Traditional Chinese Medicine for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

More and more patients have been diagnosed as having chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) in recent years. Western drug use for this syndrome is often associated with many side-effects and little clinical benefit. As an alternative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has provided some evidences based upon ancient texts and recent studies, not only to offer clinical benefit but also offer insights into their mechanisms of action. It has perceived advantages such as being natural, effective and safe to ameliorate symptoms of CFS such as fatigue, disordered sleep, cognitive handicaps and other complex complaints, although there are some limitations regarding the diagnostic standards and methodology in related clinical or experimental studies. Modern mechanisms of TCM on CFS mainly focus on adjusting immune dysfunction, regulating abnormal activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and serving as an antioxidant. It is vitally important for the further development to establish standards for ‘zheng’ of CFS, i.e. the different types of CFS pathogenesis in TCM, to perform randomized and controlled trials of TCM on CFS and to make full use of the latest biological, biochemical, molecular and immunological approaches in the experimental design

A Kampo Medicine, Boi-ogi-to, Inhibits Obesity in Ovariectomized Rats

In women facing menopause, end of menstrual activity is accompanied by lower levels of estrogen and gradual weight gain. Postmenopausal weight gain sounds an alarm for women's health and may lead to hyperlipidemia, a lipid increase and glucose intolerance. These phenomena are connected to lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis and metabolic syndrome, making it essential to prevent weight gain in women. A Kampo medicine, Boi-ogi-to, is traditionally used to treat obese conditions, but the mechanism has not yet been investigated. In this experiment, we tested the antiobesity properties of Boi-ogi-to in ovariectomized rats by measuring changes of serum cytokine levels and adipocytokines in fat cells. After treatment with this extract for 6 weeks (20-week-old rats), we found that there was a significant weight decrease in rats treated with Boi-ogi-to as compared with that in the control group. Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Gene expression of adipose tissue in uterus also dose dependently showed a significant increase of TNF-α levels, suggesting that secretion of TNF-α by fat cells might play a role in the ability of Boi-ogi-to to inhibit weight gain. While peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-γ and adiponectin levels did not show a significant difference as compared with those in the control, levels of mRNA expression showed a tendency to increase dose dependently. Resistin did not show any significant change. These results suggest that Boi-ogi-to might be useful for the prevention of obesity that occurs in women with reduction of estrogen

Significance of Kampo, Traditional Japanese Medicine, in Supportive Care of Cancer Patients

The current standard treatment for cancer is a multidisciplinary therapy whereby various types of treatment are properly combined. Chemotherapy with multiple anticancer drugs is now common, and traditional, complementary, and alternative therapies are adopted as supportive measures. Medical care in Japan is distinguished by the ability for patients to access both Western and Kampo medical cares at the same time. There is a high degree of trust in the safety of Kampo therapies because they are practiced by medical doctors who are educated with fundamental diagnosis of Western medicine. Highly reliable clinical studies are being published, demonstrating that palliative or supportive care for cancer patients using Kampo preparations alleviates adverse effects of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This paper reports the circumstances around cancer care in Japan where traditional therapeutic Kampo formulas are used for patients undergoing cancer treatment with cutting-edge chemotherapy, specifically to alleviate adverse effects of anticancer drugs

Role of exosomes as a proinflammatory mediator in the development of EBV-associated lymphoma

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) causes various diseases in the elderly, including B-cell lymphoma such as Hodgkin's lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Here, we show that EBV acts in trans on noninfected macrophages in the tumor through exosome secretion and augments the development of lymphomas. In a humanized mouse model, the different formation of lymphoproliferative disease (LPD) between 2 EBV strains (Akata and B95-8) was evident. Furthermore, injection of Akata-derived exosomes affected LPD severity, possibly through the regulation of macrophage phenotype in vivo. Exosomes collected from Akata-lymphoblastoid cell lines reportedly contain EBV-derived noncoding RNAs such as BamHI fragment A rightward transcript (BART) micro-RNAs (miRNAs) and EBVencoded RNA.We focused on the exosome-mediated delivery of BART miRNAs. In vitro, BART miRNAs could induce the immune regulatory phenotype in macrophages characterized by the gene expressions of interleukin 10, tumor necrosis factor-a, and arginase 1, suggesting the immune regulatory role of BART miRNAs.The expression level of an EBV-encoded miRNA was strongly linked to the clinical outcomes in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.These results implicate BART miRNAs as 1 of the factors regulating the severity of lymphoproliferative disease and as a diagnostic marker for EBV1 B-cell lymphoma. (Blood. 2018;131(23):2552-2567)

CNVs in Three Psychiatric Disorders

BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine the similarities and differences in the roles of genic and regulatory copy number variations (CNVs) in bipolar disorder (BD), schizophrenia (SCZ), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: Based on high-resolution CNV data from 8708 Japanese samples, we performed to our knowledge the largest cross-disorder analysis of genic and regulatory CNVs in BD, SCZ, and ASD. RESULTS: In genic CNVs, we found an increased burden of smaller (500 kb) exonic CNVs in SCZ/ASD. Pathogenic CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders were significantly associated with the risk for each disorder, but BD and SCZ/ASD differed in terms of the effect size (smaller in BD) and subtype distribution of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders. We identified 3 synaptic genes (DLG2, PCDH15, and ASTN2) as risk factors for BD. Whereas gene set analysis showed that BD-associated pathways were restricted to chromatin biology, SCZ and ASD involved more extensive and similar pathways. Nevertheless, a correlation analysis of gene set results indicated weak but significant pathway similarities between BD and SCZ or ASD (r = 0.25–0.31). In SCZ and ASD, but not BD, CNVs were significantly enriched in enhancers and promoters in brain tissue. CONCLUSIONS: BD and SCZ/ASD differ in terms of CNV burden, characteristics of CNVs linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, and regulatory CNVs. On the other hand, they have shared molecular mechanisms, including chromatin biology. The BD risk genes identified here could provide insight into the pathogenesis of BD

Significance of Kampo, Japanese Traditional Medicine, in the Treatment of Obesity: Basic and Clinical Evidence

The cause of obesity includes genetic and environmental factors, including cytokines derived from adipocytes (adipo-cytokines). Although drug therapy is available for obesity, it is highly risky. Our main focus in this review is on the traditional form of Japanese medicine, Kampo, in the treated of obesity. Two Kampo formulas, that is, bofutsushosan (防風通聖散) and boiogito (防己黄耆湯), are covered by the national health insurance in Japan for the treatment of obesity. Various issues related to their action mechanisms remain unsolved. Considering these, we described the results of basic experiments and presented clinical evidence and case reports on osteoarthritis as examples of clinical application of their two Kampo medicine. Traditional medicine is used not only for treatment but also for prevention. In clinical practice, it is of great importance to prove the efficacy of combinations of traditional medicine and Western medicine and the utility of traditional medicine in the attenuation of adverse effects of Western medicine

Induction Murine Models of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome by Brucella abortus Antigen Injections: Is Anemia Induced or Not?

To investigate whether Brucella abortus (BA) antigen injections lead to anemia, and to establish an appropriate Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) animal model by BA injections, 6 repeated injections of BA antigen were fulfilled every 2 weeks. At a high dose of 1∗1010 particles/mouse, anemia was induced within 2 weeks and then recovered a lot at the end of the research, while at a moderate dose of 1∗108 (3 injections) shifting to 1∗109/mouse (3 injections) anemia was absent. In both groups running wheel activity remained very low even 6 weeks after the last injection