ABSTRACT
Approximately 40% of women during the course of their menstrual cycles suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The cause of this syndrome is unknown, furthermore diagnostic criteria and treatments have not been established. Kampo medicines were applied using Kami-shoyo-san as a first choice, and several other alternative Kampo medicines, to 33 PMS patient cases. To evaluate the effectiveness of this therapy, PMS scores were recorded prior to treatment. Patients' scores were recorded as; score 0 (symptomless), score 1 (endurable), score 2 (unbearable without medicine), as well as the five major characteristics of PMS, 1) psychiatric symptoms, 2) headache, 3) breast pain, 4) swelling, 5) lower abdominal pain or lumbago. The scores were verified subsequent to two menstrual cycles. Kampo medicine was found to be effective in 24 cases, with scores declining in average from 4.4 to 1.5. Further treatments were requested in 4 cases, moreover, 5 cases were discounted altogether. Thus Kampo medicine proved to be a very useful method for patients suffering from PMS.
ABSTRACT
Fifty-six patients who complained of dysmenorrhea received different Kampo medicines for eight weeks or more according to the therapeutic practices of oriental medicine. With patients in their teens and 20s, there was more functional dysmenorrhea than organic dysmenorrhea. The frequency of organic dysmenorrhea increased with patients in their 30s and 40s.<br>Thirty-six of the patients had functional dysmenorrhea. The improvement rate was very high (over 90 percent) in those who continued to take the medicine for eight weeks. Twenty patients had organic dysmenorrhea. The improvement rate in this group was about 70 percent. Kampo medicine proved to be very useful for the patients with functional and organic dysmenorrhea.<br>Five typical cases, three functional and two organic, were analyzed in this paper.