An 85 year-old woman underwent mitral valve replacement with Carpentier-Edwards PERIMOUNT (CEP) at the age of 72 because of rheumatic mitral stenosis. Thirteen years after its implantation, prosthetic valve dysfunction developed increasingly severe aortic valve stenosis and she underwent double valve replacement. Prolapse was found in one leaflet of the explanted CEP valve, while neither visible calcification nor tear was detected.

We experienced a case of palmoplantar pustulosis in which the patient's dermatological symptoms im­proved after treatment with a combination of bofutsushosan and keishibukuryogan. The patient was a 42-year-old woman. She had been prescribed biotin and a steroid ointment, but her condition did not improve. At her first visit to our Kampo clinic, we observed impetigo, cracks, and scaling on both palms and plantar surfaces. We determined that the patient was of the poisoned organ (zodoku) and stagnant blood (oketsu) constitutions,as outlined in the Ikkando school of medical thought. We prescribed bofutsushosan and keishibukuryogan as fundamental treatment and then in a few days, the patient's dermatological symptoms resolved. The patient later developed hyperthyroidism, which caused her symptoms to worsen again, we therefore switched to shofusan and eppikajutsuto as local and symptomatic treatment, and then she once again improved. Soon after, we returned to keishibukuryogan and bofutsusho for her to maintain remission. Since poisoned organ and stagnant blood constitutions contribute greatly to the Kampo pathology of palmoplantar pustulosis, we believe bofutsushosan and keishibukuryogan are effective formulations for the treatment of this condition. As far as we searched, there were no papers that selected bofutsushosan or blood stasis agents as the main cure from the viewpoint of the poisoned organ constitution and the stagnant blood constitution. Therefore, this case was considered to be a valuable case.

Objectives To analyze the effects of feeding Helianthus tuberosus (HT) tubers on glucose tolerance and lipid profile in rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Methods A normal HFD or HFD including 10 w/w% HT tubers (HFD + HT) was fed to F334/Jcl rats. After 10 weeks, organ weights, glucose tolerance, and lipid profile were analyzed. Results The body weight, liver weight, and epidermal fat content in the HFD group were higher than those of the normal group, and similar to those of the HFD + HT group. The oral glucose tolerance test at 10 weeks revealed that the blood glucose level 30 min after beginning the test in the HFD + HT group was significantly lower than that in the HFD group. Liver triglyceride and total cholesterol levels in the HFD + HT group were significantly lower than those in the HFD group. Fecal triglyceride and total cholesterol levels in the HFD + HT group were higher than those in the HFD group. Histological analyses revealed that fat and glycogen accumulation increased in the HFD group, but decreased in the HFD + HT group. Conclusions These results indicate that HT tubers have anti-fatty liver effects based on improvements in glucose tolerance and the hepatic lipid profile.

At the 71st Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Oriental Medicine in August 2021, we conducted a special program focusing on education in Kampo medicine, “Pre-graduate and post-graduate Kampo medicine education for the next generation.” As part of this project, we directed a symposium on the model core curriculum (core curriculum) in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing. The core curriculum in these fields includes Kampo education. Each institution shall promote education in accordance with the core curriculum, considering the characteristics of the field and the circumstances of the educational institution. We introduced the core curriculum in each field, and summarized and reported the current status of Kampo education in the field, points to note and suggestions for multidisciplinary cooperation, issues related to clinical practice and lack of educators, and future prospects.