• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.261-265
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• 2006

A vertebral compression fracture can cause chronic back pain, and may also result in progressive kyphosis. The traditional treatments of a vertebral compression fracture include bed rest, analgesics and bracing. Balloon kyphoplasty can restore the vertebral height and allow safe bone cement injection into the cavity made by the balloon, which significantly reduces the risk of cement leakage compared to vertebroplasty. An 82-year-old female patient suffered from severe low back pain. Due to the intractable pain and immobility, which could not be relieved by conventional care, as well as the empty vertebral body associated with communicated fractures of the vertebral surfaces, balloon kyphoplasty, with a thicker bone cement injection than usual with balloon kyphoplasty, was chosen. The preoperative intractable pain and immobility were dramatically relieved soon after the procedure, without any complications.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.74-77
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• 2009

Implantable intrathecal pump is one of the therapeutic options for intractable pain. A 24-year-old male with complex regional pain syndrome was suffering from right lower extremity pain. He had all modalities of treatment including spinal cord stimulator. However, his pain had been worse in the past 6 months. His visual analogue pain scale (VAS) was 8-10 and he could not sit or walk. Only opioid was thought to be effective. Then, intrathecal pump was considered. We estimated the minimal effective dose of spinal morphine before implantation. 0.3 mg of morphine was injected intrathecally as a starting dose. Dosage had been increased up to 0.8 mg in 10 days. His VAS score decreased from 8 to 5. He could sleep without pain and walk with crutch. Therefore, intrathecal pump was inserted. He could tolerate to pain. This case suggests that intrathecal morphine delivery can provide effective treatment for intractable non-malignant pain.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.15 no.2 s.69
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• pp.215-219
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• 2005

Gamgung-tang (GGT) that is included in Gamdu-tang (consists of Glycyrrhizae Radix, black beans) and Gunggui-tang(consists of Angelicae Radix and Cnidii Rhizoma) showed therapeutic effect of autoimmume thyroiditis in the previous reports. GGT was tested for the safety using Ames and umu gene expression mutagenicity tests. In Ames test, Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 were used to identify mutagenic property, and the number of histidine revertants was measured. In SOS umu test, Salmonella typhimurium TA1535 containing plasmid pSK1002 was used as a test strain, and we monitored the levels of umu operon expression by measuring the $\beta-galactosidase$ activity. Mutagenic activity in any assays we tested was not found. After treating S-9 mixture with GGT, mutagenic activity was also not found. The results of this study suggested that there was no DNA damage and mutagenicity of GGT.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.57-62
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• 2004

Schinzel-Giedion syndrome is a rare, distinct dysmorphic syndrome characterized by congenital hydronephrosis, skeletal dysplasia, and severe developmental retardation, likely to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait, but not yet confirmed. This syndrome is characterized by coarse facial features such as midfacial retraction, bulging forehead, short nose with anteverted nostrils, low-set malformed ears, protruding large tongue, and hypertelorism. Skeletal and limb defects, choanal stenosis, simian creases, hypospadias, microphallus, hypertrichosis, and intractable seizures are the frequently associated clinical findings. Urogenital involvement is a major component of the syndrome, and this problem sometimes is associated with nephrocalcinosis and urinary tract infection in the clinical course of the disease. We report a 22 month-old girl with Schinzel-Giedion syndrome complicated by medullary nephrocalcinosis and urinary tract infection due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. This patient had also been suffering from postnatal growth deficiency, intractable seizure, spastic tetraplegia, delayed development and severe mental retardation.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 1988

Neurolysis of the celiac plexus is performed to relieve intractable pain caused by carcinoma of the stomach, liver and pancreas, and upper abdominal metastasis of tumors having more distant origins. It is also occasionally effective in controlling the pain of chronic pancreatitis. Alcohol celiac plexus blocks were done in 22 patients of whom 18 had intractable upper abdominal pain from cancer and 4 had pain from chronic pancreatitis. In most cases, an initial diagnostic block with 0.2 percent bupivacaine was followed by the therapeuntic block performed by injecting 50ml of 60 percent ethyl alcohol. Good to excellent pain relief occurred in 86 percent of patients. Duration of pain relief was from 4 months to 7 months in 55 percent of patients. Complications and side effects were infrequently seen but did include a 16 percent decrease of mean systolic arterial pressure and 16 cases of facial flushing. This block is remarkably safe as well as effective for the relief of upper abdominal pain from cancer origin.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 1999

