deke's own words

[Guest guest]

For anyone who wants to hear Deke's own words on this subject, a

recording of his presentation at the Pacific symposium in 2002 is

available from Conference Recording Service at 800-647-1110. I think

there are 3-4 hours of lectures in which Deke presents the evidence, as

it were.

 

I found it fascinating and thought provoking. But it did not alter how

I practice. These are really two separate things in my mind. On one

hand, when working with patients, I adhere closely to tradition as I

understand it from personal teachers and reading and discussion.

Nothing else really comes into play besides the four exams and the

traditional functions and interactions of herbs The application of the

western scientific model to TCM really only interests me in a few

limited areas.

 

1. Does TCM produce measurable physiological changes?

 

2. Are there discrete physiological and biochemical changes that can be

correlated with TCM patterns?

 

3. Do measurable active constituents of herbs correlate with herb

potency and reproducibility of effects?

 

4. What is the relationship between herb dose and clinical efficacy?

 

The reasons for my interest are:

 

1. To satisfy an intellectual curiosity as to whether measurable

correlates exist for all phenomena. I don't believe having measurable

correlates reduces those phenomena to those correlates. for example

there is reliable evidence that meditation alters brainwaves in

reproducible ways. That hardly explains the symbolic significance of

meditative experiences. It merely shows that some change has occurred

and that the event is not imaginary. Science can explain art of music,

but it can examine the brain MRIs of those who are artists and

musicians. Personally I don't really care if I am wrong because there

is nothing ultimate or grand hinging on my belief in this hypothesis. I

am just curious.

 

2. For strategic reasons. I believe challenging western science on its

own turf is the way paradigms change. especially with regard to number

2 above. If it were to be shown that one could correlate TCM patterns

with recurring complexes of measurable pathological changes, this might

revolutionize medicine. especially if it could also be shown that

standard formulas resolved the patterns. And that by differentiating

patients according to chinese patterns, there was enhanced clinical

efficacy and lower side effects.

 

However I have no fear that this would reduce TCM or allow it to be

coopted. I imagine lab tests providing just more signs to consider. I

can't imagine that one could ever make a TCM diagnosis based merely upon

such tests. One still has to consider the entire pattern. There is

just way too much nuance to reduce things this way. TCM is, after all,

a literary tradition, a scientific one But I do suspect there are

correlations. Imagine an MD runs a battery of tests and the computer

analysis correlates a cluster of parameters in an otherwise

undiagnosable patient with a possible TCM pattern. then the patient is

referred to the HMO Herbologist for further workup. I fear if we do not

provide such evidence that chinese medicine may not outlive the the last

of the baby boomers. We will just remain marginal for decades. I think

there is a way to maintain the integrity of our tradition and open the

door to integration. And if we do not do this, it is then that we will

see our methods just taken piecemeal by MD's and our profession

dismissed as quackery.

 

I also do not think conventional doctors are going to switch from high

tech and designer drugs to low tech and messy plants. I think they will

become more and more of what they already are. However the convergence

of several scientific trends may finally be penetrating into medicine,

such as systems science, information and complexity theory. If we prove

that the TCM systems approach to dx and tx is most safe and effective

when done within our own paradigm, western medicine will be challenged

to understand how to differentiate the patient's terrain (as the french

put it) on their own terms. And that might form the basis for a truly

holistic integrated medical system, where patients received low doses of

powerful western therapies, as necessary, in combination with chinese

herbs and other natural supplements, all tailored to the individual patient.

 

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Chinese Herbs

 

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