• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to review the acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD) in China. Methods : The literatures were searched using the database-China Academic Journals(CAJ)(~2015.1.). Clinical studies of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for GERD such as randomized controlled trial(RCT), non-randomized controlled trial(NRCT), case series, or case report were included. Results : Thirty studies met our inclusion criteria: 24 RCTs, 4 NRCTs, 1 case series, 1 case report. Various kinds of treatment such as body acupuncture, abdominal acupuncture, acupuncture therapy with finger on back-shu point, electroacupuncture, acupoint injection, auricular acupuncture, and moxibustion were used in the clinical studies. The treatment groups take herbal medicines at the same time in 16 studies, and proton pump inhibitor(PPI) and histamine 2 receptor antagonist were used as a comparative treatment in the most of studies. Acupuncture or moxibustion treatments were done daily or 2~3 times a week for 5 days~18 weeks. All of studies reported higher effective rate in the acupuncture or moxibustion treatment group compared to the western medication control group. Conclusions : The results of this study could be used for the future practice and the clinical research about the acupuncture and moxibustion therapy for GERD.

• 혜화의학회지
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.165-171
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• 2011

Objectives: This study analyzed the contents of the research papers of Maekmundong-tang (MMDT). This study was conducted to help development of new clinical application and clinical studies for treating COPD with Oriental medicine. Materials and Methods: We inspected 26 theses and scrutinized their classification, objective diseases, study design, participants, methodological quality of clinical trial. Results: The following results were obtained in this study. 1. The studies of MMDT started in 1989 and have continuously increased, but it decreased recently. 2. The studies were mainly focused on experimental models rather than clinical studies. The topics of studies were mainly relaxation of airway contraction and anti-asthmatic effect. 3. MMDT was showed to have effects on chronic cough and asthma in these papers. Conclusion: MMDT is being used in respiratory disease. However, mechanism study should be conducted at experimental study and more clinical studies on the efficacy of MMDT for chronic respiratory disease are needed.

• 대한수의학회지
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.39-44
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• 2009

Transmission of avian viruses both bird-to-bird and from birds to non-avian species is a major health concern. Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an economically important avian virus that poses substantial risks to the poultry industry. Rapid and sensitive diagnostic methods, such as the enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), are required to track such infections. To develop an ELISA for detecting anti-NDV antibody in avian sera, the nucleocapsid protein (NCP) gene of the NDV La Sota strain was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and the 513-amino acid recombinant NCP was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. To evaluate its ability to replace NDV whole virus antigen as a coating antigen, NCP-coated and whole NDV-coated ELISAs were tested and compared using a panel of NDV positive antisera from chickens. Results using purified NCP were highly correlated with those obtained using whole NDV (r= 0.927), demonstrating that recombinant NCP expressed in Escherichia coli is a suitable substitute antigen for whole NDV in a diagnostic ELISA.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제29권6호
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• pp.571-581
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• 2021

Towards the end of 2019, an atypical acute respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified in Wuhan, China and subsequently named Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The rapid dissemination of COVID-19 has provoked a global crisis in public health. COVID-19 has been reported to cause sepsis, severe infections in the respiratory tract, multiple organ failure, and pulmonary fibrosis, all of which might induce mortality. Although several vaccines for COVID-19 are currently being administered worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet effectively under control. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents to eradicate the cause of the disease and/or manage the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 should be developed to effectively regulate the current pandemic. In this review, we discuss the possibility of managing the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 using natural products derived from medicinal plants used for controlling pulmonary inflammatory diseases in folk medicine. Diverse natural products have been reported to exert potential antiviral effects in vitro by affecting viral replication, entry into host cells, assembly in host cells, and release. However, the in vivo antiviral effects and clinical antiviral efficacies of these natural products against SARS-CoV-2 have not been successfully proven to date. Thus, these properties need to be elucidated through further investigations, including randomized clinical trials, in order to develop optimal and ideal therapeutic candidates for COVID-19.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제57권1호
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• pp.39-41
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• 2019

In the indeterminate chronic period of Chagas disease (ChD) the treatment has not been conclusive, because the serological negativization requires many years. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of nifurtimox (NF) in the treatment of chronic ChD in prolonged follow-up by serological techniques of indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) IgG comparing 2 groups of patients, treated and non treated. Mann-Whitney test was performed for ELISA and IFA, with significant difference between the groups (P<0.05). IgG levels were lower in individuals treated compared with untreated patients, indicating chemotherapeutic efficacy in prolonged follow-up.

• 동의생리병리학회지
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• 제35권5호
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• pp.132-138
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• 2021

Artificial intelligence technology sheds light on new ways of innovating acupuncture research. As acupoint selection is specific to target diseases, each acupoint is generally believed to have a specific indication. However, the specificity of acupoint selection may be not always same with the specificity of acupoint indication. In this review, we propose that the specificity of acupoint indication can be inferred from clinical data using reverse inference. Using forward inference, the prescribed acupoints for each disease can be quantified for the specificity of acupoint selection. Using reverse inference, targeted diseases for each acupoint can be quantified for the specificity of acupoint indication. It is noteworthy that the selection of an acupoint for a particular disease does not imply the acupoint has specific indications for that disease. Electronic medical record includes various symptoms and chosen acupoint combinations. Data mining approach can be useful to reveal the complex relationships between diseases and acupoints from clinical data. Combining the clinical information and the bodily sensation map, the spatial patterns of acupoint indication can be further estimated. Interoperable medical data should be collected for medical knowledge discovery and clinical decision support system. In the era of artificial intelligence, machine learning can reveal the associations between diseases and prescribed acupoints from large scale clinical data warehouse.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• 제28권1호
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• pp.8-15
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• 2024

