Combination Therapy with Kampo and Modern Medicines in the Upper Respiratory Diseases

Abstract

In order to obtain a better understanding of Kampo medicine from the viewpoint of modern scientific medicine, we have introduced the concept of evidence-based therapy. We present here two lines of evidence for Kampo medicine for the treatment of the upper respiratory diseases. The first line of evidence is to demonstrate the mechanisms underlying the effects of Kampo medicine, including i) the inhibitory effects of Sho-seiryu-to on acetylcholine-induced mucus secretion from the submucosal nasal gland acinar cells, and ii) the stimulatory effects of Sairei-to on Cl- secretion from cultured middle ear surface epithelial cells. The second line of evidence is to present a randomized double-blined trial demonstrating the clinical efficacy of Sho-seiryu-to in the treatment of perennial allergic rhinitis. Thus, the use of Kampo medicine will be further recongnized in the field of modern allopathic medicine.