BackgroundAlmost half of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients progress to dementia, which is associated with decreased quality of life and obstacles to independent living. Relevant management is expected to prevent MCI patients from progressing to dementia. In recent years, electroacupuncture (EA) has been used to treat various kinds of neurological disorders including MCI. This study evaluates the use of EA for MCI patients to increase cognitive function through a comparison with Western medications.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCT) or systematical reviews (SR) of EA versus Western medications for MCI were searched using the following 10 databases: Pubmed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), National Digital Science Library (NDSL), Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry (JON), Korean Medical Database (KMBASE), KoreaMed, and OASIS, from October 2007 to August 2017, without language restriction. A methodological quality assessment of RCTs or SRs that met inclusion criteria was conducted using Cochrane Risk of bias (RoB) tool and a meta-analysis by RevMan (Review Manager) 5.3.5 version of Cochrane collaboration.ResultsFive RCTs with 257 patients met inclusion criteria and those were randomly divided into two groups: the EA group (n = 103) and Western medications group (n = 154). The methodological quality of the included studies showed high risk or/and unclear of risk of bias. The meta-analysis of five studies reported that the EA group was better than the Western medications group, improving the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score by 0.65 [95% CI 0.28~1.01] higher mean difference, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score by 0.66 [95% CI 0.00~1.32] higher mean difference. Adverse effects were not reported in the selected studies.ConclusionElectroacupuncture was an effective treatment for MCI patients by improving cognitive function. However, the included studies presented a low methodological quality and no adverse effects were reported. Thus, further comprehensive studies with a design in depth are needed to derive significant results.

Objectives: The anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities of LCVC (<i>Lonicerae</i> Flos, <i>Citri</i> Pericarpium and <i>Violae</i> Herba Complex) have not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying these effects in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages.Methods: The evaluation of the anti-oxidative activity of LCVC was completed via DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging capacity, FRAP assay, measurement of polyphenol and flavonoid, assessment of ROS and NO levels in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. The anti-inflammatory activity was defined by measuring the production of biomarkers (PGE2, IL-1B, IL-6 and TNF-<i>α</i>), proteins (ERK, JNK, P38, Nrf2, Keap1, HO-1 and NQO1) and expressions of genes (iNOS, COX-2, IL-1<i>β</i>, IL-6, TNF-<i>α</i>, Nrf2, Keap1, HO-1 and NQO1) in LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells.Results: LCVC have polyphenol and flavonoid contents. The results of DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging capacity and FRAP assay showed that the anti-oxidative activity was increased. Production of ROS, NO, IL-6, TNF-<i>α</i>, mRNA expressions of IL-1<i>β</i>, IL-6, TNF-<i>α</i>, Keap1, iNOS and COX-2 were decreased, and NQO1, Nrf2, and HO-1 were increased. In protein expression, JNK and Keap1 were decreased, NQO1, Nrf2 and HO-1 were increased, and no relationships were observed with the ERK and P38 by LCVC.Conclusions: These results suggest that LCVC may offer protective effects against LPS-induced inflammatory and oxidative responses through attenuating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and MAPKs pathway. Therefore, we propose that LCVC has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities that have therapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory and oxidative disorders caused by the over-activation of macrophages.

Background: Shoulder pain is a common musculoskeletal disorder. Treatment can be surgical or non-surgical. Korean Medicine, including acupuncture and pharmacopuncture, is a part of conservative treatment. Pharmacopuncture, combining acupuncture with herbal medicine, has been used for musculoskeletal disorders since the 1960s, but clinical evidence on its effectiveness is lacking. Objectives: This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture for rotator cuff disease. Methods: A two-group, parallel, single-center, pragmatic, randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial will be conducted. A total of 40 patients will be recruited, starting in July 2022. All patients will be received acupuncture treatment, and pharmacopuncture will be applied to intervention group additionally. After eight treatments are delivered over four weeks, follow-up assessments will be performed. Results: Assessments will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of these treatments at baseline and at weeks 2 (2 W), 4 (4 W), and 8 (8 W). The primary outcome will be a visual analog scale (VAS) evaluation of shoulder pain levels. Assessments will include shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI), shoulder range of motion (ROM), EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L), patient global impression of change (PGIC), 'no worse than mild pain', and drug consumption rates. Conclusion:This study may offer a rationale for a future full-scale trial on the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture treatment for rotator cuff disease and provide data on non-surgical treatment for the disease.

Many dietary and genetic factors have been confirmed to be associated with gastric cancer risk. This research investigated gastric cancer risk with regard to the glycemic index, glycemic load, and FAS rs6586161 polymorphism. A total of 232 matched pairs were included in this case-control study. Data collection was conducted at two hospitals in Korea from 2002 to 2006. Dietary information was obtained from a food frequency questionnaire, and genotypes of FAS rs6586161 polymorphism were TT, TA, and AA type. Gastric cancer risk was increased for the highest tertile of glycemic index (vs. lowest tertile, OR = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.07–3.18), the highest tertile of glycemic load (vs. lowest tertile, OR = 2.14, 95% CI = 1.23–3.75), and the AA type of FAS rs6586161 polymorphism (vs. TT types, OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.13–3.39). Furthermore, gastric cancer risk was significantly elevated for the participants with the highest glycemic load and AA type of FAS rs6586161 polymorphism (vs. the lowest glycemic load and TT type, OR = 5.53, 95% CI = 2.01–15.21). Both the high glycemic load and AA type of FAS rs6586161 polymorphism increased gastric cancer risk; however, the interactions between these two elevated the risk of gastric cancer even more.

Objectives: This study is designed to statistically analyze the features of patients who visited to Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at OO Korean Medicine Hospital for 3 years.Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients at Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion at OO Korean Medicine Hospital using IBM SPSS ver. 27.0 for Windows.Results: 1. In the analysis of the total number of patients, those in their 30s accounted for the highest percentage, male patients had a higher rate. 2. In the analysis of KCD-8 code, spinal stenosis and fractures in areas other than the spine were the most common in the 70s and older, and cervical sprains were the most common in other. 3. In the analysis of the number of hospitalizations, patients classified as illness or higher age had more re-hospitalization than patients classified as injury or lower age in first-time care. 4. In the analysis of hospitalization duration, patients classified as illness, female or higher age had longer hospitalization duration than patients classified as accident, male or lower age in first-time care.Conclusion: We expect that the results of this study would be used as reference materials for analyzing medical consumption condition of Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion.

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