Influenza A (H1N1) (‘Swine Flu’) and the Four Levels Giovanni Maciocia The ‘Four Levels’ term refers to the four levels of depth in the development of fevers from acute infectious diseases. It is a brilliant theory of Chinese medicine that was developed during the early Qing dynasty by Ye Tian Shi in his book ‘A Study of Warm Diseases’ (Wen Bing Xue, 1746). In my opinion, the theory of the Four Levels provides the key to an understanding of acute, febrile, infectious diseases. This article will highlight the application of the theory of the Four Levels to the diagnosis and treatment of H1N1 influenza (‘swine flu’). Read the whole article
Interview with Dr Arnaud Versluys Ross Campbell Arnaud Versluys - a passionate and charismatic advocate of the clinical use of classical formulas from the Shang Han Lun and Jing Gui Yao Lue - answers questions about his education in China (right through to doctorate level) and his insights into the study and practice of Chinese medicine.
Filling the Whole in Acupuncture: Part 2 - What are we Doing in the Supplementation Needle Technique? Scientific Perspectives Stephen Birch In the first part of this paper (published in EJOM Vol 6 No 2) the author discussed the purposes, traditional explanations and possible mechanisms of the supplementation needle technique and began to model what might be happening when we apply it. He highlighted local and global qi circulatory effects triggered by the act of needling, and also the effects arising out of the interaction between the person needling and the person being needled. In this concluding part of the paper, he proposes various scientific perspectives and models that could explain the same observed effects of the needling and their various interactional effects, including mental interactional effects. Finally he briefly discusses the implications of this for understanding acupuncture practice.
Swine Flu in The UK - What Can Acupuncturists and Chinese Medicine Practitioners do to Treat it and Prevent Complications? Friedrich Staebler This article begins with a summary of government guidelines on swine flu for the benefit of acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners. It then gives an overview of the TCM diagnosis, treatment and prevention of swine flu, with particular reference to possible acupuncture treatments, the leading herbal formulas given in the Chinese literature and the appropriate use of patent medicines according to the depth and stage of the pathogen. It concludes with thoughts on the prevention of complications of swine flu for patients at risk and a few practical considerations from the practitioner's perspective.
What is Tamiflu? Dominic Harbinson This short article looks at the anti-viral drug Tamiflu which, along with Relenza, is being used as front-line medication in the treatment of swine flu. The article outlines Tamiflu's actions and history, its connection with Chinese herbal medicine, and the controversies surrounding government policies - at both national and international level - that promote its deployment.
Movement, Energy and Life Ken Waight The classics tell us qi creates movement, it protects and brings warmth and it moves fluids such as blood. There are also numerous references that when qi and Blood are not harmonised disease will appear. With such descriptions we can see qi is synonymous with movement, and harmonises the yin nature of Blood by its yang nature. Qi and movement can be seen as two aspects of the same reality. In such a relationship we can see that movement in our life is crucial for harmony of body/mind, Blood and qi, shen, Spirit and Essence. Movement then is at the heart of our existence yet often we pay little attention to it. When we work with movement we can begin to inhabit and awaken our bodies again, helping us feel more alive and in tune. The process that is initiated through working with our inner movement awareness can awaken our life energy to experience, as we did as children, that feeling of being totally at ease in our body, expressing ourselves exuberantly without inhibition. We can experience ourselves and the world about us in an immediate and refreshing way that enhances our lives.
Five Element Acupuncture and Archetypes: Chinese Medicine as an Integrated Model of Clinical Healthcare Practice Tom Williams and Ann Hutchison This paper will reflect upon the place of Chinese medicine in building an integral view of healthcare and how it can contribute to that process in a clear and coherent manner. The paper takes a look at the subtleties of ming men and how this can lead us to a much more functionally useful understanding of how our life journey can directly begin to manifest the disharmonies that Chinese medicine understands. By marrying these insights from Chinese medicine with the work of Caroline Myss on archetypal patterns and contextualising this against Wilber’s All Quadrants All Levels (AQAL) model, it will be shown that we have a much richer and integral understanding of pathology and how to address it. The theory will be illustrated with a detailed case study. Direct Moxibustion and Immune Response: A Review Study - Part 1 Merlin Young and Jenny Craig There is a large amount of published research on the potential immunological effects of direct moxibustion which remains relatively unexplored in English. There are also many indicators in the classical literature of oriental medicine that moxa was used in ways that may have had direct effect on the immune system. The purpose of this study is to cast some light on both these sources and to explore their validity based on contemporary context and in the light of clinical experience. The paper is in two parts. In this first part, which explores the more general literature on the subject, we find much inconsistent evidence of immune response but a deficiency of conclusive evidence for specific responses of white blood cells to moxa treatment. There is, however, enough record of a varied immune response to endorse more focused research on the subject.
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