Successful Treatment of [ME/CFS] with Chronic Febricula Using the Traditional Japanese Medicine Shosaikoto, 2019, Numata et al

[Andy]

For what it's worth.

We herein report the case of a 14-year-old girl who had been experiencing chronic fatigue, febricula, and social withdrawal for 20 months. No notable abnormalities were identified during routine checkups at a general pediatric hospital; symptomatic treatments did not affect her condition. She was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Based on the concepts of Japanese traditional medicine, she was administered shosaikoto-based treatment. After several weeks of treatment, all of the symptoms had been dramatically alleviated, consequently resolving the issue of non-attendance at school. Shosaikoto-based medication may be a therapeutic option for treating ME/CFS in patients presenting with chronic febricula.

Open access, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/internalmedicine/advpub/0/advpub_3218-19/_article

 

[adambeyoncelowe]

For what it's worth.

Open access, https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/internalmedicine/advpub/0/advpub_3218-19/_article

From Wikipedia:

Sho-Saiko-To, lso known as Minor Bupuleurum Formula and Xiǎocháihútāng (XCHT) in Chinese, is a herbal supplement, believed to enhance liver health.

Sho-Saiko-To is a widely used prescription drug in China and is a listed formula in China and Japan as a Kampo medicine. There are currently ongoing clinical trials for Sho-Saiko-To at University of California, San Diego and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The active ingredients of Sho-Saiko-To discovered so far include: Baicalin, Baicalein, Glycyrrhizin, Saikosaponins, Ginsenosides, Wogonin, Gingerol.

 

[Trish]

I had to look up febricula. It sounds scary, but it's just a fancy word for a slight fever.

 

[Cheshire]

Case report... Maximizes all the biases and doesn't prove anything.

 

[Trish]

I'm surprised they write up a single case like this for a medical journal. Why not do a pilot study before publishing?

 

[Peter T]

I'm surprised they write up a single case like this for a medical journal. Why not do a pilot study before publishing?

There is a place for single case studies, as long as any conclusions do not go beyond what the evidence can support. However the best you can conclude here is sugestions further investigation.

 

[Snow Leopard]

Most likely explanation is that it is a coincidence, with natural remission. I'd be very sceptical of anything less than a blinded pilot study.

 

[Forbin]

I had to look up febricula. It sounds scary, but it's just a fancy word for a slight fever.

Febricula sounds like Dracula's less popular third cousin.

 

[mariovitali]

Here is the scihub link :

https://scihub.wikicn.top/10.2169/internalmedicine.3218-19


I went through entries on PUBMED for shosaikoto. Scary and interesting at the same time. Anything related to Liver disease and Hepatic fibrosis is of personal interest (i presented a few cases of patients with significant liver fibrosis on my presentation at the CureME team and asked whether such cases warrant further investigation).

Some studies show a potential antifibrotic effect of shosaikoto. Here is one of them

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10759225/

Several laboratories, including ours, have clearly demonstrated the preventive and therapeutic effects of Sho-saiko-to on experimental hepatic fibrosis, as well as its inhibitory effect on the activation of hepatic stellate cells, which are the major types of collagen-producing cells. We provided evidence that Sho-saiko-to functions as a potent anti-fibrosuppressant via the inhibition of oxidative stress in hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells and that its active components are baicalin and baicalein.