• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.274-281
• /
• 2011

Pharmacological approaches have been included in conventional medical treatment for insomnia or sleep disorders. However, long-term use of frequently prescribed medications can often lead to habituation, critical withdrawal symptoms and/or side effects. Some individuals with insomnia or trouble sleeping have used complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies to treat their conditions. Recently, CAMs or herbs have been attractive alternative medications to many patients with sleep disorders who may be averse to using conventional drugs. We reviewed the most widely available sleep-promoting herbs commonly used in the western and oriental countries.

• Women's Health Nursing
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.184-191
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This study was to determine the effects of foot reflexomassage on constipated college women for the treatment of constipation. Method: The researcher sampled nursing students attending a college of nursing science in Gyeonggi-Do, and checked if they were affected by constipation in reference to the Rome II criteria & CAS. They were randomly divided into an experimental group(15 subjects) and a control group(15 subjects). Foot reflexomassage was applied to the experimental group 10 times in 2 weeks: each time lasted 40 minutes. The frequency of defecation and severity of constipation by CAS were measured. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS 11.5 program. Result: The CAS score of the experimental group was significantly lower after foot reflexomassage than those of the control group(p=.000). Conclusion: Foot reflexomassage can be considered an effective alternative treatment for constipated young women.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.141-155
• /
• 2008

Traditional, complementary, and alternative medicine(CAM) constitutes a major source of health care in developing countries. Its therapies, products and practices are increasing used in industrialized countries, typically by around 50% of the population. However, controls on the provider of CAM services and supply and promotion of complementary medicines are weak in these countries. These trends evoke important public health questions relating to benefits and detriments, safety and quality from medical, financial, and social perspectives. In the western counties, investment in research is increasing, and some guideline is now available for ensuring their quality, efficacy, and safety according to the criteria of evidence-based medicine as legally demanded. National policies and legislation are being developed in many countries and often include partnerships between biomedical and traditional health practitioners. The purposes of the study were to review the policies on CAM, to examine the responses of the government to cope with use of CAM in industrialized countries. Lastly, some implications and recommendation are suggested.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.144-154
• /
• 2007

Purpose: This descriptive study was conducted to identify the use of complementary and alternative therapies, and the perception and attitudes toward CAT in Korean adults. Methods: The 1,010 study subjects were recruited from ten regions in South Korea. Data were collected from July to September, 2004. Results: The 43.2% of the sample(n=436) had an experience of using CAT. The subjects using CAT was more likely to have high score in the CAT perception compared to the subjects with no experience of CAT(p=.001). The primary source of information about CAT was mass media(59.7%). The 52.4% of the sample answered that CAT was supplementary and the 27.7% answered CAT was applicable to chronic pain or musculoskeletal disorders. Subjects(34.8%) pointed out that the greatest problem was no scientific informant in the use of CAT. The primary reason of using CAT was to maintain their health or to prevent disease(44.0%), and the 59.0% of the subjects responded that CAT was effective. Majority of subjects were satisfied with CAT(63.3%) and experienced no side effects of CAT(90.6%). Conclusion: This study suggests that professional counseling and education for CAT is needed for Korean public as well as the research approach to test the effects of CAT.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.401-424
• /
• 2022

Objectives: As effective treatments for dementia are lacking in Western medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is considered a useful option. While the quality of life (QoL) is a vital outcome for patients with dementia, the QoL of patients receiving CAM for dementia remains ambiguous. This study aimed to determine the effect of CAM on QoL outcomes in dementia patients. Methods: A search was performed using the keywords "dementia," "Alzheimer's," "cognitive impairment," "Chinese," "Korean," "oriental," "herbal," "acupuncture," and "quality of life". All quantitative data were synthesized using R version 4.1.1. Results: Twenty-five randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 16 pre-post trials, and two cohort studies were selected for the systematic review. QoL in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD) (n=11, 25.6%) and geriatric QoL in dementia (GQOL-D, n=9, 20.9%) were the most utilized QoL instruments. Significant benefits in QoL were observed after receiving mind, body, combined mind and body, nursing, oriental medicine, and acupuncture therapies. In the meta-analysis, the combined effect was shown to significantly increase QOL-AD compared to before CAM interventions (standardized mean difference, SMD: 0.507; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.191~0.824; p<0.01). The overall synthesized estimates in the GQOL-D showed a significantly improved QoL (SMD: 0.537, 95% CI: 0.238~0.837 p<0.01; one group; SMD: 1.465, 95% CI: 0.934~1.996, p<0.01). The seven studies assessing the cost-effectiveness of CAM reported uncertain outcomes. Conclusions: This study showed that CAM interventions benefited patients with dementia by improving their QoL. While additional standardized research is required, CAMs are suggested as effective clinical management for patients with dementia. They are also suggested as complementing therapies for these patients.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.405-417
• /
• 2022

