Blepharospasm is classified as a focal dystonia, and involves involuntary contraction of muscles such as the orbicularis oculi muscle and the corrugator muscle, which are associated with eyelid movement. Thus blepharospasm involves difficulties to eyelid opening. A 61-year-old woman came to our hospital complaining of a sense of discomfort of the eyes since a half year earlier. Blepharospasm was diagnosed based on current medical history and neurological examination. Oral saikokaryukotsuboreito was started and the blepharospasm improved gradually. After a week, oral treatment with one-third of the amount of shakuyakukanzoto was added and the blepharospasm further improved. The patient wanted to increase the dose of shakuyakukanzoto and to stop the saikokaryukotsuboreito. Once oral shakuyakukanzoto monotherapy was started, however, the blepharospasm worsened. Oral saikokaryukotsuboreito and low dose shakuyakukanzoto was started again, and her blepharospasm improved again.
The mechanism behind a focal dystonia such as blepharospasm is explained as a disorder of the basal ganglia motor loop. Saikokaryukotsuboreito is used for the diseases of the central nervous system. Thus there is the possibility that, here, saikokaryukotsuboreito improved a central nervous system disorder, and the blepharospasm. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating that saikokaryukotsuboreito is effective for blepharospasm. It suggests that saikokaryukotsuboreito is a useful option for the treatment of blepharospasm.

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The patent eustachian tubes (PET) of five patients with a chief complaint of aural fullness were successfully treated with kigikenchuto. A Kampo extract preparation of ogikenchuto and tokikenchuto (daily dose of 9 and 7.5 g, respectively) was applied as a representative prescription for kigikenchuto. The five patients had also been diagnosed with definitive PET on otological examination. Case 1 was a 73-year-old male suffering from aural fullness and autophonia after a common cold. These ear symptoms improved on lying down and resting. He had a history of admission for cerebral hemorrhage with hypertension and weight loss. Bilateral stiffness of the abdominal rectus muscle and an intolerable tickling sensation were noted. After taking kigikenchuto for two weeks, his symptoms improved. An additional study of four patients treated with kigikenchuto, including Case 2, a 75-year-old female, Case 3, a 33-year-old female, Case 4, a 78-year-old female, and Case 5, a 21-year-old male, showed effective cures. Kigikenchuto is a qi-blood supplementing derivative of shokenchuto, a minor center-reinforcing Kampo medicine for asthenic disease. Based on these results, we suggested that kigikenchuto serves as a useful formulation to treat PET. Life guidance to promote health is also essential for cure.

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This case involved a 58-year-old male with diabetic foot syndrome complicated with osteomyelitis. He had been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 2 twenty years previously, but had ignored it and developed diabetic foot syndrome and diabetic triopathy. His HbA 1 c (NGSP) was 11.2%. Twelve days after diabetic foot onset, he was transferred to our hospital to receive Kampo medicine. His whole right leg was edematous and there were two ulcers on the dorsum (5 × 4 cm in size) and between the fourth and fifth toes (7 × 4 cm in size).We used antibiotics, insulin, and prostaglandin formulation in combination with Kampo medicine, involving hachimijioganryo because of lower abdominal numbness. Simultaneously, we used keishibukuryogan at high dosage (personalized formula, 2 g × 24 pills) for 7 days to improve blood stasis. Seven days after hospitalization, we changed the initial hachimijioganryo to hachimijiogan (personalized formula, 2.3 g × 9 pills) and kigikenchuto (astragalus root, 20 g) to accelerate ulcer granulation. We also decreased the high dose keishibukuryogan gradually. Although the bone of the DIP joint in the fifth toe was exposed, the ulcer dimensions decreased and reached 2.5 × 1.8 cm at the time of discharge (50 days after onset). Two months after onset, the ulcer had epithelialized and medical dressings were unnecessary. Four months after onset, it had completely healed. We propose that Kampo medicine is effective for diabetic foot syndrome when combined with conventional therapy, and that healing occurs earlier than with conventional therapy alone.

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A 68-year-old female had been diagnosed with granuloma annulare a year earlier. She was prescribed tranilast and was recovering, but had to discontinue the tranilast because she suffered liver damage as a side effect.
She was also suffering from a worsening rash and so decided to try Kampo medicine. We prescribed orengedokuto because of thermal symptoms suggestive of hot flushes, the appearance of her tongue, and the character of her rash. Initially, the rash improved, but from the 3rd day following admission did not change greatly. We suspected the existence of interior cold and started combining maobushisaishinto. Five days later, the granulomas had rapidly shrunk. We believe she had overlapping diseases of a yin and yang pattern from the fact that she improved clinically.

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Kampo treatment is frequently effective for patients with acne vulgaris who are unresponsive to standard treatment with western medicine. We report two cases of acne vulgaris successfully treated with tokikenchuto. In the first case, a 32-year-old woman complained of mild acne, loose stool and menstrual pain. Her abdomen was soft and a pulsation above the navel was noted. These symptoms were considerably improved after taking tokikenchuto. In the second case, a 26-year-old woman presented with moderate acne, loose stool and menstrual pain with excessive strain of the abdominal muscles and objective tenderness on the sides of the abdomen. Kamishoyosan and tokishakuyakusan were first prescribed, although these caused bowel disturbances, and eventually tokikenchuto was prescribed, which improved the acne. We suggest tokikenchuto is effective for patients with mild to moderate acne who have bowel disturbance with soft abdomen or excessive strain of the abdominal muscles, which are considered indicators of gastrointestinal weakness. In addition, yokuinin has a synergistic effect in the treatment of acne.

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Ryoukeigomikanzoto is a Kampo formulation originally described in the text Kinkiyouryaku. This formulation has also been described as an indication for respiratory disease in some texts, because it was classified under respiratory diseases in the Kinkiyouryaku.
The authors, however, considered that indications for ryoukeigomikanzoto could be wider than previously thought. The composition of this formulation is very similar that of ryokeimikanto and ryokeijutsukanto. And we have prescribed ryokeigomikanzoto for patients with a reddish face and coldness of the legs, whose chief complaints were a reddish nose, coldness of the leg, dysuria, spioncerebellar degeneration and ringing of the ears. Moreover, we have obtained good results from the current trial. This report is intended to elucidate indications for this formulation by means of past clinical results and our own experience.

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For the purpose of investigating weights in the era when the Shan Han Lun was set forth, the weight and measures described in the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu, written in the period slightly after the Shan Han Lun, were studied. Some descriptions of the metrological standards are confusing in the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu. We focused on the measuring container, whose volume is equal to that of the one cun square spoon (fang cun bi), shown in the dun huang version of the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu. The volume of this measuring container was calculated on the assumption that the measures in this text follow those of the Han Shu Li Li Shi, and a result of 5.07 cm³ was obtained. The result was confirmed by using the actual measured values of the crude drugs. The result was also considered to support measurements of the volume in the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu as following the Han Shu Li Li Shi. With those results, descriptions of the density of honey and lard were examined, and the weight in the Ben Cao Jing Ji Zhu was clarified to follow that in the Han Shu Li Li Shi.

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