• Journal of Menopausal Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.156-159
• /
• 2017

Some species of traditional herbal medicine has a history of use, most traditional natural herbs have been used for various diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Among them, Passiflora incarnata L. is a traditional natural medicine, flowers as well as berries, roots, and leaves have been used as a medicine. It has been used as a natural medicine for the treatment of insomnia and anxiety for a longtime in Europe, and it has been used primarily for sedation tea in North America. Moreover, Passiflora incarnata L. is widely used anti-asthmatic, analgesic and sedation in Brazil. In other words, Passiflora incarnata L. has been used to treat a sedative, dysmenorrhea, insomnia, cancer, etc. in many countries. Present review of the plants showed a wide range of pharmacological activity in anxiolytic relax the clinical disease, such as anti-inflammatory, anxiety and antioxidant. In addition, Passiflora incarnata L. affects menopause symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms, insomnia, and depression. This review aims to provide the latest information on specific functional components of Passiflora incarnata L. especially the results of clinical trials will provide new insights into opportunities for the future development of natural medicines and doors will be used for purposes of analysis.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.184-191
• /
• 2003

Background : Nowadays asthma is considered to be an inflammatory disease characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness and pulmonary eosinophilia. Production of cytokines by bronchial epithelial cells may contribution to the local accumulation of inflammatory cells in patients with bronchial asthma. Chungsangboha-tang is the herbal treatment of choice in persistent asthma patients. It has been recognized that cessation of treatment with Chungsangboha-tang evokes a recurrence of symptoms in patients with controlled asthma. This study was designed to evaluate the long-term effect of Chungsangboha-tang. Materials and Methods : The subjects consisted of 24 patients with asthma who had been treated with Chungsangboha-tang for four weeks. Chungsangboha-tang is an herbal decoction which has been used as the traditional therapeutic agent for asthma. PFT, QLQAKA, blood eosinophils, serum IgE, Serum IL-4, IL-5, $IFN-{\gamma}$ were checked before treatment, before withdrawal and 3 months after cessation of treatment with Chungsangboha-tang. Results : Treatment with Chungsangboha-tang for four weeks resulted in significant increase in FEV1.0%, PEFR%, and QLQAKA. The patients were treated with Chungsangboha-tang for four weeks with no significant difference in the blood eosinophils, serum IgE, IL-4 and IL-5. The serum $IFN-{\gamma}$ in asthmatic patients decreased significantly after 4 weeks of treatment. Discontinuation of treatment with Chungsangboha-tang resulted in significant drops in QLQAKA. Others measures in asthmatic patients 3 months after discontinuation of treatment with Chungsangboha-tang showed no significant difference. Conclusion : This study demonstrates that asthma can be exacerbated by discontinuation of treatment with Chungsangboha-tang in patients with asthma. Obviously further research concerning this is still necessary.

• Proceedings of the Korea Contents Association Conference
• /
• 2018.05a
• /
• pp.409-410
• /
• 2018

Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases and can be affected by environmental factors. It has been reported that exposure to indoor environmental factors can cause infantile asthma during infancy and childhood, but the previous studies are not yet clear. Climate change has recently been shown to increase indoor mold. Exposure to fungi is known to be directly related to the development of aggravation. Methods: This study was conducted from July 20, 2016 to September 30, 2016. The study was conducted on 90 household with children under the age of 7 who attend atopy school. The questionnaire surveyed allergic symptoms, social and demographic characteristics, and environmental characteristics. Environmentally hazardous substances were measured such as temperature, humidity, fine dust, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, bacteria, fungus, house dust mite, endotoxin. Results: According to the survey results, 9 patients (10%) were treated with asthma, 6 (6.7%) were asthmatic patients during the past 12 months, and 4 patients (4.4%) were asthmatic patients during the past 12 months. There were statistically significant differences in the direct effect of smokers in the family (P=0.0328). High-filter vacuum cleaners collected $0.4222CFU/m^3$ in subjects without asthma, and $0.2222CFU/m^3$ in subjects with asthma. In addition, various results confirmed that asthma exacerbated by mold exposure. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that exposure to fungal by infants and toddlers may play an important role in the development of asthma. In this study, we investigated the relationship between asthma and fungal concentration.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.388-394
• /
• 2009

