• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.103-108
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• 2009

Objectives : This study is to report the effect of Pharmacopuncture therapy on a patient suffering from the pain and cold intolerance of hand caused by Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon. Methods : We had treated the patient diagnosed as Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon by Sweet BV and CF pharmacopuncture. We injected Sweet BV and CF into acupuncture points on both hands - Sweet BV into Baxie (EX-UE9), CF into Naegwan ($PC_6$) and Daereung ($PC_7$). And then we evaluated her symptoms by VAS (Visual Analog Scale). Results : Clinical symptoms about Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon were remarkably improved by Sweet BV and CF Pharmacopuncture. Conclusion : Therefore, we concluded that pharmacopuncture therapy - Sweet BV, CF etc. - may be useful to treat Carpal tunnel syndrome with Raynaud's phenomenon.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.526-528
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• 2008

A 4-year-old male Maltese dog was referred with chief complaint of facial nerve paralysis and hyperthermia. These clinical signs were occurred after tooth extraction. Leukocytosis and swelling of left side of gums were detected. He was medicated with antibiotics for 9 days, however, inability of blinking in left eye, lacrimation and hyperthermia were not improved. The patient was administrated with Oyaksungisan (50 mg/kg, PO, BID) for 14 days and was treated by injection-acupuncture (AP) with bee venom ($200\;{\mu}g/head$, two times/week, total three times). The patient was treated by injection-AP with dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, two times/week, total two times). As a result, Left blepharon was slightly blinked at session 4. Blinking of left blepharon became normal after session 5. The present patient was a case with canine facial nerve paralysis which showed favorable therapeutic response by alternative treatment.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.93-106
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• 2021

This study aimed to analyze the use of Korean medicine treatments for alopecia in among clinical studies. We identified and analyzed 22 studies from Korean databases; Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), Science ON, Korean Studies Information Service System (KISS), and Research Information Sharing Service (RISS) and international database; PubMed. We analyzed the Korean medical treatment in each case and determined the tendency to use each intervention. We analyzed 1,464 patients from 22 selected studies. Herbal medicine, acupuncture, external medicine or products, pharmacopuncture, and phototherapy were used for alopecia treatment. The herbal medicines mainly used to treat alopecia were Gagam Cheongyoung-tang, Gagam Hwajung-hwan, and Yukmijihwang-tang·hwan. The acupoints primarily used were GV20, EX-HN1, GB5, KI3, PC6, ST36, GV22, and A-shi. The most commonly used pharmacopuncture therapies were Hwangryunhaedoktang (HH), Carthami Fructus (CF), Bee Venom (BV), and Hominis placenta (HP). The Korean medical treatment for alopecia improved the condition of patients. However, seven studies reported the occurrence of side effects such as pruritus, dazed, drowsiness, headache, pain, and diarrhea. This study shows the potential of Korean medicine for the treatment of alopecia. Further studies with a large sample size and long-term follow-up are warranted to establish the primary treatment guidelines and objective outcome measures for alopecia.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.159-169
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• 2019

Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess the use of Korean Medicine for treating cauda equina syndrome. Methods We searched for studies of the use of Korean Medicine for the treatment of cauda equina syndrome in 8 electronic databases and analyzed these studies. Results We found 297 studies on cauda equina syndrome from 8 electronic databases. We excluded 230 duplicate studies, 53 studies that did not involve the use of Korean Medicine and 1 review article. In addition, 13 case studies (13 patients) were included. Acupuncture, herbal medicine (13 times), moxibustion (9 times), pharmacopuncture (8 times), physical therapy (6 times), cupping therapy (5 times), and the bladder stimulation technique (4 times) were used. ST36 for acupuncture, Bojoongikgi-tang as a herbal medicine, CV4 for moxibustion, bee venom as a pharmacopuncture material and BL23 in pharmacopuncture point were the most frequently used. Conclusions Korean Medcine for cauda equina syndrome was effective. However, we found limited evidence regarding Korean Medicine for cauda equina syndrome. Thus, we think various type of studies including much more case reports, for cauda equina syndrome should be performed in the future.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.139-144
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• 2022

Peripheral facial nerve palsy is a neurological condition/disease characterized by unilateral paralysis of the facial muscles. We report the effects of complex Korean medicine treatment in 2 patients diagnosed with Bell's palsy who developed symptoms 3-4 days following vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and who received oral steroids and antiviral medications. Complex Korean medicine treatments including acupuncture, electroacupuncture, bee venom acupuncture, cupping therapy, herbal medicine, and physical therapy were performed. Symptom improvement was evaluated daily using the Numerical Rating Scale, House-Brackmann Grade, and Yanagihara's Score. Patient 1 was hospitalized for 22 days and Patient 2 visited the outpatient clinic 20 times. In both cases, postauricular pain caused by Bell's palsy disappeared, and symptoms of facial paralysis improved following completion of treatment. These findings could suggest that combined Korean medicine treatment may improve symptoms of peripheral facial nerve palsy.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.114-122
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• 2022

