日志
Chinese Medicine - A Promising Therapeutic Approach
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This article aims at helping people to understand Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by introducing its philosophy, medicinal materials, therapeutic mechanism and the achievements of modern studies on the bio-active ingredients, pharmacological effects of natural medicinals that used in TCM, so that people can willingly accept and enjoy this promising therapeutic approach for self-help in diseases treating and health keeping by private affordable OTC tablets Chinese medicinals, thus, live a happier life with lesser economic burden on health care by getting rid of fully relying on the expensive hospitals and synthetic medications, at the same time, to unload overloaded healthcare system, thereby reduce the pressure on government.
We
can develop new natural medicinal additives as daily diet to regulate human
body keeping in optimal healthy state, thereby reduce the occurrence of sicknesses,
as well, the increase in demand of natural medicinal resources will promote the
development of related industries in herbs’ planting and processing with the creation
of employment and revenue.
Important Note, since the writing of this article has
been lasting over 10 years, and the references used in article were mostly from
online, now, most of the original links have lapsed and it is no longer
possible to give the sources of the references.
Indeed,
this is not an academic article, but just the collection by editing the research results of others, with the hope to attract the
attention of people on Chinese medicine, thereby make such an important
cultural heritage of human civilization contribute to the improvement of human
health as a solution for countering the harm of over commercialization.
I would like to say sorry for my poor wording in English.
Contents
My understanding
about Chinese medicine
The barriers for the
popularization of Chinese medicine
3.1. Traditional
Chinese Medicine3.1.1. The origin of
TCM, MCM and CM
3.1.3. The holistic
view of life of TCM
3.1.6. The difference
of TCM & WM
3.1.7. Example of
doctors’ work manner of TCM and WM
3.1.10. Chinese Drug
& Compound Prescriptio3.2. Modern Chinese
Medicine
3.3.1. Effective
evaluation of acupuncture
3.3.2. Meridian & Chinese medicines
4. Some application studies in natural medicinals
4.1. Phytomedicine
Research in Germany
4.2. Multi-Factorial
Cognitive Disorders
7. Drug
Mates
8. The treatment of some chronic diseases by Traditional
Chinese Medicine
8.1…Natural Medicine based on the theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine
8.2…The mental disorders are caused by brain atrophy
8.3…A psychotic with 10 years in illness cured by
Chinese medicines
8.3.1…The symptoms before and after treatment
8.3.2…The therapeutic mechanism analysis
8.3.3…My
confidence to help more psychotics
8.4…To
rescue depression by Traditional Chinese Medicine
8.4.1…The harsh reality that Canada is suffering in diseases of
depression
8.4.2…The magic effect of Chinese Medicine on
depression
8.5…To
cure Dementia by Traditional Chinese Medicine
8.6…Chinese Medicine Improve Sleep
8.7…Chinese Medicine can boost immune system
8.8…Chinese Medicine can Reduce Stress
8.9…Chinese Medicine and Heart Disease
8.10…Chinese Medicine can promote Wound Healing
8.11…Chinese Medicine treats on A H1N1 Flu 2009
8.12…No
death of SARS treated by Chinese Medicine
8.13…Chinese medicine can cure AIDS
8.14…Chinese medicine can cure cancer
8.15…Chinese medicine is effective in anti-aging
8.16…Chinese Medicine can improve kidney function
8.17…Chinese Medicine can improve Sexual Function
8.18…Chinese Medicine for Improving the Metabolism
8.19…Chinese medicine can promote recovery after operation
The dilemma in health care triggered the rise of Chinese medicine
Taoism that is a philosophy similar to Holism. Daoism (in Mandarin phonetic pronunciation or Taoism in Cantonese pronunciation) that is a Philosophy similar to Holism.
Daoism is symbolized by the Tai-Ji Diagram as following, in which the black fish represents the Yin, but its eyes are white that means yang, white fish represents Yang, but its eyes are black that means Yin. The outermost circle is called as Taiji or Wuji, which indicates that every thing universally is metaplasia from vitality and movement in cycling endlessly.
Photo
source: http://www.prayercast.com/daoism.html
The
whole symbol means that Yin can’t leave Yang, and Yang can’t leave Yin. They
are opposites of each other with contradiction and also reunification. Each is
understood to be an integral part of the others with coexistence that can’t exist
separately. The main task of Dao is to make Yin and Yang keep in the state of
harmonious balance.
Daoism dialectically views everything
is in the unity of opposites universally and the
universe is a system of the unity of opposites, which is composed of many
components - subsystem with own feature of unity of opposites. The components
are all in the state of dynamic balance through continuous self-regulation.
This primitive philosophical view generated thousands of years
ago is well coinciding with the modern science and nature world. For example：
In micro perspective, as small as atom, extranuclear electrons
cloud with the nucleus are both in the state of attraction and repulsion, the
electronics rotating around the nucleus in dynamic equilibrium. They are
in the state unity of opposites. Atoms are the components to compose of natural
materials.
In macro perspective, the planets with the sun in solar system,
and the solar system with other galaxies are all in the continuously
rotating in the state of self-regulation by attraction and repulsion of each
other. They are also in the state of dynamic equilibrium of unity of opposites.
Daoism views human life as one of such a component of unity of
opposites universally. It embodies that human body itself, human and
nature, human and society, human and spirit is all unified whole with
interacting each other.
Daoism
is contrary with Reductionism and consistent with systems biology.
Suppose that Reductionism focuses on a specific grass on the Himalayas, and
then the Daoism is not only focusing on the entire grass, but also concerning
those would affect the growth of grass, such as, destructive pests, the
greenhouse effect and the reduction of glacier cover, etc.
TCM
is an empirical medicine that based on thousands-years continuous written
records without the concepts and terms of modern anatomy and biology, but uses
the concepts and terms of the holistic philosophy – Daoism with viewing our
body as the organic whole with all parts are interconnected and in mutual
influenced; a well-balanced body can fight against any disease.
A well-balanced human bodies will form an
effective self-defence system that can handle the most of pathogenic agents. The
diseases could happen only if there are some unbalanced parts in a human body.
Therefore,
the treatments of Chinese medicine do not directly target on killing pathogens but target
on bring back the natural balance. It achieves the
purpose by natural therapeutic approaches, such as, natural drugs, acupuncture
and physical exercises, etc. In nature it is in improving appetite,
sleep, immunity, nutrition supply, blood circulation, cerebral blood supply,
and so on; which have achieved powerful therapeutic effect for incurable
degenerative disease, while western medicine has showed helpless due to they
are no pathogens for killing.
Under
the guidance of holistic philosophy Daoism, TCM has developed many natural
therapeutic methods, and identified about 11,146 plants, 1581 animals
and 80 minerals as medicinal use and developed nearly 100 thousands of
experience-based formulas, which covering almost all known diseases, through
long time trial and error clinically.
So,
now we learnt that calls Chinese medicine as herbal medicine was not exactly correct.
Modern
biochemical and pharmacological researches proved that Chinese medicine is
sorted scientifically according to the therapeutic effect. For example, those
are sorted as enhancing digestion are rich in Ca, Zn and Fe, and those as
enhancing male sexual ability are rich in Mn and Cu.
The
natural medicinal materials used in TCM have bioactive constituents with the
therapeutic effect that is similar to that of synthetic ones in killing the
pathogenic agents directly and the nutritional effect that is similar to that
of orthomolecular
medicine.
Some
of Chinese medicines can improve human immunity, such as, boosting the weight
gains of immune organs, increasing the number and activity of the phagocytes,
NK cells and so on.
Therefore,
in subjective viewing, the treatment of TCM is to regulate the physical
balance, but in objective practice, the process of the regulations were in
improving immune function, and thereby kills pathogens by strengthened defense
system.
More
valuable, Chinese medicine emphasizing that psychological factors play decisive
role in affecting human health with a long practice that treatment is seven
tenth in promoting psychological rehabilitation, only three tenth in
medication. Its correctness proved by modern
double-blinded-placebo cured rate 50-60% and many self-recovered incurable
cases.
1..
The people
who live in a normal life after damaged-half-brain was fully removed, MRI
scan found that some areas on remained brain has developed as the function of
disappeared brain.
2..
A British
stroke man who has been 'left to die” by doctors, but himself stood up in 6
months through moving bodies by will, which started from a big toe, then other
areas of body.
3.. The transplanted-cancer of rats disappeared or shrunk by group socially activities with large group of 25 in a larger room, but, has no changes for those rats were in small group of 5.
4.. A 10 years old British girl Kirsty Collier's heart grew back after a third was removed when she was in 4 months old.
Chinese
medicine can magnify the effect of psychotherapy by regulating physical
balance.
