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Purpose: In order to estimate clinical effects of acupotomy and venesection in a patient with peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery. Methods: From 17th August, 2009 to 29th August 2009, 1 female patient with peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery was treated with general oriental medicine therapy(acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, physical therapy, herbal medication) and acupotomy with venesection. Results: The patient's chief complaints- Lt hand numbness, Lt arm edema, Lt. wrist flexion limitation - were notably improved. Conclusions : This study demonstrates that oriental medical treatment with acupotomy and venesection therapy has significant effect in improving symptoms of peripheral neuropathy and upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery, as though we had not wide experience in this treatment, more research is needed.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of bee venom acupuncture(BVA) on the rehabilitation and quality of life in rheumatoid arthritis(RA) patients Methods: Patients with RA were treated with the BVA therapy twice a week for 3 months. Tender joint counts, swollen joint counts, morning stiffness, Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate(ESR), C-reactive protein(CRP), patient global assessment, physician global assessment, Korean health assessment questionnaire(KHAQ) were estimated and analyzed before and after BVA therapy. Results: Tender joint counts, swollen joint counts, morning stiffness showed significant decrease after BVA therapy. But, as acute inflammatory reactants, ESR showed no significant difference and CRP showed significant increase after BVA therapy. Patient global assessment, physician global assessment, and KHAQ index showed significant improvement after BVA therapy. Conclusions: BVA therapy can improve rehabilitation and health-related quality of life in RA patients as well as clinical symptoms and signs. Further study is required in more population with large scale including acute inflammatory reaction of BVA therapy.

Background : Central poststroke pain(CPSP) can occur as a result of lesion or dysfunction of the brain from stroke and may cause many difficulty in the social activities and daily life. In this study, we evaluate the clinical effectiveness of east-west medical management for CPSP through VAS(visual analogue scale), infrared themography, MBI(Moderfied Barthel Index) and Rankin scale. Methods : We treated thirty patients with oriental medical treatment method and western & oriental medical treatment method. Each group has fifteen patients of the CPSP. We evaluated their pain(characterizes tingling and burning sensation, aching, hyperalgesia, and allodynia) through VAS(visual analog scale) pain score, the skin temperature of pain site by infrared thermography and assessed their mobility & rehabilitation ability through MBI(Moderfied Barthel Index), Rankin scale before and after pain treatment. Results : The skin temperature of pain site was lower than non-pain site. The difference of skin temperature improved from 0.65±0.45℃ to 0.39±0.25℃ after oriental medical treatment and 0.68±0.54℃ to 0.27±0.24℃ after western & oriental medical treatment VAS scores improved from 7.9±1.4℃ to 4.7±1.6℃ after oriental medical treatment and 8.1±1.3℃ to 4.6±1.2℃ after western & oriental medical treatment. MBI scores improved from 61.40±13.58℃ to 85.00±13.85℃ after oriental medical treatment and to after western & oriental medical treatment. And Rankin scale scores improved from 3.33±0.72℃ to 2.46±0.74℃ after oriental medical treatment and 3.06±0.82℃ to 2.66±0.81℃ after western & oriental medical treatment Conclusion : The difference of skin temperature and Rankin scale scores more significantly improved after western & oriental medical treatment than oriental medical treatment. According to the results, we thought east-west medical management is very useful treatment for CPSP and rehabilitation of the patients with stroke.

In recent years, an increasing amount of research has been conducted on the yield loss of soybean crop caused by Riptortus clavatus, a serious pest of legumes. The objective of this study were to examine crop damage caused by various population densities of R. clavatus and determine the association of unique growth and seed characteristics with crop damage rate in conventional soybean fields. Major growth responses to R. clavatus were examined. The cultivars that were not as seriously damaged by R. clavatus were Pungsannamulkong, Sobaegknamulkong, Duyoukong, and Sinpaldal 2, but Myeongjunamulkong, Mallikong, and Hwangkeumkong were significantly (P<0.05) damaged. The rate of seed damage caused by R. clavatus was 8.2% in a group of brown colored pubescence, while the rate was 13.0% in a group of the gray colored. Crop damage by R. clavatus clearly more reduced in cultivars with dark hilum colors including dark brown, brown, and grayish brown than those with yellow hilum colors. Concerning pod colors, crop damage was less significant in cultivars with dark brown pod color than with the light brown. Cultivars with short pod length (4.0-4.5 cm) at full seed (R6) stage showed lower seed damage rates by R. clavatus than those with long pod length (>5.6 cm). Therefore, characteristics of hilum, pod, pubescence colors, and pod length were significantly related and linked to the cultivar resistance to R. clavatus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]