Macular degeneration in the elderly is important for “spleen and kidney”

  Age-related macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration, is a common blinding eye disease in middle-aged and elderly people. In addition to age, race and pathophysiological characteristics of the eye, it may also be related to hypertension, arteriosclerosis, nutritional disorders, smoking and toxic damage of light. According to the patient’s self-perceived symptoms, such as distortion of vision, dark gray shadows in front of the eyes, vision loss, etc., they are called “visual confusion”, “positive and negative oblique vision”, “straight as curved vision”, etc. In modern times, the disease is divided into dry (or non-exudative) and wet (or exudative) types with the help of fundoscopy and fluorescence angiography. The disease is difficult to treat. In recent years, Western medicine adopts photodynamic therapy to stop the continued deterioration of vision in a few patients, but it is expensive and difficult to promote. According to Mr. Wei, the word “old age” before macular degeneration is sufficient to show that the occurrence of this disease is related to age, and aging is a natural process of life, which is irresistible, but can be delayed. Many Chinese herbal medicines or prescriptions have been described as “ageless”, “resistant to aging”, “prolonging the life”, “wise to the eyes and ears” and so on. The macula is located in the retina. In addition, the macula is located in the central area of the posterior pole of the retina, and the “Suwen Jin Kui Zhen Shu” says: “The central color is yellow, and it enters the spleen”; modern Chinese ophthalmologist Prof. Chen Dafu’s “The Six Classic Methods of Chinese Ophthalmology” believes that the macula belongs to the spleen, so treatment should start from the spleen and must take into account the treatment of the liver. According to Dr. Wei, the deficiency of macular degeneration is the main cause of age-related macular degeneration, but there can also be evidence of deficiency and superficial reality. The deficiency is blamed on both the spleen and kidney, or tiredness and diet damage the spleen and stomach, insufficient biochemistry of qi and blood, no right to transport fluid, and water-dampness upward; or due to weak spleen, the spleen does not control blood, and blood overflows outside the veins; or kidney essence gradually loss, yin deficiency of blood, and the eyes are dark. The actual condition is either stasis, swelling, or phlegm. Although there is a mixture of deficiency and reality in different stages of the disease, it seems to be a heavy evidence, but the deficiency should always be carried out, and the internal organs should be supplemented only the spleen and kidney. The clinical evidence can be divided into two types: liver and kidney deficiency and spleen deficiency and qi weakness, combined with blood stasis, phlegm nodules, dampness, scar proliferation, etc., respectively, with the use of phlegm, dispel phlegm, dry dampness, disperse nodules, etc., can often alleviate the condition, promote the absorption of bleeding, exudation, edema reduction, and thus improve vision. Especially for elderly people who have systemic vascular diseases and the function of internal organs is declining, the use of Chinese medicine and flexible treatment can not only help the disease to improve, but also regulate the whole body.  Commonly used drugs for the benefit of Qi and spleen are often selected from Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng, Radix Astragali, Radix Astragali, and if macular edema is obvious, raw Radix Astragali is used; light percolation and dampness are used from Poria, Zelenia, Plantago, Coix Seeds, etc.; removing blood stasis and stopping bleeding are used from Salvia, Sophora, Panax notoginseng powder, etc.; tonifying the kidneys and brightening the eyes are used from Radix Rehmanniae, Fructus Lycii, Fructus Chasteberry, Broussonetia, Semen Cuscutae, etc.; softening and dispersing the knots are selected from Xia Ku Cao, Forsythia, Oyster, Zhe Bei Mu, etc. 1.Nourishing Yin and tonifying the kidney soup: 15g each of raw and ripe ground, 10g each of red and white peony, 10g each of angelica tail, 15g of wolfberry, 10g of lady’s mantle, 6g of schisandra, 10g of prunus ginseng, 15g of danshen, 10g of astragalus, 6g of fried Zhi Mu, 6-10g of acacia. 2.Tuning the middle and benefiting the qi soup: 15g of astragalus, 12g of codonopsis, 3g of peel, 5g of roasted licorice, 12g of atractylodes, 6g of mucuna pruriens, 5g of asclepias, 5g of Chai Hu. 5g, Chai Hu 5g, 3 jujubes, 3 slices of ginger.  