KampoDB, database of predicted targets and functional annotations of natural medicines.

Natural medicines (i.e., herbal medicines, traditional formulas) are useful for treatment of multifactorial and chronic diseases. Here, we present KampoDB ( http://wakanmoview.inm.u-toyama.ac.jp/kampo/ ), a novel platform for the analysis of natural medicines, which provides various useful scientific resources on Japanese traditional formulas Kampo medicines, constituent herbal drugs, constituent compounds, and target proteins of these constituent compounds. Potential target proteins of these constituent compounds were predicted by docking simulations and machine learning methods based on large-scale omics data (e.g., genome, proteome, metabolome, interactome). The current version of KampoDB contains 42 Kampo medicines, 54 crude drugs, 1230 constituent compounds, 460 known target proteins, and 1369 potential target proteins, and has functional annotations for biological pathways and molecular functions. KampoDB is useful for mode-of-action analysis of natural medicines and prediction of new indications for a wide range of diseases.

[Kampo Education in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Toho University].

In the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Toho University, Kampo education commenced 40 years ago through a course titeled "Kampo", which has since been renamed as "Kampo Pharmacology". The current university curriculum offers courses in subjects such as Pharmacognosy and Practical Pharmacognosy for sophomores, Kampo Pharmacology for juniors, and Clinical Kampo Medicine for seniors. Kampo Pharmacology is a subject that bridges "Pharmacognosy" to "Clinical Kampo Medicine". The functions of the crude drugs included in Kampo prescriptions are explained both in terms of efficacy from the perspective of Kampo and by contemporary evidence. Furthermore, the "Clinical Kampo Therapeutics" course offered for seniors involves lectures on the fundamentals of Kampo, determination of evidence and prescriptions, case analysis, and prescription analysis by physicians affiliated with our university's medical center. Acquiring an understanding of the effectiveness of crude drugs in herbal medicine and gaining practical clinical knowledge are considered beneficial for future pharmacists.

[How to Teach Kampo Medicine in the Age of Internationalization?].

Given the universal prevalence of complementary and alternative medicines, as well as integrative medicine, the usage of traditional medicine has been gaining in popularity worldwide. Japanese Kampo medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are both derived from ancient medicines used in East Asia in the 5th-7th centuries, and have developed independently since the 14th century. Now Kampo medicine and TCM have different theories for the diagnosis and use of crude drugs. Unfortunately, Kampo medicine is not well known in Europe and the Americas; as a matter of practice, TCM is the international standard for traditional medicines derived from ancient East Asia. In the teaching of Kampo medicines to undergraduate students in a school of pharmacy, the author considers that a minimum requirement is to explain the differences between TCM and Kampo medicine. For graduate students of pharmaceutical science, the students must know the distinct medical theories of both TCM and Kampo medicine, and furthermore, must be able to read and write articles in English about traditional medicines, in order to help put Kampo medicine on the world map.

[Education Program of Kampo-medicine for Undergraduates in Preparation for Clinical Setting].

Kampo-medicine has become popular in Japanese medical practice combined with western medicine. For example, Daikenchu-To for intestinal obstruction after surgical operation, Shakuyakukanzo-To and Goshajinki-Gan for anti-cancer agents-induced neuropathy, and Yokkan-San for behavioral psychological symptoms of dementia are alternatively used in addition to conventional treatments in Japan. However, combined use of Kampo-medicine and western medicine may cause unexpected adverse events including undesirable drug-drug interactions because Kampo-medicine was not originally developed to be used with western medicine. Although adverse effects of Kampo-medicine are rare compared with those of western medicine, severe events such as liver dysfunction and interstitial pneumonia have been reported in increasing trends. Medical staff including pharmacists, therefore, should be aware of the onset of adverse events before the patients' symptoms become severe. Several adverse effects are caused by chemical constituents such as glycyrrhizin in licorice for pseudoaldosteronism and geniposide in Gardeniae fructus for mesenteric phlebosclerosis. To understand the adverse effects of Kampo-medicine, pharmacists should learn trends in current medication as well as pharmacology and toxicology of the chemical constituents in pharmacognosy. These issues should also be addressed in educational materials for students of clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice.

