Efficacy of Japanese traditional(Kampo) medicine for treating chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A retrospective case series study

AIM To investigate Japanese traditional(Kampo) medicine's effectiveness on cancer chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy(CIPN), we carried out this retrospective study.METHODS By searching our outpatient database of 3154 patients who consulted our outpatient clinic of Japanese-Oriental(Kampo) Medicine at Chiba University Hospital from November 2005 to December 2010, a total of 281 patients diagnosed with cancer were identified. Twentyfour patients out of the 281 patients identified met the following three conditions and were eligible for further investigation of the effectiveness of Kampo treatment: At least one course of cancer chemotherapy had been administered; numbness and pain appeared after the chemotherapy; and CIPN was diagnosed before they were given Kampo treatment.RESULTS The 24 patients included 6 males and 18 females and ranged in age from 39 to 86(mean 61.2 ± 11.5) years old. Kampo formulas were individually chosen by Kampo expert doctors based on Kampo-specific diagnostics. Beneficial outcomes were obtained by Kampo treatment in 20 out of the 24 cases(83.3%). Nine out 20 cases had a major response(the numbness and pain showed improvement or reduction by 50% or more), with 7 of 9 cases showing a more than 70% symptom reduction. Eleven out of 20 cases showed a minor response(less than 50% symptom reduction), and 4 out of the 24 cases had no beneficial response. The most frequently used formula was goshajinkigan(GJG), followed by hachimijiogan(HJG) and keishibukuryogan. Thirteen of the 24 cases(54.2%) were prescribed aconite rootcontaining formulas including GJG and HJG. Aconite root has "warming" effects and ameliorates pain and numbness; 21 out of 24 cases(87.5%) in total used warming formulas such as aconite root-containing formulas to reduce CIPN.CONCLUSION Our current study suggested that Kampo formulas chosen based on Kampo-specific diagnostics could be for treating CIPN that is refractory to conventional medicine.

Effects of Addition of Lactobacillus plantarum and Enterococcus faecium Inoculants to High-Nitrogen Fertilized Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) on Fermentation, Nutritive Value, and Feed Intake of Silage

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of addition of inoculant to high-nitrogen (N) fertilized timothy on fermentation, nutritive value, and feed intake of silage. The silage of timothy cultivated with a N fertilizer rate at two levels (high level (H), standard level (S)) was prepared with (SI, HI) or without (SC, HC) an inoculants. The CP content of H increased by 38 g&middotkg-1 DM compared with that of S, and the WSC and ADF contents decreased compared with those of S. Regarding the fermentation of silage, the pH and NH3-N ratio was significantly lower in the silage with inoculant (SI and HI), showing improvement of the fermentation compared with those of the silage without the addition (SC and HC). The CP content was significantly higher in HC and HI than in SC and SI, and the NDF content was the lowest in HI among the four treatments. The CP digestibility of HC and HI was significantly higher than those of SC and SI. The EE digestibility of SI was significantly higher than that of SC, and that of HI was significantly higher than that of HC. The DCP contents were significantly higher in HC and HI than in SC and SI. The TDN content was the lowest in SC and highest in HI. The DCP intakes of HC and HI were significantly higher than those of SC and SI. When the N fertilizer rate was increased, the DCP content and DCP intake of the silage increased, and the addition of inoculant improved the fermentation and increased the TDN content.

Effects of Potassium Fertilizer on Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Content of Timothy (<i>Phleum pratense</i>L.), Silage Fermentation, Nutritive Values, and Nutrient Intake

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of potassium fertilizer (standard (S) and high (H) levels) on water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), silage fermentation, nutritive values, and nutrient intake. The silage treatments were as follows: S level without inoculant (SC), S level plus inoculant (SI), H level without inoculant (HC), and H level plus inoculant (HI). The K content was increased by 14.5% in timothy grown with the H level compared with the S level. The WSC contents of the S and H treatments were 75.9 and 66.1 g·kg-1 dry matter (DM), respectively. The silage fermentation quality was low with both SC and HC treatments. The addition of inoculant significantly improved the fermentation quality in SI and HI treatments. The addition increased the DM and organic matter digestibilities of silage. The total digestible nutrient (TDN) content of silage was highest with the HI treatment. The DM, TDN, and digestible energy intakes with the SI and HI treatments were improved compared with the SC and HC treatments, respectively. This study demonstrated negligible effects of K fertilizer levels and significant effects of the lactic acid bacteria inoculant on the fermentation quality, nutritive values, and feed intake of silage.