A Review of Korean Medicine Treatment for Postherpetic Neuralgia

The purpose of this study was to analyze the Korean medicine treatment methods for Postherpetic Neuralgia (PHN) in Korea. There were 5 online databases searched (OASIS, NDSL, RISS, KISS and KMBASE) for studies which were related to PHN. A total of 12 studies were selected. Various treatments such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, and moxibustion were reported treatments for PHN, some of which included Western medicine and Korean medicine treatment. Korean herbal medicine was the most frequently used treatment method, followed by manual acupuncture. Sipjeondaebotanggami was the most frequently used prescription. Poria Sclerotium was the most frequently used principal herb, followed by Angelicae Gigantis Radix, Zingiberis Rhizoma, and Ginseng Radix. GB44, LI4, LR3 were the common acupoints used for the treatment of PHN. CV12 was the most frequently used moxibustion point, and gabapentin was the most frequently used concomitant Western drug. Additional research on Korean medicine treatment of PHN is expected in the future.

Globalisation Interrupted? The Case of Opium in the Circulation of Medical Knowledge in Ming Dynasty China

The spread of Western medical practices to China, initiated during the Mongol dynasty, is often considered an example of “medical globalisation,” but few studies have looked at the actual level of adoption of Western medicine in the period after the Yuan dynasty. This essay analyses eighteen Ming dynasty medical sources in order to assess the role of opium, a Western drug, in post-Yuan medical practice. This essay concludes that opium was not widely used in the first centuries of the Ming dynasty, and, when finally adopted in the sixteenth century, its use was disconnected from the Yuan dynasty medical tradition. These findings make us question the continuity and even the existence of the “Mongol medical globalisation,” as well as the validity of the use of synchronic methodology for the study of centuries-long processes such as globalisation.

Pharmacokinetic Alteration of Baclofen by Multiple Oral Administration of Herbal Medicines in Rats

The potential pharmacokinetic (PK) interaction of conventional western drug, baclofen, and oriental medications Oyaksungisan (OY) andAchyranthes bidentata radix(AB) extract for the treatment of spasticity has been evaluated. Rats were pretreated with distilled water (DW), OY, or AB extract by oral administration every day for 7 days. After 10 min of the final dose of DW or each herbal medication, baclofen (1 mg/kg) was given by oral administration and plasma concentrations of baclofen were determined by LC/MS/MS. The plasma baclofen concentration-time profiles were then analyzed by noncompartmental analysis and a population PK model was developed. Baclofen was rapidly absorbed, showed biexponential decline with elimination half-life of 3.42–4.10 hr, and mostly excreted into urine. The PK of baclofen was not affected by AB extract pretreatment. However, significantly lower maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and longer time to reachCmax(Tmax) were observed in OY pretreated rats without changes in the area under the curve (AUC) and the fraction excreted into urine (Furine). The absorption rate (Ka) of baclofen was significantly decreased in OY pretreated rats. These data suggested that repeated doses of OY might delay the absorption of baclofen without changes in extent of absorption, which needs further evaluation for clinical significance.