• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.57-69
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• 2008

Objectives : To review the controlling methods used in RCTs (randomized controlled trials) of auricular acupuncture. Methods : To investigate the controlling methods used in clinical trials of auricular acupuncture, 46 articles were retrieved from PUBMED (from August 1976 to August 2007, with limits: english, clinical trial) using the key words of "ear acupuncture", "auricular acupuncture", "auriculo-medicine", and sorted out according to the types of control treatments. Among them, 10 articles were selected based on STRICTA (Standards for Reporting Intervention in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture), and the controlling methods used in those articles were reviewed. Results : In clinical trials of auricular acupuncture, 'sham acupoints (non-acupoints and non-treatment acupoints included)', 'minimal acupuncture', 'pseudo-intervention', and 'placebo devices' have been used as controlling methods, but their 'inactivity' have been in question. To compensate the disadvantages of 'minimal acupuncture', and 'pseudo-intervention' control, placebo auricular acupuncture needles have been developed, although these needles didn't satisfy the conditions of 'blinding' and 'physical inactivity' simultaneously. Conclusions : Further researches on 'sham acupoints' and new development of 'placebo auricular acupuncture needles' are needed.

• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.95-109
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• 2006

Objectives : There has been a considerable debate about how to best control for placebo effects in clinical trials of acupuncture. Recently several sham needles were developed and validated. This study aimed at summarising the validation studies of these needles and evaluating the outcomes of the randomised controlled trials (RCTs) using them. Methods : Computerised literature searches were performed using 'acupuncture' AND 'placebo OR sham' with a limitation of the results to RCTs in Medline via PubMed and the Cochrane Library. Only formally validated sham needle controlled studies were included. Data were extracted regarding study design, condition, sample size, credibility testing, intervention and outcomes. Methodological quality was assessed using a modified Jadad scale. Results : Three validated sham needles by Streitberger, Park, and Fink, were identified. Acupuncture's effectiveness for various conditions was tested using these needles in 12 RCTs. Real acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture for rotator cuff tendonitis and hypertension. No significant differences between real acupuncture and sham acupuncture emerged for chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting, postoperative nausea and vomiting, menstrually related migraine, acute stroke rehabilitation, chronic/episodic tension-type headache, neutrophil respiratory burst in healthy volunteers, alcohol withdrawal symptoms and chronic poststroke leg spasticity. Conclusions : The new sham devices have been adequately validated and may be useful tools for investigating specific research question. In spite of the sham needle's limits, the results of RCTs using such devices tend to suggest that the clinical effects of acupuncture are largely due to a placebo response.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권8호
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• pp.3403-3410
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• 2014

Context: Interest exits in whether TNF-alpha antagonists increase the risk of breast cancer and total malignancies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Objectives: To analyze the risk of malignancies, especially breast cancer, in patients with RA enrolled in randomized control trials (RCTs). Methods: A systematic literature search for RCTs from 1 January 1998 to 1 July 2013 from online databases, such as PubMed, WILEY, EMBASE, ISI web of knowledge and Cochrane Library was conducted. Studies included RCTs that compared the safety of at least one dose of the five TNF-${\alpha}$ antagonists with placebo or methotrexate (MTX) (or TNF-${\alpha}$ antagonists plus MTX vs placebo plus MTX) in RA patients for more than 24 weeks and imported all the references into document management software EndNote${\times}6$. Two independent reviewers selected studies and extracted the data about study design, patients' characteristics and the type, number of all malignancies. Results: 28 RCTs from 34 records with 11,741 patients were analyzed. Of the total, 97 developed at least one malignancy during the double-blind trials, and breast cancer was observed in 17 patients (17.5% of total malignancies). However, there was no statistically significant increased risk observed in either the per protocol (PP) model (OR 0.65, 95%CI [0.22, 1.93]) or the modified intention to treat (mITT) model (OR 0.75, 95%CI [0.25, 2.21]). There were also no significant trend for increased risk of total malignancies on anti-TNF-${\alpha}$ therapy administered at approved doses in either model (OR, 1.06, 95%CI [0.64, 1.75], and OR, 1.30, 95%CI [0.80, 2.14], respectively). As to the two models, modified intention to treat model analysis led to higher estimation than per protocol model analysis. Conclusions: This study did not find a significantly increased risk of breast cancer and total malignancies in adults RA patients treated with TNF-${\alpha}$ antagonists at approved doses. However, it cannot be ignored that more patients developed malignancies with TNF-${\alpha}$ antagonists therapy compared with patients with placebo or MTX, in spite of the lack of statistical significance, so that more strict clinical trials and long-term follow-up are needed, and both mITT and PP analyses should be used in such safety analyses.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.117-123
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• 1995

