We successfully treated a patient with palmoplantar pustulosis, with a combined formulation of hainosankyuto and maobushisaishinto. The patient was a 64-year-old female, who had frequently occurring pustulae of about 2 mm in size on her palms and soles, from about May 2000. These pustulae became a crust over time, and the skin peeled off and healed. However, pustulae would persist again every two weeks. We diagnosed this as palmoplantar pustulosis and administered hainosankyuto, but with limited results, whereupon we added maobushisaishinto. As a result of this combined hainosankyuto and maobushisaishinto formulation, our patient with palmoplantar pustulosis recovered significantly after 4 weeks.
Patients ; week ; Treated with ; Combined ; SIZES

Imatinib mesylate, a specific inhibitor of BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase, has been mainly used for the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Common side effects of imatinib include hematologic toxicity, liver dysfunction, edema, fluid retention, gastrointestinal symptoms, and skin rashes among others. We experienced a patient with imatinib-associated diarrhea, who was successfully treated with hangeshashinto. The patient was 61 year-old female, who first consulted our clinic in June, 2005. Her complaint was frequent diarrhea(4 or 5 times a day) which occurred after the introduction of imatinib. Four weeks after hangeshashinto was administered, her bowel movement improved from watery diarrhea to loose stool twice a day. Eight weeks later, her symptom disappeared. It is generally accepted that imatinib should be administered continuously to obtain a complete clinical remission of CML. From the viewpoint of eastern and western medicine integration, it is significant that a Kampo medicine contributed to continuous therapy with imatinib.
IMATINIB ; Diarrhea ; BCR Gene ; week ; Treated with

Aim and background: Chronic insomnia in elderly patients significantly affects their health and quality of life (QOL). Nocturia also worsens sleep condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the improvement effects of quazepam, a long-term acting benzodiazepine, on insomnia and nocturia in elderly patients. Method: Forty-one elderly outpatients (mean age 77.1 ± 5.6 yr) suffering from chronic insomnia while on regular a short- or ultra-short-acting hypnotic treatment were enrolled. We prescribed 7.5-15 mg of quazepam, which was administered regularly by the subjects before bedtime. A questionnaire was used to compared changes in quality of sleep and frequency of nocturia for before treatment and at 2 and 4 weeks after initiation of treatment. QOL was also examined using the 36-item Short Form Health Survey of the Medical Outcomes Study (SF-36). Results: Thirty-seven subjects (90.2%) completed the study. All subscales of the sleep quality questionnaire improved significantly (p<0.001) after 2 weeks, as did the total scores (p<0.001) after 4 weeks. Frequency of nocturia decreased significantly from 3.6 ± 1.7 times to 1.5 ± 0.8 (p<0.001) and 1.2 ± 1.0 times (p<0.001) after 2 and 4 weeks, respectively. Every SF-36 subscale also showed significant improvement after 4 weeks. The total SF-36 scores of the group showing a decrease in the frequency of nocturia (>/= 2 times) improved significantly compared with that with a frequency of < 2 times (p=0.016). Conclusion: Quazepam significantly improves sleep, QOL and nocturia in elderly patients that respond poorly to short-acting or ultra-short-acting hypnotics.
Nycturia ; Elderly ; week ; lower case pea ; Sleep

This study evaluates the effect of a commercial brand of chicken essence (BEC) on the various parameters related to stress and cognition of human volunteers. BEC is produced by a hot-water extraction process from chicken meat under high pressure conditions. It contains concentrated amounts of proteins, amino acids and peptides such as carnosine compared to homemade traditional chicken soup. Due to the unique extraction process, it has been postulated that readily absorbed amino acids and bioactive peptides are present in BEC. In this study, we evaluated the effect of BEC in comparison with a placebo on a group of distressed medical students. Students were randomly divided into two groups and given either BEC or a placebo drink daily for two weeks. Before and after the two weeks, the students were given a series of tests to assess their level of cognitive functioning and perceived stress level while being monitored for EEG recording. The combination of these tests, namely Digit span, Arithmetic and Letter-number sequencing, generally assessed the student’s attention and working memory. The working memory performance of students who ingested essence of chicken was found to be significantly better than those who consumed placebo when data comparing baseline and after two weeks consumption were compared. This study seems to suggest that essence of chicken has positive effects on the subjects’ cognitive functions.
Chickens ; seconds ; week ; cognitive ability ; Placebos

