Clinical Outcomes of MOK Pharmacopuncture in an Elderly Male Patient with Hypothyroidism-A Case Report and Literature Review

• Published in: Journal of personalized medicine Vol. 14; no. 4; p. 331
• Main Authors: Jeong, Jin-Ho, Hwang, Ji Hye
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Acupuncture; Aged patients; Antibodies; Antioxidants; Body composition; Case reports; Clinical medicine; Cysts; Depression, Mental; Fatigue; Herbal medicine; Hormone replacement therapy; Hypothyroidism; Literature reviews; Medicine; Mental depression; Mental health; Patient outcomes; Patients; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Thyroid diseases; Thyroiditis; Thyroxine; Ultrasonic imaging; South Korea; autoimmune thyroid disease; acupuncture; case report; MOK pharmacopuncture; hypothyroidism; L-thyroxin
• ISSN: 2075-4426; 2075-4426
• DOI: 10.3390/jpm14040331

Hypothyroidism is more common in women and individuals between 30 and 50 years old. This case report depicts the clinical outcomes of MOK pharmacopuncture, a type of Korean medicine treatment, for an elderly male patient with hypothyroidism who was on long-term L-thyroxine (LT4) therapy but still felt chronically lethargic and tired and was generally in poor health. A 72-year-old Korean man has been on LT4 since being diagnosed with hypothyroidism 16 years ago and has tried to discontinue hormone supplements in the past. The patient was treated with MOK pharmacopuncture, mainly at the ST10 acupoint, twice a week for four months. Following the treatment, the T3, free-T4, and TPO Ab levels and thyroiditis status on ultrasound showed improvement. Additionally, there were a normalization of ESR levels, an enhancement in the quality of life, a reduction in depression scores, an improvement in the antioxidant status, and an alleviation of major symptoms when compared to pre-treatment conditions. This case report demonstrates the potential of MOK pharmacopuncture as a complementary treatment for an elderly man with hypothyroidism who had a poor quality of life due to fatigue and lethargy despite LT4 treatment.