In recent years, expectations and demand for Japanese Kampo medicines have increased in Japan. However, the self-sufficiency rate of raw materials for crude drugs in Japan is approximately 10%, with most imported from China. Although discussions on the domestic production of raw materials are gaining momentum, achieving self-sufficiency of crude drugs for Kampo preparation poses several challenges, including production costs, sales channels, and distribution prices. However, it is well-known that a diverse array of crude drugs can be cultivated in the Japanese climate. Since 2013, Ibara City in Okayama Prefecture has been promoting a medicinal plant cultivation project to utilize fallow land effectively. Currently, we have achieved successful cultivation of ‘benishizuka,’ a medicinal peony known as Paeoniae radix, with sufficient quality. However, the present circumstances in Japan limit its sales channels for medical use. The project initiated by Ibara City has evolved from its inception, primarily involving farmers, the government, and national research institutes, to now encompass an unprecedented collaboration among medical professionals as well as local construction companies and a local university. This transformation has propelled Ibara City’s various new medicinal plant cultivation businesses into a new phase of development. In this report, we investigated the local history and climate from the perspective of a Kampo medicine practitioners and discuss the path to successful peony cultivation. Additionally, we delve into the innovations and outcomes pertaining to peony cultivation. Moreover, we report the challenges and prospects for the domestic production of crude drugs for Kampo preparation from the perspective of multiple professions.

In daily medical examinations of orthopedic surgery, treatment for chronic pain is sometimes needed. We report a case of chronic pain developed after an open fracture 15 years ago and successfully treated with sokeikakketsuto. A 35­-year-­old man unfortunately sustained an open fracture in his right lower leg in a traffic accident at his age of 20 years. He underwent 12­-13 surgeries for osteosynthesis, post-­operative focal infection, and leg extension. Subsequently, he developed periodic pain in his right ankle joint. He consulted our clinic because of the severe pain; although non-­steroidal anti-­inflammatory drugs were ineffective, sokeikakketsuto was dramatically effective. To treat chronic pain after an old fracture, sokeikakketsuto may be considered as a choice of treatment.

Crowned dens syndrome (CDS) is a pseudogout of the cervical vertebra, which shows calcification around the dens of the axis. We report a case of CDS that was successfully treated with daiobotampito and shimotsuto. An 83-year-old woman visited our clinic because of neck pain. She was diagnosed with CDS and was initially administered daiobotampito and eppikajutsuto. Her neck pain improved slightly, but recurred. She was then administered daiobotampito and shimotsuto, after which her neck pain disappeared. We considered that daiobotampito and shimotsuto were effective for this prolonged illness based on persistent stasis and blood deficiency according to her treatment course and laboratory findings.

Squamous papilloma is a benign mass lesion of the oral mucosa. For papillomas of the tongue, surgery is recommended owing to their malignant potential; however, certain complications may be associated with surgery. A traditional Japanese (Kampo) herbal medicine, Keishibukuryogan-ka-yokuinin (KBGY), has been used to treat viral warts and various skin diseases in Japan. Therefore, the effect of KBGY on papillomas is promising. A 49-year-old Japanese man presented with a wart on his tongue that was about 3 months old. He smoked 5 cigarettes per day. He did not drink alcohol. He had no history of malignant illnesses. He was taking alprazolam for panic disorder. The patient was diagnosed with a suspected papilloma of the tongue at the Department of Otolaryngology and was advised to undergo an excision biopsy to exclude malignancy. However, he refused owing to the fear of an invasive procedure. After informed consent was obtained from the patient, KBGY was prescribed. Three months later, the wart on his tongue spontaneously prolapsed. The histopathological diagnosis was squamous papilloma. There was no indication of malignancy, and the patient discontinued Kampo treatment. He has had no recurrence in the past 3 years. KBGY is a combination of Keishibukuryogan and yokuinin (adlay seeds). Keishibukuryogan may be beneficial for skin or oral mucosal remodeling, and yokuinin may have antiviral properties. The present case report suggests the use of KBGY as an appropriate complementary therapy for squamous papilloma.

The meridian system is a popular concept in traditional Chinese medicine. Meridians are channels through which the life energy (qi) flows and are important in herbal medicine as pathways associated with drug entry and distribution. This report describes a patient with chronic eczema successfully treated with Japanese (Kampo) herbal medicine, keigairengyoto (containing the Angelica dahurica root). A woman in her 40 s presented with a 3-year history of eczema on both hands to upper arms that was refractory to treatment. Her eczema was observed to be distributed along the lung meridians of hand-taiyin (the channel for the A. dahurica root), and keigairengyoto therapy was initiated after which her eczema significantly resolved. Knowledge of meridians and the concept of channels of entry of herbal medicines may be useful in diagnostic and therapeutic management of several diseases.

Objective: Immunosuppressive therapy for interstitial lung disease (ILD) is often necessary, but the standard regimen for antisynthetase-associated ILD has not been established.Patient: An 80-year-old man was hospitalized for severely progressive dyspnea. Bilateral interstitial shadows occurred 1 month before the event. Serological findings showed that he had antisynthetase-associated ILD, as identified by strong positivity for anti-aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetase (ARS) antibody, despite no evidence of myositis. He was treated transiently with noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and steroid-pulse therapy followed by 60 mg/day of oral prednisolone. However, his diabetes mellitus was aggravated by corticosteroid therapy; thus, a combination of low-dose steroid and mizoribine (MZB), which has a low risk of aggravating glucose intolerance, was used.Results: The patient’s clinical symptoms and daily life activities have been well persevered as an outpatient and well maintained with 200 mg of MZB and 10 mg of prednisolone for several months without obvious clinical recurrence and without any remarkable steroid- and MZB-related side effects.Conclusion: The use of MZB appeared to suppress the pathophysiology of anti-ARS antibody-associated ILD.

