A retrospective study on the efficacy of Ninjin'yoeito on fatigue in patients with interstitial pneumonia.

INTRODUCTION: Fatigue, caused by dyspnea associated with progression of interstitial pneumonia (IP), can negatively affect patients' quality of life (QOL). Ninjin'yoeito (NYT), a Chinese herbal medicine, is prescribed for general symptoms of fatigue and for fatigue associated with various respiratory diseases. However, there is a lack of integrated research on the effects of NYT in patients with IP. Therefore, we retrospectively investigated the efficacy of NYT in patients with IP and fatigue. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From the IP patients who had taken NYT, 19 who met the following inclusion criteria were included: (1) age of ≥20 years, (2) fatigue, and (3) history of NYT administration. The primary endpoint was fatigue, which was assessed using the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFS). The secondary endpoints were loss of appetite and dyspnea, which were evaluated using the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) and modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) scores, respectively. All items were measured before and after 12 weeks of NYT administration. RESULTS: In the enrolled 19 patients (male, 12; female, 7; mean age, 65.8 ± 12.7 years), the underlying diseases were idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 8), idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (n = 5), connective tissue disease-related interstitial pneumonia (n = 2), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (n = 3), and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (n = 1). The CFS score decreased from 17.1 ± 6.8 before administration to 13.4 ± 5.7 after administration of NYT (p = 0.0389). The SNAQ score did not change markedly. The median mMRC score decreased from 3 to 2, however, the difference was not significant. CONCLUSION: Many subtypes of IP are progressive, and a cure cannot be expected in cases of irreversible lung fibrosis. Therefore, a multifaceted approach to improve and maintain the QOL is needed in addition to the standard of care. This study showed that NYT can improve fatigue and help maintain the QOL in IP patients.

Case Report: Efficacy of Ninjin'yoeito Treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Ninjin'yoeito, a Kampo prescription, was administered to two patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) over a period of 12 weeks to improve loss of appetite and lassitude. In Case 1, improvements were observed in appetite, lassitude, and breathlessness, as well as increases or increasing tendencies in body weight, blood albumin level, and hemoglobin (Hb) level. Case 2 showed no changes in appetite but improvements in lassitude and no deterioration of breathlessness. His body weight and his blood albumin and Hb levels increased or showed increasing trends. In both cases, a trend for improvement of respiratory function was observed. In summary, ninjin'yoeito trended to improve the subjective symptoms and nutritional status of a patient with pulmonary fibrosis.

The prophylactic effectiveness of various antifungal agents against the progression of trichosporonosis fungemia to disseminated disease in a neutropenic mouse model.

Neutropenic mice with latent trichosporonemia were given various antifungal agents (amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole) or saline to determine which antifungal agent could be useful for prophylaxis. The 3-week-survival rate was 80% in the fluconazole group, 50% in the amphotericin B group, 45% in the itraconazole group, and 30% in the saline group. Compared with the other antifungal agents, fluconazole offered superior prophylaxis against the progression of trichosporonosis fungemia to disseminated disease (P<0.05). These results suggest that clinical studies are warranted to investigate fluconazole prophylaxis of trichosporonosis progression in neutropenic patients, such as people receiving chemotherapy and patients who have received solid organ transplants.