• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.95-103
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• 2010

Objectives : Abnormal movements are among the most common psychogenic symptoms, and psychogenic movement disorders(PMD) are estimated to account for 2-3% of patients in movement disorders clinics. Psychogenic tremor is the most frequent symptoms among psychogenic movement disorders. There are no treatment studies specific to PMD and lack any generally accepted treatment strategies. Methods : In this case, a 40 years old women had been suffered from head tremor for 4-5 years without any evidence for other neurological disorders and medical problems. Her symptom caused by stress events and severity of symptom had been change the level of by stress. We treated her with korean traditional herbal medicine(Chengsimyeonjatang), Qigong-based Stress Reduction Program(BQSRP), Giungoroen(wise saying and lofty opinion) and Gyeongjapyeongji(desensitizing the unease) for 2 months. Results : After treatment, the severity and frequency of the head tremors were decreased. In addition, anxiety level also decreased. Conclusions : This result suggests that our oriental medical treatments was effective on psychogenic tremor.

• Sleep Medicine and Psychophysiology
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.1-17
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• 1996

To demonstrate the clinical usefulness of electroencephalography (EEG) and factors increasing the usefulness of EEG, the authors evaluated each relationship between EEG related factors and clinical variables, and neuroimaging studies (CT and MRI)-related factors, and factors which are related with routine neurological examination for 207 patients who had been evaluated with both of EEG and neuroimaging study(CT or/and MRI). The results were as follows: 1) Abnormality of EEG findings had significant relationships with chief complaints, diagnosis, medication use, seizure attack, pathological reflex, and level of consciousness. However there were no significant correlations between abnormality of EEG findings and neuroimaging studies (CT and MRI)- related factors. 2) Laterality of EEG findings had significant relationships with abnormality, laterality, and focality of CT findings, and also with abnormality of MRI findings. But there were no significant correlations between laterality of EEG findings and clinical variables, and neurological examination-related factors. 3) Anterior-posterior distribution of EEG findings was significantly related with medication use. 4) Focality of EEG findings had significant relationships with sex, sensory dysfunction sign, and cerebellar dysfunction sign. But there were no significant correlations between focality of EEG findings and neuroimaging studies(CT and MRI) related factors. 5) Abnormal EEG pattern had significant correlations with various factors, such as age, chief complaints, duration from onset of symptom to taking MRI, seizure attack, abnormality and nature of lesion in CT findings, cortical atrophy in MRI findings, motor dysfunction sign, sensory dysfunction sign, and pathological reflex. 6) With abnormality on sleep activation, age, age of onset, seizure attack, ventricular enlargement in CT findings, and abnormality of MRI findings were significantly correlated. 7) With abnormality on hyperventilation activation, duration of illness and laterality of MRI findings were significantly correlated. Above results may suggest that abnormality of EEG findings is more closely related with functional change of the brain than structural changes of the brain and laterality of EEG findings is vice versa. And also that medication use has an influence on anterior versus posterior distribution of EEG findings and focality of EEG findings is not related with structural changes of the brain. Activation with sleep may be effective to show age differences and provocation of seizure activity and hyperventilation may be effective to detect the abnormal EEG findings by cerebrovascular insufficiency.

• Journal of the Korean neurological association
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 2017

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a noninvasive optical method, utilizes the characteristic absorption spectra of hemoglobin in the near-infrared range to provide information on cerebral hemodynamic changes in various clinical situations. NIRS monitoring have been used mainly to detect reduced perfusion of the brain during orthostatic stress for three common forms of orthostatic intolerance (OI); orthostatic hypotension, neurally mediated syncope, and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Autonomic function testing is an important diagnostic test to assess their autonomic nervous systems for patients with symptom of OI. However, these techniques cannot measure dynamic changes in cerebral blood flow. There are many experimentations about study of NIRS to reveal the pathophysiology of patients with OI. Research using NIRS in other neurologic diseases (stroke, epilepsy and migraine) are ongoing. NIRS have been experimentally used in all stages of stroke and may complement the established diagnostic and monitoring tools. NIRS also provide pathophysiological approach during rehabilitation and secondary prevention of stroke. The hemodynamic response to seizure has long been a topic for discussion in association with the neuronal damage resulting from convulsion. One critical issue when unpredictable events are to be detected is how continuous NIRS data are analyzed. Besides, NIRS studies targeting pathophysiological aspects of migraine may contribute to a deeper understanding of mechanisms relating to aura of migraine. NIRS monitoring may play an important role to trend regional hemodynamic distribution of flow in real time and also highlights the pathophysiology and management of not only patients with OI symptoms but also those with various neurologic diseases.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.98-100
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• 2008

