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

Abstract

Sato S, Bunno K. Use of Yi-Gan San (TJ-54) in patients with motor aphasia who refuse to participate in rehabilitation. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2010; 7-10. Since aphasic patients have difficulty communicating, they often have emotional lability, which can make clinical management difficult and may even lead to the patients' 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's 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' 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.