Anemia-Related Hemogram, Uterine Artery Pulsatility Index, and Blood Pressure for the Effects of Four-Agents-Decoction (Si Wu Tang) in the Treatment of Primary Dysmenorrhea

Abstract

The anemia status evaluated in conventional medicine does not readily explain the effect of "nourishing blood" by Four-Agents-Decoction (Si Wu Tang) from this exploratory study. Although we did not find strong statistical significance of treatment effect, the decreased PI and extra blood pressure elevation may indicate an improvement of "blood stagnation" in the Four-Agents-Decoction group. The added information warrants a further larger clinical trial with an increased power to enhance our understanding of the efficacy, the dose-response relationship, and the mode of action of this ancient formula for treating primary dysmenorrhea.

Prescription of Chinese herbal products is associated with a decreased risk of invasive breast cancer

“…When a deficiency of blood is diagnosed, TCM doctors frequently prescribe SWT for alleviating various common symptoms of gynecological disorders, namely premenstrual syndrome, menstrual cramps, and irregular menstruation. [ 38 ] In accordance with a previous in vitro study, [ 25 ] the present study demonstrated that breast cancer risk was substantially lower among women receiving SWT compared with non-TCM users after potential confounders were considered. Furthermore, we conducted sensitivity analyses by stratification to assess age-specific incidence densities between CHP or SWT users and non-TCM users.…”

Concurrent Use of Conventional Drugs with Chinese Herbal Products in Taiwan: A Population-based Study

“…[39] Ancient Chinese medicine theory encourages women taking Chinese herbal medicine to build up their blood supply in order to reserve strength for each menstruation cycle because women expect a significant amount of blood to be lost during that. [4041] The anemia-related fatigue, dizziness, and palpitations might be the major reasons that lead to the patient's behavior of seeking TCM and receiving prescriptions of conventional drugs and CHPs concurrently. Similar to the diseases of the symptoms, signs, and ill-defined conditions, congenital anomalies often present physical problems not easily resolved, which tend to increase patient's and family's anxiety, leading to concurrent use of conventional drugs and complementary treatments.…”

To Unveil the Molecular Mechanisms of Qi and Blood through Systems Biology-Based Investigation into Si-Jun-Zi-Tang and Si-Wu-Tang formulae

“…Blood deficiency normally manifests anaemia, vertigo, heart palpitations and menstrual discomfort. The SWT formula has effects on stimulating hematopoiesis in bone marrow, anti-coagulant, vasodilatation and sedative 29 30 , so it can be used to treat anemia 31 , bone formation 32 dysmenorrhea 33 34 and other estrogen-related diseases 35 36 . Qi deficiency normally manifests lack of strength, body function decline and decreased disease resistance, and so on.…”