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This review examined and analyzed clinical research trends in the treatment of compression fractures in traditional Korean medicine using case studies. Accordingly, 5 web databases were searched using relevant Korean and English terms. Based on predefined exclusion and inclusion criteria, 16 case studies were selected, analyzed, and classified according to the journal, publication year, participants, chief complaints, affected vertebrae, treatment and evaluation methods, and improvement. The case studies reported various treatment methods, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, physical therapy, cupping, moxibustion, and band training. All 16 case studies reported the use of combination therapy. All 23 cases reported in these case studies demonstrated improvement in chief complaints, and none reported any side effects.

Drug-induced dyskinesia is an involuntary muscle movement caused by various dopamine receptor-blocking drug exposure, such as antipsychotics, antidepressants, and antiemetics. Causative drug removal is the main treatment for drug-induced dyskinesia whenever possible because its pathophysiology lacks a universally accepted mechanism; however, the symptoms can persist for years or decades in many patients even after causative drug removal. Herein, we present a case of drug-induced dyskinesia in a 61-year-old female patient who consumed medication for approximately 10 years for her depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Cervical and facial dyskinesia was suggested to be related to perphenazine and levosulpiride administration. The patient received acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine, and chuna treatment for 81 days during hospitalization. The symptoms were evaluated using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale, Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale, Tsui’s score, and Numeric Rating Scale, which revealed remarkable improvement, suggesting the effectiveness of combined Korean medicine for drug-induced dyskinesia.

The effect of combined Korean medicine treatment including facial chuna manual therapy was retrospectively investigated in patients with Bell’s palsy. There were 16 patients (14 males) who received 2 months outpatient treatment following > 14 days of hospitalization. The Yanagihara score and House-Brackmann grade were used to measure the severity of symptoms and recovery. The patients (mean age 58.5 ± 24.74 years) were categorized based on their medical history of hypertension (n = 10), diabetes millitus (n = 10), or oral intake of steroids early in the diagnosis of Bell’s palsy (n = 10). There was no difference between patients who had or did not have a previous history of diabetes mellitus or oral steroid. Both the Yanagihara-score and House-Brackmann grade improved significantly in the total patient sample after treatment (p < 0.001). Combined Korean medicine including facial chuna manual therapy may have a beneficial effect on patient symptoms and recovery.

There were 26 Bell’s palsy cases at the Jecheon Hospital of Korean medicine, Semyung University from February 1, 2019, to February 28, 2021 reviewed. One group (A group) was treated with Bamboo salt pharmacopuncture and cervi cornu parvum pharmacopuncture (CC) pharmacopuncture in the paralyzed side of the face, and the other (B group) group was treated with Soyum pharmacopuncture, and hominis placenta (HP) pharmacopuncture. Amid a paucity of studies that have used bamboo salt and CC pharmacopuncture to treat Bell’s palsy, this study aimed to demonstrate possibility of treatment effect on Bell’s palsy. In addition, this study was to see if the effect of determine a change in pharmacopuncture was changed according to the progress of Bell’s palsy symptoms was effective. Bell’s palsy was improved in each group. Altough there were no significant differences in improvement between two groups, Bamboo salt pharmacopuncture and CC pharmacopuncture could be expected to be effective on the paralyzed face. Furthermore, it is effective to switch pharmacopuncture according to the progress of Bell’s palsy.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy for the treatment of patients with knee osteoarthritis. There were 9 databases searched to retrieve randomized controlled trials until August 3, 2019 regarding acupotomy versus conventional Western medicine, conventional Western medicine treatment with and without acupotomy, and Korean medicine treatment with and without acupotomy, and meta-analysis was performed. Of 303 potentially relevant studies retrieved, 43 were systematically reviewed. All studies were conducted in China. Effective rate, visual analogue scale, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis index were used as the evaluation scales. The Ashi point was selected most frequently. In all studies, the intervention group was more effective than the control group. Meta-analysis revealed that acupotomy showed statistically significant beneficial results. Although acupotomy had a beneficial effect on knee osteoarthritis, the risk of bias of the included studies was not low. The majority of the results from the evaluation scales used were highly heterogeneous (> 50%) which reduced confidence in the estimation of effect, or had a small sample size. Further clinical research and development is required in the future.