The cytokines which is produced by allergen-specific T helper (Th) cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of asthma. Asthma is caused by exaggerated T-helper 2 (Th2)-based immune responses. It is suggested that controlling such Th2-based response is necessary for asthma therapy. The current therapies for asthma focus primarily on control of symptoms and suppression of inflammation, without affecting the underlying cause. So, we examined that anti-asthmatic drugs might have play a certain role in Th2/Th1 balance. Splenocytes isolated from ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice cultured with anti-asthmatic drugs. It is well known that Th2 and Th1 immune responses can balance one another, as Th2 mediators suppress Th1 responses and Th1 mediators similarly inhibit Th2 responses. But salmeterol inhibits both of Th1 and Th2 mediators, which salmeterol is a suppressor of immune responses not only a suppressor of Th2-based immune responses. Aminophylline is a weak suppressor of immune responses. But ipratropium and cromoglycate don't have any suppressor effect to Th2-driven responses. They only have suppressor effect to Th1 immune responses. Salmeterol, ipratropium, aminophylline, and cromoglycate augmented mRNA levels of CRTH2, EP2, and IP2 receptors in OVA-sensitized splenocytes. It is well known that the up-regulation of CRTH2 - $PGD_2$ receptor - results in restraint of eosinophil recruitment and that the increment of IP and EP2 - $PGI_2$ and $PGE_2$ receptor, respectively - may induce the accumulation of cAMP that decrease the effector function of T cells. Moreover salmeterol and cromoglycate increase the mRNA expression of $PGD_2$ synthase. These findings indicate that anti-asthma agents may alleviate the immunological responses that cause the asthmatic diseases.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.39 no.5
• /
• pp.392-399
• /
• 1992

Background: Despite dyspnea is a predominant complaint of patients with respiratory disease, the mechanisms contributing to the sensation of breathlessness are poorly understood. Traditionally, physicians have measured objective pulmonary function to assess severity of dyspnea. But it will be also useful to measure subjective dyspnea index because dyspnea probably depends on a complex interplay of mechanical, experimental, emotional and other factors. Method: We measured breathlessness at rest, after Methacholine challenge and then bronchodilator inhalation using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Borg Scale Dyspnea Index (BSDI) in stable asthmatic patients. Spirometry was performed concomittently. Results: There was no correlation between dyspnea index and FEV1. There was also no correlation between the change in dyspnea index and change in FEV1. The change in dyspnea index after methacholine and bronchodilator was greater in clinically mild asthmatic patients than clinically severe symptomatic group. Conclusion: In asthmatic patients, there was a wide variation in sensory response for any given FEV1, and the change in perception of dyspnea was greater in those with clinically mild symptoms. The measurement of dyspnea index may yield information complementary to that obtained by spirometry.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.27 no.2 s.46
• /
• pp.274-285
• /
• 1994

The effects of resin on the respiratory health have been investigated in 309 workers from four iron and steel foundries and the results compared with those from 122 workers who were not significantly exposed to resin gas and silica dust at the same industries. Phenol-formaldehyde resin was used in the core making and molding processes and workers were exposed to their decomposition products as well as to silica dust containing particulates. The subjects were grouped according to formaldehyde, dust and other gas exposures, and smoking habits were considered also in thi analysis. Standardized respiratory symptom questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers. Chest radiograph, pulmonary funtion tests, and methacholine challenge tests were done. Environmental measurements at the breathing zone were carried out to determine levels of formaldehyde, respiable dust and total dust. Foundry workers had a higher prevalence of symptoms of chronic bronchitis with chronic phlegm and chronic cough when exposed to dust. Exposure to gas was significantly associated with lowered $FEV_1$ and obstructive pulmonary function changes. Exposure to formaldehyde and phenol gas was associated with wheezing symptom among workers, but $FEV_1$ changes after methacholine challenge were not significantly different among different exposure groups. When asthma was defined as the presence of bronchial hyperreactivity with more than 20% decrease in $FEV_1$ after methacholine challenge, 17 workers out of 222 tested had asthma. Fewer asthmatic welters were found among groups exposed to formaldehyde, gas and dust, which indicates a healthy worker effects ill a cross-sectional study. The concentration of formaldehyde gas ranged from 0.24 to 0.43 ppm among studied foundries. The authors conclude that formaldehyde and phenol gas from combusted resin is probably the cause of asthmatic symptoms and also a selection force of those with higher bronchial reactivity away from exposures.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.219-227
• /
• 1992

Background: Acute and chronic airway inflammation are important in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. Corticosteroids have proved to be very effective in the management of asthma. Although the mechanism by which they produce this effect is still debated, suppression of the inflammatory response is thought to be the most likely. Although inhaled steroids are known to be safe and have less side effects than oral steroids, the extent which inhaled steroids have beneficial and the detrimental effects in the treatment of asthma has remained open to question. Budesonide is a recently developed corticosteroid for inhalation treatment with a strong local effect combined with rapid inactivation in the systemic circulation. We set out to look in more detail at the time course of change in bronchial reactivity, clinical symptoms and the effects on the adrenal function during 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide (800 ug per day). Methods: Clinical symptoms, pulmonary function test, histamine $PC_{20}$, serum ACTH and cortisol (8 AM and 4 PM) were measured in 23 allergic asthmatic patients before and after 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide. Results: 1) Pulmonary function test; PEFR, FEV1 and FVC after 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide were higher than those before treatment. 2) Clinical symptoms; Clinical symptoms were significantly improved after 3 weeks and 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide. 3) Histamine provocation; Histamine $PC_{20}$ after 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide was significantly higher than that before treatment. 4) Adrenal function; 6 weeks of budesonide therapy did not significantly affect the level of serum ACTH and cortisol. Conclusion: From these results, it is concluded that budesonide therapy improved the clinical symptoms, pulmonary function and bronchial hyperreactivity after 3 weeks of treatment and the improvement after 6 weeks of treatment was higher than that after 3 weeks of treatment. During 6 weeks of treatment with budesonide, the inhibitory effect on the adrenal function was not obvious.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.80 no.1
• /
• pp.11-20
• /
• 2017

Approximately one in four patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have asthmatic features consisting of wheezing, airway hyper-responsiveness or atopy. The Global initiative for Asthma/Globalinitiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease committee recently labelled these patients as having asthma-COPD overlap syndrome or ACOS. ACOS also encompasses patients with asthma, ${\geq}40$ years of age, who have been cigarette smokers (more than 5-10 pack years) or have had significant biomass exposure, and demonstrate persistent airflow limitation defined as a post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second ($FEV_1$)/forced vital capacity of <70%. Data over the past 30 years indicate that patients with ACOS have greater burden of symptoms including dyspnea and cough and show higher risk of COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations than those with pure COPD or pure asthma. Patients with ACOS also have increased risk of rapid $FEV_1$ decline and COPD mortality. Paradoxically, experimental evidence to support therapeutic decisions in ACOS patients is lacking because traditionally, patients with ACOS have been systematically excluded from therapeutic COPD and asthma trials to maintain homogeneity of the study population. In this study, we summarize the current understanding of ACOS, focusing on definitions, epidemiology and patient prognosis.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.34-45
• /
• 1994

The author reviewed psychosomatic aspects of bronchial asthma including psychological aspect of bronchial asthma, patients' reactions to illness, reactions of therapists and families, effect of bronchial asthma on mental function, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The therapists' understanding of these aspects is likely to be helpful in their predicting and understanding the type of adaptation their asthmatic patients are making to their illness. Thus, the therapists need to recognize the asthmatics' psychological needs. They also should understand the vicious cycle of anxiety-hyperventilation-panic-fear-avoidance in patients with bronchial asthma and should try to break this cycle. To make it possible, the patients' panic-fear level should be assessed and sometimes it will require psychiatrists' advice. On the other hand, the asthmatics should be trained to be shaped to relate subjective feeling of pulmonary function with objective pulmonary measures, which will enable these patients to perceive their early symptoms and to cope with asthma attack effectively. The therapists need to pay attention to their emotion during evaluation and treatment of patients with bronchial asthma, because they are less likely to perceive stress and express their emotion.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.72-89
• /
• 2018

Objectives The objective of this study is to investigate the application of Sifeng point (EX-UE 10) in children and to make suggestions for domestic research and clinical application by reviewing relevant randomized controlled trials. Methods Eight electronic databases including English, Chinese, Korean databases were comprehensively searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of Sifeng point in children up to May 2, 2018. We extracted the year of publication, country, target diseases or symptoms, location of Sifeng, acupuncture method; such as acupuncture tool and depth of insertion, and frequency, number, and duration of the treatment. Results Fifty studies were included for analysis. All the included studies were conducted in China, and studies were published from 1962 to 2017. The most frequent target symptom was anorexia (46%). In addition, Sifeng point was used for digestive diseases or symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, and mesenteric lymphadenitis, as well as respiratory diseases or symptoms such as cough, cold, acute bronchiolitis, recurrent respiratory tract infections, bronchopneumonia, and asthmatic bronchitis. Also, allergic diseases such as chronic urticaria, and other variety of symptoms such as malnutrition, fever, and iron-deficiency anemia were treated with the Sifeng point. The location of Sifeng points was inconsistent, and the most common location of the Sifeng point was the midpoint of transverse creases of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the index, middle, ring and little fingers (84.2%). The most commonly used acupuncture tool was three-edged needle (40.9%). All included studies have the method of squeezing out blood or mucus from the Sifeng points. The treatment was mostly conducted once per week (35.4%), mostly repeated for 4 times (32.6%). The most common treatment duration was 4 weeks (18.6%). Conclusions We could identify acupuncture method and various indications for the Sifeng points treatment. Based on this study, there is a need for the clinical application and related researches on the Sifeng points in children in Korea. In addition, the treatment location of Sifeng point should be standardized.