Changes of abdominal diagnosis were examined in 28 cases of normal healthy children who received abdominal examinations three or more times within one year after birth. Abdominal diagnosis was done within a week after birth, and thereafter during infants' regular physical examinations. There were 19 cases of Kyoukyoukuman (fullness, tenderness or discomfort of the hypochondrium): neither resistance of the upper abdomen nor Seijouki were evident. There were 17 cases of strain in the rectus abdominas muscle recognized in all age groups (0-12 months of age). Softness of the lower abdomen was identified in 15 cases in all age groups, but the positive coefficient dropped along with age. Only one of the 15 cases occurred in infants in the 7-10 month age range. As a result of softness of the lower abdomen and Seichushin, it appears that Jin (kidney) develops rapidly by one year after birth. In all 21 cases, the abdominal strength was 2.5-3/5 for all ages.

View full abstract

Three children with eczema were administered Hochu-ekki-to added Yokuinin for one to four months. The clinical courses were as follows.
Case 1: A one-year-old boy with nummular eczema. He was prescribed several formulas in turn, but he failed to use any of them daily. Three months later he began taking Yokuinin-extracts everyday. This treatment was followed up with Yokuinin extracts added to Hochu-ekki-to. In the four months following treatment with Hochu-ekki-to added Yokuinin, the boy's eczema diminished and disappeared.
Case 2: A two-year-old boy with atopic dermatitis. We administered Hochu-ekki-to extracts on the second consultation day. He used the medicine nearly every day, but he showed little sign of improvement. After two weeks of treatment with Ma-kyo-yoku-kan-to extracts added to Hochu-ekki-to, skin eruptions diminished a little, but the patient complained and resisted treatment. So we changed the formula to Yokuinin extracts added to Hochu-ekki-to, which he took without any complaints. Skin eruptions diminished and disappeared.
Case 3: A four-year-old girl with atopic dermatitis. She was administered Hochu-ekki-to added Yokuinin and Kyonin, because she was constipated. In the following four weeks skin eruptions diminished and her bowel movements improved.
It is difficult for children to go on taking the Kampo formulas regularly. Hochu-ekki-to is one of the most common prescriptions for atopic dermatitis and is easy to take compared to other formulas. Adding Yokuinin to Hochu-ekki-to improves its taste and supplements its efficacy.

View full abstract

A Kampo formulation, Senkinho-Karo-to, is considered to be effective for chest pain or discomfort. However, there have been few case reports concerning this formulation. Here, we report four cases of patients suffering from chest pain or discomfort that were successfully treated with Senkinho-Karo-to. We compared the clinical features of these four cases where Senkinho-Karo-to was effective with those of four other cases where Senkinho-Karo-to was ineffective. The cases where Senkinho-Karo-to was effective had the following features: Deficiency, feeling of spasmodic uprising heat, shoulder stiffness, deficient pulse, impressions of teeth on the rim, palpitation of the abdominal aorta in the supra-umbilical region, reduced tension in the lower abdomen, tenderness in the para-umbilical region, and Ki-depression.

View full abstract

A 76-year-old patient with double valvular replacement was hospitalized every year during the last four years because of congestive heart failure. It was thought that the patient had difficulties in maintaining appropriate water intake because of a lack of understanding about the disease. However the findings of his tongue indicated that the patient suffered from severe deficiency of Yin-fluid. We therefore hypothesized that the thirst derived from deficiency of Yin-fluid. Diuretics may have affected the patient's control of water intake. After he was discharged from hospital, we avoided increasing the dose of diuretics and administered Seihai-to (TJ-90), Gosha-jinki-gan (TJ-107) and then Bakumondo-to (TJ-29). After we used Bakumondo-to, the diameter of the inferior vena cava (IVC) was significantly decreased (IVC=8mm, P<0.01 smirnoff's test) as compared with the estimated IVC before Kampo treatment (19.6±2.2mm, α=0.05, n=13). Because the amount of Bakumondo-to administrated was not very large, it is unlikely that Bakumondo-to directly reduced the blood volume. Bakumondo-to may prevent heart failure by modifying the sensation of thirst as the cause of inappropriate water intake.

View full abstract

Two cases of patients with acute burns, who were treated with Kampo formulas, are herein presented.
Case 1: A 53-year-old woman injured her left foot with boiled oil. She had been treated with an anti-inflammatory agent and dressing for four days before Kampo treatment. But the swelling of the foot became worse. Severe swelling, redness, heat and lots of exudate were apparent. She complained of thirst, which was probably due to loss of Shin'eki. Thus, Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was prescribed. Her symptoms improved within two days. Case 2: A 64-year-old-woman had facial burns from boiling water. She was in severe pain. Shiun-ko was applied topically, and Oren-gedoku-to with Kikyo-sekko was prescribed. The pain subsided promptly. On the next day, swelling, redness and heat were recognized. Eppi-ka-jutsu-to was effective. The local symptoms disappeared within a few days. Kampo treatment may be useful for relief of acute burn symptoms.

