We successfully treated 5 patients with seborrheic dermatitis using Kampo medicine. Three of these patients presented with facial the lesions which had persisted for 1 to 2 years despite their having received treatment with steroid ointments or ketokonazol lotions. We treated these patients with jumihaidokuto and they recovered significantly within a few months. The two remaining patients presented with scalp lesions, which had persisted for10and 25 years respectively. We treated them with a combined formulation of keigairengyoto, makyoyokukanto and yokukansankachimpihange, and they improved remarkably after 2 and 8 months respectively.
Medicine, Kampo ; Seborrheic dermatitis ; Cases ; seconds ; month

We report a case of hot flush successfully treated with formulations for yin-syndrome. A 56-year-old female patient experienced hot sensations and sweating on her face post menopause. Her hot flush was improved slightly with kamishoyosan and ryokeijutsukanto, but her symptoms were aggravated whenever she became tired. The patient was reevaluated and her prescription was changed to hachimigan, based on symptoms related to yin-syndrome and hypofunction, and a lack of resistance at the lower abdomen with the abdominal palpation. The patient appeared to respond favorably. However, the patient was easily fatigued and her symptoms returned when she felt tired. Ninjinto was added to the prescription based on the patient's “stuck feeling in pit of the stomach”. Her hot flush resolved and she no longer became tired easily. Although the use of formulations for yang-syndrome are known to be useful for the treatment of hot flush, formulations for yin-syndrome may be effective for the treatment of hot flush depending on the state of the patient.

A 48-year-old woman started to have dizziness after experiencing an earthquake. Her clinical signs improved with the use of shimbuto that was prescribed based on her symptom of yin-syndrome and hypofunction. At the same time, there was a decrease in reading errors with her finger, in a vein authentication device. One of the common reading errors that the security system makes is due to a change in blood flow due to vasoconstriction caused by low temperature. It is speculated that the use of a warming formula increased peripheral blood circulation, which contributed to the improvement of vein authentication.

Although saikanto has often been an effective Kampo medicine for chest pain accompanied by coughing or deep breathing, there are few reports on its usefulness in recent years. Here we report 3 cases of outpatients who visited the respiratory department of our hospital with the symptom of chest pain accompanied by coughing or deep breathing. They were successfully treated with saikanto. Case 1 was a 17-year-old woman who was diagnosed with pleuritis. Case 2 was a 57-year-old man who was suspiciously diagnosed with pleuritis. Case 3 was a 45-year-old woman who was diagnosed with upper respiratory tract inflammation. In Kampo medical examination before the treatment with saikanto, 3 patients had kyokyokuman (fullness and discomfort in chest and hypochondrium) and 2 patients had shinkahiko (epigastric stuffiness and resistance). All of the patients recovered from the chest pain early without analgesic drugs. This suggests that Kampo medicine of saikanto is effective for the early recovery without using analgesic drugs from chest pain caused by pleuritis or a severe cough, and that kyokyokuman and shinkahiko are useful indications for its effectiveness.

To investigate the effectiveness of Maobushisaishin-to (traditional Japanese herbal medicine; Tsumura TJ-127) in treating the common cold, a clinical comparison between Maobushisaishin-to and a general common cold drug was conducted using the sealed envelope method. The study involved 83 patients in the TJ-127 group and 88 patients in the general cold drug group. No differences in age, gender or the period from the onset of the disease to the beginning of treatment were observed between the two groups.
The results indicated greater than moderate improvement in 81.9% of the TJ-127 group, compared with 60.3% of the compound cold drug group (p<0.01). Further analysis of symptom diaries kept by the patients indicated that TJ-127 provided more rapid relief for symptoms such as fever, feeling feverish, coughing and phlegm than did the general cold drug. No side effects were observed for the TJ-127. These results suggest that TJ-127 is effective in the treatment of the common cold.

Case 1 was a 72-year-old man with a generalized pain after 6 months of heavy physical work. Kakkonto was prescribed based on his symptoms of severe shoulder stiffness and pain, and keishibukuryoganryo was added to treatoketsu. It caused dysuria because of ephedra herb, so the dosage was reduced. Atractylodes lancea rhizome and processed aconite root were added to enhance the effect of treatment. And then, his pain was alleviated. Case 2 was a 53-year-old man with a generalized pain. He had a previous history of whiplash and two surgical operations. Daisaikoto was prescribed based on his symptom of bilateral costal arch pain, and keishibukuryoganryo was added because of oketsu. It caused an increased frequency of bowel movement due to crude drug of rhuharb, so the dosage was reduced. Pueraria root was added for the purpose of relieving severe shoulder stiffness. And then, his pain went away. It is often difficult to treat fibromyalgia. The decoction can be effective with increase or decrease and deleting or adding of the dosage of crude drug. Decoctions become handy as it allows dosage adjustment of crude drug to minimize the side effects and improve the efficacy.

A 31-year-old woman started to have a yellowish-white scab with exfoliation on her lip after delivery. Her exfoliative cheilitis did not improve with kigikenchuto nor juzentaihoto for treating deficiency of vital energy and lack of blood. After she developed upset stomach, her prescription was changed to hochuekkito which supports the digestive system. Her symptom improved dramatically. The characteristic of exfoliative cheilitis consists of chronic inflammation of lips which is considered to be yang-syndrome, therefore hochuekkito was effective as it covers yang-syndrome as well as yin-syndrome. It is suggested that psychological factors play a role for a pathogenesis of exfoliative cheilitis. We consider that antistress effect of bupleurum root and sedative effect of citrus unshiu peel in hochuekkito might also be key factors.

A42-year-old man presented with a history of tidal fever almost every evening to night with 10-year duration. We could not find out the cause of his fever, so we thought he was classified in fever of unknown origin. The patient suffered from an anhydrosis phase during the temperature rose, but his fever broke after perspiration occurred at the end. The lack of perspiration with fever is a typical symptom of excess pattern of tai yang stage, and fever at night is suggestive of shao yang stage. Saikatsugekito was thought to be best suited as it would address both stages. The formula promoted perspiration, and the body temperature remained stable thereafter. It is not unusual to encounter complicated symptoms due to combined or overlapped pattern in clinical setting. This case represented successful outcome by identifying and analyzing the concept of gobyo and heibyo and prescribing a formula accordingly.