The article analyzed the contemporary study of pattern recognition of tongue images in traditional Chinese medicine by computer technology from its key sectors. It regards that the methods of orthogonal design and evaluation of image quality should be introduced to get a high-quality and practicable condition. In the field of tongue image segmentation, multiple methods used together are expected to improve the effect of segmentation. A scientific and canonical standard of tongue diagnosis based on comprehensive experts' experience with Delphi evaluation method and multi-center experts diagnosis on internet are also very essential. The study of pattern recognition on tongue image is still concentrated on the color. Further study should be extended to achieve quantification. And a comprehensive diagnosis on pattern recognition of tongue image is the aim that should be focused on later.

Our ancestor found that some of the Chinese herbal drugs were toxic during their clinical practice. They graded the toxicity of Chinese herbal drugs into three degrees and thought that the term "toxicity of the Chinese herbal drugs" could be used in a broad and a narrow sense. In modern times, toxic components of the Chinese herbal drugs and their toxic mechanisms, especially the toxicity on the kidney, were further revealed. The factors that affect the toxicity of the Chinese herbal drugs include the species, preparation, dose and environment. To prevent the toxicity of the Chinese herbal drugs, we must strengthen the management of the Chinese herbal drugs. On the other hand, doctors' recognition of the toxicity of Chinese herbal drugs should be enhanced. At the same time, patients should be told to decoct and take Chinese herbal drugs correctly.

The concept of "three-yin and three-yang" in Shanghan Lun (Treatise on Cold Pathogenic Diseases), a classic written by Zhang Zhongjing in Han Dynasty, has been always the focus of dispute in successive dynasties. The essence of "three-yin and three-yang" has not been fully revealed up till now. Through studying the six divisions of day and night, the six diseases, the combination of syndromes, the complicated diseases, the complete recovery time and the space division of "three-yin and three-yang", the authors draw a conclusion that the "three-yin and three-yang" in Shanghan Lun is a concept of time-sequence, which is associated with the location of disease in space. So it is suggested that the "six diseases" in Shanghan Lun is a categorization for exogenous febrile diseases, and this categorization reveals a sort of inner relationship between the emergence, development, transformation of the febrile diseases and the time.

Fructus Xanthii is commonly used in rhinology, especially used in treatment of chronic rhinitis and sinusitis. But Fructus Xanthii is toxicant, and it maybe result in poisoning when used excessively, without preparation or in inappropriate preparation. This article reviewed all poisoning cases from 1960 to 2000, its toxicology and methods for detoxification.

Acupuncture is widely used as an alternative therapy with few side effects because of its simple manipulation and low cost. However, accidents may occur if the practitioner uses it improperly. Early in the Qin dynastuy, the Canon of Medicine mentioned that improper use of acupuncture could cause injury to the body and even death, and it systematically described the occurrence and prevention of acupuncture accidents. Physicians in the successive dynasties frequently reported it, and nealized that the manipulation skills were significantly important in preventing the occurrence of acupuncture accidents.Since the 1950s, acupuncture accidents had been effectively prevented because of the improving of acupuncture instruments, enhancing of the quality of the practitioners, popularizing of sterilization and disseminating of anatomic knowledge. Nevertherless, with the renovating of acupuncture techniques, new accidents may occur constantly. The prevention of acupuncture accidents still should be an arduors task for acupuncturists. Nowadays, acupuncture therapy is being used in more than 140 countries, and acupuncture accidents due to improper application are incrcasing. Prevention of acupuncture accidents has become a global issue deserving of great attention.

The theory of formulas corresponding to syndromes is one of the characteristics of Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases (Shanghan Zabing Lun) and one of the main principles in applying classic prescriptions. It is important to take effect by following the principle of formulas corresponding to syndromes. However, some medical practitioners always feel that the actual clinical effect is far less than expected. Six errors in the use of classic prescriptions as well as the theory of formulas corresponding to syndromes are the most important causes to be considered, i.e. paying attention only to the local syndromes while neglecting the whole, paying attention only to formulas corresponding to syndromes while neglecting the pathogenesis, paying attention only to syndromes while neglecting the pulse diagnosis, paying attention only to unilateral prescription but neglecting the combined prescriptions, paying attention only to classic prescriptions while neglecting the modern formulas, and paying attention only to the formulas but neglecting the drug dosage. Therefore, not only the patients’ clinical syndromes, but also the combination of main syndrome and pathogenesis simultaneously is necessary in the clinical applications of classic prescriptions and the theory of prescription corresponding to syndrome. In addition, comprehensive syndrome differentiation, modern formulas, current prescriptions, combined prescriptions, and drug dosage all contribute to avoid clinical errors and improve clinical effects.

