The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of keishibukuryogan (KB) against the cognitive symptoms associated with silent brain infarction in a prospective cohort study. The subjects were 93 patients with silent brain infarcts who visited the Department of Japanese Oriental Medicine, University of Toyama, and its allied hospitals. They consisted of 24 males and 69 females, mean age (± S.E.) 70.0±0.8.Group SK (n=51) consisted of patients who used KB extract for more than6months per year. Group SC (n=42) consisted of patients who did not use Kampo formulas. The NS group (n=44) consisted of elderly subjects who had no silent brain infarction, 21 males and 23 females, with a mean age (± S.E.) of 70.7±0.7 years. Among the three groups, the revised version of Hasegawa's dementia scale, apathy scale and self-rating depression scale were compared between the study start and after three years. In the SK and SC groups, these scores, and the subjective symptom levels (head heaviness, headache, dizziness or vertigo, stiff shoulder) were also studied. The results showed that the self-rating depression scales at study start for the SK and SC groups were significantly higher compared to the NS group. In spite of the scores for the NS group increasing after three years, the SK group scores were significantly decreased compared to the SC and NS groups. KB was effective against head heaviness, which often complicates silent brain infarction. In the above mentioned, KB was effective in treating cognitive disorders and subjective symptoms related to silent brain infarction.
Infarction ; Brain ; seconds ; Ions ; symptoms <1>

Kumibinroto is a Kampo formulation which was first produced by Sohaku Asada (1815-1894) and which has since been used for patients with stasis of body fluids presenting beriberi like symptoms. Previously, we reported that tympanic sounds on right side of the abdomen might be an indication for the use of kumibinroto. In this study, having both symptoms with stasis of body fluids, and tympanic sounds on right side of the abdomen were used as a target when prescribing kumibinroto. To the best our knowledge, the present study was the first to demonstrate that the effects of kumibinroto give significant improvement in dermatological disorders such as chronic prurigo, cutaneous pruritis and chronic urticaria, and susceptibility to chills. These findings suggest that tympanic sounds on right side of the abdomen may an extremely useful indicator for kumibinroto, and position it for practical use for various disorders, for which it has not been formerly used.

Shishi-hakuhi-to was prescribed for four patients with panic disorder and sleep disturbance who requested the extract. As indications for the usage of this formulation, discomfort and restlessness of the chest for which Gardeniae Fructus has proved efficacious against, were used. Symptoms such as palpitation, chest discomfort, hot flash, anxiety and insomnia improved promptly with Shishi-hakuhi-to administration. The four patients had several common points, that is, menopause, hot flash and dysesthesia, but no agoraphobia. So far, Shishi-hakuhi-to had been used for liver dysfunction and dermatological diseases. Our results suggest that Shishi-hakuhi-to might be useful for cases with psychiatric diseases such as panic disorder.

We report a case of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) that was successfully treated with Kei-kyo-so-so-o-shinbu-to. A 56-year-old woman had been receiving treatment in our department for RA since 1992, and polyarthralgia and multi-joint swelling had become exacerbated from the beginning of April 2003. C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were elevated. She was hospitalized on_??_, but even with some Kampo formulas, these levels did not improve. The epigastric region was extended and appeared to be in a state of “Hotori-senpai” from _??_, and the administration of Kei-kyo-so-so-o-shinbu-to was begun on _??_. From the next day, pain, swelling of joints, and the “Hotori-senpai” status began to improve, as did the inflammatory reactions. Thus, it was considered, when Kei-kyo-so-so-o-shinbu-to was prescribed, focusing on the “Hotori-senpai”, “Ki-bun” and “Sui-in” status of this patient, that this prescription exerted immediate favorable effects.

We prescribed Seisho-ekki-to for three bronchial asthma patients, with poor control of their attacks. Markers used to assess the efficacy of this formulation were sensations in the throat, palpitation and spontaneous sweating. All these markers improved rapidly, with Seisho-ekki-to administration. All three patients and several factors in common, namely; being middle-aged, having attacks that arise throughout the year, epigastric discomfort, fullness of the upper abdomen and pulsation near the umbilicus. Furthermore, a cessation or significant decrease in numbers of asthma attacks seen was brought about with Seisho-ekki-to medication. Up until now, Seisho-ekki-to has usually been used to treat summer heat syndrome. It appears, however, that Seisho-ekki-to may also be applied in the control of bronchial asthma, in the middle-aged.

