The Future of Complex Disease Care – An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Zuobiao Yuan
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Dr. Zuobiao Yuan, Lic. Ac, PhD, is a licensed acupuncturist, physician, researcher, educator, and founder of Yi Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine in Woodbury, Minnesota. He is also a current board member of the Minnesota Acupuncture Association. With more than 30 years of experience in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), integrative medicine, biomedical research, and higher education, Dr. Yuan brings a rare combination of classical Chinese medicine and modern scientific research to patient care.
Zuobiao Yuan, Founder of Yi Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine
Can you share what inspired you to combine Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with modern biomedical research?
This probably has to do with my background. When I enrolled in university, I didn’t actually apply to a TCM university; I was assigned to it. Initially, I felt very resistant to the idea of directly applying concepts that are thousands of years old, like Yin Yang and the Five Elements, to modern clinical medicine because I felt the two were completely disconnected. Gradually, however, I tried to understand TCM and applied it to solve clinical problems, which led to very positive experiences. During college, my classmates and I had many meaningful discussions and debates regarding the future direction of TCM. Ultimately, I came to believe that the true direction for TCM development is to improve clinical efficacy. To achieve this systematically, we need basic and clinical research to provide data, support conclusions, and drive the entire industry forward.
Why do you emphasise complex diseases in your clinical practice?
Average or common illnesses can generally be handled by any TCM graduate, but that is not where the future of the industry lies. Complex diseases have always been the focus of the broader medical community. Therefore, as part of the TCM community and as an individual practitioner, it is only natural to focus my energy on complex diseases.
What is your definition of a complex disease?
These are diseases for which clinical outcomes remain unsatisfactory under current medical practices. For instance, cancer is difficult to cure, can be life-threatening, and has a massive impact on every family and individual. For many organs, such as the kidneys, heart, and lungs, chronic insufficiency means that conventional medicine can often only manage symptoms. Practitioners are forced to watch as symptoms worsen and functions undergo continuous, irreversible deterioration, leaving patients with a low quality of life and making organ transplantation the only eventual option or, worse, leaving them with no options at all. Of course, there is also massive room for improvement in the clinical outcomes of autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, and neurological conditions.
How did your training at Longhua Hospital and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine shape your approach to complex patient care?
I obtained my doctoral degree from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and its affiliated Longhua Hospital was my primary clinical training ground. Additionally, I received training in modern medicine at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, one of the best hospitals in China, which gave me a comprehensive and confident grasp of how to manage critical and severe clinical conditions. Because the hospitals where I worked or trained in China were all university affiliates, every physician was required to engage in research. Since the subjects of this research were always complex diseases, this pushed me to explore every possible avenue, including modern medicine, TCM, acupuncture, and even the latest biomedical research breakthroughs, to help patients recover as quickly as possible.
What makes “Siege Therapy” unique compared to other integrative oncology methods?
Longhua Hospital is one of the few national clinical centres for TCM oncology in China. Its academic leader, Professor Liu Jiaxiang, proposed the TCM treatment principle of “strengthening body resistance and eliminating pathogenic factors,” or Fu Zheng Qu Xie, in the 1970s. This approach emphasises improving the patient’s quality of life and prolonging survival rather than focusing solely on shrinking or completely eradicating tumours in the short term. This philosophy has gradually gained acceptance in modern medicine. Today, evaluating the efficacy of an oncology drug is no longer limited strictly to tumour regression but also focuses heavily on extended survival paired with a high quality of life, a shift that is particularly prominent when evaluating immunotherapy.
In the past, the principle of “strengthening body resistance” typically focused on boosting the patient’s immunity. However, the mechanisms behind tumour formation are highly complex. For example, the microenvironment is equally critical to tumour occurrence and development. Unfortunately, there are currently no drugs on the market specifically designed to improve the tumour microenvironment. If we can alter the hypoxic and acidic microenvironment of a tumour, we can make it inhospitable to tumour growth and progression, helping to suppress the tumour fundamentally. This is much like surrounding a city during warfare to cut off its resources and ultimately win the battle. Improving the tumour microenvironment functions like improving wartime logistics, whereas surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted drugs, and immunotherapy act as advanced combat weapons. Both are necessary, and neither can be dispensed with.
