• 대한한방소아과학회지
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• 제23권2호
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• pp.117-129
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• 2009

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the current acupuncture treatment of autism. Methods : 13 Chinese clinical studies published in the last five years were selected for analyzing. Results : Treatment methods were used; massage of acupoints, electro acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, the general acupuncture and special acupuncture treatments for autism as Jin's three needling, Intelligence-increasing acupuncture. Commonly used acupoints were sishencong(四神總), shenting(神庭), benshen(本神), yintang(印堂), naohu(腦戶), naokong(腦空), bohui(百會), neiguan(內關), yanyu1qu(言語1區), yanyu2qu(言語2區), yanyu3qu(言語3區). 10 studies were showed the effects of acupuncture with total improvement rate and 7 of them were higher than 80%. Also, most of the studies showed the acupuncture treatment was extremely effective in improving autism children's speaking ability. Conclusions : Acupuncture have been shown as an effective treatment on autism. Further studies about various treatment using by acupuncture and the evaluation standard would be needed.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.209-216
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• 2015

Objectives : The objective of this study was to report two cases that patients with external epicondylitis were improved by based on 'eight vacuity' theory bloodletting therapy, acupuncture therapy and bee venom pharmacopuncture. Methods : In this study, patients were treated with bloodletting therapy, then acupuncture therapy and bee venom pharmacopuncture to Ashi point on eight vacuity of elbow in the patients without retention of needles. Subsequently, electroacupuncture and Dong-qi acupuncture treatment were implemented in order to strengthen the effect of acupuncture. In terms of evaluation methods, visual analog scale(VAS) score, range of motion(ROM), grip strength and physical examination were used to assess external epicondylitis-related symptoms. Results : VAS score decreased, ROM and grip strength were increased and physical examination was improved in all cases. Conclusions : It was suggested that the symptoms of intractable external epicondylitis could be improved by eight vacuity theory adopted bloodletting therapy, acupuncture therapy and bee venom pharmacopuncture.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제30권4호
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• pp.151-159
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this systematic review was to overview and evaluate the current state of the usage of bee venom acupuncture. Methods : We collected 173 articles on bee venom acupuncture(BVA) clinical study from eight electronic databases from January 2002 to June 2013. Results : BVA was used in musculoskeletal diseases for 66 %, and the chosen acupoints were various. The ratio of the reports which had collected below 10 cases was 43 %. The concomitant treatment and evaluation tools showed diversity in each article. Conclusions : Bee venom clinical study shows the lack of unity and consistent regulation, and has low clinical cases. Future studies should correct these limits and promote more varied research to develop the therapy of bee venom acupuncture.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제40권1호
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• pp.1-15
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• 2023

Between May 2014 and April 2022, a total of 926 articles were retrieved from the international database, and a total of 233 articles were retrieved from the Korean database. From there, 14 studies were selected, and evaluated by the published year, terminology of the acupotomy, sample size, disease type, retention time, treatment sites, insertion depth and size of the acupotomy, treatment frequency, and duration, type of acupotomy manipulation method, evaluation index, therapeutic effects, adverse effects, and assessment of the risk of bias in randomized controlled trials. This study examined the need for additional acupotomy studies to secure an objective basis for the application of clinical treatment. Furthermore, the detailed description of the study methods and results and unified terminology can provide evidence for the efficacy of acupotomy.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제40권4호
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• pp.395-402
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• 2023

Bell's palsy is an acute facial paralysis caused by peripheral facial nerve dysfunction. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of Korean medicine in the treatment of three patients who were hospitalized and diagnosed with Bell's palsy within 2 weeks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. The patients were administered with Korean medicine treatments, steroids, and antiviral drugs. Moreover, the Korean medicine treatments include acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, physical therapy, and herbal medicine. Symptom improvement was evaluated daily using the Yanagihara facial nerve grading system, a facial function evaluation tool. Furthermore, it was suggested that the patients affected by Bell's palsy after COVID-19 infection may have a slower improvement in their treatment progress compared with those without COVID-19 infection in the acute stage.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.96-106
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• 2024

This study aimed to provide the basis of treatment effects by analyzing randomized control trials (RCTs) on the use of thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) for low back pain that were published between February 2018 and July 2023. In total, 2,865 articles were retrieved from international and Korean databases. Nine of these articles were selected and evaluated based on the following categories: (1) year of publication, (2) type of disease, (3) sample size, (4) treatment interventions, (5) treatment frequency and duration, (6) insertion point and depth of thread embedding, (7) types and sizes of threads and needles, (8) evaluation indexes, (9) treatment outcomes, and (10) side effects. The risk of bias in RCTs was also assessed. This study also emphasizes the importance of further research on TEA for clinical treatment and the use of objective approaches. Furthermore, detailed method descriptions and results are important in determining the efficacy of TEA.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제35권2호
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• pp.61-68
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• 2018

