A Case Report on Treating Progressive Supranuclear Palsy with a Combination of Chinese and Western Medicine

Abstract

A case of progressive supranuclear palsy in a 66-year-old woman is presented. The patient complained of “progressive stiffness of both lower limbs for five years, accompanied by choking and coughing for more than 1 year,” and was diagnosed with paralysis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which was characterized by a deficiency of liver and kidney, and phlegm and blood stasis blocking the collaterals. Western medicine diagnosed it as progressive supranuclear palsy. The patient was diagnosed with “Parkinson’s disease” several times in the past and was given “polybasic hydrazide” and “amantadine hydrochloride tablets,” etc. The patient did not have significant symptomatic relief, so she sought further treatment with a combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine. Based on the concept of deficiency and excess, this disease is categorized as a paralytic disease in Chinese medicine, and the onset of the disease is closely related to the deficiency of the body after a long period of illness, with wind, phlegm, blood stasis, and deficiency as the main pathogenetic mechanism. The treatment is based on the combination of disease and evidence, with traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture as the main treatments, supplemented by intermediate-frequency pulsed electrical stimulation, transcranial repetitive magnetic stimulation, medicated canisters, wax therapy, traditional Chinese medicine guasha, and acupoint injections. Western medicine is based on symptomatic treatment, and the patient’s symptoms were relieved significantly after the combination of Chinese and Western medicine.