An Interview with Dr. Koh Iwasaki
OBM Geriatrics Editorial Office
LIDSEN Publishing Inc., 2000 Auburn Drive, One Chagrin Highlands, Suite 200, Beachwood, OH, USA
Received: July 01, 2022 | Accepted: July 01, 2022 | Published: July 03, 2022
OBM Geriatrics 2022, Volume 6, Issue 3, doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.2203201
Recommended citation: OBM Geriatrics Editorial Office. An Interview with Dr. Koh Iwasaki. OBM Geriatrics 2022; 6(3): 201; doi:10.21926/obm.geriatr.2203201.
© 2022 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.
Dr. Koh Iwasaki
1. Could You Please Tell Us Your Scientific Background?
M.D., Ph.D. from Tohoku University, Japan.
2. Can You Share Your Career Development Story Briefly? For Example, What Cases Have Influenced You the Most?
When I was a medical school student, I got a chronic headache. NSAIDs were not effective. I visited a doctor who knew Kampo (Traditional Japanese Medicine) and he treated me with Kampo medicines. And my headache became much better. It is the first time I experienced Kampo and TCM.
When I entered the post graduate school of medicine at Tohoku university, the professor ordered me to find TCM improves aspiration pneumonia. I found that Banxia Houpu Tang (半夏厚朴湯)improved swallowing reflex [1].
And finally I proved that the TCM reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia [2].
The work about 半夏厚朴湯 is one of my original works.
3. Is There a Book You’ve Read that You'd Recommend Universally (i.e., to Everyone You Meet)?
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黄帝内经 (English edition https://www.amazon.com/ 黄帝内经 (英文版)-罗希文/dp/B00368BG42).
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本草纲目(English edition https://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Chinese-Materia-Medica-Classics-ebook/dp/B07K2R2F7H/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2RTFXPT4BDK4J&keywords=本草纲目+English&qid=1654221663&sprefix=本草纲目)+english%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-2).
4. What is Your Main Research Area? What Got You Interested in Scientific Research in the First Place?
Geriatrics and TCM. Applying TCM for Geriatrics.
5. Where are Your Sources of Information? Where Do You Get Your Latest News about Geriatrics Research? Where Do You Take Inspiration From?
Daily practice.
6. What Is Your Long-Term Research Goal?
Applying TCM for Geriatric syndrome and frailty.
7. What Are the Recent Research Trends that You, as a Scholar, Would Suggest OBM Geriatrics to Observe and to Follow in the Coming Years?
Jia Wei Gui Pi Tang (Kamikihito, Kamiguibitang, 加味帰脾湯) for dementia.
8. Do You Have Any Suggestions or Recommendations for Young Scientists, for Instance, Your Students and Young Collaborators?
When I started my study applying TCM for geriatrics, 30 years ago, TCM was considered somewhat as a magic. Everyone refused to deal with me. But now, TCM has more than 100,000 English papers. If someone scoff you, never give up.
9. What Do You Think of the Future of OBM Geriatrics, an Open-Access Journal?
First of all, please get the position on PubMed again.
References
- Iwasaki K, Wang Q, Nakagawa T, Suzuki T, Sasaki H. The traditional Chinese medicine banxia houpo tang improves swallowing reflex. Phytomedicine. 1999; 6: 103-106. [CrossRef]
- Iwasaki K, Kato S, Monma Y, Niu K, Ohrui T, Okitsu R, et al. A pilot study of banxia houpu tang, a traditional Chinese medicine, for reducing pneumonia risk in older adults with dementia. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007; 55: 2035-2040. [CrossRef]