神経疾患の難病・難症に使える漢方

Kampo Medicine for Intractable Brain and Neurological Diseases

本邦では147種類の内服用漢方エキス剤が保険適用されている。しかし，そこに大規模臨床試験はなくエビデンスレベルは低い。漢方薬は生薬の足し算の叡智で，多成分系の薬剤である。そのため，難病・難症を含めたいろいろな症状に有効なことがある。また，生薬フアイアが免疫を中庸にする作用が臨床試験にて確認された。困ったときには使ってみるという立ち位置で専門家に補完医療として漢方薬や生薬を利用していただきたい。

Abstract

In Japan, 147 types of oral Kampo extract products are covered by the public insurance system; however, to the best of our knowledge, there are no large-scale randomized clinical trials. Therefore, the level of evidence or these products is low compared with that for medicines that have been introduced as insurance reimbursement drugs through randomized clinical trials. However, when conventional western medical treatments have not been effective or when patients desire a more effective therapy, Kampo extract products are one of the treatment options. Kampo extract products involve the adding of crude drugs and comprise a multi-component system. Therefore, it may be effective for various symptoms. I recommend that specialists use these products as complementary alternative medicines. I also introduce the “Huaier extract granule,” which is an orally bioavailable traditional Chinese medicine composed of granules containing an aqueous extract of Trametes robiniophila Murr (Huaier), a mushroom found on hardwood tree trunks, with potential immune-regulating activity. Huaier has immunity enhancement activity, such as antineoplastic property, as well as immunity regulating activity against diseases, such as asthma, psoriasis, and immunoglobulin A nephritis. Therefore, for some intractable diseases, especially when the disease is thought to involve an immune disorder, Huaier can be an additional treatment option.