• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.102-106
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• 2014

Wild ginseng pharmacopuncture is a partly used Traditional Korean Medicine's therapy with no previously well documented hepatotoxicity. We report the the first case of suspected drug-induced liver injury (DILI) after intravenous Wild ginseng Pharmacopuncture therapy. Our clinical observation based on patient's laboratory studies, medical history, detailed drug history and ruling out other possible causes. Our patient's suspected diagnosis was wild ginseng pharmacopuncture-induced liver injury with correlation between detailed drug history and laboratory studies. This diagnosis was supported by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences-Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method(RUCAM). This report represents the first documented cases of suspected DILI after intravenous wild ginseng pharmacopuncture therapy, highlighting the need for future research regarding potential hepatotoxicity of Wild ginseng Pharmacopuncture.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.1193-1198
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• 2009

Pulse diagnosis is a central diagnosis method used in traditional Oriental medicine. To standardize and modernize the pulse diagnosis method, it is essential to develop an instrument-based reinterpretation of the clinically used pulse images in terms of the physical quantities such as the strength, period, width, length, and depth of the pulse. As a step towards such standardization, we conducted a clinical study on the floating/sinking pulses based on an automated palpation instrument (3D-MAC, Daeyo Medi, Korea) for 213 female subjects in their 20s and 174 female subjects in their 60s. The floating/sinking pulses are the two representative pulse images depending only on the depth of the pulse, and can be conveniently scaled by the coefficient of the floating-sinking pulse ($C_{fs}{\in}(0,1)$), which represents how strong one should apply the hold-down pressure to obtain the maximal pulse strength. As a result, primarily we found that it tends to appear more floating-like pulse ($C_{fs}{\rightarrow}0$) at Gwan and more sinking-like pulse ($C_{fs}{\rightarrow}1$) at Cheek, at both age groups and at both wrists. This result is consistent with a previous study on the geometrical structure of the blood vessel by an ultrasonograph. Second, the pulse tends to be more sinking-like in the age group of 60s than 20s. Finally, the pulses at the right palpation positions were found to be more sinking-like than the left, at both age groups.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1137-1141
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• 2005

This paper is written in order to investigate how Lee Je-Ma changed traditional Zhu Xi's philosophical view on Way(Tao; 道) Virtue(De: 德) Nature(Xing;性) and Imperative(Ming; 命), which was general concepts of his contemporary age, to practical philosophy and created new medical theories of Sasang(4 symbols) science from it. Lee emphasized the true thing which is able to be done in one's living not the concepts of Sasang. So he induced the concepts of Way and Virtue from the easy and simple way(易簡之道) in the Classic of Changes(I'Ching) for the purpose of practice by anyone. Because Nature and Imperative are derived from Way and Virtue in the context logically, human life is virtual in itself, so the substance of Nature and Imperative became equal with Way and Virtue. Herein the names and concepts of original 'Sasang' were substituted to Business(事), Mind(心), Body(身), Thing(物) which is able to be directly related with human being in his daily life. And he explained variously about the responses of Mind and Body of individuals onto Business and Thing. So it could be applied in medical aspects like emotional, symptomatical, characteristic features. Conclusively man is virtual being, so Nature and Imperative in the level of Human being are based on Way and Virtue in the level of Heaven. For that reason the new concepts of Sasang Business. Mind. Body Thing or Heaven. Human. Nature and Imperative were proposed.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.345-351
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• 2010

Alcoholic hepatitis is an acute and severe liver disease associated with high mortality rate. This study was conducted to develop the instrument of criterion for symptoms improvement after temperance. We made the symptoms improvement questionnaire for alcoholic hepatitis patients through reviewing traditional oriental medical literatures and got advices from the advisor committee with delphi technique. The advisor committee on this study was organized by 10 professors of internal medicine of oriental medical colleges nationwide. The questionnaire was composed of questions about 10 symptoms - fatigue, pain, anorexia, abdominal bloat, heaviness of the body, itch, nausea, sleep, dryness in the mouth and stools. We named it Alcoholic Hepatitis Symptoms Improvement Questionnaire(AHSIQ). We surveyed 65 male alcoholic hepatitis patients and checked liver function profile and AHSIQ before and after temperance four times for six weeks. As a result of factor analysis the scales of AHSIQ had content validity and construct validity. And internal consistency reliability was good(Cronbach's alpha=0.768-0.871). The total scale scores were statistically significant in gamma-GTP related validity. We suggest that AHSIQ would be effective for measuring symptoms improvement degree in alcoholic hepatitis patients through further investigations with larger clinical trials.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.51-55
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• 2004