Objective : The purpose of this study is to report the effect of Korean medicine treatments of abducens nerve palsy after cancer immunotherapy. Methods : A 63-year-old male patient who was suffering hepatocellular carcinoma had left eye abduction restriction, diplopia, and decreased visual acuity after taking 5^th cancer immunotherapy(atezolizumab + bevacizumab). Western medicine was administered for 3 weeks, but there was no response. The patient was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, moxibustion and bee venom pharmacoacupuncture for 4 weeks. Result : The patient's eye abduction restriction and diplopia were resolved. Visual acuity was improved from NRS(Numerical Rating Scale) 8 to NRS 2. The patient continued immunotherapy and there was no worsening of symptoms. No adverse events were observed. Conclusions : This study shows that Korean medicine treatments were effective on abducens nerve palsy after cancer immunotherapy.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.185-192
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to analyze trends in domestic and international clinical research studies on pharmacopuncture treatment for fractures. We searched five online databases (PubMed, CNKI, RISS, KISS, and OASIS), and selected a total of 13 clinical research studies from Korea and China. Selected studies were analyzed according to publication year, subject, intervention, treatment method, evaluation scale, adverse event, risk of bias, etc. A total of 10 case studies and 3 randomized controlled trials were included. The study subjects were more often female, and the most common type of fracture was vertebral compression fracture. In Korea, herbal medicine preparations and bee venom were used for pharmacopuncture solution, whereas in China, both herbal medicine preparations and Western medicine preparations were used. All studies commonly used local acupoint needling, and in most cases, the treatment period for case study was less than 1 month, and the observation period of randomized controlled trials was diverse. The most frequently used evaluation scale was numeric rating scale, adverse events were mentioned in only three studies, and no adverse events were reported. Overall risk of bias of all included randomized controlled trials was judged "some concerns". According to this study, pharmacopuncture treatment for fractures was found to be relatively effective and safe, but research that complements the limitations of this study is needed.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.55-60
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• 2015

Melittin is the main component of Bee Venom and has antibacterial activity against several bacteria. To produce the melittin antimicrobial peptide, we constructed transgenic silkworm that expressed melittin gene under the control BmA3 promoter using piggyBac vector. The use of the 3xP3-driven EGFP cDNA as a marker allowed us to rapidly distinguish transgenic silkworm. Mixtures of the donor vector and helper vector were micro-injected into 300 eggs of bivoltin silkworms, Baegokjam. In total, 131 larvae (G0) were hatched and allowed to develop into moths. The resulting G1 generation consisted of 36 broods, and we selected 4 broods containing at least 1 EGFP-positive embryo. The rate of successful transgenesis for the G1 broods was 11%. We identified 12 EGFP-positive G1 moths and these were backcrossed with wild-type moths. With the aim of identifying a melittin as antimicrobial peptide, we investigated the Radical diffusion Assay (RDA) and then demonstrated that melittin possesses high antibacterial activities against gramnegative bacteria.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.173-185
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• 2008

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of Bong (a type of stick which is called bong) Chuna manual therapy (CMT) on the correction of posterior inferior (PI) ilium deviation, and evaluate changes of pain intensity and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for the treatment of low back pain. Methods : We measured leg length inequality (LLI), as an indicator of correction of PI ilium, before and after the Bong CMT twice immediately, and also checked the change of LLI in the course of 10 times of treatment. Ten times of Bong CMT with oriental medical treatment, such as acupuncture and bee venom pharmacopuncture, were performed not only to correct the PI ilium deviation but also to alleviate pain. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Oswetry Low-back Pain Disability Index (ODI) score were scored to evaluate the pain and function of low back. Results : In this study, LLI was decreased in general while we performed correction of PI ilium deviation immediately, also effectively decreased comparing between before and after 10 times of Bong CMT, Bong CMT with oriental medical treatment improved pain and function of low back. Conclusions : These results suggest that Bong CMT may be an effective method for the correction of PI ilium deviation. However more rigorous study should be followed because of small cases report.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.7-17
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• 2014

Objectives: Condurango is widely used in various systems of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) against oesophageal and stomach ailments including certain types of cancer. However, until now no systematic study has been conducted to verify its efficacy and dose with proper experimental support. Therefore, we examined if ethanolic extract of Condurango could ameliorate benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-induced lung cancer in rats, in vivo to validate its use as traditional medicine. Methods: Fifteen male and 15 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were treated with 0.28 mg/kg of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV) (high-dosage group) and the same numbers of male and female SD rats were treated with 0.2 mL/kg of normal saline (control group) for 13 weeks. We selected five male and five female SD rats from the high-dosage group and the same numbers of male and female SD rats from the control group, and we observed these rats for four weeks. We conducted body-weight measurements, ophthalmic examinations, urinalyses and hematology, biochemistry, histology tests. Results: A histological study revealed gradual progress in lung tissue-repair activity in Condurango-fed cancer-bearing rats, showing gradual tissue recovery after three months of drug administration. Condurango has the capacity to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may contribute to a reduction in anti-oxidative activity and to an induction of oxidative stress-mediated cancer cell-death. Condurango-activated pro-apoptotic genes (Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9, p53, cytochrome-c, apaf-1, ICAD and PARP) and down-regulated antiapoptotic-Bcl-2 expression were noted both at mRNA and protein levels. Studies on caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage by western blot analysis revealed that Condurango induced apoptosis through a caspase-3-dependent pathway. Conclusion: The anticancer efficacy of an ethanolic extract of Condurango for treating BaP-induced lung cancer in rats lends support for its use in various traditional systems of medicine.