• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.57-72
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• 2008

Objectives : The Herb-combined Remedy(HCR) for diabetes mellitus is known as an anti-hyperglycaemic agent. But its exact mechanisms are unclear. The present study was carried out to investigate its anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-oxidative effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats. Methods : Experimental diabetes was induced by injection of STZ(80mg/kg) to ratsvia the peritoneum. The experimental animals were divided into 4 groups : normal group, control group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with no treatment), HCR group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with HCR treatment), MF group(STZ-induced diabetic rats with Metformin treatment). The effects of HCR on STZ-induced diabetes was observed by measuring fasting blood glucose, changes of body weight, food uptake, and water uptake glucose levels in the normal state decline rates in blood glucose levels DPPH free-radical scavenging activity superoxide dismutase in RBC lysate catalase activity in RBC lysate and glutathione reductase activity in RBC lysate. Results : Treatment with HCR regulated blood glucose levels. Treatment with HCR also prevented weight loss in STZ-induced diabetic rats. In addition, oral glucose tolerance decreased following treatment with HCR. Direct anti-oxidative effects on DPPH free-radical scavenging were not observed, but treatment with HCR elevated SOD levels in blood cell lysates from STZ-induced diabetic rats. In addition, the HCR-treatment group showed an elevated tendency to glutathione reductase activity. Conclusions : These results demonstrate that HCR has anti-hyperglycaemic and anti-oxidative effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.7-10
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• 2013

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the evidence available in the literature for the safety and efficacy of Dioscoreae Rhizoma (DR) for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy. Methods: Literature searches were performed in MEDLINE and three Korean medical databases up to April 2013. All studies evaluating the effects on peripheral neuropathy or the safety of DR monopreparations were considered. Results: Three studies - DR extract per os (po) on diabetic neuropathy in mice, DR extract injection on the peripheral sciatic nerve after crush injury in rats and DR extract injection to patients with peripheral facial paralysis proved that DR treatments were effective for the treatment of nerve injuries. Conclusions: In conclusion, we found the DR has a strong positive potential for the treatment of peripheral neuropathy, but studies addressing direct factors related to the nerve still remain insufficient.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2002.07d
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• pp.2710-2711
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• 2002

Conventional direct moxibustion remedy for cancer medical treatment has used a number of moxa lump for a surgical operation of patient However such a remedy has troubles in operating the moxibustion and causes the risk of burn. In order to get rid of the problems we have suggested the multiple heating pad with the Artemisia patch.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.139-149
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• 2008

Objectives : The 7-zone-diagnostic system is a diagnostic device to predetermine bodily locations by measuring the energy of body. This study was to investigate the relation between the different patterns of Zone 2, 6 of Factor AA in VEGA DFM 722(VEGA, Germany), 7-zone-diagnostic system and clinical parameters. The purpose of this study was relation Korean traditional medicine and western medicine with the data from 7-zone-diagnostic system and the clinical parameters. Methods : This study was carried out with the data from some clinical parameters. We made two groups according to the Factor AA patterns of VEGA DFM 722. The Factor AA pattern of Group A is that the red bar graph of zone 2 was higher than the normal range and the red bar graph of zone 6 was lower than the normal range. The Factor AA pattern of Group B was that the red bar graph of zone 2 was lower than the normal range and the red bar graph of zone 6 was higher than the normal range. After the data from clinical parameters to correspond with conditions of each group were selected, the data from clinical parameters between each gropus analyzed statistically. Results and Conclusions : The values of Direct Bilirubin, GOT, BUN and BUN/Creatinine ratio of Group A were higher than them of Group B. The values of Sodium and Tyroxine of Group A were lower than them of Group B. These results mean that Group A has low energy but has increading tendency. To conclude, it is thought that the red bar graph of zone 2 is higher, the group is the more increasing and the red bar graph of zone 6 is lower, the group has the lower energy.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.353-359
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• 2005

