• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.79-89
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• 2009

Objectives : To address suitable method for designing clinical trial intervening Traditional Korean Herbal Medicine on General anxiety disorder through the recent clinical research in Chinese Herbal Medicine. Methods : Randomized, controlled trials(RCTs) of treatment of general anxiety disorder intervening herbal medicine were searched through CNKI databases. We examined several item of studies and evaluated using Jadad scale. We searched articles in CNKI with the key word "General anxiety disorder or 廣範性焦慮症", among them we selected the clinical trial studies related with herbal medicine except for case reports, studies of acupuncture therapy or west medicines. Results : 11 RCT studies of herbal medicine met inclusion criteria. The Studies used CCMD-3, HAMA as inclusion tool and mainly HAMA as a evaluation tool. Studies were progressed for 2-8 weeks, mostly used various positive control. Experiment medicine were mainly 理氣劑, 安神劑. In most studies, experiment group made similar or higher efficacy in comparison with control group. Mean Jadad score of studies was $1.3{\pm}0.67$, and only one study was double-blinded among 11 studies. Conclusions : RCT studies on general anxiety disorder of chinese herbal medicine tend to focus on investigating effect of herbal medicine through setting positive control group with CCMD-3 and HAMA. But, most studies had low quality of trial, for lack of pattern identification, evaluation and inclusion tool of chinese medicine. Clinical trials of general anxiety disorder should provide good quality by randomization, double-blinding, and multi-site trial.

• The Journal of Churna Manual Medicine for Spine and Nerves
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.25-37
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• 2019

Objectives : This review determines the evidence of effectiveness and safety of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) for pediatric allergic rhinitis. Methods : We searched 12 electronic databases (Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CAJ, J-STAGE, RISS, DBpia, NDSL, KISTI, KISS, and KMBASE) and two related journals up to the end of April, 2019. We only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating CMT for the treatment of pediatric allergic rhinitis. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool 1.0. Results : Twelve RCTs were eligible in our inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis of five studies demonstrated positive results for the using CMT for the treatment of pediatric allergic rhinitis. When used in conjunction with traditional Chinese medicine, CMT treatment significantly improved total efficacy rate compared with traditional Chinese medicine alone (P<0.02, n=5). Conclusions : Based on a published meta-analysis, there is reliable evidence for the use of CMT in treating pediatric allergic rhinitis. However, it should be noted that the studies included in this systematic review were heterogeneous and were of low quality, warranting further investigation using well-designed RCTs.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.53-66
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• 2021

Objective: The purpose of this study was to collect and evaluate evidence of herbal medicine treatments for the residual effects of COVID-19. Methods: Nine electronic databases, namely PubMed, Science Direct, CINAHL, CNKI, Wanfang, J-STAGE, CiNii, OASIS, and Science ON, were searched with the following keywords: 'COVID-19'; 'sequelae'; 'Convalescence' for 'P (Population)' and 'Medicine, Chinese Traditional'; 'Korean medicine'; 'Herbal medicine' for 'I (Intervention)'. For the selected studies, various clinical data were extracted including patient symptoms, pattern identification, herbal medicines prescribed, and treatment results. Results: A total of nine clinical studies were identified (two case control trials; one case series; and six case reports). Various residual symptoms had been detected in the recovery stage of COVID-19 with the most commonly used pattern identifications being deficiency in both lung and spleen and in both qi and yin. Any herbal medicine prescriptions were written using these patterns. We found several reports of the positive effect of herbal medicines in that it improved symptoms, lung function, and lung inflammation. No adverse events were reported. Conclusions: The results indicate that treatment with herbal medicines has a possible therapeutic effect on the residual symptoms of COVID-19. Large-scale studies are necessary to confirm the effectiveness of these approaches.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.301-316
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• 2022

Objectives: To compare Korean medicine (KM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) psychotherapy for anxiety. Methods: Databases including MEDLINE (via PubMed), EMBASE (via Elsevier), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System were comprehensively searched. Prospective clinical studies on KM or TCM psychotherapy for patients with anxiety disorder or individuals with elevated anxiety levels published up to August 3, 2022 were reviewed. Psychotherapy was divided into counselling, art therapy, and meditation according to its characteristics. Results: A total of 12 clinical studies were reviewed, including nine randomized controlled trials. The most common disorder investigated was post-traumatic stress disorder. Ten studies used TCM psychotherapy and two used KM psychotherapy. As for differences between TCM psychotherapy and KM psychotherapy, TCM psychotherapy utilized pattern identification in the procedure more actively than KM psychotherapy. In addition, some TCM studies have attempted to directly converge Western psychotherapy (i.e., hypnosis) and Eastern psychotherapy (i.e., Taoin qigong therapy). In the case of KM psychotherapy, there was an attempt to incorporate psychotherapy with Sasang constitutional medicine. Reported effects of TCM psychotherapy and KM psychotherapy on anxiety were positive. Conclusions: Research status of KM psychotherapy and TCM psychotherapy for anxiety was investigated, revealing some of their characteristics, commonalities, and differences. Findings of this review have the potential to provide a clue to the development of conventional KM psychotherapy and new medical technology for KM psychotherapy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.520-549
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• 2018

Objectives: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the recent clinical research trends regarding the effects of traditional herbal medicine (THM) on chemotherapy-induced leukopenia. Methods: Randomized controlled trials that verified effects of herbal medicine treating chemotherapy induced leukopenia were included in the study. A literature search was performed in the English, Chinese, and Korean databases for papers published from January 1, 2007, to September 1, 2017. The selected literature was assessed by Cochrane's Risk of Bias (RoB). Results: Forty-two of 232 randomized controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. The most commonly used herbal prescriptions called '升白湯 (shengbai decoction)' which means elevating the numbers of White blood cells (WBCs). And the mostly included herbs such as Astragali Radix, Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Atractylodis Rhizoma Alba, Codonopsis Pilosulae, Glycyrrhizae Radix, Ligustri Lucidi Fructus are commonly used to elevate qi, blood and yin. The count of WBC in peripheral blood, the level of leukopenia presented in WHO (World Health Organization), and clinical symptoms were used to evaluate the treatments. The effective rate was 68.6-98.18% and the effectiveness was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group in 38 articles (p<0.05). No serious adverse events were reported. Only five articles (5/42, 11.9%) were rated as having adequate methodological quality with a low level of bias. Conclusion: Some traditional herbal medicines may be effective as therapeutic treatments for chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, but the majority of reviewed studies were of poor quality. The present findings need to be confirmed by rigorously conducted high-quality trials, including pharmacokinetic studies, to confirm the absence of interactions between traditional herbal medicine agents and chemotherapy.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.39-54
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• 2017

Objectives This study aimed to search the Chinese literature on acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation and to analyze their methodologies. Methods Using 4 Chinese databases (CBM [www.sinomed.ac.cn], CNKI [www.cnki.net], WANFANG [www.wanfangdata.com], and WEIPU [www.cqvip.com]), we searched for clinical trials conducted in China over the past 10 years on acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation. The search terms used were "(腰椎椎間板脫出症 or 椎間板脫出症 or 椎間板脫出) and (针刀or 针刀松解术)" and we selected only meta-analyses that were published before December 2016. From among these meta-analyses, we excluded duplicates and selected the remaining 36 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for our final analysis. Results The largest numbers of acupotomy papers were published in 2008 and 2013 (8 papers each). The average number of subjects was 120; the most common treatment method used for the control group was standard acupuncture (in 11 papers), and the most common concurrent treatment in the treatment group was massage (in 10 papers). The most common site of needle insertion was between the spinous processes, or at less than 0.5 cm on either side of the spinous processes (in 24 papers). The most common site of adhesion lysis was at the transverse process (in 24 papers). Two studies were blinded, and the mean Jadad score was 1.17. Conclusions A large number of RCTs on the use of acupotomy for lumbar disc herniation are conducted every year in China, and the procedure has been shown to be very effective, with few adverse effects. However, the average quality of the studies was not very high. Based on our study, we expect several high-quality clinical trials on acupotomy to be conducted in Korea in the future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.103-116
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• 2020

Objectives This study was designed to review the effect of herbal medicine on animal model with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods We reviewed studies published both in Korea and overseas, all published after 2008. We investigated 8 databases, 6 Korean databases and 2 of abroad. Searching was conducted through flowchart and 24 studies met our guideline. Datas were extrated and organized as animal model characteristics, experimental period, study design, herbal medicine used as intervention and rheumatoid arthritis indicator. Results 336 articles were primarily selected. After screening, 24 articles were left in the end. All 24 studies showed that the herbal medicine used in the animal experiment was effective on treating rheumatoid arthris, proven by macroscopic, histological, hematological and osteological indicators. Conclusions The result showed that herbal medicine is effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis through various pathways. However, study design and intervention were all different from each other and we could not specify the certain compound, material or substance of efficacy. Further study should be conducted to figure out the effectiveness of herbal medicine on rheumatoid arthritis.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.222-237
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the trend in the research on cirrhotic ascites using t herbal medicine. Methods: This review was conducted using six electronic databases(NDSL, KMBASE, Koreantk, KISS, KISTI, KoreaMed) with no restriction in year. The search term was 'liver cirrhosis', 'ascites', or 'cirrhotic ascites', 'herbal medicine', 'traditional Chinese medicine', and 'randomized clinical trial', and there was no restriction in year. The searched studies were analyzed according to the type of research. Results: After scanning the titles and abstracts, 13 articles were ultimately included. Of the outcome measures of 13 studies, effective rate, liver function test, and ascites regression time were included in the meta-analysis, which showed that the effective rate of herbal medicine-supportive treatment combination therapy was 1.27 times higher than that of supportive treatment alone, and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusions: We analyzed the trends of cirrhotic ascites treatment in herbal medicine through this review. It is necessary to conduct further studies, such as well-designed clinical trials based on the results from experimental research.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.213-220
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• 2022

We investigated the current status of research using extracorporeal shock waves on the basis of meridian and acupoint theory. By March 2022, five foreign databases (CAJ, Pubmed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library) and six Korean databases (Dbpia, RISS, KMBASE, scienceON, KISS, NDSL) were searched with the terms using 'Extracorporeal shock wave' and '(Acupoint or Acupuncture point)'. The search terms were adapted according to the language of the database. There were no restrictions on the study design. As a result of the search, twenty-seven papers were selected for analysis. One study was searched in English database, and the remaining twenty-six studies were searched in Chinese database. There were nineteen pain-related diseases, four obsterics and gynecology diseases, two bone-related diseases, and two other diseases. The most frequently used acupoints were GB34, ST36, and KI3. A total of six adverse events were reported in five papers. The use of extracorporeal shock wave on the basis of meridian and acupoint theory is considered to have sufficient meaning in Korean Medicine. It is expected to use extracorporeal shock wave as a new treatment method for Korean Medicine doctors in the near future.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.23-35
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• 2016

Objectives This systematic review is to support the effectiveness of herbal medicine for the treatment of simple obesity in adults. Methods A total of 8 electronic databases were searched in English, Chinese and Korean. Standard methodologies for the systematic review were used to search, analyze and synthesize data based on NECA's guideline for undertaking systematic review and meta-analyses for intervention. Results After screening 1781 potential articles, we identified 13 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We conducted a meta-analysis for the study using Bangpungtongsung-san and Taeeumjowi-tang to evaluate the effectiveness of herbal medicines on weight loss compared to placebo control. Both herbs showed positive effect in weight, body mass index and waist circumference. In an analysis comparing herbal effects considering constitutions showed that proper treatment can lower adverse events. Conclusions Our results provide evidence that herbal medicine can be an effective treatment for the obesity compare to placebo or to conventional medicine without serious adverse events. Further study is needed to evaluate effectiveness of herbal medicines considering personalized treatment and its safety.