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abstracted & translated by
Bob Flaws, Dipl. Ac. & C.H., Lic. Ac., FNAAOM, FRCHM
Keywords: Chinese medicine, Chinese herbal medicine, integrated Chinese-Western medicine, diabetes mellitus, coronary heart disease
In issue #5, 2002 of Hu Bei Zhong Yi Za Zhi (Hubei Journal of Chinese Medicine), Wang He and Lu Xiong published an article titled, “The Treatment of 50 Cases of Diabetes Mellitus & Coronary Heart Disease with Integrated Chinese-Western Medicine.” This article appeared on page nine of that journal, and a precis is presented below.
Cohort description:
Altogether, there were 76 patients in this study, all of whom suffered from both type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. The diagnostic criteria for diabetes mellitus were based on WHO 1985 criteria and those for coronary heart disease were based on 1979 WHO criteria. The Chinese medical pattern discrimination of all these patients was qi vacuity, blood stasis, and phlegm obstruction. Fifty of these 76 patients were divided into the treatment group. Among these, 29 were male and 21 were female, with a median age of 56.2 ± 15.1 years and a median disease duration of 15 ± 10 years. In the comparison group, there were 14 males and 12 females with a median age of 54.3 ± 14.5 years and a median disease duration of 16 ± 12 years. Therefore, there were no significant statistical differences in terms of sex, age, or disease duration between these two groups.
Treatment method:
All the members of the comparison group followed a diabetic diet and received 5-20mg of micronase per day. Some also received 250-750mg of another oral hypoglycemic per day. On top of this regime, the members of the treatment group also received ready-made Chinese herbal granules comprised of: Radix Astragali Membranacei (Huang Qi), Radix Pseudoginseng (San Qi), Fructus Trichosanthis Kirlowii (Gua Lou), Radix Ilicis Pubescentis (Mao Dong Qing), Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae (Niu Xi), Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Dan Shen), Rhizoma Pinelliae Ternatae (Ban Xia), Ramulus Cinnamomi Cassiae (Gui Zhi), Radix Pseudostellariae Heterophyllae (Tai Zi Shen), and Bulbus Allii Fistulosi (Cong Bai). Ten grams of these granules were administered two times per day. Four weeks equaled one course of treatment for both groups.
Treatment outcomes:
Cure was defined as basic disappearance of clinical symptoms and basic normalization of EKG. Improvement was defined as marked decrease in clinical symptoms and marked improvement in EKG. No effect meant that there was no obvious improvement in clinical symptoms or in EKG. Based on these criteria, in the treatment group, 12 cases were cured, 30 were judged improved, and eight got not effect, for a total amelioration rate of 84%. In the comparison group, no patients were cured, nine improved, and 17 got no effect, for a total amelioration rate of only 34.61%. In addition, although there was no marked differences in mean reduction of blood glucose between these two groups, the Chinese medicine group saw significantly greater mean reductions in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low density lipids and significant increases in mean high density lipids. It should be noted that this Chinese medical protocol was primarily aimed at the coronary heart disease, and the diabetes was treated with Western medical oral hypoglycemics. Therefore, marked difference in blood glucose between these two groups were not to be expected.
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