Sopungsungi-won has been used as a traditional medicine for diabetes and it has been proved to be a potential remedy for type 2 diabetes mellitus. We previously reported that water extract of Sopungsungi-won exhibits anti-diabetic effects both in vivo and in vitro experiments. In the present study, we have chosen to examined anti-apoptotic effect of Rheum undulatum, which is the main component of Sopungsungi-won, on pancreatic ${\beta}-cells$, HIT-T15, against hydrogen peroxide $(H_2O_2)$. oxidative stress. To investigate the anti-apoptotic effect of Rheum undulatum water extract (RUWE) against $H_2O_2-induced$ apoptosis in pancreatic ${\beta}-cell$ line of hamster, HIT-T15, MTT assay, DAPI staining, TUNEL assay, RT-PCR and caspase-3 enzyme assay were performed. The morphological analysis demonstrated that cells treated with $H_2O_2$ exhibited classical apoptotic features, while such changes was reduced in cells pre-treated with RUWE. In addition, RUWE pre-treated cells prior to $H_2O_2$ treatment induced increase of levels of bcl-2 expression and decrease of caspase-3 enzyme activity compared to cells treated with $H_2O_2$ only. These results provide the possibility of usage of RU in patients with progressively deteriorated diabetes.

• The Journal of Korean Medical History
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.55-65
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• 2010

The narration of "Donguibogam" is focused on humans whilst medical books before it focused on diseases. This is shown from the first subtitle of External Body(身形門) chapter, [The Origin of Hyung-Ki(形氣之始)]. The contents of [The Origin of Hyung-Ki] explains that the human body is composed of 'Hyung(形)' and 'Ki(氣)' This perspective is shown throughout "Donguibogam". First, in the aspect of construction, the viewpoint is shown from the JipRye(集例). It divides the body into inside and outside, which is a result of Hyung-Ki perspective. This continues in the table of contents. Naegyeongpyeon(內景) and Oehyeongpyeon(外形) describes the inside and outside of the body, in other words 'Hyung-Ki'. Japbyeongpyeon(雜病) describes complex illnesses with mixed insides and outsides. Tangaekpyeon(湯液) and Chimgupyeon(鍼灸) can be understood as division of treatment methods into inside and outside. When we look at the contents, the human body is created on the basis of the essence and vital energy of the world. Cheon-Ki becomes the 'Ki' that forms the functions of the body, while Ji-Ki becomes the 'Hyung' that constructs the bodily structure. It is considered that 'Hyung' is composed of SaDae(the body essence, vital energy, mentality and blood), and 'Ki' is composed of OSang(the five Jang organs and six Bu organs). 'Hyung' and 'Ki' show various appearances according to physiology and pathology. 'Hyung' is especially shown by obesity or thinness, 'Ki' by color. The obese may have Ki deficiency, coldness, dampness or phlegm. The thin could have blood deficiency, heat, fire or dryness. The color could show the pathology of the five Jang organs by the five colors, but it can simply be divided into black and white, where black means Eum deficiency, and white means Yang deficiency. It is said that the distinctive feature of traditional Korean medicine is that it is a constitutional medicine. In this perspective, further study on 'Hyung-Ki' is of value. If "Donguibogam" was the foundation of the Sasang Constitutional Medicine(四象醫學), study on 'Hyung-Ki' means searching for the origin of the Sasang Constitutional Medicine. Also, the study on Sasang Constitutional Medicine and Hyungsang medicine(形象醫學) will show the modern image of "Donguibogam". Hence, interchange study between "Donguibogam", Sasang Constitutional Medicine and Hyungsang medicine through the term 'Hyung-Ki' could hopefully lead to academic progression.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1221-1225
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• 2009

The pulse diagnosis is an important and universally used method in Oriental Medicine. Since the traditional method of palpating the pulse relies on the subjective sense in the fingers of an Oriental Medical Doctor(OMD), there has been continued need for more objective method for pulse diagnosis. Recently, various pulse analyzers have been developed to meet such objective palpation and interpretation. However, most of these attempts were not successful to replace OMD's own palpation by fingers. To improve the performance of the pulse analyzers, one should develop machine-appropriate interpretations for the pulse images in the literature, in addition to the improvement in the repeatability and reproducibility. One of such widely-used pulse images to be interpreted is the floating and sinking pulse. The floating and sinking pulses are the two representative pulse images informing us how strong pressure one should apply to obtain the maximal pulse strength. A previous study suggested a convenient and unified measure for the floating and sinking pulses by defining the coefficient of the floating-sinking pulse(CFS). We found the original definition of the CFS could be erroneous under some situations. To improve the performance, we introduce new CFS algorithm for determining the floating and sinking pulse with a pulse analyzers(3-D MAC). To test the performance of the newly suggested algorithm, we conducted a clinical study comparing the agreement ratio with the floating and sinking pulse diagnosis by the OMDs. We found that, among the subjects who are diagnosed with having either the floating pulse or sinking pulse, the new CFS algorithm showed 55.3% diagnosis rate and 73.0% concordance rate, which are about 3% and 6% improvement in the diagnosis rate and agreement rate, respectively, compared to the original CFS algorithm.

