Unsei-in inhibits rheological activity of leukocytes: mechanism of action in neutrophil-related skin diseases

An Alternative Approach to Atopic Dermatitis: Part I-Case-Series Presentation

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex disease of obscure pathogenesis. A substantial portion of AD patients treated with conventional therapy become intractable after several cycles of recurrence. Over the last 20 years we have developed an alternative approach to treat many of these patients by diet and Kampo herbal medicine. However, as our approach is highly individualized and the Kampo formulae sometimes complicated, it is not easy to provide evidence to establish usefulness of this approach. In this Review, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method of individualized Kampo therapy, results are presented for a series of patients who had failed with conventional therapy but were treated afterwards in our institution. Based on these data, we contend that there exist a definite subgroup of AD patients in whom conventional therapy fails, but the ‘Diet and Kampo’ approach succeeds, to heal. Therefore, this approach should be considered seriously as a second-line treatment for AD patients. In the Discussion, we review the evidential status of the current conventional strategies for AD treatment in general, and then specifically discuss the possibility of integrating Kampo regimens into it, taking our case-series presented here as evidential basis. We emphasize that Kampo therapy for AD is more ‘art’ than technology, for which expertise is an essential pre-requisite.

Shosaiko-to and other Kampo (Japanese herbal) medicines: a review of their immunomodulatory activities

The use of alternative medicine, including consumption of herbal products and dietary supplements, has been increasing substantially both in the United States and in Western Europe. One area that is garnering increased attention is the use of Oriental Medicine including Kampo, or Japanese herbal medicine. Herein, we review representative examples of research available on the most common use of Kampo medicinals, namely to improve the immune response. We also provide an extensive background on the history of Kampo. There are more than 210 different Kampo formulae used in Japan and most uses of Kampo are to modulate the immune response, i.e. to improve immunity. We have extracted data on seven common Kampo medicinals, and the data are reviewed with respect to in vitro and in vivo activities for both humans and experimental animals; the ingredients as well as the problems with classification of these materials are presented. Research suggests that Kampo herbals are biologically active and may have therapeutic potential. While it is believed that Kampo medicines have few side effects, there is a paucity of data on their toxicity as well as a relative lack of knowledge of the bioactive constituents and potential drug interactions of these agents.

Peripheral blood neutrophil rheology measured by micropore filtration reflects Behçet's disease activity well

Activated neutrophils take a long time to pass through a narrow lumen like a micropore, and are supposed to play a deteriorating effect on microcirculation. Although the activation of neutrophils has been demonstrated in Behçet's disease, nobody analyzes the clinical activity of the disease by means of the rheological measure of neutrophils activity. Using a micropore (pore diameter 5 microns) filtration technique, we measured the filtration time of peripheral blood neutrophils, as a rheological measure of their activity, in order to determine the clinical activity of Behçet's disease. Twenty-one patients with Behçet's disease and 14 healthy control individuals were enrolled in the study. Symptoms and signs exhibited in the patients led us to distinguish the Behçet's disease into inactive and active cases. The latter were further differentiated into cases with absent symptoms and with present symptoms. Neutrophil filtration times were 11.5 +/- 4.8 s in the active cases with present symptoms, which were significantly (P < 0.05) larger than those (7.4 +/- 1.9 s) in the active cases with absent symptoms. The latter filtration times were further significantly (P < 0.001) larger than values (3.7 +/- 1.3 s) in the inactive cases and also those (4.8 +/- 1.2 s) in control subjects. Furthermore, increases in the filtration time obtained immediately after the exposure of cells to the chemotactic peptide formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP: 10 nM) were significantly (P < 0.01) larger in the active cases with present symptoms than those in the active cases with absent symptoms. The latter were also larger, but not significantly, than those in the inactive cases, and were significantly (P < 0.01) larger than those in control subjects. The present results demonstrate that the micropore filtration method reflects well the rheological activity of neutrophils as well as the clinical status of Behçet's disease. This method is much better than the measurement of O2 production to differentiate between active cases with absent symptoms and inactive patients or even control individuals. Furthermore, it is more sensitive and useful than laboratory data like the CRP value or the number of peripheral blood neutrophils.