Fourteen Cases of Appetite Loss Treated with Shoyogan / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Shoyogan is a Kampo prescription described in the <I>Junqui Yaolue</I>. Few cases have been reported using this medicine. This time, we prescribed shoyogan for 14 patients who suffered from severe appetite loss. We had positive outcomes as follows. We administered shoyogan to 8 patients with malignant disease. Six of them suffered from lung cancer. Shoyogan was effective in these patients. Shoyogan was not effective for the other 2 patients, with bile duct carcinoma and malignant lymphoma. The dietary intake was increased from 28 percent of meals supplied to 79 percent in the appetite-improved group. We also administered shoyogan to 6 patients with nonmalignant disease. It was effective for 3 patients: 1 with congestive heart failure and 2 with great trochanteric fractures of the femur. It was not effective for the other 3 patients, who suffered from anorexia, pneumonia and depression associated with diabetes mellitus. Shoyogan seems to be effective for patients with terminal lung cancer and maintains their quality of life.

A Case of Patient with Lung Cancer in the Terminal Stage whose Appetite and General Condition had been Maintained Following the Oral Administration of \it{Shoyogan} / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Shoyogan is a Kampo prescription described in the Jinkuiyaolue text, but there have been no case reports regarding this medicine. We report a patient with terminal stage lung cancer, whose appetite and general well-being was maintained following oral administration of this medicine.A 62-year old woman had her main tumor in the left pulmonary lobe, which invaded to the bilateral peritoneum and the mediastinum. Metastasis was recognized in the left femoral bone which had been broken, the ilium, chest and lumbar vertebral bones, and the liver. Her general condition was very poor in spite of the administration of corticosteroids and narcotic medicines, when she began to take shoyogan 5 months after the onset of her symptoms. Cytological examination of her pleural effusion revealed adenocarcinoma. Following the administration of shoyogan, her appetite recovered, nutrition improved, and she was able to survive while maintaining her quality of life for another 2 months.In this paper we discuss the efficacy of shoyogan in improving the general well-being of patients having the above-mentioned conditions, or jueyinbing in Kampo parlance. Although preparing shoyogan is laborious, we believe this medicine should be used more frequently.