The
philosophy of Western medicine is the Reductionism that regards human body as
assembly of inanimate parts, the treatment is to find and kill pathogens, which
led it less effective for degenerative diseases. It is also increasingly
ineffective for infectious diseases, due to quick mutation of the virus, which
triggered the rise of TCM.
In
medicine field, the emergence of systems biology and evidence-based medicine
shows that medical philosophy has been quietly updating from Reductionism
towards Holism by gradually increasing the holistic ingredients.
Here,
the Chinese medicine is referring to those natural medicinal materials based on
modern studies according to TCM.
Recent
years, researchers globally, especially in China, have made great many
achievements in bioactive substances and their pharmacological effects on
natural Chinese medicine by modern
bio-technologies, instruments and methods as that of used in Western Medicine
from the level of molecular, protein and gene; and also, the
therapeutic mechanism of many ancestral experienced formulas were revealed.
The
findings on natural Chinese medicine were mostly published on medical journals.
Besides reading in Libraries, I also bought some books in compilation of research results,
subscribed to some journals, and selectively copied many articles in self
expense to be bound as books.
In
follow photos, the photo 1 and 2 one was some of the books and the photo 3 and
4 was the bound book and the example of one of copied pages from medical journals.
Photo1.
Photo2.
The
book name in photo 1 was The Pharmacology and Clinical Application of Chinese
Medicine; the size of paper was in B5 with 752 pages, only Issued 3,000 copies
in 1999. It was the collections of the results of modern studies on
pharmacology and clinical application on 1070 of natural Chinese medicine by
using modern biotechnologies of Western medicine.
The
book name in photo 2 was The Trace Chemical Elements and Chinese Medicine; the
size of paper was in B5 with 483 pages, only issued 6,000 copies in 1993. It
was the collections of the results of modern studies on the Trace Chemical
Elements in natural Chinese Medicine.
As
minerals, the Chemical Elements was a significant part of Orthomolecular
medicine (OM)
that was coined by two times Nobel Laureate, Dr. Linus Paulin who was enlightened from the
successful practice of Canadian doctors cured mental
illness by megadose Vitamin B3, later,
I will discuss this issue further.
Modern
studies have found that chemical elements have an optimal range in the human
body. When an element is lower than this range, the diseases in elemental
deficiency will occur, which proved the correctness of the Orthomolecular
medicine. Natural
Chinese medicine is rich in chemical elements that are essential for human health,
which have very high clinical value for trace element deficiency.
In
compared with synthetic ones, the chemical elements in Chinese medicine have
the advantage of easy for absorption, less potential risks, such as oxidation,
deterioration and so on.
As
mentioned above, long time ago, Chinese medicine has identified about 80
minerals as medicinal use. Modern studies also revealed their pharmacological
effects, such as, the natural Chinese medicines that promote digestion are rich
in calcium, zinc, and iron, and those that promote sexual function, precocious
puberty and also promote height growth are rich in manganese and copper.
Now
the two books have been published for about two decades; in this period, the
achievements of new findings on natural Chinese medicine would be able to be
collected as new books in similar volume.
In
following, the photo 3 was a book that I selectively copied from various
periodicals of new studies on Chinese medicine in self expense, and photo 4 was
an example of one of copied pages. From cost concerning, the copied one was
more expensive.
Photo3.
Photo4.
In
above pictures, the horseshoe alarm clock was intended as reference of
size-scale, so that the reader can easily feel the size of the book. The
horseshoe alarm clock was bought in Canada. When I was a child in 50 years ago,
in my home China, there was such a clock in the same structure and same size
but in different color, the old one was paint coated, and this one was made
shiny in stainless steel. I think that the horseshoe alarm clock would resonate
to great many readers with the old day of the life.
I
take those books and copies as valuable treasure. In the past years, I have
them with me. In this period, I once several times moved home, even when
immigrating to Canada, the entire family property has to be compressed into a
few suitcases and weighed accurate to grams, in those process, I have to throw
away a lot of favorite books, however, I never consider to discard the books in
natural Chinese medicine.
The
findings in pharmacological effects of Chinese medicine involving a wide range:
1. Boosting digestion.
2. Promoting sleep.
3. Balance-regulating endocrine.
4. Bidirectional regulating hormones.
5. Bidirectional regulating blood, which
can promote blood circulation and can also stop bleeding.
6. Bidirectional regulating central
nervous system from over-suppressed or over-excited.
7. Boosting the weight gains of immune
organs.
8. Increasing the number and activity of the Natural Killer cells.
9. Boosting the regeneration of cells.
10. Improving the health condition of cardiovascular
system and cerebrovascular system.
11. Dilating on blood vessels to increases
blood supply for heart and brain.
12. Improving the intima of blood
vessel and stomach.
13. Boosting the healing of wound.
14. Improve cognitive ability and
memory.
15. Treats dementia and Alzheimer's
disease.
16. Treats schizophrenia and
depression, and much more.
……
More
pleasing is that in China, with modern technologies, those experience-based
formulas have updated and used to produce great many OCT tablets and injections
by extracts, and labeled with the instructions of the sort of treated-diseases,
precautions and dosage. They are available in Chinese pharmacies
worldwide.
The
biggest advantages of traditional Chinese medicine are its efficacy, fewer side
effects, never produces drug resistance due to multiple components on multiple
targets in one dose. Moreover, OTC tablets are easy to use at home and inexpensive
affordable privately.
The
results of modern studies and OTC tablets medicines will help us easy
medicinal-selection for treating certain diseases according to the
pharmaceutical functions.
The
achievements in the modern studies on natural Chinese medicine have laid
profound foundation for the popularization of the public application of natural
Chinese medicine.
There were tablets OTC medicine reserved in my home as handy for use according to the descriptions on the labels.
I have met many times, in the pharmacy of Chinese medicine Toronto, there were some natural Chinese medicinals out of stock, and the clerk said that all were bought by local whites in one-time.
Obviously,
the fact shows that local patients in cardiovascular or cerebrovascular have
already experienced the good medical effects of this medicine. Compared with
western synthetic one, it is highly effective with no side effects and cheaper.
The
fact also shows that local patients are easily accepting Chinese medicine.
Indeed,
more meaningful is that clinical practices have shown that many degenerative chronic
diseases can be treated easily by the combo of OTC tablets without side effects,
such as, the depression, psychotic, Alzheimer's disease and so on, which are without
pathogenic sources, which Western medicine has been in less effect.
In
such a concern, in May 9, 2017 – July 18, 2017, I once searched information and
wrote article Chinese Medicine
can cure Schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.
Here,
my experiences are worth to mention.
In
China, the hospitals are mostly integrated by Western Medicine and Chinese
medicine, the patients can choose any one as personal will, but, the doctors in
Chinese medicine were all addicted in the experiences according to traditional theories
of TCM, with ignoring modern research on pharmacology of Chinese medicine.
When
I working in a research institute China, my colleagues and their families, if
the treatment were not effective in the hospital, they would seek the help from
me, I prepare medicinal combo by the OTC tablets of natural Chinese medicine according
to the results of modern pharmacological researches in buckshee, with amazing
curative results.
Later,
they introduced the medicinal combo to their relatives and friends, and asked
me to collect some cost fees; otherwise, they would refuse to accept anymore.
Since then, for the cost on buying medical books, I did not have to apply from
my wife; and also, I could order more medical journals.
Before I left China to Canada, I gave a lot of medical
journals of natural Chinese medicine to a friend who was a clinician in Western medicine. He used the methods and prescriptions that described in
the journals to treat patients and the effcets were wonderful.
Some of his unique usage were without research reports, I am
also worried about the safety of his medication; he explained that he treats
patients by two kind of injections in same time with a tee-type drop tube
seperately instead of mixing them in advance, it was effective without any
adverse reactions.
In Canada, I once cured a young man who was 10 years in psychotic by OCT tablets Chinese
medicine, only in weeks, his abnormal emotion was recovered as normal. The
amazing therapeutic effect shocked me also. See section A
psychotic with 10 years in illness cured by Chinese medicines.
The
successful practice in helping people made me experienced with firm confidence
in flexibly using Chinese medicine to treat a variety of diseases. The key lies
in the compound medication, which was the good use of synergistic effect by
putting a variety of medicines at same time.
This
article is not a professional writing but only for a popularity of therapeutic
approach in more curative effect, less negative effect, in handy and easy for
use, in cheaper and private-affordable for the people who have less income for
health care.
In this article, the data is limited,
and the readability in English wording is even more inadequate. Here, what I said
is not important; the important is in the limelight to attract people's
attention for willingly enjoying Chinese medicine.
