• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.761-771
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• 2009

Objectives : The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between metabolic syndrome and erythrocyte deform ability in acute stroke patients. Methods : Among 88 of the recruited patients, 52 were diagnosed as metabolic syndrome. We assessed their general characteristics, risk factors. We compared the assessed variables between metabolic syndrome and control group. We analyzed the relationship between metabolic syndrome and erythrocyte deform ability. We analyzed relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and erythrocyte deformability. Results : The general characteristics waist and hip circumference, waist/hip ratio were higher in metabolic syndrome group. The metabolic syndrome group was also diagnosed with hypertension, DM, and hyperlipidemia more often than the control group. The blood test metabolic syndrome group showed higher triglycerides, total lipids, fasting blood sugar, and 2 hours postprandial plasma glucose level and lower HDL-cholesterol than the control group. There were more patients diagnosed with Dampness-Phlegm in the metabolic syndrome group. There were more patients showing lower erythrocyte deform ability in the metabolic syndrome group. The plasma homocysteine level was negatively correlated with erythrocyte deform ability. Conclusion : The results reconfirmed that the risk factors are more in metabolic syndrome group. The results indicated that metabolic syndrome lead to a lower erythrocyte deform ability in small vessel disease stroke patients. The Plasma homocysteine level was negatively correlated with erythrocyte deform ability.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.326-338
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• 2020

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that causes disorientation, mood swings, problems with language, and difficulty remembering recent events. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AchEIs) and memantine have been used to slow the course of the disease, but they can neither modify its progression nor prevent disease onset. Previous studies have suggested that Kami-guibi-tang (KGT) could be beneficial for supporting cognitive function in AD patients, but few clinical trials have been published. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effect of KGT in improving cognitive function in AD patients. Methods: The study will be a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, single-center trial conducted using subjects diagnosed with mild AD by neurologists. Study subjects will be randomly assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group will receive KGT granules for 24 weeks, while the control group will receive placebo granules. AchEI administration will be maintained in both groups during the entirety of the study. Subjects will be assessed using the following exams: the Seoul Neuropsychologic Screening Battery (SNSB) for cognitive function; brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for brain metabolite, neurotransmitter, and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements; the Korean version of Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (KQol-AD) for quality of life; the Caregiver-Administered Neuropsychiatric Inventory (CGA-NPI) for neurobehavioral symptoms; blood tests for amyloid and tau proteins and general blood parameters; and electrocardiography (ECG) before and after taking the medication. Discussion: Our findings will provide insight into the feasibility of large-scale trials to consolidate evidence for the efficacy of KGT for dementia treatment. Registration ID in CRIS: KCT0002904 (Clinical Research Information Service of the Republic of Korea).

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.30 no.9
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• pp.821-828
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• 2003

The virtual angioscopy was implemented using MR angiography image of carotid artery Inside of the carotid artery is one of the body region not accessible by real optical endoscopy but can be visualized with virtual endoscopy. In order to determine the navigation path, we segmented the common carotid artery and internal carotid artery from the MR angiography image. We used the coordinates as a navigation path for virtual camera that were calculated from medial axis transformation. We used the perspective projection and marching cube algorithm to render the surface from volumetric MRA image data. A stroke occurs when brain cells die because of decreased blood flow to the brain. The carotid artery is the primary blood vessel that supplies the blood flow to the brain. Therefore, the carotid artery stenosis is the primary reason of stroke. The virtual angioscopy is highly recommended as a diagnosis tool with which the specific Place of stenosis can be identified and the degree of stenosis can be measured qualitatively. Also, the virtual angioscopy can be used as an education and training tool for endoscopist and radiologist.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.84-90
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• 2000

