Efficacy of keishibukuryogan, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, in treating cold sensation and numbness after stroke: clinical improvement and skin temperature normalization in 22 stroke patients.

ABSTRACT

Cold sensation and numbness have been reported as post-stroke sensory sequelae attributable to distal axonopathy, which is caused by chronic ischemia of diseased limbs resulting from dysfunction of vasomotor regulatory systems. Keishibukuryogan is a traditional herbal medicine used to treat symptoms of peripheral ischemia such as cold extremities. This study investigated clinical improvement and skin temperature in peripheral ischemia patients to determine the efficacy of keishibukuryogan in alleviating post-stroke cold sensation and numbness. Twenty-two stroke patients with cold sensation and/or numbness were enrolled in this study. Subjective cold sensation and numbness, evaluated using the visual analogue scale, were found in 21 and 31 limbs, respectively. The skin temperature of diseased and healthy limbs was recorded. We observed all patients for 4 weeks and 17 patients for 8 weeks after administration of keishibukuryogan. The skin temperature of diseased limbs was significantly higher than baseline at 4 weeks and 8 weeks, whereas that of healthy limbs did not change significantly. Cold sensation and numbness were significantly improved at 4 weeks and 8 weeks compared to baseline. Keishibukuryogan administration resulted in warming of diseased limbs and improved cold sensation and numbness, probably by increasing peripheral blood flow.