• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.171-175
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• 2019

Objectives: TA is a polyherbal extract comprising seven herbs, typically used for the pharmacopuncture treatment of patients with traffic accident- related injuries and musculoskeletal diseases. This animal study was conducted to evaluate the safety of the TA extract, using a single-dose toxicity test. Methods: The dose range and sampling time were first established. Six- week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were administered 1.0 mL of TA or normal saline (control), intramuscularly, for the single-dose toxicity test. The general condition, mortality, and histology of all rats were observed for 2 weeks. Results: No abnormal symptoms or deaths were observed in any group. The body weights of the rats in the TA and control groups were similar. No significant differences in histopathology were observed between the groups. Conclusion : Our study indicates that 1.0 mL of TA extract may be safely administered for pharmacopuncture for treatment of patients in traditional medicine clinics.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.154-161
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• 2024

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the genotoxicity of a no-pain pharmacopuncture (NPP) extract developed in 2022 using a bacterial reverse mutation assay, aiming to further substantiate the safety profile of NPP. Methods: The genotoxicity evaluation involved a bacterial reverse mutation assay to assess the mutagenic potential of NPP extracts with and without metabolic activation. Histidine-requiring Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537) and tryptophan-requiring Escherichia coli strains (WP2uvrA) were used in the assay. Results: The NPP extract did not induce a revertant colony count exceeding two times that of the negative control at any dose level in any of the tested strains, both with and without metabolic activation. Additionally, no growth inhibition or precipitation was observed in the presence of NPP. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the NPP extract exhibited no mutagenic potential in the in vitro genotoxicity tests conducted.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.184-191
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• 2019

Objectives: Recently several Korean medical doctors have begun practicing applied kinesiology (AK). Although the efficacy of combining traditional acupuncture (TA) and pharmacopuncture (PP) on lumbar diseases such as lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and lumbar herniation of intervertebral disk (LHID) has been examined, the possible benefits of combining TA, PP and AK approaches have not been examined. Therefore the aim of this study was to develop effective treatment for lumbar disorders by combining TA, PP, and AK treatments. Methods: Twenty-four patients hospitalized at Samse Korean Traditional Medicine Hospital between March and September 2018 with L5 or S1 root radiculopathy associated with LSS and LHID were included in this study. They were treated for 10 days with TA, PP and AK approaches that included category block, manipulation and strain/counterstrain treatments. The primary outcomes were mainly assessed using Japanese Orthopedic Association lumbar scores (JOALS). JOALS were determined before the start of treatment as well as five and 10 days after treatment started. Results: The treatments improved the lumbar condition of the patients based on JOA pain score. Conclusion: The combined TA, PP and AK treatments were effective in treating spinal diseases of resident patients. Prospective, controlled, and relevant protocols using multimodal strategies to define the role of TA, PP and AK are needed.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.74-80
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• 2019

Objectives : TA, a polyherbal extract, typically is used for pharmacopuncture therapy on patients with traffic accident-related injuries and musculoskeletal diseases. This study was performed to evaluate the safety of the TA extract, using a micronucleus test. Methods : The dose range and sampling time were first established. An in vivo micronucleus test was then performed to determine the induction of micronuclei in mouse bone marrow cells after a single intramuscular administration of TA to 7-week-old ICR mice (0.2 ml/animal, at 24 hours post-dosing). Results : The incidence of micro-nucleated polychromatic erythrocytes (PCEs) in PCEs in the TA group was similar to that in the negative-control group, while that in the positive-control group was significantly greater. The positive- and negative-control groups did not differ in the ratio of PCEs to total erythrocytes. Conclusions : Our toxicity study indicates that the TA extract does not induce micronucleus formation in mouse bone marrow cells.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.113-119
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• 2022

SU-Eohyeol pharmacopuncture(SUEP) was developed by adding Cervi Pantotrichum Cornu to Jungsongouhyul pharmacopuncture. This genotoxicity evaluation was performed to evaluate the mutagenic potential of the test substance SUEP agent using histidine, which requires strains of Salmonella typhimurium (TA98, TA100, TA1535, TA1537), and tryptophan, which requires Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA) strain in the presence and absence of metabolic activation. According to the results of the dose range finding study conducted prior to the main study, the dose levels of the test substance in the main study were determined as 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25%, and positive and negative controls were established. As a result of the main study, the mean number of revertant colonies compared to negative controls was less than 2-fold at all dose levels of SUEP in all strains with and without metabolic activation. In the positive control group, the mean number of revertant colonies for each strain was markedly increased by more than two times compared to the negative control group. Based on the result of this study, the test substance, SUEP did not show any indication of mutagenic potential under the conditions of this study.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.166-170
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• 2019

Objectives: Attentional and memory functions are important aspects of neural plasticity that, theoretically, should be amenable to pharmacopuncture treatments. A previous study from our laboratory suggested that quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) measurements of theta/beta ratio (TBR), an index of attentional control, may be indicative of academic performance in a first-semester medical school course. The present study expands our prior report by extracting and analyzing data on frontal theta and beta asymmetries. We test the hypothesis that the amount of frontal theta and beta asymmetries (fTA, fBA), are correlated with TBR and academic performance, thereby providing novel targets for pharmacopuncture treatments to improve cognitive performance. Methods: Ten healthy male volunteers were subjected to 5-10 min of qEEG measurements under eyes-closed conditions. The qEEG measurements were performed 3 days before each of first two block examinations in anatomy-physiology, separated by five weeks. Amplitudes of the theta and beta waveforms, expressed in ${\mu}V$, were used to compute TBR, fTA and fBA. Significance of changes in theta and beta EEG wave amplitude was assessed by ANOVA with post-hoc t-testing. Correlations between TBR, fTA, fBA and the raw examination scores were evaluated by Pearson's product-moment coefficients and linear regression analysis. Results: fTA and fBA were found to be negatively correlated with TBR (P<0.03, P<0.05, respectively) and were positively correlated with the second examination score (P<0.03, P=0.1, respectively). Conclusion: Smaller fTA and fBA were associated with lower academic performance in the second of two first-semester medical school anatomy-physiology block examination. Future studies should determine whether these qEEG metrics are useful for monitoring changes associated with the brain's cognitive adaptations to academic challenges, for predicting academic performance and for targeting phamacopuncture treatments to improve cognitive performance.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.10 no.2 s.23
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• pp.133-137
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• 2007

