2. Blood-activating and stasis-resolving methods

Chapter 2: Strengthening the Body and Nourishing the Root—Immunity / 007 Chapter 3: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus I 014 Chapter 4: Rheumatoid Arthritis / 036 Chapter 5: Ankylosing Spondylitis / 055
Chapter 6: Behçet’s Disease / 071
Chapter 7: Sjögren’s Syndrome / 088 Chapter 8: Myasthenia Gravis / 102
Chapter 9: Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis I 116 Chapter 10: Progressive Systemic Sclerosis / 129 Chapter 10: Psoriasis 141
Autoimmune diseases, abbreviated as “autoimmune diseases,” refer to immune responses or hypersensitivity reactions caused by the body’s own allergens acting on sensitive organisms. Modern Western medicine believes that the most fundamental function of the human immune system is to recognize or eliminate antigenic foreign substances—that is, to distinguish between “self” and “non-self.” This is mainly reflected in three aspects: immune protection, self-stabilization, and immune surveillance. Traditional Chinese medicine, however, formed its own unique and complete theoretical system more than 2,000 years ago. The “Plain Questions” states: “When righteous qi resides within, evil cannot invade.” “Where evil gathers, qi must be deficient.” Among the two factors of “righteous qi” and “evil qi,” traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the importance of the body’s “righteous qi” in disease onset, clearly stating that “when righteous qi resides within, the body is protected from interference by ‘evil qi.’” The “Theory of Contradiction” asserts: “External factors are the conditions for change, while internal factors are the basis for change.” Given that “righteous qi” belongs to internal factors and “evil qi” to external factors, traditional Chinese medicine stresses that the pathogenic effect of “deficiency of righteous qi” is consistent with this view. Based on this, traditional Chinese medicine regards “deficiency of righteous qi” as the root cause of disease and proposes the therapeutic principle of strengthening the body and nourishing the root, aiming to enhance and mobilize the body’s resistance to disease. This perspective shares significant similarities with modern immunology. However, due to the limitations of people’s cognitive level and available methods at the time, as well as the influence of contemporary philosophical thought, it was only possible to understand and explain various physiological functions and pathological phenomena of the human body from a macroscopic, dialectical perspective, using yin-yang and five elements as reasoning tools and employing dialectical abstract thinking as the method of exposition.
Professor Pei Zhengxue believes that, nowadays, the number of autoimmune diseases in clinical practice is increasing, such as iridocyclitis affecting the eyes, Behçet’s disease in the oral cavity, allergic rhinitis in the nasal cavity, allergic pharyngitis in the throat, Barrett’s esophagus in the esophagus, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis in the gastrointestinal tract, plasma cell mastitis in the breast, scleroderma and dermatomyositis in the skin, myasthenia gravis in the muscles, sarcoidosis in the lungs, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis in the joints, pulseless disease in the blood vessels, nodular periarteritis, autoimmune hepatitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in the blood system, thrombocytosis, polycythemia vera, hemolytic anemia, and so on. These diseases share common characteristics such as rapid erythrocyte sedimentation rate, joint pain, high fever, rash, multi-organ damage, and prolonged, difficult-to-heal conditions. In general, Western medicine often prioritizes hormone therapy for these diseases, but it comes with side effects and rebound phenomena. Professor Pei Zhengxue once said that forty years ago, during the rescue of a patient with severe hepatitis, some patients with severe jaundice improved rapidly after using dexamethasone, while others saw their condition worsen or even died. At the time, it was unclear what exactly caused this phenomenon; looking back now, those who responded well to dexamethasone might have had autoimmune hepatitis, while those who did not respond might not have. The human immune system has two primary functions: recognizing “self” and “non-self.” When these functions are disrupted, self-recognition becomes confused, leading to the body mistakenly identifying “self” as “non-self” and launching attacks against itself, sometimes triggering a cascade effect. This cascade effect can cause functional damage to two or more organs far from the site of the lesion, resulting in multiple organ failure (MSOF). In 1977, German scholar Eseman argued that certain stimuli could cause local lesions to trigger a cascade effect in distant areas, leading to multiple organ failure (MSOF). In 1991, the European and American Medical Associations defined this as multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Professor Pei Zhengxue vividly described the cascade effect as follows: “Without an allergic reaction, it’s like throwing a stone on the ground—there’s little change; but with an allergic reaction, it’s like a grenade exploding on the ground—there’s a very strong reaction.” Therefore, in clinical practice, the cascade effect casts a shadow over surgery. Professor Pei Zhengxue believes that elderly patients should avoid undergoing surgery lightly, as major surgeries can overwhelm the immune system and even trigger a cascade effect, leading to MODS. Nowadays, surgical procedures are becoming increasingly common and technologically advanced, yet there is often a neglect of the fact that local surgeries occur within the context of the whole body and whether the whole body can withstand the damage caused by local operations. This poses a significant challenge for Western medicine.