Status of urological Kampo medicine: a narrative review and future vision.

Clinical evidence for traditional Japanese Kampo medicine has been provided by modern scientific methodologies. Indeed, more than 150 Kampo formulations have been approved for use as prescription drugs by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, and are widely used in daily medical practice. More than 10 of these formulations can be used for urological problems, especially in cases of lower urinary tract dysfunction. However, there are few opportunities to introduce urological Kampo medicines for worldwide use, and the status of urological Kampo medicine has not been reviewed yet. Here, we present a narrative review to introduce the current status of urological Kampo medicine in Japan. First, we introduce the essence of general Kampo medicine, including its history and current status in Japan. We focused of Sou-Sei-Sou-Koku, "promotion and inhibition network among the Five Elements," which is the central dogma of Kampo medicine. To present Kampo medicine as scientific medicine, neural cross-talk among pelvic organs is presented in comparison with Sou-Sei-Sou-Koku. Second, we list representative urological Kampo formulations used for lower urinary tract symptoms. Furthermore, we also discuss their roles in the urological field, including their position in Japanese clinical guidelines. Third, we propose the multi-organ targeting strategy using Kampo formulations as a future vision. Dai-Ken-Chu-Tou (a common Kampo formulation for gastrointestinal problems and hypersensitivity to cold) is one candidate, and we present the results of a preliminary study using this Kampo medicine formulation.

Kampo medicines for gastrointestinal tract disorders: a review of basic science and clinical evidence and their future application.

Treatment with kampo, the Japanese traditional medicine, is a form of pharmacological therapy that combines modern Western and traditional Asian medical practices. In Japan, various traditional medicines are often combined with Western medicines and prescribed for patients with diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia, chronic gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and post-operative ileus. Based on numerous past observations, Japanese traditional medicines are thought to be particularly useful in the treatment of medically unexplained physical symptoms such as nausea, abdominal discomfort, and anorexia. However, the detailed mechanism by which they mediate their pharmacological action is yet unknown. In addition, the clinical evidence to support their use is insufficient. This review focuses on the basic evidence of the pharmacological action and the clinical efficacies of kampo medicines accumulated over several past decades. In addition, we introduce both the current novel insights into kampo medicines and the therapeutic approach employed when they are used to treat various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Treating emotion-related disorders in Japanese traditional medicine: language, patients and doctors.

This paper analyses how the conceptual and therapeutic formation of Japanese traditional medicine (Kampo) has been socially constructed through interactions with popular interpretations of illness. Taking the example of emotion-related disorders, this paper focuses on the changing meaning of constraint (utsu) in Kampo medicine. Utsu was once a name for one of the most frequently cited emotion-related disorders and pathological concerns during the Edo period. With the spread of Western medicine in the Meiji period, neurasthenia replaced utsu as the dominant emotion-related disorder in Japanese society. As a result, post-Meiji doctors developed other conceptual tools and strategies to respond to these new disease categories, innovations that continue to influence contemporary practitioners. I begin this history by focusing on Wada Tokaku, a Japanese doctor of the Edo period who developed a unique theory and treatment strategy for utsu. Secondly, I examine. Yomuto Kyushin and Mori Dohaku, Kampo doctors of the early twentieth century, who privileged neurasthenia over utsu in their medical practice. The paper concludes with a discussion of the flexibility and complexity of Kampo medicine, how its theory and practices have been influenced by cross-cultural changes in medicine and society, while incorporating the popular experience of illness as well.

Traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo: its history and current status.

Traditional Japanese medicine, Kampo, is used by over 80% of medical doctors in Japan. Owing to its high quality and safety, Kampo has been integrated into modern medicine, and there are 345 randomized controlled trials using Kampo in Japan as of 2010. Although there are a number of articles in top journals about basic science research, we can find only small numbers of high-quality clinical evidence. Since undergraduate education on Kampo has been established, integrative approach with the balanced combination of modern medicine and Kampo is expected to generate good clinical evidence in the near future.