난치성 질환인 다발성 뇌신경계 위축증으로 진단받은 환자를 신음허, 비기허, 중풍으로 변증하고 한약 치료, 침구 치료 및 재활 치료를 시행한 결과 근력 및 연하기능이 호전된 경과를 관찰하였기에 보고하는 바이다. 향후 다발성 뇌신경계 위축증에 대한 한방치료 효과를 증명하기 위해 추가적인 증례 보고와 다양한 실험 및 임상연구가 필요할 것으로 사료된다.
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is an idiopathic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Up to now, treatment of MSA patients had not been reported in Oriental medicine and only rarely reported in Western medicine. We experienced a 75-year-old female diagnosed with MSA and had quadriparesis with dysphagia. She was admitted to the hospital and received herbal medication, acupuncture, moxibustion and rehabilitation therapy. After 2 months, her motor power and swallowing function on video fluoroscopic swallowing test significantly improved. This report shows that Oriental medicine may play a role in the treatment of MSA, and further study is merited.