The efficacy of herbal medicine (kampo) in reducing the adverse effects of IFN-beta in chronic hepatitis C.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if the adverse effects of interferon (IFN) in hepatitis C patients could be reduced by treatment with Japanese Oriental (Kampo) medicine. Twelve patients with chronic hepatitis C were treated with a combination of IFN-beta and either Mao-to or Dai-seiryu-to (groups A and B), and 16 patients were treated with IFN-beta alone (group C). Mao-to was administered to eight patients and Dai-seiryu-to was administered to four in groups A and B, respectively. Adverse effects were evaluated by clinical and laboratory examinations. The severity of symptoms was daily self-classified into four categories (1: none, 2: very slight, 3: moderate, and 4: serious), using a questionnaire consisting of 29 items. Scores of symptom such as discomfort and fever in group A, and discomfort, general malaise, paresthesia and arthralgia in group B were significantly lower than those in group C (p < 0.05). In all patients, HCV-RNA was negative at the end of the treatment, and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels had normalized transiently in all group A and B patients with genotype 1b by 2 weeks after cessation of IFN treatment. This study indicates that Kampo medicines are useful for reducing the adverse effects accompanying IFN treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis C without reducing the antiviral effects.

• Authors: Mosaburo Kainuma, Jun Hayashi, Shinya Sakai, Kazuaki Imai, Naoki Mantani, Kazufumi Kohta, Tadamichi Mitsuma, Yutaka Shimada, Seizaburo Kashiwagi, Katsutoshi Terasawa
• Journal: The American journal of Chinese medicine (Am J Chin Med) Vol. 30 Issue 2-3 Pg. 355-67 ( 2002) ISSN: 0192-415X [Print] Singapore
• PMID: 12230024 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Controlled Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antiviral Agents
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal
• RNA, Viral
• Interferon-beta
• Alanine Transaminase

Topics

• Adult
• Aged
• Alanine Transaminase (blood)
• Antiviral Agents (adverse effects)
• Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal (administration & dosage, therapeutic use)
• Female
• Fever (chemically induced, pathology, prevention & control)
• Hepatitis C, Chronic (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Interferon-beta (adverse effects)
• Male
• Medicine, Kampo
• Middle Aged
• Phytotherapy
• Plants, Medicinal
• RNA, Viral (blood)
• Severity of Illness Index
• Surveys and Questionnaires