1. Chronic Nephritis

1. Chronic Nephritis

Traditional Chinese Medicine does not have a specific term for nephritis, but based on syndrome analysis, it falls under the category of "edema." Zhang Jingyue said: "All conditions such as edema are diseases related to the three organs of the Spleen, Lung, and Kidney. Since water is the ultimate yin, its root lies in the Kidney; when water transforms into qi, its manifestation lies in the Lung; and since water fears earth, its control lies in the Spleen. Now, when the Lung is deficient, water fails to transform into essence and instead becomes water; when the Spleen is deficient, earth fails to control water and instead overcomes it; and when the Kidney is deficient, water has no master and runs wild."^②^ This illustrates that the manifestation of edema lies in the Lung, its root lies in the Kidney, and its control lies in the Spleen. Edema is further divided into yin water and yang water: the former is more often associated with the Spleen and Kidney, characterized by deficiency and cold; the latter is more often associated with the Lung, characterized by excess and heat. Clinically, the former is similar to chronic nephritis, while the latter is similar to acute nephritis. It is thus evident that the focus of treatment for chronic nephritis should be on the Spleen and Kidney, and the mainstay of clinical therapy is generally the method of strengthening the Spleen and tonifying the Kidney. The Liaoning College of Traditional Chinese Medicine treated 100 cases of chronic nephritis using this method, achieving complete remission in 33 cases, basic remission in 13 cases, partial remission in 39 cases, for an overall effectiveness rate of 85%.^③^ The 281st Hospital of the People's Liberation Army reported on the integrated treatment of chronic nephritis in 110 cases, using traditional Chinese medicine according to the method of strengthening the Spleen and tonifying the Kidney, resulting in 67 clinically cured cases, accounting for 60.9%, 15 cases of basic cure, 17 cases of improvement, and an overall effectiveness rate as high as 90%^④^. In my own clinical practice, I have also used the method of strengthening the Spleen and tonifying the Kidney to treat this disease, with consistently remarkable results. For example, patient Wu, male, 29 years old, developed chronic nephritis four years ago due to improper treatment of acute nephritis, and has experienced recurrent edema over the past four years, with urinary protein consistently ranging from + to ++++, and microscopic examination revealing red blood cells, white blood cells, and casts. In recent months, the edema has worsened, accompanied by fatigue, dizziness, lower back pain, aversion to cold, abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting. Serum non-protein nitrogen was 115 mg%, the tongue was swollen and pale with tooth marks, the coating was slightly yellow and greasy, and the pulse was deep, fine, and wiry. Based on the diagnosis of spleen and kidney yang deficiency, I applied the method of strengthening the Spleen and tonifying the Kidney, prescribing a formula containing Rehmannia, Cornus fruit, Chinese yam, Moutan bark, Poria, Alisma, Plantago seeds, Codonopsis, Atractylodes, Astragalus, Achyranthes, Cinnamon, Aconite, Imperata rhizome, Cicada slough, Motherwort, Perilla stem, and other herbs, adjusted as needed. After taking more than 100 doses, all symptoms disappeared, serum non-protein nitrogen returned to normal, and routine urine tests showed only a small number of red blood cells under microscopy, with all other parameters normal.