• The Journal of Korean Obstetrics and Gynecology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.245-262
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to review clinical studies of traditional Korean medicine treatment (herb medicine) on vaginal atrophy. Methods: Key words "Vaginal atrophy", "Vulvovaginal atrophy", "Vaginal dryness", "Atrophic vaginitis", "Herb medicine", "Acupuncture", "Moxibustion", "Catgut embedding" were searched on 11 database systems (PMC, CENTRAL, EMBASE, CNKI, KTKP, KISS, NDSL, OASIS, DBpia, KMBASE, RISS) on May 31th 2019. In all searches, limits were set for MeSH (human) and language (English, Chinese or Korean). Results: 18 controlled clinical trials were collected in accordance with the selection and exclusion criteria. The types of intervention were herbal medicine, and types of herbal medicine were decoction, cream, suppository, oil, ect. The study results and methods of intervention were analyzed. Conclusions: Among the 18 trials, 5 studies showed that herbal medicine with hormone or antiprotozoal therapy was more effective than hormone or antiprotozoal therapy alone. And 2 studies showed that herbal medicine treatment was more effective than oil treatment of topical use. There was no abnormal vaginal bleeding, breast swelling and pain in TCM group.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.381-389
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this case report is to offer an unprecedented target for Gyejigabuja-tang by analyzing a case in which the symptoms were improved by the herbal decoction therapy, and to accumulate a fundamental knowledge in herbal medicine therapy for urinary incontinence. Method : We studied a patient's chart with the patient's consent and displayed patient's timeline and adherence in a figure according to the CARE guideline. The progress of urination symptoms were assessed with the frequency of urination and how long the patient can stand urine. The accompanied lower limb pain was estimated with Numerical Rating Scale(NRS) Results : The patient's adherence was good during the medication period and symptoms related with urination and accompanied lower limb pain were improved with no specific side effects. NRS of the lower limb pain decreased from 7 to 2, the frequency of urination also improved from over 10 times to 6~8 times per day, and the patient can stand urine from less than 1 second to 2~3 minutes. Conclusions : Gyejigabuja-tang was effective for an urinary incontinence patient which corresponds to the provision No.20 in Shanghanlun.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.550-569
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• 2018

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of herbal medicine treatment for patients with migraine and to suggest research methods for herbal medicine treatment on migraine. Methods: In this study, a search was conducted through several academic sites using a combination of terms '편두통', 'Migraine', '한약', '한약치료', 'Herbal medicine', 'Herbal medicines', 'Herb', 'Traditional Chinese Medicine', and 'TCM'. Randomized controlled trials using herbal medicine treatments for adult patients with migraine were selected. Results: Ultimately, 46 papers were selected and analyzed. A statistically significant improvement was noted in the treatment group in terms of clinical migraine symptoms and other migraine evaluation tools before and after the herbal medicine treatment. Herbal medicines were administered in decoction, pill, and granule formulations. Many kinds of medicinal herbs, such as 解表藥類, 補益藥類, 淸熱藥類, 活血祛瘀藥類, and 平肝藥類, have been used for migraine. Among them, 川芎, belonging to 活血祛瘀藥類, is mentioned 36 times and is the most frequently used medicine. Herbal medicine was used safely for migraine treatment, without major adverse reactions, and the recurrence rate was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the control group. Conclusions: In conclusion, the herbal medicine treatment for patients with migraine showed a statistically significant improvement in 46 papers. Future studies should utilize standardized and objective evaluation tools, along with appropriate experimental design. The relevant articles should be increased to a significant level to verify the effect of herbal medicine treatments on migraine.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.83-94
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• 2020

Backgrounds : To reduce the patients' economic burden of herbal decoctions use, in 2012, Korean government decided to implement the pilot project of herbal decoctions coverage in the National Health Insurance. Objectives : This study aimed to analyze the policy decision-making process for the pilot insurance project in 2012. Methods : Official documents, research papers, statistical reports, and news articles, etc. on the coverage of herbal decoctions were searched and collected. We used the Kingdon's Policy Stream Model to analyze how the policy of pilot project of herbal decoctions coverage was decided, and who were the main activists for the decision-making process. Results : Components to be included in the 'Problem stream' were the decline in the profits of Korean Medicine institutions, the contraction of the herbal decoctions use, and the fiscal surplus of National Health Insurance. In the 'Policy stream', there were several model studies for herbal decoctions coverage, and examples of herbal benefits in other social insurances. In the 'Political stream', there were the legislative initiatives by member of the National Assembly and the promotion of insurance coverage by the Association of Korean Medicine(AKOM), etc. Policy window for herbal decoctions coverage was opened by the combination of these three streams with the efforts of policy activists, such as the executives of AKOM, and policy researchers. Conclusions : The policy decision process for health insurance coverage of herbal decoctions was analyzed using Kingdon's model, and the analysis shows that the combination of political streams and entrepreneurs' competencies can be an important driving force in policy decision making.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.13-25
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• 2019

Objectives : This study analyzed domestic case reports of syndrome differentiation and herbal medicine treatment for tic disorder published from 2000 to 2018 and aimed to seize the latest trend of Korean herbal medicine treatment according to syndrome differentiation. Methods : We searched herbal medicine treatment of tic disorder through five major Korean academic literature databases; NDSL, KTKP, KISS, RISS, DBPIA. Results : 12 articles were included in this study from 49 articles. These studies were analyzed by year, evaluation criteria, Korean treatments, treatment effects, syndrome differentiation, herbal medication, duration of medication, and type of herbal medicine. Treatment results were assessed by YGTSS. Most cases accompanied Korean integrative treatments and only one case report used herbal medicine alone. Most common type of syndrome differentiation for patients was spleen. Duration of medication varied according to each case and decoction was the most used type of herbal medication. Conclusions : It has been reported that herbal medicine treatment according to the syndrome differentiation could be effective in treating tic disorder. This study suggests that additional studies will be required to justify classification of syndrome differentiation and the sole effectiveness of herbal medicine on tic disorder.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.402-409
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• 2010

The study was conducted to estimate the contents of heavy metal in commercial herbal medicines (1047 samples of 132 species) which were collected from markets in Seoul and to analyze the contents of heavy metals of herbal medicines by classifying them by parts. The samples were digested using microwave method. The contents of heavy metal (Pb, Cd, and As) and Hg were determined using Inductively coupled plasma-Mass spectrometer (ICP/MS). And the contents of Hg were obtained by Mercury analyzer. The average values of heavy metal in herbal medicines were as follows [mean (minimum-maximum), mg/kg]; Pb 0.870 (ND-69.200), As 0.148 (ND-2.965), Cd 0.092 (ND-2.010), and Hg 0.007 (ND-0.B7). And the average values of heavy metal by parts in herbal medicines were as follows [mean (minimum-maximum), mg/kg]; Ramulus 2.046 (0.065-4.474), Herba 1.886 (0.048-10.404), Flos 1.874 (0.052-5.393), Cortex 1.377 (0.011-4.837), Radix 1.165 (0.012-70.111), Rhizoma 1.116 (0.016-5.490, Fructus 0.838 (0.017-4.527), Perithecium 0.729 (0.013-4.953), Semen 0.646 (0.006-4.416). The average values of heavy metal of imported herbal medicines except Radix were higher than domestic ones. By decoction of herbal medicines exceeding the tolerances, average intake rates of Pb, As, Cd and Hg were obtained as 6.1%, 40.3%, 4.7%, and 2.2%, respectively.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.445-451
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• 2020

Purpose: Breastfeeding is the optimal method for feeding a newborn. But insufficient breast milk is the major reason why mothers give up breastfeeding. Herbal galactagogues have been used increasingly to treat postpartum hypogalactia. This study examined the effect of an herbal tea containing Chrysanthemum indicum, as the main ingredient, on milk production in lactating rats. Methods: The herbal tea contained C. indicum (27%), Foeniculum vulgare Mill (21%), Pimpinella anisum (18.2%), Carum carvi (16.1%), Urtica dioica (14.7%), and Gardenia jasminoides (3%). Sixteen lactating Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided randomly into 2 groups, the normal control group (NC; n = 8), and the galactagogue herbal tea group (GHT; n = 8) for 7 days. Lactating rats were administered the decoction of an herbal galactagogue mixture by oral gavage or the same amount of distilled water and milk production was assessed by measuring the pups' weights during the suckling period. The blood concentrations of prolactin, cortisol, oxytocin levels and mammary gland tissues were examined to assess the effects of the galactagogue. Results: Milk production was 9.2% higher in the GHT group given the herbal tea than in the NC group and the difference was statistically significant. The cortisol level in the GHT group was 17.2% higher than the NC group. The herbal tea containing C. indicum increased the size of the alveoli epithelium cells and the mammary lobe. Conclusion: The present study revealed the potential of herbal tea containing C. indicum to enhance milk production in postpartum SD rats.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.124-142
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• 2017

