by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease where production of antibodies against certain connective tissues produces fibrosis with a thickening and tightening (sclero = hardening) mainly of the skin (derma = skin). The disease is sometimes called systemic scleroderma, because the hardening process can affect other parts of the body, not just skin; for example, the lungs may also become involved. A more limited version of the disease is called localized or circumscribed scleroderma; it may affect only certain areas of the skin.
According to an analysis of autoimmune diseases published in the Journal of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, scleroderma is typically associated with qi and yang deficiency and coldness that leads to blood stagnation, the basis of the disease symptoms. The authors point out that the patient may have extremely cold limbs (some suffer from Raynaud's syndrome) and easily suffers from wind-cold disorders; further, there is a tendency to have signs of spleen cold, with poor digestion and loose stools.
Blood stasis is revealed not only by the symptoms, but also by purplish tongue coloration. The principles of therapy involve tonifying the deficiency and resolving stasis of blood. A prescription mentioned in the Journal is Yangshen Huoxue Tang (Decoction to Warm the Kidney and Vitalize Blood).
It is comprised of herbs to invigorate yang (epimedium, morinda, cistanche, and astragalus), and herbs to vitalize blood and overcome stasis: Tao Hong Siwu Tang with persica replaced by salvia and cinnamon twig (hence: tang-kuei, cnidium, red peony, rehmannia, carthamus, salvia, and cinnamon twig); licorice is added as harmonizing agent.
In the Compendium of Secret Chinese TCM Formulas, there are case reports from the Chinese medical journals. A few of these will be illustrative of the formulations used and the claimed results. Following is a summary of three of the reports involving large groups of patients with scleroderma:
1. Dr. Qin Wanzhang at the Shanghai University of Medical Sciences reported that scleroderma could be effectively treated with blood vitalizers alone, using a formula containing salvia, millettia, leonurus, sappan, cnidium, rehmannia, persica, carthamus, red peony, tang-kuei, lycopus, and turmeric (9 grams each item, except 15 grams each of salvia and millettia). These ingredients, other than lycopus and turmeric, are all commonly mentioned for treatment of this disease. He had the patients take the herbs as a decoction internally and apply the same liquid as a wash to the affected areas. Treatment time was typically 3-6 months. Of the 123 cases of scleroderma so treated, 53 were markedly improved and 67 more were improved; only 3 patients failed to respond.
2. Dr. Wang Dexiang, at the Tianjin College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, reported treatment of 100 cases of scleroderma using a combination of blood vitalizers with several tonic herbs (mainly qi and blood nourishing agents). The formula he administered was: red peony, carthamus, millettia, salvia, citrus, cyperus, codonopsis, astragalus, cinnamon, rehmannia, antler gelatin, ho-shou-wu, and licorice (and modified further according to specific symptoms). The dosage of the herbs used was high, with 15-30 grams of codonopsis, astragalus, rehmannia, ho-shou-wu, and millettia. As a result of treatment that averaged one year in duration (minimum time was 3 months), he reported that 8 were cured, 43 were markedly improved, and 40 improved; 9 failed to respond.
3. In a large-scale investigation with 725 cases of scleroderma, the patients were classified as belonging to one of three groups for differential treatment. The first group was treated with a formula comprised mainly of the blood vitalizing herbs myrrh, frankincense, and curcuma; the second group with alisma, salvia, and sappan, and the third group, which was by far the largest, with tang-kuei, carthamus, cnidium, and pueraria (the formula called Gui Xiong Fang: Tang-kuei and Cnidium Formula). Further details about the third group were reported separately by Dr. Fan Si at the Beijing Joint Hospital.
There were 414 cases of scleroderma treated using a tablet prepared with equal proportions of the four herbs mentioned. The herbs were taken in the amount of 4-8 one-gram tablets each time, three times daily (total dose: 12-24 grams). Of the 118 cases that had systemic scleroderma, 41% markedly improved and 56% improved; of the 296 with scleroderma mainly limited to the skin area, 45% were markedly improved and 53% improved. About 3% of the scleroderma patients treated by herbs failed to respond to therapy.
