Another brilliant text from Blue Poppy

From Acupuncture Today, Sept. 2003

By Robert C. Dichiera, AP, ATC/L

Blue Poppy Press has published yet another brilliant text from co-authors Bob Flaws and Philippe Sionneau. The Treatment of Modern Western Medical Diseases with Chinese Medicine: A Textbook and Clinical Manual conveys the authors’ collective 30 years of experience. Bob Flaws and Philippe Sionneau have taken 72 modern Western diseases not seen in most English-Chinese medical texts and illustrated the disease patterns and treatment protocols for each.

Like most texts in this field, the first section is devoted to basic to advanced theories of diagnosis patterns in Chinese medicine. However, unlike most texts, this initial section includes an explanation of renowned practitioners and their specific diagnosis theories not taught in most Western Chinese medical schools. These include Li Dong-Yuan’s theory of yin fire, Liu Wan-Su’s theory of similar transformations, and Zhu Dan-Xi’s theory of the Six Depressions.

The second section of the text is the treatment formulary. The 72 subsequent chapters are arranged in alphabetical order according to the medical disease discussed. Each chapter begins with the allopathic etiology of the disease and concludes with several important remarks from a TCM perspective. The diseases are broken down into their various TCM patterns, and a treatment formulary is prescribed for each, including herbal medicines, patent remedies and acupuncture points. I found the “additions” and “subtractions” an extremely valuable reference tool to help individualize the treatments.

There is no way to “cookbook” a treatment plan that involves the use of acupuncture and herbal medicines. What this text attempts to do is present the basis for use of each different type of acupoint and herbal formulary for each diseased pattern, and allow students and practitioners alike to make their own decisions as to which will be most effective in a given clinical situation. I believe this text is an essential manual to own. The Treatment of Modern Western Medical Diseases with Chinese Medicine: A Textbook and Clinical Manual will benefit students and practitioners of both Eastern and Western medicine. I look forward to similar volumes in the near future.

Dr. Dichiera’s rating: 10 out of 10

A Gem of Clarity

There have been other books in English elaborating the Chinese medical pattern identification and treatment of biomedically-defined diseases, but none so meticulously researched and presented as this one. The writing is organized, logical, and exceptionally clear.

The introductory chapter contains one of the most lucid discussions of Li Dong-yuan’s yin fire theory anywhere. This book is unique in its genre for including relevant points of yin fire theory in its discussion of the Chinese medical evaluation and treatment of more than 65 commonly-encountered biomedically-defined diseases. Practitioners and students alike will deeply appreciate its discussion of disease pathomechanisms, a subject typically glossed over by similar works.

The level of detail in both the Chinese medical and biomedical discussion of each disease is considerable, and the authors frequently make reference to recent research articles from China and from the English-speaking world.

The discussion of treatment is at a similarly high level, with a detailed prescription-modifying approach to each pattern for each disease. Both herbal medicine and acupuncture are covered, although the emphasis is clearly on herbal medicine.

One wishes that the index had received the same care and attention that was lavished on the manuscript; for example, there is an entire chapter on migraine headaches and no corresponding entry in the index. Readers may find the table of contents more useful in locating specific information.

This book should be considered a primary source for practitioners researching treatment for their patients, and a required textbook in courses on the differentiation of disease for students of Chinese medicine. It is the first English-language textbook to advance an evidence-based, yet individually responsive approach to those diseases most often encountered in outpatient clinical practice of Chinese medicine in North America. Essential reading.