Modern medicine explains that vasculitis is the pathological basis of the disease, which leads to diffuse fibrosis damage of skin and organs all over the body. The pain and harm of this disease is comparable to systemic lupus erythematosus. The incidence of systemic scleroderma in China is about one in ten thousand. There are more women than men, about10:1; It can happen at any age, but it is more common from teenagers to young people; More than 95% patients have Raynaud's syndrome as the first symptom, and about 5% patients have lung cancer or gynecological tumor in the late stage.
According to the clinical manifestations of systemic scleroderma, it belongs to the pathological category of "arthralgia syndrome" and "skin arthralgia and gangrene" in traditional Chinese medicine. It is caused by insufficient endowment, disharmony between camp and health, qi stagnation and blood stasis, meridian blockage and reinfection of exogenous pathogens.
Clinical manifestations of systemic scleroderma
1. Most patients have Raynaud's syndrome such as pale or purple complexion, chills, numbness or pain in limbs due to poor blood flow in the early stage. This kind of ischemic-hypoxic malnutrition Raynaud's syndrome is not unique to this disease, and it has a certain proportion of patients in systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis and polymyositis, Sjogren's syndrome and other diseases. Its characteristics will be explained in the content of pathogenesis.
2. Skin lesions: Skin lesions can be divided into three stages. First, the skin is swollen without indentation (mostly accompanied by Raynaud's syndrome). Second, the skin is as thick and hard as leather, inelastic, and the skin is not easy to be pinched under the skin, showing a waxy luster. Third, the skin becomes thin and smooth, the skin shrinks, clings to the subcutaneous bone surface, the dermatoglyphics disappear, the sweat glands shrink, the hair falls off, and the skin color is calm and detached. The onset site was first seen in the hands and face, and gradually developed to the neck, arms, chest, abdomen, back and lower limbs, which were less involved and less common. Facial lesions can lead to "masked face", facial lines disappear, expression is lost, lips become dry and thin, it is difficult to open your mouth, and the tip of your nose is like an eagle's mouth.
3. Bone and joint diseases: osteoporosis, joint swelling and pain, which are common in narrowing the gap between fingers, wrists and knees, but bone fusion does not occur. Due to skin contracture and tendon fibrosis of articular surface, joint deformity and unstable fixation often occur. Make the patient completely lose the ability to take care of himself.
4. Digestive tract diseases: About 60% cases have fibrosis of lower esophagus 1/3 segment, vagus nerve damage, food stagnation after swallowing, and a feeling of obstruction and burning behind the sternum. Reflux esophagitis also occurs frequently. In addition, intestinal peristalsis slows down and intestinal contents stagnate, which often leads to bacterial reproduction, causing intestinal pollution, infection and other comprehensive symptoms. In addition, the muscular layer of colon is thinned due to fibrosis, which leads to local protrusion to form diverticulum, and a few cases have ulcer perforation.
5. Renal lesions: The proportion of renal lesions is small, and the degree of damage is generally light, with proteinuria and cast. A few patients died of renal failure due to ischemia of interlobular artery and afferent artery, and the speed was fast.
6. Heart disease: due to myocardial fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension, arrhythmia occurs, leading to cardiac insufficiency. About 30% patients involved pericardium, and a small amount of pericardial effusion appeared. Clinical manifestations include palpitation, dyspnea, cyanosis and edema. Auscultation can hear the second tone hyperactivity of pulmonary artery and the galloping rhythm of pre-contraction.
7. Pulmonary lesion: Pulmonary lesion is the early organ of the disease and a common symptom. The main pathological changes were alveolar, interstitial and peribronchial fibrosis. X-ray films of typical cases show an increase in linear fibrosis stripes, sometimes accompanied by cystic or honeycomb changes. Pulmonary function examination: most patients have impaired ventilation function, so they suffer from more hypoxia during exercise, resulting in shortness of breath, cough and cyanosis.
According to our clinical observation and treatment experience, it is believed that the main cause of this disease is the hyperactivity of the immune system, the increase of antibodies that stimulate cells and cell components, and the production of immune complexes. Promote the endocrine system to accelerate the secretion of collagen fibers, change the normal metabolic order of human body, thicken and age the intima of arterioles, block the blood flow, make the tissues around blood vessels lose nutrition, and the tissues and organs that lose nutrition will also age (fibrosis) and wither. This disease must be due to the problem of the human body's own operating structure. It is precisely because the brain, daughter cells and other strange and constant zang-fu organs are too sensitive that the running state of the whole human body changes. The stability of the mannequin is destroyed, and a strong self-injury reaction will be made under the condition of a little external stimulus. Once this pathological operation mode is maintained, it is generally difficult to break this vicious circle. Therefore, patients often feel helpless because of the incurable disease.
Autoimmune diseases such as systemic scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus can explain two problems: first, the pathological characteristics of these autoimmune diseases have the same characteristics; Second, it shows that the tissues and organs damaged by autoimmune diseases are almost the same. Only the clinical manifestations and forms are different. This proves that a pathogenic state analyzed by immune principle model produces different manifestations in patients.
Hormones are the first choice in modern medicine to treat this disease, and even cytotoxins are used to treat tumors. Hormone may take effect quickly in a short time, but hormone is an aging agent, which can promote the fibrosis (aging) of whole body tissues, organs, blood vessels and bones at an alarming rate, and can significantly reduce the resistance of human body, which makes patients susceptible to various infections, especially the pathogenesis and pathology of this disease itself are mainly aging (fibrosis) and sclerosis.
The immunotherapy of qi stagnation and fu-organs in traditional Chinese medicine is to promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, dredge channels and activate collaterals. Up to the brain, down to the daughter cells. From the inside to the bone vein and from the outside to the skin. Promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis is to soften and dilate blood vessels, promote or accelerate the circulation of blood oxygen, make blood oxygen smooth and fully nourish the whole body, and remove immune complexes. Only in this way can the aging of tissues and organs of the whole body be prevented. Shuanghu Ruanjian Pill and Huoxue Tongluo Pill developed by the author are products developed according to the above principles. Clinical effects confirmed the reliability of the above principles and enriched the theoretical basis of immune principles.