Yi-gan san for the treatment of borderline personality disorder: an open-label study.
BACKGROUND
Numerous medications have been tested on patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Although many of these medications have been demonstrated to be useful, no clear main treatment for BPD has emerged. Despite the efficacy of some of the medicines, acceptability and side effects have proven to be barriers to their use. Recent studies indicate that the traditional Chinese herbal medicine yi-gan san (YGS, yokukan-san in Japanese) may be safe and useful in treating behavioral and psychological symptoms in dementia patients. We aimed at evaluating both efficacy and safety of yi-gan san in patients with well-defined BPD.


METHODS
Twenty female outpatients diagnosed with BPD according to DSM-IV criteria and the revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines completed a 12-week open-label study with yi-gan san at an average daily dosage of 6.4+/-1.9 g (2.5-7.5 g). Psychometric instruments to assess efficacy included the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), Hamilton Rating Scales for Depression (HAM-D), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI), and Aggression Questionnaire (AQ).


RESULTS
Most psychometric scale scores exhibited a highly significant improvement (total BPRS; BPRS somatic concern, anxiety, tension, depressive mood, hostility, suspiciousness, motor retardation, uncooperativeness, and excitement subscale; CGI; GAF; AQ) over time.


CONCLUSIONS
In this open-label pilot study, patients treated with YGS showed statistically significant reduction on self-rated and clinician-rated scales. The present findings suggest that yi-gan san might be effective for the treatment of a number of BPD symptoms, including low mood, impulsivity, and aggression.
Miyaoka
Tsuyshi
T
Department of Psychiatry, Shimane University School of Medicine, 89-1 Enyacho, Izumo 693-8501, Japan. miyanyan@med.shimane-u.ac.jp
Furuya
Motohide
M
Yasuda
Hideaki
H
Hayashia
Maiko
M
Inagaki
Takuji
T
Horiguchi
Jun
J
D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C524644:Yi-Gan San