• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.43-55
• /
• 2010

Objective : There is a growing interest on Complementary and Alternative Medicine(CAM). But the term 'CAM' often causes confusion, for the perception of CAM is determined by how the relationship between CAM and Conventional Medicine is established. Methods : In this paper, we researched the concept of CAM through the change in the terminology and definition of CAM throughout history. Furthermore, we also analyzed related papers in Korea. Results : International studies show that the relationship between Conventional Medicine and CAM has become more cooperative. Meanwhile, in Korea, Korean Medicine is categorized as a type of Conventional Medicine, not CAM. Conclusion : Though Korean Medicine is included in Conventional Medicine in Korea, the research methodology is still restricted in ways of bio-medical science. Further study on the original research method of Korean Medicine is needed.

• CELLMED
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.4.1-4.3
• /
• 2013

Times are changing in Italian healthcare and Traditional and Non Conventional Medicine has become increasingly relevant to medical practice. With this comes an increasing need for guidelines. As the use of Traditional and Non Conventional Medicine has increased in Italy, so has the need for high standards in education in this field (outside of biomedicine and the dominant health system) among medical students, medical doctors and medical educators. The rise of Traditional and Non Conventional Medicine is so relevant for medical practice and health care in Italy; the time calls for a change. The article describes this new setting in regards to education in Acupuncture within the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Italy's oldest private school.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2012

The objective of this study is to discuss the role of integrative medicine (IM) in contemporary health care settings, and how and which factors affect and facilitate the success of IM in terms of the integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and conventional medicine in primary health care (PHC). IM is meant to provide the best possible health care, for both patient and physician. The way of IM use in the developed countries presents various ways that IM can be provided, and it appears that strategies have been successfully developed to facilitate integration. Although few of the barriers to the integration of CAM and conventional medicine have been resolved, concerns over the legitimacy of CAM in health care (e.g., safety, biomedical evidence, and efficacy) are being overcome by the use of evidence-based practice in IM delivery. There are dominant models of IM that have been developed. The model types signify different levels of equity between CAM and conventional medicine in regard to the power, autonomy, and control held by each. However, the factors common to all IM models, whether describing CAM as supplementary or complementary to conventional medicine, is the concept of a health care model that aspires to be client-centred and holistic, with focus on health rather than disease as well as mutual respect among peer practitioners. Finally, this study concluded that the growth and viability of traditional Korean medicine(TKM) depend on evidence-based practices and identifying the successful influences on the integration of TKM and conventional medicine for recognition of its inherent value in PHC. Some recommendations for the integration of TKM and conventional medicine were suggested.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.79-83
• /
• 2010

Herbal hepatotoxicity is a one of the most often encountered controversial issues in medical society. Some believe herbs are totally safe while others regard treatment with herbs as a very common cause of hepatotoxicity. But there are no comparative clinical hepatotoxicity studies between herbal and conventional medicines. We investigated incidence of patients with abnormal liver function who were treated with herbal or conventional medicine at Dongguk University International Hospital. Each group consisted of 300 patients, who were admitted for longer than 30 days during the year 2008. We compared albumin, total bilirubin, AST (aspartate aminotransferase), and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) levels, and excludes patients who had abnormal liver function test or liver-related disease when admitted. As a result, incidence of total bilirubin, AST, and ALT elevation in the CT (conventional treatment) group was more frequent than in the TKM (traditional Korean medicine) group (p<0.05) during admission. Albumin level also decreased more frequently in the CT group than in the TKM group (p<0.05). According to these results, herbal medicine is not more hepatotoxic than conventional medicine, and not a main cause of liver injury in inpatients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.778-788
• /
• 2017

Objective: We conducted this study to report the clinical manifestations of integrative treatment with Korean and conventional medicines in a patient with acute hepatitis A after conventional medicine therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pneumonia. Methods: A patient was treated with herbal medicine, western medicine, and moxibustion. The liver function tests (GOT, GPT, ALP, ${\gamma}-GT$), total bilirubin, and 4-scale scoring (none, mild, moderate, and severe) of symptoms were used to assess any improvement in symptoms. Results and Conclusion: The symptoms at the time of admission were improved. The levels of GOT, GPT, ALP, ${\gamma}-GT$, and total bilirubin were decreased in laboratory tests. We obtained positive effects for the integrative treatment of acute hepatitis A.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.1169-1178
• /
• 2019

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic Gastritis. Methods: The study collected data of clinical studies of combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. Electronic databases were used, including PubMed, Cochrane, CNKI, Wanfang, CINII, J-stage, NDSL, and OASIS. The main search terms included such as "Atrophic Gastritis", "Banhasasim-tang", "BanXia Xiexin Tang". This study only included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that adopted combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. Results: A total of 18 RCTs were selected. They all adopted combined therapy with Banhasasim-tang and conventional treatment for atrophic gastritis. In all the studies, the intervention group significantly improved the score of effective rate, and in the 8 studies, Hp negative conversion rate was significantly improved when Banhasasim-tang was taken. Conclusion: Through the analysis of 18 RCTs, we found Banhasasim-tang combined with conventional therapy were more effective in the positive performance of atrophic gastritis than conventional therapy single contribution. However, due to the low quality of the selected studies and the lack of endoscopy, biopsy, follow-up observation, so there is a slight insufficient to prove its conclusion. Therefore, we hope that more systematic and diverse clinical studies will be conducted.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.1119-1129
• /
• 2018