As many natural medicines absorb water at boiling, yields of the decoctions are affected by absorbed water. Therefore, we examined the quantity of imbibition of each crude drug at boiling. We used 75 kinds of crude drugs. After boiling 600ml of water, each natural medicine was boiled for 70 minutes. The medicine was left for 60 minutes, and then boiled again for 20 minutes. The quantity of imbibition of each natural medicine was measured at 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 130, and 150 minutes. The maximum data among the quantity of imbibition at each point was labeled “maximum quantity of imbibition.” With regard to the maximum quantity of imbibition in natural medicines of plant origin, the range was from a maximum of 69.10g in Chrisanthemi Flos to a minimum of 3.26g in Persicae Semen. The average maximum quantity of imbibition was 22.51±13.00g, and there were large differences among each of the natural medicines. The quantity of imbibition at 10 minutes or 20 minutes was above 80% of each maximum quantity of imbibition on many crude drugs, but that gradually increased over the time course for some crude drugs.

Kumi-binro-to is a Kampo formulation produced by Sohaku Asada. It has been used for patients with stasis of body fluids presenting beriberi-like symptoms. The cases in this report where Kumi-binro-to was effective had symptoms similar to the cases where it was ineffective, but they had different distributions of tympanic sound in the abdomen.
We investigated the efficacy of four weeks of treatment with Kumi-binro-to in 30 cases having both symptoms of stasis of body fluids and tympanic sound in the abdomen. Kumi-binro-to was effective in 20 of 25 cases that had the tympanic sound in the right iliac, flank and subphrenic regions. However, Kumi-binro-to was not effective in 5 cases where the tympanic sound was restricted to the epigastrium, left iliac, flank and subphrenic regions. Tympanic sound on the right side of the abdomen might be one of the indications for Kumi-binro-to.

The source of the herbal mixture named Jiin-koka-to is Wan bing hui chun. Jiin-koka-to has been used mainly as a decoction for the treatment of bronchitis and tuberculosis. The cases of bronchial asthma treated with Jiin-koka-to in this report had similar symptoms: abnormal sensations in the throat and irritation. We investigated the efficacy of Jiin-koka-to in 11 asthma patients having both symptoms. Improvements were observed in all patients; these improvements included reduction of peripheral eosinophil count and serum IgE, loss in quantity of prednisolone, increment of peak expiratory flow rate, and cessation or decrease of asthma attacks. Thus, it is possible that Jiin-koka-to is a controller rather than a reliever in the treatment of bronchial asthma. Abnormal sensations in the throat and irritation might be one of the indications for Jiin-koka-to.

Three cases of dermatosis successfully treated with modified Mao-rensho-shakushozu-to are reported. Case 1 was a 45-year-old male who had been suffering from atopic dermatitis since childhood. He came to our clinic for treatment with Kampo formulas for unchanging symptoms. At first we prescribed Mao-rensho-shakushozu-to-go-byakko-ka-keishi-to, but this formula was not effective. After prescribing Mao-rensho-shakushozu-to-go-eppi-ka-jutsu-to, the dermatitis improved. Case 2 was a 25-year-old male student who had been suffering from atopic dermatitis since he was 19 years old. He responded to steroid ointment, but relapsed frequently after the repeated reduction of steroids. Some Kampo formulas were not effective, but the dermatitis improved after the patient used Mao-rensho-shakushozu-to-go-eppi-ka jutsu-to. Case 3 was a 65-year-old male who had been suffering from psoriasis vulgaris since he was 57. Shakushozu-to-go-byakko-ka-ninjin-to was effective for his psoriasis.
We used modified Mao-rensho-shakushozu-to in the three cases described above be cause the patients had strong itching. It is possible to apply this Kampo formula for dermatitis with strong itching.

We performed a preliminary study of the reliability of the lymphocyte stimulating test (LST) for Kampo medicine. LST for three kinds of Kampo medicines was performed in both a Kampo-administrated group and a non-administrated group. LST for each of the medicines was negative for seven of eight subjects in the non-administrated group, but was negative for four of 11 subjects in the Kampo-administrated group. The LST-positive participants had no allergic state, and some among them were negative in challenge test. This preliminary study suggests that LST for Kampo medicine is likely to be false-positive.