• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.1082-1093
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• 2021

Objective: Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressive, irreversible brain damage and cognitive decline. Although the diagnosis and treatment of the prodromal symptoms of dementia are important, no treatment for mild cognitive impairment has been currently established. Herein, we report the case of an 80-year-old female patient with memory complaints treated with Gugijihwang-tang, a traditional Korean medicine herbal formula, as an add-on medication. Case Presentation: The patient was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment based on clinical examinations using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale, Global Deterioration (GDR) Scale, and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) Scale. She was treated with Gugijihwang-tang bis in die for 12 months while continuing her original medications, including 5-mg donepezil and 590-mg acetyl-l-carnitine. The MMSE score in the Korean Version of the CERAD Assessment Packet increased from 21 to 27 during the 12-month treatment period, and the CERAD 2 score increased from 33 to 62. The instrumental ADL scale score improved from 11 to 5. Other clinical examination results also showed improvement. The patient was satisfied and experienced no significant adverse events related to the Gugijihwang-tang treatment. Conclusion: This case suggests that Gugijihwang-tang could be considered as a treatment method for patients with mild cognitive impairment.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.217-225
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• 2017

Objectives: This case study evaluated the effectiveness of Chengsimyeonja-tang-gamibang (Gamicheongsim-tang and Cheongsimsunhwal-tang) in a patient with a pontine hemorrhage and quadriparesis, dysarthria, and dysphagia. Methods: A patient diagnosed with a pontine hemorrhage was treated with Chengsimyeonja-tang-gamibang (Gamicheongsim-tang and Cheongsimsunhwal-tang) acupuncture, and moxibustion. The manual muscle test (MMT), modified Barthel index (MBI), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), modified Rankin Scale (mRS), Mini Mental State Examination-Korea (MMSE-K), and Articulatory Functional Ability of Achievement Scale were administered. Results: Improvements in the MMT, MBI, NIHSS, mRS, and K-MMSE were observed after the treatment. The MMT grade increased from Rt. 3/3- and Lt. 3/3- pretreatment to Rt. 4/4 and Lt. 4+/4+ post-treatment. The MBI increased from 10 to 50 post-treatment. The NIHSS decreased from 24 to 6 post-treatment, and the mRS fell from 5 to 4 post-treatment. Finally, the MMSE-K increased from 0 to 24 post-treatment. The Articulatory Functional Ability of Achievement Scale also improved. Conclusion: This study shows that Chengsimyeonja-tang-gamibang can be used to treat the symptoms of patients with a pontine hemorrhage.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.1-7
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• 2016

Structural MRI(sMRI) imaging is used to extract morphometric features after Grey Matter (GM), White Matter (WM) for several univariate and multivariate method, and Cerebro-spinal Fluid (CSF) segmentation. A new approach is applied for the diagnosis of very mild to mild AD. We propose the classification method of Alzheimer disease patients from normal controls by combining morphometric features and Gaussian Mixture Models parameters along with MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination) score. The combined features are fed into Multi-kernel SVM classifier after getting rid of curse of dimensionality using principal component analysis. The experimenral results of the proposed diagnosis method yield up to 96% stratification accuracy with Multi-kernel SVM along with high sensitivity and specificity above 90%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.143-152
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• 2019

PURPOSE: This examined the effects of a sling exercise based on music on the cognition, physical performance of patients with dementia. METHODS: Thirty subjects with dementia volunteered to participate in this study. All subjects were allocated randomly to either the experimental group or control group, with 15 subjects in each group. All subjects underwent the exercise program for an average of 60 minutes per day for 16 weeks. The experimental group performed sling exercise based on music, and the control group performed the general exercise program. Assessments were made using the Korean version of mini-mental state examination (MMSE-K), 10 m walk test (10MWT), Tinetti mobility test (TMT), and Katz's Index of Independence in activity daily living (KIIADL) to detect changes in the cognitive level and physical performance before and after the 16-week training period. A paired t-test was conducted to compare the within-group change before and after the intervention. An independent t-test was performed to compare the between-group difference. The statistical significance level was set to α=.05 for all variables. RESULTS: The experimental group showed significant within-group changes in the MMSE-K, 10MWT, TMT, and KIIADL (p<.05). The control group showed a significant change in only the KIIADL (p<.05). A significant difference was observed between the experimental group and the control group regarding the change in MMSE-K and KIIADL after the interventions (p<.05). CONCLUSION: A music-based sling exercise program effectively improves cognition, physical performance, and ADL in patients with dementia. Further studies with a wider range of subjects and scientific equipment will be needed to strengthen the results of this study.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.209-223
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture treatment for the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). There were 11 databases searched for randomized controlled trials using acupuncture treatment for AD. The risk-of-bias assessment tool of the Cochrane Library was used to evaluate the quality of each study. Using the Review Manager (RevMan), a meta-analysis was performed using risk ratio, mean difference, 95% confidence interval, and random effect model. There were 32 studies selected, all of which were conducted in China. There were 16 studies where acupuncture was used as the intervention, and 23 studies used Donepezil as the control group. Acupoint GV20 was most frequently selected during the treatment. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) was the most frequently used outcome variable. A period of 12 weeks was the most common treatment duration. As a result of meta-analysis (n = 25), acupuncture improved the MMSE and activities of daily living scores. Electroacupuncture improved the Alzheimer Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale, and scalp acupuncture improved the MMSE score for AD. Acupuncture alleviates the symptoms of AD. However, further research is necessary to provide a better level of evidence.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.50-59
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• 1998

