Professor GUO Hongmin’s Clinical Experience in Treating Insomnia in the elderly with Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction

Abstract

The Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction was first recorded in “Treatise on Cold Damage”, Professor Guo Hongmin offers a unique perspective on this formula. Through his interpretation of the theory that “the elderly suffer from insomnia due to yang decline” and her clinical practice, Professor Guo discovered that as people reach old age, bodily functions decline, yin and yang become imbalanced, yang fails to enter yin, and insomnia results. Clinically, treatment can involve methods to invigorate the Qi of the Shaoyang channel, harmonize the Shaoyang channel, regulate the pivotal mechanism, and calm the mind and spirit. Using the Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction as the foundation, and guided by Zang-Fu pattern differentiation, this approach treats geriatric insomnia. This article presents two verified case studies in which Professor Guo Hongmin applied modifications to this formula to treat geriatric insomnia, with the aim of providing a reference for clinical formula selection and medication use.