Backgroud: We have performed the CT-guided celiac plexus block (CPB) using anterior approach to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the procedure and to determine the role of CT. Methods: CPB were done in 10 patients (5 men and 5 women: mean age, 58.1 years) with intractable upper abdominal pain due to terminal malignancy of the stomach (n=3), pancreas (n=4), gallbladder (n=2), and liver (n=1). To permit an anterior approach, patients lay supine on the CT scan table during the procedure. One 21-guage Chiba needle was placed just anterior to the diaphragmatic crus between the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries and 10~12 ml of dehydrated alcohol was injected. Degree of pain relief following the procedure was assessed and pain was graded on a numeric rating scale (NRS) from 0 to 10. Results: The results suggest a direct relation between the degree of celiac invasion and the response to the CPB. With CT guidance, it is possible for us to direct the needle into more accurate region, allowing alcohol to be deposited in specific ganglion area. Conclusions: CT-guided CPB using an anterior approach was an easy and effective way of reducing intractable upper abdominal pain due to terminal malignancies. CT-guidance allowed precise needle placement and safe procedure. Careful classification of cases is important to predict the degree of pain relief using the grading system based on the degree of involvement of the celiac plexus.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.131-140
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• 2005

The purpose of this study is to review the operative management and outcome of operation for Crohn's disease. The medical records of 17 patients who underwent operations for Crohn's disease at Seoul National University Children's Hospital from January of 1988 to June of 2005 were reviewed. The male-to -female ratio was 1.8: 1. The median age at the onset of symptoms and the time of diagnosis was 9 years 6 months and 11 years 6 months respectively. The median time interval from diagnosis to operation was 2 years and 1 month (0 month~8 years). The ileocolic or ileocecal region was the most common site of involvement. The indications for operation were intractable symptoms (8 cases) and obstruction or stricture (7 cases). The median postoperative hospitalized days were 14.4 days (8~35 days). Five patients (29 %) experienced postoperative complications. Symptom free state or symptom relief was observed in 11 cases after surgery and 6 cases had intermittent episodes of remissions and recurrences. In pediatric Crohn's disease patients who present with intractable symptoms despite medical treatment or develop surgical complications, symptom free state or symptom relief can be achieved by minimal resection of the diseased segment.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2001

Artemisia asiatica Nakai aqua-acupuncture solution (ANAS) was administered once daily for 10 days before the tumor implantation ($1{\times}10^6\;cells$). Body weight, spleen weight and the number of ascitic tumor cells were measured at 6 days after tumor implantation. The change of body weight and the survival rate of mice were observed for 21 days. It was used three biomarkers (quinone reductase, glutathione, glutathione S-transferase) to test chemopreventive potentials of ANAS. ANAS exerted antitumor activity by inhibiting the growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells in vivo. Mice given Ehrlich cells and ANAS at $CV_{12}$ and $BL_{18}$ had 57.1% to 49.2% survival after 21 days. Quinone reductase activity and glutathione levels were increased with ANAS. However, glutathione S-transferase level was 1.1-fold with ANAS. These results suggest that ANAS has chemopreventive potential by inducing QR activity and increasing GSH level.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology and Dermatology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.113-128
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• 2012

Objectives : This study was performed to investigate the effect of Needle-Embedding Therapy in early stage of intractable peripheral facial paralysis. Methods : 46 patients with severe peripheral facial paralysis were treated with oriental medicine therapy including Needle-Embedding Therapy in their early stage. We evaluated the effect of Needle-Embedding Therapy by House-Brackmann Grading system, decrease of subjective symptoms and satisfaction measurement. Results : After treatment, HB-Scale grade was significantly decreased(p-value<0.001). More than 50% of subjective symptoms were disappeared in 82.61% of patients. 80.48% of the patients was satisfied with the Needle-Embedding Therapy. Conclusion : Needle-Embedding Therapy could be effective to improve symptoms of severe peripheral facial paralysis in early stage. Further studies will be required to identify the beneficial effect of Needle-Embedding Therapy in early stage of peripheral facial paralysis.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.11-17
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• 2000

Induction of phase II enzymes such as quinone reductase (QR) or glutathione S-transferase (GST) is considered a major mechanism of protection against initiation of carcingenesis. The induction of detoxification enzymes and glutathione were studied with Lonicerae Flos aqua-acupuncture solution (LFAS), Angelicae gigantis Radix aqua-acupuncture solution (AGRAS), and Gamdutang aqua-acupunture solution (GAS) in murine hepatoma cells grown in microtiter plate wells. LFAS, AGRAS and GAS were potent inducers of QR activity. LFAS was induced about 2.6-fold at concentration of $3{\times}$. AGRAS and GAS were also induced about 2.6-, 1.8-fold at concentration of $5{\times}$, respectively. In addition, GST activity was increased with LFAS, AGRAS, and GAS. GSH levels were increased about 2-fold with LFAS at concentration of $5{\times}$, 1.3-fold with AGRAS at concentration of $3{\times}$, and 1.2-fold with GAS at concentration of $5{\times}$. These results suggested that LFAS, AGRAS, and GAS may act as blocking agents against carcinogenesis by induction of phase II marker enzymes.