• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2008

Objectives : To investigate the therapeutic effects of SBVP in the treatment of patients with cancer-related pain. Design : A prospective randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of SBVP. Setting : The study was conducted at the East West Cancer Center of Daejeon University Dunsan Oriental Hospital from March 1, 2007 to June 20, 2007. Patients : 11 patients diagnosed with cancer-related pain of over 3rd degree on the Numeric Rating Scale(NRS)(0, no pain at all, 10, worst pain imaginable) were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of SBVP. They were randomized into Groups A and B(SBVP and control group, respectively) using the table of random sampling numbers and never informed of their affiliation by the coordinator. 5 of 6 patients in Group A and 4 of 5 patients in Group B completed the clinical trial. Intervention : SBVP(1ml/day) for group A and Normal Saline Placebo(1ml/day) for group B was injected into the abdomen acupoint, Zhong Wan(CV 12). The treatment was administered daily for five days. Outcome Measures : Degree of cancer-related pain was measured using the Numeric Rating Scale(NRS) before and after each treatment for "Pain right now" and "Average pain in last 24 hours". Statistical Analysis : Analysis regarding variations in NRS was carried out by applying t-tests(independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test) and Wilcoxon signed rank test with level of significance at 5%. Results : Differences in NRS of "Pain right now" for the two groups were statistically significant. The mean improvement point of SBVP was significantly higher than the control group($2.48^{\circ}{\pm}1.52$ vs $0.97^{\circ}{\pm}1.88$, p<0.05). Differences in average pain score before and after treatment in SBVP group were also significant($5.13^{\circ}{\pm}1.77$ vs $2.65^{\circ}{\pm}0.67$, p<0.05) compared with control group. The two groups showed no significant differences for long term effects in "Average pain in last 24 hours." Conclusion : Although further study will be needed on the large scale, SBVP shows potential as an effective treatment for immediate relief of cancer-related pain.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.190-194
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• 2017

A 70-year-old Korean female with diplopia and left ptosis due to oculomotor nerve palsy presented to the hospital. The patient was treated with electroacupuncture, sweet bee venom pharmacopuncture, and moxibustion. She also received acupuncture and herbal medicines Siryeng-tang and Boikyangwi-tang. The change in length (mm) from the medial canthus to the lateral iris was measured to evaluate limitation of eye movement, and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for diplopia. Limitation of eye movement and diplopia was used to determine diplopia. The limitation of eye movement and diplopia were improved after the administration of the Korean medicines. Korean medicine may be effective in treating limitation of eye movement and diplopia due to oculomotor nerve palsy.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.83-96
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• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the trends of acupuncture treatment on lateral epicondylitis. Methods : We investigated the recent clinical studies of acupuncture treatment for lateral epicondylitis via searching PubMed from 2007.1.1. to 2016.1.1. This study examined published years, the authors, journals, countries, types of study and classified articles by techniques of acupuncture. Results : 20 theses out of 38 were included, excluding papers duplicated or whose texts are not identified or not satisfying both acupuncture and lateral epicondylitis simultaneously. The theses were constantly published every year. Analyzed by journal, the most published journal was Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. The studies of China had the greatest number of the searched theses. The types of study were reviews, case series, and study protocol. The acupuncture technique used were Hwachim(burning acupuncture therapy), sweet bee venom pharmacopuncture, percutaneous needle electrolysis, electroacupuncture, small needle-knife, combination with local points and Tianzong(SI11), and anti-ashi-point. Conclusions : In order to develop acupuncture treatment of lateral epicondylitis, clinical studies on high level with objective evaluation scale are needed.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Objectives: Condurango is widely used in various systems of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) against oesophageal and stomach ailments including certain types of cancer. However, until now no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy and dose with proper experimental support. Therefore, we examined if ethanolic extract of Condurango could ameliorate benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-induced lung cancer in rats, in vivo to validate its use as traditional medicine. Methods: Fifteen male and 15 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests. Results: A histological study revealed gradual progress in lung tissue-repair activity in Condurango-fed cancer-bearing rats, showing gradual tissue recovery after three months of drug administration. Condurango has the capacity to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may contribute to a reduction in anti-oxidative activity and to an induction of oxidative stress-mediated cancer cell-death. Condurango-activated pro-apoptotic genes (Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, p53, cytochrome-c, apaf-1, ICAD and PARP) and down-regulated antiapoptotic-Bcl-2 expression were noted both at mRNA and protein levels. Studies on caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage by western blot analysis revealed that Condurango induced apoptosis through a caspase-3-dependent pathway. Conclusion: The anticancer efficacy of an ethanolic extract of Condurango for treating BaP-induced lung cancer in rats lends support for its use in various traditional systems of medicine.