Objectives: The objective of this study was to summarize clinical studies conducted over the last five years that investigated the effect of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease and to propose a better process of study.Methods: Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Korea Studies Information Service (KISS), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Embase, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were systemically searched for clinical trials that had investigated the effect of acupuncture on the course of Parkinson's disease from May 2016 to April 2021.Results: A total of 23 studies met all the inclusion criteria. In most reports, acupuncture had significant positive effects on the course of Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, there were no serious adverse events associated with acupuncture in any of the studies. In addition to the acupuncture methods that showed effectiveness in previous studies, various types of acupuncture have been used to treat sub-symptoms of Parkinson's disease. The outcome measures were subdivided through individual symptom evaluation and mechanical analysis. Follow-up assessments were also performed to analyze the continuous effect.Conclusion: In the clinical studies conducted over the last five years, many studies investigated the various types of acupuncture used to treat Parkinson’s disease and the segmentation and diversification of outcome measures focusing on individual symptoms, and a new approach for excluding placebo effects through follow-up studies has been made. Further attempts like these are needed to overcome methodological flaws in studies on the effects of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease.

Lifestyle and physical characteristics affect body weight, and understanding these factors improves the precision of weight loss treatment. Many obese patients in Korea are receiving Korean medicine (KM) treatment, including herbal medicine and acupuncture, for weight loss. However, the real-world data (RWD) are insufficient in terms of being longitudinal and diverse. Weight Control Registry using KM is a prospective registry study that enrolls patients receiving KM treatment for weight loss and collects RWD from multiple clinics. The patients who are eligible for this study are aged 19–65 years, receive KM weight loss treatment, understand the study objectives, and consent voluntarily. Clinical data of patient characteristics and KM treatment patterns will be regularly collected until 2026. The longitudinal accumulation of various RWD will establish a high-quality study database for KM weight loss treatment. With this study, we expect to contribute to understanding the current trend of weight loss treatment with KM and solve further questions regarding this treatment.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to analyze the weight loss and the adverse events of overweight and obese adults on weight loss program with face-to-face treatment (FTF) and non-face-to-face treatment (NFTF) in 6 Korean Medicine obesity clinics.Methods: From March 2nd to March 10th, 2021, we collected data with a retrospective way from overweight and obese adults (body mass index, BMI≥23 kg/m²) who registered for a 12-week <i>Gamitaeeumjowi-tang</i> prescription program. After matching initial information of the FTF group and the NFTF group using propensity matching score, weight loss and BMI change were analyzed, and adverse events were evaluated in terms of causality, severity and system-organ classes.Results: Weight and BMI change from baseline to 12 weeks was -7.98±3.09kg (10.41±3.57%), -3.03±1.14kg/m² and -7.30±3.11kg (9.59±3.45%), -2.76±1.15kg/m² for FTF group and NFTF group, respectively. Body weight and BMI significantly decreased before and after treatment in both groups, and there was no significant difference in weight loss and BMI change between the two groups. No serious adverse events were reported.Conclusions: This study showed the potential that NFTF weight management treatment could be a good alternative way to FTF weight management treatment without serious adverse events.