• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.77-86
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• 2011

Objective : This study was designed to evaluate the effect of bee venom pharmacopuncture therapy in patients with FBSS(failed back surgery syndrome). Methods : We investigated 30 cases of patients with FBSS, who had been treated from October 2010 to July 2011. We divided patients into two groups : group I was treated by acupuncture therapy only, and group II was treated by bee venom pharmacopuncture therapy and general acupuncture. We measured the efficacy of treatments using the numerical rating scale(NRS) and grade and straight leg raising(SLR) test. Results : 1. The treatment method for group II was more effective than that of group I in reducing the NRS score on the fifteenth day after admission but there was no statistically significant difference between the results of two groups on the fifth day after admission and the tenth day after admission. 2. The treatment method for group II was more effective than that of group I in NRS improvement rate from its admission day to the fifth day after admission and from the tenth day after admission to the fifteenth day after admission but there was no statistically significant difference between the performance of two groups from the fifth day after admission to the tenth day after admission. 3. Group II had a higher grade improvement rate from the seventh day after admission to the fifteenth day after admission than group I but no statistically significant difference was observed between the results of two groups from its admission day to the seventh day after admission. 4. In SLR test improvement rate the treatments applied to group II was more effective than those applied to group I. Conclusion : The results of this study suggest that bee venom pharmacopuncture therapy is effective in reducing pain for patients with FBSS. Further clinical research is needed to verify these results and findings.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.151-158
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• 2018

Objectives: We investigated the efficacy and safety of miniscalpel acupuncture (MA) for knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in an assessor-blinded randomized controlled pilot trial; this would provide information for a large-scale randomized controlled trial. Methods: Participants (n = 24) were recruited and randomly allocated to the MA group (experimental) or acupuncture group (control). The MA group received treatment once a week for 3 weeks (total of 3 treatments), while the acupuncture group received treatment two times per week for 3 weeks (total of 6 treatments). The primary outcome was pain as assessed by a visual analogue scale (VAS). The secondary outcomes (intensity of current pain, stiffness, and physical function) were assessed using the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Assessments were performed at baseline, 1, 2, and 3 during treatment and at week 5 (2 weeks after the end of treatment). Results: Of the 24 participants, 23 completed the study. Both groups showed significant improvements in VAS, SF-MPQ, and WOMAC. However, there were no significant differences between the MA and acupuncture groups. No serious adverse event occurred and blood test results were within normal limits. Conclusion: Our results suggest that although both MA and acupuncture provide similar effects with regard to pain control in patients with KOA, MA may be more effective in providing pain relief because the same relief was obtained with fewer treatments. A large-scale clinical study is warranted to further clarify these findings.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.90-96
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• 2023

The discoid meniscus is an innate modified form of the meniscus, characterized by middle hypertrophy and a larger than the regular diameter, leading to an absence of the characteristic "C" arrangement. Previously, no study has reported the traditional Korean medicine treatment of knee pain mainly due to discoid meniscus. Here, we report two cases of a discoid meniscus of the knee as the cause of knee pain. Patients were diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging for discoid meniscus and received traditional Korean medicine treatments, including pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and chuna. The pain was alleviated when assessed by patient-reported pain scale scores, and the general knee condition was improved. Thus, traditional Korean medicine treatments could be effective for patients who had discoid meniscus of the knee joint in this case report.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.67-71
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• 2006

Objective : Herniation of Intervertebral Disc(HIVD) is the most common disease causing low back pain. Acupuncture and Bee Venom Acupuncture has been us ε d for treatment of HIVD. This study is to investigate the effective of Bee Venom Acupuncture for HIVD. Methods : We researched 18 patients who were diagnosed by CT and MRI as having HIVD, and treated them Acupuncture only or Acupuncture and Bee Venom Acupuncture. We compared the VAS and ROM angle of two groups. Results & Conclusions : 1. In admission date, no significant improvement between Acupuncture group and Bee Venom Acupuncture group 2. In variation of flexion and extension, Bee Venom Acupuncture group shows statistically significant improvement 3. In VAS, Bee Venom Acupuncture group shows statistically significant improvement for 1 week and discharge day

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.103-104
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• 2001