Objectives : This study was conducted to classify the TA(traffic accident) patients who admissed in Oriental Medical Hospital. Methods : We divided TA patients who admissed in Oriental Medical Hospital by age, sex, visited period after onset, impact region, disease, and chief complaint according to a patient classification table, and analyzed their characteristics. Results and Conclusion : The patients who visited within 1 week after TA numbered most(65.4%) in classification by period. Most impact region was neck(80%). Most of TA patients were suffered and treated by cervical(80%) and lumbar(56.9%) sprain.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.122-137
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• 2021

Objectives: In South Korea, traffic accident victims can be treated under automobile insurance coverage. Korean medicine (KM) clinics have reported the largest number of automobile insurance fee claims among medical institutions. This study investigated the status of the KM automobile insurance system in a single KM clinic. Methods: We retrospectively surveyed the medical charts of 342 traffic accident patients treated at the Jisung KM clinic between January 2009 and June 2017. Results: Most of the patients were men and in their 30s. The most common method of locating the clinic was an internet search. The most common traffic accident type was collision between vehicles (83.63%), with 70.76% of patients visiting during the most acute phase. The major disease codes included S434, M4836, F072, S0600, and S3350. The most frequent treatment period was within 1 month of the accident, and most patients received 10 or fewer treatments. The mean treatment duration and number of treatments were 37.68 ± 45.11 days and 11.68 ± 10.63 treatments, respectively. The initial pain numerical rating scale (NRS), 7.32 ± 0.96, decreased to 3.57 ± 1.40 at the end of treatment, with a symptom improvement score of 1.87 ± 0.60. Regarding sex, age, disease duration, location at the time of the accident, presence of additional and psychological symptoms, and chuna, there were statistically significant differences in treatment duration and number of treatments. A higher number of treatments and the longer treatment duration was associated with a higher initial NRS, lower post-treatment NRS, and better improvement score. Since the introduction of traffic accident (TA) pharmacopuncture, the rate of use of a single type of pharmacopuncture increased; however, no significant differences in treatment duration and number, NRS before and after treatment, and improvement score were observed between treatment groups before and after TA pharmacopuncture. No adverse reactions were observed for any treatment. Conclusion: This study confirmed the previous findings of a high treatment effect of KM under automobile insurance. We also observed significant correlations based on a detailed medical status, which may explain the increasing use of KM in the automobile insurance system. Additional multi-center studies in different regions are needed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.55-65
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• 2020

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the toxicity of CP pharmacopunture using bacterial reverse mutation test. Methods: To determine the mutagenic potential of CP pharmacopunture, histidine requiring Salmonella typhimurium (TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537) and tryptophan requiring Escherichia coli (WP2uvrA, pKM101) strains were used. The negative (normal saline solution) and positive (Sodium azide, 2-Nitrofluorene, 2-Aminoanthracene, 9-Aminoacridine, and 4-Nitroquinoline N-oxide) control groups were used. To determine the dose levels of the main study, a dose range-finding study was conducted. Results: As a results of the dose range-finding study, the growth inhibition by CP pharmacopunture was not evident at any dose levels in the absence and presence of metabolic activation. As a results of the main study, the mean number of revertant colonies was less than twice when compared to the negative control values at all dose levels of the CP pharmacopuncture in the presence and absence of metabolic activation, showing no dose-related increase. In the positive control group, the number of revertant colonies was markedly increased by more than twice when compared to the negative control group. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, CP pharmacopunture did not show any signs of mutagenic potential.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.181-190
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• 2019

In South Korea, traffic accident patients can be treated under automobile insurance coverage. This study investigated the status of Korean medicine (KM) Automobile insurance system and usage status of main pharmacopuncture in KM clinic which reported that the largest number of automobile insurance fee claims among medical institutions. We surveyed 258 traffic accident patients who were treated at Namsangcheon KM clinic from 2014 to 2018 according to medical chart. The majority of the patients were male and thirties. In traffic accident situation, the highest distribution was car to car crash with 85.66% and 66.67% of the patients visited in the most acute phase. The most frequent treatment period was within 4 weeks and the number of treatments was 10 or less with 72.87%. In total results of treatment, the distribution was exellent with 10.08%, good with 46.90%, fair with 27.13% and poor with 15.89%, and the effective rate was 84.11%. The most frequent treatment period was within 4 weeks with 64.73% and the number of treatments was 10 or less with 72.87%. Of the 242 patients who received pharmacopunture, 91.5% were treated with HO, which was named after Honghwaja and TA, which was named after traffic accidents, and there were significant differences in the number of treatments and symptom improvement between the two groups. In this study, we confirmed the status of automobile insurance treatment and usage of main pharmacopuncture of single KM clinic with symptom improvement. This study can be regarded as one of the basis of KM treatment for the rapidly growing automobile insurance market.