Discussion on the Therapeutic Idea of Acupuncture in Treating Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by Strengthening the Spleen and Tonifying the Kidneys

The medical community has focused a lot of interest on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a rare disease, due to its dismal prognosis, rapid development, and unexplained causation. Muscle weakness, atrophy, and even paralysis are its primary clinical signs; in traditional Chinese medicine, these symptoms are comparable to "impotence". Therefore, many medical practitioners attribute it to the category of "impotence". Based on years of clinical experience, the Second Department of Brain Diseases at Xi'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine specializing in brain diseases posits that the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is mainly attributed to deficiency of the spleen and kidney. Thus, the treatment is carried out from the perspective of the spleen - kidney theory. Acupuncture, one of the most crucial therapeutic methods in traditional Chinese medicine, boasts significant clinical value because of its efficacy and high safety. Therefore, taking acupuncture as the primary treatment method and focusing on invigorating the spleen and tonifying the kidneys to treat this disease offers a valuable approach for clinical practice.