This study was done to observe the effect on the local thermal changes of herbal acupuncture on D.I.T.I.. The objects of this study are as follows; If there are remarkable local thermal changes between pre and post herbal acupuncture therapy on D.I.T.I.or not. If there are those, We examine how long that changes are maintained, what the adequate interval is on herbal acupuncture therapy, and what the reaction in a .local or whole body are on that therapy Materials and Methods : To study the local thermal changes in herbal acupuncture therapy, D.I.T.I. was used. Determination of this analysis periods are pre and post-therapy(1 hour, 24hours, 48hours and 7days later). The study group was divided into three groups(comprised 23 students in oriental medical college, Woosuk University). One was NS(Normal Saline) group, another was CF(CARTHAMI SEMEN) group and the other was BU(FEL URSI + BENZOAR BOVIS) group. The Herbal Acupunture solution was injected 0.2ml divide into 0.05ml at tile P'ungmun(B12), P'yesu(B13), Pubun(B41), Paek'o(B42) 4 points. Then, in order to analyze the clinical form, we have observed response of 23 students whenever we checked the thermal changes of their after perfoming Results : The results were obtained as follows ; 1. There is no significant dermatothermal changes at NS group and CF group, but BU group have remarkable changes in 24, 48, 72 hours. 2. From post-therapy 1 hour to 48 hours, there is a significant change (P<0.01) at NS-BU group and CF-BU group, But there is none 7 days later. 3. In the analysis of whole or local body reaction, local pain appears at NS group(22%), CF group(11%), BU group(91%), discomfort reaction appears at CF group(14%), BU group(30%). BU groilp has feel vertigo(13%), drowsy (70%) and pain in action(52%). 4. In the analysis of the duration of physic진 reaction, BU group is most lately maintained. Conclusions : These results suggest that in the physical reaction of herbal acupuncture solutions, BU solution is more sensitive than CF solution or NS.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.153-164
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• 2021

Objectives: Despite the low cost and high accessibility of manual acupuncture (MA) treatments for the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), this intervention has not been uniformly evaluated in systematic reviews (SR), and no SR has evaluated MA monotherapy for CTS. This review was conducted to summarize the findings and undertake a quality assessment of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture treatment methods for mild-to-moderate CTS to identify clinical evidence for the use of MA in CTS. Methods: We searched five databases for articles on relevant RCTs that were published until June 2021 without imposing specific restrictions, such as age or sex, on CTS patients. RCTs that evaluated MA were included without any restriction on comparator interventions. Measurement tools for evaluating pain reduction and functional improvement or for evaluating efficacy using electrophysiological indicators were included as outcome measures. Results: We included seven RCTs, of which three studies reported both post-treatment improvement effects and statistical significance using p-values for all outcomes. Five studies reported statistically significant intergroup differences (p-values for all outcomes) in posttreatment improvement. None of the studies reported severe adverse effects of MA. In all of the RCTs, the reporting rates of the 2c, 2a, and 6a items of STRICTA 2010 were 14%, 29%, and 29%, respectively. PC7 (Daereung) was used to treat CTS in all of the included studies. Conclusion: MA can be used for CTS treatment without serious adverse effects. PC7 was the most commonly used acupoint. In order to ensure objective and reliable reporting, accurate standardization of acupuncture treatment methods acupoint terms should be undertaken in future RCTs.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.69-74
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• 2018

Background: We conducted a cross-sectional study to analyze the pain characteristics and satisfaction scores in traffic accident (TA) patients seeking Korean medicine treatment. Methods: A survey was conducted in 845 outpatients who visited 10 Korean medicine institutions due to TA-associated symptoms from February 25th, 2016 to March 9th, 2016. The questionnaire included information about patient sociodemographic characteristics, accident circumstance details, pain levels, treatment methods, satisfaction and pre-existing musculoskeletal disorders. All statistical analyses were performed using STATA 14.0. Results: A total 754 of the 845 respondents had experienced acute pain of onset within 1-2 days. Pain in the neck or low back was most common, and low back pain (LBP) was more prevalent in pedestrian-vehicle accident cases. Patients showed highest satisfaction with pharmacopuncture treatment, followed by acupuncture and Chuna manual therapy. Although treatments were not completed at the time of the survey, the majority of patients were satisfied with the Korean medicine treatments they received and indicated their intent to reuse this treatment in the future. The degree of pain reduction after treatment was a factor that influenced patient satisfaction with and intention to reuse Korean medicine. Conclusion: This study determined the characteristics and status of TA patients using Korean medicine and suggests the need for further more inclusive studies.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.209-230
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• 2017

