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Affiliation |
Graduate School of Medicine Doctorial Course in Medicine Bioregulatory Medicine Department of General Medical Practice and Laboratory Diagnostic Medicine |
SAGA Akiko
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Graduating School 【 display / non-display 】
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1994.04-2000.03
Akita University Faculty of Medicine Graduated
Graduate School 【 display / non-display 】
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-2007.03
Tohoku University Graduate School, Division of Medicine Doctor's Course Completed
Campus Career 【 display / non-display 】
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2022.04-Now
Akita University Graduate School of Medicine Doctorial Course in Medicine Bioregulatory Medicine Department of General Medical Practice and Laboratory Diagnostic Medicine Assistant Professor
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2021.02-2022.03
Akita University Hospital General Physician Center Specially-appointed Assistant Professor
Research Achievements 【 display / non-display 】
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Hasegawa Ryo, Hizuka Keinosuke, Saga Akiko, Hikichi Haruka, Moritoki Yuki, Ueki Shigeharu
Internal Medicine ( 一般社団法人 日本内科学会 ) advpub ( 0 ) 2026
<p>Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a rare systemic vasculitis characterized by asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, eosinophil-driven tissue inflammation, and necrotizing small- to medium-sized vessel vasculitis. Myeloperoxidase - Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (MPO-ANCA) is detectable in approximately 30%-40% of patients, and ANCA-positive and ANCA-negative diseases exhibit distinct yet overlapping clinical patterns. Type 2 immune responses are predominant, with interleukin-5 (IL-5) driving eosinophil differentiation and survival, and IL-4 and IL-13 promoting eosinophil recruitment and IgE-associated pathways. Activated eosinophils contribute to tissue injury through degranulation and eosinophil extracellular trap formation (EETosis). Glucocorticoids remain the foundation of therapy, but they are often insufficient to achieve a sustained remission as monotherapy. Conventional immunosuppressants are used for severe disease, and B-cell-targeted therapy may be considered for selected vasculitic presentations. Biological agents targeting the IL-5/IL-5 receptor axis have been shown to prolong remission, reduced relapse risk, and enabled glucocorticoid sparing. However, some patients remain symptomatic, and reliable biomarkers to guide individualized therapy are lacking. Ongoing research focuses on biomarker panels and cell-free DNA to clarify the role of EETosis and define molecular endotypes to support precision-medicine approaches. </p>
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Irie Yasuhito, Nakae Hajime, Saga Akiko, Hikichi Haruka, Watanabe Ken, Satoh Kasumi, Kitamura Toshiharu, Ueki Shigeharu
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL GENERAL MEDICINE ( 一般社団法人 日本病院総合診療医学会 ) 4 ( 3 ) 148 - 152 2022.05
[Case] A 28-year-old man presented with fatigue, headache, bilateral shoulder pain, chills, and diarrhea. Although he was healthy, his symptoms appeared on the day after vaccination with his second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He visited our outpatient clinic for Kampo medicine treatment on day 10. Based on the clinical course, the patient was considered to have vaccine- induced side effects, and keishito was prescribed according to the Eastern medicine findings. On day 13, his sweating disappeared, and headache and chills showed improvement;however, shoulder pain and fatigue persisted. On day 27, purple spots on the tongue were considered blood stasis, so the patient was prescribed tsudosan, which improved his shoulder pain. On day 52, the numeric rating scale score was 1 point, indicating a trend toward improvement. [Discussion] Side effects are typically common following vaccination as the body is building immunity to antigens;however, they usually subside within a few days. Western medicine alone cannot maintain the quality of life of patients experiencing prolonged symptoms. [Conclusions] Kampo medicine can be used to develop complementary medical treatments, even in clinical areas where evidence is yet to be accumulated.