Effect of clinical intervention on human body is multistage and multifaceted, involving physiology, psychology, social function and the surrounding resources, etc. Therefore, the range of clinical outcome assessment includes patient, his or her family and care giver. The evaluation of clinical intervention mainly focuses on its effectiveness, safety and health economics. Effects of clinical interventions are measured by comparisons of the outcome of intervention and control groups. Different effect measures come from different comparisons.

There exists close relationship between the damp-heat and the occurrence, development, treatment and prognosis of kidney diseases. The occurrence of damp-heat is based on water and wetness, which may come from outside or may be caused by internal damage. The water and wetness can change into heat if they are stored in the body for a long period, and the combination of water and wetness and heat may cause damp-heat syndrome. The function of spleen and stomach plays the most important role in the water metabolism of sanjiao. Kidney diseases are mainly caused by damp-heat of spleen and stomach resulted from internal damage of spleen and stomach, and symptoms of damp-heat of middle-jiao are commonly seen in most patients of chronic kidney diseases. During the development from renal function damage to renal failure, the remaining of damp-heat in san-jiao can affect the function of spleen and stomach for transportation, transformation and digestion, resulting in the symptoms of dysfunction of spleen and stomach. Regulating the function of spleen and stomach is one of the most important therapeutic methods for kidney diseases.

Acupuncture therapy is one of the original innovations in traditional Chinese medicine. The study of acupuncture has gradually advanced towards the world since 1970s. In these years the most important events might be the influence of acupuncture anesthesia, the attention of the World Health Organization, the establishment and development of the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies, and the consensus development conference on acupuncture held by the National Institutes of Health in America, and so on. The reasons why acupuncture is accepted by the world are both the convinced curative effects and the scientific foundations, due to the great efforts of medical stuff in China guided by the principle of integration of traditional Chinese and western medicine. This article poses several proposals about further extending the influence of acupuncture. In brief, acupuncture research is one of the few fields that authentically impact the western scientific technology. It is of very important responsibility in the new century to impulse the acupuncture study to further progress and expand the international influence of acupuncture.

Spinal disease is the injury caused by congenital malformation, degeneration, inflammation and trauma. These injuries lead to structural lesion of spinal itself, intervertebral discs, spinal cord, nerve root and the attachment, and can cause spinal and associated diseases. Spinal diseases include some frequently encountered diseases, as well as some stubborn and serious diseases. These diseases may cause pain of head and neck, shoulder and arm, waist and leg when they are mild, and partial or thorough paralysis when they are serious. In this article, the history, development, foundations and research progress of non-surgical operation of spinal diseases and the developing tendency of modern spinology are introduced.

The scientificalness of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is often doubted and criticized for the record in Huangdi Neijing that the liver is located in the left of the human body. The most popular explanation of this criticism is that the conception of zang-fu viscera in TCM is quite different from which defined in Western medicine. It means that the zang-fu viscera in TCM are not exactly the corresponding anatomical organs in modern human anatomy but reflect the functions of some systems in human body. According to the classical theories of TCM in Huangdi Neijing, we consider that the record of liver located in the left of the human body is based on the Ba Gua (Eight Diagrams) of traditional Chinese philosophy, not the human anatomy. In brief, the conception of zang-fu viscera is initially a gross anatomical conception, and in a sense the anatomic sites and functions of which are mostly similar to those described in Western medicine.

Pulmonary-fibrosis (PF) is the result of interstitial lung disease which has different causes and it is one of the most intractable diseases in respiratory system. The PF is characterized by progressive difficulty of breath and dying of respiratory failure, seriously threatening the health of people. Immunosuppressive drugs and glucocorticoids have been widely adopted as the main methods in treatment, but the results are not satisfactory and the side effects are obvious. Many specialists have tried traditional Chinese medicine in recent years with satisfactory effect, indicating that the prospect of using traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of PF is optimistic. This article outlines the researches about using traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of PF.

Evaluating outcome is the primary means by which different medical modalities can be compared with regard to effectiveness. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), this focus has prompted practitioners to search for outcome measures that can objectively verify the effectiveness of TCM interventions, especially in the context of randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Commonly used indexes for outcome assessment in RCTs of TCM can be categorized into two types: TCM-specific outcomes such as tongue and pulse characteristics, and Western medicine (WM)-specific outcomes such as blood test and X-ray examination results. Some studies include both types of indicators. During the trial design, it is necessary to consider the rationales of selecting outcome assessments, the purpose and study approach, balance between objective and subjective indexes, standardization of outcome assessment, and standardized outcome indexes. We recommend to report the outcome assessment in RCTs of TCM in the following format: 1) identifying the primary and secondary outcomes based on the purpose and hypothesis of the trial; 2) defining the primary and secondary outcomes clearly; 3) presenting the rationale of selection; 4) presenting the method with aims to standardize the assessment process; 5) presenting the method to improve the reliability of assessment; and 6) stating the termination criteria in the trial.

Chinese herb recipe is widely applied and plays a key role in traditional Chinese medicine. However, it involves complicated aspects, and the mechanism researches of Chinese herb recipe had few breakthroughs. The author discussed the questions in the scopes as follows: drug mechanism and chemical components, old typical and current experimental recipes, drug action and its pathological mechanisms. The author believed that the recipe with solid clinical effect should be investigated combining the single herb with its chemical components, and combining the pharmacological mechanism of the recipe with the pathological mechanism of the diseases. More attention should be paid to effect of the research on the improvement of the traditional Chinese medical theory, and efforts should be made to investigate the recipe mechanism relating to molecular signal transduction and the key chemical components.

Facing the challenge of modern medicine, how to develop Chinese traditional surgery is a question. The tremendous heritage of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the springhead of the development and innovation of TCM. Succession and innovation is an eternal subject for the development of Chinese traditional surgery. In order to improve Chinese traditional surgery, we should explore traditional medical literature, and carry forward the theories of Chinese traditional surgery.

Evidence of the pharmacological activity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides the basis for clinical prescription. Study of the classification of Chinese medicines according to these activities is key to understanding the general active tendencies of medicinal prescriptions, exploring their material basis, investigating their properties and searching for their alternatives. Taking the herbal classic Shennong's Materia Medica Classic (Shennong Bencao Jing) for the data source, this paper studied the classification of Chinese medicines based on semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm using "micro-cluster" concept in order to investigate the complex similarity among Chinese medicines. The results showed that 253 Chinese medicines were reasonably classified into 14 types, such as invigoration, clearing heat, diuresis, dredging blockages in the channels, treating gynecological conditions and treating strange diseases caused by ghosts. The results also showed that the other 112 Chinese medicines were classified into 112 individual types and the same high similarity to different known types was the main reason for this. The semi-supervised incremental clustering algorithm employed in the study had a high quality and a good development for clustering which is suitable for classification of Chinese medicines. This study illustrated the diversity of Chinese medicines and their complex similarities, thus aiming to provide innovative ideas and methods for related research.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM), which aims to get the best evidence from medical research, is a growing international movement in health care. Because of this new shift in medical practice, great attention should be paid to how to introduce EBM into Chinese Tuina, and this is a good opportunity for the development of Chinese Tuina. To adopt EBM will be beneficial to developing Chinese Tuina, improving clinical research, renewing education mode and getting more academic achievement. So it is necessary to establish a new experimental methodology combined with EBM in order to get great progress in Chinese Tuina.

Pathology and pathophysiology are sciences studying the laws and mechanisms of the occurrence and developmont of diseases,linking up the preclinical and clinical medicine.Owing to the different perspectives and ways of thinking,the western medicine and the traditional Chinese medicine developed respectively their independent theoretical,diagnostic and therapeutic systems.Integrative medicine,combining the theories and treatments of both western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine,has become the developing trend of medicine along with the social development.For this reason,pathological and pathophysiological research in integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine is highly significant for revealing the internal relations between the clinical manifestation and the pathological changes,for expounding the causes,conditions.mechanisms and laws of the occurrence and development of diseases.In doing related research,we should combine the disease and the syndrome,combine the macro-level and the micro-level,combine the part and the whole.We should manage to systematize the clinical research,to establish animal models of the syndromes,and to integrate the animal models of syndromes with the clinical characteristics of disesses.We should apply the theories of traditional Chinese medicine to the pathological and pathophysiological research of modern medicine.

Traditional Chinese medicine has accumlated rich experience in treating dysfunction of gastrointestinal peristalsis. In recent years, a large number of studies have been made on the mechanism and effects of traditional Chinese medicines on the gastrointestinal peristalsis, and the concept of "gastrointestinal promoting Chinese medicine" has been advocated. These traditional Chinese medicines can be divided into three types: promoting the gastrointestinal peristalsis, inhibiting the gastrointestinal peristalsis, and bi-directional modulating. The in vivo and/or in vitro experiments showed that some of the traditional Chinese medicines for activating blood or regulating qi could promote the stomach peristalsis, and the traditional Chinese medicines for moistening intestines to relieve constipation or invigorating spleen to promote digestion could accelerate the intestinal peristalsis. The mechanism lies in the neuroregulation and gut-peptide regulation. Further research on multi-regulation and of multi-target should be done, for the mechanism of the traditional Chinese medicines in regulating the gastrointestinal peristalsis is far more complicated.

International League Against Epilepsy announced the new International Classification of Epilepsy in 2001. One of the main objectives of the project is to adopt standard terms to describe seizure phenomena according to the terminological database. The project may profit academic communication and resource integration, and provide evidence for the individual treatment for epilepsy. Treatment based on syndrome differentiation is one of the characteristics of the treatment for epilepsy in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). As far as the individuation on diagnosis and treatment is concerned, TCM and Western medicine present to reach the same goal by different routes gradually for the treatment of epilepsy. But for TCM, the diagnosis and treatment criteria for epilepsy are imperfect and the experts, opinions are not unified, so that the treatment based on syndrome differentiation becomes confused, hence the credit of treatment based on TCM is restricted accordingly. It is necessary to formulate advanced diagnosis and treatment criteria for syndromes of epilepsy in TCM.

Objective

To discuss the definition of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine".

Methods

Logic methods.

Results

It was found that there were a lot of problems on the definition of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine".

Conclusion

The understanding of the concepts of "traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine integration" and "integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine" was improved after the extensive discussion.

World Health Organization aims to develop safe, effective and practical traditional medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other complementary and alternative medicine are being recognized in the whole world nowadays. However, the definite effect of Chinese medicine is still in need of scientific research proof. Placebo control is of equal importance to active control and blank control in clinical trial of TCM. This article briefly reviewed the importance of placebo control and commented on its present situation in clinical trial of TCM. This article also brought up the preliminary proposals of placebo application in TCM clinical trial. We should emphasize scientific placebo preparation and good design of placebo-controlled trial, which are directed by International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. A good clinical trial project will avoid unnecessary wastes and provide safe and effective treatment for people.

Insulin resistance is the common pathophysiologic basis of multiple metabolic diseases, but the exact mechanism of insulin resistance is still unclear presently. In the past few years, studies on the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, in which the endocrine function of adipocyte and inflammation reaction participate, as well as the insulin-sensitizing drugs have become the new hotspot. The exploration on pathogenesis and treatment of insulin resistance in traditional Chinese medicine has established a foundation for the prevention and treatment of insulin resistance in integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.