Orengedokuto, a Kampo formulation, has traditionally been used to treat various diseases, including hypertension with neuropsychiatric symptoms, gastritis, dermatitis, hematemesis and hemorrhagic stools. We report 8 cases of intractable hemorrhage that could not be controlled by Western medicine, but were successfully treated with orengedokuto. We elaborate on 3 cases, including 1 case treated by enema administration of orengedokuto, which was found to be a useful method. In a representative case, an 80-year-old man with aplastic anemia who was taking anticoagulants due to a history of mitral valve replacement presented with a chief complaint of black stool. Hemorrhagic gastritis was diagnosed. We repeatedly attempted endoscopic hemostatic therapy, but failed to achieve hemostasis. Oral administration of orengedokuto demonstrated hemostatic effects within a few days of starting treatment. In all 8 these cases, moreover, we observed quick clinical responses with no side effects. Although the hemostatic mechanism of orengedokuto remains unclear, we speculate that orengedokuto contains a short-acting component that affects primary hemostasis. As such, conventional orengedokuto may also have potential as a novel hemostatic agent.

OBJECTIVETo characterize the symptoms of neurogenic intrapelvic syndrome and the pathogenic mechanisms.

METHODSA total of 537 patients with neurogenic intrapelvic syndrome were treated in the Takano Hospital between 2001 and 2005. Clinical data were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTSThe mean age was 58.5 years old. There were 205 males and 332 females. There were 80 patients(14.9%) who presented with only one symptom with anorectal pain being the most common one (43.8%, 35/80). One hundred and fifty-six(29.1%) patients had two symptoms with anorectal pain and difficult evacuation being the most common combination (26.3%, 41/156). There were 144 patients (26.8%) complained of 3 symptoms and the most common combination was anorectal pain, difficult evacuation, and abdominal discomfort (30.0%, 43/144). A combination of 4 symptoms was reported in 105 patients(19.6%) with the combination of anorectal pain, incontinence, abdominal discomfort, and lumbar discomfort being the most often(65.7%, 69/105). In addition, there were 52 patients(9.7%) who had above 5 symptoms simultaneously. The frequencies of the 5 symptoms were 73.6% for anorectal pain, 27.9% for incontinence, 69.6% for difficult evacuation, 55.3% for abdominal discomfort, and 53.6% for lumbar discomfort.

CONCLUSIONSSymptomatology of neurogenic intrapelvic syndrome is complicated. The pathogenic mechanism may be related to concurrent dysfunction of sacral nerve and pelvic splanchnic nerve.

Encopresis ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvic Pain ; etiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Syndrome

A 75-year-old man was admitted complaining of sudden bilateral foot coldness and numbness. The patient had undergone endovascular repair for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) 5 years previously. Abdominal X-ray showed a highly kinked endovascular stent-graft, and aortography revealed occlusion of the stent-graft and infrarenal aorta. Emergency axillo-bifemoral bypass was performed to restore the blood flow of the lower extremities, and he recovered uneventfully. Endovascular repair for AAA can be performed with low mortality and morbidity, and is accepted worldwide as a minimally invasive treatment. However, there are several late complications, such as newly developed endoleak, graft migration, graft occlusion, AAA expansion, and AAA rupture. Therefore, great attention should be paid to following patients treated with endovascular procedures for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

There is disagreement regarding the indications of surgery for cases of severe aortic stenosis (AS) with a decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and a low aortic pressure gradient (PG), since there is a high perioperative risk associated with this condition. Hence, we investigated the surgical outcome of AS cases with impaired left ventricular function. Our department performed 144 aortic valve replacements (AVRs) for cases of AS and AS-dominant mild regurgitation (ASr) between January 2000 and September 2005. Among these cases, 9 patients had an EF under 35%, and these patients were selected as subjects and compared with a control group with an EF of more than 35%. Patients with accompanying coronary artery diseases that required treatment were excluded to avoid confounding effects on cardiac function. The mean age of the 9 subjects (4 men and 5 women) was 67.8±10.8 years old, with a range from 53 to 80 years old, and the subjects had the following mean background data: EF, 34.4±0.5%; left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVDd), 57.3±5.8mm; left ventricular end-systolic dimension (LVDs), 49.3±5.7mm; interventricular septum thickness (IVSth), 11.9±1.9mm; and left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWth), 11.1±2.6mm. Characteristics such as left ventricular dilatation and thinning of the left ventricle myocardium were noted in these data. The cases were classified as severe AS because the mean aortic valve area (AVA) was 0.58±0.2cm², but the peak aortic pressure gradient (peak PG) (65.2±32.7mmHg) in the 9 subjects was lower than that of the control group (97.0±65.2mmHg). All 9 subjects underwent aortic valve replacements (AVRs), with simultaneous mitral annuloplasty (MAP) in 3 cases, mitral valve replacement (MVR) in 1 case and performance of a Maze procedure in 1 case. No deaths occurred while the patients were in hospital. Postoperative complications included 2 cases of transient atrial fibrillation and 1 case of postoperative bleeding requiring rethoracotomy for hemostasis. The EF in the late postoperative period showed improvement in 8 cases and was unchanged in the remaining case; the mean postoperative EF was 56.9% for the 9 subjects. All cases were rated as improved based on the NYHA classification of cardiac performance, and the significant improvement in EF in 8 of the 9 cases suggests that surgery is safe and can improve prognosis for patients with advanced AS with myocardium thinning and decreased EF.