Repaglinide can reshape early-phase insulin secretion, thereby comprehensively controlling blood glucose.

Currently, there are several views on the mechanism of T2DM formation: first comes insulin resistance, followed by the body's compensatory mechanism—early-phase insulin secretion. Early-phase secretion essentially means a relative increase in insulin secretion, temporarily offsetting insulin resistance and bringing blood glucose levels back to normal. However, once this early-phase secretion is absent, diabetes inevitably develops. Therefore, insulin resistance and early-phase insulin secretion deficiency are the main mechanisms behind the development of diabetes.

Repaglinide can reshape early-phase insulin secretion, thereby comprehensively controlling blood glucose.

2012.6.10 Several Effective Formulas

1. Liver Cancer Rib Pain Formula Angelica sinensis, chuanxiong, raw rehmannia, red peony root, peach kernel, safflower, goji berries, chrysanthemum, oyster shell, earthworm, whole scorpion.

2. Oral Ulcer Formula Angelica sinensis, chuanxiong, raw rehmannia, red peony root, zhimu, huangbo, ophiopogon, wuweizi, bupleurum, danpi, xuan shen.

3. Psoriasis Formula Ephedra, apricot kernel, raw gypsum, licorice, kudzu root, cinnamon twig, white peony root, licorice, rhubarb, cicada slough, white fresh skin, white tribulus, guiwei, bitter ginseng, soapberry spines.

4. Skin Numbness Formula Atractylodes, tangerine peel, magnolia bark, licorice, cinnamon twig, white peony root, pinellia, poria, angelica sinensis, red peony root, qianghuo, duohuo, scutellaria, windproof herb, green peel, cow knee, fragrant fennel.

5. Bad Breath Formula Ophiopogon, raw rehmannia, loquat leaf, artemisia, citrus aurantium, white angelica, dendrobium, scutellaria, rhinoceros horn.

6. Epilepsy Formula Silkworm pupa, whole scorpion, peach kernel, safflower, raw rehmannia, gastrodia elata, hook vine.

2012.6.19 Breakthrough in Antiviral Treatment for Hepatitis B

Since American scientist Baruch Samuel Blumberg discovered the hepatitis B virus, attention has been focused on inhibiting and eliminating HBV. Initially, drugs such as liver-clearing pill, glycyrrhizic acid, polyinosinic acid, vidarabine, acyclovir, phosphonoformic acid, and interleukin-2 were used; later, interferon (IFN) began to show efficacy in combating HBV. It wasn't until the 1990s that nucleoside analogs like lamivudine, adefovir dipivoxil, and entecavir emerged, creating an unprecedented situation—these drugs could achieve a 20%–30% clearance rate for HBV and a 40% seroconversion rate for HBeAg. However, with the rise of drug resistance, the efficacy of these drugs has clearly declined. Recently, a new anti-HBV drug—REP 9AC—has been launched, bringing a ray of hope to hepatitis B treatment.

REP 9AC is a non-nucleoside analog, an antisense nucleic acid that targets the viral nucleic acid sequence, preventing the fusion of the viral envelope with the host cell membrane, thereby effectively blocking viral entry. Antisense nucleic acids are artificially synthesized DNA fragments, also known as oligonucleotides.

Report on REP 9AC treatment for HBV patients: In 2010, six cases were included, five of which achieved complete HBV clearance. In 2011, eight cases were included, seven of which achieved complete HBV clearance.

An Australian drug trial showed that ducks infected with HBV, after receiving REP 9AC treatment for 2–4 weeks, could achieve HBV clearance; after stopping the medication for 14 weeks, 55% of the ducks no longer had detectable HBV in their blood and exhibited relevant virological responses.

2012.6.20 Latest Developments in Traditional Chinese Medicine for Anti-HBV Treatment

Traditional Chinese medicines for anti-HBV generally also possess strong or weak anti-HCV effects. Currently, scientific research shows that eight traditional Chinese medicines have both anti-HBV and anti-HCV effects.

1. Saikosaponin extracted from bupleurum, which can inhibit HBV DNA synthesis.
2. Green tea polyphenols extracted from green tea, which can inhibit HCV RNA replication.

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3. Curcumin extract can reduce HBV DNA replication.

