TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE AND INFERTILITY - PART IIIIn beginning sections of this article, we considered proper treatment methods of Traditional Chinese Medicine and The Four Examaminations, a method of diagnosis that dates back over three thousand years. We also looked at mechanisms of action with TCM and accupuncture.
In this final section we will consider combined diagnostics of Eastern and Western Medicine along with uses of herbal medicine in treatment of infertility.
A DIAGNOSTIC WINDOW - EAST MEETS WEST
One TCM diagnosis which exists and which may be etiologic for male or female infertility is called Liver qi stagnation. One of key identifiers of an individual with pattern differentiation of Liver qi stagnation is anger, rage, frustration, depression and anxiety.
"Symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger may help in determining nature of infertility experienced by some couples, and identify those who would benefit most from psychological counseling, suggest researchers.
Dr. Secondo Fassino (University School of Medicine, Turin, Italy) and colleagues recorded personal characteristics of 156 infertile and 80 fertile couples, and measured their degree of psychopathology. When researchers divided couples according to nature of infertility-organic, functional, or undetermined-they found that triad of anxiety, depression, and a tendency toward anger suppression successfully predicted diagnosis of organic or functional infertility in women, with 97 percent accuracy.
For infertile men, anxiety was also an important independent predictor of functional infertility, increasing likelihood of having this form of infertility five-fold, while depression was more predictive of organic infertility. However, with men - unlike women - anger did not appear to influence infertility in men.
The results suggest possibility of identifying a subgroup of infertile subjects where, beyond distress that is consequent to failure of repeated attempts to conceive a baby, there is also a poorly adaptive psychological functioning, which is likely to play an important role in onset and course of functional infertility," team concludes.”
It is becoming more and more prevalent that research conducted by Western scientists and physicians are highlighting veracity and effectiveness of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
HERBAL MEDICINE
The efficacy of herbal medicine in treating infertility is indisputable to patient community although mechanism of action is not completely understood at this time. Similarly mechanism of action of tricyclic antidepressants is not fully understood in its effect on chronic pain (i.e., in case of fibromyalgia), but its efficacy has been maintained.
Practitioners of Chinese herbal medicine rarely use a single herb in treatment. Chinese herbs are formula based; many herbs are mixed together to create perfect 'decoction' specifically designed for individual patient.