The barriers for the popularization of Chinese medicine
China has only 0.3% of patent rights, while Japan and South Korea occupy more than 70%.
Eighthly, is from people’s stubborn superstitious thinking
People are used to old-fashioned conservative habit under superstitious thinking by misunderstanding on scientific. There replies followed my comment was a good example for understanding the ideological resistance.
Mar. 5, 2018, on facebook, there was an article UW student dies by suicide at student residence reported that a student of University of Waterloo died by suicide when he jumped from a 12th floor student residence building. Follow was my comment and the replies followed my comment.
Frank Li: Chinese medicine can reduce the suicide of sufferer with depression.
Rich Reist: Any type of therapy can help but science based medications are more reliable than untested herbs and that sort of thing.
Also there was rational reply.
Lara Kristina: Rich Reist many "science based" antidepressants actually cause suicidal thoughts. They are a huge part of a very complex problem.
From the dialogue above, we can understand that people’s superstition in science is ingrained and difficult to remove. Most people cannot understand that only practical results can prove the good or bad of the things, rather than the dogma.
Ninthly, is that ignoramus dogmatists are always in dominating
Maybe, it was distressed feeling from such confusion and frustration, years ago I once wrote article To Make Possible from Impossible by Breaking the Shackles of Dogmatic, in which I shared similar distressed feeling of John Maynard Keynes in his article The end of laissez-faire 1926.
“The compelling force of many of the original reasons has disappeared but, as usual, the vitality of the conclusions outlasts them.” “The average man averts his attention from the problem, and has no clear idea what he really thinks and feels about the whole confounded matter.” “Confusion of thought and feeling leads to confusion of speech.”
John Maynard Keynes was a British economist whose ideas in dominating modern economy as economic policies of all of governments except Germany, such as, monetary easing, 2% inflation, government investments and so on.
Today, here, you may agree that the progress of human civilization is the process of battle with ideological confusion, and it was the process of battle in between the knowledgeable pragmatist and ignoramus dogmatist. It is same in the population of TCM.
In my view, above nine problems were the main barriers in hindering the clinical application of natural Chinese medicine.
The solution for the problems depends on the liberation in the thoughts with the updating in the way of thinking.
The solution for the problems depends on the liberation in the thoughts with the updating in the way of thinking.
Luckily,
in Canada, beside the legislation in treat Chinese medicine as OTC as supplements,
the ordinary citizen are also gradually realized the therapeutic effects of
Chinese medicine and use it willingly in private expending. Such as, many
times, I want to buy some OTC tablets Chinese medicine in the pharmacy of
Chinese medicine Toronto, but, the answer was that the medicine has been bought
all by local white people.
In
China, the promotion of the use of natural Chinese medicine is going on a
rational way from the level of getting rid of dogma under the conduct of the
government.
Apr.
4, 2007, the International Journal of Science - Nature online published China
plans to modernize traditional medicine to have reported that, China has announced an ambitious
attempt to bring the ancient practice of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
into line with modern standards. The government says it will expand basic and
clinical research, and improve the testing and developing of TCM remedies for
export. The project is backed by 16 Chinese ministries, spearheaded by the
Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health and the State
Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and earmarked $130 US million.
In October 2017, there was report that traditional
Chinese medicines may no longer be required to pass safety and efficacy trials
in humans clinically. The China Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) suggested traditional medicines can skip such costly and time-consuming
trials as long as
manufacturers prepare ingredients using essentially the same method as in
classic Chinese formulations. The FDA and the State Administration of
Traditional Chinese Medicine of China will compose a list of the approved
methods.
The
rational promotion with powerful Gov-leading and -funding will be largely promoting
the population of Chinese medicine.
In
addition, the practice of China’s government has big limitation with some kind
of irrational – “as long as manufacturers prepare ingredients using essentially
the same method as in classic Chinese formulations.”
In
fact, those “classic Chinese formulations” were not clear in bioactive ingredients,
especially in potential toxicity, though long use has proved they were
effective and safe. But, the right way, as my view, at least, they should be
combined by the review according to the results of modern studies on the bioactive
ingredients and their pharmacological effects, by which way updating classic
formulations, the therapeutic effect will be much powerful.
Here, as a proof, I have to point out that, the combo OTC
tablets Chinese medicine that I used to have cured a young man of 10 years in psychotic,
was not according to any “classic Chinese formulations”, but, according to the
physical condition of the psychotic young man, from the comprehensive physical adjustment
– basic metabolism, digestion, nutrition, sleep, immune, blood quality, vascular
health, and so on, especially, improve blood circulation with broken the
blood-brain barrier.
My
treatment was focused on the restoration of the physical condition, thereby,
restores abnormal secretion of the chemical to normal, rather than as that of synthetic
antipsychotic drugs in Western Medicine was simply focusing on the inhibiting
of chemical secretion with dead side effects.
1. General Introduction
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an accumulation of the experiences of medical practices in Far East China. Because it has initiated from primitive Era in thousands years ago, so there are no concepts and terms of modern anatomy and biology, its medical descriptions are using the terms and the principle of its philosophy - Daoism that is similar to the holism of western medicine. Therefore, for the people who were educated with modern science, it is difficult to understand and to have caused the sense of mystery even misunderstood as witch or sorcery.
Modern researches have unknowingly and indirectly proven that TCM is the best medical system world widely so far compared with that of existences, especially Western Medicine (WM).
This article is trying to use the
terms of WM to crack down the mystery through introducing the basic
principle of Daoism, therapeutic mechanism and the
modern researches of TCM. Thereby convince people to enjoy the ancient
civilization willingly. Thus, many incurable diseases will be curable and the
cost on the medications will lower down largely.
Although the social materials
wealth is increasing but the polarization between the rich and poor is increasing
too. There many people are struggling in the bottom of the modern society, hard
working every day but less ability to afford expensive medication,
well-equipped Hospitals are everywhere, but, they have no money to step in,
even no ability to enjoy the fruits of modern civilization they made. Although
the people do not have to worry about medical expenses in some rich welfare
countries, however, long time waiting for treatment has become a life threats.
The reality is urging us to serious consider the way out for dilemma in human
health care.
WM has been taking Reductionism as philosophical guidance,
it looks human body as an assembly of parts, and tries to study, diagnose and
treatment of the diseases through the isolated part by reducing human body as
micro as protein, gene and even peptides. Today we even can make life by
genetic technology in a tube. So public have been convinced that modern WM is
most advanced, most scientific and most reliable.
However, because human body is a
complex system that various organs are closely interconnected with
interdependent and interacting, there may be many unpredictable factors in
affecting the development of diseases, especially the psychological factors.
Many objective facts have proven that the medical route under the guidance of
Reductionism is not sustainable feasibly, for instance:
Nine years ago, we once cheered
for the completion of Human Genome Project with the happy of getting a
new powerful therapeutic approach. Many of us thought that we could uproot all
human diseases since then.
However, until now, it seems to
have no genetic therapies been applied in clinic safely and stably, because
there may be dozens even hundreds different gene-fragments in affecting the
development of one diseases. Therefore, those believed as most advanced, most
scientific, most reliable genetic therapies are only hopeful flowers that may
need long time, and more study to bear enjoyable fruits. I believed that, this
fruit can not mature forever, because it can not uproot the stress or
psychological pressure – the main inducement of the diseases.
On the other hand, there are no
suitable synthetic drugs for some diseases, such as, super bugs. Even those
existing drugs are not all safe; the side effects of some of them are becoming
new life-threats. More terrible is that the cost of medications is soaring up;
even some people take the medical activities as the tools to loot money in
contempt of life. It is just like the earthquake in Japan, coupled with the
Tsunami, which was not enough, followed by nuclear radiation.
It is very disappointed but is a
corollary under the misleading of Reductionism.
In as much Reductionism cannot
work well, we should introduce new philosophy into medical system. The hopeful
one is Holism – a philosophy that macro-views human body as whole, and
considers all the affecting factors, including psychology. However, “There Are
Two Sides to Everything.” Compared with Reductionism, Holism is too macro that
may induce to ignore the factors of micro. Therefore, the best way is to
combined use them to make up the disadvantages by the advantages of each
other’s, and avoid their disadvantages. Thereby we can get rid of the current
predicament in Western medicine. However, distant water cannot solve the
immediate thirsty. We need to find another way out.
There are many experience-based
therapies have been developed and accumulated in the populace’s daily life with
the advantages of effective, safe, cheaper, handy and easy to use. They are
good resources for developing alternative therapies. Among them, TCM is
outstanding.
TCM has been developing under the
guidance of Daoism - an ancient philosophy of China.
