Understanding Autoimmune Diseases in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Autoimmune diseases are characterized by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body’s own tissues, leading to chronic inflammation and tissue damage. From a TCM perspective, autoimmune diseases are often associated with imbalances in the body’s fundamental substances and the disruption of qi, blood, yin, and yang and contributing climactic factors such as wind, damp, heat and blood stasis.
Lupus
Lupus is often viewed in TCM as a complex disorder involving multiple patterns. Key differential patterns include:
Heat in the Blood: Manifests as a red facial rash, fever, and skin lesions.
Yin Deficiency with Empty Heat: Leads to symptoms like night sweats, a malar rash, and dry mouth.
Damp-Heat: Can cause joint pain and swelling.
Treatment involves in cooling the blood, nourishing yin, clearing excess heat and resolving damp. Both acupuncture and herbs are utilized to correct the pattern of disharmony.
Crohn's Disease
Crohn's disease is seen as a mix of the following patterns:
Damp-Heat in the Intestines: Results in diarrhea, abdominal pain, and mucus in the stools.
Spleen Qi Deficiency: Leads to poor digestion, bloating, and fatigue.
Liver Qi Stagnation: Causes stress and emotional disturbances, which exacerbate the condition.
Treatment involves removing the damp, clearing heat, tonifying the Spleen and resolving Liver Qi Stagnation. Together herbs and acupuncture help to mitigate the symptoms of Chrons disease.
Ulcerative Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is associated with the following common patterns.
Damp-Heat in the Large Intestine: Characterized by blood and mucus in stools, abdominal pain, and tenesmus.
Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency: Results in chronic diarrhea, cold extremities, and fatigue.
Treatment involves resolving damp and clearing heat, nourishing the Spleen and boosting Yang qi. Together herbs and acupuncture work synergistically to improve the symptoms associated with ulcerative colitis.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is understood through the following common patterns:
Wind-Damp Bi Syndrome: Joint pain and swelling that worsen with damp weather.
Heat Bi Syndrome: Severe joint inflammation and redness.
Blood Stasis: Chronic joint deformity and pain.
Treatment involves resolving wind, damp, clearing heat and invigorating the blood to remove stasis. Together acupuncture and herbs work synergistically to improve the symptoms of RA.
Role of Pathogenic Factors
Dampness
Dampness is a key pathogenic factor in autoimmune diseases. It can obstruct the flow of qi and blood, leading to symptoms like heaviness, swelling, and chronic inflammation. Dampness is addressed through diet and lifestyle changes. The microbiome plays a crucial role in dampness. Removing foods that cause dampness (seed oils, chips, sugar, wheat, dairy, processed foods, white flour etc.) is foundational for resolving dampness.
Heat
Excessive heat, often arising from yin deficiency or stagnant qi, exacerbates inflammation and damages tissues. Symptoms include fever, redness, and irritability. Treatment involves cooling the blood with both herbs and nutritional/diet additions and subtractions.
Toxic Heat
Toxic heat refers to severe heat that has penetrated deeply into the body, often leading to intense inflammation and infection. It is marked by high fever, swelling, and pus formation. Toxic heat comes from lingering infections, latent pathogens, and diet and lifestyles that promote inflammation.
Wind
Wind, often combined with dampness or heat, can cause sudden and shifting symptoms such as pain, numbness, and skin rashes. It is especially relevant in conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Wind is a tricky concept to grasp, but wind arises from stagnation or deficiency. Supporting the blood and detoxification is crucial for treating wind.
Herbal Formulas for Autoimmune Conditions
Huang Qi Gui Zhi Wu Wu Tang (Astragalus and Cinnamon Twig Five-Substance Decoction):
Indicated for rheumatoid arthritis with wind-cold-damp obstruction.
Tonifies qi, harmonizes ying and wei, and dispels wind-damp.
Si Wu Tang (Four-Substance Decoction):
Useful for lupus with blood deficiency and stagnation.
Nourishes blood and regulates the liver.
Shen Ling Bai Zhu San (Ginseng, Poria, and Atractylodes Powder):
Effective for Crohn’s disease with spleen qi deficiency and dampness.
Strengthens the spleen, leaches out dampness, and stops diarrhea.
Bai Tou Weng Tang (Pulsatilla Decoction):
Used for ulcerative colitis with damp-heat in the intestines.
Clears heat, resolves toxicity, cools the blood, and alleviates dysentery.
Herbal formulas are highly specific to each individual. Always consult with a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist when taking herbs for a specific condition.
TCM emphasizes the importance of identifying the root causes and patterns in autoimmune diseases, focusing on the role of constitutional deficiencies, emotional factors and external pathogenic influences. TCM advocates for a comprehensive approach that includes dietary therapy, lifestyle changes, herbal medicine and acupuncture to restore balance and strengthen the body’s resistance to disease.
Acupuncture Research in Autoimmune Diseases
Acupuncture for Rheumatoid Arthritis:
A study published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that acupuncture significantly reduced pain and improved joint function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis .
Acupuncture for Inflammatory Bowel Disease:
Research in Gastroenterology Research and Practice demonstrated that acupuncture reduced inflammation and improved quality of life in patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis .
Acupuncture for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE):
An article in Journal of Clinical Rheumatology reported that acupuncture helped reduce fatigue and joint pain in SLE patients, enhancing their overall well-being .
The TCM perspective on autoimmune diseases provides a holistic framework for understanding and managing these complex conditions. By recognizing the patterns of dampness, heat, toxic heat, and wind, and employing targeted herbal formulas and acupuncture, TCM offers valuable tools for mitigating symptoms and improving patients' quality of life.
References
Lee, J., Park, J., & Park, H. J. (2020). Acupuncture for rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2020, Article ID 201730. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2020/201730/
Schneider, A., Streitberger, K., & Joos, S. (2007). Acupuncture treatment in gastrointestinal diseases: A systematic review. Gastroenterology Research and Practice, 2007, Article ID 501039. Available from: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/grp/2007/501039/
Greco, C. M., Kao, A. H., & Maksimowicz-McKinnon, K. (2008). Acupuncture for systemic lupus erythematosus: A pilot RCT feasibility and safety study. Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, 14(4), 234-241. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/jclinrheum/Fulltext/2008/08000/Acupuncture_for_Systemic_Lupus_Erythematosus__A.12.aspx
