Effects of Japanese traditional medicines on circulating cytokine levels in women with hot flashes.
OBJECTIVE
The effects of the Japanese traditional medicines keishibukuryogan and kamishoyosan on circulating cytokines were examined to clarify the difference in the actions of Japanese traditional medicines in women with hot flashes.


METHODS
Seven premenopausal, 51 perimenopausal, 45 spontaneously postmenopausal and 17 surgically postmenopausal women who had complained of hot flashes were enrolled in this study. Eighty women who hoped to receive Japanese traditional medicines were randomly assigned in open, parallel-group fashion to a keishibukuryogan group or kamishoyosan group. Forty women who did not want any treatment for hot flashes were followed up for 6 months as a control group. Serum levels of cytokines were measured using a multiplexed human cytokine assay.


RESULTS
The proportions of responders in women treated with keishibukuryogan and kamishoyosan were 73.7% and 69.2%, respectively. Serum monocyte chemotactic protein-1 level in women treated with keishibukuryogan decreased significantly (P = 0.0037). On the other hand, concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1β in women treated with kamishoyosan decreased significantly (P = 0.019 and P = 0.039, respectively). In both keishibukuryogan and kamishoyosan responder groups, serum IL-8 concentrations were reduced significantly (P = 0.021 and P = 0.014, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
Both treatments with keishibukuryogan and kamishoyosan reduce the circulating IL-8 level, which is involved in thermoregulation in perimenopausal women with hot flashes. In addition, keishibukuryogan decreases circulating monocyte chemotactic protein-1 level in postmenopausal women.
Yasui
Toshiyuki
T
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Course of Human Development, Human Development and Health Science, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan. yasui@clin.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp
Matsui
Sumika
S
Yamamoto
Satoshi
S
Uemura
Hirokazu
H
Tsuchiya
Naoko
N
Noguchi
Masamichi
M
Yuzurihara
Mitsutoshi
M
Kase
Yoshio
Y
Irahara
Minoru
M
D000328:Adult; D018932:Chemokine CCL2 / Q000097:blood*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000097:blood; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007378:Interleukins / Q000097:blood*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology; D017697:Premenopause / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
D018932:Chemokine CCL2; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D007378:Interleukins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C103354:kamisyoyo san; C054593:keishibukuryogan; D004958:Estradiol; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone