Immune Function Decline TCM Treatment

Author: Zhang Biao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: With the continuous changes in human living environments and the increasing abundance of medical treatment methods, the incidence of clinical immune diseases has gradually risen. Immune function decline is a common and challenging condition in clinical immune diseases. Immune function decline generally refers to a state characterized by the reduction or impairment of physiological immune response functions such as homeostasis, rejection, immune surveillance, and anti-infection, usually caused by congenital developmental defects of the immune system or secondary factors acquired later in life. This includes primary immune deficiency diseases, some autoimmune diseases, as well as diseases or clinical syndromes characterized by the decline or impairment of physiological and protective immune response functions due to secondary factors such as infection, tumors, surgery, and malnutrition. Their clinical symptoms are complex and diverse, with significant individual differences, making them prone to change. The course of the disease is usually slow, often persistent and recurrent, and can easily trigger or lead to various diseases, severely affecting patients' normal work and life. However, modern medicine has yet to gain a deep understanding of immune function decline as a common fundamental immune disease, and there are still no practical or effective methods or drugs for its treatment. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), there is no specific disease name that directly corresponds to immune function decline. Based on the nature of the underlying disease and the differences in clinical manifestations, it can be categorized under various TCM disease names. The fundamental pathogenesis of these diseases is the weakness of vital Qi, imbalance of Yin and Yang, and disorder of Qi and blood. The characteristic symptoms often include persistent illness, complex symptoms, ease of transformation, the presence of multiple concurrent conditions, and the causation by multiple pathogenic factors, with damp-heat, phlegm-stasis, and dry-toxin being particularly common. In TCM treatment, the focus is often on the patient's overall condition, aiming to enhance the body's overall functional status and improve its self-regulation and adaptability. The treatment methods are primarily based on balancing Yin and Yang, regulating Qi and blood, reinforcing vital Qi, expelling pathogenic factors, and combining both attack and tonification. These methods are characterized by safety, effectiveness, and long-lasting action, thus demonstrating significant clinical advantages and broad prospects for development. The five diseases selected in this book are all common and challenging types of immune function decline in clinical practice, and TCM has unique treatment methods, proven efficacy, and has achieved relatively rich clinical research results for these diseases.