Red yeast rice problem: Doctor who examined “Patient has Fanconi syndrome”

We examined a patient in Ehime Prefecture who was complaining of health problems after consuming Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's ``Red Yeast'' due to an issue in which people developed kidney disease after consuming this health food. The doctor gave an interview to NHK. The patient was diagnosed with ``Fanconi syndrome'', which causes symptoms such as muscle weakness and decreased kidney function.

The interviewee was Dr. Kenichi Miyoshi, a nephrologist at Ehime University Hospital.

According to Dr. Miyoshi, at the end of January this year, a woman in her 60s in Ehime Prefecture came to see a doctor through her family doctor complaining of fatigue, muscle pain, loss of appetite, and taste disturbance.

A blood test revealed that his kidney function had deteriorated significantly, with values ​​indicating kidney function dropping to about one-fourth of normal values.

Afterwards, he was admitted to the hospital and underwent detailed tests, which revealed that he had ``Fanconi syndrome,'' a condition in which the kidney function, which reabsorbs necessary nutrients from urine in the renal tubules, deteriorates, causing muscle weakness and fatigue. is.

The woman did not have any chronic illnesses, including kidney disease, and had been taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Red Yeast Choleste Help.

The woman, who originally had high blood pressure, started taking the drug last September in hopes of lowering her cholesterol levels, and when she took it almost every day until mid-January this year, she started experiencing symptoms such as fatigue and muscle pain. That is to say.

After that, she stopped taking it, and although her symptoms disappeared and her kidney function values ​​are showing signs of recovery, they are still at about half of normal values, so she is currently being monitored at the hospital. It means that it is.

Dr. Miyoshi said, ``I felt strange as to why she developed Fanconi syndrome, even though she had no chronic illness or genetics.'' Although we do not know the causal relationship between health foods and the symptoms, if the woman continued to consume them, artificial dialysis would be necessary. There was a risk that it would get worse to the point where it was needed, and in the worst case scenario, it could be life-threatening.Even people who used to take it but have now stopped taking it had symptoms such as muscle pain and difficulty exerting strength. I want you to seek medical attention immediately."