Objectives: Dysphagia is a common in stroke patients. Dysphagia often affects the rehabilitation of stroke patients by increasing the risk of nutritional deficits and aspiration pneumonia. Despite the proliferation of physical therapies including swallowing training, much controversy remains regarding the application and benefit of them. Therefore, in this study, the clinical effect of moxibustion at Chonjung(CV17, Shanzhong) on post-stroke dysphagia were assessed using Swallowing Provocation Test(SPT). Methods: Dysphagia subjects were selected by Dysphagia Screening Test. Swallowing function was tested by Swallowing Provocation Test(sec). Direct moxibustion was applied to the acupoint, Chonjung, five times and Swallowing Provocation Test was performed before and after 30 minute. The Latency Time of Swallowing Reflex (LTSR) was checked by SPT. To find factors related with improving swallowing function, Cold-Heat and Excess-Deficiency Diagnosis were considered. Results: A total of 42 patient were included, but two of them were excluded due to severe coughing. Overall, the swallowing reflex improved significantly. In subgroup analysis on brain lesion, non-brain stem lesion patients significantly improved. Moxibustion was more effective in the cold group than in the heat group, but there were no differences between the Excess and the Deficiency groups. Conclusions: The result of this clinical study suggest that moxibustion at Chonjung(CV17, Shanzhong) is an effective treatment for the dysphagia patients after stroke, especially in non-brain stem lesion and the cold diagnosed patients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.12-23
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• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to report possibility of acupuncture or moxibustion for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) by reviewing literature about its effectiveness. Methods : In this review, PubMed, SCOPUS, Science Direct and CINAHL of EBSCOhost were used to search medical journals, using keywords "Parkinson's disease and acupuncture" and "Parkinson's disease and moxibustion". The search range included randomized controlled trials (RCT) about Parkinson's disease combined with another disease and other treatments with acupuncture or moxibustion. Non-randomized controlled trial (nRCT), case study, animal experiment, human experiment, review, survey, essay, letter, and protocol for review were excluded. Results : From 311 studies, 111 were selected during the title and the screening. Finally, 16 RCTs (15 for acupuncture research and one for moxibustion) were included in this review, after scanning and matching the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The number of patients varied between 5 and 88. A total of 12 studies using electroacupuncture (EA) were classified into acupuncture studies. The body acupuncture studies numbered 4, scalp acupuncture 4, body and scarp acupuncture mixed studies 4, and bee venom, ear and abdomen acupuncture were each one study. In evaluation methods, total effective rate method was used in 9 studies, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) was used in 8, and the Webster score in 2. In addition, the Berg balance scale (BBS), 30 m walking time, steps to walk 30 m, PD motor function score, and Motor Performance Series by Schoppe (MLS) method were used for evaluation. In 15 of the 16 studies, the verum acupuncture group showed significant improvement compared with the control. In 9 studies using total effective rate method, the effective rate was reported as 80.0-97.3% in verum acupuncture groups and 52.6-86.4% in controls. Conclusions : Acupuncture may be a plausible alternative method to care for the long term symptoms and treat movement impairment of Parkinson's disease. However, to confirm this result, high quality studies including randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind trials are warranted.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.208-218
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• 2000

This study was undertaken to determine if Salviae Radix (SR) exerts protective effect against oxidant-induced inhibition of phosphate uptake in renal proximal tubular cells. Membrane transport function and cell death were evaluated by measuring phosphate uptake and trypan blue exclusion, respectively, in opossum kidney (OK) cells, an established proximal tubular cell line. $H_2O_2$ was used as a model oxidant. $H_2O_2$ inhibited the phosphate uptake in a dose-dependent manner over the concentration range of 0.1-0.5 mM. Similar fashion was observed in cell death. However, the phosphate uptake was more vulnerable to $H_2O_2$ than cell death, suggesting that $H_2O_2$-induced inhibition of phosphate uptake is not totally attributed to cell death. Decreasedphosphate uptake was associated with ATP depletion and inhibition of $Na^+$-pump activity as determined by direct inhibition of $N^+-K^+$-ATPase activity. When cells were treated with $H_2O_2$ in the presence of 0.05% SR, the inhibition of phosphate uptake and cell death induced by $H_2O_2$ was significantly attenuated. SR restored ATP depletion and decreased $Na^+-K^+$-ATPase activity, and this is likely responsible for the protective effect of SR on decreased phosphate uptake. The protective effect of SR was similar to the $H_2O_2$ scavenger catalase. SR reacts directly with $H_2O_2$ to reduce the effective concentration of the oxidant. The iron chelator deferoxamine prevented the inhibition of phosphate uptake and cell death induced by $H_2O_2$, suggesting that $H_2O_2$-induced cell injury is resulted from an iron-dependent mechanism. These results indicate that SR exerts the protective effect against $H_2O_2$-induced inhibition of phosphate uptake by reacting directly with $H_2O_2$ like the $H_2O_2$scavenger enzyme catalase, in OK cells. However, the underlying mechanism remains to be explored.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.31-38
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• 2005