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory immune-mediated condition that has been identified as a potentially malignant oral disorder. Various therapies have been proposed for its management as alternative to corticosteroids. However, no definitive treatment has been identified that can result in complete remission or minimal recurrence. Hyaluronic acid has recently been used as an alternative therapy for the management of OLP. This study aimed to systematically review the effectiveness of Hyaluronic acid in the management of symptomatic OLP. Online electronic databases and manual searches were performed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between January 2010 and April 2022. RCTs were identified that compared the efficacy of hyaluronic acid and other interventional therapies at baseline and during follow-up. The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Thongprasom sign scores, lesion size, degree of erythema, clinical severity, and disease severity were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. Seven studies were analyzed. Five studies reported a high risk of bias while the remaining two studies reported an unclear risk of bias. The overall quantitative assessment of size, symptoms, degree of erythema, and sign score in OLP lesions treated with HA was not statistically significant compared to that in the control group (P > 0.05). In addition, subgroup analysis comparing HA with placebo or corticosteroids did not yield statistically significant (P > 0.05) results. Qualitatively, both HA and tacrolimus resulted in an effective reduction in signs and symptoms. Clinical/disease severity index/scores were inconsistent. A high degree of heterogeneity was observed among the included studies. None of the included studies reported the side effects of HA. These findings suggest that corticosteroids, tacrolimus, placebo, and HA could be equally effective in OLP management. The clinical/disease severity index or score reduction cannot be determined with certainty. Thus, OLP can be treated with HA as an alternative therapy. Owing to limited clinical trials on HA, high heterogeneity, and high risk of bias in the included studies, definitive conclusions cannot be derived.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.533-542
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study was to identify the perception of alternative medicine and factors affecting the intention to use for nurses and caregiver. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, this study was conducted to examine the awareness of alternative medicine, use experience, and intention to use for 400 workers in hospitals and nursing homes. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows. Recognition of alternative medicine effected on reliability of alternative medicine, awareness and use experience. In addition, experience with alternative medicine has a negative impact on the intention to use alternative medicine. In conclusion, this study suggested that the development of alternative medicine requires efforts to improve the therapeutic effect of alternative medicine.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.286-298
• /
• 2006

Purpose: This study was to develop an online 'alternative therapy and health promotion' class for university students and to evaluate its changes. Method: The online class was developed based on the Instructional Systems Development(ISD) model and model of Web-Based Instruction(WBI) developmental process. This was a quasi-experimental, one group pretest-posttest design. The subjects of this study were 130 students in 3 universities, and they were provided the cyber class for 16 weeks. Data was analyzed by descriptive and plural answer statistics, and paired t-test. Results: The cyber class was developed in five steps : analysis, design, data collection and reconstruction, programing and publishing, and evaluation. The results of program evaluation were positive, which included learning 3.47. system 3.57, and learning satisfaction 3.64 on the scale of 5. The posttest scores of cognition and reliability of alternative therapy were higher than pretest scores. The posttest score of health promoting lifestyle(t=-5.051, p=.000) and perceived health status(t=2.979, p=.003) were significantly higher than those of the pretest. Conclusion: These results suggest that the cyber class is a positive method in increasing a cognition, reliability of alternative therapy, and is effective to improve a health promotion lifestyle and perceived health status for the university students.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.167-178
• /
• 2008

Purpose: Many breastfeeding women have used complementary and alternative medicine, but the guideline for lactation does not exist on complementary medicine. This study is to investigate efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative medicine in breastfeeding. Methods: We searched for papers which had breastfeeding, complementary medicine, acupuncture and herb in the pubmed, scopus site and Korean journals. Results: 38 papers were found. Acupuncture could have the efficacy on hypogalatia and mastitis. Compound herb therapy had effect on hypogalactia, but none of herbs were investigated for safety all except for St John's wort. So more clinical trials about herbs would be needed. Massage and the other complementary therapies would be helpful for breastfeeding mother. Conclusion: Acupuncture could be a good treatment for hypogalactia and inflammation of the breast. For making guidelines on complementary and alternative medicine during lactation, more research will be needed.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.177-182
• /
• 2018

Background: Breast cancer is a treatable disease, but some women reject conventional treatment in favor of unproven "alternative therapies," which may have serious implications for their survival. Therefore, a process is needed to lead them to more appropriate treatment choices. Case presentation: Here, we present the case of a 51-year-old Korean female diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer (stage IIB, T2N1M0) in Nov. 2015. She refused a standard surgical resection together with chemotherapy and opted instead for moxibustion by nonmedical personnel. Consequently, her preference for alternative therapy without conventional treatment exacerbated her disease. Just a little over a year later, integrative cancer treatment, including chemotherapy based on histological founding, and complementary treatment, comprised of acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal medicine, were administered for 5 months. Finally, she successfully underwent modified radical mastectomy showing a pathological complete response. She received only adjuvant chemotherapy without any alternative medicine afterwards, and she maintained a good status without recurrence. Conclusion: In the case of breast cancer patients who are resistant to surgery and chemotherapy, integrative therapy considering adverse effects from conventional treatment should be preferred to bitter opposition to alternative medicine.