Objectives : The aim of this study was to describe the details and to assess the clinical evidence of acupuncture and moxibustion for non-specific chronic neck pain. Methods : We searched seven databases including Korean, English, and Chinese databases through July 2016. Studies using acupuncture, moxibustion, pharmacopuncture, electroacupuncture, auricular-acupuncture, acupressure for non-specific chronic neck pain were included. Only controlled clinical trials or randomized clinical trials were assessed. Study design, number of subject, inclusion criteria, intervention, and results were extracted. In addition, details of intervention including needle type, retention time, acupoints were analyzed. Results : Total 64 studies(39 acupuncture, 9 laser, 6 pharmaco-acupuncture, 3 electro-acupuncture, 3 auricular-acupuncture, 3 moxibustion, 1 acupressure) were included. Among 39 acupuncture studies, 35 used acupuncture as sole intervention. Sham treatment was the most common intervention for control group, followed by no intervention. Various outcome including pain, disability, quality of life, range of motion was used as outcome measurement. The effect of acupuncture and moxibustion was different depending on the type of control and outcome measurement. The most commonly used method in acupuncture for neck pain was GB21, SI3, GB20, LI4, BL11 acupoints, 10~30 mm insertion depth, 20~30 retention time, and 1~2 times per week. Conclusions : Analyzing the details of acupuncture and moxibustion treatment could be helpful for researches and clinics. Further studies should consider the characteristics of study design, intervention, and outcome to assess the effect of TKM.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.5-24
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• 2011

Objective: This study was performed to analyse four weeks repeated -dose toxicity of Sweet Bee Venom (SBV-pure melittin, the major component of honey bee venom) in rats. Methods: All experiments were conducted under the regulations of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) at Biotoxtech Company, a non-clinical study authorized institution. Male and female rats of 5 weeks old were chosen for the pilot study of four weeks repeated-dose toxicity and was injected at the level of 0.56 mg/kg body weight (eighty times higher than the clinical application dosage as the high dosage), followed by 0.28 and 0.14 mg/kg as midium and low dosage, respectively. Equal amount of normal saline was injected as the control group every day for four weeks. Results: 1. No mortality was witnessed in all of the experiment groups. 2. All experiment groups appealed pain sense in the treating time compared to the control group, and side effects such as hyperemia and movement disorder were observed around the area of injection in all experiment groups, and the higher dosage in treatment, the higher occurrence in side effects. 3. Concerning weight measurement, neither male nor female groups showed significant changes compared to the control group. 4. Concerning to the CBC and biochemistry, all experiment groups didn't show any significant changes compared to the control group. 5. Concerning weight measurement of organs, experiment groups didn't show any significant changes compared to the control group. 6. To verify abnormalities of organs and tissues, those such as cerebellum, cerebrum, liver, lung, kidney, and spinal cords were removed and we conducted histologocal observation with H-E staining. Concerning the histologocal observation of liver tissues, some fatty changes were observed around portal vein in 0.56 mg/kg experiment group. But another organs were not detected in any abnormalities. 7. The proper high dosage of SBV for the thirteen weeks repeated test in rats may be 0.28 mg/kg in one time. Conclusion: Above findings suggest that SBV is relatively safe treatment medium. Further studies on the subject should be conducted to yield more concrete evidences.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.192-199
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• 2019

Objectives: KCHO-1(Mecasin), also called Gamijakyakgamchobuja-tang originally, is a combination of some traditional herbal medicines in East Asia. This medicine has been used mainly for alleviating neuropathic pains for centuries in Korean traditional medicine. KCHO-1 was developed to treat pain, joint contracture and muscular weakness in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This study was carried out to investigate the chronic toxicity of KCHO-1 oral administration in rats for 26 weeks. Methods: Sprague-Dawely rats were divided into four groups and 10 rats were placed in the control group and the high-dose group, respectively. Group 1 was the control group and the remaining groups were the experimental groups. In the oral toxicity study, 500 mg/kg, 1,000 mg/kg, and 2,000 mg/kg of KCHO-1 were administered to the experimental group, and 10 ml/kg of sterile distilled water was administered to the control group. Survival rate, body weight, feed intake, clinical signs, and visual findings were examined. Urinalysis, ophthalmologic examination, necropsy, organ weight, hematologic examination, blood chemical examination and histopathologic examination were performed. Results: Mortality and toxicological lesions associated with the administration of test substance were not observed in all groups. Conclusion: NOAEL(No observed adverse effect level) of KCHO-1 is higher than 2000 mg/kg/day. And, the above findings suggest that treatment with KCHO-1 is relatively safe.