Case analysis Tan××, male, 59 years old. He was first seen in a military hospital on July 27, 1989, complaining of a significant decrease in visual acuity in both eyes with visual distortion for 7 months. At the end of 1988, the right eye suddenly felt blurred vision and could not see the window frame straight. He was treated with vitamin E, C, niacin and inosine in a hospital for macular degeneration, but his vision was still poor. In the last 1 week, increased hemorrhage in the macular area of the fundus was found. Examination: visual acuity 0.1 on the right and 0.3 on the left, correction does not improve. Mild patchy-strip clouding around the lens in both eyes, red fundus optic disc, thin arteries, and straight travel. The right macula was an irregular yellowish grayish lesion with disorganized pigmentation around it and many hard exudates. Temporal and inferior hemorrhage exceeded the extent of the arcuate ring. The left macula was pigmented and disorganized with dark red hemorrhagic spots, with soft grayish-yellow glassy warts scattered above. Both maculae are edematous with tissue thickening. The patient often has dizziness, tinnitus, lumbar weakness, and insomnia. The pulse is thin and stringent, the ulnar pulse is weak, and the tongue is dark red with little coating. Diagnosis of straight as curved vision in both eyes (double age-related macular degeneration). The diagnosis is old age, kidney deficiency, liver and blood deficiency, blood stasis and phlegm accumulation. The treatment is to tonify the kidney and nourish blood, invigorate blood and eliminate swelling. Radix Rehmanniae 15g, Radix Paeoniae 10g, Radix Angelicae Sinensis 10g, Radix Bupleurum 10g, Fructus Schisandrae 6g, Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum 10g, Poria Cocos 10g, Radix Zeleniae 10g, Salviae Miltiorrhizae 10g, Fructus Lycii 15g, Sophora Japonicae 10g, 7 doses, 1 dose daily with water decoction, together with Panax Ginseng Powder 3g twice daily, washed with medicinal juice.  Second diagnosis: He felt good after taking the medicine, tinnitus and dizziness were reduced, and there was no change in vision. The hemorrhage under the right macula in the fundus of the eye is reduced, and the left eye is as before. The pulse is thin and the tongue is dark red with little coating. The treatment is to guard the front, strengthen the original formula to activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, add 10g of Tiger Balm and take 14 doses in a row. Third diagnosis: general symptoms reduced, but dry stool, sleep still poor, left visual acuity improved. Visual acuity was 0.1 on the right and 0.5 on the left. right macular hemorrhage was partially absorbed, left dark red hemorrhage became thinner and sparsely dispersed, edema was reduced, but there was still much exudation. The diagnosis belongs to deficiency of kidney and essence, stagnation of blood flow and coagulation of phlegm. Prescription: 15g of Radix Rehmanniae, 10g of Cornu Cervi Pantotrichum, 10g of Radix Angelicae Sinensis, 15g of Radix Angelicae Sinensis, 10g of Radix Angelicae Sinensis, 10g of Radix Salviae Sinensis, 10g of Radix Silphium, 10g of Radix Xia Gu Cao, 6g of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, 15g of Radix Cassiae Sinensis, 10g of Radix Phellodendron, 7 doses. Final diagnosis: August 26, 1989. No general discomfort, good sleep, stools are solved 1-2 times a day. Visual distortion still exists in the right eye, but the left eye is better. Examination: visual acuity 0.2 in the right eye and 0.7 in the left. macular hemorrhage and exudation partially absorbed in the right eye, macular hemorrhage absorbed in the left eye, edema reduced significantly, exudation diluted. The original formula was instructed to add prunus ginseng, fried atractylodes and other qi tonics, and the amount of each medicine was increased by 10 times. On September 26, 1989, the patient took the special pill for 20 days and felt that his vision was stable, but the right eye was still curved. The visual acuity was 0.2+1 on the right and 0.7 on the left. On February 17 and July 12, 1990, the visual acuity remained 0.2 on the right side and 0.8 on the left side, and the hemorrhage in the fundus was absorbed.  In this case, the main purpose is to tonify the kidneys, and four medicines are used to tonify the liver and kidneys, such as rehmannia, wolfberry, etc. For the signs of blood stasis and phlegm accumulation seen in the macula of the fundus, the first priority is to activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis, with the addition of panax ginseng powder, etc. When the bleeding is thinned and absorbed, but the exudation is still much, Chen Pi and Xia Ku Cao are used to dissolve the phlegm and disperse the knots to promote the elimination of phlegm and dampness. At the later stage, he used pills to consolidate the therapeutic effect. The treatment of this disease by Dr. Wei fully reflects the characteristics of not only emphasizing systemic conditioning but also flexible identification of evidence based on the fundus of the eyes, which has led to obvious improvement of the patient’s condition.