Daoism is contrary with Reductionism. It is similar with Holism and consistent with systems biology. Suppose that Reductionism
focuses on a specific grass on the Himalayas, and then the Daoism is not only
focusing on the entire grass, but also concerning those would affect the growth
of grass, such as, destructive pests, the greenhouse effect and the reduction
of glacier cover, etc.
Under the guidance of Daoism,
human life is being taken as one of such a component of unity of opposites. It
believes that human body is an organic whole that all components are closely
interacted. A well-balanced human
bodies will form an effective self-defence system that can handle the most of pathogenic
agents. The diseases could happen only if there are some unbalanced parts in a
human body. The treatments do not directly target to kill pathogenic but to
bring back the natural balance. It achieves the purpose by natural therapeutic
approaches, such as, natural drugs, acupuncture and physical exercises, etc.
Compared with Western medicine,
TCM was believed as most primitive, most unscientific, and most unreliable.
However, many modern researches have inadvertently proven the outstanding of
TCM. Its holistic perspective with emphasizing the decisive role of psychological
factors on the development of diseases is most rational and scientific. Such
as, Henry K. Beecher’s The Powerful Placebo (1955), George Engel’s Biopsychosocial model (1977), the crossing
disciplines research proved that Stress Causes
Everything (2008),
Ohio State University’s Socially active
environment can cause cancer tumors to shrink and even disappear (2010) and British Man with 'Locked-in'
syndrome makes amazing recovery by his will for survival (2010), etc. Those
findings clearly indicated that, for most diseases, negative psychological
plays inducement effect and positive psychological has therapeutic effect. On
this point, TCM is much admirable.In thousand years ago, TCM practitioners have found the similar fact
that diseases treatment is seven-tenths in psychotherapy and only three-tenths
in medication. Suppose we take theplacebo effect as a kind of psychotherapy,
then the proportion of seven-tenths in psychotherapy is close to the modern
scientific statistics from the double-blind clinical trials, which was “placebos are effective in 50 or 60
percent of subjects with certain conditions.” And “some researchers
maintain that
there is not adequate evidence from studies to prove that the new
(antipsychotic) drugs are more effective than placebos.”
The emergence of system biology is showing that Western
medicine is starting to step toward the Holistic way with enlarging the scope
of medical analysis. Essentially says, it was that Western medicine is from
philosophical root turning its heads toward the ancient holistic medical
approach of TCM after its hitting on the wall.
TCM has developed unique methods
in diseases diagnosis and treatment by natural ways, such as Pulse diagnosis,
Tongue diagnosis, Acupuncture, Massage, especially a large number choice of
natural drugs. According to the statistic of national investigation of mainland China in the
80's of 20th century, there are 11,146 plants, 1581 animals and 80 minerals as
medicinal using. The <Dictionary of Traditional Chinese
Medicine Prescription> selected nearly 100 thousands of
experience-based formulas from prescriptions of TCM since there are written
records in the history of China, which covering almost all known diseases.
Thanks the scientists of China, they have made many useful modern researches on
Chinese drugs by emulating the methods of western medicine, and to have had
those experience-based formulas updated and produced great many OCT drugs in
the forms of convenient for using. Such as, injections and sugar covered
tablets with the labels of providing treated-ranges, precautions and dosages.
The medicinal materials (natural
drugs) used in TCM are all from nature. Modern studies from the level of
molecular, protein and gene found those natural drugs containing a wide range
of bioactive constituents. Some of them have therapeutic effect that is similar
to that of synthetic ones in killing the pathogenic agents directly, and some
of them have nutritional effect that is similar to that of orthomolecular
medicine. For
ill-debilitated patients, nutrition is even more important than that of drugs.
I think that this is the unique advantages of natural drugs, and also it is the
unique advantages of TCM.
Modern researches revealed that
some of Chinese drugs can improve human immunity, such as, boosting the weight
gains of immune organs, increasing the number and activity of the phagocytes,
NK cells and so on. Therefore, in subjective viewing, TCM is to regulate the
physical balance, but in objective practicing, the process of the regulations
plays a role of improving the immune function, then the pathogenic agents to be
killed by enhanced immune system. Although, in TCM there are no concepts of
modern immunology, such as, immune organs or immune cells, the experience-based
formulas were never to have considered on immunity, however, some of
preparations by those formulas are playing the therapeutic role through
enhancing human immunity. More significant is that when the physical balance of
patient is restored, the most of uncomfortable symptoms of patient would be
largely improved, such as, poor appetite, angst and insomnia, patient would
feel much better not only in physical but also in psychological. Indeed, the
physical improvement also plays the role of psychotherapy. The recovery of the
diseases can certainly be accelerated.
The compound prescription is
unique therapeutic method of TCM, which is to put many different natural drugs
together as one dose. Studies have proved that drugs in compound using are able
to generate synergy effect of multiplying the positive effect of each other.
The findings revealed the mystery that preparations by experience-based
formulas of TCM are more effective on some specific diseases and provided clear
guidance for selecting effective natural drugs aiming on specific pathogenic.
This is the reason that, in my hand, Chinese natural drugs seem to have gained
magic in treating some thorny diseases, such as, Schizophrenia, fat liquefaction of
incision and
so on. Chinese drugs will be a powerful therapeutic approach on the diseases
both communicable and non-communicable, which not satisfied by the treatment of
synthetic drugs. Clearly, Chinese medicine is promising resource in developing
new therapeutic approaches both drugs and therapies. Also it has huge market
potential.
However, since that TCM is
accumulation of the experiences from medical practices started in thousands
years ago, there are no concepts and terms of modern anatomy and biology. The
medical descriptions of TCM are using the terms and the principle of its
philosophy - Daoism, such as, Yin & Yang, and cold & Hot. The diagnosis and the treatment
of diseases are from this philosophical perspective to regulate the balance of
the unity of opposites. It is very different with that of Western Medicine (WM)
that is only focusing on the specific ill organ or pathogenic. As the same way,
Chinese drugs are sorted and used to restore the physical balance of human body
rather than focusing on any ill organ or pathogenic. Therefore, it can not be
easily understood according to the way of WM.
Due to there is no corresponding
English words; it is difficult to directly translate TCM into English in
accordance with its original meaning accurately. In addition, TCM are based on
great many written records from different historical period spanning thousands
of years, many of those records wrote in Classical Chinese even in Oracle bone script, which is similar to that of
some thing written in Old English, they are not easy to be
understood. So that the unique philosophy and therapeutic efficacy of TCM was
not be well understood & applied as it should be.
Even so, I firmly believed that,
with my articles of <Viewing Human Life as Emotional Alive> together, the
medical vision of readers would unconsciously advance into a broader Holistic
scope from that of Reductionism. The advancement of the philosophical approach
would release huge medical potential that can help us to learn properly about
our life physically and psychologically, thereby to help more people living
healthier and happier by advancing the prevention and treatment of the
diseases.
The holistic view on human life
mainly embodied following areas:
Human beings self, people and
people, people and society, and people and nature is all in the state of unity
of opposites. They must maintain in harmonious balance, once occurs deviation,
people would fall into ill, between the people would conflict, the human
society would fall into disorder and the nature would punish humankind. Those
thoughts play a directing role in the diseases treatment.
1. Emphasis on the restoration of
physical balance
TCM believes that human body is
an organic whole that all components are closely interacted.A well-balanced human
bodies will form an effective self-defence system that can handle the most of pathogenic
agents. The diseases could happen only if there are some unbalanced parts in a
human body. The treatments do not directly target to kill pathogenics but to
bring back the natural balance. It achieves the purpose by natural therapeutic
approaches, such as, natural drugs, acupuncture and physical exercises, etc.
Jan. 12 2011, a report that H1N1 and other
seasonal influenza swept France and caused many deaths. According to the
experiences of China, if the treatment integrates with some Chinese drugs to
improve suffered symptoms of the patient holistically, the patients who fall
into critical would be largely reduced. There is a simple method for rescuing
critical patients. I will introduce it later.
Talking about the restoration of
physical balance, we must make clear the physiological effect of nutritional
ingredients in Chinese drugs.
A good example is Orthomolecular
medicine (OM).
It was coined by Linus Paulin who was enlightened from the successful
practice of Canadian doctors who cured mental illness
by megadose Vitamin B3 after read the paper of <The Vitamin B-3
Therapy: A Promising Treatment for Schizophrenia – and its high relevance to
the field of alcoholism> that wrote by Bill Wilson, in
December 1965, that was A communication to A.A.’s Physicians, not for public
quotation or use.
The copy was from:
Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health， CAMH
Library
33 Russell Street, 2nd floor， Toronto，ON，M5S 2S1
Information Desk: 416.535.8501
x6988
The cover is as follow. (A.A. - Alcoholics Anonymous).