I report two cases of subchorionic hematoma successfully treated with Tokishakuyakusan. They had genital bleeding due to subchorionic hematoma in the second trimester of pregnancy. I prescribed Tokishakuyakusan, and their genital bleeding improved within a week after the administration. The hematoma disappeared in less than two weeks after the administration, and they delivered infants of 2470g and 3324g respectively at 39 weeks pregnant by vaginal delivery. I found Ketsu stagnation, Sui disturbance and coldness of extremities in two cases. Although several studies suggested that the presence of subchorionic hematoma might be associated with adverse pregnancy outcome, there is no effective treatment for subchorionic hematoma in western medicine. The present cases suggest that Tokishakuyakusan may be useful in the treatment of subchorionic hematoma.
Hematoma ; week ; Cases ; Treated with ; Two

The purpose of this study was to reevaluate the sho of goshuyuto, which has been established in an unscientific manner, and to create a new concept of the sho of goshuyuto. Eighty-four patients suffering from chronic headache were instructed to orally consume 7.5g. day of a spray-dried powder of goshuyuto (TJ-31) for 4 weeks. Before consuming the TJ-31, all subjects underwent Kampo examinations that were based on 43 diagnostic items. After the 4-week period of medication, all the subjects were classified as either responders or nonresponders. After excluding insignificant items from the 43 diagnostic items, discriminant analysis, which discriminated between responders and nonresponders, was conducted. Of the 80 subjects who completed the trial period, 57 were judged to be responders and 23 to be nonresponders. “Cold feet,” “fluid and gas retention in the stomach,” “kyokyo-kuman,” “tenderness at side of navel,” and “pulsation at abdomen” were selected by stepwise selection. The results of the discriminant analysis using these 5 items suggest that 28 subjects were misclassified and that the misclassification rate was 35%. Of the actual 23 nonresponders, 20 were accurately discriminated as nonresponders. The 5 selected items are suggested to be more useful in selecting the nonresponders than the responders. In conclusion, the empirically established sho of goshuyuto seemed to not be abele to completely explain the indication of goshuyuto. However, the inclusion of “tenderness at side of navel” and “pulsation at abdomen,” as new components comprising the sho of goshuyuto, may facilitate a more accurate indication of goshuyuto.
Statistical Analysis ; Emotional tenderness ; week ; Discriminant Analysis ; Abdomen

Background/Objectives: Since April 2006, smoking cessation treatment has been included in public health insurance coverage, although conditionally. The tobacco control program usually takes 12 weeks or so. When it comes to the form of treatment, most medical care facilities adopt nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) at their outpatient ward. The cessation success rates are considered not so high as before. In stead of treating nicotine-addict outpatients individually, our hospital has been offering a stop-smoking program all its own since 1999. This study was designed to examine the results of our efforts in the last six years retrospectively.Subjects/Methods: Enrolled for this study were 232 patients who had participated in our six-month smoking cessation program between 1999 and 2005. A non-smokingsupport team made up of a physician, pharmacist(s), nurses, dietitian(s) and physical therapist(s) takes care of groups of participating patients, each group consisting of 10 or less. The patients undergo behavior therapy throughout the 6-month period and NRT in the first eight weeks. Under the program, nutrition guidance is offered regularly by dietitians for weight control and physical exercises by physical therapists for relief from the stress due to abstinence from smoking. We took a questionnaire survey of all the subjects and worked out the ratios of those persons who had remained abstinent up to one year after they stopped smoking to the total.Results: The rates of abstinence maintained eight weeks, six months and one year after the start of cessation were 78.4%, 70.3% and 64.7%, respectively. Of those who were still abstinent, 78.0% replied that they found it easy to resist the urge to smoke cigarette thanks to the smoking cessation program.Conclusion: Our six-month participatory tobacco control program was found effective as high cessation rates were maintained.
Cessation of smoking ; seconds ; month ; week ; Smoking