With the rapid evolution of diagnostic tools, particularly next-generation sequencing, the identification of genetic diseases, predominantly those with pediatric-onset, has significantly advanced. However, this progress presents challenges that span from selecting appropriate tests to the final interpretation of results. This review examines various genetic testing methodologies, each with specific indications and characteristics, emphasizing the importance of selecting the appropriate genetic test in clinical practice, taking into account factors like detection range, cost, turnaround time, and specificity of the clinical diagnosis. Interpretation of variants has become more challenging, often requiring further validation and significant resource allocation. Laboratories primarily classify variants based on the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and the Association for Clinical Genomic Science guidelines, however, this process has limitations. This review underscores the critical role of clinicians in matching patient phenotypes with reported genes/variants and considering additional factors such as variable expressivity, disease pleiotropy, and incomplete penetrance. These considerations should be aligned with specific gene-disease characteristics and segregation results based on an extended pedigree. In conclusion, this review aims to enhance understanding of the complexities of clinical genetic testing, advocating for a multidisciplinary approach to ensure accurate diagnosis and effective management of rare genetic diseases.

• 대한세포병리학회지
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• 제7권1호
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• pp.79-83
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• 1996

Gaucher's disease is an autosomal recessive disorder resulting from mutation at the glucocerebrosidase locus on chromosome 1q21. As a result, glucocerebroside accumulates principally in the phagocytic cells known as Gaucher cells. In our case, a five-year old girl was admitted with seven days' history of fever and abdominal distension. At physical examination the patient had hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory tests revealed a hemoglobin concentration of 2.8g/L: platelet counts of $23,000/{\mu}l$: normal range of white cell and differential counts, and negative Coombs' test. Liver enzymes were normal. For the evaluation of hepatosplenomegaly, fine needle aspiration was performed blindly against the palpable spleen. Wet-fixed hematoxylin and eosin-stained smears are made. The smears from the spleen showed predominantly macrophages with abundant cytoplasm and rather small, uniform, often eccentric nuclei with small nucleoli. The multinucleated cells were often found. The cytoplasm was pale, with more or less distinct fibrillarity. The cells had the characteristic appearance of Gaucher cells. Gaucher cells were also found in the tissue section from the liver, spleen and lymph node and the bone marrow aspirate. The diagnosis was later confirmed by determination of bela-glucosidase activity in peripheral blood leucocytes. Fine needle aspiration of the spleen is considered as a convenient procedure with a low complication rate for the diagnosis of lysosomal storage disease.

• 한방안이비인후피부과학회지
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• 제30권3호
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• pp.88-102
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• 2017

Objectives : The aim of this study is to review domestic clinical studies about dizziness in Korean medicine. Methods : Population key words "현훈(Hyeonhoon), 현기증(Hyeongijeung), 어지럼(Eojireom), 어지러움(Eojireoum), 실신(Silsin), 眩暈(Hyeonhoon), 眩氣症(Hyeongijeung), 失神(Silsin)" were searched on five database systems(DBpia, KISS, KMbase, NDSL, RISS) from September, 13th to September, 15th, 2016. 60 clinical studies were collected and classified by published journal, year, etiologic disease, study design, dizziness assessment tools of studies, study results, evaluation of disease pattern and process, interventions(herbal medicine and acupuncture treatment points), and number of studies which chose that prescription. Results & Conclusions : Dizziness was researched constantly since 1998 and 7 clinical stuides were issued 2007, the most. The journal which the most studies were presented was Journal of korean oriental internal medicine(12 studies over 60, 20%). Original article were 12(20.0%) and case reports were 48(80.0%) among 60 studies. BPPV was reported as a etiologic disease on 9 studies(20.45%) among 44 studies. VAS was used mainly as dizziness assessment tools of studies(26 studies over 38, 68.42%). 9 studies(15.0%) got evaluation of disease pattern and process among 60. Banhabaekchulcheonma-tang was reported as a herbal medicine prescription on 9 over 44 studies(20.45%) and ST36 was chosen acupuncture point most(24 over 45 studies, 53.33%). It doesn't have enough representativenes but has meaning to apprehend present tendency to treat dizziness in Korean medicine clinical studies.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.52.1-52.10
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• 2024

Importance: Kidney disease is prevalent among veterinary species, including zoo animals; however, investigations into this condition in striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are scarce. Diagnostic tools for kidney diseases in this species also remain limited. Objective: This study aimed to assess the utility of symmetric dimethylarginine as a biomarker for kidney disease in captive striped skunks in Korea. Methods: This retrospective study analysed 11 striped skunks housed at the Everland Zoo between 2017 and 2021. Blood samples were collected during health checks. Kidney function was assessed through blood analysis and diagnostic ultrasound, with necropsies conducted on deceased animals. Symmetric dimethylarginine levels were measured in 27 plasma samples collected from 11 skunks. Results: Over the study period, seven skunks were diagnosed with kidney disease. Analysis of 27 blood samples revealed a concurrent increase in SDMA levels with concentrations of blood urea nitrogen and blood creatinine. In 3 of the 7 skunks with kidney disease, symmetric dimethylarginine exceeded 14 ㎍/dL prior to the elevation of blood urea nitrogen and blood creatinine above the upper reference limit. Conclusions and Relevance: To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating symmetric dimethylarginine in captive striped skunks in Korea. Our findings suggest that symmetric dimethylarginine may serve as an early and consistent biomarker for renal dysfunction in striped skunks. Further studies with larger clinical sample size from striped skunks are needed to validate the clinical utility of blood symmetric dimethylarginine concentration.