Lyme Disease & Modern Chinese Medicine

To regulate immunity, we designed and use TGP Capsule, AI #3 Capsule, Cordyceps Capsule, Puerarin Capsule and Circulation P Capsule. They have immune regulation and general health support effects. Chronic LD has a lot of the symptoms overlap with CFS (chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome), therefore, the immune regulation and general health support can also be helpful for CFS.

Total glucosides of paeony is extracted and purified from the root of Paeonia Iactiflora Pall and it has anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain releasing), anti-stress and immune-modulation, liver preservation and suppression of autoimmune effects. Multi-channel suppression of autoimmune response, as well as anti-inflammatory, and other pharmacological effects. Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has a definite effect. Animal model studies found that it enhanced effects on both IL-1, IL-2 production by the celiac macrophages of rats. TGP has inducing effect on the proliferation of spleen lymphocytes and in AA (alko alcohol) rats and can restore it to close to the normal level. Lymphocyte proliferation indicates that the two-way immune-modulation effect of TGP which is dose dependent. Anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-allergic effect of TGP (50mg/kg) on the rat adjuvant-induced arthritis and ankle swelling has an inhibitory and preventive effect.

Clinical studies had shown that the efficacy of the TGP in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is similar to that of methotrexate (MTX), but its adverse reactions are significantly less and lighter than MTX and it has been approved as new medication for rheumatoid arthritis in China.

Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbology

TCM herbology is the mainstay of Chinese medicine, and its modernization is a major contribution to the overall integration process. Advanced technologies in phytochemistry and phytopharmacology have been applied to Chinese materia medica so that the use of herbs in MCM is based, not only on TCM principles, but also on the features of the herb’s pharmacology.

The traditional way of making a decoction from dried, raw herbs is subject to great variation. The herbal species, soil and other growing conditions, time of collection, and processing procedures can all vary, and the raw herbs may be tainted by herbicides and other contaminants. By employing phytochemistry techniques to extract active ingredients and purify them, variation and contamination are eliminated. Scientists have isolated the specific active ingredients that are responsible for the therapeutic effects of the herbs and have determined the molecular structure of most of these ingredients. Their physiological actions and metabolism in the body, possible toxicity and adverse reactions, clinical dosage, and treatment courses have thus been studied. In this way, MCM practitioners know exactly what and how much to administer to individual patients. The potency of herbal remedies has thus been standardized to enhance consistency and quality, assuring the predictability of the therapeutic effect and allowing for the replication of clinical outcomes. These studies also permit observation of the interactions between herbal remedies and conventional Western pharmaceuticals with the aim of avoiding harmful side effects. Pills and capsules make the administration of herbal medicine far more convenient and palatable than preparing and drinking bitter decoctions, as has been done for thousands of years. 

In our practice we have developed our own herbal products to ensure their quality, safety, and efficacy. Our standards follow:

• The active ingredient is identifiable.
• The potency is measurable.
• The clinical action is predictable.
• The clinical outcome is repeatable.

Modern research methods applied to traditional medicinal herbs have enhanced the effectiveness of TCM. MCM can treat some diseases that are difficult for both TCM and WM. MCM herbs can be used to enhance the therapeutic effects and/or mitigate the side effects of Western pharmaceuticals. This strategy has been routinely applied in China. From these studies the herb’s indication for treatment of diseases is expanded. For example, the artemisinin extracted from Chinese herb Qing Hao (Herba Artemisiae annuae) and its molecular derivatives, such as artesunate and artemether were originally developed as anti-malaria medicine and now we have used them for treating babesiosis a malaria-like protozoa co-infection of Lyme disease and even for cancer as non-cytotoxic anti-cancer medicine, which can promote cancer cell undergo apoptosis without hurting normal cells.  Recently the discoverer of artemisinin who win 2015 Nobel Prize and her team announced that these substances can also be effectively used to treat systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis.  

WM was codified during the Industrial Age and so considers the body in terms of its physical and chemical properties. In contrast, TCM developed in the prescience era and is, therefore, based on the observation of nature. In the more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, a unique way of thinking has developed, which has deeply influenced every aspect of Chinese life, including medicine. The three main philosophies are Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, all of which have profoundly influenced Chinese thought, behavior, and health care. TCM emerged from this milieu.

The main principle of Taoism is to follow the way of nature and attempt to live in harmony with it. TCM’s definition of health and disease is based on the harmonization or the disharmony, respectively, of the body with the nature of the body itself. When the body is in balance with the outside world and within itself, the person is considered healthy. Disease is a deviation from balance, and the TCM treatment is to restore balance. TCM treatment entails regulatory adjustment of the body. In conventional WM, disease is defined as an abnormal disorder of structure or function associated with specific symptoms and signs and caused by external factors such as pathogens and internal dysfunctions such as cancer cells. Treatment is aimed at suppression or elimination, i.e. allopathic.

Confucianism dictates the social hierarchy insofar as the nation rules over society at large, and societal order holds a superior position in relation to the family, which in turn takes precedence over the individual. For example, when the Chinese address an envelope, we put the country first, followed by the province, the city, the street, and then the person—just the opposite of the Western way. When we look at a disease, we consider the diseased tissue, organ, or bodily system as part of the whole body, understanding that the parts affect the whole and vice versa. We do not extract the disease from the system to address it in isolation because the sick part is an element of the collective body. This is the root of holism in TCM. When we treat the infection, we think of it in terms of the entire body not just the pathogens; we would never think of treating the pathogens in isolation. In contrast, the philosophy of Western individualism has given rise to isolating the disease from the rest of the body and dealing with the disease without considering how the whole body affects the diseased part or the diseased part affects the entire body. Thus, a Western-trained doctor will primarily or exclusively focus on the anti-infectious agents and thereby lose sight of the global environment in which the infectious disease is affecting the human body, thereby only using various antibiotics to address the microbials.

