Acupuncture, in combination with Chinese Herbs, have been applied to help with diseases related to blood-forming organisms and blood, including but not limited to the following.

Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus refers to disturbance of the metabolisms of sugar, fat and protein due to relative or absolute insufficiency of insulin in the body. It is mainly characterized by hyperglycemia and glycosuria. The clinical symptoms are polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, fatigue and emaciation. In severe cases ketoacidosis may develop. It may also lead to severe complications like coronary heart disease, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, kidney disease, ocular fundus disease, acromelic gangrene and nervous lesion. This disease is similar to consumptive thirst in Chinese Medicine. It is usually caused by extreme changed of emotions; or by excessive intake of greasy foods and alcohol; or by intemperance of sexual life leading to consumption of yin by dryness-heat; or transformation of dryness from yin deficiency with interior heat, which, in turn, results in lung dryness, stomach heat and kidney insufficiency, eventually leading to “upper consumptive thirst”, “middle consumptive thirst” and “lower consumptive thirst”. Prolonged duration will give rise to deficiency of both qi and yin or deficiency of both yin and yang.

Hypertension

Hypertension is a series of clinical symptom-complex marked by increased of arterial blood pressure in systemic circulation. Clinically hypertension can be generally diagnosed, if an adult’s arterial pressure reading of either systemic or diastolic pressure is equal to or in the higher side of 140/95mmHg, combining with clinical symptoms. Hypertension should be differentiated from secondary hypertension (symptomatic hypertension). This disease is similar to “dizziness” and “headache” in Chinese Medicine. It is usually caused by emotional factors, innate defects, improper diet and overstrain that lead to imbalance of yin and yang in the liver, spleen and kidney, eventually resulting in hyperactivity of liver fire, or upper disturbance of turbid phlegm, or constitutional deficiency of both yin and yang may occur.

Leukocytopenia

Leukocytopenia means that the number of white cells in the peripheral blood is continual less than 4.0×10^9/L and neutrophilic granulocyte percentage is normal or slightly reduced. There is no clinical symptom or there are mild fatigue and infection. This disease pertains to the category of “consumptive disease” in Chinese Medicine. It is mostly due to weak constitution, endogenous injury by overstrain, improper care after illness, invasion of virus or wrong medication, which lead to impairment of vital qi, deficiency of the spleen and kidney, and decline of generating source for nutritive qi, deficiency qi, and blood.

Primary Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Primary thrombocytopenic purpura, also called autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura, is a common hemorrhagic disease in hematopathy. The clinical presentations are spontaneous petechiae or ecchymoses of the skin and hemorrhage from mucus and viscera. It is clinically divided into two types acute and chronic. Acute primary thrombocytopenic purpura is usually self-limited, often seen in children; chronic primary thrombocytopenic purpura is commonly seen in young women. This disease is similar to “macules” and “blood syndrome” in Chinese Medicine. Acute primary thrombocytopenic purpura is due to internal accumulation of heat-toxin, leading to abnormal bleeding; chronic primary thrombocytopenic purpura is mostly due to insufficiency of the liver, spleen, kidney, deficiency-fire burning collaterals or failure of qi to check blood.