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JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE NUMBER 61 OCTOBER 1999
Yang Huo (Herba Epimedii) and Suo Yang (Herba Cynomorii diagnosed in clinic. Mostly, these patients don’t respond
Songarici) were added; for Kidney essence insufficiency, Gou well to the treatment with Kidney warming and yang
Qi Zi (Fructus Lycii Chinensis) and Shu Di Huang (Radix invigorating substances; instead, the more medicinals, the
Rehmanniae Glutinosae Conquitae) were added; for Spleen more impotence. Therefore, the clinical symptoms must be
and Kidney dual vacuity, Fu Ling (Sclerotium Poriae Cocos) carefully examined and differentiated, and one must make
and Shan Yao (Radix Dioscoreae Oppositae) were added; for sure not to make a presumptuous decision to invigorate
vacuity of Kidney qi, Huang Qi (Radix Astragali) was added; yang with warming and drying substances.
for Kidney qi vacuity accompanied by pouring down of Prostatitis in Chinese medicine belongs to the category of
damp-heat or residual, non-cleared damp-heat evil in the turbid strangury (lin zhuo). The clinical manifestations of
lower burner, Tu Si Zi (Semen Cuscutae), Zhi Zi (Fructus impotence due to prostatitis are often a mixture of repletion
Gardeniae Jasminoidis), and Bai Hua She She Cao (Herba and vacuity. Its repletion is mainly damp-heat pouring
Hedyotidis Diffusae) were added. For increased pus cells in down or damp turbidity pouring down; its vacuity is mainly
the prostate fluids, Bai Jiang Cao (Herba cum Radice Patriniae) Kidney qi vacuity. The Lei Zheng Zhi Cai - Yang Wei (Treat-
and Pu Gong Ying (Herba Taraxaci Mongolici cum Radice) ments for Various Patterns - Yang Wilt) says: “damp-heat
were added; for decreased amounts of lecithin in the prostate pouring down may cause the ancestral sinews to slacken,
fluid, Huang Bai (Cortex Phellodendri) and Shu Di Huang leading to yang wilting.” In clinic, prostatitis due to damp-
(Radix Rehmanniae Glutinosae Conquitae) were added. One heat pouring down is usually treated with Long Dan Xie Gan
ji [i.e. packet] was taken daily. [Tang]) (Gentiana Longdancao [Decoction] to Drain the
All cases receiving treatment were prohibited from tak- Liver) and the like. The author fears that treating impotence
ing any other treatment measures. Fifty-six out of the 186 due to prostatitis [with Long Dan Xie Gan Tang] leads to
cases had previously been treated with many different yang more problems in the future because of the trapping of
invigorating Chinese medicinals and androgenic western hidden ice3. Thus, Bei Xie Tang (Dioscorea Hypoglauca
medicines. Because this was ineffective, they were treated Decoction) with additions and subtractions is used to sup-
with this formula. Thirty-nine cases took the medicine for plement the Kidneys and percolate dampness. Within this
7 to 10 days, 53 cases took it for 11 to 20 days, 68 cases took formula, Bei Xie (Rhizoma Dioscoreae) is the sovereign
it for 21 days to one month, and 26 cases took it for one to herb. It is bitter and balanced and removes turbidity and
two months. separates the clear, and thus it is an important herb to treat
impotence due to turbid dampness pouring down and
Analysis of Treatment Results slackening of the ancestral sinews. The Ben Cao Si Bian Lu
The treatment effect was judged according to the treatment (Herbal Foundation Record with Thoughts on Differentia-
effect criteria in the 1993 publication of Zhong Yao Xin Yao tion) says: “Wind, cold, and dampness cause yang wilting
Zhi Liao Yang Wei De Lin Chuang Yan Jin Zhi Dao Yuan Zhe [i.e. impotence] ... yang cannot stretch; the use of Bei Xie
(Clinical Research Principles on the Treatment of Impo- (Rhizoma Dioscoreae) leads to stretching of yang.” The Ben
tence with Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine) by Cao Tong Xuan (Comprehensive Unblocking Herbal Foun-
the Hygienic Department. Forty-three cases (23.1%) were dation) says: “Bei Xie (Rhizoma Dioscoreae) tracks wind4
cured, 64 cases (34.4%) obviously improved, and 43 cases and removes dampness, supplements the Kidney, strength-
(23.1%) experienced an effect. Thirty-six cases (19.4%) did ens the sinews and governs white turbidity pain in the
not experience any effect. Thus the total amelioration rate penis. [Thus] yang wilting disappears ... ”. Bei Xie (Rhi-
was 80.6%. The treatment effect among the Chinese medi- zoma Dioscoreae) is used for this disease because it has the
cine patterns [was as follows]: the best treatment effect was effect of supplementing the Kidneys and stretching the
reached in the Kidney qi vacuity with accompanying lower sinews, removing dampness and rising the wilted. Huang
burner damp-heat pattern. Out of the 75 cases presenting Hua Yuan Zhi (Radix seu Frutex Polygalae Aureocaudae)
with that pattern, there was an obvious effect in 66 cases [a type of Yuan Zhi/Polygalae] is sweet, slightly bitter, and
(88.0%). All other patterns of impotence experienced a balanced. It supplements the Spleen, boosts the Kidneys,
treatment effect, with the impotence due to Kidney essence and downbears fire. In the western part of the Fu-Jian
insufficiency with debilitation of the life gate fire not show- province, this [herb] is used as an effective folk remedy to
ing a considerable change. Observing the clinical report, [it clear heat and disinhibit dampness, supplement the Kid-
became apparent] that the treatment effect and the treat- neys and invigorate yang. Bei Xie Tang (Dioscorea
ment length were interrelated. The treatment length for the Hypoglauca Decoction) with additions and subtractions
cured cases was on average 28 ± 3.8 days, for the obviously has a considerably high treatment effect for impotence
improved cases 15 ± 2.1 days, and for the patients experienc- caused by lower burner damp-heat prostatitis because this
ing some effect 7 ± 1.9 days. formula was established for the treatment of attacking and
supplementing simultaneously. It attacks without damag-
Discussion ing yang and supplements without being slimy5. Thus, its
There are many causes of impotence; prostatitis is one of treatment effect is good.
