Oto Miura

Fever of unknown origin successfully treated by oren-gedoku-to (huanglian-jie-du-tang)

Oren-gedoku-to is a traditional medicine used for treating inflammatory conditions and is given by prescription in Japan, People’s Republic of China, and Korea. Its anti-inflammatory effect is related to the arachidonate cascade and inhibition of cyclo-oxygenase, but research on other anti-inflammatory pathways is ongoing. We report a case of fever of unknown origin in a 33-year-old woman. The possibility of infection due to human immunodeficiency virus, autoimmune, neoplastic, or other disease was examined and excluded. Oren-gedoku-to was successfully used to treat her symptoms and may thus be a suitable treatment for patients with undiagnosed fever of unknown origin

Effects of the traditional Japanese medicine Rikkunshito on postprandial glucose and lipid metabolism.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Rikkunshito, a traditional Japanese medicine, has been used as a prokinetic agent to treat functional dyspepsia. Acceleration of gastric emptying of a meal may have a great impact on postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses, possibly resulting in lipid metabolism. The aim of the present study was to investigate associations between blood glucose and insulin levels and GLP-1 response after administration of solid test meals. Effects of Rikkunshito on glucose and lipid metabolism were also evaluated. METHODOLOGY A meal challenge test (cookie test) was performed on 11 healthy volunteers. RESULTS Two-week intake of Rikkunshito did not affect postprandial glucose, GLP-1, triglyceride, or RLP-c responses, whereas the plasma insulin level at 60 min was significantly higher after intake of Rikkunshito. FFA levels were also lower from 60 min to 180 min after intake of Rikkunshito. This suggests that GLP-1 does not contribute to enhanced insulin secretion at 60 min after ingestion of solid test meals. It is likely that a prokinetic effect of Rikkunshito could alter insulin secretion after ingestion of solid test meals. CONCLUSIONS Rikkunshito enhances insulin secretion at 60 min after taking solid meals and subsequently reduces plasma FFA levels. These may contribute to preventing metabolic syndrome.

The Historical Development of Theories on Night Sweat Pathophysiology

a Department of Traditional Japanese Medicine, Toho University Omori Medical Center, 6-11-1 Omorinishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo 143-8541, Japan b Ryokuin Clinic, 4350-1 Tsukahara, Minamiashigara-city, Kanagawa 250-0117, Japan c Fukushima Dental Clinic, 2-20-15 Shimbashi-ekimae building 2 F, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0004, Japan d Yokohama Suzaku Kampo Clinic, 1-11-2 Ishikawa-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa 231-0868, Japan

The Notion of Qi and Disease States-An Outline Drawn Mainly from Modern Medical Texts-

東洋医学の独特な理論である気の概念を，主に近世中国の医書より再検討した。気とは，万物を成立させ，生命現象をおこさせるものである。東洋医学の特色である全体観・統一観は，この気の概念によってその根拠が与えられた。生体の機能を気，肉体を形成するものを血と呼ぶ。血とは滋養分であり，気より形成されたものとされ，いわば異名同類のものである。気と血の概念により，体全体を考慮した疾病把握，各臓器相互の関連性の重視，機能と物質（肉体）は分離できないという認識を生み出させた。気は消化管と肺（後天の気），生まれ持った気（先天の気）から形成される。「こころ」は気によって出現し，気の概念によって「こころ」と身体の関連性，一体化が理論化された。気の病態は，(1)気の能力の低下（気虚と陽虚）と(2)気の循環失調（気滞・気逆）の二つに分類される。これらを合わせた病態に中気下陥がある。気とは，現実的かつ有用性がある東洋医学独自の生理病態観といえる。