Shanghai TCM Famous Doctors and Famous Departments

Author: Lou Shaolai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: An Expert in Treating Insomnia and Depression – Remembering Professor Wang Qiaochu, a National Famous Elderly TCM Doctor and Chief Physician at Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital
Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital has a specialized department for insomnia treatment that is renowned far and wide, attracting numerous patients who leave satisfied. The success of this department is attributed to its leader, Professor Wang Qiaochu, a national famous elderly TCM expert and chief physician. The author first met Professor Wang in the mid-1980s when he served as the Director of the TCM Department at the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau. At that time, he was in the prime of his life and had already become a well-known TCM expert. Later, he joined the hospital and made significant breakthroughs in his field, achieving new clinical achievements. The insomnia department he led was included in the list of specialized TCM departments in Shanghai, and the research project he led as the principal investigator won one Shanghai TCM Science and Technology Progress Award and two Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau Science and Technology Achievement Awards. He has published five monographs and more than 30 academic papers.
Professor Wang Qiaochu has dedicated decades to practicing medicine, not only inheriting the essence of his teachers but also skillfully integrating various strengths, innovating, and developing a unique academic perspective and medical approach. His views emphasize "balancing yin and yang," "harmony between heaven and humanity," and "treating insomnia by addressing the liver." In the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia, Professor Wang emphasizes that "the key to treating insomnia lies in spiritual nourishment." Surveys show that over 52% of insomnia patients suffer from emotional dissatisfaction and excessive overthinking, making spiritual overexertion one of the main causes of insomnia. In TCM, the liver governs emotions and prefers smooth and unobstructed flow. Insomnia is often a manifestation of liver qi stagnation due to impaired smooth flow. The first step in treatment is to eliminate triggers, boost spirits, and enhance self-reliance. The second step is to diagnose and treat based on differentiation of symptoms, using medicinal herbs.
Based on the TCM theory of "harmony between heaven and humanity," Professor Wang observed that the "day-opening, night-closing" behavior of peanut leaves is synchronized with the human body's natural cycle of "sleeping at night and waking during the day." He hypothesized that both might share a common material basis and contain some sleep-promoting substance. This led him to propose a hypothesis and conduct research. Clinical applications of peanut branch leaf preparations have treated over 30,000 insomnia patients with various causes. A retrospective and prospective study of 604 cases showed a total effective rate of 83.33% and 91.6%, respectively. Pharmacological experiments have repeatedly confirmed their sedative and hypnotic effects.
Under Professor Wang's leadership, the insomnia department at the TCM hospital has grown from scratch into a specialized TCM department with a broad academic network. It has established insomnia specialty clinics in the following institutions: Shanghai Municipal TCM Literature Hall Outpatient Department, Shanghai Famous Elderly TCM Diagnosis and Treatment Institute, Shanghai Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Affiliated Shuguang Hospital, Wusong Central Hospital, and Hangzhou Zhejiang People's Armed Police Hospital. The outpatient volume has continuously increased, and the department has undertaken eight research projects, with six completed and more in the pipeline, including the application for a Class III new drug, "Huadan Mixture."
Professor Wang adopts the principle of "treating insomnia by addressing the liver" as his therapeutic approach, using basic formulas of liver-soothing, depression-relieving, blood-activating, and spirit-calming herbs, supplemented by single-herb preparations, to treat insomnia caused by various factors as well as related diseases such as depression, anxiety, neurasthenia, menopausal syndrome, infantile night crying, and side effects of antipsychotic medications.