Methods: In total, 104 ASD and 441 non-ASD infants were included in the study. T-test, discriminant analysis, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, and odds ratio analysis were performed on the data. Results: The discriminant validity was confirmed by mean differences and discriminant analysis on the subscales of Emotionally reactive, Somatic complaints, Withdrawn, Sleep problems, Attention problems, Aggressive behavior, Internalizing problems, Externalizing problems, and Total problems, along with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-oriented scales between the two groups. ROC analysis showed that the following subscales significantly separated ASD from normal infants: Emotionally reactive, Somatic complaints, Withdrawn, Sleep problems, Attention problems, Aggressive behavior, Internalizing problems, Externalizing problems, Total problems, and DSM pervasive developmental problems. Moreover, the clinical cut off score criteria adopted in the Korean-CBCL 1.5-5 were shown to be valid for the subscales Withdrawn, Internalizing problems, Externalizing problems, Total problems, and DSM pervasive developmental problems. Conclusion: The subscales of Withdrawn, Internalizing problems, Externalizing problems, Total problems, and DSM pervasive developmental problems significantly discriminated infants with ASD.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.121-133
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• 2020

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the meanings and characteristic of the stagnation syndrome, a distinctive clinical syndrome in traditional Korean medicine (KM). Methods: The major ancient Oriental medicine literature, including Huangdi neijing (黃帝內經), Danxixinfa (丹溪心法), and Jingyuequanshu (景岳全書) were examined to identify the semantic change of the stagnation syndrome (鬱證). Also, recently published articles about the stagnation syndrome were searched from databases including MEDLINE, CENTRAL, KMBASE, KISS, NDSL, and OASIS. Results: The term of stagnation was originally used to describe not flowing and clogged situations, and the stagnation syndrome appeared as an independent syndrome in Danxixinfa. As the etiology became more sophisticated over time, emotional factors were mentioned for one of the causes of the stagnation syndrome. However, the major causes and symptoms of the stagnation syndrome were somatic factors. Various articles about stagnation were searched, and most of them used "stagnation" as the KM syndrome subtype of disease, some of them referred to the "stagnation syndrome" as an independent syndrome. The recently defined stagnation syndrome commonly shows distinctive symptoms of chest stuffiness, and an obstructing sensation in the throat. Conclusions: The semantic changes and characteristics of the stagnation syndrome were examined through searching ancient and modern literature. The meaning of the stagnation syndrome has evolved over time, and at its center, there are somatic and mental symptoms characterized by stagnation, distinguished from the depressive disorder.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.43-53
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• 2016

Objectives : Somatic symptoms after the exposure of psychological trauma frequently developed. However, the somatic symptoms are not covered under the diagnostic criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) in detail, although they are often associated with social and occupational functioning and patient-doctor relationships. The aim of this article is to highlight the potential mechanisms, the common manifestations, and the treatment of the somatic symptoms. Methods : This article studied the somatic symptoms searched using academic search engines like PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, KoreaMed and KISS from the earliest available date of indexing to March 31, 2016. Results : The mechanism of somatic symptoms after the exposure was described as psychological and physiological aspects. Psychological mechanism consisted of psychodynamic theory, cognitive behavioral theory, and others. Physiological mechanism involved changes in neuroendocrine and immune system, autonomic nervous system and central nervous system. Somatization associated with psychological trauma manifested various health conditions on head and neck, chest, abdominal, musculoskeletal, and dermatological and immune system. Few studies described the standardization of treatment for the somatic symptoms. Conclusions : Clinicians and disaster behavioral health providers should think of the accompanying somatic symptoms during intervention of psychological trauma and PTSD. Further studies are needed on the somatic symptoms seen in psychological trauma and PTSD.