Professor Pei Zhengxue believes that treating autoimmune diseases solely with hormones and immunosuppressants does not yield ideal results based on current retrospective clinical efficacy and carries substantial side effects. The approach of traditional Chinese medicine is to strengthen the body and nourish the root. As stated in the “Plain Questions”: “When righteous qi resides within, evil cannot invade.” “Where evil gathers, qi must be deficient.” The key to righteous qi lies in the spleen and kidneys. The kidneys govern innate qualities, while the spleen governs acquired qualities; therefore, strengthening the body and nourishing the root essentially means strengthening the spleen and tonifying the kidneys. Professor Pei Zhengxue believes that strengthening the spleen primarily improves non-specific immunity, while tonifying the kidneys mainly enhances specific immunity, which includes cellular immunity and humoral immunity. In the field of integrated Chinese and Western medicine, whether it’s strengthening the spleen or tonifying the kidneys, whether it’s non-specific immunity or specific immunity, the traditional Chinese medicine approach of strengthening the body and nourishing the root is a crucial method for treating autoimmune diseases. Of course, given the complexity and variability of autoimmune diseases and the diverse clinical manifestations, Professor Pei Zhengxue believes that when diagnosing and treating autoimmune diseases, traditional Chinese medicine should first understand the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnostic points, and treatment methods from a Western medical perspective, clarifying the Western diagnosis before proceeding with traditional Chinese syndrome differentiation. Currently, he employs numerous methods for syndrome differentiation in clinical practice, broadly categorized as wind-dispelling and dampness-draining methods, blood-activating and stasis-resolving methods, heat-clearing and detoxifying methods, yin-nourishing and fire-reducing methods, strengthening-the-body-and-nourishing-the-root methods, and liver-soothing-and-gallbladder-benefiting methods. 1. Wind-dispelling and dampness-draining methods
Wind easily combines with dampness to form rheumatism. Wind tends to rise and wander unpredictably, while dampness tends to descend and attack the yin regions. Rheumatoid arthritis causes wandering pain, heaviness in the lower limbs, and rapid erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Prolonged accumulation of dampness can turn into heat, and the combination of dampness and heat leads to joint pain and fever. Women may experience abdominal pain, increased vaginal discharge, and itching in the lower body. For treatment, formulas such as Compound Mulberry Branch Decoction, Cinnamon Twig, Peony, and Rehmannia Decoction, Millennium Ox Head Decoction, Five-Mile Ox Bone Decoction, Duhuo Jisheng Decoction, Self-Breaking Melon Decoction, and Compound Chuancao Wu Compound Decoction can be used, with adjustments made as needed.
2. Blood-activating and stasis-resolving methods
When illness persists for a long time, it enters the meridians, and chronic illness inevitably leads to blood stasis. Redness appears on the skin and mucous membranes, joints swell and ache, ulcers develop in the mouth, the liver and spleen enlarge, lymph nodes swell, solid masses form, and inflammatory masses appear.
For treatment, formulas such as Compound Sangzhi Decoction, Cinnamon Twig, Peony, and Rehmannia Decoction, Thousand-Year Ox Head Decoction, Five-Mile Ox Bone Decoction, Duhuo Jisheng Decoction, Self-Breaking Melon Decoction, and Compound Chuancao Wu Compound Decoction can be used, with adjustments made as needed.

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