Conventional and Kampo Medicine Treatment for Mild-to-moderate COVID-19: A Multicenter, Retrospective, Observational Study by the Integrative Management in Japan for Epidemic Disease (IMJEDI Study-observation).

Objective Patients in whom coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was suspected or confirmed between January 1, 2020, and October 31, 2021, were enrolled from Japanese hospitals in this multicenter, retrospective, observational study. Methods Data on the treatment administered (including conventional and Kampo medicine) and changes in common cold-like symptoms (such as fever, cough, sputum, dyspnea, fatigue, and diarrhea) were collected from their medical records. The primary outcome was the number of days without a fever (with a body temperature <37°C). The secondary outcomes were symptomatic relief and the worsening of illness, defined as the presence of a condition requiring oxygen inhalation. The outcomes of patients treated with and without Kampo medicine were compared. Patients We enrolled 962 patients, among whom 528 received conventional and Kampo treatment (Kampo group) and 434 received conventional treatment (non-Kampo group). Results Overall, after adjusting for the staging of COVID-19 and risk factors, there were no significant between-group differences in the symptoms or number of days being afebrile. After performing propensity score matching and restricting the included cases to those with confirmed COVID-19 who did not receive steroid administration and initiated treatment within 4 days from the onset, the risk of illness worsening was significantly lower in the Kampo group than in the non-Kampo group (odds ratio=0.113, 95% confidence interval: 0.014-0.928, p=0.0424). Conclusion Early Kampo treatment may suppress illness worsening risk in COVID-19 cases without steroid use. Further randomized controlled studies are needed to confirm the clinical benefit of Kampo medicine for COVID-19.

Improvement of Aspects of Subjective Sleep Quality of Healthy Volunteers by Ingestion of Porcine Placental Extract: A Randomized Cross-Over Pilot Study.

Objectives: This study assessed the effects of oral porcine placental extract (PPE) on sleep quality of healthy volunteers not satisfied with their sleep. Design: This study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over clinical pilot study. Setting: This study was conducted under an outpatient multicenter setting in Japan. Interventions: A total of 20 healthy Japanese volunteers aged between 28 and 73, whose Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global scores were between 6 and 10, successfully completed the study. At first, PPE at 300 mg/kg or placebo was ingested for 2 weeks. Then, after a 2-week washout period, each group ingested under a cross-over setting the opposite sample (placebo or PPE) for another 2 weeks. Main Outcome Measures: Objective measurement of the sleep made with an activity tracker and subjective measurements of sleep quality by use of St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire were done just before and after the administration time slots. Results: No effect of PPE on the sleep length was observed. Several measures in the subjective St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire, i.e., changes in Q5 (sleep depth) and Q9 (sleep wellness) between pre- and post-ingestions, were significantly different between groups in the direction of improvement of subjective sleep quality in the PPE group. Conclusions: Although oral PPE at 300 mg/day for 2 weeks did not affect the length of sleep itself, it significantly improved several measures of subjective sleep quality. These results suggest that PPE might be a way to improve sleep quality without hypnotic drugs. Clinical Trial Registration: www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/, identifier: UMIN000026468.

The effects of long-term herbal treatment for pediatric AIDS.

This paper presents our long-term (1992-2000) treatment of pediatric Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patients (maximum 100 children, last three years 65) using native herbal remedies in a voluntary medical assistance program in Constanta, Romania. We primarily report the progress of 10 children at a facility called the "House of Tomorrow" and three other facilities. The long-term (8 years and 8 months) treatment contributed to a drop of the amount of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Ribonucleic Acids (HIV-RNA) below the measurable level for 9 out of 10 patients at the "House of Tomorrow." Furthermore, the treatment led to preservation and increase of the cluster of differentiation (CD4) count, a remarkable decrease in mortality rate, as well as the maintenance of a good quality of life. It took one to three years for the beneficial effects of the treatment to emerge. No side-effects were recognized either clinically or biochemically, nor was there any emergence of drug-resistant strains of HIV as seen with anti-HIV chemical treatments. This paper also refers to which herbal remedies were used and their general mechanism of action.