How has your research on inflammation and pancreatic disease influenced your clinical protocols?
During my time working in China, the surgical department at Longhua Hospital significantly reduced the mortality rate associated with acute abdominal conditions, such as severe acute pancreatitis, through an integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine approach. Later, during my research period at the University of Minnesota Medical School, I was partially involved in translational medicine research on Minnelide, an active component derived from the TCM herb Tripterygium wilfordii, or Thunder God Vine, for pancreatic cancer. These experiences enabled me to accurately identify the specific strengths of TCM and integrate those insights, particularly discoveries from Chinese herbal pharmacology, into clinical practice.
Which TCM techniques do you find most effective for patients with chronic or advanced conditions?
Currently, in the United States, TCM therapies seem largely confined to acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, Chinese herbal medicine, and infrared lamps. However, knowing how to combine and apply them is a complex discipline. For acupuncture, the choice of acupoints and specific manipulation techniques yields entirely different results. For Chinese herbal medicine, herbs must be used in different combinations and dosages tailored specifically to the patient’s TCM syndrome pattern to achieve better results. At the same time, we must comprehensively apply the findings of modern acupuncture and herbal pharmacological research to achieve maximum efficacy.
What practical advice do you give patients to support healing between clinic visits?
After a first treatment, the benefits of acupuncture generally last for about 24 hours before gradually declining, though some residual effects persist for a period. I generally advise patients to maintain a regular treatment schedule, such as two to three times a week, to achieve the optimal “dosage.” Additionally, I recommend that they engage in simple exercises or incorporate specific dietary therapies to support continuous recovery between visits.
How do you decide which combination of acupuncture, herbs, or other modalities is right for each patient?
This depends entirely on the patient’s condition. For instance, for chronic muscle and soft tissue pain, acupuncture alone is often sufficient. However, for conditions like renal insufficiency or cancer, acupuncture alone is relatively weak in efficacy, so Chinese herbal medicine must be introduced. For certain conditions, such as asthma, ankylosing spondylitis, anxiety, depression, and dysmenorrhoea, a combination of acupuncture and cupping often yields much better results.
How does the principle of restoring balance guide your overall philosophy in patient care?
Restoring balance is ultimately about helping the patient achieve homeostasis. Our bodies possess powerful feedback mechanisms designed to restore health. For example, if you are dehydrated, the body responds by concentrating urine while prioritising fluid delivery to vital organs like the heart and brain. When these homeostatic regulations fail, disease occurs. By using methods like acupuncture, we stimulate these inherent homeostatic mechanisms to foster gradual recovery. In reality, a patient’s ultimate healing almost always relies on their own homeostatic function.
Tell us about your clinical insights and achievements so far.
My primary clinical insight is to keenly observe every single reaction from the patient. For example, with patients experiencing emotional or psychological distress, one often needs to identify the source of stress hidden within their subtle words and then provide targeted intervention. For illnesses of unknown origin, a detailed review of the patient’s medical history frequently uncovers the most probable trigger. At the same time, it is vital to actively draw on the experiences of peers and apply the latest research findings directly in the clinic. For instance, QI jumping acupuncture and motion acupuncture work exceptionally well for pain management. Similarly, research into herbal pharmacology offers practical guidance on enhancing the body’s oxygen utilisation and improving the acidic microenvironment of tumours. If I had to pinpoint a single major achievement, I would name “Siege Therapy” for tumours because it targets a monumental clinical challenge affecting human health, offering profound help in improving quality of life and extending life.
What is the one key takeaway you want patients and practitioners to remember about integrative medicine?
First, respect the choices of the patient’s body or your own body because the body is what truly knows what it needs. Second, begin with nonpharmacological therapies before progressively introducing herbs or other interventions. Finally, never give up easily until the very end because our bodies possess an incredibly powerful capacity for self-recovery.
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