The OM was originally intended to
treat the “mental disease by the provision of the optimal molecular environment
of the mind, especially the optimal concentrations of substances normally
present in the human body.” OM currently is called as diet supplements that
have developed many products, such as, Vitamins, minerals and so on.
Linus Paulin who published the <Nature of the chemical
bond> in
1939. Later he did many pioneering works in understanding the nature of life
from atomic structure, binding mode between atoms, nucleic acids and proteins.
Whether from chemical, biological, and medical, he has laid a solid theoretical
foundation.
Vitamin B-3 has wide range of
physiological improvement functions. Its therapeutic process for psychotic is
to restore damaged brain rather than as that of antipsychotic drugs control the
abnormal secretions in the brain. Naturally, OM treats the diseases in a
Holistic way.
Although, for decades, some
people have been eagerly trying to deny the curative effect of OM, however, the
physiological improvement function is coming clearer in both clinic and
academic. Now it gains extensively application world widely. Vitamin C was the
one of OM, which was Linus Pauling strongly recommended, also was strongly
opposed by others. following are some of new researches on Vitamin C.
1. <Vitamin C Saves Lives!> After Linus Pauling wrote
his book on vitamin C in 1970, mortality from heart disease decreased 30-40% in
the USA. From around 741,000 deaths per year to less than 500,000 deaths by
1986 - U. S. Bureau of National Health Statistics 1986.
2. <Vitamin C may be
useful to treat cancer after all>.
3. <Study shows vitamin
C's cancer-fighting properties>.
4. <Vitamin C beneficial
in cancer treatment – study>.
5. <How Vitamin C Stops
Cancer>.
In TCM, there are variety of
nutritional constituents that are far more than that of in OM, which come from
more than 10 thousands of plants, minerals and animals, such as, Ginseng,
Gypsum and Placenta. They are certainly playing a significant role in the
diseases treatment, but their unique contribution seems to have been ignored
both clinically and academically. The reason may come from the TCM itself
because that it never distinguishes the medicinal and nutritional, even without
the concepts and terms, they were generally called as medicine. In western
medicine, Chinese medicine generally called as alternative or diet supplements.
I think that there is necessary to make a definition, such as, those with the
effect of killing pathogenic agents should be called as medicinal, and those
without the effect of killing pathogenic directly but with the role of
physiological improvement should be called as nutritional, include those in
Western medicine. A clear concept with a exact term will not only help clear
describing, but also conducive to efficient thinking. The determination of a
definition is difficult that need to be discussed carefully because of the
ingredient of many single herbs is compound that contains both medicinal and
nutritional. Even if a single constituent also has a dual role, such as, some
peptide is nutritional but also an antibiotic. The nutritionals in Chinese
drugs is a promising medical potential to be an attractive research direction.
Acupuncture is a treatment method
based on Meridian. Modern researches showed that
it could stimulate the blood circulation in some certain area of body by
acupuncture on some specific acupoints to achieve the therapeutic effect.
Clinical practices show it work well on many diseases, such as, stroke, pain, etc.
There are many physical exercises
methods in TCM for enhancing physical strength. TheTaijiquan (Tai Chi Quan) is the one of them. Researches
show that it can improve human immune function and treatment of many diseases.
See articles: Benefits of Taijiquan
Strongly Supported by Science. Comprehensive therapeutic benefits of
Taiji: a critical review.
2. Emphasis on therapeutic effect
of psychological factor
Modern researches have proven
that human psychology acts as a double-edged sword that positive side can
promote health with curative effect; negative side can damage the health with
pathogenic effect. TCM has found the same fact in thousands years ago, and has
indicated that the process of the disease treatment is seven-tenths in
psychotherapy, only three-tenths in medication.
Such as, Henry K. Beecher’s The Powerful Placebo (1955), George Engel’s Biopsychosocial model (1977), the crossing
disciplines research that Stress Causes
Everything (2008),
Ohio State University’s Socially active
environment can cause cancer tumors to shrink and even disappear (2010) and British Man with 'Locked-in'
syndrome makes amazing recovery by his will for life (2010), etc.
1955, H. K. Beecher published
<The Powerful Placebo>." He indicated that there 35% of 1,082
patients were satisfactorily relieved by a placebo alone. “Other studies have since calculated the
placebo effect as being even greater than Beecher claimed. For example, studies
have shown that placebos are effective in 50 or 60 percent of subjects with certain conditions. It
is close to that estimation of seven-tenths in psychotherapy of TCM.
1977, George Engel coined Biopsychosocial model: “a general model or
approach that posits that biological, psychological (which entails thoughts,
emotions, and behaviors), and social factors, all play a significant role in
human functioning in the context of disease or illness. Indeed, health is best
understood in terms of a combination of biological, psychological, and social
factors rather than purely in biological terms.”
2008, a report that a research
crossing the disciplines of psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and genetics
revealed that “stress causes
deterioration in everything from your gums to yourheart and can make you more
susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer.” The results mean
that psychology plays a decisive role in diseases inducement.
2010, the scientists in Ohio State
University published <socially active
environment can cause cancer tumors to shrink and even disappear>.They found that there were 5%
cancer-infected mice’s tumors disappeared and 77% of them decreased the tumors’ volume by
43% only from living in an socially active environment for 3 weeks.
2010, a report that Mr.Graham who once paralyzed with Locked-in syndrome and
medical staff have left him to die, but he never gave up the desire for life
and firstly tried to move his toe by will and succeed in months later, then to
move the finger and then he has stood up again. Actually, it was that the
positive psychology cured the disease of Western medicine believed incurable.
If the idea of seven-tenths in
psychotherapy and three-tenths in medication can be universalized the diagnosis
and treatment of human diseases can be humanized greatly. More pleasant is that
the positive psychology can create by the positive activities of social and
physical. No doubt, it is a feasible self-help therapeutic approach with
broad-spectrum feature. It is a true panacea that can be produced when we
enjoying the life. It may be an only fair thing in the world, which can be
shared by all people, no matter who is poor or rich, old or young.
In China, some doctors will use
ingenious methods to adjust the patient's psychological state. For example, for
those patients who diagnosed as serious diseases, they would not tell the truth
to patient, but tell their families, thereby to avoid the psychological burden
for patients. However, in the eyes of Western doctors, this thoughtful manner
is cheating and immoral.
Chinese drugs can improve overall
physical strength of patients through improving appetite, sleep, and many other
uncomfortable conditions, so that the psychological state of patient will be
improved largely from the physiological root.
3．Emphasis on the disease
prevention
Huang Di Nei Jing a most important medical
book of TCM in two thousands years ago said that the highly skilled doctor
treats the diseases before its outbreak and indicated that medication after
disease’s outbreak is similar to dig the well when felt thirsty and to forge
the sword when the fighting has started, it is too late. This means that we should
rather focus on the diseases’ prevention than focus on the treatment. The idea
has a practical significance in modern society.
TCM has developed many physical
exercise methods for diseases prevention and treatment. Such as, Taijiquan
(Tai Chi Quan) mentioned above.
Above are only rough examples.
The Holistic view on human life in TCM is much comprehensive not only above
three points. I raised them here are intended to arouse public boldly to find
more effective natural therapeutic ways, just as that of ancient people of
China.
Although, the trend of medical
philosophical approach toward Holistic has been emerging in western medical
field, such as, the development of system biology, FDA has accepted the idea of
traditional Chinese medicine idea.[1] [2] in their drugs regulations,
and some super drug makers have dug into CM. However, there are much
improvement room for comprehending and applying the Holistic therapeutic
principle of TCM,
In the current process of study
and application of TCM, people are still trying to find the bioactive
ingredients and apply them in single constituent to treat diseases clinically
as doing with that of synthetic drugs. Essentially speaking, it is not get rid
of the leash of Reductionism.
No doubt, that treat the diseases
in purified constituent is a great progress by promoting the use of the natural
medicinals accurately and safely. However, if the bio-active constituents are
not being used in compound, it will lose the synergy effect, the therapeutic efficacy would
be largely reduced. More worse is that may lose the advantage of eliminating
the drugs’ negative effect from/by each other, there may be some side effects
occurred as same as that of synthetic one. Such as, Tamiflu is extracted from star anise – a
pure Chinese herb. It has showed serious
inverse effect clinically.
By emulating the methods of
Western medicine, scientists of China has done a lot of researches on Chinese
drugs, and achieved many promising results. Although the most of individual
study is one-sided, but when string those research results together, we would
pleasantly find that the medicinal constituent, nutritional constituent and therapeutic
effects of natural drugs are so extensive and effective. Even some single
natural drug has broad spectrum of pharmacological effects because it is a
compound of medicinal and nutritional. Later, you will share my feelings.