them. The above is frequently overlooked and carelessly
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JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE NUMBER 61 OCTOBER 1999
Conclusion wind is a very specific mode of treatment and does not exactly
Although the above clinical study focuses mainly on pros- correspond to treatment methods such as expelling wind,
stopping wind, arresting wind or eliminating wind. Thus,
tatitis-related impotence, I believe that it illustrates some
specific wind tracking herbs must be used to treat such hidden
very important and clinically useful principles. First of all, wind.
it seems to give a particularly effective formula for the
5 Slimy stands for the Chinese character ‘ni’ which is commonly
treatment of impotence due to pouring down of damp-heat, used to describe a tongue fur indicative of an accumulation of
and, as I mentioned in the introduction, this pattern prob- dampness, phlegm-rheum, or food. A medicinal with a slimy
ably deserves more attention than it currently gets. Second, quality thus points out the medicinal’s propensity to damage
the authors of the article presume a Kidney vacuity to be the Spleen and Stomach and lead to either one of the above
part of every one of the six patterns listed. As such, they three evils.
advocate a treatment method which attacks and supple- 6 Merck Manual, p.1575.
ments simultaneously. Here it is interesting to also note a
Simon Becker Dipl. Ac. & C.H. (NCCAOM) holds a diploma of Tradi-
case history given in the article referred to in the introduc-
tional Chinese Medicine from the Florida Institute of TCM and is a
tion on the treatment of male diseases with modified Si Ni
diplomate of acupuncture and herbology in the US. He has studied at
San. The 33 year old patient was cured with the following the Heilongjiang TCM University Hospital in Harbin, China, and
formula: Chai Hu (Radix Bupleuri), Bai Shao (Radix Paeo- holds a post-graduate certificate in TCM pediatrics from Blue Poppy
niae Lactiflorae), Zhi Shi (Fructus Immaturus Citri Aurantii), Seminars. He specializes in pediatrics and hematology and has trans-
Yu Jin (Tuber Curcumae), Gou Qi Zi (Fructus Lycii lated and published a variety of research and articles on these and
other subjects of Chinese medicine.
Chinensis), Mu Dan Pi (Cortex Moutan Radicis), Di Long
(Lumbricus), Chuan Lian Zi (Fructus Meliae Toosendan),
Gan Cao (Radix Glycyrrhizae Uralensis), Xu Duan (Radix
Dipsaci Asperi) and Du Zhong (Cortex Eucommiae
Ulmoidis). Clearly, this formula keeps with the principles
elucidated above by addressing Kidney vacuity and by
containing herbs which clear damp-heat in the lower burner.
Further the prescription uses Liver coursing and qi rectify-
ing medicinals as its main ingredients, a fact which, accord-
ing to my opinion, is the other important factor in the
treatment of impotence, as “psychic factors account for
about 50% of patients suffering from secondary impo-
tence”6, and considering the extremely competitive, stress-
ful, and fast-paced lives we tend to lead.
Footnotes
1 Sichuan Zhong Yi, # 1, 1999, p. 33.
2 Note that according to N. Wiseman in his English-Chinese,
Chinese-English Dictionary of Chinese Medicine, this herb is called
Huang Hua Da Yuan Zhi. The authors of the above article give
the name for Huang Hua Yuan Zhi as Polygala Fallax Hemsl.
3 The concept of ‘hidden ice’ is not entirely clear to me and it
cannot be found in any of the dictionaries or books I have. In
the article, this is what the author fears can happen if Long
Dan Xie Gan Tang is used to treat damp-heat impotence. I can
give my explanation to this statement, but I cannot guarantee
that it corresponds to the Chinese author’s exact meaning. I
believe that the excessively cold medicinals in Long Dan Xie
Gan Tang are not suitable in impotence due to damp heat as
they are too harsh and may damage yang. As is obvious from
the original formula the author uses to treat this type of
impotence, some yang warming medicinals are indicated even
though the condition is one of damp heat. Thus, the cold
nature of Long Dan Xie Gan Tang may damage Kidney yang
and cause the formation of ‘hidden ice,’ i.e., cold dampness
which cannot be transformed because of a lack of the
Kidney yang’s power for (warm) transformation of the
dampness in the lower burner.
4 Tracking wind in Chinese is ‘sou feng.’ Sou means to search,
or track down and arrest. This treatment method is used for
hidden wind, usually wind in the network vessels. To track
27