Objectives: This study aimed to learn what should be considered in [Guideline of Clinical Trial with Herbal Medicinal Product for Gastric Cancer)] by analyzing the existing guidelines and clinical trials. Methods: The development committee searched guidelines for herbal medicinal product or gastric cancer developed already. Then, clinical trials for gastric cancer using herbal medicine were searched. The searched trials were analyzed in terms of inclusion and exclusion of participants, intervention, comparator, outcomes and trial design. Then, we compared the results of analysis with the regulations and guidelines of Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to suggest the issue that we will have to consider when making the [Guideline of Clinical Trial with Herbal Medicinal Product for Gastric Cancer]. Results: As a result, few guidelines for anti-tumor agent and clinical trial with herbal medicinal product were searched in the national institution homepage. In addition, 10 articles were searched by using the combination following search term; 'stomach neoplasm', 'herbal medicine', 'Medicine, Korean traditional', 'Medicine, Chinese Traditional', 'TCM', 'TKM', 'trial'. Most trials included gastric cancer participants with medical history of operation. The type of intervention was various such as decoction, granules, and fluid of intravenous injection. Comparators were diverse such as placebo, conventional treatment including chemotherapy and nutritional supplement. The most frequently used outcome for efficacy was quality of life. Besides, the symptom score, tumor response, and survival rate were used. Safety was investigated by recording adverse events. Conclusion: We found out some issue by reviewing the existing guidelines and comparing it with clinical trials for gastric cancer and herbal medicinal products. These results will be utilized for developing [Guideline of Clinical Trial with Herbal Medicinal Product for Gastric Cancer].

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.89-116
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• 2019

Objective: This study aimed to ascertain what should be considered in the "Guideline for Clinical Trials with Herbal Medicinal Products for Liver Cancer," by analyzing existing guidelines and clinical trials. Methods: Committee for the development of a guideline, consisting of 6 Korean medicine doctors, reviewed guidelines and clinical trials on using herbal medicine for treating liver cancer. The trials were analyzed in terms of inclusion and exclusion of participants, intervention, comparators, outcomes, and trial design. We then compared the results of our analysis with the guidelines to identify issues we must to consider when following the "Guideline for Clinical Trials with Herbal Medicinal Products for Liver Cancer." Several guidelines for antitumor agents and clinical trials on herbal medicine were obtained from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety homepage, etc. The search terms were as follows: "liver neoplasms"; "herbal medicine"; "medicine, Korean traditional"; and "medicine, Chinese Traditional.". Results: Ten articles were obtained from pubmed and Embase. There was no guideline for clinical trials on using herbal medicine for treating liver cancer. All the participants in the reviewed articles had primary liver cancer, and the type of intervention varied (e.g., decoction, patches, and capsules. The comparators included placebos and conventional treatments such as chemotherapy. The outcome assessment methods were tumor response, quality of life, survival, and liver function tests. Adverse events occuring during the trial were also evaluated. Conclusion: Findings were derived by reviewing existing guidelines and comparing them with clinical trials on liver cancer and herbal medicinal products. These results will be utilized in the development of the "Guideline for Clinical Trials with Herbal Medicinal Products for Liver Cancer."

• Journal of Korean Traditional Oncology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.43-54
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• 2008

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to suggest better directions in experimental researches about finding new drug derived from herbs in South Korea. Methods: We investigated available manuscripts on anti-lung cancer herbal extracts which is used in South Korea by using available electric library, and made diagrams. Results: Many herbs are used in treatment of lung cancer based on traditional oriental medical theory. In Korea, researches for this field have been activated since 2000. But we haven't found the substance showing remarkable anti-tumor effect on lung cancer. And many of the experiment have been designed similar way and also have similar weak points in explanation about the apoptotic mechanism. Conclusions: From this results, we have found 10 herbs, 4 pharmacopunctures and 13 herbal decoctions to be conducted experimental studies for lung cancer from 2000 to 2008 in South Korea.