Combined Western-Korean medicine treatments were given to a 67-year-old woman with late onset seizures who underwent surgical drainage of a subdural hematoma. Clonazepam and herbal medicine was prescribed. Acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, chuna, and physical therapy were also performed. The frequency and intensity of seizures was assessed using the Chalfont Seizure Severity Scale. The seizure index score improved from 25 at admission to 0 at discharge. Pain in the right upper extremity reduced from 10 to 0 on the visual analogue scale and muscle strength increased from Grade 3 to 5 in Medical Research Council Scale for the Manual Muscle Test. At the time of hospitalization, the manual muscle strength tests for the affected shoulder, elbow, wrist, and grip strength were 30%, 60%, 10%, 5%, respectively, which improved almost 100% by discharge. Further studies using combined Western-Korean medicine for seizures after strokes are necessary to determine the most effective treatment.

This case study reports the effect of Korean medicine treatments on a 73 year-old female who had a cerebellar infarction. She was hospitalized for 120 days (without visiting Western medicine hospital) where she was treated with acupuncture, herbal decoction, pharmacopuncture, chuna, moxibustion and physiotherapy. Following treatment, her symptoms of dizziness were evaluated using the numeric rating scale and showed pain had reduced (3 to 0). The K-Modified Barthel, showed that life performance had improved (15 to 74), and the Berg balance scale showed an improved balance (2 to 32). Steps per minute and gait posture at stance phase for ataxia also showed improvement. This case report shows that Korean medicine treatment is effective in alleviating dizziness and improved gait instability caused by cerebellar infarction.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the evidence supporting the effectiveness of moxibustion treatment for osteoarthritis. There were 9 databases used to retrieve randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used moxibustion as treatment for osteoarthritis. The quality of methodology for the RCTs was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool [Review Manager (RevMan) Version 5.3 Windows, The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark]. The inclusion criteria for this review was met by 27 RCTs. All studies were conducted in China. A 4-week moxibustion treatment period was the most common. EX-LE4 and SP10 and GB34 acupoints were most frequently selected in the treatment of osteoarthritis. The most commonly used evaluation index was the visual analog scale (VAS). All studies, including a meta-analysis showed that moxibustion treatments were statistically significantly effective at treating knee osteoarthritis. However, well-designed randomized RCTs without a high risk of bias should be designed in the future.

A patient with central post-stroke pain was treated for 4 weeks with scalp acupuncture and traditional Korean medicine (following a cerebral infarction in 2013). The patient presented at Chungju hospital in January 2019 with left side weakness and tingling, numbness in the left hemisphere, chronic pain and dysarthria. Initially, herbal medicine, acupuncture, pharmacupunture, indirect moxibustion, and physiotherapy were administered together with Western medicine, with no improvement in the patient’s condition. On Day 5, scalp electroacupuncture (MS1, MS5, MS10, MS11) was introduced. The numbness feeling in the patient’s head resolved, and the pain in his upper body decreased. Grip force difference between the left and right hand improved from 3 kg to 0-0.5 kg. Sleep disturbance was resolved after 4 weeks treatment, and his average numeric rating scale score for pain improved from an admission score of 10, to a discharge score of 5. The patient could walk unaided after treatment.

The purpose of this study was to describe the treatment of the clinical symptoms of syringomyelia using Korean medicine. A patient with syringomyelia complained of back and shoulder pain, numbness of the upper right limb, headaches and dyspnea. He was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and physical therapy. The Visual analog scale (VAS) was used to score sensory symptoms (pain, numbness) and Modified Borg scale (mBorg) was used to score dyspnea. After the treatment, his symptoms were relieved. The patient’s chief complaint was back and shoulder pain which was reduced greatly from a VAS score of 6 between 1-2. The results in this study may contribute to the development of the Korean medicine field of syringomyelia in the future.