Buddhism came from India to China, where it evolved into its own religion, i.e. Zen. Buddhism holds that there is no savior coming from heaven, and so the individual must save him- or herself. TCM follows this concept and stresses self-healing. TCM proposes that health is a birthright and that the body has the power to heal itself. Healing is done by the mind and the body and helped by external medical interventions. Medications and procedures can only help the body heal; they cannot take over the task of healing. This is very different from WM, which is overly reliant on external intervention; managing the disease is the main concern, and health maintenance is too often ignored. These differences showed on different protocols these two medicines adopted. MCM try to integrating them.

After read those slides of herbal products, readers may find that they have clear molecular structure and pharmacologic information, which can not see in herbology of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This post will explain why.

What is “Modern Chinese Medicine?”

People are more familiar with TCM and in the Western world most TCM practitioners are acupuncturists. In China the mainstay of TCM is herbology and acupuncture is considered as an adjunctive therapy. Since 1958 there was an integration movement to combine TCM and western medicine in China.

Modern Chinese Medicine (MCM) is the integration of Chinese and Western medicine and is the result of the modernization of TCM as seen through the lens of Western pathophysiology and phytopharma­cology. This integrative approach has developed in all medical specialties allows for the practice of both TCM and WM in the same medical settings by the same doctors for the same patients with greatly improved outcomes.

The integration of TCM with WM is a national movement in China, the purpose of which is to create a unified medicine to better serve patients. Begun in 1958, the merging of these two medicines means that TCM is taught in conjunction with conventional WM in every medical school in China. I was one of the first generation of Chinese medical students to be trained in both Western and Chinese medicine. I attended a Western medical school, Shanghai Second Medical College, which now is Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University. In 1958, during my second year of medical school, TCM became a required course. At first, my classmates were unwilling to learn this “unscientific medicine.” We had already learned anatomy, histology, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology, pathology, and pharmacology, but suddenly we were taught yin and yang, Theory of Five Elements, Hot and Cold, and Excess and Deficiency etc. We rejected those vague TCM concepts. Only when we entered our internships did we pick TCM up again because it works.

During this time, teaching hospitals set up TCM departments, and senior WM doctors were required to learn from TCM masters and to conduct research on TCM. Currently, three medicines are practiced in China: conventional Western medicine, TCM, and integrative Chinese and Western medicine, the latter of which I refer to as modern Chinese medicine (MCM).

                Besides the practical benefits of MCM, there are more profound philosophical reasons for adopting this integrative system. The two modalities are not simply piled atop each other but unified in such a way as to improve both. Since both TCM and WM are concerned with the health care of human beings, they can be integrated. Differences lie in their respective approaches to health, disease, and treatment made them difficult to integrate.

One important aspect of pathology of LD is the infection caused patient to have immune dysfunctions which include immune deficiency, such as CD₅₇ low it means the cellular immunity is compromised, and low ability to produce antibodies, this made many patients being misdiagnosed because of testing methods are not sensitive enough to detect the low-level antibodies in the serum. It means the humeral immunity is also compromised. This caused many false negatives tests that result in many cases of misdiagnosed chronic LD.

Another immune dysfunction is autoimmunity, which caused many secondary autoimmune complications of LD, such as Hashimoto, rheumatoid like arthritis, fibromyalgia, vasculitis, Reynaud’s Syndrome, myocarditis, Sjogren Syndrome, and autoimmune encephalitis… etc. Autoimmune also caused over sensitivities, many patients become sensitive to things they used could enjoy, such as gluten intolerant is very common in chronic LD patients. Immune dysfunction not only diminishes patients’ ability to eradicate the infection but also created complications and symptoms that deteriorate their life quality and making them sick. So, for an effective LD protocol, regulating immunity is one of necessity treatments.

For patient with autoimmune complications, to distinguish whether the autoimmunity is primary or secondary to the LD is vitally important. I have seen many patients being diagnosed as primary rheumatoid arthritis and treated with steroids or even methotrexate (MTX) without knowing that it was LD caused autoimmune arthritis. The immune suppressive treatments not only ineffective but also made the underlying causative LD almost intractable. Even LD patient with primary autoimmune disorders before the Lyme infection, the immune suppressive treatment should also be avoided until the LD has been well treated then to treat the primary autoimmune disorders. This sequence is vitally important to remember. Without treating the underlying LD, the immune suppressive treatments for autoimmune related complications will not work and makes LD patient sicker.  

This formula has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat spirochetes infections. We used is as second line anti-infection treatment.

Formula 5081 is formulated based on clinical treatment protocols designed for treating spirochete infections such as Syphilis and Leptospirosis. This formula was the main traditional Chinese medicine’s remedy for spirochete infections. It consists only four herbs and the efficacy of anti spirochete infection was quite high. In our protocol for Lyme disease it is used as second line treatment. �

Coptis has extensive anti-microbial effects. This slide shows its spectrum of anti-various microbial effects, which are suitable for treating multiple Lyme co-infections.

This is the pharmacological facts of Coptis Capsule, which is one of the main anti-infection herbal products we use for Lyme disease. It has wide spectrum anti-microbial effects. Besides anti-infection, it has blood sugar control effects.

It has wild spectrum of anti-microbial effects. MIC stands for minimal inhibitory concentration. You can see that HH’s MIC were quite low that means it is an potent anti-microbial substance.