Case Report

Use of Yi-Gan San (TJ-54) in patients with motor aphasia who refuse to participate in rehabilitation

Shinsuke Sato, MD, Kyota Bunno, MD
Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 1: 7-10, 2010

@Since aphasic patients have diffi culty communicating, they often have emotional lability, which can make clinical management diffi cult and may even lead to the patientsf refusal to participate in rehabilitation programs.
@Yi-Gan San (YGS) has recently been shown to improve behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) associated with Alzheimerfs dementia. Recently, 3 patients with motor aphasia were treated with YGS to stabilize psychiatric symptoms, and this treatment helped the patients, who initially refused to undergo rehabilitation, adapt to rehabilitation therapy. Within 1 to 2 weeks of starting the treatment with YGS, there was a marked improvement in the patientsf emotional lability. Since the patients showed improvement within a short period, we think that the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist action of YGS is the main factor responsible for these pharmacologic effects.
@In patients with impaired communication ability, such as those with motor aphasia, YGS may be effective and worthwhile as a supplemental therapy for secondary psychiatric symptoms such as emotional lability.

Key words: Yi-Gan San, aphasia, rehabilitation, Chinese herbal remedy, stroke

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