Background This study was designed to investigate the potential effects of Galgeungyulpitang for whitening and elasticity treatment by examining its effect on melanoma cells. Methods The effects of Galgeungyulpitang on B16/F10 melanoma cell viability, production of melanin, tyrosinase and elastase, were investigated. Cell viability was measured by colorimetric assay that assesses cell metabolic activity (MTT assay). Melanin was measured by Hosei’s method, tyrosinase was measured by Yogi’s method and elastase was measured by James’s method. Results At concentrations higher than 500 μg/mL Galgeungyulpitang, cell viability was significantly reduced (p ≤ 0.05). At concentrations of 500 μg/mL and lower, morphological changes were not observed. The rate of melanin synthesis was significantly reduced to 73.49% ± 2.92% at a concentration of 500 μg/mL Galgeungyulpitang compared with untreated cells (p < 0.05). Extracellular tyrosinase production was not significantly decreased in vitro, however, intracellular tyrosinase production was significantly reduced to 76.06% ± 2.17% when treated with Galgeungyulpitang at a concentration of 500 μg/mL compared with the control (p < 0.05). Elastase Type 1 production was significantly reduced to 74.98% ± 3.24% and 69.62% ± 4.66% at concentrations of 250 and 500 μg/mL Galgeungyulpitang, respectively (p < 0.05). Elastase Type 4 production was significantly reduced to 72.77% ± 3.52% at concentrations of 250 and 500 μg/mL (p < 0.05). Conclusions The results in this study showed that Galgeungyulpitang may inhibit melanin and tyrosinase synthesis, and inhibit elastase production, suggesting that Galgeungyulpitang may be potentially beneficial for skin whitening and loss of skin elasticity treatments.

Background The objective of this study was to determine the effects of Daegangwhal-Tang (DGHT) hot aqueous extract on production of inflammatory mediators and antioxidants in RAW 264.7 macrophage. Methods DGHT was extracted with water, filtered, concentrated and freeze-dried to perform. Cytotoxicity of DGHT extract was performed by MTT assay. Activated macrophages were treated with varying concentrations of DGHT extract (10, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL), and nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2(PGE2) concentrations were measured to detect anti-oxidative effects. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) concentrations were also measured to detect inflammatory responses to DGHT Results Cytotoxicity of DGHT extract at concentrations of 10, 50, 100 and 200 μg/mL were not observed. NO production was significantly decreased in the DGHT hot aqueous extract 200 μg/mL concentration group. PGE2, IL-6, IL-1ß and TNF-α production was significantly decreased in the DGHT hot aqueous extract 100 and 200 μg/mL concentration groups. DGHT hot aqueous extract appeared to have DPPH free radical scavenging capability at all of concentrations, but did not exceed 50%. Conclusions These results suggest that DGHT hot aqueous extract has concentration-dependent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effect.

Abstract Background Dangguixu-san (DS), a herbal extract, is widely used in Korean medicine to treat pain and swelling caused by ankle sprain. However, there is insufficient evidence regarding the effects of DS on ankle sprains. Accordingly, we assessed the efficacy and safety of DS for the treatment of acute lateral ankle sprain (ALAS). Methods This study was a multicenter (two Korean hospitals), randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio that included a per-protocol analysis and sub-analysis based on symptom severity. Forty-eight participants (n = 28 at Semyung University Korean Medicine Hospital in Chungju; n = 20 at DongShin University Gwangju Korean Medicine Hospital) with grade I or II ALAS that occurred within 72 h before enrollment were randomized to a DS (n = 24) or placebo (n = 24) group. Both groups received acupuncture treatment once daily for 5 consecutive days and the trial medication (DS/placebo capsule) three times a day for 7 consecutive days. Primary (visual analog scale [VAS] scores for pain) and secondary (Foot and Ankle Outcome Scores [FAOS], edema, and European Quality of Life Five-Dimension-Five-Level Scale [EQ-5D-5L] scores) outcome measures were recorded at baseline (week 0), the end of the intervention (week 1), and 4 weeks after treatment completion (week 5). Results Forty-six participants completed the trial (n = 23 each). Changes in VAS scores, FAOS Symptom/Rigidity, and FAOS Ache from week 1 to week 5 showed significant differences between the two groups. Sub-analyses showed significant differences in changes of FAOS Ache (week 0 to week 5) and VAS scores, total FAOS, and EQ-5D-5L scores (week 1 to week 5) between the two subgroups (grade II). There were no adverse events and significant negative changes in clinical laboratory parameters in both groups. Conclusions Overall, the results of this study are in favor of DS combined with acupuncture and suggest that DS combined with acupuncture is a safe treatment with positive long-term effects in terms of pain reduction and symptom alleviation in patients with grade I or II ALAS. Trial registration Clinical Research Information Service KCT0002374 . Registered on July 11, 2017; retrospectively registered.

