aging, essence, herbs and gene expression

[Guest guest]

Modern theories of aging suggest there are several key factors:

 

1. natural cell death, perhaps a method of protecting against cancer,

finally takes it toll

 

2. accumulated DNA defects due to

 

a. toxins

 

b. free radicals

 

c. impaired nutrition and assimilation

 

d. accumulated cellular waste

 

Number 1 is pretty much an issue of prenatal essence. There may be or

may not be high tech (nanotech) and/or biotech ways around some of

this. We'll see.

 

Number 2 is already largely manageable through diet, exercise, etc.

But what of the damage done? Once the DNA has been altered, there is

no completely going back to an earlier state of health. But you can

detoxify the remaining healthy cells and supplement lost function.

 

The questions are what are you supplementing and can it ever be fully

restored? I think the second one is easier. In most cases, patients

who are chronically ill should expect to be on herbs that relieve

symptoms and supplement vacuity indefinitely. As to what one is

supplementing, it clearly is described in functional terms. Whether we

speak of yin or qi or yang, we speak of function. But we also speak of

substance, at least to the extent that these functions are embodied in

physical substances (medicinals). And we know a few things about the

biochemical changes that occur in both aging and chronic illness as

well as the pharmacology of many herbs and how they affect this

biochemistry.

 

As one ages, essence declines. In modern terms, this can be explained

by loss of DNA quality over time due to the reasons listed above. DNA

codes for the production of various hormones as well as enzymes and

other peptides that mediate hormonal production. Due to accumulated

defects and natural cell death, the ability to continue to produce

youthful levels of these various substances declines over time. Thus,

estrogen, DHEA, pregnenolone, testosterone, growth hormone, all drop

precipitously past 40 (when yin is half gone). If your cells still did

at 80 what they did at 40, then you would not age. We know that cells

do not continue to function optimally as they age and they indeed slow

in their production of vital secretions. This breakdown in cellular

machinery is easily explained by built-in safety mechanisms, poisoning,

defective nutrition or excretion. It is an elegant description that

accounts for all known data on cells and aging. Unfortunately, while

administration of these " missing " hormones restores youthful behavior

and appearance, often not without side effects. Though DHEA and preg

may be used safely, it appears we are still just beginning to

understand the complexity of all this.

 

We also know that many tonic herbs affect various aspects of the

hormonal system, such as blood sugar, circulating estrogen levels, free

testosterone, DHEA/cortisol ratios, etc. While none of the plant

materials actually contain hormones, many appear to modify various

cellular functions that result in altered hormone levels or activity

(including increased number of receptors, decreased liver catabolism,

competitive binding, etc.). It thus appears that many of these

medicinals do literally supplement function that has been lost due to

aging or illness. If one is young or the vacuity is due largely to

lifestyle, herbs may be necessary only temporarily until enough time

passes with healthy regimen. But for the elderly or those with

longstanding illness, the use of supplements may be necessary forever.

This is merely a logical corollary to the fact that genetic defects are

permanent, so once you reach the age when you can no longer produce

adequate DHEA, for example, no amount of herbs will permanently correct

that. But the right use of herbs may allow you to function as if you

were biologically younger as long as you take them regularly.

 

There is also mounting evidence that many chinese herbs affect gene

expression and the correlation of TCM patterns with gene expression is

also taking place. google scholar finds 682 articles at

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?

q=%22gene+expression%22+%22chinese+medicine%22 & ie=UTF-8 & oe=UTF

-8 & hl=en & btnG=Search (over 8600 on a web search).

 

Bob Flaws mentioned here that he thought it take multiple lab

parameters to identify a single TCM pattern. However it may turn out

that that the multiple parameters are not something we already know of

(like thyroid levels), but rather something new such as gene

expression. It may be that certain patterns can be reliably associated

with certain combinations of abnormal gene expressions. These are not

defects, per se. They are reversible aberrations in function. It may

be that syndromes are nothing other than abnormal gene expression. Not

one gene, but many defining any given pattern. If abnormal gene

expression can be mapped in numerous diseases, as is now happening on a

broad and rapid scale, we will likely see that people with the same

disease may have different abnormalities in gene expression and people

with different diseases may have the same abnormalities and thus

present with the same syndrome. Even if you can't cure the illness,

the key to relieving the suffering is correcting the abnormal pattern,

which is always due to impaired qi flow, which is really just bad

information at some point along the pipe.

 

Chinese herbs that can reliably correct the abnormal gene expression

will be prescribed by MDs in this system of medicine, at least in

China. We would do well to look to modernizing developments in TCM in

the PRC. China will lead the way in scientific development in the next

century and while there is a traditionalist movement in TCM, it will

not prevail. Thus, there will be exciting developments in China vis a

vis the intersection of genetics and TCM. While in the US, I doubt we

will see much along these lines. The same fundamentalist mentality

that will leave most of the US in the virtual dark ages as the rest of

the world makes rapid technological gains is likely to relegate our

profession to the realm of self-development rather than medicine, per

se (worthwhile, as noted, just not what many of us signed up for). We

can bemoan the path taken in the PRC or embrace it as another exciting

twist on the long path of CM. Personally, I think these developments

potentially open a door to an important role for our profession in the

future of internal medicine. It will happen whether we embrace it or

not and when it does, if we have sat booing on the sidelines all along,

we will no longer be of any use to anyone. I know I can't convince

those whose minds are made up, but for those who have not yet focused

their career path, consider the possibilities.

 

 

 

Chinese Herbs