How does TCM treat SLE?

  SLE is an autoimmune connective tissue disease with unknown etiology, complex pathogenesis, and long-lasting disease, which is more common in women and often occurs in women of childbearing age, making treatment quite difficult. He has long been engaged in clinical research on rheumatic diseases, and with his deep knowledge and rich experience, he has been able to treat SLE with a unique approach that emphasizes dialectical evidence and is effective in every case. His experience in treating SLE is described as follows.  It is believed that the occurrence of SLE is obviously related to congenital deficiency of endowment and deficiency of kidney yin. “The physiopathology of the liver and kidneys are closely related, and they are often in the same state of prosperity and decline. The deficiency of essence and blood often leads to deficiency fire and hyperactive Yang-heat. It may be due to the deficiency of liver and kidney, coupled with the depression of emotion for a long time, liver depression turns into fire and depletes the yin of liver and kidney; or due to the congenital deficiency, the couples are not dense, and they are exposed to the untimely evil, or diet disorder, overwork, pregnancy, sun exposure, or chemical toxins, and they are triggered by sensation.  Therefore, in the pathogenesis of SLE, congenital deficiency and liver and kidney deficiency are the fundamental conditions for the onset of the disease, and the untimely evil is only a factor that triggers the onset of the disease. After the onset of the disease, they affect each other, so that the more deficient the positive is, the more the evil is, and the more the evil is, the more the positive is deficient, forming a vicious circle, thus making the disease recurring and difficult to be cured. Therefore, SLE is a disease in which liver and kidney deficiency is the basis, and the hyper-exuberance of evil toxins is the symptom.  According to Chinese medicine’s understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease, it is advocated that the treatment of the disease should combine disease identification with evidence identification. In the acute phase of the disease, the main treatment is to clear heat, detoxify and cool the blood, while taking into account the yin of the liver and kidney, commonly used drugs are: raw earth, xuan shen, maidenhair, asparagus, danpi, danshen, red peony, white peony, white flower and snake tongue herb, purple grass, fleabane and artemisia. In the remission period, the contradiction between liver and kidney deficiency is becoming more and more prominent, so the treatment is mainly to nourish the liver and kidney, and at the same time to remove the evil heat that stays in the body.  In the clinical evidence, we not only emphasize the overall treatment, but also pay attention to the selection of specific drugs and flexible tailoring according to the different manifestations of the disease. For high fever that does not subside, add water hyacinth, artificial cowry, raw gypsum, and Zhi Mu; for delirium, add Shen Huan Dan, Zi Xue Dan, and fresh calamus; for hand and foot convulsions, add antelope horn, hooked vine, and whole scorpion; for fever that does not subside, add Artemisia annua and ground bark; for cheek and mouth erythema ulcers, add hibiscus leaf, wild rose flower, jasmine, comfrey, purple flower groundnut, yu zhu, and bamboo leaf; for joint pain in the extremities, add Xu Changqing, bone seeking wind, and stretching tendon grass; for spontaneous sweating and night sweating, add Huai Mai wheat For spontaneous sweating and night sweating, add wheat, five-flavored seeds, calcined dragon peony; for panic and shortness of breath, pulse knotted generation, add bitter ginseng, Yuan Zhi, roasted licorice; for proteinuria, add cornus, raspberry, Tian Zi Cao, Jin Zhen Zi, rice root; for urinary distension, add scapularia, plantain, abdominal water grass; for lumbar pain, add Chuan Jian, Du Zhong, Sang Sang; for fatigue and weakness, add ginseng, princely ginseng, astragalus, cuscuta, raw white atractylodes; for hair loss, add shou Wu, wolfberry, chasteberry; for leukopenia Add Radix Rehmanniae, Deer Antler Gum, Astragalus.  3. Establishing the key to the pathological mechanism of Qi and Yin deficiency and heat toxicity, he developed the compound formula “Lupus Ling”, which establishes the pathological mechanism of Qi and Yin deficiency and heat toxicity, and focuses on microscopic identification in treatment. He developed the compound formula “Lupus Ling” to benefit Qi and nourish Yin, which is clinically repeatedly screened and clinically proven to be effective. Astragalus in the formula has the function of tonifying qi and raising yang, benefiting qi and fixing the surface, inducing diuresis and swelling, and promoting toxicity and muscle growth.  According to the literature, the treatment of SLE with large doses of Astragalus, the clinical symptoms of most patients improved, hormone ineffective, the addition of Astragalus also significantly improved, and reduced the amount of hormones; raw earth specifically into the kidney meridian, within the special cool blood to nourish yin and clear heat; snake tongue grass to clear heat and detoxification, no harm to the yin and hinder the stomach, the combination of the drugs, with the benefit of Qi nourishing the liver and kidney, clear heat and detoxification of the function, to support the main. It can not only cultivate and nourish the deficiency of positive energy, but also clear the internal heat and poisonous evil.  In the treatment of SLE, Chinese and Western medicine have their own advantages. Western medicine uses hormones and immunosuppressants, which play an important role in controlling the disease, alleviating patients’ pain and fighting for treatment time, but the side effects should not be ignored; Chinese medicine treatment is based on evidence-based treatment, which adjusts the functions of the internal organs of the body and treats the causes and mechanisms of the disease, but usually there are shortcomings such as long treatment course. However, there is usually a long course of treatment and other shortcomings. In view of the fact that hormones and immunosuppressants can control the disease and have fast onset of action, but have great side effects, many patients first seek treatment from Western medicine and then turn to Chinese medicine.  Therefore, in the treatment of this disease, he advocates the combination of disease identification and evidence-based treatment, drawing on the respective advantages of Chinese and Western medicine. In the acute stage or when there is organ damage, hormones or immunosuppressants are mainly applied to rapidly control the disease, while supplemented with Chinese medicine to improve the symptoms and reduce the side effects of Western medicine; in the remission stage, Chinese medicine is mainly used to bring into play the advantages of Chinese medicine in treating the root cause of the disease slowly, supplemented with small doses of hormones, thus regulating the immune function of the body, which can significantly improve the prognosis and improve the quality of survival of patients.