Apathy and fatigue in autistic spectrum disorder improved by Japanese herbal medicine: TSUMURA Ninjin'yoeito extract

摘要

THE JAPANESE HERBAL medicine Ninjin'yoeito (NYT) improves fatigue, loss of appetite, and anemia.1"3 Here we report its efficacy for fatigue and apathy in four cases of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). All patients provided informed consent and their anonymity has been preserved.A 46-year-old man with depression and ASD according to the DSM-5, the Pervasive Developmental Disorders Autism Society Japan Rating Scale (PARS), and the Autistic Questionnaire (AQ) took 6 mg/day aripiprazole at the start of treatment, which reduced depressive symptoms, but left fatigue and apathy unresolved for 6 months and longer. A few days after adding 27 g/day NYT, he was able to begin activities without affective changes.