• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.21-38
• /
• 2004

Objectives : Moxibustion has been become very useful tool to prevent and treat various diseases with acupuncture in oriental medicine. Expecially, moxibustion combining the heat stimulation and chemical stimulation of Artemisiae Argyi has a non-invasive characteristics comparing to the other therapeutic tools. However, because the moxibustion makes the patient's skin be burn by the combustible feature of moxibustion, most of people have been scared of being scald. Methods : In this study, we have developed new non-combustible moxibustion tools in collaboration with company (Hana Medical, co. and ICURE, co.) and tested the efficacy through effects of moxibustion of Cheon-chu $(ST_{25})$ on the abdominal thermography of health subject. The non-combustible moxibustion has main characteristics of controlled heating to inhibit being scald and heat stimulation lasting over 1 hrs. Also, to induce the chemical stimulation, the bottom contacting with skin was coated by the extract of artemisiae argyi. The volunteers who participating in this study had taken rest for 20 - 30 mins in room temperature $(23-25^{\circ}C)$ before the examination and informed them what to prohibit smoking, drinking and administration of drug for the previous day The thermography of abdomen including a below part of the chest was taken using Infra-Red Imaging System (IR 2000, MEDI-CORE Co., Korea) by time interval of 15 minutes. Results : The results showed that moxibustion of Cheon-chu $(ST_{25})$ had more potencies of changes on all the ROIs of abdominal thermography than those of control group. Also, it was observed that the quantities of thermal changes following moxibustion of Cheon-chu $(ST_{25})$ been increased significantly comparing that of control group at all the ROIs (region of interest). Observed the thermography classified by ROI, however, moxibustion of Cheon-chu $(ST_{25})$ could modulate ipsilateral specific areas concerning to the abdominal pathway of Stomach Meridian. Conclusion : These results suggest that new non-combustible moxibusion has some similarity as like as the conventional moxibustion and moxibustion of Cheon-chu $(ST_{25})$ may modulate thermal changes of abdominal areas.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
• /
• v.31 no.3
• /
• pp.136-145
• /
• 2014

Objectives : The purpose of this randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial was to examine how acupuncture treatment at Shinmun(HT7) affects the brain activity and the autonomic nervous system(ANS), using electroencephalograms(EEG) and heart rate variability(HRV). Methods : Eighteen healthy volunteers participated in two separate experiments: in each experiment, either real acupuncture(RA) or non-penetrating sham acupuncture(SA) was applied at HT7 in random sequences to each person. The EEG and HRV measurements were conducted simultaneously before and during the acupuncture stimulation for 5 minutes, respectively. Resulting EEG and HRV parameters were compared between RA and SA groups. To assess differences according to the stress levels for participants, subgroup analysis was performed based on the results of the stress response index questionnaire. Results : In the results, acupuncture stimulation at HT7 increased ${\alpha}$ band in EEG. In the HRV analysis, heart rate was decreased significantly but HF and RMS-SD were increased in the RA group, compared with those of the SA group. In the subgroup analysis by stress level, participants in the RA group with high stress exhibited an increased in ${\alpha}$ band in their EEG while the low stress participants showed decrease or little increase in the band. For the SA group, ${\alpha}$ band reported relatively moderate changes in all channels. Conclusions : Our results showed that acupuncture induces changes in brain activation and the ANS. Acupuncture was related to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The brain activities of the participants were different depending on the stress level.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.224-228
• /
• 2002

Myocardial tagging technique such as spatial modulation of magnetization (SPAMM) allows the study of myocardial motion with high accuracy. However, the accuracy of the estimation of tag intersection can be affected by tagline spacing. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tagline spacing of SPAMM image and tagging contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) in in-vivo study. Two healthy volunteers were undergone electrocardiographically triggered MR imaging with SPAMM-based tagging pulse sequence at a 1.5T MR scanner. Horizontally modulated stripe patterns were imposed with a range from 3.6 to 9.6 mm of tagline spacing. Images of the left ventricle(LV) wall were acquired at the mid-ventricle level during cardiac cycle with FE-EPI (TR/TE = 5.8/2.2 msec, FA= 10$^{\circ}$. Tagging CNR for each image was calculated with a software which developed in our group. During contraction, tagging CNR was more rapidly decreased in case of narrow tagline spacing than in case of wide tagline spacing. In the same heart phase, CNR was increased corresponding with tagline spacing. Especially, at the fully contracted heart phase, CNR was more rapidly increased than the other heart phases as a function of tagline spacing. The results indicated that the optimization of tagline spacing provides better tagging CNR in order to analyze the myocardial motion more accurately.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.329-338
• /
• 2005