For the effective administration of narcotic antagonist, the application of sustained release implantable systems with biodegradable polyphosphazene was examined. Using poly[(diethyl glutamate)-co-(ethyl glycinate) phosphazene], the implantable devices containing naloxone hydrochloride were prepared and in vivo implantation studies were carried out subcutaneously in rat and rabbit with this preparation for the biocompatibility and pharmacokinetics. The histological finding in rats at initial time period was the inflammation that occurred focally around the implants, but they were showed subsequent mild and limited chronic inflammations and the irreversible changes such as necrosis and degeneration of the muscle or connective tissues were not observed. Therefore the placebo and naloxone implants are considered to be biocompatible formulations histologically. In pharmacokinetic studies, the release of naloxone from the naloxone implants into blood plasma was maintained in 192 hours, but the initial burst effect was observed. If this problem was solved, the application for the narcotic antagonist sustained release systems can be expected.

• 전자공학회논문지
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• 제53권12호
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• pp.180-190
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• 2016

본 전향적 예비 임상연구를 통하여 이중 체임버 구조를 기반으로 하는 뇌졸중 환자용 컵을 개발하고 임상적으로 유용한지 검증하고자 했다. 체계적 과정을 거쳐 컵을 개발하고, 남녀 동수의 뇌졸중 환자 16명을 대상으로 개발된 컵을 사용하여 이들의 제한된 운동기능을 보완 할 수 있는지 3차원 동작 분석(3-dimensional motion analysis), 표면 근전도 검사(surface electromyography; sEMG), 3차원 체간 움직임 분석(3-dimensional trunk movement analysis)의 운동 형상학적 방법을 통하여 검증하고자 했다. 실험 결과, 이중 체임버 컵(dual chamber based assistive cups; DC) 데이터 그룹에서 플라시보 컵(placebo-cups; PC)의 경우 보다 어깨부위의 ROM(range of motion)이 더 적게 사용되었고, sEMG에서는 상부 승모근, 삼각근, 삼두근에서 근 활성도가 낮게 나타났다. 체간 분석에서 전방, 후방의 방향에서 체간의 개입이 더 적게 관찰되었다.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제81권3호
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• pp.198-215
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• 2018

Bronchodilators provide improvements in lung function and reductions in symptoms and exacerbations, and are the mainstay of pharmacological management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease strategy recommends the use of a combination of long-acting ${\beta}_2-agonist$/long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LABA/LAMA) as the first-line treatment option in the majority of symptomatic patients with COPD. This review provides an indirect comparison of available LABA/LAMA fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) through discussion of important efficacy and safety data from the key literature, with the objective of providing physicians with a framework for informed decision-making. LABA/LAMA FDCs provided greater benefits compared with placebo and similar or greater benefits compared with tiotropium and salmeterol/fluticasone in improving lung function, dyspnea, health-related quality of life, reducing rescue medication use and preventing exacerbations, although with some variability in efficacy between individual FDCs; further, tolerability profiles were comparable among LABA/LAMA FDCs. However, there is a disparity in the amount of evidence generated for different LABA/LAMA FDCs. Thus, this review shows that all LABA/LAMA FDCs may not be the same and that care should be taken when extrapolating individual treatment outcomes to the entire drug class. It is important that physicians consider the efficacy gradient that exists among LABA/LAMA FDCs, and factors such as inhaler devices and potential biomarkers, when choosing the optimal bronchodilator treatment for long-term management of patients with COPD.