Two Cases of Globus Sensation Successfully Treated with Ryokeijutsukanto / 日本東洋医学雑誌

Hangekobokuto is often used for globus sensation. We herein describe two cases in which ryokeijutsukanto was effective for globus sensation, for which hangekobokuto was ineffective. Case 1 was a 28-year-old woman. She had been suffering from postprandial belching, fullness and stuffy throat for a year. She underwent examination, but could not find the cause of her symptoms and visited our department. She was prescribed hangekobokuto, but the feeling of stuffiness in her throat did not improve. Case 2 was a 50-year-old woman. She had been afflicted with a feeling of fullness in the ears, tinnitus, and pain in the back of the eyes for two weeks. She visited the otolaryngology department, but no abnormalities were found so she visited our department. She was prescribed kamishoyosan, and although her ear fullness and tinnitus improved by about 60%, she began to complain of dizziness and throat stuffiness. This did not improve even though she used hangekobokuto with kamishoyosan. In both cases, after changing treatment to ryokeijutsukanto, the symptoms were improved. For globus sensation, it is necessary to select Kampo medicines while paying attention to qi deficiency, qi depression, qi counter flow, static blood, liver depression, lack of fluid, fluid toxicity, and gastrointestinal disorders. We thought that ryokeijutsukanto could be a candidate.

Functional characterization of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1

Equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs), which facilitate cross-membrane transport of nucleosides and nucleoside-derived drugs, play an important role in the salvage pathways of nucleotide synthesis, cancer chemotherapy, and treatment for virus infections. Functional characterization of ENTs at the molecular level remains technically challenging and hence scant. In this study, we report successful purification and biochemical characterization of human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1) in vitro. The HEK293F-derived, recombinant hENT1 is homogenous and functionally active in proteoliposome-based counter flow assays. hENT1 transports the substrate adenosine with a K of 215 ± 34 µmol/L and a V of 578 ± 23.4 nmol mg min. Adenosine uptake by hENT1 is competitively inhibited by nitrobenzylmercaptopurine ribonucleoside (NBMPR), nucleosides, deoxynucleosides, and nucleoside-derived anti-cancer and anti-viral drugs. Binding of hENT1 to adenosine, deoxyadenosine, and adenine by isothermal titration calorimetry is in general agreement with results of the competitive inhibition assays. These results validate hENT1 as a bona fide target for potential drug target and serve as a useful basis for future biophysical and structural studies.

<b>Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Successfully Treated with </b><b>Hangekobokuto</b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

<p>A 19-year-old man was referred to our clinic for frequent nausea and vomiting. At age 16, he started to have periodic bouts of nausea and vomiting. During an attack, he would experience vomiting more than ten times a day and was unable to eat, which resulted in hospitalization for a week. Inpatient investigations did not reveal any abnormalities except dehydration. Between attacks, he was asymptomatic. Initially, he had attacks a few times a year. However, beginning at age 19, the attacks occurred almost every month. At our clinic, routine physical examination and laboratory tests were unremarkable. On Kampo medical examination, he had <i>qi </i>stagnation and <i>qi </i>counter-flow. He was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome. Hangekobokuto was administered with improvement of his symptoms. Hangekobokuto may be effective for cyclic vomiting syndrome with <i>qi </i>stagnation and <i>qi </i>counter-flow as diagnosed with Kampo medicine. This suggests the effectiveness of Kampo medicine in functional gastrointestinal disorders.</p>