The determination of peripheral nerve conduction velocity is an important part to electrodiagnosis. Its value as neurophysiologic investigative procedure has been known for many years but normal value of digital nerve was not reported in Korea. To evaluate of digital nerve conduction velocity of median nerve for obtain clinically useful reference value and compare difference in each fingers. 71 normal volunteers(age, 19-65 years; 142 hands) examined who has no history of peripheral neuropathy, diabetic mellitus, chronic renal failure, endocrine disorders, anti-cancer medicine, anti-tubercle medicine, alcoholism, trauma, radiculopathy. Nicolet Viking II was use for detected conduction velocity and amplitude of digital nerves in median nerve. Data analysis was performed using SPSS. Descriptive analysis was used for obtain mean and standard deviation, ANOVA was used to compare each fingers and independent t-test was used to compare between Rt and Lt side also compare between different in genders. Conduction velocity of the right thumb was 49.77m/sec, index finger was 56.80m/sec, middle finger was 56.15m/sec and ring finger was 53.38m/sec. The left thumb was 50.48m/sec, index finger was 56.76m/sec, middle finger was 55.99m/sec and ring finger was 53.23m/sec. Amplitude of the right thumb was $64.30{\mu}V$, index finger was $73.95{\mu}V$, middle finger was $77.97{\mu}V$ and ring finger was $43.92{\mu}V$. The left thumb was $74.21{\mu}V$, index finger was $85.72{\mu}V$, middle finger was $88.06{\mu}V$ and ring finger was $47.28{\mu}V$. There were significantly difference between thumb, index, middle and ring fingers(p<.01) but there were no statistically difference between conduction velocity and amplitude of index and middle fingers(p>.01). The conduction velocity of index finger are faster than other fingers and amplitude of middle finger are greater than other fingers. The present results revealed that electodiagnosis can easily perform in index and middle finger for digital nerve of median nerve study.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.11
• /
• pp.1514-1521
• /
• 2009

To evaluate the feasibility of cathepsin-B levels in preoperatively screening patients with thyroid cancer, we assigned these patients to either the thyroid cancer group (n=32) or the nodular hyperplasia group (n=7). Five healthy volunteers served as controls (n=5). We quantified cathepsin-B expressions in cancerous lesions with follicular carcinoma and hyperplastic lesions with nodular hyperplasia, and compared the degrees to those of normal thyroid tissue, which was obtained from matched contralateral lobe. The activity of serum cathepsin B was significantly higher in patients with thyroid carcinoma ($284.87{\pm}79.32$, ${\times}10^{-2}\;mU$) and those with nodular hyperplasia ($255.45{\pm}95.68$, ${\times}10^{-2}\;mU$) than compared to normal control ($168.94{\pm}15.10$, ${\times}10^{-2}\;mU$) (p<0.05). Based on the results of immunoassay, the concentrations of cathepsin B in the thyroid cancer group ($15.50{\pm}7.86\;ng/ml$) and the nodular hyperplasia group ($17.64{\pm}7.49\;ng/ml$) were higher than those of the control group ($4.85{\pm}0.61\;ng/ml$). The degree of cathepsin-B mRNA expression was significantly higher in cancerous or hyperplastic lesions than normal thyroid tissues from matched contralateral lobe with follicular carcinoma or non-neoplastic thyroid disease. Our results indicate that the activity of serum cathepsin B is a useful indicator in screening patients with nodular hyperplasia or neoplastic thyroid disease and it may be involved in the abnormal proliferation of cells.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.55 no.10
• /
• pp.388-392
• /
• 2012

Purpose: Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers within LIN28B have been reported to be related to the timing of pubertal growth. However, no study has investigated the frequency of genetic markers in girls with precocious puberty (PP) or early puberty (EP). This study aimed to determine the frequency of putative genetic markers in girls with PP or EP. Methods: Genomic DNAs were obtained from 77 and 109 girls that fulfilled the criteria for PP and EP, respectively. The controls in this study were 144 healthy volunteers between 20 and 30 years of age. The haplotypes were reconstructed using 11 SNPs of LIN28B, and haplotype association analysis was performed. The haplotype frequencies were compared. Differences in the clinical and laboratory parameters were analyzed according to the haplotype dosage. Results: Eleven SNPs in LIN28B were all located in a block that was in linkage disequilibrium. The haplotype could be reconstructed using 2 representative SNPs, rs4946651 and rs369065. The AC haplotype was less frequently observed in the PP group than in the controls (0.069 vs. 0.144, P=0.010). The trend that girls with non-AC haplotypes tended to have earlier puberty onset (P=0.037) was illustrated even in the EP+PP patient group by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that non-AC haplotypes of LIN28B had a significant association with PP in girls.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.209-214
• /
• 2004

