Journal of Traditional Medicines
Online ISSN : 1881-3747
Print ISSN : 1880-1447
ISSN-L : 1880-1447
Incentive Award, 2007
Establishing an objective method for assessment the effects of Kampo medicine
-Evaluation of autonomic nerve function with pupillary dynamics-
Akino WAKASUGIToshihiko HANAWA
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2008 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 1-5

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Abstract
The pupils are regulated by the autonomic nervous system; therefore, they reflect various conditions involving the autonomic nervous system and provide important information in this regard. The most important function of the pupils is light reflex, i.e., miosis in the presence of light, which can be recorded using a pupillometer. Binocular infrared video pupillography facilitates the noninvasive measurement of the activities of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves distributed in the pupils, thus facilitating an autonomic function test with quantitative diagnosis.
Traditionally, the effects of Kampo medicines are evaluated based on subjective symptoms; however, from the viewpoint of scientific investigation, objective evaluation methods are required. In order to clarify the relationship between the effects of Kampo medicines and the autonomic nervous system, we performed studies employing the pupillometer Iriscorder®.
We confirmed the regulatory actions of Kampo medicines on the autonomic nervous system through our studies. Using an Iriscorder® proved useful for evaluating the effects of Kampo medicines.
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© 2008 Medical and Pharmaceutical Society for WAKAN-YAKU
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