Analgesic treatment with Kampo prescription

Abstract

Mankind has searched throughout the ages for analgesic substances. Many natural products have been exploited. Investigating plants and plant-derived metabolites has advanced the understanding of important mechanisms related to the process of pain transmission, nociception and treatment. While modern, conventional Western analgesics represent the main pain medication prescribed in Japan, the traditional Kampo medicines composed of herbs are also used in daily analgesic treatment. The national health insurance system for Kampo medicines was established in Japan in 1976. At present, 148 remedies are covered by this health insurance system. More than 70% of medical doctors in Japan prescribe Kampo medicines to patients suffering from a wide variety of problems, including menopausal symptoms, chronic diseases, pain disorders and conditions with failed or suboptimal conventional therapy. In the anesthesia departments of many large medical facilities, doctors administer Kampo medicines, alone and in combination with conventional medications, to provide analgesia. Here, an overview is given to the history and the present state of Kampo medicine use in Japan for the management of pain.

Diverse TRPV1 responses to cannabinoids

“…Analgesics that are likely to be non-addictive and have a low side-effect profile are being actively sought. Traditional medicine from many cultures suggests that plants are possible sources of complex chemical mixtures that can be used to treat diverse human conditions, including pain [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. The secondary metabolome of the Cannabis plant has been suggested as sources of new analgesics [14][15][16][17].…”

Clinical efficacy of Kampo medicine (Japanese traditional herbal medicine) in the treatment of primary dysmenorrhea

“…Kampo medicine has been also included in feasible alternative choices of the treatment in Japan. More than 70% of medical doctors in Japan prescribe Kampo medicines to patients suffering from a wide variety of problems 14 . It is known that Kampo medicines could also cause some adverse events, for instance, gastrointestinal disorders, liver dysfunction, interstitial lung disease, and pseudoaldosteronism, but still Kampo medicine is thought to be better tolerated by patients because of fewer adverse effects compared with modern medicines 5 .…”

Inhibition of Fast Nerve Conduction Produced by Analgesics and Analgesic Adjuvants—Possible Involvement in Pain Alleviation

“…Traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicines that are composed of plant-derived crude drugs are used together with Western medicines in Japan with various purposes including antinociception (see [285][286][287][288][289] for reviews). Frog sciatic nerve CAPs were concentration-dependently inhibited by Kampo medicines, daikenchuto, rikkosan, kikyoto, rikkunshito, shakuyakukanzoto and kakkonto; among them, daikenchuto was the most effective with an IC 50 value of 1.1 mg/mL.…”