A bioequivalence study of $Roxithrin^{TM}$ tablet (Kukje Pharma. Ind. Co., Ltd.) to $Rulid^{TM}$ tablet (Han Dok Pharma. Ind. Co., Ltd.) was conducted according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Twenty four healthy male Korean volunteers received each medicine at the roxithromycin dose of 300 mg in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. There was a one-week wash-out period between the doses. Plasma concentrations of roxithromycin were monitored by a high-performance liquid chromatography for over a period of 36 hours after drug administration. $AUC_t$ (the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to 36 hr) was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ (maximum plasma drug concentration) and $T_{max}$ (time to reach $C_{max}$) were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$. No significant sequence effect was found for all of the bioavailability parameters indicating that the cross-over design was properly performed. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_t$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for $Roxithrin^{TM}/Rulid^{TM}$ were 1.00 - 1.13 and 0.98 - 1.10, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of 0.80 - 1.25. Thus, our study demonstrated the bioequivalence of $Roxithrin^{TM}$ and $Rulid^{TM}$ with respect to the rate and extent of absorption.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.215-222
• /
• 2004

The purpose of the present study was designed to evaluate the bioequivalence of two oxiracetam tablets, Neuromed tablet (Korea Drug Co., reference drug) and Neuracetam tablet (Sam Jin Pharmaceutical Co., test drug), according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Release of oxiracetam from the tablet in vitro was tested using KP VIII Apparatus II method with various dissolution media (pH 1.2, 4.0, 6.8 buffer solution and water). Twenty-four healthy volunteers, $23.7\;{\pm}\;2.4$ year in age and $68.9\;{\pm}\;6.2$ kg in body weight, were divided into two groups and a randomized $2{\times}2$ cross-over study was performed. After oral administration of a tablet containing 800 mg of oxiracetam, blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals and concentrations of oxiracetam in plasma were determined using HPLC-MS-MS. The dissolution profiles of two formulations were very similar at all dissolution media. In addition, pharmacokinetic parameters such as $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were calculated and ANOVA test was utilized for the statistical analysis of the parameters using logarithmically transformed $AUC_t$ and $C_{max}$ untransformed $T_{max}$. The results showed that the differences between two formulations based on the reference drug were 0.42%, 0.45% and -12.58% for $AUC_t$, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$, respectively. There were no sequence effects between two formulations in these parameters. The 90% confidence intervals for the log transformed data were within the acceptance range of log 0.8 to log 1.25 (e.g., $log0.94{\sim}log1.06$ and $log0.90{\sim}log1.07$ for $AUC_t$, and $C_{max}$, respectively), indicating that Neuracetam tablet is bioequivalent to Neuromed tablet. The major pharmacokinetic parameters, $AUC_t$, and $C_{max}$ met the criteria set by KFDA for bioequivalence indicating that Neuracetam tablet is bioequivalent to Neuromed tablet.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.38 no.6
• /
• pp.421-427
• /
• 2008

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two etodolac capsules, Kuhnillodin capsule (Kuhnil. Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) as reference drug and Etodin capsule (Myungmun Pharm. Co., Ltd., Seoul, Korea) as test drug, according to the guidelines of Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA). Twenty-three healthy male Korean volunteers received one capsule at the dose of 200 mg etodolac in a $2{\times}2$ crossover study. There was a one-week washout period between the doses. Plasma concentrations of etodolac were monitored by a high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for over a period of 24 hr after the administration. $AUC_{0-24\;hr}$ was calculated by the linear trapezoidal rule method. $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ were compiled from the plasma concentration-time data. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out using logarithmically transformed $AUC_{0-24\;hr}$ and $C_{max}$. The 90% confidence intervals of the $AUC_{0-24\;hr}$ ratio and the $C_{max}$ ratio for Etodin/Kuhnillodin were $\log\;0.97{\sim}\log\;1.08$ and $\log\;0.89{\sim}\log\;1.19$, respectively. These values were within the acceptable bioequivalence intervals of $\log\;0.80{\sim}\log\;1.25$. Thus, our study demonstrated that Etodin was bioeqiovalent to Kuhnillodin preparation when the rate and extent of absorption between two preparations were compared.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.221-225
• /
• 1998

Fourteen healthy volunteers ranged in ages from 20 to 30 were served to administrate two types of yoghurt (2 bottles/day) such as one added uncapsulated-Bifidobacteria (Y-UCB) and the other added capsulated-Bifdobacteria (Y-CB) for 4 weeks, and the changes of intestinal microflora and fecal properties were studied. After administration of Y-UCB, the viable cell counts of fecal Bifidobacteria (p<0.01) and Lactobacilli (p<0.05) were significantly increased, however, fecal pH, moisture content and tile viable cell counts of coliform bacteria in feces were not changed when they were compared to those before administration (control). After administration of Y-CB, the viable cell counts of Bifidobacteria were significantly increased (p<0.01) and viable cell counts of coliform bacteria were significantly decreased (p<0.05), however, fecal pH, moisture content, and viable cell counts of Lactobacilli were not changed when they were compared to those before administration. High level of fecal Bifidobacteria and low pH were maintained after 2 weeks from ceasing the administration of both types of yoghurt when they were compared to those before administration. In conclusion, there were not significant differences between two types, Y-CB and Y-UCB in the changes of fecal pH, moisture content, and the viable cell counts of Bifidobacteria, Lactobacilli, coliform bacteria after the administration.