Advantages of combining Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease?

  Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that occurs in middle-aged and elderly people. The main clinical manifestations are resting tremor, bradykinesia, myotonia and abnormal posture and gait, in addition to some patients showing attention loss, dementia, depression, autonomic dysfunction such as upright hypotension and constipation. To maintain the patient’s ability to live independently as much as possible. Compounded levodopa, anticholinergic drugs and dopamine agonists are commonly used. Western drugs have a rapid onset of action and can quickly improve symptoms in patients with initial application. However, there are some problems with western medicine treatment, one is that the initial efficacy is good, but after a period of time the efficacy is not obvious and the dose needs to be increased continuously; the second is that western medicine itself has side effects, if the western medicine treatment can be combined with traditional Chinese medicine, the combination of Chinese and western medicine treatment, often can receive unexpected results.  The role of Chinese medicine in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is mainly reflected in: 1, there is a certain improvement of symptoms, especially for early patients, Chinese medicine has always stressed that “not treating the disease to treat the disease before it occurs”, for Parkinson’s disease in the early stages of patient intervention in Chinese medicine treatment, can achieve the purpose of prevention before the disease, early treatment of the disease. 2, reduce the dosage of Western drugs, for patients who are taking Western drugs, the addition of Chinese medicine treatment can be used to reduce the dosage of Western drugs. The use of Chinese herbal medicine can gradually reduce the dosage of western medicine for patients who are taking western medicine and achieve the same efficacy as before the treatment with Chinese herbal medicine. 3.Reduce the side effects of western medicine. The disease is a chronic degenerative disease that worsens with aging, and there is no reliable way to stop its development, so Chinese medicine, as a cure, has a certain effect on delaying the development of the disease. Although sometimes the effect of Chinese medicine is sometimes not significant from Parkinson’s disease symptom scores alone, patients have overall improvement in physical fitness, diet, sleep, intelligence, and mental status, and their quality of life is greatly improved.  Chinese medicine treatment of Parkinson’s disease can be divided into early, middle and late stages of treatment according to the course of the disease. In the early stage, treatment should be given to eliminate blood stasis, clear heat, resolve phlegm, quench wind and stop spasm, etc., to slow down the development of the disease to the middle stage, using such formulas as Blood Mansions and Blood Stasis Tang, Wu Ma and Hooked Vine Drink, and Guiding Phlegm Tang for treatment. In the middle stage, treatment is appropriate to nourish Yin, benefit Qi and nourish Blood, using formulas such as Ding Zhen Wan and Da Ding Feng Zhu. In the late stage of the disease, the disease mechanism has been transformed into a deficiency of both spleen and kidney yin and yang, and the treatment should be to nourish both yin and yang and to quench the wind, with the formula of Dihuang Drinking Zi plus or minus. Modern research has found that acupuncture can increase the level of dopamine in the brain, remove the nerve damage factors, weaken the amplitude and frequency of tremor muscle potential. Thus, it can alleviate the patient’s condition to a certain extent, has a certain potential in improving the patient’s stiffness and alleviating the side effects of drugs, and has initially shown some therapeutic advantages for movement disorders. Although it is difficult to compare Chinese medicine and acupuncture with Western medicine in terms of recent efficacy alone, TCM has the characteristics of holistic treatment, which improves symptoms by adjusting the body’s yin and yang qi and blood to bring them closer to balance. Therefore, the symptoms are not easy to be repeated. This feature of treating both the symptoms and the root cause is very complementary to western medicine treatment. For example, for early stage patients, or patients with contraindications to western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine can be used as soon as possible; for patients who have already applied western medicine, the efficacy of western medicine can be improved, the dosage of western medicine can be minimized, and the side effects of western medicine can be reduced. Therefore, taking the path of combining Chinese and Western medicine is a reasonable choice for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease at present. Chinese and Western medicine treatment should be combined, Chinese medicine and acupuncture should be combined, acupuncture head acupuncture, body acupuncture, ear acupuncture, moxibustion, bloodletting therapy, acupuncture point injection, etc. The acupuncture treatment of this disease is mostly based on tremor and quenching the wind, body acupuncture commonly used points for the four Shenchong, Fengchi, Quchi, Hegu, Yanglingquan, Taichong, Taixi, etc., can be added or subtracted points with the evidence, stay acupuncture time of about 30 to 50 minutes, the course of treatment to 10 to 15 days is better. Scalp acupuncture mostly uses the chorea tremor control area as the main stimulation area, and can be combined with motor area, sensory area and other head meridian points according to the symptoms. The course of treatment for this disease is long and point fatigue should be avoided, and alternating 2 sets of prescriptions can be considered if necessary. Then choose the appropriate method to develop an individualized treatment plan, taking into account the individual’s physique, condition, and economic conditions Traditional Western medicine therapy is still at the core of Parkinson’s disease treatment, however, the various side effects brought about by long-term use are also a growing concern, prompting people to look at traditional therapy from a new perspective, and also to look for treatment from new avenues. Chinese medicine has shown its unique brilliance in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease through the combination of evidence-based treatment, multi-path and multi-target integrated treatment, and the regulation of the overall functional state of the body. The combination of TCM and Western medicine fully reflects its complementary advantages to Western medicine in reducing toxicity and increasing effectiveness, and is is a reasonable choice for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.  Parkinson’s disease is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that occurs mostly in middle-aged and elderly people. The main clinical manifestations of Parkinson’s disease are resting tremor, bradykinesia, myotonia and abnormal posture and gait, in addition to which some patients show hypoacusis, dementia, depression, autonomic dysfunction such as upright hypotension, constipation, etc. Currently, the aim of Western medicine in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is to control the symptoms, and the treatment goals are To maintain the patient’s ability to live independently as much as possible. Compounded levodopa, anticholinergic drugs and dopamine agonists are commonly used. Western drugs have a rapid onset of action and can quickly improve symptoms in patients with initial application. However, there are some problems with western medicine treatment, one is that the initial efficacy is good, but after a period of time the efficacy is not obvious and the dose needs to be increased continuously; the second is that western medicine itself has side effects, if the western medicine treatment can be combined with traditional Chinese medicine, the combination of Chinese and western medicine treatment, often can receive unexpected results.  The role of Chinese medicine in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is mainly reflected in: 1, there is a certain improvement of symptoms, especially for early patients, Chinese medicine has always stressed that “not treating the disease to treat the disease before it occurs”, for Parkinson’s disease in the early stages of patient intervention in Chinese medicine treatment, can achieve the purpose of prevention before the disease, early treatment of the disease. 2, reduce the dosage of Western drugs, for patients who are taking Western drugs, the addition of Chinese medicine treatment can be used to reduce the dosage of Western drugs. The use of Chinese herbal medicine can gradually reduce the dosage of western medicine for patients who are taking western medicine and achieve the same efficacy as before the treatment with Chinese herbal medicine. 3.Reduce the side effects of western medicine. The disease is a chronic degenerative disease that worsens with aging, and there is no reliable way to stop its development, so Chinese medicine, as a cure, has a certain effect on delaying the development of the disease. Although sometimes the effect of Chinese medicine is sometimes not significant from Parkinson’s disease symptom scores alone, patients have overall improvement in physical fitness, diet, sleep, intelligence, and mental status, and their quality of life is greatly improved.  Chinese medicine treatment of Parkinson’s disease can be divided into early, middle and late stages of treatment according to the course of the disease. In the early stage, treatment should be given to eliminate blood stasis, clear heat, resolve phlegm, quench wind and stop spasm, etc., to slow down the development of the disease to the middle stage, using such formulas as Blood Mansions and Blood Stasis Tang, Wu Ma and Hooked Vine Drink, and Guiding Phlegm Tang for treatment. In the middle stage, treatment is appropriate to nourish Yin, benefit Qi and nourish Blood, using formulas such as Ding Zhen Wan and Da Ding Feng Zhu. In the late stage of the disease, the disease mechanism has been transformed into a deficiency of both spleen and kidney yin and yang, and the treatment should be to nourish both yin and yang and to quench the wind, with the formula of Dihuang Drinking Zi plus or minus. Modern research has found that acupuncture can increase the level of dopamine in the brain, remove the nerve damage factors, weaken the amplitude and frequency of tremor muscle potential. Thus, it can alleviate the patient’s condition to a certain extent, has a certain potential in improving the patient’s stiffness and alleviating the side effects of drugs, and has initially shown some therapeutic advantages for movement disorders. Although it is difficult to compare Chinese medicine and acupuncture with Western medicine in terms of recent efficacy alone, TCM has the characteristics of holistic treatment, which improves symptoms by adjusting the body’s yin and yang qi and blood to bring them closer to balance. Therefore, the symptoms are not easy to be repeated. This feature of treating both the symptoms and the root cause is very complementary to western medicine treatment. For example, for early stage patients, or patients with contraindications to western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine can be used as soon as possible; for patients who have already applied western medicine, the efficacy of western medicine can be improved, the dosage of western medicine can be minimized, and the side effects of western medicine can be reduced. Therefore, taking the path of combining Chinese and Western medicine is a reasonable choice for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease at present. Chinese and Western medicine treatment should be combined, Chinese medicine and acupuncture should be combined, acupuncture head acupuncture, body acupuncture, ear acupuncture, moxibustion, bloodletting therapy, acupuncture point injection, etc. The acupuncture treatment of this disease is mostly based on tremor and quenching the wind, body acupuncture commonly used points for the four Shenchong, Fengchi, Quchi, Hegu, Yanglingquan, Taichong, Taixi, etc., can be added or subtracted points with the evidence, stay acupuncture time of about 30 to 50 minutes, the course of treatment to 10 to 15 days is better. Scalp acupuncture mostly uses the chorea tremor control area as the main stimulation area, and can be combined with motor area, sensory area and other head meridian points according to the symptoms. The course of treatment for this disease is long and point fatigue should be avoided, and alternating 2 sets of prescriptions can be considered if necessary. Then choose the appropriate method to develop an individualized treatment plan, taking into account the individual’s physique, condition, and economic conditions Traditional Western medicine therapy is still at the core of Parkinson’s disease treatment, however, the various side effects brought about by long-term use are also a growing concern, prompting people to look at traditional therapy from a new perspective, and also to look for treatment from new avenues. Chinese medicine has shown its unique brilliance in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease through the combination of evidence-based treatment, multi-path and multi-target integrated treatment, and the regulation of the overall functional state of the body. The combination of TCM and Western medicine fully reflects its complementary advantages to Western medicine in reducing toxicity and increasing effectiveness, and is is a reasonable choice for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.