We asked 50 ambulatory patients with cerebrovascular disease whether their sleep had been disturbed due to cramp in the calf while they were sleeping soundly at night. Their age ranged from 32 to 81 years. Eleven patients (22%) gave an affirmative answer, and eight of these answered that they had cramp from one to three times a week or more. These eight patients received Syakuyaku-kanzo-to extract granules (2.5g) daily for two weeks. Those who responded sufficiently remained on the same dose, and those who did not received double the dose for further two weeks before the efficacy was evaluated.
All five patients who were able to comply with the treatment for four weeks improved either markedly or slightly. The onset of its action was rapid. These results are comparable to those of muscle relaxants and minor tranquilizers and suggest that Syakuyaku-kanzo-to extract granules are beneficial for spasm of the calf in patients with cerebrovascular disease.
With regard to its side-effects, one patients who received the treatment for more than two weeks developed pseudoaldosteronism. This was the only negative point of the treatment, but this disappeared rapidly after treatment was discontinued.