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a sensorimotor neurological disorder in which the primary symptom is a compelling urge to move the legs, accompanied by unpleasant and disturbing sensations in the legs. Although pathophysiologic mechanism of RLS is still unclear, several evidences suggest that RLS is related to dysfunction in central nervous system involving brain and spinal cord. L-DOPA, as the precursor of dopamine, as well as dopamine agonists, plays an essential role in the treatment of RLS leading to the assumption of a key role of dopamine function in the pathophysiology of RLS. Patients with RLS have lower levels of dopamine in the substantia nigra and respond to iron administration. Iron, as a cofactor in dopamine production, plays a central role in the etiology of RLS. Functional neuroimaging studies using PET and SPECT support a central striatal D2 receptor abnormality in the pathophysiology of RLS. Functional MRI suggested a central generator of periodic limb movements during sleep (PLMs) in RLS. However, to date, we have no direct evidence of pathogenic mechanisms of RLS.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.31
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• pp.18.1-18.8
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• 2016

Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the risk factors associated with depression and suicidal ideation in a rural population. Methods A survey was conducted with 543 farmers from Chungcheongnam-do Province using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) for depression, Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS) for social support, Swedish Q16 for neurotoxicity symptoms and a survey tool for farmer's syndrome. Results After adjusting for socioeconomic factors using logistic regression analysis, poor self-rated health, low social support and neurotoxicity were positively associated with the risk of depression (odds ratio [OR], 15.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.11 to 81.97; OR, 3.14; 95% CI, 1.26 to 7.82; and OR, 3.68; 95% CI, 1.08 to 12.57, respectively). The risk of suicidal ideation significantly increased with low social support, neurotoxicity and farmer's syndrome (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.18 to 4.40; OR, 6.17; 95% CI, 2.85 to 13.34; and OR, 3.70; 95% CI, 1.51 to 9.07, respectively). Conclusions Given the overall results of this study, there is a need to establish programs which can improve the health and social relationships of farmers. Also, when farmers have neurological symptoms from pesticide exposure and characteristic symptoms of farmer's syndrome, a monitoring system for depression and suicide must be made available.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.19-33
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• 2005

Tremor is a main factor of parkinsonism. Voice tremor may be the first, later or the only symptom of a neurological disease and its frequency, amplitude, and regularity may differ among the diseases of different neural subsystems. Differential diagnosis between idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) has been difficult. This study included three groups: (1) 6 IPD patients; (2) 6 MSA patients; and (3) 20 ageand sex-matched normal controls. The MDVP (Multidimensional Voice Program) was used to analyze the sustained /a/phonation. The results were as follows: (1) frequency perturbation parameters (jitter, sPPQ, Vf0) and FTRI of tremor parameter of two patient groups were statistically different from those of the controls (p < .01); (2) measures were higher in short-term and long-term f0 and amplitude perturbation in MSA than IPD; (3) however, any acoustic parameters between IPD and MSA were not statistically different; except for the rate of frequency tremor, 4$\sim$5 Hz in IPD, 5$\sim$11 Hz in MSA and (4) the pattern of regularity for voice tremor through histogram indicated that amplitude of IPD was irregular while both f0 and amplitude of MSA were irregular. In conclusion, F0, rate of frequency tremor, and pattern of f0 regularity may be predictors for differential diagnosis. These findings might signify that voice tremor of parkinsonism was resulted from modulation of f0.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.147-156
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• 2007

