Chun-Ting Liu

By Yu-Chiang Hung, Chun-Ting Liu and Wen-Long Hu

Atherosclerosis-related diseases are the leading cause of morbidity or mortality in the world. They result in serious outcomes such as sudden cardiac death, unstable angina pectoris, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or intermittent claudication due to vessel obliteration or plaque rupture with subsequent thrombosis. There are some limitations with standard treatments such as antiplatelet drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, coronary artery bypass surgery, and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. Therefore, complementary and alternative medicine is necessary for medication. Traditional Chinese medicine is the main complementary therapy used in the Chinese community. This article aims to explore complementary therapy with traditional Chinese medication for atherosclerosis-related diseases. There is some scientific evidence to support that traditional Chinese medicine could treat atherosclerosis and its associated conditions. Acupuncture through needling on ST36, ST40, PC6, or BL15 could alleviate atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases. Tai chi and meditation have beneficial effects for mental and physical health. In addition, extracts or compounds of single Chinese herbs such as Salvia miltiorrhiza, Panax notoginseng, Ginkgo biloba, Curcuma longa, Crataegus pinnatifida, Paeonia lactiflora, Prunella vulgaris, Polygonum multiflorum, Coptis chinensis, and red yeast rice also could treat atherosclerosis-related diseases through their endothelial protective, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, inhibiting of smooth muscle cells proliferation, and lipid-lowering effects. In accordance with evidence-based medicine, well-designed and conducted clinical studies such as randomized control clinical trials will be necessary in the future.

Part of the book: Complementary Therapies for the Body, Mind and Soul

By Bei-Yu Wu, Chun-Ting Liu, Yu-Chiang Hung and Wen-Long Hu

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease that is typically characterized by chronic airway inflammation and obstruction of airflow; it frequently presents in early childhood and is the leading chronic disease in children in the western world. This review presents a brief description of the pathophysiology of asthma and summarizes recent research results on the mechanisms of action of anti-asthma Chinese herbal medicine commonly used in clinical practice. Other interventions of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as acupuncture, tai chi, and meditation are also briefly discussed. We believe that this contribution is theoretically and practically relevant because the prevalence of asthma is increasing and, in addition to standard treatment, the use of complementary therapy is increasing and there is increasing scientific evidence demonstrating that TCM has potential for the treatment of childhood asthma.

Part of the book: Asthma