Acne as a tool to guide the treatment of PCOS
Acne is a common problem faced by many women in their reproductive years. Often times it indicates elevated androgens (male hormones) and may be associated with menstrual irregularities, and even Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome, a condition that involves two of the following criteria:
Psoriais is a systemic disease and should be treated as such!
Well here is another rant about how psoriasis is truly a sysptemic disease, a fact that Chinese medicine has identified for hundreds of years. A recent article published in the British Journal of Dermatology stated that people with psoriasis have an increased risk of heart disease. The authors stated that traditionally western dermatologists mainly focused on psoriasis in the skin and joint level, but failed to view any correlation to other organ systems.
Psoriasis: An Opportunity to Identify Cardiovascular Risk
Psoriasis is highly prevalent and is associated with skin-associated
complaints as well as arthritis, depression and a lower quality of
life. Recently, it has been demonstrated that not only do patients with
psoriasis have an increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors,
but an increased risk of myocardial infarction, and for those with
Neuroimmune mechanisms in patients with atopic dermatitis during chronic stress.
CONCLUSION: A changed innervation and modulation of the serotonergic
system are indicated in chronic atopic eczema also during chronic
stress.
OBJECTIVE: To identify pathoaetiological neuroimmune mechanisms in
patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic stress, focusing at
nerve density, sensory neuropeptides, and the serotonergic system.
Inhibitory activity of Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) extract on Herpes simplex virus type 2 replication.
Our experiments support the use of
lemon balm for treating Herpes simplex lesions and encourage clinical
trials on this medicinal plant.
Assessment of Patients With Recalcitrant Psoriasis in a Randomized, Observer-Blind, Vehicle-Controlled Trial Using Indigo.
CONCLUSION: Topical indigo naturalis (the Chinese herb Qing Dai)
ointment was a novel, safe, and effective therapy for plaque-type
psoriasis.
The Chinese herb Lian Fang, AKA Lotus peduncle, found to suppress the herpes virus possibly better than Acyclovir.
Whenever I post research on this site, I always try, when I remember, to write a bit about the study so that others can make sense of it. This recent study I came across probably needs that. (link to abstract here)
Herpes simplex virus type 1 propagation in HeLa cells interrupted by Nelumbo nucifera
Inhibitory effects of ethanolic extracts from 10 Chinese herbs on
herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) replication were investigated. By a
bioassay-guided fractionation procedure, NN-B-5 was identified from
seeds of N. nucifera. NN-B-5 significantly blocked HSV-1 multiplication
in HeLa cells without apparent cytotoxicity. To elucidate the point in
Psoriasis is a systemic disease
Psoriasis has been diagnosed as a disorder for thousands of years in both the east and western worlds. Chinese medicine has always viewed psoriasis as systemic disease that responds very well to the use of internally administered medicinals. Modern western medicine has struggled with it's understanding of psoriasis, in both treatment and diagnosis, and it has only been in the recent past that psoriasis is being viewed as a systemic problem.
Childhood atopic eczema
I recently received the following quote from the mother of a young four year old boy who had been suffering with atopic eczema.
