Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2001

Treatment of Diabetic F o o t U l c e r w i t h Huangqi Decoction Diabetic patients are prone to develop foot ulcers which may require limb amputation. Traditional Chinese herbal preparations are said to have cured diabetic ulcers. Indeed the Shanghai Research Institute on Vascular Diseases claimed a 90 per cent success rate in the use of integrated Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine to treat patients with diabetic foot ulcer. This six-month project divides patient volunteers into t w o groups — one receiving traditional Chinese herbal preparations as complementary therapy and the other a placebo. This double-blind and placebo-controlled study focuses o n the clinical effects of an integrated treatment of Wester n and traditional Chinese medicine using two herbal preparations supplied by the Shanghai Research Institute, as we l l as their medical properties and safety. Preliminary observations indicate a 80 per cent success rate of limb salvage. Treatment of Childhood Asthma with Lingzhi and Dongchong Xiacao Decoction In Ho n g Kong, about 10 per cent of school children are affected w i t h asthma. Current treatmen t depends largely on inhaled corticosteroids ， which have been shown to prevent attacks and improve lung function. However, in cases where higher closes of inhaled corticosteroids ar e required, growth retardation is always a concern. Clinical observations have indicated that traditional Chinese medicin e has a certain degree of efficacy without causing significant side effects. In this study, asthmatic children using steroid inhalation are randomized int o either the traditional Chinese medicine group or the placebo group. The first group is given a wheeze-relief tablet containing lingzhi and dongchong xiacao. The effects of the wheeze-relief tablet o n asthma, as well as its medical properties an d safety are studied using the double-blind, parallel methodology. Danshen and Gegen Decoction as Cardiovascular Tonic Heart attacks an d stroke are the leading cause of death in m o d e m society, accounting for over 30 per cent of annual deaths in H o n g K o n g and o n the mainland. Heart failure, anothe r emerging global 'pandemic' health hazard in most ageing societies, is also closely related to atherosclerosis. For many years in China, danshen and radix puerariae have been used to treat coronary diseases. Previous research has indicated that these t w o herbs can dilate coronary arteries, slow heart rate, lower bloo d pressure, prevent platelet aggregation, and improve microcirculation. This project involves t wo six-month tests to evaluate the cardiovascular protective effects an d the safety of danshen and the radix puerariae compound. (0 Healthy volunteer s are randomized into t w o groups and alternatively assigned t o receive either danshen and the radix puerariae c omp o u n d or a placebo in the first two months, or the last t wo months of a six-month double-blind, placebo-controlled prospective cross-over study. Their safety, benefits to cardiac function, and cholesterol reduction ability are then measured. 0 0 Stable coronary artery disease patients aged between 40 and 70 are randomized into two groups. For six months, one group is given danshen and the radix puerariae c omp o u nd and the other, a placebo. The effects of the herbs as a cardiovascular tonic are studied using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel prospective (simultaneous administration of Western and Chinese formulae and follow-up observatio n of changes in condition) methodology. Chinese Medicine Research and Furthe r Development 35