Metabolic syndrome also can be named insulin resistance syndrome. The main clinical manifestations include metabolic disorders of glucose and lipid and some diseases caused by the metabolic disorder, such as impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes, obesity, hyperlipemia, fatty liver, hypertension, coronary heart disease, microalbuminuria, etc. According to the theory of zang-fu organs (viscera) in traditional Chinese medicine, these diseases all result from the deficiency of spleen-qi. They are characterized by deficiency in the Ben (root) and excess in the Biao (branch). The Ben (root) is the failure of the spleen in transportation, and the Biao (branch) is stagnation of qi, blood, phlegm, fire, dampness and food. In the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome, it is advocated that the intervention of medicine should be used as early as possible, so as to slow down the occurrence and development of insulin resistance, and that emphasis should be transferred from decreasing blood glucose alone to comprehensive prevention of risk factors, especially to the prevention of cardiovascular events. The effect of traditional Chinese herbs is not as good as the western drugs in decreasing the blood pressure and glucose. However, the traditional Chinese herbs have distinctive superiority in ameliorating the insulin resistance, protecting the injury of vascular endothelial cells, regulating the metabolism of lipid, inhibiting the hypercoagulability, and treating the inflammation. Moreover, they are relatively safe. Therefore, the integration of the traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine is worth further research.

In July 2002, the Women's Heath Initiative (WHI) clinical trial, designed to clarify the risks and benefits of combination hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to the postmenopausal women declared that interim safety review after an average follow-up of 5.2 years found that a combination of estrogen and progestin frequently prescribed to postmenopausal women in USA increased the risk of invasive breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, and pulmonary embolism while reduced bone fractures and colorectal cancer. The overall risks of HRT outweigh the benefits, which provides an opportunity for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) going abroad. A variety of clinical and experimental evidences have showed that TCM exerts quite satisfactory effect on relieving postmenopausal symptoms with little adverse effect, hence a potential role to replace or to improve HRT or to reduce the side effect induced by HRT.

Therapeutic method is an important component of traditional Chinese medicine theory. Research on warming therapy focuses on pharmacology at present. Studying the feature of nerve-body fluid-metabolism-function in cold syndrome is of importance for illustrating the nature of warming therapy and elucidating the function of medication. This review presents the research and development of warming therapy in order to provide enlightenment for the research of therapeutic method from the aspects of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine.

Objective

To investigate the effects of Gypsum Fibrosum and Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum in promoting granulation.

Methods

The wounds of muscle layer were produced in rats by using surgical operation. Two round wounds, with diameter about 1.5 cm, were cut at the depilatory area of two sides of the back of each rat, with an interval of 2 cm, deep to muscle layer, and the thickness of the knife wound of muscle layer was about 0.15 cm. Forty SD rats with the wounds were randomly divided into 4 groups: untreated group, beifuji-treated group, Gypsum Fibrosum-treated group and Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum-treated group, with 10 rats in each group. Then the wounds were sprinkled with powders of Gypsum Fibrosum and Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum, or sprayed with beifuji solution, respectively. The healing state of granulation tissues of the wounds was observed at the eighth and fourteenth day respectively.

Results

The number of fibroblasts, the number of capillary tubes and the area of capillary tubes in granulation tissue of wounds in the Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum-treated group were significantly higher than those in the untreated group and Gypsum Fibrosum-treated group (P＜0.01). There were no statistical differences between the Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum-treated group and the beifuji-treated group. However, Gypsum Fibrosum-treated group showed no obvious differences compared to the untreated group (P＞0.05). 

Conclusions

Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum can accelerate the formation of collagenoblast and micrangium in wounds, and the proliferation of granulation tissues, thus promoting the skin wounds to healing. The effect of Gypsum Fibrosum is changed after being calcined, and Gypsum Fibrosum Preparatum has obvious effect in promoting granulation.

By historical review on integrative research of syndrome differentiation and disease differentiation and considering the scientific research method of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the syndrome is the key subject of clinical study on TCM. During the recent 10 years or more, many new diseases and diagnostic approaches have been found and developed in Western medicine, while in TCM, the advances in research on syndrome can not keep up with the requirements of clinical practice. This problem was caused by three matters as follows: (1) Syndrome differentiation and its classification have been conservative and lack of new discovery; (2) The thinking pattern of clinical practice has been focused on disease differentiation, and only complemented by syndrome differentiation; (3) The treatment has been concentrated on the disease instead of on the syndrome. Considering these problems, the author has put forward the thinking pattern of clinical research, that is "to differentiate diseases from syndromes and to differentiate syndromes from diseases". In this way, many new syndromes and diseases will be discovered with the improvement of disease and syndrome differentiations. These advances will provide rich resources for basic theoretical and pharmacal studies of TCM, and improve the common understanding of TCM in the world.