Background Hypertension is a clinical condition that manifests target-organ damage (TOD) with symptoms. This study investigates the association between Zangfu patterns and symptomatic manifestations of TOD. Methods Datasets with manifestations of Zangfu patterns (Liver-fire blazing upwards; Kidney-yin deficiency and Liver-yang rising; obstruction of phlegm and dampness of Heart/Liver/Gallbladder; qi and blood deficiency leading to Liver-yang rising; Kidney-yin/yang deficiency) and TODs (cerebrovascular, heart and kidney) were compiled from literature. The Pattern Differentiation Algorithm was used to test and to determine diagnostic accuracy with these datasets. A questionnaire was developed from datasets and applied to 43 subjects newly diagnosed with hypertension. Pattern differentiation was performed and the results were statistically analyzed for association between descriptions of patterns and TOD. Results The observed diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were 98.0%, 96.2% and 99.8% respectively. Similarity between patterns and TOD datasets was mostly negligible. Twelve manifestations demonstrated high prevalence, namely red tongue (81.4%), headache (72.1%), irritability (67.4%), palpitation (60.5%), blurred vision, insomnia and mental fatigue (58.1%), frequent nocturnal urination, numbness in feet and hands, shortness of breath (55.8%), and heavy limbs sensation, wiry pulse (51.2%). No significant association was found between blood pressure variables (systolic, diastolic, mean, pulse pressure) and manifestations. Conclusion Zangfu patterns are associated with clinical manifestations of TOD. Manifestations associated patterns indicate morbid conditions to be secondary to hypertension rather than simple blood pressure.

BackgroundAnalysis of the relationship between the nervous system anatomy and the therapeutic characteristics of all acupuncture points in the channel network may provide new insights on the physiological mechanisms underlying acupuncture stimulation for prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation purposes. This study investigates the association between the similarity of acupoints’ dermatomes, traditional actions, and contemporary indications.MethodsChannel acupoints had their characteristics annotated from a literature review of four topographic atlases of Chinese medicine and one atlas of human anatomy: initials of the channel’s name (n = 14), sequential number in the channel (n = 67), acupoint’s name (n = 361), dermatomes related to perpendicular needle insertion (n = 31), traditional actions (n = 848), and contemporary indications (n = 1143). Jaccard’s similarity coefficient quantified the similarities between dual acupoints. All dual acupoints were evaluated to generate similarity matrices for each nominal variable. Cross-tables were generated by simultaneous classification of variables into levels of similarity with respect to: dermatomes versus traditional actions, dermatomes versus contemporary indications, and traditional actions versus contemporary indications. Goodman-Kruskal γ and Rousson γ*2 were calculated based on cross-tables, bootstrap and permutated samples to evaluate the association and determination coefficient between variables, respectively.ResultsSignificant associations were observed between levels of similarities of dermatomes and traditional actions (γ = 0.542; P < 0.001), dermatomes and contemporary indications (γ = 0.657; P < 0.001), and traditional actions and contemporary indications (γ = 0.716; P < 0.001). Similarities of dermatomes explained 16% of the variance of traditional actions and 25% of contemporary indications. Traditional actions explained 30% of the variance of contemporary indications. The association between traditional actions and contemporary indications was the highest one (γ = 0.716, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = [0.715; 0.719]), followed by the association between dermatomes and contemporary indications (γ = 0.622, 95% CI = [0.621; 0.623]), and between dermatomes and traditional actions (γ = 0.446, 95% CI = [0.444; 0.447]), all with P < 0.001.ConclusionsThe similarity of dermatomes between dual acupoints partially determined the similarity of traditional actions and contemporary indications, therefore dermatomes partially determine the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture.