Chua Yan Ting, Ang Xiang Ling, Zhong Xi Ming, Khoo Kei Siong
Medical Oncology, Parkway Cancer Centre, 6A Napier Road, Gleneagles Hospital #01-35, Singapore 258500.
Singapore Med J. 2015 Jan;56(1):11-8. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2015004.
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the human body is divided into Yin and Yang. Diseases occur when the Yin and Yang balance is disrupted. Different herbs are used to restore this balance, achieving the goal of treatment. However, inherent difficulties in designing experimental trials have left much of TCM yet to be substantiated by science. Despite that, TCM not only remains a popular form of medical treatment among the Chinese, but is also gaining popularity in the West. This phenomenon has brought along with it increasing reports on herb-drug interactions, beckoning the attention of Western physicians, who will find it increasingly difficult to ignore the impact of TCM on Western therapies. This paper aims to facilitate the education of Western physicians on common Chinese herbs and raise awareness about potential interactions between these herbs and warfarin, a drug that is especially susceptible to herb-drug interactions due to its narrow therapeutic range.
在传统中医(TCM)中,人体被分为阴阳。当阴阳平衡被打破时,疾病就会发生。使用不同的草药来恢复这种平衡,从而实现治疗目的。然而,设计实验性试验存在固有的困难,使得许多中医理论尚未得到科学证实。尽管如此,中医不仅在中国仍然是一种流行的治疗方式,而且在西方也越来越受欢迎。这种现象带来了越来越多关于草药与药物相互作用的报道,引起了西方医生的关注,他们会发现越来越难以忽视中医对西方疗法的影响。本文旨在促进西方医生对常见中药的了解,并提高对这些草药与华法林之间潜在相互作用的认识,华法林由于其治疗范围狭窄,特别容易发生草药与药物相互作用。