Evidence-based
medicine (EBM)
is a new trend developed in recent years. It “aims to apply the best
available evidence gained from the scientific method to clinical decision making.” Some people say that experience-based
medicine changes to the EBM are a profound revolution in clinical medicine of
twenty-first century, and will be an inevitable trend. Those medical researches
under the guidance of Reductionism, cells, proteins, genes and double-blind
clinical trials, have made many people believes that kind of researches are
real scientific and pure science, so the research results are reliable without
any reason to doubt. Driven by this kind of superstitions, some people have
begun to question the correctness of TCM, and said it is an experience-based
medicine to have outdated, even there were people repeated the same old tune of
appealing to abandon it in China recently.
In fact, TCM does not come from
the magic fantasy. besides its medical description with the terms and principle
of its Philosophy - Daoism, which are not easier to be
understood; many of other parts are from a lot of therapeutic experiences of
trial and error in long time massive clinical practice, which are similar to
that of Western medicine from scientific studies experimentally. Some of the
therapeutic experiences of TCM are reasonable and some may be not, which is
similar to that of some synthetic drugs are effective and some killed people
although they were all proven safe by so called scientific experiments and
supported by the scientific data from strict double-blind clinical trial. More
important is that those drugs are all to have approved by FDA. No one doubts
that FDA is one of the most trusted authorities on the drug’s regulations. Its
effective work has created a safer medical environment and increased the
confidence of people on medicines. However, in view of some of their approved
drugs have still killed people, we have reason to question that, are the FDA
dereliction of duty or is medical philosophy improper to have lead the problem
in medical methods?
Three-tenths in medication and
seven-tenths in psychotherapy were simply estimated result according to the
personal experience of ancient doctors of China. However, it is close to that
of the scientific data from modern clinical practices. Modern scientific
researches proved that those natural medicinal materials of TCM were sorted
obvious scientific by unscientific primitive methods of seeing the color,
smelling the smell, tonguing the tastes and clinical trials. For example, those
were sorted as enhancing digestion are rich in Ca, Zn and Fe. Those were sorted
as enhancing male sexual ability are rich in Mn and Cu. The therapeutic
experiences got by primitive tools and methods under the guidance of the right
philosophy are not worse, even better than that of got by expensive and
sophisticated modern equipments with being considered as most scientific
methods. The development of Medicine is for saving life, effective one is
scientific and ineffective one is not scientific, no matter how it is made. We
need to consider seriously that what the scientific is and what it is for.
Scientific has been using by some
self-crowned master as a label to mark some thing correct or not. TCM is one of
the victims. I think that, human civilization has evolved into today, even
consumes whole lifetime, there is no one could learn through any discipline, I
mean to make it clear entirely. No one could have enough knowledge to be a
master or authority for declaring to abandon any fruit of human civilization,
although in today's perspective, many of them may be not perfect.
There are two sides to
everything. We must
look at anything dialectically and practically to avoid going into a dogmatic
dead end. We should not completely abandon the experience-based medicine when
promote the evidence-based medicine, and vice versa. We should reserve the
reasonable portion from every thing and use them integrated.
I must special point out that,
due to the difference of physical and diet, when using the same natural drug,
the physiological reactions may be different from people to people, especially
for those who are in different ethnic groups or in different region. For some
people are effective; some may be ineffective or even have side effects. We
should pay serious attention before use them and study on it. It is better to
increase the dose gradually to reach the level that recommended. Generally say
that some of natural drugs have side effect, but it is much minor then that of
synthetic ones or caused by improper use only.
There are reports that some
Chinese drugs contain heavy metals and pesticide residues. I think that
compared with no drugs to use, the metals and pesticide may be not a serious
concern, so that those drugs with problems should not be forbidden but give warning,
use or not, leave the choice to patients.
For a long times, WM have been
playing an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases world
widely. It qualified to be called as mainstream medicine. However, now it is
unable to extricate itself from trouble quagmire.
Such as, for the infectious
diseases, it has failed in updating the antibiotics due to that fast mutation
of super bugs has shortened the effective
life of antibiotics and caused increasingly high research spending. Now
some drug-makers abandoned
their research into antibiotics. For the non-communicable diseases, it is much
disappointed since no satisfied drugs, too.
On other hand, the inverse
effects of synthetic drugs have become the life fatal threat. Such as, Britain
has issued a warning on more than 60 cough and cold
medicines that
can not be given to children after causing dozens of deaths. There was a report
that Newer Antipsychotics
Have Same Increased Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death as Older Ones. The drugs were developed for
saving life rather than to kill life, however, as same as a lot of other things
in the actual world, they are deviating from the will of kind-hearted people
and are going farther.
Recent years, the system biology has been developed. It
eliminated the deficiency of Holismand Reductionism by making up the gap
between them. I called them as three medical philosophical brothers. Only the
three works together, we can properly understand our body and the nature of
development and recovery of the diseases. They have paved a new Medical
Boulevard by forming an integrated medical philosophical system.
Here, I would like to make clear
that, I promote the Holistic medical approach is intended to improve the
balance of Philosophical approaches of Medicine by promoting the reasonable
share that Holistic should take rather than to shoot Reductionism to die. When
we are continuing to search human beings deepen into the microscopic, also we
should take into account the macroscopic equally to understand human life
comprehensively on physical, psychological and social. The thinges will develop
in the opposite direction when they become extreme. It is not sensible that
focuses on either extremely. I prefer the dialectical thought of Daoism in
maintaining the balance between Yin and Yang universally. It has the
value far beyond the medical issue. If it can be universalized, the world would
have developed according to the will of kind-hearted people; there are more
harmony and lesser conflict. It will never be worse like today, even the
essential daily safe for life has been destroyed. The ghost of the barbaric
killers of Colonial expansion era is still wandering with a new deceive cloak;
the world will never have peace.
Because that deadly side effect
of WM, more and more people are looking for the hope from alternative
medicines. Among the existing alternatives, Chinese Medicine (CM) is receiving
increasing attention and welcomed world widely. Now it is becoming the hope in
helping us to get out of the dilemma in health care. The door is opened widely
for CM.
There were cases that are worth
to mention here for demonstrating the magical therapeutic effect of CM.
A 36 years old male psychotic who
was more than 10 years maintained by 20 mg Zyprexa daily
after first time onset and cured quickly at his 16, did nothing besides eating
and sleeping emotionlessly. It was that my preparation of Chinese drugs called
back his emotion in days – talkative, listening music, curious-asking and
willingly doing house works. He was sent to English language school after
months due to his parents were bored by his endless curious-asking. Then he
went to school everyday willingly alone, and he seemed to have restored the
memory of his previously learned English because of his study progress showed
as jumping. The result surprised me very much, although I believed some of
Chinese drugs in compound-use can work on psychotic, but I never expected that
it took effect so quick. I’ll discuss the case detailed in another article.
Other one was happened on my
younger brother who hipbone fractured in a car accident 10 years ago. After one
week of operation there was still 50 mm unhealed on incision suture and happened
fat liquefaction. Besides the replacement of medical gauze and adjustment of
the intravenous antibiotics conventionally, the doctors could not give more
help. I worried about the wound infection or necrosis, so I hammered some dried
raw herbs into coarse powder, then sprinkling on the watering area without
sterilization. After 3 hours when I curiously opened the gauze found that the
unhealed incision has crusted entirely. The appearance showed that the crust
formed much earlier than 3 hours. Now more than 10 years has past without any
sequel. The only logical explanation for fast heeling is that Chinese drugs
have updated the recognized wounds
healing process.
The successful cases made me
deeply believe the magic effect of CM and gave me a strong confidence to help
more people to enjoy the medical fruit from the ancient oriental civilization
according to my more then 3 decades studies and experiences of successful cases
with selected and self-designed prescriptions of CM.
I would like to make some
apologies here: 1. For those possible mistakes in the article. Because of my
literary culture both mandarin and English is too poor to convey the original
meaning properly. 2, For those lost the links of tracking original resources
cited in my article. I am no mean to prettify myself by stealing the works of
others. I only did some sorting works to make existing medical literatures to
be easier enjoyable. I would like to salute to those researchers for their
excellent works, no matter their work cited or not in my paper, no matter which
country they came from. Thank you for your hard working and great contribution
to the advances of human civilization.
Reductionism that aims to reduce a
complex whole to the effects of one part (or parts) upon another part (or
parts), which
microscopically viewing a complex system is nothing but the sum of
its parts, and try
to understand the whole by studying the part. Reductionism contrasts with
the holism.
