These results argue the benefits of BDW in the treatment of dementia.

Context: Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has a long history as a remedy for dementia among East Asian countries. This study clarifies its benefits through current scientific designs.Objective: Study 1: To evaluate the effects of Ba Wei Di Huang Wan (BDW), a Chinese herbal drug on cerebral blood flow (CBF) by tecnetium-99 m-ethyl cysteinate dimer brain single photon emission computed tomography (99mTc ECD SPECT).Study 2: To evaluate whether BDW improves cognitive and physical functioning in dementia patients.Design: Study 1: An 8-week case series for the SPECT examination.Study 2: An 8-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for cognitive and physical functioning in dementia patients.Setting and Participants: Study 1: Ten patients with multiple brain infarctions (5 men and 5 women; mean age 73 years) were recruited.Study 2: Thirty-three patients with mild-to-severe dementia (7 men and 26 women; age 84.4 ± 7.8 [mean ± SD] years) admitted to a long-term care facility in Japan, were recruited and enrolled from May 2002 through September 2002.7th Asia-Oceania Regional Congress of Gerontology S125 Interventions: Study 1: Participants took BDW extract 7.5 g/day for 8 weeks, and CBF in whole brain and regional CBFs were compared before and after the administration.Study 2: Participants were randomly assigned to the active drug (BDW) group ( n = 16) or the placebo group ( n = 17), and treated by BDW or placebo for 8 weeks. Main outcome measures: Study 1: CBF in whole brain and rCBF in each Regions of interest (ROIs)Study 2: Cognitive function and the activities of daily living (ADL) Results: Study 1: CBF in whole brain were increased from 38.2 ± 3.0 mL/100 mg/min to 40.5 ± 3.1 mL/100 mg/min ( P = 0.007). rCBFs in bilateral temporal lobes, area Broca, and lt. thalamus were also increased significantly ( P < 0.05).Study 2: After the trial, cognitive function as assessed by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) significantly improved from 13.5 ± 8.5 to 16.3 ± 7.7 (mean ± SD, P < 0.01, -4.1 < 95% C.I. < -1.4) in the BDW group. The ADL score in the Barthel index also significantly went from 61.8 ± 34.6 to 78.9 ± 21.1 ( P < 0.01, -26.2 < 95% C.I. < -7.9). Eight weeks after the end of the administration, both MMSE and Barthel index score of the BDW group declined to the baseline level. Conclusions:Our results argue the benefits of BDW in the treatment of dementia.