ABSTRACT
A 47-year-old woman with body temperature 35.6 ℃ took the 3rd COVID-19 vaccine shot at our clinic on Day 1. Since she felt chills and suffered from genital bleeding on Day 3, she visited our clinic to take a gynecological examination. Her temperature was 37.1 ℃ at that time. On Day 15, she suffered sustained symptoms of chills and general fatigue, and she went to another internal medicine clinic to take a medical care. However, her condition was unexplained and she was referred to a general hospital. On Day 16, she came to our clinic to confirm results of the gynecological examination. Her symptoms persisted even though the data showed no problems, so we prescribed her saikokeishikankyoto (SAKK) for only 3 days. On Day 19, SAKK dramatically improved her symptoms. On Day 37, her temperature was 36.2 ℃ without any symptoms.
ABSTRACT
A 40-year-old woman had suffered from genital herpes twice a year since approximately age 25 years. A year and a half before her first visit to our department, the frequency of her genital herpes had increased from 2 to 5 times a month. Continuous suppressive antiviral medication had not worked, and the patient was referred to our department. We discontinued the anti-herpes medication, and started treatment with Kampo (Japanese herbal) medicine. Initially, the patient’s symptoms did not improve with tokishigyakukagoshuyushokyoto for coldness of the hands and feet or hochuekkito for general fatigue. Then, on the basis of her symptoms of irritability, nightmares, dry skin and hair loss, we changed her prescription to juzentaihoto before meals and saikokeishikankyoto after meals. The frequency of genital herpes thereafter gradually decreased, and finally no further recurrences of herpes were observed as long as the patient was taking these two medicines. This result showed that some patients with recurrent genital herpes who fail to respond to antiviral therapy could be managed with Kampo medicine alone.
ABSTRACT
Vulvodynia is defined as vulvar pain of at least three months duration without a clearly identifiable cause. Currently, there are few established treatments. We report two cases of vulvodynia treated successfully with relief of insomnia, using Japanese herbal medicine including saiko. Case 1: A 29-year-old female had been in a poor physical condition for two years. Initially, she had vulvar itching, which gradually became vulvar pain. At the first consultation, she complained of not only vulvar pain but also insomnia and feeling cold. Additional symptoms included severe fatigue, constipation, frustration, stiff shoulder, and heart palpitations. There were no abnormal findings in the genital region. We began treating the insomnia and coldness using saikokeishikankyoto. By the time of the second consultation two weeks later, her insomnia and coldness completely resolved, vulvar pain disappeared, and other symptoms improved. Case 2: A 46-year-old female experienced vulvar pain two months before the first visit to the hospital. The pain increased gradually and she awakened every 30 minutes in the night with severe vulvar pain. However, there were no abnormal findings in the genital region. We used saikokaryukotsuboreito, an antidepressant and a sleeping pill. Her insomnia improved gradually, and vulvodynia resolved two weeks after the improvement of the insomnia. These results suggest that saiko is effective on vulvodynia with insomnia.
ABSTRACT
Case reports of drug-induced liver injury caused by Kampo medicines are on the rise, but most of them are noted for related symptoms such as jaundice. Usually, severe liver injury is detected by chance upon routine medical checkup. Recently, we noted 3 cases of suspected drug-induced liver injury caused by orengedokuto, saikokeishikankyoto and bofutsushosan. In these 3 cases, maximum ALT was under 100 IU/l and no symptoms related to liver injury were observed. Early detection by blood test was useful, and appropriate treatment quickly improved and normalized the abnormal values associated with liver injury. We should always be alert for drug-induced liver injury caused by Kampo medicines, especially when prescribing formulations that include <i>Scutellariae Radix</i>. We also emphasize the importance of scheduling blood tests when prescribing these formulations.
ABSTRACT
The abdominal diagnosis plays an essential role in Japanese Kampo medicine. Moreover, this diagnostic method is a characteristic practice in Kampo medicine. The conventional method of abdominal diagnosis is performed with the patient in a supine position. However, the author has found that several patients have presented with tenderness of the epigastrium or hypochondrium in a standing position, which was not detected in a conventional supine position. This paper is intended to announce the significance of a new method of abdominal diagnosis named “Ritsuishin”. In this paper, the author describes the utility of this method via a case of saikokeishikankyoto and of hontonto (Chugoho).