• The Journal of Traditional Korean Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.77-82
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• 2006

Lavandula vera is indispensable member of the herb family, used for perfumes and potpourri. Androgens have profound effects on the physiology of the sebaceous gland. Sebum is secreted due to the effect of androgen, which starts to be secreted at puberty. Using the human sebocyte cell line SZ95. the author investigated the inhibitory effect of Lavandula vera on the lipid production. Light microscopic finding were examined numerous cytoplasmic lipid droplets SZ95 cells by Oil red staining and lipid droplets were increased markedly by testosterone. On the other hand, combined treatment with Lavandula vera and testosterone resulted in a lower lipid droplets than with testosterone alone in a dose-dependent manner. These findings indicate that Lavandula vera acts antagonistically to testosterone and inhibits the lipid synthesis of SZ95 cells at the cellular level.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.1247-1260
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• 2009

This dissertation aims to study the five tastes in the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine. Medicinals as well as Foods are classified by the five tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent, which can be tasted by the tongue. With the development of the theory dealing with the medicinal properties, some flavors are summarized out of clinical actions of medicinals, therefore, there is a little difference between the flavors of medicinal herbs and the tastes got by tongue. Each taste acts on or has direct influence on a specific vital organ, and each of which has different physiologic actions. Taste also has a long-term or post digestive effect on the body and its metabolism. When each taste is consumed in moderation, it benefits the corresponding organ. Over-indulgence in any taste harms the organ and creates imbalance among the five vital organ systems. The Korean medicinal herbs with same flavor mostly possess similar actions while the medicinal herbs with different flavors show different actions in the treatment, which are shown as follows. Sour has absorbing, consolidating and astringent actions and acts on the liver. Bitter has the actions of drying or resolving dampness, purging and lowering and acts on the heart. Sweet has the nourishing, harmonizing and moistening actions and acts on the spleen. Pungent has an action of dispersing and promoting circulation of gi and blood and acts on the lungs. Salty has the effects of softening hard nodes or masses and promoting defecation, etc and acts on the kidneys. The five organ systems control and support each other. Proper coordination only exists when there is no one organ stronger or weaker than the rest. Since the five tastes have direct influences on the five organs, the diet we take should have a good combination of the five tastes in order to promote internal balance and harmony. They control our well-being and create dietary balance. Excessive consumption of any of these could result in adverse effects. In a word, when the properties of the five tastes respectively are distinguished, their natures and flavors cannot be separately considered. I think the harmonization of food and medicinals should be stressed on good nutritional diet to maintain good health. The traditional belief that food and medicine share the same origin is a part of Korean medicine tradition.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.223-251
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• 2017

Objectives : A lot of experiment results of Yugmijihwangtang(YM) are reported in various kinds of journals. Many of them report on the new effects that are not recorded in the traditional medical texts. So it is necessary to take it into consideration that newly reported effects could be of help to clinical practice, because this process of comparison of Donguibogam and scientific experiment results will have basis to lead into the evidence based medicine. Methods : We compared the effects of in Donguibogam and the experiment results of YM. Results : The effects of YM in Donguibogam are to replenish essence and marrow, and to treat red wen, fatigue, treat hypouresis, urinary sediment, urinary urgency, hematuria, hydrocephalus, speech and movement retardation, yin-deficiency, diabetes mellitus, nonalcoholic fatty liver, melanoma, disability to see near and far sight, tinnitus, hearing loss, alopecia, angiogenesis, cough, cough at night, trachyphonia, and, infantile convulsion. The experiment results of YM since 2000 in both Korea and China are to inhibit atopic dermatitis, renal interstitial fibrosis, anti-oxidant, emphysema, stress, glomerulosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, chronic glomerulonephritis, hemorrhage, plantar sweating, dermal aging, kidney aging, bone loss, breast cancer, pathological myocardial cell, primary liver cancer, thrombosis, osteoporosis, intrauterine growth retardation, chronic renal failure, IgA nepropathy, slow cerebral development, and hippocampal tissue lesions on the one hand, and to help bone formation, renin-angiotensin- aldosterone system, cerebral recovery, cognitive function and expression, osteoblast proliferation and differentiation, learning and memory, cold-tolerance and oxygen deficit-tolerance and anti-fatigue, endometrial formation, humoral and cell-mediated immunity, immune regulation effect, Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovary Axis, and spermatogenesis, on the other hand. Conclusion : When we compared the effects of YM with the experiment results of YM, there existed a considerable gap between them. So, from now on, it is expected that a great effort and consideration are needed to solve these gaps from an academic and clinical point of view.