Objectives : This study was aimed at investigating liver protection mechanism of bear bile juice (Fel Ursi)by inducing liver toxicity through $CCl_4$ in mice and evaluated histological and serological findings. Methods : Experiment groups was categorized into untreated normal group, $CCl_4$ treated control group, and orally administered bear bile juice experiment group. At the termination of experiment, gross examination of the liver as well as histological findings, and Total protein, Albumin, Total bilirubin, Direct bilirubin SGOT, SGPT, and ALP contents in the serum were evaluated. Results : 1. For gross examination and histological findings, $CCI_4$ treated control group showed destroyed lobular structure, increased fibrosis, as well as hepatic cirrhosis. For the group treated with bear bile juice, the lobular structure suffered less damage, and showed lower level of fibrosis and liver cirrhosis compared to the control group. 2. For serum analysis, Total protein and Albumin were significantly increased in the bear bile juice experiment group than the control group. Total bilirubin and Direct bilirubin didn't show significant differences between the two groups. SOOT, SGPT, and ALP were significantly decreased in the normal and bear bile juice experiment groups compared to the control group. Conclusion : Taken together, bear bile juice can be effectively used for recovering the liver functions and further researches must be conducted to verify the efficacies of bear bile juice.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 2006

Objectives : This study was aimed at investigating liver protection mechanism of Moschus by inducing liver toxicity through $CCl_4$ in mice and evaluated histological and serological findings. Methods : Experiment groups was categorized into untreated normal group, $CCl_4$ treated control group, and orally administered Moschus experiment group. At the termination of experiment, gross examination of the liver as well as histological findings, and Total protein, Total bilirubin, Direct bilirubin SGOT, SGPT, and ALP contents in the serum were evaluated. Results : 1. For gross examination and histological findings, $CCl_4$ treated control group showed destroyed lobular structure, increased fibrosis, as well as hepatic cirrhosis. For the group treated with Moschus, the lobular structure suffered less damage, and showed lower level of fibrosis and liver cirrhosis compared to the control group. 2. For serum analysis, Total protein were significantly increased in the Moschus experiment group than the control group. 3. Total bilirubin didn't show significant differences between the two groups. but direct bilirubin was significantly increased in the Moschus experiment group than the control group. 4. SGOT, SGPT, were significantly decreased in the normal and Moschus experiment groups compared to the control group. 5. ALP was significantly decreased in the normal group compared to the control group, but Moschus experiment group didn't show significant differences compared to the control group. Conclusion : Taken together, Moschus can be effectively used for recovering the liver functions and further researches must be conducted to verify the efficacies of Moschus bile juice.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.121-136
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• 2016

Objectives : Despite various treatment for Shoulder-hand syndrome being presented, only a few studies that examine the direct efficacy of acupuncture exist. The aim of this study is to establish a base for further research by reviewing studies on acupuncture treatment for Shoulder-hand syndrome. Methods : Clinical studies involving the effects of acupuncture for Shoulder-hand syndrome, published on July 19th 2016, were obtained from Pubmed, RISS, OASIS, the Journal of Korean Acupuncture and Moxibustion, the Journal of Korean institute of pharmacopuncture, the Korean Journal of Acupuncture, NDSL, Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal, DBpia, and KISS. Selected studies were evaluated by the Jadad scale and FEAS. Results : Among a total of two hundred and fifteen articles, thirteen articles (RCT 9, SR 1, Meta analysis 1, CCT 1 article, Case series 1) that meet the criteria were selected. Among 13 articles, one article was published in Korea. And apart from this one article, twelve studies were published in China. All studies reported that the experimental group treated by acupuncture had significantly better effects compared to the control group. However, the overall quality assessment of the studies is low. Conclusion : Despite several limitations, various studies to prove limited yet effective acupuncture treatment on Shoulder-hand syndrome provides much significance. Subsequent studies conducted by the complementary systematic review of the studies and well-designed clinical trials using the methodological quality will be needed to more firmly validate the therapeutic effect of acupuncture on Shoulder-hand syndrome.