Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Individualized medicine, health medicine, and constitutional theory in Chinese medicine

  • Review
  • Published:
Frontiers of Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The patterns of modern science and changes in the medical model can result in the transformation of the current state of individualized and health medicines into being the primary trend in medical development. Chinese and Western medical systems are dissimilar in terms of value orientations, thinking style, and research directions because of their different historical and cultural backgrounds. Individualized treatment in modern medicine is mainly established based on individual genome information and the differences in mononucleotide polymorphisms. However, such treatment method is expensive, creates an uncertain genetic marker, and leads to different result interpretations, among other problems. The Chinese constitutional theory developed in the 1970s expresses the principle behind Chinese health medicine and individual treatment and provides the corresponding methods. The Chinese constitutional theory divides the constitution of the Chinese population into nine categories based on established classification criteria. It promotes the study of the relationship of each constitution to diseases and Chinese medicine preparation toward adjusting the constitution and preventing diseases. The theory also provides methods and tools for individualized treatment. Constitution identification shows the direction and provides the core technology for the evaluation of the health status. By combining the developments in modern biotechnology, new diagnostic techniques and treatment models of constitution-differentiation, disease-differentiation, and syndrome-differentiation can be established for the development of individualized Chinese medicine treatment and health medicine for the international medical community.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wang YY, Huang QF, Lu ZL, Gai GZ, Zhang ZQ. Change and innovation of TCM discipline orientation. J Beijing Univ Tradit Chin Med (Beijing Zhong Yi Yao Da Xue Xue Bao) 2011; 34(1): 5–11 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Gan YD, Xu DC, Ding J. Shallowly discussed the evolvement of medical model and its dialectic relationship. Med Soc (Yi Xue Yu She Hui) 2010; 23(9): 12–14 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Williams RJ. Biochemical individuality—the basis for the genetotrophic concept. New York: John Wiley&Sons, Inc.,1956:195

    Google Scholar 

  4. Fischel-Ghodsian N. Mitochondrial DNA mutations and diabetes: another step toward individualized medicine. Ann Intern Med 2001; 134(9 Pt 1): 777–779

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Auffray C, Charron D, Hood L. Predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory medicine: back to the future. Genome Med 2010; 2(8): 57

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Subbiah MT. Nutrigenetics and nutraceuticals: the next wave riding on personalized medicine. Transl Res 2007; 149(2): 55–61

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Giacomini KM, Krauss RM, Roden DM, Eichelbaum M, Hayden MR, Nakamura Y. When good drugs go bad. Nature 2007; 446(7139): 975–977

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Hou MP, Qu HQ, Xiao ZR. Healthy accelerating pattern for individualized application of diabetes medical nutrient treatment. Chin J Clin Rehabil (Zhongguo Lin Chuang Kang Fu) 2005; 9(39): 17–19 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Li YJ, Zhou XL, Xing YY. Neglecting the argument about the principal therapy, focusing on the personality therapy for hypertension: comprehension for the updated European guide for hypertension therapy. Med Philos (Yi Xue Yu Zhe Xue) 2008; 29(1): 27–29 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Zhong H. The overtreatment of malignant tumor and its countermeasures. Chin Med Ethics (Zhongguo Yi Xue Lun Li Xue) 2007; 20(1): 107–108 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Zhang W, Zhou HH. Translational approach for pharmacogenomics and personalized medicine. Acta Pharmacol Sin (Yao Xue Xue Bao) 2011; 46(1): 1–5 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Plain Questions of the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House, 1963: 43 (in Chinese)

  13. Wang Q. On Chinese constitutional theory from three aspects. J Beijing Univ Tradit Chin Med (Beijing Zhong Yi Yao Da Xue Xue Bao) 2008; 31(10): 653–655 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Wang Q. Constitutionology of Chinese Medicine. Beijing: People’s Medical Publishing House, 2009 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Wang Q, Zhu YB. Epidemiological investigation of constitutional types of Chinese medicine in general population: Base on 21,948 epidemiological investigation data of nine provinces in China. China J Tradit Chin Med Pharm (Zhonghua Zhong Yi Yao Za Zhi) 2009; 24(1): 7–12 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Wang Q, Dong J, Wu HD, Wang DP, Yao SL, Ren XJ. Study on the molecular characteristic in phlegm-dampness constitution. Eng Sci (Zhongguo Gong Cheng Ke Xue) 2008; 10(7): 100–111 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Wu YR, Cun YN, Dong J, Shao JR, Luo SG, Nie SJ, Yu HJ, Zheng BR, Wang Q, Xiao CJ. Polymorphisms in PPARD, PPARG and APM1 associated with four types of traditional Chinese medicine constitutions. J Genet Genomics 2010; 37(6): 371–379

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Wang Q, Yao S. Molecular basis for cold-intolerant yang-deficient constitution of traditional Chinese medicine. Am J Chin Med 2008; 36(5): 827–834

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Gong HY, Gao JH, Wang Q. Peripheral blood gene expression profile of Chinese adult obesities by gene chip technique. J Clin Rehabil Tissue Eng Res (Zhongguo Zu Zhi Gong Cheng Yan Jiu Yu Lin Chuang Kang Fu) 2008; 12(24): 4797–4800 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhu YB, Wang Q, Deng QW, Cai J, Song XH, Yan X. Relationships between constitutional types of traditional Chinese medicine and hypertension. J Chin Integr Med (Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao) 2010; 8(1): 40–45 (in Chinese)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Wang Q, Ren XJ, Yao SL, Wu HD. Clinical observation on the endocrinal and immune functions in subjects with yin-deficiency constitution. Chin J Integr Med 2010; 16(1): 28–32

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Li XM, Wang QF, Schofield B, Lin J, Huang SK, Wang Q. Modulation of antigen induced anaphylaxis in mice by a Traditional Chinese Medicine Formula, Guo Min Kang. Am J Chin Med 2009; 37(01): 113–125.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Wang J, Yang XZ, Zhu QW, Dong XY, Li HY, Guo Z, Niu X. Chinese medicine four diagnoses auxiliary apparatus in health evaluation and constitution identification. World Sci Tech—Modernization Tradit Chin Med (Shi Jie Ke Xue Ji Shu—Zhong Yao Xian Dai Hua) 2011;13(1):70–73 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Wang Q. The Foundation of the Classification and Diagnosis Standards for the Constitutions of TCM. China Stand (Zhongguo Biao Zhun Hua) 2009; 32(2): 16–26 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. McLeod HL, Evans WE. Pharmacogenomics: unlocking the human genome for better drug therapy. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 2001; 41(1): 101–121

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Cai DY. Basis for modern study of individualized medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. Chin J Basic Med Tradit Chin Med (Zhongguo Zhong Yi Ji Chu Yi Xue Za Zhi) 2006; 12(2): 143–144 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Studies in Constitution Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Basic Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China

    Qi Wang

Authors
  1. Qi Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Qi Wang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, Q. Individualized medicine, health medicine, and constitutional theory in Chinese medicine. Front. Med. 6, 1–7 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-012-0173-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-012-0173-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation