• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.279-285
• /
• 1998

Effects of acupuncture at Sanyinjiao(SP6) and Yanglingquan(GB34) on bone mineral sensity(BMD) was investigated in ovariectomized(OVX) rats. BMD of OVX rats was measured left femur and tibia 2 and 4 weeks after acupuncture stimulation, respectively. Compared with sham-operated rats, a significant decrease in spine, pelvic and left femoral and tibial BMD was observed 2 and 4 weeks after OVX, respectively. In contrast, a significant increase of spinal, pelvic and left femoral and tibial BMD was elicited 2 and/or 4 weeks after acupuncture stimulation, respectively. These results show the possibility that acupuncture can play a role of ameliorating osteoporosis by elevating serum levels of female hormones related with bone metabolism.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.27 no.5
• /
• pp.125-134
• /
• 2010

Objectives : There has been a need for developing and establishing operational curriculum for the education of acupuncture, but defining the level and step of the acupuncture education in clinical perspectives was not thoroughly recognized so far. Methods : We analysed the usage of acupuncture points in the official textbook to recognize the most frequently used acupoints in clinical medicine. It was found that $ST_{36}$ $LI_4$ $SP_6$ $HT_7$ $LR_3$ $CV_{12}$ $BL_{23}$ $CV_6$ $BL_{20}$ $CV_4$ $LI_{11}$ $PC_6$ $KI_3$ $GB_{20}$ $GV_{20}$ $GB_{34}$ $BL_{18}$ $GV_{14}$ $BL_{17}$ $BL_{40}$ are the most frequently used 20 acupuncture points and GB(足少陽擔經), CV(任脈), ST(足陽明胃經) are the most frequently used meridians. Results : The $ST_{36}$, $GB_{34}$, $LI_{11}$ and GB(足太陽膀胱經) meridian are most frequently used for muskuloskeletal disease, $ST_{36}$, $LI_4$, $LI_{11}$ and GB(足太陽膀胱經) meridian are most frequently used for neuromuskular disease, and $ST_{36}$, $CV_{12}$, $BL_{20}$ and CV(任脈) meridian are most frequently used for the digestive system disorders. Conclusions : This study was the first systematic approach to get essential acupuncture points for the education of clinical perspectives of TKM especially for the acupuncture and moxibustion. We found that the $ST_{36}$, $GB_{34}$, $LI_{11}$ and GB(足太陽膀胱經) are the most frequently used acupuncture point and meridian. This study will be used for the development of TKM clinical curriculum.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.47-57
• /
• 2016

Objectives : Six command points are individual points that have strong and broad effects on their related part of the body, but there is a controversy about which acupoints are should be included in the six command points. This research was reviewed which acupoints are suitable for the construction of the six command points. Methods : We searched acupoints mentioned six command points in literatures, then investigated the effects of the acupoints to identify that they can be included in the six command points. And we deliberated which acupoints are suitable for the six command points. Results : Acupoints mentioned the six command points are LU7, LI4, ST36, BL40, PC6, TE6, GV26, ouch point, GB34 and SP6. Among the acupoints, LU7, LI4, ST36, BL40 and PC6 was included in the six command points in all of searched literatures. And GV26, ouch point, GB34 and SP6 were excluded because GV26 and ouch point were not fit the definition of the six command points, ST36 can be an alternative to SP6 based on their effects, and GB34 has a similar but little effect compared to TE6. Conclusions : Based on the definition of six command points and the effect of the acupoints, we suggest that the six command points should be composed of LU7, LI4, ST36, BL40, PC6 and TE6.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.18 no.6
• /
• pp.225-231
• /
• 2001

Objective : Modern acupuncture research often utilizes the methodology of animal experiment where animal acupoints(AA) are stimulated and the results observed. There hasn't been any consensus on the AA locations yet, but it is integral for the locations to be defined in detail for any animal experiment. Methods : The review of 24 original articles published in the Journal of Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion Society for recent one year which utilized animal experiment methodology revealed that AA are located primarily by the method of transposition from human acupoints. Only a few of those AA were defined in detail. ST-36, CV-12, GB-34, BL-23 were among the most frequently used AA. Results & Conculsion : Transpositional Ⅲ acupoint system of mouse is proposed, which includes 3 points of LU meridian, 4 of LI, 10 of ST, 8 of SP, 3 of HT, 4 of SI, 26 of BL, 2 of KI, 4 of PC, 3 of TE, I1 of GB, 6 of LR, 8 of CV and 19 of GV.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.13-21
• /
• 2017

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of acupuncture treatment (AT) in the tendency of increase of the need for AT for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) worldwide and to investigate the advancements in AT research in Korea and the future directions of research on this topic. Methods : Until May 2017, the PubMed, Scopus, Medline, and four Korean databases were searched. The searched keywords were "Parkinson's disease", "Acupuncture", and "Intervention study". The intervention groups from all screened original studies were analyzed and the methods used to determine the effect of AT on PD were examined. Results : A total of 17 studies were grouped by country on the basis of the first author's position, of which 10 studies were conducted in China, four in the United States, two in Korea, and one in Brazil. The most common type of intervention was electroacupuncture (nine studies), followed by AT (six studies), and a combination of AT and bee venom AT (two studies). The most frequently used acupoints in AT were Baihui (GV20), Taichong (LR3), Zusanli (ST36), Sanyinjiao (SP6), and Yanglingquan (GB34). The most commonly used tool for evaluation of PD was the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III, which assesses motor functions. Conclusion : The screened studies reported that there were no adverse effects of AT on drug therapy, and AT reduced the dose of drugs used in PD treatment. Future studies on PD treatment with AT should use the acupoints GV20, LR3, ST36, SP6, and GB34, and the meridians Gallbladder meridian and Governor Vessel. Clinical studies on PD should use CONSORT or STRICTA to ensure the quality of national studies and allow the development of new tools for the assessment of the effect of AT on PD using the above criteria.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.25 no.6
• /
• pp.1119-1128
• /
• 2011

The aim of this study is to collect and analyze clinical studies on acupuncture therapies of Post-stroke depression, and to suggest a method on study about acupuncture therapies. In this thesis, electronic searches were performed. Also, 6 major journals associated with oriental medicine in Korea were searched manually. Through searching, 27 studies were selected and analyzed. There were 24 controlled studies and 3 non-controlled studies. Treatment methods were acupuncture, electronic-acupuncture, eye-acupuncture, abdominal-acupuncture and pharmaco-puncture. The percentages of these treatment method were 59.2%, 29.6%, 3.7%, 3.7% and 3.7%, respectively. Acupuncture points such as GV20, PC6, ST36, SP6, LV3, GV24, GV26, LI14, LI11, H7, ST40, GB20, GB34 and LI15 were used. In comparison of results before and after acupuncture treatment, there were statistically significant improvement in 26 studies. Based on the results from above, the studies on acupuncture for Post-stroke depression needs to be standardized and more appropriate high-quality study models should be introduced.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.56-63
• /
• 2013

Objectives : Effects of repetitive electroacupuncture(EA) on the pain behavior and activation of spinal glial cells were examined in the rat model of neuropathic pain. Methods : Twenty one adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into 3 groups(control group, SP6 group, ST36+GB34 group). Neuropathic pain was induced by tight ligation of L5 spinal nerve. Mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity of hind paw were tested. Immunohistochemistry was performed in spinal cord L5/6 of all groups. EA was treated once in a day from the $5^{th}$ day after surgery. Results : EA treatments applied to ST36 and GB34 reduced significantly both of mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity after 3 times of treatment throughout the experiments. In the SP6 group, the analgesic effect was also shown after 7 times of treatment. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated inhibition of microglia and astrocyte activation in the spinal cord L5/6 dorsal horn in the ST36+GB34 group. Conclusions : The present results suggest that repetitive EA exert strong analgesic effect on neuropathic pain. These analgesic effects in neuropathic pain are associated with suppressing the activation of microglia and astrocyte.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.131-144
• /
• 2022

Objectives: This study aimed to review clinical studies on thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) for the treatment of patients with post-stroke spasticity (PSS) Methods: Clinical studies related to TEA treatment for PSS were searched for in several electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, OASIS, and CNKI. After the selection/exclusion process, information on study design, disease, experimental/control group, intervention, outcome measurement, between-group differences, and adverse events was extracted. Results: A total of 13 randomized controlled trials were included in this review. The usual frequency of TEA treatment was once every 1-2 weeks, and the treatment most commonly included 4 sessions. In the dorsal area, EX-B2 and the acupoints in governing vessel meridian were commonly used. Acupoints in the meridian of the large intestine were most frequently used in the treatment of upper limb spasticity. Except for HT1, PC6, and PC8, all TEA points for treating PSS of the upper limb were on the Yang meridians. For the lower limb spasticity, the most frequently used acupoints were ST36, GB34, GB30, BL60, and BL57 on Yang meridians, and LR3, SP6, SP9, and SP10 on Yin meridians. TEA treatment showed better effects than conventional treatment for PSS in terms of spasticity, motor dysfunction, and activities of daily livings. Nevertheless, the absence of the follow-up observation, lack of sham TEA treatment, and low quality of the included studies necessitated caution in interpreting the results. Conclusions: The results of this review are expected to provide basic data on the modalities of TEA treatment for PSS and provide insights to facilitate well-designed studies in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies
• /
• v.11 no.6
• /
• pp.367-374
• /
• 2018

This study describes the reliability of pragmatic combinations of acupuncture points for lateral epicondylalgia (LE) as prescribed by physiotherapists who were experts in acupuncture. Raters (n = 14; 33-59 years) independently prescribed acupuncture points for 30 simulated human patients with LE who were surveyed via a printed questionnaire. The frequency and cooccurrence of acupuncture points prescribed for patients with lateral epicondylitis were assessed. Absolute agreement and Light's kappa (${\kappa}_{Light}$) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to quantify the interrater agreement. Raters prescribed 103 unique acupuncture points in different combinations with a median (min-max) of 5 (0-11) acupuncture points. The most prescribed acupuncture point was LI-11 (297 of 420; 71%), and the most common cooccurring acupuncture points were LI-11 and LI-4 (160 of 420; 38%). The absolute agreement for prescribing the acupuncture points ranged from 70% (point GB-20) to 0% (points LI-10, SP-6, LI-11, GB-34, LI-12, and LI-4). Point LR-3 showed the highest interrater reliability for prescribing the acupuncture points [${\kappa}_{Light}=0.112$, 95% CI = (0.055-0.194)], whereas point LI-4 showed the lowest reliability [${\kappa}_{Light}=-0.003$, 95% CI = (-0.024 to 0.024)]. These findings suggest that pragmatic prescriptions of acupuncture points for LE are unreliable among physiotherapists who are experts in acupuncture. Explicit, high-level evidence-based rules for prescribing and teaching combinations of acupuncture points for LE are warranted.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.202-210
• /
• 2004

Objective: In order to find oriental medical therapies on Parkinson's disease and to make a fundamental basis for clinical application, this study was performed. Methods: We reviewed 35 kinds of the ancient and modern text, and related articles. Results: Parkinson's disease is an extrapyramidal disease characterized by akinesia, tremor at rest, rigidity, and slowness of movement. In old oriental medical text, Parkinson's disease is described as Jinjeon(振顫), Chi, Gyeong (痙), Gyejong, Ryeon(攣) and Pyeongo(偏枯), Tantan, Jungbu(中腑症) of Jungpung(中風). According to the text, major pathological causes were Wind(風), Fire(火), Phlegm(痰), and Blood stasis(瘀血). And Parkinson's disease can be classified into four clinical types as liver & kidney yin-deficiency, qi & blood deficiency, retention of phlegm-heat, and qi-stagnation & blood stasis. Standardized acupuncture points are GV20, GB20, GV14 on head, CV12, ST25 on abdomen, GV26, ST7, GB1, S14, LI20 on face, LI4, LI11, TE5, SI3, HT3, LI15, SI6 on upper extremity, and ST36, GB34, SP6, LR3, KI1, GB30, BL40 on lower extremity. Other methods, such as scalp acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and herb-acupuncture, can be applied to treat Parkinson's disease. Conclusions: We find out that there are oriental medical concepts related with Parkinson's disease such as Jinjeon(振顫), Chi, Gyeong (痙), Gyejong, Ryeon(攣) and Pyeongo(偏枯), Tantan, Jungbu(中腑症) of Jungpung(中風), of which major causes are Wind(風), Fire(火), Phlegm(痰), and Blood stasis(瘀血). We can also apply many effective acupuncture points and acupuncture therapies according to differential diagnosis, for example, liver & kidney yin-deficiency. qi & blood deficiency, retention of phlegm-heat, and qi-stagnation & blood stasis.