Effects of Burdock tea on recurrence of colonic diverticulitis and diverticular bleeding: An open-labelled randomized clinical trial.

Colonic diverticular bleeding (CDB) and acute colonic diverticulitis (ACD) show high recurrence rates. The establishment of optimal strategies that prevent the recurrence of CDB and ACD is a major concern among gastroenterologists. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of burdock tea for preventing CDB and ACD recurrences. Newly diagnosed patients with CDB (n = 91) or ACD (n = 70) were randomly assigned into two groups. The experimental group received 1.5 g of burdock tea three times a day, whereas the control group did not receive any treatment. The median (interquartile range) of observation for recurrence of CDB or ACD was 22.0 (14.1) months and 30.3 (18.6), respectively. The burdock tea treatment showed significant preventive effects on recurrence of ACD. A lower ACD recurrence rate (5/47 [10.6%] vs. 14/44 [31.8%]) and longer recurrence-free duration was observed in the burdock tea group (59.3 months [95% CI: 54.0-64.7] vs. 45.1 months [95% CI: 37.1-53.0] by the Kaplan-Meier analysis; p = 0.012 by log rank test) than in the control group, although there was no significant preventive effects on the CDB recurrence. This randomized clinical trial demonstrated that daily intake of burdock tea could be an effective strategy for prevention of ACD recurrence, but not for CDB recurrence.

Safety of Daiobotampito in the Treatment of Acute Diverticulitis of the Colon: A Single-Center, Open-Label, Prospective Trial.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the safety of daiobotampito in the treatment of acute diverticulitis of the colon. METHODS: We conducted a single-center, open-label, prospective study. Ten patients who suffered from diverticulitis of the colon were recruited. The patients were treated with fasting, antibacterial agents, and daiobotampito extract for 10 days in or out of hospital. The patients individually recorded their body temperature, grade of abdominal pain, number of times that analgesics were used, and number of stools daily. We checked whether the patients had adverse reactions such as abdominal pain or diarrhea. RESULTS: No patients experienced serious adverse reactions. One patient had moderate abdominal pain and diarrhea soon after daiobotampito intake. This patient discontinued daiobotampito on day 4, and the pain and diarrhea quickly resolved. The abdominal pain of this patient was worse 6 days before treatment, and the pain was almost relieved with initial daiobotampito treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Daiobotampito is a safe treatment option for early stage, acute diverticulitis.

[A short duration treatment with intensive consolidation therapy for patients with acute myelogenous leukemia--13 year experience in a single institute].

Fifty-seven patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) received the following treatment in our hospital between May 1992 and April 2005. Group A: combination of enocitabine, daunorubicin, 6-mercaptopurine riboside and prednisolone (BHAC-DMP) for remission induction, BHAC-DMP or idarubicin (IDR)+cytarabine (Ara-C) for first consolidation, combination of prednisolone, Ara-C, mitoxantrone and etoposide (PAME) for second consolidation, and PAME for late intensification; Group B: IDR+Ara-C for remission induction, PAME for first consolidation, and high-dose Ara-C+mitoxantrone for second consolidation; Group C (acute promyelocytic leukemia, APL) : all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for remission induction, BHAC-DMP or IDR+Ara-C for first consolidation, and PAME for second consolidation. The complete remission (CR) rate was 77% in Group A, 76% in Group B, and 71% in Group C. Five-year relapse-free survival rate of the CR patients was 35% in Group A, 49% in Group B, and 70% in Group C. All of the patients had severe neutropenia, but the number of infectious death was small. A short duration treatment with intensive consolidation therapy was effective for patients with AML and improved their quality of life (QOL).

High-dose cyclophosphamide as an effective therapy for a patient with refractory multiple myeloma relapsing after autologous stem cell transplantation.

Alkylating agents are often used to treat patients with multiple myeloma (MM). However, it is not common for high-dose cyclophosphamide (CPM) therapy to be used as a treatment for MM. Herein, we report a case of refractory MM associated with hypercalcemia. We decided to give her high-dose CPM. After this treatment, the serum calcium level decreased and the tumor mass in the iliac bone was reduced. This therapy is potentially useful for patients with refractory MM.