Korean medicine therapy as a substitute for chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer: a case report.

A 46-year-old Korean woman was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer and underwent 8 cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, breast conservation surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. However, the cancer recurred in the right upper lung (RUL) and the right pulmonary hilum after 8 months. The RUL nodule was removed through a wedge resection, and the pathologic finding was revealed as a metastatic adenocarcinoma.

A case of metastatic bladder cancer in both lungs treated with korean medicine therapy alone.

This case report is aimed to investigate the effects of Korean medicine therapy (KMT) including oral herbal medicine and herb nebulizer therapy in treating metastatic bladder cancer in the lungs. A 74-year-old man was diagnosed with metastatic bladder cancer in both lungs in August 2013. He refused any chemotherapy and was admitted to our hospital in a much progressed state on January 11, 2014.

Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Treated with Herbal Pharmacopuncture during FOLFIRI Chemotherapy: A Case Report.

According to the 2008 World Cancer Report by the World Health Organization (WHO), colorectal cancer is one of the leading cancers worldwide. This case study evaluates the effectiveness of Korean medicine treatment, including herbal pharmacopuncture (HP), as a complementary treatment during FOLFIRI chemotherapy. A 73-year-old male who was diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in September 2012 was treated concurrently with HP and FOLFIRI chemotherapy for 4 months.

A Case of Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Korean Medicine Therapy Alone.

This report presents a case that shows a significant anticancer effect of Korean medicine therapy (KMT). A 79-year-old man, who was diagnosed as stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in December 2012, was treated with KMT including intravenous pharmacopunctures and oral herbal medicine from February 22, 2013, until September 2013 without any surgical intervention, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The intravenous pharmacopunctures were the wild ginseng pharmacopuncture, Cordyceps sinensis pharmacopuncture and Trichosanthes kirilowii pharmacopuncture.

Spinal GABA receptors mediate the suppressive effect of electroacupuncture on cold allodynia in rats.

This study was performed to determine whether spinal GABAergic systems mediate the relieving effects of low frequency electroacupuncture (EA) on cold allodynia in a rat tail model of neuropathic pain. For neuropathic surgery, the right superior caudal trunk was resected at the level between the S1 and S2 spinal nerves innervating the tail. Two weeks after the nerve injury, the intrathecal catheter was implanted.

The endogenous CCK mediation of electroacupuncture stimulation-induced satiety in rats.

A major satiety hormone, cholecystokinin (CCK) is well known to be released by electroacupuncture (EA) stimulation at certain body sites which elicits profound psychophysiological responses. Previous clinical and animal studies have shown that EA stimulation reduces food intake and body weight in both normal and obese subjects. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the satiety effect of EA stimulation and its mechanism related to CCK in rats.

The bark of Betula platyphylla var. japonica inhibits the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice.

The bark of Betula platyphylla Sukat. var. japonica Hara (Asian White Birch, AWB) is one of the herbs used in Eastern countries for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases including atopic dermatitis (AD).

Inhibitory effects of Saururus chinensis (LOUR.) BAILL on the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice.

The present study was performed to examine whether the leaves of Saururus chinensis (LOUR.) BAILL (SC), an herb used for the management of various skin diseases including atopic dermatitis (AD) in Eastern countries, inhibited the development of AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice which was induced by repeated application of picryl chloride (PiCl). The efficacy of SC was judged by measurement of skin severity, itching behavior, histological study, serum IgE levels, IL-4 and IFN-gamma in lymph nodes.

The antipruritic effect of acupuncture on serotonin-evoked itch in rats.

The antipruritic effect of acupuncture was studied using a rat model of hindlimb scratching. After acupuncture or electroacupuncture (EA), which was conducted for 30 min, itch-associated behavior was induced by an intradermal injection of 2% serotonin (20 microl) into the rostral back, and then numbers of scratching bouts were counted for 60 min. During the first experiment, acupuncture stimulations were applied to several different points.

The association of serum leptin with the reduction of food intake and body weight during electroacupuncture in rats.

Previous studies indicate that acupuncture or electroacupuncture (EA) treatment reduces body weight and food intake in rats by increasing the level of anoretic peptides and decreasing that of orexigenic peptides in the hypothalamus. Considering a well-established role of leptin as a major regulator for feeding behavior in the hypothalamus, we hypothesized that EA might exert its effect via increasing serum leptin levels. In this study, we tested our hypothesis by evaluating the effects of EA on food intake and body weight, as well as on serum leptin levels in rats.

The difference in mRNA expressions of hypothalamic CCK and CCK-A and -B receptors between responder and non-responder rats to high frequency electroacupuncture analgesia.

The present study was performed to determine whether the expression levels of the hypothalamic cholecystokinin (CCK) and its receptors are associated with the responsiveness to high frequency electroacupuncture (EA) analgesia in rats. EA stimulation (100 Hz, 0.5 ms pulse width, 0.

Electroacupuncture up-regulates natural killer cell activity Identification of genes altering their expressions in electroacupuncture induced up-regulation of natural killer cell activity.

As an important cellular component of the innate immune system, NK cells constitute a first line of defense against various infections and malignancies. Previous studies have reported electroacupuncture (EA) modulation of natural killer cell (NK cell) activities. Our study confirmed that EA treatment increases NK cell activity using (51)Cr release assay.

Effects of bee venom on the pro-inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 macrophage cell line.

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the molecular mechanism of anti-inflammatory effect of bee venom (BV), which has been used for the treatment of various inflammatory diseases in oriental medicine. With this aim, we examined the effects of BV on the nitric oxide (NO) production by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or sodium nitroprusside in RAW264.7 macrophages.

Effects of moxibustion to zusanli (ST36) on alteration of natural killer cell activity in rats.

Moxibustion is one of the major healing techniques in Oriental medicine. It has been widely used in many diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto disease, breech presentation, etc. However, till now, effects of moxibustion on natural killer (NK) cell activity and relations between sympathetic nerve system (SNS) and the immune alteration induced by moxibustion were not well studied.

Enhancement of electroacupuncture-induced analgesic effect in cholecystokinin-A receptor deficient rats.

Previously, we have showed that the cholecystokinin (CCK)-A receptor expression in hypothalamus is closely related with the responsiveness of electroacupuncture (EA)-mediated analgesic effects in rats. In order to confirm this observation more directly in vivo, the EA-mediated analgesic effects are compared between Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, the natural knockout rats with the homozygously disrupted CCK-A receptor gene, with Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats. They were stimulated at the zusanli (ST36) acupoint without using anesthetics or holders.

The role of the sympathetic nervous system in moxibustion-induced immunomodulation in rats.

The effects of chemical sympathectomy on moxibustion-induced changes in splenic natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity, T and B cell proliferation were studied. Direct moxibustion was applied to the unilateral Zusanli region. NK cell cytotoxicity was suppressed by moxibustion in both vehicle-treated rats and sympathectomized rats.