2.2. Achievement of WM: No doubt,
for a long time, the WM has been playing a dominant role in the treatment of
diseases worldwide. Due to its therapeutic advantage and the reasons for market
competition (See The Truth About The
Rockefeller Drug Empire), in China, there were attempts to abolish TCM and
promote WM instead. Even same events
occurred in Japan. however, recently Japan has redressed their positive
attitude and develop many drugs on TCM.
2.3. Human Genome atlas: In 2003,
the Human Genome
atlas was
completed. It is a big success of WM. Many people think that we have gotten a
new powerful approach to diagnose and cure diseases. Nevertheless, now 7 years
have been passed, there are lesser genetic therapy can be reliably used
clinically than that of ever hot expected. Because that even a single disease
is associated with hundreds genome segments, so it is very difficult to be used
clinically in a short time.
Plight of WM:
Communicable diseases: Recent
years, some pathogenic-bacteria were named as super-bug because they can
develop resistance to the existing class of antibiotics in short time after
drugs putting in use. New antibiotic research is facing challenging in the
competing against the mutation of virus. More time and spending are needed for
antibiotic updating. So that many super drug-makers have
abandoned the research in antibiotics. Simultaneity some drugs waswithdrawn from market because
of serious negative
effect. It will
cause no effective antibiotics to fight with infectious diseases.
Such as: In the United States, deadly
mystery superbugs kills soldiers and causes to amputate limbs among troops
wounded in Iraq, because no antibiotics were effective for the infections, even for
a slight wound.
David Picard, CEO and the
co-founder of Moleac, a biopharmaceutical company based in
Singapore, in his article THE RISE of
Traditional Chinese Medicine, said that “Western pharmaceutical
companies now spend over US$800 million on average to get a new drug
approved.”
“This cost includes the lengthy
and complex clinical development process which sees many potential drugs fall
by the wayside, either because they do not work or because they cause
unacceptable side effects.”
“Only around one in 17 candidate
drugs identified make it to market.”
“If the drug being researched
fails in the development process the losses can be considerable.”
“Pfizer, for example, recently
wrote off around US$1 billion and 15 years of research and development after
its experimental cholesterol drug failed to make the cut.”
“The industry is under increased
pressure to develop new blockbuster drugs as patents expire, and to cut
innovation costs. “
Non-communicable diseases: Also
became increasingly severe due to have no ideal drugs. Such as mental disorder,
cancer, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic
fatigue syndrome, and so on.
As a way in no way, in Sep. 13,
2007, Canadian Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute of Canada has
launched a large, multi-year international study to try to find a way to help
the hundreds of thousands of men diagnosed with prostate cancer every year,
decide whether to opt for potentially life-altering treatments or choose
a watch-and-wait
approach. They
hoped that Surveillance Therapy against radical treatment would resolve one of
the thorniest dilemmas in prostate cancer care. Because of current therapy of
chemo and radiation will cause the cancer degenerated
faster.
28 February 2008, Helene Guldberg
published the Heart disease: we need
medicine not moralism. Said that “My mother died from a massive heart
attack several months after being put on a waiting list for heart surgery. If
she had been given the treatment she needed earlier she may still have been
alive today.” She appealed “the experts should be concerned. They should be
continually trying to reduce deaths from heart disease. Clearly, a hell of lot
more can be done to improve medical intervention”.
Indeed, for her mother’s heart
diseases, it was not that had no drugs, it was because that the synthetic drugs
could not be used for a longer-time due to the deadly side effects. I believed,
suppose that her mother had treated with Chinese drugs, they would be still
enjoying their colorful life together.
The cause of the plight: It was
induced mainly from the philosophical approach, the Reductionism. Because human
body is a complex system with psychological activity, there are many factors
that interacts the pathogenic and development of the diseases, especially the
psychological factors play a significant role. On the other hand, the most of
diseases are syndrome with many sub-symptoms; it requires that treatment focus
on the multiple targets with the well consideration of the interaction of all
the factors physically and psychologically. Nevertheless, the WM has ignored
those important factors. Therefore, it was that improper philosophical approach
caused it into a dilemma.
We should review our Medical
philosophy because of that philosophical approach is the foundation for doing
any thing correctly.
System biology: Recent
years, systems biology was developed. It is from
system-level to understand human health and diseases in organs, organism and
community. It is consistent to the Holism to understand complex biological systems in
their entirety. This effort has great potential for the advancement of medicine
with major implications for the future medicine and have emerged some pleasant
results already.
Anti-diseases by immunity: Cationic antimicrobial
peptides were
developed in Centre for Microbial Diseases and Immunity Research, University of
British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
“Hancock, who co-founded a
company to commercialize IDR-1, a 13-amino-acid peptide, says the peptide does
not kill bacteria directly. Instead it seems to prime the body's quick
and dirty immune response, called innate immunity. A subsequent infection,
he says, may then flag the body to send a surplus of white blood cells called
monocytes and macrophages to gobble up invading pathogens.”
TCM was officially
defined by the government of P.R. China in the 1950's after undertook an effort to
coalesce many diverse forms of Chinese medicine into a unified system. It had no concept of modern
anatomy and biology. The MCM is that new research results on TCM by the methods
of integrating with Western medicine. The TCM & MCM should be integrated as
Chinese medicine (CM). All the terms include diagnoses, treatment methods and
medicinal materials, etc.
3.1.1.1. Definition of medicinal
materials: For the medicinal materials are being used in CM or TCM, have
different terms been used currently besides CM and TCM, such as, Chinese herbal
medicine. Since that besides botanicals, there are animals and minerals are
being used as drugs, too. So that Chinese herbal medicine can not exactly
represent the entire medicinal materials. In order to avoid confusion, it is
better to make some definitions. That all the medicinal materials are being
used in CM or TCM is represented by Chinese drug (CD). By the same way, Western
drug (WD) is used to represent the medicinal materials being used in WM.
There are many TCM terms are no
corresponding English word, so it has caused some translations unreadable. I'll
try to use simpler English words and cited some writings of others to make it
easier to be understood. Here I only clarify the Yin and Yang.
3.1.1.2. Yin and Yang are the
phonetic symbols of Mandarin. Roughly says that Yin means
dark and Yang means light. Mandarin was officially designed by P.R. China in
1950s. It provided a unified language with spell and pronunciation for the
people in 56 races of about 200 local languages throughout of China now is
promoting world widely.
Daoism that is similar to Holism. It is one of the
important ancient philosophies of China, which has been deeply influencing
China and East and South Asia.
The core of the Daoism is Dao. “It refers to a power
that envelopes, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living.
The Dao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the universe.” It
dialectically views that everything is in the unity of opposites universally.
It embodies the harmony of the opposites.
Dao is symbolized by the Tai-Ji Diagram in which the 
Tai Ji Yin-Yang Diagram
In Tai Ji Yin-Yang Diagram, the outermost circle
is called as Taiji or Wuji, which indicates that every thing universally is metaplasia from vitality
and movement in cycling endlessly. The black fish
represents the Yin, but its eyes are white that means yang, white fish
represents Yang, but its eyes are black that means Yin. The whole symbol means that
Yin doesn't leave Yang, and Yang doesn't leave Yin. They are opposites of each
other with contradiction and reunification. Each is understood to be an
integral part of the others. If one grows bigger,
other one will be smaller. The main task of Dao is to make Yin and Yang keep
in the state of harmonious balance.
Daoism views the universe as a system of the unity
of opposites（Yin and Yang）dialectically, which is composed
of many components - subsystem with own feature of unity of opposites. The
components are all in the state of dynamic balance through continuous
self-regulation. This primitive philosophical view generated thousands of years
ago is well coinciding with the modern science. For example:
In micro perspective, as small as
atom, extranuclear electrons cloud with the nucleus are both in the state of
attraction and repulsion, the electronics rotating around the nucleus in
dynamic equilibrium. They are in the state unity of opposites. Atoms are the
components to compose of natural materials.
In macro perspective, the planets
with the sun of solar system, and solar system with other galaxies are all
in the continuously rotating in the state of self-regulation by attraction and
repulsion of each other. They are also in the state of dynamic equilibrium of
unity of opposites.
Yin often represents
the negative, the female, dark, evil, cold, Earth, etc. Yang represents the
positive, the male, light, good, hot, Heaven, etc. “There would be no love
without hate, no light without dark, no male without female. When patients got
fever they would feel cold rather than hot.”
Daoism is contrary with Reductionism. It is similar with Holism and consistent with systems biology. Suppose that Reductionism
focuses on a specific grass on the Himalayas, and then the Daoism is not only
focusing on the entire grass, but also concerning those would affect the growth
of grass, such as, destructive pests, the greenhouse effect and the reduction
of glacier cover, etc.
