Five Cases of Female Depressive Episodes Successfully Treated Using Nyoshinsan

Abstract

Nyoshinsan is a Kampo formulation commonly prescribed to women in cases of hot flashes and dizziness typically seen in “chinomichisho” (“blood road syndrome” in English, characterized by physical and/or mental symptoms related to female hormone fluctuations). This formulation contains several crude drugs (Cyperi rhizoma, Arecac semen, etc.), which improve qi-depression; therefore, nyoshinsan can be applied in depressive episodes in modern clinical practice. Here we report five cases of female patients with mild and moderate depressive episodes who were effectively treated with nyoshinsan. These included two postpartum cases, two cases accompanied by hypermenorrhea, and one postmenopausal case. In these cases of depressive episodes, the patients had qi depression and qi deficiency. Additionally, they had findings of blood stasis accompanied by some heat symptoms such as a reddish face or palm, heat sensation, and hot flashes. Moreover, palpitation or palpable abdominal aortic pulsation was found to be a common symptom. Nyoshinsan has its origin in “an’eito,” which was used to treat psychosomatic suffering of soldiers injured in battle ; thus, this prescription may hold promise in cases of depressive episodes in women that associated with postpartum and hypermenorrhea.