The Actions of Gu Zeng Sheng Wan (Bone-Hyperplasia Pill)
The work Waike Kexue (Science of External Medicine) contains an experienced contemporary TCM formula called Gu Zeng Sheng Wan (Bone Hyperplasia Pill), used for bone hyperplasia, hypertrophic spondylitis, cervical spondylosis, Kashin-Beck disease, traumatic arthritis, and delayed fracture healing, provided the pattern is kidney-qi failing to nourish, with concomitant blood stasis.The formula is composed of: Shudihuang (Rehmanniae Radix Praeparata) 150 g, Jixueteng (Spatholobi Caulis) 100 g, Gusuibu (Drynariae Rhizoma) 100 g, Roucongrong (Cistanches Herba) 100 g, Luxiancao (Pyrolae Herba) 100 g, Yinyanghuo (Epimedii Folium) 100 g, Laifuzi (Raphani Semen) 50 g. Preparation: grind all the herbs into an extremely fine powder and form into pills; take 5 g each time, 2–3 times daily.Pharmaceutical companies also market finished Chinese patent medicines based on this formula, sometimes with added herbs; these are generally named Gu Zeng Sheng Wan (Bone Hyperplasia Pill) or Kang Gu Zeng Sheng Wan (Anti-Bone-Hyperplasia Pill). They can be bought in some local pharmacies and also at online pharmacies.This formula tonifies the kidney and strengthens bone, activates blood and relieves pain, and moves qi to harmonize the middle. It may be used for any of the above diseases when they present with aching or stabbing pain, soreness and weakness of the lower back and knees, a pale tongue with thin white coating, and a deficient, rough pulse. In the formula, Shudihuang, Gusuibu, Yinyanghuo, and Roucongrong all tonify the kidney and strengthen bone; Jixueteng activates and tonifies blood; Luxiancao strengthens the sinews and bones and dispels wind to relieve pain; Laifuzi moves qi, resolves stagnation, relieves distension, and resolves phlegm. The formula treats the root with kidney-tonifying, bone-strengthening herbs, treats the branch with blood-activating, pain-relieving herbs, and uses qi-moving, stagnation-resolving herbs to ease accompanying symptoms; it has excellent symptomatic effects on the common symptoms caused by bone hyperplasia and similar conditions.However, both Shudihuang and Roucongrong have a mild laxative effect, and Laifuzi also promotes bowel movements, so patients who habitually have spleen deficiency with loose stools may develop diarrhea as a side effect. Moreover, this formula emphasizes tonification over attack and is only suited to middle-aged and elderly people who are frail; young and middle-aged adults whose low-back and leg pain is purely due to trauma or blood stasis should not use it. Robust people who take it easily develop the side effect of internal heat from over-tonification.Chinese patent medicines act slowly on pain; if the pain is severe, other treatments—such as surgery and anti-inflammatory therapy—should be used first, and Gu Zeng Sheng Wan then used for convalescence. These diseases are generally chronic with a long course, and taking a patent-medicine pill is preferable to taking a decoction.This formula can significantly lower SOD and LPO, thereby correcting oxygen-free-radical metabolism, which is of positive significance for degenerative diseases such as bone hyperplasia. In addition, it may be used for bone metastases from cancer when the pain is not severe; although it cannot cure bone metastasis, it can improve the patient’s quality of life and slow the progression of the metastases.