Background and Purpose: Stroke in young adults is relatively uncommon. Only 3.7-14.4% of all strokes occur in patients aged 15-45 years. Stroke in young adults has more various and diverse possible causes than stroke in the elderly. We studied to gain further insight into both pathogenic and etiologic determinants in young adults with stroke. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 230 young patients aged 15-45 years who were admitted to the 2nd internal medicine department of Kyung Hee Oriental Medical Center with a diagnosis of stroke between May 1995 and May 1999. We analysed clinical features and diagnostic tests, such as brain imaging, cerebral angiography, echocardiography, 24 hours holter monitoring and other laboratory tests. Results : 1. Of 230 young patients with stroke aged 15-45 years(176 males(76.5%) and 54 females(23.5%)), 140 patients(60.9%) showed ischemic stroke and 90 patients(39.1 %) showed hemorragic stroke. 2. The most prevalent age group was from 40 to 45 years with 142 patients(61.7%) 3. The most frequent site of 140 ischemic stroke was MCA territory in 93 cases(66.4%) and Multiple, VA territory, PCA territory, ACA territory in order of frequency. 4. The most frequent site of 90 hemorrhagic stroke was basal galglia hemorrhage 57 cases(63.3%) and subcortical 13 cases(14.5%), pons, thalmus, subarachnoid, cerebellum in order of frequency. 5. The causes of hemorrhagic stroke were hypertension 49 cases(54.5%), arteriovenous malformation 7 cases(7.8%), ruptured aneurysm 4 cases(4.5%), angioma 3 cases(3.3%). 6. The risk factors of ischemic stroke were smoking, alcohol drinking, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, obesity, heart disease, history of CVA, diabetes mellitus, in order of frequency. 7. The comparison of risk factors between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke: hypertension was prevalent in hemorrhagic stroke, heart disease and history of CVA were prevalent in ischemic stroke. Conclusions: From the above results, we found that stroke in young adults had various possible causes. Young adults with stroke deserve an extensive but tailored evaluation which include angiography and echocardiography for diagnosis.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1 s.69
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• pp.25-34
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• 2007

Objectives : The present study was carried out to provide basic information necessary for the prevention and efficient treatment of stroke through a comparison between thr patients of the first attack and those of recurrence. Methods : The observation f3r the current study was made on 210 cases of stroke that were confirmed through brain CT-scan. The patients were hospitalized at one of two oriental medical hospitals in Seoul during 2006. Result : The main results were as follows. First, the male-to-female ratio of stroke patients were 1:1.26, with more primary stroke far females and more recurrent stroke for males. Second, in the age distribution, seventies was the top, and sixties, fifties, and forties were next in the order of frequency. A large city was the most frequent residential site and unemployment was the most frequent occupation to have stroke. The incidence of stroke became higher as patients had a taste for spicy and salty food. Third, the most common preceding disease was hypertension. In the relationship of diastolic blood pressure with recurrence, there was significance in the test of independence. Fourth, the most important precipitating conditions at the onset of stroke were rest and steeping. The most common precedent symptoms were verbal disturbance, numbness, and dizziness. In the stroke patients with hemiparesis, male and female patients usually showed It. hemiparesis. Fifth, as a result of brain CT-scan, cerebral hemorrhage was inclined to reduce but cerebral infarction was inclined to increase due to senility and change of lifestyle. Finally, total cholesterol findings disclosed that 22.4% were hypercholesteremia, 18.6 % were hyperlipemia in triglyceride findings, and 19.0% were glycosemia in glucose findings. Conclusions : The above results suggested avoidance of meat and salty fDod and positive control of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in order to prevent stroke.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.68-71
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• 2011

We present a case of Neuro-Behçet's disease with an unpredictable clinical course. A 47-year-old man was admitted to the neurosurgery department of our hospital with a mild headache. Three days after admission, his consciousness suddenly decreased and respiratory distress progressed rapidly. A brain MRI revealed that the previously observed abnormal signal had extended markedly to both the thalamic areas and the entire brain stem, and the surrounding brain parenchyma were compressed by cerebral edema. Based on the patient's symptoms of recurrent oral and genital ulcers, skin lesions, and uveitis, a rheumatologist made a diagnosis of Behçet's disease with CNS involvement. The patient was treated with high-dose methylprednisolone with respiratory assistance in the intensive care unit for 9 days and his neurologic symptoms improved remarkably. Neuro-Behçet's disease must be considered in the differential diagnosis in rapidly deteriorated young neurological patients along with a stroke, low-grade glioma, multiple sclerosis, and occlusive venous disease.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.69-78
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• 2016