Abstract Background Ankle sprain is a common musculoskeletal injury. In Korean medicine, blood stasis is thought to be the main cause of pain and swelling in patients with ankle sprain. Dangguixu-san (DS), a herbal extract, is widely used in Korean medicine for the treatment of traumatic ecchymosis and pain by promoting blood circulation and relieving blood stasis. However, the effects of DS on ankle sprain have not been evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. Here, we describe the protocol for a randomized controlled trial that will evaluate the efficacy and safety of DS for the treatment of ankle sprain. Methods/design In this randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel-arm clinical trial with a 1:1 allocation ratio, participants (n = 48) with acute lateral ankle sprain (ALAS) that occurred within 72 h before enrollment will be randomly assigned to a DS (n = 24) or a placebo (n = 24) group. Both groups will receive acupuncture treatment once a day for 5 days a week (excluding Saturday and Sunday) and the trial medication (DS/placebo capsule) three times a day for seven consecutive days. The primary outcome measure will be pain relief evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Secondary outcome measures will include Foot and Ankle Outcome Scores (FAOS), edema, European Quality of Life Five-Dimension-Five-Level Scale (EQ-5D-5 L) scores, and the number of recurrent ankle sprains. VAS, FAOS, edema, and EQ-5D-5 L scores will be recorded before, at the end of, and at 4 weeks after treatment completion. EQ-5D-5 L scores will be additionally recorded at 26 weeks after treatment completion. The number of recurrent ankle sprains will be recorded at 4, 8, 12, and 26 weeks after treatment completion. Discussion This study is expected to provide evidence regarding the efficacy, safety, and usefulness of DS for the treatment of ALAS. Trial registration cris.nih.go.kr, registration number: KCT 0002374. Registered on 11 July, 2017 and approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (registration number, 31244).

Objectives: The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of Carthami-Flos Pharmacopuncture on posterior neck pain of menopausal women. Methods: We treated 20 female patients with neck pain patient(45-60 yr) into two groups and treated Group A with Carthami-Flos Pharmacopuncture and common acupuncture and Group B with common acupuncture. The efficacy of treatment was measured by VAS, NDI and MENQOL scores of before and after 30 days to start treatment. Results: Both group A and B represented effective improvement in VAS and NDI of neck pain and MENQOL scores. And group A was more effective than B group statistically. Conclusions: It was suggested that Carthami-Flos Pharmacopuncture treatment might have effect on posterior neck pain treatment of menopausal women.

The article talks about a complication of diabetes which is painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy that leads to poor quality of life, work, electrical stimulation to be considered for the treatment and the safety of electro-acupuncture. It talks about the process of randomization, acupuncture points determined with the guidelines of World Health Organization, medications of anti-diabetes allowed with stable doses and the studies of rescue medication and nerve conduction.

Background Due to the aging population in Korea, knee osteoarthritis (KOA) has become an increasingly common condition. Many patients with KOA prefer analgesics, herbal medicines, acupuncture, or exercise, rather than arthroscopic surgery or a knee replacement. Gyebutang (GB) granules are a herbal extract widely used to treat KOA in traditional Korean medicine, but there is insufficient evidence of its efficacy and safety. Methods A multicenter, randomized, assessor-blinded, 2-armed parallel, controlled clinical trial has been designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of GB combined with acupuncture for the treatment of KOA. There will be 100 patients with KOA enrolled in the study from 3 traditional Korean medicine hospitals. The participants will be randomly allocated to an experimental group (GB and acupuncture) or a control group (celecoxib and acupuncture) in a 1:1 ratio. Both groups will receive acupuncture treatment once a week for 6 weeks; one group will receive GB and the other will receive celecoxib for the same duration. Results The primary outcome will be the change of knee osteoarthritic pain, based on scores on a 100 mm visual analog scale. The secondary outcomes will be scores on a numeric rating scale, the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index, patient global assessment, European quality of life 5-dimension 5-level scale, and adverse events. Conclusion The results of this study will provide evidence of efficacy and safety of GB as a treatment for patients with KOA.