Intervention
ASX 12 mg/day (2 × 6 mg capsules; Astareal, Tokyo, Japan) was orally given to the participants in the treatment (ASX) group for 60 days. In the placebo group, the patients received 2 capsules containing edible paraffin every day for 8 weeks with the same appearance as ASX. The capsules were simultaneously produced by a similar company. According to a former study, the ASX dose was selected as 12 mg orally per day