Background: This study was performed to review the efficacy of national and international randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating Chuna manipulative treatment for ankle sprains. Methods: Online databases (PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CNKI, NDSL, OASIS), were searched for studies where Chuna treatment was performed for ankle sprains up to October 12th, 2017. Only RCT were selected that fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Results: There were 676 studies retrieved from the databases, resulting in analysis of 24 RCT. There was an average of 7 treatment visits over a 7 day period and the most frequent evaluation tool used was efficacy rate, with drug therapy being the most common control used in the trials. In 15 RCT, several Chuna methods were used in combination, amongst which, the osteopathic technique was most common. Statistically significant improvement in evaluation indices was reported in 19 RCT, and in 3 RCT, statistically significant improvement was reported, but not for all indices. In the remaining 2 RCT, there were no significant differences in any of the evaluation indices. No adverse reactions were reported in any of the RCT, although it was unknown whether all the trial protocols indicated that adverse reactions should be monitored, and for this reason, the risk of bias was unclear. Conclusion: The review of 24 studies suggest that Chuna manipulative treatment for ankle sprains was effective in most cases, although, potential bias in these studies was difficult to evaluate.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제40권3호
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• pp.252-264
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• 2023

Background: The primary aim of this study is to statistically analyze and compare the difference in treatment outcomes based on the frequency and duration of acupotomy treatment for lumbar disk herniation. Methods: The evaluation of efficacy and safety involved using visual analog scale (VAS), numeric rating scale (NRS), Roland Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ), EuroQol 5-dimention (EQ-5D), and similar parameters. This was achieved through the establishment of a comparable cohort using propensity score matching. Group A comprised 46 patients who underwent 4 sessions of acupotomy treatment for 2 weeks, while Group B consisted of 15 patients who received 6 acupotomy sessions for 3 weeks. Results: For Group A, the average amount of change in VAS values at weeks 4 and 6 was significantly decreased. However, the average amount of change in RMDQ values was not significant. Notably, the average amount of change of EQ-5D values at week 6 increased significantly. As for Group B, the average amount of change of NRS values in weeks 2 and 3 was significantly decreased. Conversely, the average amount of change in RMDQ and EQ-5D values was not significant. In comparing the 2 groups at the final follow-up, the average amount of change in all evaluation values was not significant. Further, no significant interaction effect was observed in the changes over time in all evaluation values between the 2 groups. Conclusion: This study establishes that there was no statistically significant difference in pain reduction, functional impairment, and quality of life improvement between 2 group.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.243-257
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• 2008

Objective & Methods : The purpose of this study is to observe the effects of Cyperi Rhizoma Herbal-acupuncture infusion solution at Umgok($KI_{10}$) on Osteoporotic Rats Induced by Ovariectomy. The author performed several experimental items to analyze cytotoxic, osteoporosis evaluation, change of ALP, osteocalcin, Ca and histological change of tibia. Result : 1. BMD were increased non-meaningly in CR-HA than control group. 2. ALP was not inhibited by CR-HA, osteocalcin was decreased meaningly in CR-HA than control group. 3. Osteoclast like cell in tibia was increased meaningly in control group, decreased meaningly in CR-HA. 4. In the histological study in tibia, TBV was significantly increased, GPL was significantly decreased in the CR-HA than control group. Conclusions : From the result above, the results suggest that CR-HA at $KI_{10}$ has significant effect on osteoporosis, and to be put to practical use in the future osteoporosis clinic.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제31권4호
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• pp.158-167
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• 2014

Objectives : The results from randomized controlled trials on traditional medicine have been negative or ambiguous. The appropriateness of the research methodology started to be questioned. However, the research methodology appropriate for studying traditional medicine has not been well-established. This study aims to explore the appropriate research methodologies for clinical studies on acupuncture. Methods : Clinical researches evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of acupuncture for back pain were systematically searched and evaluated focusing on research methodology. The acupuncture treatment protocol is evaluated by 9 items which is individual treatment based on diagnosis, combining proximal and distal acupoints, exact location of acupoint, De Qi, adequate stimulation, duration of acupuncture, treatment sessions, treatment interval, and establishing relationship between patients and doctors. Results : Systematic review of acupuncture researches on low back pain suggested that observational studies and pragmatic trials rather than explanatory studies could incorporate these elements. Qualitative studies also could help understanding complex characteristics of acupuncture treatment which could not be evaluated by quantitative studies. Conclusions : In designing clinical researches on acupuncture, various study designs, especially observational study and pragmatic study, should be considered according to research objectives and subjects. The efforts to incorporate the core characteristics of acupuncture practiced in everyday clinical setting are also essential.