| Theme |
Kampo Medicine for Gastrointestinal Diseases -- Theory and Practice |
| Title |
Traditional Japanese Herbal Medicines for Treatment of Patients with Constipation, Diarrhea, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Noriaki Manabe |
Division of Endoscopy and Ultrasonography, Department of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Rui Nakato |
Division of Endoscopy and Ultrasonography, Department of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Minoru Fujita |
Division of Endoscopy and Ultrasonography, Department of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Hiroaki Kusunoki |
Department of General Clinical Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Tomoari Kamada |
Department of Heal th Care Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Jiro Hata |
Division of Endoscopy and Ultrasonography, Department of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Kawasaki Medical School |
| Author |
Ken Haruma |
Department of General Internal Medicine 2, Kawasaki Medical School |
| [ Summary ] |
In the field of gastroenterology, traditional Japanese herbal medicine, i. e., Kampo medicine plays an important role. Functional gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, whose pathology is multifactorial, are particular good indications for this treatment. Recent basic studies have revealed the effect of each traditional Japanese herbal medicine on GI function, and the effect of traditional Japanese herbal medicine has been clarified at the molecular level. In this article, we outline the treatment using traditional Japanese herbal medicine for patients with chronic constipation, chronic diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome, which are particularly common among functional lower GI diseases. In contrast, side effects are determined by constituent crude drugs; therefore, for prescription of combined traditional Japanese herbal medicines' types, it is considered important to ensure that there is no overlap of the crude drugs. |