4. Wogonin extract can inhibit the binding of HBV to host hepatocytes.

5. Robinia pseudoacacia extract can inhibit HCV RNA replication.

6. Phyllanthus urinaria extract can inhibit HCV viral replication.

7. Camphor tree bark extract: protects the liver and has anti-HCV effects.

8. Silymarin inhibits NF-κB transcription.

2012.6.24 Procalcitonin can guide clinical antibiotic use

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a procalcitonin precursor substance secreted by the C cells of the parathyroid gland. In healthy individuals, the blood level of PCT is very low (<0.2 μg/L), whereas during bacterial infections, blood PCT levels rise (>0.5 μg/L). During viral infections, cancer infiltration, or surgical trauma, PCT does not increase and remains at a low level, unaffected by clinical medication. Clinical practice has shown that PCT's sensitivity in diagnosing infections and infection-related conditions is significantly higher than that of C-reactive protein (CRP), with a specificity ranging from 81% to 100%. Therefore, PCT can be used to distinguish between viral and bacterial infections; it can also guide decisions on whether to switch antibiotics; and compared with drug susceptibility testing, PCT testing is faster and more practical.

Counterarguments: ① PCT can only determine whether antibiotics are needed or not, but cannot decide which specific antibiotic to use. ② PCT can produce both false positives and false negatives, which may delay treatment.

2012.6.25 Infertility is approaching humanity

In 2000, the WHO conducted a survey across 47 countries worldwide, revealing that the prevalence of infertility was 25%. Although China currently lacks precise statistics on infertility, recent outpatient cases suggest a noticeable increase in the number of infertile patients compared to the past. Among them, the incidence of premature ovarian failure has risen particularly sharply, possibly due to factors such as delayed marriage and childbearing, frequent use of emergency contraceptives, and induced or medical abortions.

2012.6.26 Two effective prescriptions

In the fifth month of the Renchen year, two case studies were presented at the Huicuitang Clinic.

Case 1

Mr. Wang suffered from aplastic anemia. After taking the "Dangchuan Longma Heishan Sanzi" formula, his condition gradually improved. However, after catching a cold, all three blood cell lines dropped again, so he switched to another prescription: "Guipi Sanzi Gui, Banpo Renzaoji," substituting "Renyi Lanhe" for "Renya Lanhe," and adding ephedra, deer antler, and strychnos seeds. After taking 20 doses, all three blood cell lines rose significantly. This demonstrates that long-term kidney tonification must be accompanied by spleen strengthening; as the ancients said, "There is no better way to tonify the kidneys than to strengthen the spleen, and no better way to strengthen the spleen than to tonify the kidneys."

Case 2

A woman suffering from psoriasis was prescribed: ephedra, apricot kernel, raw gypsum, licorice, kudzu root, cinnamon twig, white peony, fresh ginger, jujube, rhubarb, cicada slough, white dodder, white paeonia, angelica root tip, sophora root, soapberry thorn, black snake, groundsel, scorpion, centipede, smilax. After taking 10 doses, her psoriasis completely cleared, scars disappeared, and she returned to normal.

2012.6.28 Another remedy for alopecia areata

When treating alopecia areata, I often use modified Yigong Powder, Po Shou Siwu Erzhi Pill, and white bark papaya licorice ginseng. However, there is one formula that I frequently used in the 1980s and found highly effective. Its composition includes: astragalus, gentian, safflower, chicken blood vine, schizonepeta, lotus root node, white grass root, licorice, raw rehmannia, black ginseng, ophiopogon, danpi, gardenia fruit. Using this formula in combination with modified Yigong Powder yields even better results in treating alopecia areata.

2012.6.29 Breast tonic

Chaihu 10g, turtle shell 15g, mu tong 6g, lu luo tong 10g, tian hua fen 10g, processed frankincense 10g, processed myrrh 10g, angelica 10g, yujin 10g, xia ku cao 20g, zhe bei mu 10g, san leng 10g, e zhu 10g, bai jiang cao 10g, pu gong ying 10g, rou cong rong 10g, yan hu suo 10g, chuan lian zi 20g, han san qi 3g, shui zhi 10g, huang qi 30g, bai hua she she cao 15g, ban zhi lian 15g, dan shen 10g.

The above herbs are decocted three times, the juice is concentrated into a paste, then water leech and yan hu suo powders are added to make four packets of granules, taken twice daily, one packet each time, dissolved in warm water.

This formula is mainly used to treat breast hyperplasia, fibroadenoma, mammary duct ectasia, and breast cancer.

2012.7.2 Mr. Zhang Xichun’s two effective formulas

Formula 1: Shen Zhe Zhen Qi Tang — for asthma

Su zi, hang bai shao, qian shi, dang shen, zhe shi, shan yao, shan zhu yu, sheng long gu, sheng mu li.

Mnemonic: Su Hang Qian Shi San Dui Yao.

Formula 2: Shen Zhe Pei Qi Tang — for esophageal cancer (dysphagia)

Shi bing, dang gui, zhi mu, rou cong rong, ban xia, tian dong, dang shen, sheng zhe shi.

Mnemonic: Shi Bing Gui Mu Da Ban Tian.

2012.7.2 Treatment of orchitis

Cang zhu, huang bo, niu xi, sheng yi yi ren, fu ling, ze xie, qing pi, chen pi, yan hu suo, chuan lian zi, zhi ru milk incense, zhi mei medicine, ju he, li zhi he, bai hua she she cao, ban zhi lian, che qian zi.

Mnemonic: Si Miao Liu Dui Che, testicular swelling can subside.

2012.7.3 A case of medullary thyroid carcinoma

An elderly male patient with medullary thyroid carcinoma experienced elevated procalcitonin and CEA levels after surgery. The elevation of these two indicators suggests a tendency for cancer recurrence. If procalcitonin does not return to normal after surgery, it indicates that the surgical removal of peripheral lymph nodes was incomplete; first consider mediastinal lymph nodes, then liver and lung metastases.

The patient sought treatment from me, and I administered traditional Chinese medicine for anti-cancer, tumor resolution, strengthening vital energy, and clearing heat and detoxifying, but there was no effect. Later, the patient went to Shanghai, Beijing, and other places for treatment, trying various methods, but none worked, indicating that current medical technology still faces certain challenges in completely curing medullary thyroid carcinoma.

2012.7.4 Non-tuberculous mycobacteria

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacteria widely found in nature. They stain positive for acid-fast staining but are distinct from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Before the 1930s, it was generally believed that NTM did not cause disease in humans. In 1943, a suspected tuberculosis patient was found to have non-tuberculous mycobacteria cultured in their body, after which people began to pay attention to NTM infections in humans.

NTM infections have the following characteristics: ① easily cause hospital-acquired infections. ② can occur simultaneously with Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. ③ difficult to differentiate from pulmonary tuberculosis infections on imaging. ④ can be clearly diagnosed through acid-fast culture. ⑤ commonly treated with antibiotics.

2012.7.4 Hospital-acquired mycobacterial infections

Mycobacteria include Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), both of which can cause hospital-acquired infections. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are the bane of hospital staff. According to statistics, from 1988 to 1995, there were a total of 15 hospital-acquired mycobacterial infections worldwide, involving more than a thousand people.

2012.7.4 Current clinical status of gastric cancer

Since the 1970s, great progress has been made in the study of gastric cancer, such as improvements in D2, D3, and D4 gastric cancer surgical techniques and more accurate surgical indications, which are now well known. The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)’s 7th edition TNM staging manual for tumors references Chinese scholars’ opinions when revising the TNM staging for gastric cancer, specifically adding the principle of complete eradication of cancer cells (ECC) as a fundamental principle of radical gastric cancer treatment.

China’s early detection rate for gastric cancer is very low, and only multidisciplinary collaboration can improve it. The lack of close integration between basic research and clinical research is currently a shortcoming in China’s gastric cancer academic community.

2012.7.10 Traditional Chinese medicine treatment for esophageal cancer

Based on over 50 years of experience, I have summarized three prescriptions for treating esophageal cancer.

Prescription 1

Raw rehmannia, mountain茱萸, mountain yam, danpi, fu ling, ze xie, xia ku cao, bu gu zhi, yuan zhi, huang qi, dang gui, processed frankincense, processed myrrh, pangolin, soapberry thorn, yujin, dan shen, zhe bei mu, sha ren, jing mi, he ye.

Mnemonic: Liu Wei Xia Po Yuan, Tuo Li Tou Nong San, Shi Ai Bu Shou Shu, Xu Jia Qi Ge San.

Prescription 2

Ban xia, chen pi, san leng, e zhu, zhi shi, mu xiang, dan shen, sha ren, hou pu, chong lou, gan cao, wu zhou yu, huang lian.

Mnemonic: San Dui Da Dan Shen, Hou Zao Cao Zuo Jin.

Prescription 3

Xuan fu hua, sheng zhe shi, hai zao, kun bu, yujin, ding xiang, chen xiang, mu xiang, zhu ru, hou pu, dang gui, ji xing zi, dian wa leng zi, xia ku cao, kang lang.

Mnemonic: Xuan Fu Dai Zhe Er Jin Xiang, Zhu Hou Dang Ji Dian Cao Kang Lang.

2012.7.11 Traditional Chinese medicine formulas for treating post-stroke sequelae

1. Blood resin 2g, seaweed 15g, black ginseng 15g, astragalus 15g, dan shen 15g.

2. Dang shen 10g, astragalus 20g, dang gui 10g, chuan xiong 10g, taoren 10g, safflower 3g, he shou wu 15g, huai niu xi 20g, dan shen 20g.

3. Wu jia pi 20g, water leech 10g (to be taken orally), kun bu 10g, seaweed 10g, san qi 3g (to be taken orally).

4. Shan zha 10g, dan shen 20g, safflower 10g, wu jia pi 20g, ze lan 10g, chuan xiong 6g.

5. San leng 10g, e zhu 10g, zhi shi 10g, qing pi and chen pi each 6g, fo shou 10g, mu xiang 6g, tan xiang 6g, jiang xiang 6g.

6. Centipedes 20 pieces, bai zhi 120g, di long 120g. All ground into powder, 5g each time, three times daily.

7. Chi shao 10g, chuan xiong 10g, safflower 6g, jiang xiang 10g, dan shen 20g, yujin 6g, processed frankincense and processed myrrh each 6g.

8. Gui zhi 10g, fu zi 6g, huai niu xi 15g, yujin 6g, dan nan xing 6g, wu yao 10g, wu tou 15g (to be decocted first), ma qian zi 1 piece (fried), yujin 6g, gan jiang 6g, dang gui 10g, chuan xiong 6g, chi shao 6g, ban xia 6g, chen pi 6g, cang zhu 6g, hou pu 6g.

9. Sang zhi 30g, gui zhi 10g, ji xue teng 15g, ren dong teng 15g, yi mu cao 15g.

Except for those specified as powders, the above formulas are all decoctions.

2012.7.21 From oral ulcers to Behçet’s disease

Recently, the number of patients with oral ulcers has been increasing, most of whom are physically weak, prone to colds and arthritis, or suffer from chronic rhinitis and pharyngitis.

My observation: This disease is similar to Behçet’s disease, differing only in severity. It is essentially a precursor to autoimmune disorders and can be regarded as a harbinger of autoimmune diseases.

For treating this disease, I usually use the following formulas:

① Raw gypsum, gardenia fruit, scutellaria, coptis, raw rehmannia, ho xiang, fang feng, bai shu, fu ling, dao chi san (raw rehmannia, mu tong, dan bamboo leaves, gan cao shao), wei ling xian.

② Yi yi ren, fu pian, huang bo, tu fu ling, ren dong teng, raw rehmannia, ze lan.

③ Si wu tang, zhi mu, huang bo, mai dong, wu wei zi, chai hu, dan shen, xuan shen.

④ Si miao san, gentian, scutellaria, gardenia fruit, shi hu, she gan, raw gypsum, zhi mu, jing mi, gan cao, dang gui, zhu ling, huang lian, chi xiao dou.

Among these formulas, raw rehmannia, xuan shen, mai dong, raw gypsum, mu tong, san huang, gardenia fruit, dang gui, yi yi ren, etc., are common to several of them.

2012.7.24 Treatment of post-cholecystectomy syndrome

During the peak summer of the Renchen year, Mr. Li, an employee of the Medical Academy, who had undergone gallbladder removal two years ago, experienced upper abdominal cramps, general fatigue and discomfort, mental depression, irregular menstruation, and occasional lower abdominal pain. I treated him with Dan Zhi Xiao Yao San combined with Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan and Guipi Tang, with excellent results. The patient’s spirits improved, the upper abdomen no longer felt uncomfortable, though sleep remained poor. Mr. Li said this formula was truly miraculous. During the follow-up visit, I added acacia bark, polygonum multiflorum vine, and platycladus seed to the original prescription. The patient’s sleep improved.

2012.7.25 Two formulas for heat-induced joint pain

So-called heat-induced joint pain refers to joint pain accompanied by systemic heat symptoms.

Formula 1

Gui zhi, bai shao, zhi mu, gan jiang, gan cao, fang feng, ephedra, bai zhi, fu pian, ren dong teng, sheng yi yi ren, sang zhi, dan shen.

Mnemonic: Gui Zhi Bai Shao Zhi Mu Tang, Dong Zhi Gan Dan Yi Pi Sang.

Formula 2

Cang zhu, pu gong ying, su geng, mu tong, fang ji, niu xi, di long, jin yin hua, lian qiao, sheng yi yi ren.

Mnemonic: Cang Gong Su Tong Ji (Yi) Niu Long, Yin Hua Lian Qiao Zai Qi Zhong.

2012.7.29 Treatment of osteosarcoma

During the long summer of the Jiazi year, farmer Wang from Wushan Luomen Town brought his son to the Huicuitang Clinic, saying, “Your medical skills are divine—my son is saved!”