In medical field, Daoism
macroscopically views the human body as a whole and considers the interactions
of various existing factors' from all components including the social and
psychological factors with an over thousands years’ belief that the therapy is
three-tenth in medication, seven-tenth in psychotherapy. The estimated
effective proportion of psychotherapy in thousands years ago is close to the
results of modern studies - “placebos are effective in 50 or 60
percent of subjects with certain conditions.”
TCM has developed an integrated
theory independently based on the profound culture background that developed
from thousands years China. It focuses on restoring the balance of human body
and fight against diseases by enhanced physical capacity.
TCM has been riddling thousands
natural medicinal materials through long time trial and error clinically, which
includes botanicals, animals and minerals. Modern biochemical and
pharmacological researches proved that Chinese medicine is sorted
scientifically according to the therapeutic effect. For example, those are
sorted as enhancing digestion are rich in Ca, Zn and Fe, and those as enhancing
male sexual ability are rich in Mn and Cu.
Meridian is a network system on human body found in
ancient China. It distributes throughout the body that connects specific part
from the body surface to the splanchnic organs. The acupuncture points locate
on the networks and it can induce therapeutic effect on specific surface parts
or splanchnic organs when stimulating them. Also some Chinese drugs can enrich
in specific parts to take the therapeutic effect in similar performance with
acupuncture.
Man and nature is a unified
whole. Human beings are the product of nature developed to a certain stage.
Nature exist the necessary condition for human survival. The motion and changes
of the natural world are bound to affect human.
People and society is a unified
whole, and many social factors may be directly or indirectly influence on human
psychology, physiology and pathology.
Human spirit and the body is a
unified whole. Mental activity is the advanced activities of human. Physical is
the foundation of spirit, and the spirit is the product of physical. In turn,
mental activity can significantly impact on the physical.
“TCM has a macro view
to most diseases: well-balanced human bodies can usually handle most everyday bacteria
and virus, which are ubiquitous and quickly changing; diseases happens only if
there are some unbalanced parts in a human body. Due to this macro philosophy,
TCM usually does not care what exact bacteria or virus are causing the
symptoms, but tries the best to find which parts of the body are unbalanced as
well as to find a strategy to bring back the balance. At the meantime, TCM
believes only symptoms matter because irregular symptoms from the human bodies
are the only faithful sources to deduce the unbalanced parts in a dynamic,
complex system like a human body. Consequently, the treatments in TCM do not
directly target to kill bacteria or virus but to bring back the balance of
human bodies. It is very surprising but understandable that a TCM doctor may
give very different herb prescriptions to patients affected by a same type of
bacteria, because the different symptoms from the patients indicate different
unbalanced parts in their bodies”.
Signs and symptoms are
the first clinical indication when treating human diseases. Elimination of
such signs and symptoms is the first priority in providing effective
treatments. Any biomedical measurements relating to any diseases must be
relevant to the signs and symptoms exhibited by any patient.”
“Western Medicine is
not a perfect medical system. Its significance lies on its pathogenic theories.
However, clinical signs and symptoms are only superficial phenomena, they do
not represent contemporary pathogenic theories.”
“In Chinese Medicine,
every diagnosis relies entirely on signs and symptoms. Differentiation of Hot
and Cold, Deficient and Excess is the crucial foundation in determining a
patient’s medical kilter. Eliminating such signs and symptoms is the ultimate
goal in Chinese Medicine. It also aims at improving the biomedical measurements
as indicated by pathogenic analysis.” – Commenter: youzhang@tpg.com.au
Western drug and Chinese drug has
different therapeutic mechanisms due to the difference of their philosophy.
Western drug's entity is manmade single constituent, take the single effect on
specific target. The allopathic is the main therapeutic mechanism. Chinese
drug's entity is a group of natural bioactive constituent, take the
multi-effect on multiple targets with the specificity. The physiological
regulatory is the main therapeutic mechanism.
WM doctors would try to find the
causes by the gastro-scope and biochemical examination to find disease area and
lesion extent as well as the source of pathogenic, such as helicobacter pylori.
Then try to restore the health by killing the pathogenic microbe with WM drugs.
However, now we have made clear
that some of digestion problems caused by psychological factors rather than the
pathogenic microbe. Such as irritable bowel syndrome, is lack of abnormalities
of morphological and biochemical, and closely related to the emotional changes
or psychological factors, in which case that WM drugs can not work.
Fortunately, TCM has been working well for either infectious or non-infectious
with very cheap natural preparations for a thousands years.
“"Traditional Chinese
medicine," sometimes shortened to TCM, involves the treatment of patients using the
fundamental approaches of healing developed over the last 4000 years in China.
The treatments in Chinese medicine include acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and Tui-Na,
which resembles massage therapy combined with therapeutic touch. Chinese
medicine has the longest history, and the most practical application, of any
system of medicine in the world, outdating Western medicine by about 3800
years. In China, doctors were practicing relatively advanced medicine before
the birth of Christ. Western medicine, in response, dismisses everything under
Chinese medicine, ignoring the long history of safe and effective use of
Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and other philosophies espoused by Traditional
Chinese Medicine.”
research about the
effect of Tai Chi Chuan exercise on subgroup of T Lymphocyte and NK Cells. After 25 min exercise
performance in the group those have been exercising Tai Chi Chuan for many years, the
percentage of the CD3, CD4 cell increased, the ratio of CD4/CD8 increased and
the percentage of CD16 cells decreased. In quiet state, compared with that of
non-Tai Chi Chuan group, those in Tai Chi Chuan group, the percentage of CD3
and CD4 cells is higher; the percentage of CD8 cells is higher but without
statistical significance. So that Tai Chi Chuan exercise can enhance the
regulatory capacity of the cellular immune, and improve the body's cellular
immune function.
3.1.9.1. Psychological &
diseases: December 1, 2004, CBC News reported Stress speeds up aging
of immune cells.
A study of crossing
the disciplines of psychology, medicine, neuroscience, and genetics reveals
that stress causes deterioration in everything from your gums to your heart
and can make you more susceptible to everything from the common cold to cancer.
And those optimistic
people have lower incidence of heart disease, better prognosis after heart surgery, and longer
life.
Now, many researches have made
clear that our health is closely associated with psychological factors or so
called stress, and it is the main inducement for various diseases. Such as obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart attack, stress ulcer, mind disorder, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, retard the wound
healing, and so
on.
TCM has been giving much
attention to the factors of psychological, social and environmental, etc.,
especially emphasizing that therapy is made up of the three tenth by medication
and the seven tenth by recuperation psychologically.
“Chinese medicine poetically emphasizes
the harmful role of stress in upsetting the emotional and physical
imbalance leading to a weakened immune system. Western medicine is just
beginning to tap into stress as the root cause of many illnesses and as a major
obstacle in disease management. Chinese medicine has been doing it for over
5,000 years”.
3.1.9.2. Therapeutic effect of
placebo: Indeed there are vivid evidences proved that psychological factors
have therapeutic effect. That is placebo. They were widely used for new
drug’s clinical trial in WM. Although some of them do not have pharmacological
effect at all, however they do made therapeutic action physically.
In 1955, Henry K. Beecher published the
classic work entitled "The Powerful Placebo." He was the first scientist
to quantify the placebo effect. He claimed that in 15 trials with different
diseases, 35% of 1082 patients were satisfactorily relieved by a placebo alone.
“Beecher started a wave of studies aimed at understanding how something (improvement
in health) could be produced by nothing (the inactive placebo).”
“Other studies have since calculated the
placebo effect as being even greater than Beecher claimed. For example, studies
have shown that placebos are effective in 50 or 60 percent of subjects with
certain conditions, e.g., "pain, depression, some heart ailments, gastric
ulcers and other stomach complaints." And, as effective as the new
psychotropic drugs seem to be in the treatment of various brain
disorders, some researchers
maintain that
there is not adequate evidence from studies to prove that the new drugs are
more effective than placebos. “
The therapeutic effects of
placeboes have proven that psychological factors are very important in the
disease’s recovery. The positive frame of mind is conducive to the rapid
recovery of disease. Also proves that TCM is excellent in the philosophical
approaches that started from its origin stage in thousands years ago.
3.1.9.3. Biopsychosocial model:
Until 1977, George Engel coined the biopsychosocial
model, a general theory of
illness and healing, which considered social and psychological factors
associated with physical diseases in WM. Following are some of his articles.
1. Engel GL: The need for a new medical model: a
challenge for biomedicine. Science 8 April 1977; 196:129–136, Number 4286
2. Engel GL: The clinical
application of the biopsychosocial model. Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:535–544
3. Engel GL: