Growing

by Tony Reid HISTORY AND TRADITIONAL APPLICATIONS The Treatise on Cold-induced Diseases The TCM formula Xiao Chai Hu Tang (XCHT) was first recorded in the ‘Treatise on Cold-induced Diseases’ (shang han lun), by Zhang Zhong-jing (circa 150 – 219 C.E.). It was originally used for the treatment of the lesser Yang syndrome (shao yang bing zheng) in acute febrile diseases due to invasion by exogenous Cold. This is the stage when the invading Cold pathogen has transformed into Heat and is lodged at a level that is midway …

RESEARCH UPDATE: HUAN LIAN JIE DU TANG (Coptis & Scutellaria Decoction) – Tony Reid Introduction Huang Lian Jie Du Tang (HLJDT) was first recorded in ‘Medical Secrets of an Official’ (wai tai mi yao), by Wang Tao, 752 CE, a work in 40 volumes that covers every branch of medicine and contains over 6,000 formulas. HLJDT was originally used for severe conditions in which a virulent pathogen (Heat Toxin or Fire Toxin) pervades the three Jiao (i.e. upper, middle and lower body compartments), thus affecting all bodily …

Preamble The incidence of various types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, is steadily increasing.  The prevalence rates rise with increasing age. In Australia, the prevalence is 2% for people in their 60’s increasing to over 32% for those in their 80’s and beyond. Moreover, these figures are expected to double by the year 2020. With the increasing numbers of people living into old age in both the developed and developing nations, this represents an impending healthcare crisis. The dementias accounts for …

PART 1 - MIGRAINE HEADACHE IN WESTERN MEDICINE Introduction Headache is the most commonly occurring neurological disorder, affecting 60-80% of the population at any one time. (Sahai-Srivastava & Ko, 2008) According to the International Headache Society (IHS), The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2nd Edition (ICHD-II), headaches are divided into two basic categories: primary and secondary. The former are those without any organic or structural causes. These include migraine headache, trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (including cluster headache), tension headache, and other primary headaches …

ABSTRACT This paper explores and contrasts the western medical (WM) and the traditional Chinese medical (TCM) approaches to fertility management. Although the likelihood of success using the WM approach has been well researched and TCM has not, it appears that, based on the best available evidence, the TCM approach may be just as effective as well as more economical. Moreover, the combination of WM and TCM may provide the best outcome for some couples. Treatment protocols using prepared Chinese herbal medicines …

Abstract Chinese herbal medicine provides safe and effective treatment for perimenopausal symptoms, while also supporting general health and well-being. The Western medical approach, according to which the menopausal transition is regarded as a disease, provides only symptom relief and exposes a woman to increasing risks the longer the treatment is maintained. The main issues in relation to these differing approaches are discussed, illustrating the strengths and weaknesses of each. The paper concludes with clinical protocols for the management of the menopausal …

In TCM skin conditions are understood in terms of this system’s unique interpretation of the clinical features of the lesions as they present in each case. Through differentiating the nature of the lesions and taking into account the other more general clinical features of the patient, the practitioner is able to deduce the underlying pathogenesis as well as formulate a treatment plan.   Skin lesions are analysed in terms of the presence of pathogenic factors, each of which tends to manifest …

INTRODUCTION Over the past decade our understanding of the pathogenesis as well as diagnosis and treatment for polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) has improved dramatically, both in Western medicine and in TCM. While the quality of Western clinical studies has been high, and the research into causes and pathophysiology has burgeoned, treatment outcomes are still quite poor, specifically in terms of infertility. In addition, recent estimates of the incidence of PCOS is the community have doubled compared with those accepted only a …

Functional Dyspepsia Introduction The common functional gastrointestinal disorders (i.e. functional dyspepsia and gastroesophageal reflux disease) occur with very high prevalence (40 – 60%) throughout the Western world, and although the nomenclature suggests that they be treated with the aim or restoring normal function, Western medicine (WM) has not yet arrived at this relatively enlightened perspective. Instead they are regarded as ‘functional’ disorders in contradistinction to those disorders caused by structural abnormalities (e.g. tumor or trauma), biochemical abnormalities or the unwanted effects of …

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) INTRODUCTION I was intrigued by a statement in David Healey’s recent book, which implied that the vested interests of industry had influenced the diagnosis and treatment of gastric reflux in a similar way to that in which normal human sadness had been transformed into a multibillion dollars’ a year business through the marketing of ‘depressive disorders’ and their treatment with the SSRI class of drugs. (Healey, 2012, pp. 53-54) I have discussed the latter issue at some length previously …

TREATMENTS FOR EMOTION-BASED DISORDERS - UNCOVERING THE SHEN   Introduction The advantage of having several different theoretical paradigms to draw upon in clinic is that some patients may accord more closely with one paradigm than another. The symptoms become more intelligible and the solution to their clinical problems become more amenable when viewed through the lens of a more suitable theoretical model. In terms the topic under discussion, certain patients manifest the effects of one specific negative or extreme emotion to the exclusion …