title: Effects of yokukansan on behavioral and psychological symptoms of vascular dementia: an open-label trial.
abstract: Previous clinical trials suggest that the traditional Japanese medicine yokukansan has beneficial effects on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The present study was conducted to elucidate the efficacy of yokukansan on BPSD in patients with vascular dementia. Thirteen Japanese patients (9 men and 4 women) who were diagnosed as having vascular dementia (VaD) according to the diagnostic criteria of NINDS-AIREN were subjected to the open-label clinical trial in which yokukansan (7.5g/day) has been given for 4 weeks. Their mean age was 71.2±6.5 years. The BPSD was evaluated using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), cognitive function was evaluated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the activities of daily living was evaluated by Barthel index (BI) and Disability Assessment for Dementia (DAD), and the extrapyramidal signs were evaluated by United Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The mean NPI was 33.0±17.3 and 23.6±13.9 for the baseline and after treatment, respectively. It was significantly improved after treatment (p<0.05). In the NPI-subcategories, there was a significant improvement in agitation and disinhibition after the treatment. There was no significant change in MMSE, BI, DAD or UPDRS before and after the treatment. There was no adverse effect during the treatment period. The present results suggest that yokukansan is beneficial for the treatment of BPSD in VaD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Research Institute for Brain and Blood Vessels, Akita, Japan. nagata@akita-noken.jp
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yokoyama
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Daiki
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Terayama
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004341:Drug Evaluation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008518:Medicine, East Asian Traditional; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D010936:Plant Extracts; C524644:Yi-Gan San