SARS:First Patients Treated With Chinese medicine

[Guest guest]

Dear Listmembers,

 

Please find my translation of an on-line news account of the first

cases of SARS patients who received TCM treatment in Guangdong province in

China

 

Rey Tiquia

President

Alliance of Associations in Australia

Melbourne Australia

Tel: (03)94991362

 

 

 

WHO EXPERTS TALKS ABOUT TCM¹S FIGHT

AGAINST SARS

 

Ta Kung Pao ( on -line http://www.takungpao.com.hk/inc/print) .April 8,2003

, Canton, China Reporters: YuanXiu Shen and Fang Jun Ming

 

The efficacy of the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the

treatment of atypical pneumonia (SARS) has grabbed the interest of the

World Health Organization Expert Delegation visiting the city. After

visiting the Guangdong Provincial TCM Hospital , the WHO delegation

commended the experience of the hospital personnel in in their use of TCM in

treating SARS . The WHO delegates expressed the view that compared with

other places, the TCM hospital on the average , has reduced the period of

hospitalization as well as the curative time of patients suffering from the

disease . In particular, they have provided valuable experience in the

treatment of this disease.

 

Yesterday morning, the WHO expert Mr. James Macguire especially paid

the hospital a visit to exchange opinions with the staff of the hospital in

the TCM treatment of SARS. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Macguire was in Canton to

investigate the use of TCM in the treatment of dengue fever. He has a deep

impression of his visit then. He said , : ³ traditional medicine has a

history of a couple thousand years of history. This time, in coming to the

provincial hospital with an open mind, I am looking forward to find if

there are new treatment methods that TCM is using in dealing with SARS.²

 

Based upon the opinion of experts (TCM) the clinical pattern ( zheng

hou ) of SARS patients found in Guangdong province corresponds with the

features of Ling Nan (this refers to the moutain regions of Southern China

which is hot, humid and foggy) Warm Febrile diseases ( wen bing) . Warm

febrile diseases are a common infectious diseases which normally occurs

during the spring season. . The pathoetiology ( bing yin) is ŒWind heat¹

feng re and Œwarm heat¹ wen re patho- heteropathies bing xie invading the

body.

 

The director of the hospital Lu Yu Po reported that from January 7th

to April 5th of this year, the hospital treated 112 SARS patients. The

hospital also invited renowned and veteran TCM experts from TCM universities

from Beijing, Changchun, Canton as well Western medical experts from the

Canton Respiratory Disease Research Centre to do coordinated consultations

(with patients and among each other) and decide on a clinical treatment

plan for the SARS patients. In this way, there is integration between TCM

and biomedicine systems of medicine .

 

Up until this time, 85 patients have been cured of SARS and discharged

from the hospital. Within about 7 days, patients fever is down to normal.

And within about 18 days, patients are discharged from the hospital. There

were 5 patients who died from the illness who developed complications like

heart diseases and kidney failure and did not respond to treatment.

 

 

 

On the basis of the medical personnel of the hospital who have

summed-up their collective experience, most of SARS patients exhibit

symptoms of headache, persistent high fever, vomiting etc. In the face of

this situation and in combination with Western drugs, the method of TCM

treatment is adopted. This method clearly can improve the symptoms,

alleviate the suffering of the patient, and enhance their recovery.

 

As to the earlier 15 patients, the method of herbal treatment on the

basis of clinical pattern differentiation was adopted. Excellent results

were achieved. In addition, those who had acute and extensive lung

inflammation , after the administration of the herbal preparation, there was

marked absorption of the inflammation effusion which reduced any sequelae

hou yi zheng from the disease.

 

Through the treatment of the more than a hundred SARS patients, the

hospital medical personnel after summing up their experience believed that

the mechanism for the TCM treatment of SARS is : anti-viral; regulate the

body¹s immune state; reduce inflammatory response; reduce immunological and

pathological damage; and protect the histological and cellular functions.

 

Chinese herbs can improve the patient¹s symptoms. First of all it can

bring down fever, ,vomiting etc. and other symptoms of slight toxic

effects. In addition they can improve symptoms of nausea, vomiting,

diarrhoeia and loss of appetite. Finally, they can also increase the body¹s

vigor, and markedly reduce the feeling of tiredness and fatigue.

 

On the basis of the patients clinical condition, the hospital summed-up

the concrete treatment plan into four stages :

 

Early stage: Herbs that can cool heat and dispel dampness and enliven blood

flow

are used This will promote the absorption of lung

inflammatory

effusion and reduce sequelae.

 

Middle Stage: Cool heat and dispel dampness.

 

High Climactic Stage: Expel the heteropathies qu xie (of wind heat)

 

Late Stage : Support the Zheng Qi ( medicatrix naturae) while expelling the

heteropathies . Pay attention to transforming the dampness

and

removing blood stasis hua shi qu yu

 

On the basis of lessons drawn from others people¹s mistakes ( medical

personnel suffering from mutual collective infection) .the Guangdong TCM

Hospital placed some efforts on enhancing the body resistance of their

personnel. Aside from administering conventional medication, health

personnel also given American

 

 

Ginseng juice Xi Yang Shen shui which are Chinese herbs that can expel the

heteropathies and strengthen the spleen.

 

In the past the hospital had two of it¹s personnel who got infected

However, after taking precautionary measures and drinking preventative

Chinese herb decoction no health personnel have been infected since.

 

Mr. Macguire commended the hospital for the above treatment methods

that have been adopted. He thinks they sound pretty innovative . His deepest

impression is that of the shortening of the hospitalization time and fever

time for SARS patients who underwent the treatment. He was very interested

in the the preventative method of taking American Ginseng Juice to boost the

body¹s immune system. He thinks that this is a very good experience. The

experience of using TCM in the treatment of SARS is very valuable. This has

to be subjected to further research in the future.

[Guest guest]

Rey:

 

Thanks. Excellent work. We needed something more than just

speculation about these problems.

 

Jim Ramholz

 

 

 

WHO EXPERTS TALKS ABOUT TCM¹S FIGHT

> AGAINST SARS

>

> Ta Kung Pao ( on -line

http://www.takungpao.com.hk/inc/print) .April 8,2003

> , Canton, China Reporters: YuanXiu Shen and Fang Jun Ming

>

> The efficacy of the use of traditional Chinese medicine

(TCM) in the

> treatment of atypical pneumonia (SARS) has grabbed the interest

of the

> World Health Organization Expert Delegation visiting the city.

After

> visiting the Guangdong Provincial TCM Hospital , the WHO delegation

> commended the experience of the hospital personnel in in their use

of TCM in

> treating SARS . The WHO delegates expressed the view that compared

with

> other places, the TCM hospital on the average , has reduced the

period of

> hospitalization as well as the curative time of patients

suffering from the

> disease . In particular, they have provided valuable experience in

the

> treatment of this disease.

>

> Yesterday morning, the WHO expert Mr. James Macguire

especially paid

> the hospital a visit to exchange opinions with the staff of the

hospital in

> the TCM treatment of SARS. Fifteen years ago, Mr. Macguire was in

Canton to

> investigate the use of TCM in the treatment of dengue fever. He

has a deep

> impression of his visit then. He said , : ³ traditional medicine

has a

> history of a couple thousand years of history. This time, in

coming to the

> provincial hospital with an open mind, I am looking forward to

find if

> there are new treatment methods that TCM is using in dealing with

SARS.²

>

> Based upon the opinion of experts (TCM) the clinical pattern

( zheng

> hou ) of SARS patients found in Guangdong province corresponds

with the

> features of Ling Nan (this refers to the moutain regions of

Southern China

> which is hot, humid and foggy) Warm Febrile diseases ( wen

bing) . Warm

> febrile diseases are a common infectious diseases which normally

occurs

> during the spring season. . The pathoetiology ( bing yin) is ŒWind

heat¹

> feng re and Œwarm heat¹ wen re patho- heteropathies bing xie

invading the

> body.

>

> The director of the hospital Lu Yu Po reported that from

January 7th

> to April 5th of this year, the hospital treated 112 SARS patients.

The

> hospital also invited renowned and veteran TCM experts from TCM

universities

> from Beijing, Changchun, Canton as well Western medical experts

from the

> Canton Respiratory Disease Research Centre to do coordinated

consultations

> (with patients and among each other) and decide on a clinical

treatment

> plan for the SARS patients. In this way, there is integration

between TCM

> and biomedicine systems of medicine .

>

> Up until this time, 85 patients have been cured of SARS and

discharged

> from the hospital. Within about 7 days, patients fever is down to

normal.

> And within about 18 days, patients are discharged from the

hospital. There

> were 5 patients who died from the illness who developed

complications like

> heart diseases and kidney failure and did not respond to treatment.

>

>

>

> On the basis of the medical personnel of the hospital who

have

> summed-up their collective experience, most of SARS patients

exhibit

> symptoms of headache, persistent high fever, vomiting etc. In the

face of

> this situation and in combination with Western drugs, the method

of TCM

> treatment is adopted. This method clearly can improve the symptoms,

> alleviate the suffering of the patient, and enhance their recovery.

>

> As to the earlier 15 patients, the method of herbal

treatment on the

> basis of clinical pattern differentiation was adopted. Excellent

results

> were achieved. In addition, those who had acute and extensive lung

> inflammation , after the administration of the herbal preparation,

there was

> marked absorption of the inflammation effusion which reduced any

sequelae

> hou yi zheng from the disease.

>

> Through the treatment of the more than a hundred SARS

patients, the

> hospital medical personnel after summing up their experience

believed that

> the mechanism for the TCM treatment of SARS is : anti-viral;

regulate the

> body¹s immune state; reduce inflammatory response; reduce

immunological and

> pathological damage; and protect the histological and cellular

functions.

>

> Chinese herbs can improve the patient¹s symptoms. First of

all it can

> bring down fever, ,vomiting etc. and other symptoms of slight

toxic

> effects. In addition they can improve symptoms of nausea,

vomiting,

> diarrhoeia and loss of appetite. Finally, they can also increase

the body¹s

> vigor, and markedly reduce the feeling of tiredness and fatigue.

>

> On the basis of the patients clinical condition, the hospital

summed-up

> the concrete treatment plan into four stages :

>

> Early stage: Herbs that can cool heat and dispel dampness and

enliven blood

> flow

> are used This will promote the absorption of

lung

> inflammatory

> effusion and reduce sequelae.

>

> Middle Stage: Cool heat and dispel dampness.

>

> High Climactic Stage: Expel the heteropathies qu xie (of wind

heat)

>

> Late Stage : Support the Zheng Qi ( medicatrix naturae) while

expelling the

> heteropathies . Pay attention to transforming

the dampness

> and

> removing blood stasis hua shi qu yu

>

> On the basis of lessons drawn from others people¹s mistakes (

medical

> personnel suffering from mutual collective infection) .the

Guangdong TCM

> Hospital placed some efforts on enhancing the body resistance of

their

> personnel. Aside from administering conventional medication, health

> personnel also given American

>

>

> Ginseng juice Xi Yang Shen shui which are Chinese herbs that can

expel the

> heteropathies and strengthen the spleen.

>

> In the past the hospital had two of it¹s personnel who got

infected

> However, after taking precautionary measures and drinking

preventative

> Chinese herb decoction no health personnel have been infected

since.

>

> Mr. Macguire commended the hospital for the above treatment

methods

> that have been adopted. He thinks they sound pretty innovative .

His deepest

> impression is that of the shortening of the hospitalization time

and fever

> time for SARS patients who underwent the treatment. He was very

interested

> in the the preventative method of taking American Ginseng Juice to

boost the

> body¹s immune system. He thinks that this is a very good

experience. The

> experience of using TCM in the treatment of SARS is very valuable.

This has

> to be subjected to further research in the future.

[Guest guest]

Rey, Jim, and All,

 

 

, " James Ramholz "

<jramholz> wrote:

> Rey:

>

> Thanks. Excellent work. We needed something more than just

> speculation about these problems.

>

I've been talking with people both in

Chinese media outlets (and the government

bureaus responsible for their operation)

and various public health facilities

about the SARS problem here in Beijing

extensively over the past couple of

weeks. Yesterday, a colleague at the

TV station where I'm working reviewed

her preliminary notes with me from an

interview she conducted with a TCM

doctor a couple of days ago.

 

He pointed out to her that far from

being a " new disease " what has been

labelled SARS or atypical pneumonia

is likely something that has been

around for a long time, which has

recently found conditions in which

it could emerge and express itself.

