2. The Spleen Governs Central Qi

2. The Spleen Governs Central Qi

Central qi is regarded as the "foundation of postnatal life" and an important component of the body's "zheng qi." Traditional Chinese Medicine states that "where pathogenic factors gather, qi must be deficient," and "when zheng qi resides within, pathogenic factors cannot invade." This indicates that zheng qi and central qi, to a certain extent, encompass immune function. Moreover, TCM holds the view that "a strong spleen is resistant to pathogenic invasion." Some researchers have divided internal medicine inpatients into two groups: those with spleen deficiency and those without. Using peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, PHA skin tests, the total E-rosette formation cell ratio, and the active E-rosette formation ratio as indicators, they found that patients with spleen deficiency exhibit a clear tendency toward impaired cellular immune function. The degree of this impairment is positively correlated with the severity of anemia and hypoproteinemia in these patients. Similar findings have been observed in patients with chronic bronchitis, peptic ulcer disease, chronic nonspecific colitis, and chronic hepatitis who also present with spleen deficiency. Others have employed square capillary electrophoresis to examine lymphocytes in individuals with spleen deficiency and discovered a significant decrease in lymphocyte electrophoretic mobility. This decline in lymphocyte electrophoretic ability suggests that it may be one of the reasons for the weakened immunity seen in patients with spleen deficiency. Additionally, studies have investigated the salivary Siga content in patients with peptic ulcers and chronic colitis who exhibit spleen deficiency, finding that this content is elevated in such cases, particularly among those with concurrent dampness. Following treatment, as clinical conditions improve, the Siga levels tend to decrease. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the manifestation of syndromes is closely related to individual constitutional characteristics. HLA is an important immunogenetic marker in the human body, closely associated with immune responses and susceptibility to disease. Some researchers have conducted preliminary studies on the association between spleen deficiency syndrome and HLA, discovering a significant correlation between spleen deficiency and HLA------B22, whereas no such relationship was found in control groups such as chronic gastritis, chronic nephritis, or peptic ulcer disease. This suggests that the essence of spleen deficiency is clearly linked to immunogenetic factors.