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KIOM signs MOU with Pusan National University

Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine (KIOM) announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Pusan National University Korea Medicine Hospital to conduct clinical research, Thursday.The institute and the hospital agreed that they will engage in joint clinical research regarding the use of Korean traditional medicine, exchange staff for the research, on top of sharing facilities for research.The institute expects that the MOU will establish a basis for systematic clinical research to prove how traditional medicine works, in diverse sectors such as herbal medicine, acupuncture and moxibustion. “The MOU will contribute to improvement in qualities of the research,” said Choi Seung-hoon, president of the institute.

Dec 28, 2012By Yoon Ja-young

Asan Medical Center starts DNA-based cancer treatment

By Yoon Ja-youngAsan Medical Center (AMC) has opened a cancer center dedicated to profiling the DNA of tumors for better treatment of cancer patients. The method known as “OncoMap” analyzes the DNA of tumors in each cancer patient. Through this, doctors can choose which of the targeted anticancer drugs will work best.The hospital developed “Korean OncoMap” technology jointly with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University, which first developed OncoMap. The two signed a memorandum of understanding in 2011, and set up a research center to develop OncoMap optimized for Koreans.The hospital will analyze 500 cancer-related DNA mutations by taking a small amount of tissue or blood of the cancer patient. “As effects and side effects of anticancer drugs differ according to the patient, it is very important to choose the optimal drug beforehand by means of accurate analysis,” said professor Kim Sang-we of the hospital.The technology will be applied to patients with lung cancer or gallbladder cancer, for cancers that have diverse targeted drugs

Dec 28, 2012By Yoon Ja-young

Watch out for hypothermia

The cases of hypothermia are increasing amid chilly weather.By Yoon Ja-youngAmid the severe cold spell, there have been reports of deaths due to hypothermia, during which the core body temperature, which should be near 37 degrees Celsius, falls below 35 degrees. A study of hypothermia patients in emergency rooms showed that the number of hypothermia patients increased by 8 percent for every 1 degree Celsius drop of the outdoor temperature. Dr. Lee Sung-woo, an emergency medicine professor at the Korea University Medical Center’s Anam Hospital and the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention have provided tips on how to cope with the life threatening condition.Hypothermia usually occurs due to exposure to low temperatures. Though the gap with the normal body temperature that can lead to hypothermia may seem small, it can be dangerous.When the body temperature falls below 32 degrees, there is virtually no effort our body can make to increase its temperature and one may fall unconscious.When the body temperature falls, the organs in the human body face serious negative

Dec 28, 2012By Yoon Ja-young
Watch out for hypothermia

Don't shrink despite cold weather

By Song Sang-hoWhen the temperature goes down, your body also shrinks. You would want to lie down in your warm room all day long but that is not possible. A super-thick jacket is not good enough to protect you from cold weather outside. As winter has become harshly cold recently, you often feel as if your body is freezing to death.In winter, the number of joint patients also increases because their pain can get worse when chilly winds blow, due to a decline of blood flow around the knees. When the weather gets cold, your body uses more energy than usual to maintain body temperature. In order to maintain energy consumption at proper levels, some physical functions are reduced. One of the phenomenon in such process is the decline of blood circulation. However, this causes stiff ligaments and muscles that support joints. Especially in low temperatures, the pain gets worse because joints feel more burden as tissues surrounding them get stiff.How can you stay healthy without any joint damage in the cold season?First of all, you should keep your body warm. When the weather gets cold,

Dec 28, 2012
Don't shrink despite cold weather

Cut sodium for blood pressure

By Yoon Ja-youngHigh blood pressure is a common problem in modern societies. In Korea, more than one fourth of adults aged 30 and over have high blood pressure. People may not pay much attention because there aren’t serious symptoms in the beginning, but it silently causes the death of many people.Doctors say that blood pressure is related to lifestyle choices and issues, such as diet, exercise, smoking, stress and drinking. There is research showing that diet is especially closely related with the blood pressure. Eating food high in calories or salty food constitutes a bad diet that results in high blood pressure. Koreans, however, are taking in more than double the recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO), which advises 2,000 milligrams of sodium, or five grams of salt daily, because many Korean dishes are salty.Sodium is essential to life. It balances the body and sends stimulus to cells so that neurons and muscles react. However, as many food ingredients already contain sodium, it isn’t usually necessary to add additional salt while cooking. Sodium not on