Ischemic stroke is a disease that the brain tissues cannot function by reducing blood flow due to thrombosis or embolisms. Due to the nature of the disease, it is most important to identify the status of cerebral vessel and the medical images are necessarily used for its diagnosis. Among many indicators, brain MRI is most widely utilized because experts can effectively obtain the semantic information such as cerebral anatomy aiding the diagnosis with it. However, in case of emergency diseases like ischemic stroke, even though a intelligent system is required for supporting the prompt diagnosis and treatment, the current systems have some difficulties to provide the information of medical images intuitively. In other words, as the current systems have managed the medical images based on the basic meta-data such as image name, ID and so on, they cannot consider semantic information inherent in medical images. Therefore, in this paper, to provide core information like cerebral anatomy contained in brain MRI, we suggest a template-driven medical images mapping method. The key idea of the method is defining the mapping characteristics between anatomic feature and representative images by using template images that can be representative of the whole brain MRI image set and revealing the semantic relations that only medical experts can check between images. With our method, it will be possible to manage the medical images based on semantic.

• Journal of TMJ Balancing Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2018

Recently, clinical efficacies of the intraoral balancing appliance therapy have been reported by several researchers, and it has been found that there are various kinds of diseases that can be effectively applied. However, studies on cerebrovascular disease, one of the main diseases with a high mortality rate, are still poorly reported, and studies of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD)-induced changes in brain function suggest that cerebrovascular disease is more appropriate as an adaptive disorder of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) balancing device. In the developed countries, the importance of research on the structure and function of the brain has been recognized and spurred on the related research. In Korea, the research on brain function and cognitive disorders should have promoted more massively. In order to regain its former reputation in the Korean medicine in the field of cerebrovascular disease, it should be spurred on basic research and clinical case studies. In addition, extensive and in-depth studies including animal studies are needed to establish the basis of underlying mechanisms of the TMJ balancing therapies.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1 s.69
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• pp.224-236
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• 2007

Background : Chunghyul-dan is a combinatorial herbal medicine; previous studies reported it had therapeutic effects for microangiopathy, a major part in the progression of small vessel disease, as well as having anti-hypertensive, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-apoptotic, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory activities. Therefor, we examined the inhibitory effect of Chunghyul-dan on stroke recurrence in patients with small vessel disease. Methods : We prescribed Chunghyul-dan at 600 mg a day to patients with small vessel disease, and monitored stroke recurrence, drug compliances, and adverse effect for 1 year. We then performed follow-up brain MRI to find new vascular lesions after 1 year of Chunghyul-dan medication. For the subjects lost to follow-up, we assessed their prognosis after 1 year by telephone. Results : There were 73 subjects treated with Chunghyul-dan for 1 year; new vascular events were found in 3. Of the 85 subjects lost to follow-up, fifty four could be contacted, and eight of them had stroke recurrence. One year of Chunghyul-dan medication reduced the odds ratio of stroke recurrence by 75% compared to the subjects lost to follow-up and the rate increased to 88%, when adjusted for other relevant risk factors for stroke recurrence. These reductions were much higher than those of aspirin and other kinds of conventional anti-platelets. There was no adverse effect in any of the study subjects. Conclusions : We suggest Chunghyul-dan could be useful for inhibition of stroke recurrence. Further study with a randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm this suggestion.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.168-171
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• 2018

Cannabis or marijuana is the most commonly used recreational drug after alcohol in the world, and usage is generally recognized as having few serious adverse effects. However, usage is restricted in South Korea. The report of ischemic stroke associated with cannabis is rare in literature. We present a case of a 47-year-old female patient with no underlying disease presenting with acute ischemic stroke after smoking cannabis in South Korea. The result for synthetic cannabinoid metabolites (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) screening was positive. Absence of other vascular risk factors and drug screening results suggest a causal role of cannabis in this ischemic stroke case. The patient eventually progressed to brain death. The underlying mechanism, clinical manifestation, and imaging findings of cannabis-related stroke will be reviewed.