Background : Vascular dementia occurs mainly due to cerebral vascular disease. So we performed this clinical study to investigate the incidence and characteristics of vascular dementia in stroke patients. Methods : This study was performed on the patients hospitalized from April 1, 1998 to August 31, 1998 at the department of circulatory internal medicine, hospital of Oriental medicine, Kyung-Hee University, and diagnosed cerebral infarction or hemorrhage by Brain CT or MRI. we devided the patients into two groups; vascular dementia group and non dementia group according to MMSE-K(Mini Mental State Examination Korean version), Hasegawa dementia scale. Patients were diagnosed dementia using DSM-IV. We compared general characteristics, stoke types and laboratory findings between the two groups and investigated the correlationship between MMSE-K and Hasegawa dementia scale. Results : Results showed that the incidence of vascular dementia was about 27.8% in stroke patients. The greater number of subjects with dementia were women in the lower educational classes and had lower MBI(Moderfied Bathel Index) scores. Vascular dementia were more common in patients with large brain lesion size($>20cm^3$). There was a positive correlationship between Hasegawa scores and MMSE-K.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.442-452
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• 1993

Previous experimental and clinical investigations suggest a possible role of new nootropic drug, oxiracetam, in improving cognitive performances in patients affected by organic brain syndrome. In this study, the cognitive and behavioral effects of oxiracetam treatment in patients with clinical symptoms of organic brain syndrome were evaluated. Sixty-six patients were enrolled and assigned to either oxiracetam or placebo, according to a randomized, double-blind design between two patient-groups. Either oxiracetam or placebo was orally given bid for 8 weeks ; daily dose of oxiracetam was 1600mg. All the patients, enrolled in this study, were diagnosed as having mild to moderate cognitive dysfunction as defined by a baseline Mini Mental State ExaminationKorean version (MMSE-K) score between 14 and 25. The patients under-went, at baseline, 4 weeks and 8 weeks after, routine laboratory study (CBC, SMA12, U/A, EKG) and the following neuropsychological tests ; MMSE-K, modified Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale(MKWIS), Nurses' Observation Scale for Geriatric patients(NOSGER). Fifteen patients of whom were dropped out or excluded from the analysis because of poor compliance or violation of the protocol. Fiftyone patients (aged 54~78 years, male 25, female 26) were analyzed (vascular dementia, 30 ; senile dementia of Alzheimer type, 9 ; mixed type, 5 ; other cause, 7). Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated that the two groups were comparable at baseline. At the end of each study period the oxiracetam group scored significantly better on the majority of the tests evaluating cognitive function, psychometricity and the improvement rating scale of subjective symptoms than placebo group, in which worsening trends or no changes were seen on the whole. No side effects were noted during oxiracetam treatment. The present study, showing positive clinical findings after oxiracetam therapy, confirmed that this drug can be useful pharmacological treatment in organic brain syndrome.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.97-110
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• 2020

The purpose of this case study was to report the effectiveness of aphasia in patients with cerebral infarction with hydrocephalus. A patient diagnosed with a middle cerebral artery infarction and hydrocephalus was treated with Gami-cheongeumjowi-tang, acupuncture, and moxibustion. The degree of improvement of symptoms was evaluated using the Korean version of the Frenchay Aphasia Screening Test (K-FAST) and the Mini-Mental State Examination-Korea (MMSE-K). At the time of admission, the K-FAST score was 7 points and the MMSE-K score was 4 points because no words other than 'Yes' could be spoken. At discharge, the K-FAST score was 22 points and the MMSE-K score was 19 points. A particularly noticeable improvement was found in spoken and written comprehension, reading, and repetition. The study findings indicate that Korean medicine treatment can be used to treat the symptoms of patients with aphasia. The periventricular region may be distorted by hydrocephalus, resulting in Broca's aphasia in a cerebral infarction of the middle cerebral artery inferior division.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.678-684
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• 2016

Objectives: This clinical study describes the effect of Korean medicine on a patient with alcohol-related dementia.Methods: A patient with cognitive disorder and memory impairment due to alcohol abuse was treated with the herbal medicine “Gami Gwibi-tang”, acupuncture, and moxibustion, together with basic Western medicine. The patient’s cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination-Korean (MMSE-K) and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR). Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was used to estimate the severity of structural brain damage.Results: Following treatment with Gami Gwibi-tang, patent’s MMSE-K score and CDR improved.Conclusion: This clinical case study provides evidence of the effect of Korean medicine, including Gwibi-tang-gami, on alcohol-related dementia.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.804-813
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Korean medicine in a patient with cognitive impairment, emotional disturbance, and sleep disturbance due to a diffuse axonal injury associated with a traumatic brain injury. The patient was treated with herbal medicine and acupuncture. The treatment effects were evaluated using the Korean version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) and the Global Detraction Scale (GDS), and by observing clinical symptoms. Improvements in the total scores of MMSE-K and GDS were observed after the Korean medicine treatments; the MMSE-K score increased from 13 to 23 and the GDS score decreased from 5 to 4. The emotional and sleep disturbances were also reduced. These case report findings suggest that Korean medicine may be effective for treating symptoms of diffuse axonal injury in patients with traumatic brain injury.