Conversion disorder is a diagnosis based on a psychological construct that currently has no known neurobiologic substrate. But It is not easy to differentiate a real conversion disorder from a neurological disease or other medical disease. A patient in this case report had been diagnosed as conversion disorder but later it was found that the conversion disorder was misdiagnosis. During the 7 days of treatment, this patient was treated by herb medication, acupuncture and TENS and bad a little improvement. Both way, this patient was evaluated and evantually was diagnosed as Guillain-Barre Syndrome Miller-Fisber Variant, suggesting that the former diagnosis bad been a mistake. In this case report, we will present this patient's case and review the misdiagnosis of conversion disorder.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.245-247
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• 2011

There were only a few reports of mercury on pulmonary artery. However, there is no data on surgery related mercury dissemination. The objective of the present article is to describe one case of postoperative injected mercury dissemination. A 19-year-old man presented severe neck pain including meningeal irritation sign and abdominal pain after injection of mercury for the purpose of suicide. Radiologic study showed injected mercury in the neck involving high cervical epidural space and subcutaneous layer of abdomen. Partial hemilaminectomy and open mercury evacuation of spinal canal was performed. For the removal of abdominal subcutaneous mercury, C-arm guided needle aspiration was done. After surgery, radiologic study showed disseminated mercury in the lung, heart, skull base and low spinal canal. Neck pain and abdominal pain were improved after surgery. During 1 month after surgery, there was no symptom of mercury intoxication except increased mercury concentration of urine, blood and hair. We assumed the bone work during surgery might have caused mercury dissemination. Therefore, we recommend minimal invasive surgical technique for removal of injected mercury. If open exposures are needed, cautious surgical technique to prohibit mercury dissemination is necessary and normal barrier should be protected to prevent the migration of mercury.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.152-156
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• 2014

Intracisternal accessory nerve schwannomas are very rare; only 18 cases have been reported in the literature. In the majority of cases, the tumor origin was the spinal root of the accessory nerve and the tumors usually presented with symptoms and signs of intracranial hypertension, cerebellar ataxia, and myelopathy. Here, we report a unique case of an intracisternal schwannoma arising from the cranial root of the accessory nerve in a 58-year-old woman. The patient presented with the atypical symptom of hoarseness associated with recurrent laryngeal neuropathy which is noted by needle electromyography, and mild hypesthesia on the left side of her body. The tumor was completely removed with sacrifice of the originating nerve rootlet, but no additional neurological deficits. In this report, we describe the anatomical basis for the patient's unusual clinical symptoms and discuss the feasibility and safety of sacrificing the cranial rootlet of the accessory nerve in an effort to achieve total tumor resection. To our knowledge, this is the first case of schwannoma originating from the cranial root of the accessory nerve that has been associated with the symptoms of recurrent laryngeal neuropathy.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.119-124
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• 2010

Cervical disc herniations can press on the spinal cord and cause a problem called cervical myelopathy. The most common symptom of cervical disc herniation is neck pain that spreads down to the upper limb in various locations. There can also be associated with weakness and movement disorders of upper limb. In Oriental medicine, cervical disc herniation is treated with herb-med, physical therapy, acupuncture, Chuna, etc, but the Bee Venom therapy is the most common and effective. In this case, we used the Bee Venom therapy at cervical hyeopcheokhyeol for about 2 months to a patient who was diagnosed with disc herniation at Cervical 5-6, 6-7 and appealed weakness, limited elevation and abduction of the left upper limb. As a result, left upper limb disability was improved. Using the Bee Venom therapy at cervical hyeopcheokhyeol that are effective on movement disorders and neurological diseases of upper limb is an effective treatment to upper limb disability diagnosed with cervical disc herniation, and suggests the direction of the treatment to upper limb weakness and movement disorders diagnosed with cervical disc herniation.