Maintaining Weight and Nutritional Status with Ninjin’yoeito in Elderly Patients with Chronic Wasting Diseases

OBJECTIVES: This retrospective study aimed to obtain information on the nutritional maintenance effects of Ninjin’yoeito (NYT) in elderly patients with chronic wasting diseases. METHODS: Changes in body weight and serum levels of total protein and albumin were investigated in patients who received NYT for chronic wasting diseases for more than six months in Mito Medical Centre, University of Tsukuba-Mito Kyodo General Hospital, Mito, Japan, from April 2009 to October 2019. RESULTS: During the study period, 11 patients (median age: 75 years) received NYT for six months or more. The median administration period of NYT was 14 months. The body weight and serum levels of total protein and albumin at the time of the last observation were not significantly different from those at the beginning of NYT administration (P = 0.176, P = 0.766 and P = 0.550, respectively). CONCLUSION: This study suggested the possibility of maintaining nutritional condition by administering NYT in elderly patients with chronic wasting disease of various aetiologies. More evidence will be required to confirm these results.