Objective: To compare the image quality of low-tube-voltage and low-iodine-concentration-contrast-medium (LVLC) computed tomography urography (CTU) with iterative reconstruction (IR) with that of conventional CTU. Materials and Methods: This prospective, multi-institutional, randomized controlled trial was performed at 16 hospitals using CT scanners from various vendors. Patients were randomly assigned to the following groups: 1) the LVLC-CTU (80 kVp and 240 mgI/mL) with IR group and 2) the conventional CTU (120 kVp and 350 mgI/mL) with filtered-back projection group. The overall diagnostic acceptability, sharpness, and noise were assessed. Additionally, the mean attenuation, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and figure of merit (FOM) in the urinary tract were evaluated. Results: The study included 299 patients (LVLC-CTU group: 150 patients; conventional CTU group: 149 patients). The LVLC-CTU group had a significantly lower effective radiation dose ($5.73{\pm}4.04$ vs. $8.43{\pm}4.38mSv$) compared to the conventional CTU group. LVLC-CTU showed at least standard diagnostic acceptability (score ${\geq}3$), but it was non-inferior when compared to conventional CTU. The mean attenuation value, mean SNR, CNR, and FOM in all pre-defined segments of the urinary tract were significantly higher in the LVLC-CTU group than in the conventional CTU group. Conclusion: The diagnostic acceptability and quantitative image quality of LVLC-CTU with IR are not inferior to those of conventional CTU. Additionally, LVLC-CTU with IR is beneficial because both radiation exposure and total iodine load are reduced.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.14-25
• /
• 2023

Objectives: South Korea, the United States, and the United Nations have imposed extensive economic sanctions against North Korea, which increased the use of traditional Korean medicine in North Korea to maintain its national health care system. This study attempts to study the latest trends of traditional Korean medicine research through bibliographic analysis of one of the North Korean medical journals. It will then provide insights into how traditional Korean medicine is used in North Korea. Methods: This study is based on 611 clinical research articles out of 931 articles extracted from 13 volumes of Koryo Medicine (2016 ~ 2019). The articles were classified according to the researched treatment, diseases and use alongside conventional drugs. Results: Based on the analysis of Koryo Medicine, the proportion of clinical research articles investigating the treatment effects was very high (65.6%). Also, clinical research using herbal medicine as treatment was the most common, accounting for 17.69% of the total. Some of the clinical research in Koryo Medicine were conducted in tandem with conventional drug treatment, especially on acupuncture. Conclusion: This study conducted a bibliographic analysis of Koryo Medicine to understand the current status of traditional Korean medicine within North Korea. The analysis identified main diseases, treatment methods, and integration with conventional drugs in the clinical research of traditional Korean medicine. As a country actively seeking to use traditional Korean medicine, North Korea will become an interesting field of global traditional medicine and complementary medicine research.

• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.129-153
• /
• 2023

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to report the clinical effectiveness and safety of herbal medicine treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Methods: Researchers searched papers through 5 online databases including The Cochrane Library Central, Pubmed, China Academic Journal (CAJ), Oriental medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS) and Korean studies Information Service System (KISS). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used herbal medicine as treatment were included. Results: Twenty three studies were selected by the selection and exclusion criteria. The treatment group was treated with herbal medicine alone or with herbal medicine and conventional medicine. The control group was treated with conventional medicine. Most common evaluation index was Bone Mineral Density (BMD) followed by total efficacy rate and level of bone metabolism markers, level of sex hormones, etc. Compared with the control group, the treatment group was more effective and safer in all of 23 studies. Conclusions: Herbal treatment alone could be an effective and safe option in treating postmenopausal osteoporosis. Moreover herbal treatment with conventional medicine could improve its therapeutic effect on postmenopausal osteoporosis as well.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.145-153
• /
• 2019

Objectives: This case is significant as a rare observational record at the Korean medical practice field. This case reports progression of co-administration of Korean herbal medicines and conventional medicines for cough in patients with myocardial infarction relapse suspected of developing acute respiratory infection. Methods: First, the chest radiography, CBC count and urinalysis were performed to estimate patient's systematic condition. After the estimated diagnosis, the patient was treated with modified Dingchuan decoction, antibiotics, and complex syrup for cough. We used the Cough-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (CQLQ) to assess patient's respiratory symptoms. Results: Co-administration of Korean herbal medicines and conventional medicines resulted improving of cough and sputum symptoms. Laboratory analysis items and total score of CQLQ also showed significantly improved results. Adverse effects were not observed. Conclusions: In this case, we concluded that co-administration of Korean herbal medicine and conventional medicine may be an effective therapy for the treatment of cough in patients with myocardial relapse of developing acute respiratory infection.