Al Stone, L.Ac.
Beyond Well Being
Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicines
Santa Monica, CA.
(310) 264-6668
"Red River Valley" wrote:
Can you tell me if Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) can be
treated with acupuncture? My 10 yr. old grandson suffers from this
disorder. We have tried all conventional methods of treatment
including a splenectomy to no avail. If ITP can be treated with
acupuncture, can you tell me with what level of success?
There are some things that acupuncture is adept at treating and some things that we rely instead on herbal medicines.
I think that this is more of an issue for herbal medicines. But again, it depends on what is causing the problem.
To answer the "what level of success" question, there is an extensive list of research, but western style research is not very well done in the Chinese medicine arena since the diagnosis is completely different. For instance, there are two key causes for ITP from the TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) perspectives. We HAVE to differentiate the cause before treating it successfully, otherwise, it simply won't work. An MD researcher who understands how to differentiate these things while doing the research is very difficult to find, if not impossible, though in China, they do understand this, however in the USA, few have access to the Chinese language research. I have some, at: http://acupuncture.com/Research/ResInd.htm though I don't think that ITP really shows up there.
Onward to the treatment plan...
There are a few different potential causes for this condition from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine.
1) Spleen Qi deficiency (not to be confused with the spleen that was removed, there is some overlap, but also our "Spleen" also has some of the functions of the pancreas). The Spleen is in charge of three things. Digestion, keeping the organs held up in the body and finally, keeping the blood within the blood vessels. This third issue is the one that effects your son.
If we see other signs or symptoms of Spleen Qi deficiency, then the treatment would be directed toward this end. Other signs and symptoms include: bloating, gas, loose stools, fatigue, prolapsed (sinking down) organs and easy bruising or other bleeding disorders.
2) Blood level heat. Heat is a pathogen that comes from outside the body. Western medicine might call this an infection. At least that's how it begins. Long after the flu or infection has passed, the pathogen can bury itself deeper into the body. The Blood is considered a very deep level for a pathogen to get into, but it can happen. Once that has happened, we have a condition that we call Blood level heat. One of the signs of this condition is inappropriate bleeding, or profuse menstrual bleeding. The premise is that the Blood is boiling out of its container. There may or may not be a fever associated with this condition.
The first pathology is a deficiency, while the second one is considered excessive in nature. Young people tend to get excess problems while older people tend toward the deficient type issues. That's not a law, just a rule. Your son may have either of these conditions, perhaps even both, or any one of a number of subtle variations, though these two are the key diagnosis to explain the ITP.
In both cases, herbal medicines are poised to help your son. Acupuncture could help potentiate the treatment, though I think that for a ten year old boy, the herbal medicines are likely going to go down a little better. Pun intended. : )
Be well.
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Al Stone, L.Ac. |