ABSTRACT
We describe four cases of menopausal symptoms with respiratory complaints successfully treated with saikokeishikankyoto. Case 1 was a 49-year-old female who became easily tired and often caught colds, as well as suffered from cough, hot flushes and insomnia. Case 2 was a 47-year-old female who became easily fatigued and irritated, and suffered from dry cough. Case 3 was a 51-year-old female, who became easily exhausted and suffered from nasal congestion and swelling of the gums. Case 4 was a 53-year-old female, who suffered from sensations of coldness and hot flushes, insomnia, sore throat and dry cough. Although saikokeishikankyoto has been classically applied for diverse symptoms, respiratory signs are associated with the most preferable outcome. Saikokeishikankyoto could be a suitable herbal medicine for menopausal patients with a weak constitution, who present with respiratory symptoms caused by coldness, <i>qi </i>deficiency and <i>qi </i>stagnation.
ABSTRACT
As mental stress has a great impact on the symptoms of atopic dermatitis, we administered Qi-related prescriptions to 6 patients with atopic dermatitis. Not only were mental and autonomic imbalances, but also skin conditions were improved in all six. We examined changes in palmoplantar sweating and a self-rating depression scale to evaluate the effectiveness of the Qi-related prescriptions. The Qi-related prescriptions were used in combination with standard treatments as follows : keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 1, shigyakusan in Cases 2 and 3, yokukansankachimpihange and keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 4, shigyakusan and keishikaryukotsuboreito in Case 5, and saikokeisikankyoto in Case 6. It appears to be important to treat Qi-disorders, along with skin disorders, in patients with atopic dermatitis.
Subject(s)
Dermatitis, Atopic , Qi , Psychophysiologic DisordersABSTRACT
We report the case of a 76-year old male patient who was able to discontinue home oxygen therapy (HOT) after developing severe pneumonia, for which he was hospitalized on February 17, 2004.We first administered antibiotics. Although blood inflammatory response markers became negative, his hypoxemia persisted, and HOT was introduced.We subsequently administered Seihaito, without changing his other oral medications. Hypoxemia and his general condition then improved remarkably. In the end, the patient was able to discontinue HOT. This case may demonstrate an ability of Seihaito to contribute to respiratory tract clearance, and inhibit inflammatory response in the alveoli.
Subject(s)
Pneumonia , HypoxiaABSTRACT
In Chinese medicine, Saiko-ka-ryukotsu-borei -to (SRT; Chai-hu-jia-long-gu-mu-li-tang) and Saiko-keishi-kankyo-to (SKT; Chai-hu-gui-zhi-gan-jiang-tang) are frequently used for patients with nervous constitutions who exhibit psychoneurotic symptoms. Specifically, SRT is used for patients of the excessive constitution type (Shi Zheng), and SKT is used for patients of the deficient constitution type (Xu Zheng).<br>In this study, in order to clarify the action of SRT and SKT on the central nervous system, the effects of these formulas on the monoamines and their metabolism in discrete brain regions in mice were examined.<br>1) Single-dose administration of SRT and SKT increased the levels of neurotransmitters and stimulated the metabolism in the dopaminergic nervous system of the corpus striatum (including the serotonergic nervous system for SRT).<br>2) Repeated administration of SRT stimulated the metabolism in the dopaminergic nervous system of the hypothalamus and hippocampus, and inhibited metabolism in the adrenergic nervous system. On the other hand, SKT stimulated dopamine metabolism in the hippocampus and inhibited the metabolism of serotonin.<br>From these results, it became apparent that single-dose administration of SRT and SKT caused the hyperfunction of the dopaminergic nervous system, and that repeated administration of the agents caused the hyperfunction of the dopaminergic nervous system and the dysfunction of the serotonergic nervous system. This suggests that the actions of SRT and SKT on the central nervous systems may exert an influence on the regulation of psychoneuroic symptoms by stimulating the doperminergic nervous system and inhibiting the serotonergic nervous system.