We report a case of bone marrow necrosis preceding infantile acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Bone marrow necrosis is a rare antemortem event and has been known to be present in many conditions, notably in haematological malignancies like acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. This case was a 6-month-old Chinese boy who was referred to Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for further investigation of pancytopaenia, high-grade fever, bloody diarrhoea and petechial rashes for one week. His first bone marrow aspirate revealed bone marrow necrosis. His clinical condition improved after ten days. However, his full blood picture then revealed the presence of 5% blast cells. His subsequent marrow 2 weeks later revealed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (FAB-L1) and immunophenotyping showed precursor B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia-null type. He was started on United Kingdom Acute Lymphoblastic leukaemia (UK ALL) Infantile Leukaemia protocol, however, he defaulted treatment after 3 days. Mode of presentation, mechanism of disease and laboratory investigations and outline of treatment will be discussed.
Acute ; Lymphoblast ; Bone Marrow ; Necrosis ; week

The antiparasitic effect of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) was tested in goats artificially infected with gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes. Each experimental group consisted of 6 pen-fed goats kept on a slatted floor. The treatments compared were: 1) controls fed grass only, 2) cassava replaced grass for 3 weeks from the commencement of larval dosing period, and 3) cassava replaced grass for 3 weeks after the worm infection was patent. A total of 2000 mixed-species infective nematode larvae (L3) were administered to each goat in four doses of 500 L3/day, commencing 5 weeks after removal of previously acquired infections with ivermectin. The faecal egg counts (FEC) reduced in both cassava fed groups during the time of feeding, compared to the controls. Although, FEC increased differently with time (P < 0.05), total adult worm burdens at slaughter (week 15) were not different between the treatment groups. No differences in live weight gain, or packed cell volume, between treatments were found. Whilst these results show limited evidence of an anthelmintic effect of cassava in the diet, they do suggest that feeding, or supplementation, of cassava over an extended period may prove beneficial.
week ; Feeding ; Gastrointestinal ; Cassava ; Parasites

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to clarify the efficacy of etidronate and vitamin K2 in sustaining bone mineral density (BMD) in patient with hip fracture by monitoring metabolic bone markers and BMD during the 36-week period after fracture.Materials and Methods: Forty-seven hip fracture patients from 51 to 93 years old (77.2±9.6) were randomly divided into three groups: 14 patients in the intermittent cyclical etidronate-treated group (group E), 16 patients in the vitamin K2-treated group (group K), and 17 patients in the control (group C). Drugs were administered to patients in groups E and K six weeks after their operations. Blood and urine samples were obtained just before the start of drug administration and at 12, 24, and 36 weeks thereafter. Urinary type I collagen C-terminal telopeptide (uCTx), pyridinoline (PYR), deoxypyridinoline (DPD), serum CTx (sCTx), osteocalcin (OCN-mid), and undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) were measured. The contra-lateral proximal femur and lumbar spine BMDs were measured at baseline and at 36 weeks.Results: Deoxypyridinoline at 12 weeks and OCN-mid at 36 weeks after treatment were lower in group E than those in group C. N-mid osteocalcin and ucOC at 24 and 36 weeks were lower in group K than those in group C. Although femoral neck BMD in groups C and E decreased compared to the baseline values at 36 weeks, femoral neck BMD in group K tended to increase. Specifically, in group K the BMD of Ward's triangle increased significantly after treatment. Bone mineral density of the lumbar spine in each group did not change significantly during the 42 weeks following hip fracture.Conclusion: Vitamin K2 prevented further bone loss in the contralateral proximal femur. The administration of vitamin K2 to patients with hip fractures in the early period after fracture is potentially useful in preventing a second hip fracture on the contralateral side.
week ; Carbon ion ; Upper Case Kay ; Hip Fractures ; Upper case ee