1. Chronic Bronchitis

1. Chronic Bronchitis

This disease is considered closely related to autoimmunity, and its pathogenesis involves both specific and non-specific immune abnormalities. TCM refers to this disease as "prolonged cough" or "asthmatic cough," categorizing it as an internal injury cough; improper treatment of external infections can lead to internal injury cough. The disease is triggered by external factors, causing repeated exacerbations. TCM has long recognized that "the manifestation lies in the lungs, while the root lies in the spleen and kidneys." The "manifestation" refers to symptoms, while the "root" refers to the underlying cause, indicating that treating the lungs is symptomatic therapy, whereas treating the spleen and kidneys is addressing the root cause. Treating the spleen means strengthening zhong qi and bolstering wei qi, which also enhances non-specific immunity; this method is used to treat chronic bronchitis, traditionally known as the "nurturing earth to generate metal" method, with formulas such as Liu Junzi Tang, Pingwei San, Er Chen Tang, and Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang all suitable for use. Treating the kidneys means warming and tonifying kidney qi, regulating yin and yang, which also adjusts specific immunity. Using this method to treat chronic bronchitis, TCM traditionally calls it the "warming kidney to collect qi" method, with formulas such as Gui Fu Ba Wei Wan, Du Qi Wan, Jisheng Shen Qi Wan, and Mai Wei Di Huang Wan all suitable for use. Over the years, TCM has treated chronic bronchitis based on these principles, achieving good therapeutic effects. The Xiyuan Hospital of the Beijing Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine achieved a success rate of 95.5% in treating this disease with Guben Wan, a formula combining Liu Junzi Tang, Yu Ping Feng San, Bu Gu Zi, and Zi He Che, aimed at strengthening the spleen and benefiting qi, as well as warming and tonifying the kidneys. To observe the effect of this formula on the immune response in chronic bronchitis, before and after a course of treatment, sputum lysozyme levels were measured in some cases, revealing that after treatment, patients' sputum lysozyme levels increased (P<0.001), suggesting that Guben Wan enhances the body's non-specific humoral immunity. The Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine used cinnamon and fuzipian to tonify the kidneys, baizhu and ganjiang to strengthen the spleen, supplemented by bai jiezi, lai fu zi, and su zi to descend qi and eliminate phlegm, composing Tan Yin Wan to treat chronic bronchitis, achieving good results. This formula was proven by the provincial chronic bronchitis basic research collaboration group through animal experiments: rabbits given Tan Yin Wan developed agglutination titers significantly higher than those in the control group, indicating that Tan Yin Wan enhances the body's specific humoral immunity. The First Medical College of Shanghai and other institutions used shengdi, shudi, huangjing, jinyingzi, xianlingpi, shanyurou, and other kidney-tonifying herbs, combined with baizhu, shanyao, chenpi, and other spleen-strengthening herbs, to create Wen Yang Pian for treating this disease, achieving a success rate of over 95%. Immunological experiments proved that patients treated with Wen Yang Pian had significantly higher serum immunoglobulin levels of IgG and IgA compared with before treatment, and some patients' skin sensitivity tests turned from negative to positive. This demonstrates that Wen Yang Pian, which strengthens the spleen and tonifies the kidneys, improves both specific and non-specific immunity.