Dec 28, 2012By Yoon Ja-young
Cut sodium for blood pressure

Overcoming the grief of miscarriages

By Lee hye-jun“I should’ve stayed in bed night and day...”This was the first thing the distraught woman said, sobbing when she heard the news. Her baby’s heart had stopped beating at 7 weeks.“Is it because of what I’ve been eating?” “It must’ve been because I walked around too often...” Is it really the mother’s fault when an unborn child is lost?Miscarriage is a very common event. But sometimes people don’t even realize when it happens. After a sperm penetrates an egg and fertilization successfully occurs, 30 percent of embryos fail to implant in the uterus. The other 30 percent become unviable even before it is known and a woman’s period begins. Among the remaining 40 percent of women who actually find out they’re pregnant, 12 to 15 percent of them experience miscarriage between 4 and 20 weeks and only 25 percent of them actually get to hold their babies in their arms.Why do most pregnancies end in miscarriage? Overall, 50 to 75 percent of miscarriages result from chromosomal abnormalities in the em

Dec 28, 2012
Overcoming the grief of miscarriages

Mongolian doctors in training

Mongolian doctors who completed a three-month training session at the Samsung Medical Center take their graduation photos at the hospital in southern Seoul on Sunday.By Yoon Ja-youngKorea’s top hospitals are training doctors from developing Asian countries, who are increasingly choosing them as their preferred destinations for acquiring advanced medical skills. Samsung Medical Center trained 68 doctors from Mongolia this year who say they are more than satisfied.According to the hospital, 26 doctors from Mongolia headed home Sunday after starting their training at the center in September. Another 17 completed their training there in March, 25 in June and 26 in September.This follows the signing of a contract between the hospital and the Mongolian government earlier this year. Many foreign doctors individually contact hospitals here for training, but the Mongolian government agreed to pay the hospital $1 million for the program. It is regarded as a new business model for local hospitals. Mongolian doctors examine a patient at a temporary clinic set up for their co

Dec 28, 2012By Yoon Ja-young
Mongolian doctors in training

Anxiety over cancer surgery

Dear Dr. P,I am a 39-year-old woman from Vietnam and married a Korean man in 2002. I have two daughters; the older one is 9 years old and the younger 5 years old. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer several months ago at a university hospital.I was able to get my thyroid cancer result in English. It says there that I have papillary carcinoma, a single nodule and it is malignant. The size of this tumor is very small. It is just 0.6 centimeters. In the United States, I heard that the doctors remove these when one is 1 cm or bigger. Doctor, I don’t want to undergo surgery if possible.I wonder if I can ask your help to talk to my doctor in the hospital and ask if this one is removable through medicinal treatment. I was not able to bargain about this with him last time. I am very ashamed to ask this but I have no other help right now. My husband doesn’t care much and my family is away from me. Begging for your utmost help.Thank you very much.Respectfully, Hi!I understand your feelings of anxiety and fear about having an operation.The majority of people have

Dec 28, 2012
Anxiety over cancer surgery

(217) Plastic surgery and face reading

By Janet ShinA woman running a private educational institute asked me whether having plastic surgery would bring her better fortune or not. Her business has not been bad, but she felt alone in her marriage and suffered from anxiety. She couldn’t point out what exactly about her husband made her forlorn but she thought something must be done to correct this situation. The woman asked if having a surgical procedure on her face would improve her married life and release any feelings of devastation that she had.In order to get more convincing answers, it is worthwhile to refer to both saju and face readings. She has already had double-eyelid surgery done and it didn’t seem so necessary to have additional jobs. However once a woman’s mind is devoured by something, especially about her beauty, it is hard to have a second thought. Moreover it is occasionally recommended for those who are expected to have trouble by the coming year’s energy. It is for the purpose of countervailing the bad fortune of having a physical injury. For example, one’s own misfortun

Dec 27, 2012
(217) Plastic surgery and face reading

The best of times and the worst of hangovers

A poster of “The Hangover,” a 2009 American comedy film, co-produced and directed by Todd Phillips. The movie features the story about groomsmen who travel to Las Vegas for a bachelor party but lose the about-to-be-wed buddy during their hangovers.                                / Courtesy of Warner Bros.By Bahk Eun-ji, Jung Min-ho, Kim Bo-eunWith the year coming to an end, many workers and young adults are boozing at gatherings with colleagues and friends.They often end up drinking too much, lose control of themselves and end up in embarrassing situations. The morning after such gatherings, people feel so rotten.The dreaded hangover experience is supposed to deter them from future episodes of heavy drinking, but many of them ― susceptible to the symptoms ― repeat the same mistakes just like the gang of drunkards in the Hollywood comedy movie “The Hangover.”Just as there are hundreds of home remedi

Dec 25, 2012
The best of times and the worst of hangovers
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