 

He pointed to the fact that Guangdong

had an atypically cold winter followed

by a fast warming in the early spring.

 

He stressed that the treatment strategy

should focus on harmonization with the

seasonal changes rather than eradication

of pathogens.

 

I've been concerned with the tendency,

both in discussion on this list and

with people here in Beijing, to view

the potential contribution of TCM to

dealing with SARS as an extension of

the Western pharmaceutical search for

" effective medications " to the virtual

exclusion of, well, speculation about

the problem and the kind of adjustments

that can be made once the puzzle of

illness has been solved using the

appropriate diagnostic and therpeutic

tools available in Chinese medicine.

 

We are going to do an extensive videotaped

interview with this doctor next week,

if all goes according to plan; and I will

summarize it and post it. I'm hoping that

he will articulate his approach in enough

detail to provide an alternate map towards

dealing with SARS.

 

Ken

[Guest guest]

Ken,

This is just what I wanted to hear.

 

It certainly is consistent with what I know of Chinese medicine and

classical theory from the Nei Jing onwards to wen bing xue about

seasonal abnormalities and epidemic disease.

 

It was most interesting to me to hear about how this physician

connected the symptoms of this condition with abnormal seasonal

conditions in Guangdong province.

 

We need somehow to develop some way to analyze biomedical data on

disease without compromising the structure of what Chinese medicine

does uniquely well.

 

I'd be interested further in what diagnostic and treatment strategies

this physician used.

 

 

On Friday, April 11, 2003, at 04:51 PM, dragon90405 wrote:

 

>

> He pointed out to her that far from

> being a " new disease " what has been

> labelled SARS or atypical pneumonia

> is likely something that has been

> around for a long time, which has

> recently found conditions in which

> it could emerge and express itself.

>

> He pointed to the fact that Guangdong

> had an atypically cold winter followed

> by a fast warming in the early spring.

>

> He stressed that the treatment strategy

> should focus on harmonization with the

> seasonal changes rather than eradication

> of pathogens.

>

> I've been concerned with the tendency,

> both in discussion on this list and

> with people here in Beijing, to view

> the potential contribution of TCM to

> dealing with SARS as an extension of

> the Western pharmaceutical search for

> " effective medications " to the virtual

> exclusion of, well, speculation about

> the problem and the kind of adjustments

> that can be made once the puzzle of

> illness has been solved using the

> appropriate diagnostic and therpeutic

> tools available in Chinese medicine.

[Guest guest]

Z'ev,

 

 

> We need somehow to develop some way to analyze biomedical data on

> disease without compromising the structure of what Chinese

medicine

> does uniquely well.

 

Agreed. We also need to develop the

tools that will allow the application

of the functionality of what Chinese

medicine does uniquely well to be

available to contemporary researchers

and clinicians, regardless of their

prior training and background.

>

> I'd be interested further in what diagnostic and treatment

strategies

> this physician used.

 

I'll be focusing on this in our interview

next week. If you or anyone else has

specific questions you'd like to get

answers to, please pass them on.

 

Ken

[Guest guest]

Ken,

Specifically:

1) how he observed his patients with the disease in terms of symptoms,

signs and development

2) how the epidemic developed in resonance with the unusual weather

changes

3) his prescriptions and/or acumoxa treatment

4) Successes and failures of SARS with CM treatment

5) why he thinks that SARS is not a new disease ( I suspect he is

correct).

 

Thanks,

 

On Friday, April 11, 2003, at 06:16 PM, dragon90405 wrote:

 

>> I'd be interested further in what diagnostic and treatment

> strategies

>> this physician used.

>

> I'll be focusing on this in our interview

> next week. If you or anyone else has

> specific questions you'd like to get

> answers to, please pass them on.

>

> Ken

[Guest guest]

, " dragon90405 " wrote:

> He stressed that the treatment strategy

> should focus on harmonization with the

> seasonal changes rather than eradication

> of pathogens.

 

Ken:

 

This sounds very promising. Can you get him to express the character

of the problem in more detailed terms of Wen Bing, SHL, and/or

general pattern differentiation?

 

And is there anything in the pulses of SARS patients that uniquely

defines the disorder?

 

If he knows other herbal formulas that have been helpful, please

post them.

 

 

Jim Ramholz