Complete Recovery from Generalized Anxiety Disorder Through Anchusan / 日本東洋医学雑誌

We had a female patient who had stagnation of qi and recovered not only by adjusting qi but also by warming interior cold. A 67-year-old woman visited our clinic for generalized anxiety disorder and whole body overstrain on the basis of domestic problems. She had taken anxiolytic, which brought about some relief. She also suffered from uterine cancer, and had operation of uterine resection. After operation, she took radiation therapy, which caused ileus. Although she took daikenchuto, ileus sometimes recurred. At first, we diagnosed her condition as stagnation of liver qi and deficiency of liver blood according to Kampo medical findings, and prescribed yokukansankachimpihange. However, she felt little effectiveness. We focused on her condition as spleen-stomach deficiency cold, and switched to anchusan, which gradually improved her symptom and led to discontinuation of daikenchuto and anxiolytic. She continued to take it for 7 years, and gradually reduced. She stopped taking medication 2 years later, and has had no recurrence ever since. It suggests that anchusan was effective in warming her latent severe interior cold. We should consider anchusan as a therapeutic candidate for stagnation of qi and interior cold, although it is well known Kampo medicine that is suitable for stomach pain.

<b>Various Descriptions of Abdominal Examinations among Traditional Kampo Medical Books Beyond the Showa Era</b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

The practical use of abdominal examination is a major characteristic of Kampo medicine. Although most Kampo medical texts describe an abdominal examination for a Kampo formula, comparative studies between texts have not contributed to any standardized descriptions for such examinations. We investigated descriptions of 147 prescription Kampo extract formulations in Kampo texts written after the Showa Era, and obtained the following results. Abdominal examinations were described differently by authors, even for the same prescription. Additionally, we examined the descriptions for anchusan (安中散) and kososan (香蘇散), which are called the <i>Gosei </i>school formulae (後世方). Descriptions of abdominal examinations for these drugs were not quoted from an original Chinese medical text, but were empirically constituted in Japan. As knowledge was accumulated, these various descriptions were created through limited personal connections, and/or the opinions of particular authorities. We suggest that a consensus on abdominal examinations would further studies on the viability of traditional medicines, and better characterize Kampo medicine.

Disappearance of Various Abdominal Symptoms with Kampo Treatment in a Postoperative Patient with Renal Cell Carcinoma / 日本東洋医学雑誌

We report a case with various postoperative abdominal symptoms that were successfully treated with Kampo medicine. A 58-year-old Japanese female had nausea, eructation, epigastric pain, lower abdominal pain and anorexia that appeared just after laparoscopic nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma. No abnormal findings were discovered by gastroenterological examinations. Western medical therapy was not successful. We used bukuryoin under the interpretation that nausea and eructation represent phlegm-fluid retention in the chest. The bukuryoin therapy cleared up her nausea and eructation in about one week. Additionally, her epigastric pain, lower abdominal pain and anorexia were cured by use of anchusan.

The First Recipe for Bukuryo(Hoelen) to the Kampo Formula, Anchu-san-ka-bukuryo / 日本東洋医学雑誌

The author's first paper entitled “The First Recipe for Amomi Semen to the Kampo Formula, Anchu-san” was published in Volume 47 Number 2 of the Japanese Journal of Oriental Medicine. In this paper, the first appearance of the crude drug Bukuryo (Hoelen) in the formula Anchu-san-ka-bukuryo, which is listed in the Standardized Drug Prices of Japan, is examined.<br>The only manufacturer of this product remarked that the ‘Explanation of Clinical Applications of Kampo Formulas, ’ by Yakazu Domei, is the source of the formula Anchu-san-ka-bukuryo, since it includes the statement, “In many cases, Hoelen 5.0 is added.” In the ‘Hoizokucho, ’ published by Murase Toshu in 1889 (Meiji 22), however, it is noted that the addition of Hoelen to Ju fang Anchu-san is most suitable. In the “‘Kokonhoi’ and its Clinical Applications, ” published in Volume 2 Number 9 of the Journal of Kampo Medicine, Yakazu states that the ‘Hoizokucho’ can supplement the ‘Kokonhoi’, and that these two books are the best reference texts. It seems clear that Yakazu must have known about the presence of Hoelen in the ‘Hoizokucho, ’ since the description of Hoelen in the ‘Explanation of Clinical Applications of Kampo Formulas’ appears to be based on the ‘Hoizokucho.’ Yakazu confirmend this to the author when asked about this point. These considerations suggest that the source of Hoelen in Anchu-san-ka-bukuryo is the ‘Hoizokucho.’

The First Recipe for Amomi Semen to the Kampo Formula, Anchu-san / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Anchu-san is included in the ‘Tai Ping Hui Min He Ji Ju Fang’ (a Song dynasty pharmacopoeia), with the constituent crude drugs listed as Kanzo (Glycyrrhizae Radix), Gengosaku (Corydalis Tuber), Ryokyo (Alpiniae Officinarum Rhizoma), Kankyo (Zingiberis Siccatum Rhizoma), Uikyo (Foeniculi Fructus), Nikkei (Cinnamomi Cortex) and Borei (Ostreae Testa). However, in modern-day Japan, the same formula usually contains Keihi (Cinnamomi Cortex), Borei, Shukusha (Amomi Semen), Engosaku (Corydalis Tuber), Uikyo, Kanzo and Ryokyo. The ‘Futsugo-yakushitsu-hokan, ’ (late 19th century) lists the latter formula in the section on decoctions and the former formula in the section on powdered medicines. In the ‘Shochitekiyo’ of the late Edo period (1603-1867), it is said that Hara Nanyo added Shukusha to the pharmacopoeia prescription, for a total of eight ingredients, and tripled the amount of Borei as another device. In ‘Sokei-tei-iji-shogen, ’ (1820) the latter device is included with the note that it is effective for treating pyloric stenosis. The former device may well have been a secret formula of his family of physicians.<br>In many texts, uses of the formula, Anchu-san, were not limited to the directions given in the pharma copoeia, and decocting the formula was relatively common. For severe cases of stagnation, the addition of Bushi (Aconiti Tuber) was recommended, and Shinra (river snail) was also used inplace of the Borei.<br>Anchu-san appears primarily in texts from the late Edo period onwards. If copies of books with unclear dates are not considered, Anchu-san was not used significantly as a prescription until the 19th century.