Please Read More detail at itmonline.org
by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease where production of antibodies against certain connective tissues produces fibrosis with a thickening and tightening (sclero = hardening) mainly of the skin (derma = skin). The disease is sometimes called systemic scleroderma, because the hardening process can affect other parts of the body, not just skin; for example, the lungs may also become involved. A more limited version of the disease is called localized or circumscribed scleroderma; it may affect only certain areas of the skin.
According to an analysis of autoimmune diseases published in the Journal of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, scleroderma is typically associated with qi and yang deficiency and coldness that leads to blood stagnation, the basis of the disease symptoms. The authors point out that the patient may have extremely cold limbs (some suffer from Raynaud's syndrome) and easily suffers from wind-cold disorders; further, there is a tendency to have signs of spleen cold, with poor digestion and loose stools.
Blood stasis is revealed not only by the symptoms, but also by purplish tongue coloration. The principles of therapy involve tonifying the deficiency and resolving stasis of blood. A prescription mentioned in the Journal is Yangshen Huoxue Tang (Decoction to Warm the Kidney and Vitalize Blood).
It is comprised of herbs to invigorate yang (epimedium, morinda, cistanche, and astragalus), and herbs to vitalize blood and overcome stasis: Tao Hong Siwu Tang with persica replaced by salvia and cinnamon twig (hence: tang-kuei, cnidium, red peony, rehmannia, carthamus, salvia, and cinnamon twig); licorice is added as harmonizing agent.
In the Compendium of Secret Chinese TCM Formulas, there are case reports from the Chinese medical journals. A few of these will be illustrative of the formulations used and the claimed results. Following is a summary of three of the reports involving large groups of patients with scleroderma:
1. Dr. Qin Wanzhang at the Shanghai University of Medical Sciences reported that scleroderma could be effectively treated with blood vitalizers alone, using a formula containing salvia, millettia, leonurus, sappan, cnidium, rehmannia, persica, carthamus, red peony, tang-kuei, lycopus, and turmeric (9 grams each item, except 15 grams each of salvia and millettia). These ingredients, other than lycopus and turmeric, are all commonly mentioned for treatment of this disease. He had the patients take the herbs as a decoction internally and apply the same liquid as a wash to the affected areas. Treatment time was typically 3-6 months. Of the 123 cases of scleroderma so treated, 53 were markedly improved and 67 more were improved; only 3 patients failed to respond.
2. Dr. Wang Dexiang, at the Tianjin College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, reported treatment of 100 cases of scleroderma using a combination of blood vitalizers with several tonic herbs (mainly qi and blood nourishing agents). The formula he administered was: red peony, carthamus, millettia, salvia, citrus, cyperus, codonopsis, astragalus, cinnamon, rehmannia, antler gelatin, ho-shou-wu, and licorice (and modified further according to specific symptoms). The dosage of the herbs used was high, with 15-30 grams of codonopsis, astragalus, rehmannia, ho-shou-wu, and millettia. As a result of treatment that averaged one year in duration (minimum time was 3 months), he reported that 8 were cured, 43 were markedly improved, and 40 improved; 9 failed to respond.
3. In a large-scale investigation with 725 cases of scleroderma, the patients were classified as belonging to one of three groups for differential treatment. The first group was treated with a formula comprised mainly of the blood vitalizing herbs myrrh, frankincense, and curcuma; the second group with alisma, salvia, and sappan, and the third group, which was by far the largest, with tang-kuei, carthamus, cnidium, and pueraria (the formula called Gui Xiong Fang: Tang-kuei and Cnidium Formula). Further details about the third group were reported separately by Dr. Fan Si at the Beijing Joint Hospital.
There were 414 cases of scleroderma treated using a tablet prepared with equal proportions of the four herbs mentioned. The herbs were taken in the amount of 4-8 one-gram tablets each time, three times daily (total dose: 12-24 grams). Of the 118 cases that had systemic scleroderma, 41% markedly improved and 56% improved; of the 296 with scleroderma mainly limited to the skin area, 45% were markedly improved and 53% improved. About 3% of the scleroderma patients treated by herbs failed to respond to therapy.
Please Read More detail at itmonline.org