View full abstract

Mortality rates for breast cancer in Japan have been increasing sharply. Earlier detection leading to early treatment is highly desirable. Despite improvement in imaging techniques for breast cancer, many cases with latent microcarcinoma go undetected each year. In Western medicine, diagnostic hormonal therapy with antiestrogens for mastopathy in order to induce latent carcinoma has been used successfully for diagnosis of such difficult cases. Antiestrogens, however, may cause intolerable side effects for some patients, and sometimes their administration must be stopped. Thus excisional biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis of malignancy. In oriental medicine, Keishi-bukuryo-gan has been shown to be effective for mastopathy and is considered quite safe. We examined it as an alternative to antiestrogens. Keishi-bukuryo-gan was administered to 116 patients out of 218 with mastopathy. In response, four were suspected to have breast cancer. All four were definitively diagnosed with breast cancer: two by fine-needle aspiration cytology, and two by excisional biopsy. Keishi-bukuryo-gan proved to be useful in diagnostic hormonal evaluation of mastopathy and diagnosis of breast cancer.

View full abstract

Chronic hepatitis C has a high incidence of proceeding to liver cirrhosis, and a natural healing from chronic hepatitis C is extremely rare. We observed a case of chronic hepatitis type C, in which the virus was eliminated after Kampo treatment. The patient was a 37-year-old female who underwent a blood transfusion following delivery of her first child in 1982. In January 1983, she became aware of general malaise, and was diagnosed as having chronic hepatitis. She was treated with Stronger Neo Minophagen C, but her symptoms and laboratory data were unchanged. A liver biopsy disclosed chronic active hepatitis in 1988, and she was transferred to our hospital for Kampo treatment in May. Although the symptoms rapidly disappeared after treatment with the Kampo formulas, Hochu-ekki-to and Keishi-bukuryo-gan, her transamilase values did not change. Her transamilase level decreased gradually after the prescription was changed to Saiko-keishi-to-go-Toki-shakuyaku-san-ryo, and returned to normal after her prescription was changed to Kami-shoyo-san-ryo in May 1996.
Concerning HCV-RNA in the serum, in March 1995, when Saiko-keishi-to-go-Toki-shakuyaku-san was administered, the amount of HCV-RNA in the serum was 10⁴ Kcopies/ml. But that was less than the detectable sensitivity in April 1998. We believe this to be a case in which elimination of HCV was achieved by Kampo treatment alone.

View full abstract

We report on three RA patients successfully treated with Yokuinin-to-ka-kyokatsu-dokkatsu-bofu (Yokuinin-to-kami). The first patient was a 47-year-old woman. In 1983, she visited a nearby hospital due to bilateral wrist joint pain. Her condition was diagnosed as RA. She was treated with gold sodium thiomalate (GST) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), but her symptoms did not improve. She visited our department in 1989. She was treated with Keishi-ka-ryojutsubu-to, Bushi-to which resulted in decreased arthralgia. However, in September 1995, her condition worsened. Administration of Yokuinin-to-kami improved her symptoms as well as her laboratory data after three months of treatment. The second patient was a 50-year-old woman. In 1986, she visited a nearby hospital with bilateral wrist joint pain. Several Kampo formulas were subsequently administered at a pharmacy. In 1991, she visited our hospital and her condition improved after treatment with Keishi-ka-ryojutsu-to-ka-boi-ogi-yokuinin. However, in May 1996, she complained of severe pain and swelling at the right shoulder joint. Treatment with Yokuinin-to-kami improved her symptoms, as well as decreased serum C-reactive protein (CRP). The third case involved a 42-year-old woman who exhibited polyarthralgia in June 1991. She visited a neighborhood hospital and was diagnosed as having RA. She was treated with NSAIDs and bucillamine. She first visited our hospital in1993. We treated her with Keishi-ni-eppi-itto-ka-ryojutsubu and Keishi-shakuyaku-timo-to, but the polyarthralgia worsened in May 1996. Subsequently, we treated her with Yokuinin-to-kami which resulted in improvement symptoms, as well as decreased serum CRP.
To identify the target group for Yokuinin-to-kami, we further analyzed the characteristics of the patients successfully treated with this formula. Yokuinin-to-kami was administered to nine patients with RA, and the symptoms in five patients improved, but the remaining patients did not respond. The score of stasis of body fluids and deficiency of blood was not considerably different between the two groups. Interestingly, there was a difference in the variation of joint symptoms throughout the day. Namely, the successfully treated patients complained of joint symptom in the evening more than in the morning. These observations suggest that Yokuinin-to-kami is a useful agent for the treatment of a subset of patients with RA, and that joint pain in the evening might be an indicator for this treatment.

View full abstract