• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.1-17
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• 2021

Objectives The present study examined the recent domestic and international trends of non-surgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Methods The studies on non-surgical treatment of LSS were investigated via searching Korean web databases and PubMed. As a result, 39 studies were analyzed according to the authors, the types of study, the relationship to surgical treatment and the method of treatment. Results The first authors' occupations were identified as 17 doctors, 12 Korean medicine doctors, six physiotherapists, three chiropractic doctors and one doctor of science. The most common type of study in Korea was the case report and most of the studies were retrospective. Overseas, there were many prospective or experimental studies including randomized controlled trials (RCT). In Korea, non-surgical treatment was performed independently of surgical treatment in most cases. Among non-surgical treatments, the most researched treatment was traditional Korean medicine (TKM), followed by injection therapy, exercise therapy, and physical therapy. Conclusions Through this review, we can determine the effectiveness of TKM and its research direction. TKM should be studied experimentally including RCT and it should be conducted not only on acupuncture, but also on other treatment methods such as acupotomy, chuna, and herbal medicine. It is also necessary to conduct studies on TKM before and after surgery to compare the effects of surgery and TKM together, as well the effects on non-surgical treatments.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.233-237
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• 2014

This case report that the therapeutic effects of traditional Korean medicine(TKM) treatment on the tumor response in a diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBL) patient. A patient was treated by acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, cupping and herbal medicine once a week at least for 12 months. we evaluated the grade of chief complaints and performed blood tests and sonography, abdominal CT periodically. After 1 month administration with TKM treatment, the symptoms of the patient vanished obviously. the size of inguinal lymphoma decreased gradually through 3 months. then from 3 to 10 months, the size of inguinal lymphoma remained as it is. TKM treatment was maintained continuously. in the abdomino-pelvic CT performed after 12 months, the patient didn't complain any symptom and the size of inguinal lymphoma decreased a little again. This case study supports that TKM treatments may have a efficacy in treating diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBL) patients.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.82-89
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• 2010

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine distribution patterns of TOAST subtypes of ischemic stroke patients admitted to oriental hospitals and to get a better understanding of present conditions in oriental medicine by comparing with the Korea stroke registry (KSR), the largest and representative data. Methods: Clinical data were collected from acute ischemic stoke patients. MRI studies including vascular images were performed in all cases. TOAST criteria were used to determine subtypes of ischemic stroke patients. According to the duration from disease onset to hospital admission time, patients were assigned to 3 groups (Group I0 to 3 d, Group II4 to 7 d, Group III8 to 28 d) and the distribution of TOAST subtypes were compared among these three groups. Results: We collected 514 sets of clinical data from 10 oriental hospitals between May 2007 and September 2009. Small vessel occlusion (SVO) subtype was the most common (57.62%), followed by large artery atherosclerosis (LAA, 29.98%). Compared with TOAST distribution of KSR, the proportion of ischemic stroke patients with SVO subtype was higher than that of KSR. On the other hand the proportion of patients with stroke of undetermined etiology (SUE) was lower. Distributions of SVO, LAA and cardioembolism (CE) in group were I 66.4%, 23.8% and 8.9%, respectively; those in group IIIwere 51.03%, 34.71% and 11.57%, respectively. Conclusions: In oriental hospitals, the proportion of ischemic stroke patients diagnosed as SVO type was higher than that of KSR. At early stage (from onset to 2 d) proportion of SVO was very high, however after 7 days from onset it decreased with concomitant increases in proportions of LAA and CE. These phenomena may be due to the facts that 1) at early stage emergency treatments are limited in oriental hospitals, 2) after early stage many patients prefer oriental treatments, including rehabilitation.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.85-92
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• 2015

Objectives: The liver fibroscan has been developed as a noninvasive and convenient method to assess hepatic fibrosis. This study aimed to review this device in terms of its technological concept and clinical application in traditional Korean medicine (TKM). Methods: The technological background, diagnostic evaluation, and clinical usefulness of fibroscan were reviewed using various literature and clinical studies. One clinical example-a patient with hepatofibrosis who had been treated with TKM-is presented. Results: The liver fibroscan was approved as a medical device for noninvasive measurement of the hepatic fibrosis level by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Numerous clinical studies have confirmed that its sensitivity and specificity allow it to serve as a substitute for liver biopsy, the present gold standard diagnostic method. The accuracy and reproducibility and lack of technical risks are strong points of the fibroscan; however, it has some limitations for application, especially in patients with obesity or severe hepatitis. One clinical example showed the applicability of the liver fibroscan in herbal medicine-based treatments. Conclusions: The requirement for diagnostic medical devices is an important issue in TKM; therefore, this study provides valuable information for practitioners of TKM.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.72-80
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• 2013

Objectives : Ontology is a good tool to represent the knowledge and has developed for Traditional Korean Medicine(TKM) in Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine. There are a lot of TKM terms, which have a complex meaning, especially major indication terms of medicinal treatment and terms of symptom and disease. These complex meaning terms result in the low linkage between major indication terms of medicinal treatment and terms of symptom and disease in TKM ontology. We studied to enhance the percentage of the linkage among those data in TKM ontology. Methods : We disassembled major indication terms of medicinal treatment into minimum meaning units and then linked them to enhance the percentage of the linkage among medicinal material, formula and disease ontology based on Traditional Korean Medicine. To retain objectivity, several experts of Korean Medicine used a web-based tool that supports users in refining terms and disassembling them into the minimum meaning efficiently. Results : The outcome shows that the percentage of the linkage among medicinal material, formula and disease ontology increased. By linking disassembled major indication terms to symptoms and diseases, the amount of information for medicinal materials and formulas also increased quantitatively in comparison with given formula for diseases in disease ontology. Conclusions : By this study, disassembled data increases the percentage of linkage between diseases and medicinal treatments. And the applicability of TKM ontology is also increased.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.371-378
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• 2011

Aldose reductase (AR) has been implicated in the development of the diabetic complications. To discover novel treatments for diabetic complications from natural sources, 65 Korean herbal medicines have been investigated for inhibitory activities on AR. Of these, 23 herbal medicines exhibited a significant inhibitory activity compared with 3,3-tetramethyleneglutaric acid (TMG). Particularly, 8 herbal medicines, Acer tataricum (twig, stem and leaf), Acer tataricum (fruit), Rhododendron schlippenbachii (twig, stem and leaf), Weigela subsessilis (twig, stem and leaf), Acer mono (branch and leaf), Ailanthus altissima (twig, stem and leaf), Lindera obtusiloba (branch and leaf), Solidago serotina (whole plant) showed three times more potent inhibitory activity than the positive control, TMG.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.50-54
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• 2011

Objective: To understand the characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and study the traditional Korean medicine (TKM)-based strategies or therapeutics for them. Methods: A male patient with NASH was treated with only Oriental therapies, and then the clinical outcome was evaluated by serum biochemical parameters and radiographs. Result: The clinical and biochemical values of the patient fluctuated over three years according to the treatments and cessation of herbal medicines. Conclusion: NASH or NAFLD are now prevalent and these disorders could be targets of TKM, and this case report would provide useful information.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.382-387
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• 2009

Enhanced formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) have been implicated as a major pathogenesis process leading to diabetic complications, normal aging, atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease. In our ongoing project to discover novel treatments for diabetic complications from natural sources, we have investigated on the inhibitory activity of 67 ethanol extracts from 57 Korean herbal medicines against the formation of AGEs in vitro. Of these, 22 extracts were found to have a significant AGEs inhibitory activity ($IC_{50}$<50 ${\mu}g$/ml) compared with aminoguanidine ($IC_{50}$=75.98 ${\mu}g$/ml). Particularly, 6 extracts from 3 herbal medicines, Castanea crenata (flower, leaf, bark-twig), Acer tatarium subsp. ginnala (fruit) and Sapium japonicum (leaf, twig) showed (approximately 8-17 fold) stronger inhibitory activity than that of aminoguanidine.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.119-129
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• 2022

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Integrative treatment of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) on 7 hospitalized patients after hip fracture surgery, and to identify significant herbs and co-prescribed herbs by using network analysis and association rule mining. Methods A retrospective chart review of the 7 hospitalized patients treated for postoperative hip fractures between January and December 2021 was performed. All TKM treatments for the patients were identified and Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to compare hip pain and mobility on admission and discharge. We visualized the network of herbal medicines and complications. By using network analysis, we also identified the significant herbs (high centrality of degree, eigenvector, and sub-graph). Co-prescription patterns for the hip fracture patients were further analyzed by association rule mining. Results We found that TKM treatment significantly relieved hip pain and improved mobility. Accompanying symptoms reported by the patients were general weakness, anorexia, dizziness, delirium, edema, sputum, sore throat, cough, rhinorrhea, and chills. Herbs composed of Sagunja-tang and Samul-tang showed high centralities and high associations with other herbs. In addition, Gupan, Nokyong, Yukjongyong, Useul, and Hyunhosaek were identified as important herbs for postoperative hip fracture patients. Conclusions This study provides evidence for clinical TKM use as an effective postoperative treatment for pain relief and improvement of mobility in patients with hip fractures. In addition, herbs that can be considered in the treatment of patients after hip fracture surgery were identified through network analysis and association rule mining.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.831-838
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• 2016

Objective: To describe the effectiveness of traditional Korean medicine (TKM) on a patient showing aggressive behavior after a traumatic brain injury. Methods: We used complex TKM treatments. The acupoints used were as follows: Soyangin Taegeuk acupuncture (HT3, KI3, and SP3) and acupoints frequently used in hemiparesis (GV20, GV24, ST4, LI11, LI4, ST36, GB34, SP9, and LR3). Moxibustion was also applied to GV20, and herbal medicine (Samulanshin-tang-gami, 四物安神湯 加味方) was administered. The efficacy was evaluated at baseline, week 8, and week 16 using the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS). Results: After 8 weeks, the total MOAS score was decreased from 13 to 5, and this score was maintained until week 16. The average sleep time was increased and waking up during the night was decreased. Conclusions: We suggest that TKM could be effective for reducing aggressive behavior and alleviating sleep disturbances. Further studies are needed.