Traditional & Alternative Medicine

Biography

Biography: Zhao Dandan

Abstract

Given the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and the fact that increasingly more people are suffering from T2DM and the associated disorders, there is greater pressure on clinical physicians and basic researchers seeking ways to prevent and treat T2DM, in which traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plays a crucial role. Professor Sihua Gao’s diabetes research group have engaged in exploring pathogenesis, pattern differentiation, treating principles and methods of using TCM to treat T2DM, and lots of clinical experiences have been accumulated. As for the mechanism of diabetes in TCM, combination of internal and external pathogens is considered to be the reason for onset of T2DM, including poor innate essences, improper diet, unsuitable labor and rest, disordered seven emotion, and six external pathogens that induce kidney essence deficiency, liver qi stagnation, and impaired spleen and stomach function. Thus, we proposed a novel treating method for T2DM, which is characterized by regulating the function of liver, spleen and kidney, together with paying attention to treat the accompanying syndromes, whose rationality and safety were confirmed by the clinical trials, and the mechanism has been explained and verified in the recorded documents. Here, the basic theory, the scientific basis, the characteristics and the advantages of this method are fully discussed and analyzed. This novel idea of treating T2DM not only accords with two main features of Chinese medicine theory, holistic concept and syndrome differentiation, but also bases on understanding of diabetes from modern medicine perspective. This idea integrates Chinese medicine with modern medicine, enriches scientific basis of TCM, offer novel insights into understanding the mechanism, diagnosis, prevention and treatment as well as development of effective drugs for T2DM.