Chinese therapies herbal

Michael Lemer is keen on vations Chinese therapies, herbal and otherwise, and in particular on what is called qi gong (Lemer, 1994, pp 387-393). Qi gong is a psychophysiological therapy, akin to yoga, which is easier described than explained. The explanation involves the mind-body connection. 

A point that is often forgotten in westernized medicine is that of the approximate 7 billion people in the world at this moment, more than 80% of them do not have routine access to drugs as they are defined in Western medicine, but rely upon predominately plant-based therapies as their sources of medicinal agents. Even in areas of the world where single agent drugs are available, traditional therapeutic regimens such as Ayurveda in India, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Japanese and Korean herbals are still the major source of medicinals. 

Skolnick AA, Old herbal Chinese medicine used for fever yields possible nev f Alzheimer disease therapy, JAMA 277 776, 1997. 

Since the Kidney-Qi and essence are inherited from our parents and do not increase after we are born, tonifying the Kidney cannot be achieved in a short period of time. However, with this idea in mind, we can take steps to conserve our Kidney-Qi and essence throughout our lifetime. There are many ways to tonify and protect the Kidney, such as Chinese herbal therapy, Qi Gong exercise, Chinese dietary therapy and a healthy lifestyle. All of these can prevent disease, maintain health and ensure longevity. By this means, a person with a weak constitution can live a happy and healthy life, and someone with a strong constitution can live longer than average. 

No single definition adequately captures the range of practices that fall under the CAM rubric. Those that define CAM as practices that are not part of mainstream medicine, or as practices used by patients to manage their own health care, or as therapies not widely taught in Western medical schools or available in most hospitals, fail to capture the complexity of this field. CAM includes health-care practices that range from the use of vitamins, herbal remedies, and massage therapies to the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, along with chiropractic techniques, naturopathy homeopathic medicine, meditation, hypnosis, acupuncture, and a host of other less well-known approaches to health and health care. 

Herbal medicines are becoming more and more popular, and indeed some herbal products may be considered to benefit people with liver disease, e.g. Silybum marianum (milk thistle), Picrorhiza kurroa, Phyllanthus, etc. Herbal hepatotoxicity is increasingly being recognised, for example, with kava kava, black cohosh, and many traditional Chinese remedies. The range of liver injury includes minor transaminase elevations, acute and chronic hepatitis, steatosis, cholestasis, zonal or diffuse hepatic necrosis, veno-occlusive disease and acute liver failure. In addition to the potential for hepatotoxicity, herb-drug interactions may affect the safety and efficacy of concurrent medical therapy [15]. 

Herbal products are considered a type of alternative medicine (e.g., herbal medicines, Chinese herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture, biofeedback, color therapy, music therapy, hypnotherapy, aromatherapy. Ayurvedic medicine, massage, therapeutic touch, Bach flower remedies, chiropractic, reflexology, naturopathy, and more). According to the Office of Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), characteristics of alternatives medicine include treatments that lack sufficient documentation in the United States for safety and effectiveness against specific disease and... 

In a German hospital specializing in Chinese herbalism of 145 patients who had been treated within 1 year 53% reported having had at least one adverse effect attributable to Chinese herbal medicines (107). Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea were the most common complaints. It should be noted that causality in these cases can only be suspected and not proven. In the same institution about 1 % of 1507 consecutive patients treated with Chinese herbal mixtures had clinically relevant rises in liver enzymes (108,109). Glycyrrhiza radix and Atractylodis macro-cephalae rhizome were most consistently associated with such problems. In most of these cases there were no associated clinical signs and the abnormalities tended to normalize without specific therapy and in spite of continued treatment with the Chinese herbal mixtures. 

A person s use of alternative medicine must be solicited. Many herbal remedies were once wisely abandoned because of their common adverse reactions. Comfrey tea is a common cause of hepatocellular damage. As in the case of the Chinese remedy jin bu huan, or as in the case of the more elegantly presented chaparral capsules containing grease wood leaves, the end of therapy with these types of agents is occasionally severe disability or death from fulminant hepatic failure." Pennyroyal oil, maragosa oil, and clove oil cause a dose-related hepatotoxicity." ... 

In the last years, herbal medicines have frequently been used as an alternative or in addition to medical therapy for human immunodeficiency virus (HlV)-positive individuals and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. A group of infectious disease specialists treated a pediatric population with antiviral and herbal remedies [78]. Others aimed to summarize research findings for herbal medicines, which are endowed with the ability to inhibit HIV. A Chinese herbal medicine, Scutellaria baicalensis and its identified components (i.e., baicalein and baicalin) have been shown to inhibit infectivity and replication of HIV [79]. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of herbal medicines in HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients. Potential beneficial effects need to be confirmed in large, rigorous trials. Moreover, the possible toxicities due to the herbal remedies interactions with the antiviral therapy have to be considered. 

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