Integrative approach to migraine using traditional European, Indian and chinese medicine: a case report.

This paper describes the diagnostic features, treatment, and subsequent clinical course of a 53-year-old male whose migraine headaches increasingly impaired his ability to master his professional daily routine, causing him to seek help at our clinic. After the patient was evaluated according to diagnosis principles of Traditional European, Traditional Indian, and Traditional Chinese Medicine, he received naturopathic treatment as recommended by these traditional medical systems, initially as an outpatient and later as an inpatient. The patient's clinical response to the various therapeutic approaches was largely favorable and continues to be so. This supports the usefulness of such methods in treating migraine headache. The philosophies and rationales of the diagnostic and treatment methods of the three traditional medical systems are discussed with regard to migraine headache, particularly with regard to migraine illness as suffered by our patient.

Menopause in German and Chinese women--an analysis of symptoms, TCM-diagnosis and hormone status.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate menopause-related symptoms, traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)-diagnosis and hormone status of two comparable urban samples of menopausal women, one in Essen (Germany) and the other in Shanghai (China). METHODS: Patients suffering from menopause-syndrome were recruited from the TCM-outpatient clinic of the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany (35 subjects) and from the Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China (35 subjects). The Kupperman-Index for tracing menopausal symptoms was applied. The complete TCM-diagnosis was carried out by the same investigator in China as well as in Germany. Testosterone and estrogen blood samples were collected once from every woman. RESULTS: There were significant differences in specific symptoms of the Kupperman-Index, such as a higher prevalence of formication and depression in German menopausal women; whereas Chinese menopausal women suffered significantly more from vertigo, headache and paraesthesia symptoms. Concerning TCM-diagnosis, Shen ()-yang deficiency was diagnosed in 51.43% of the German women in contrast to 5.71% of the Chinese women; 17.14% of the German women were diagnosed as having Shen-yin deficiency compared to 74.29% of the Chinese women. The German women showed significantly lower mean hormone levels for testosterone compared to the Chinese women (P