Abstract
We present here two cases of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with Shikunshi-to-ka-keishi-shakuyaku-yokuinin. Case 1 was a 71-year-old female who had been suffering from RA for two years and had been treated with western medicines. Keishi-ni-eppi-itto-ka-ryojutsubu-to offered some degree of palliation at first, but soon came to cause itchy eruptions and anorexia. On the other hand, treatment with Shikunshi-to-kami-ho (described above) for nine months achieved complete remission without any adverse reactions. Case 2 was a 52-year-old female who was diagnosed as RA in 1989 and had discontinued treatments with a variety of DMARDs (disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) because of adverse reactions such as eruptions, anorexia, and loss of hair. Moreover, many Kampo medicines with low-dose steroids were less effective. Shikunshi-to-kami-ho, which was administered after Kampo-medicine-induced liver damage, produced clinical effects to some degree. Shikunshi-to-kami-ho may be useful in the treatment of RA patients who have developed adverse reactions such as eruptions, liver damage, and anorexia.
