From "Treating Different Diseases in the Same Way" to "Treating the Disease with Same Mechanism in the Same Way"：Life Network Mechanisms and Systems Medicine Interpretation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Holism
10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.13.002
- VernacularTitle:从“异病同治”到“同机同治”——中医整体观的生命网络机制与系统医学诠释
- Author:
Huanhuan LIU
1
;
Shuxin DONG
1
;
Junlong SHEN
1
;
Jie LI
1
Author Information
1. School of Health Economics and Management，Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine，Nanjing，210023
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
treating different diseases in the same way;
traditional Chinese medicine holism;
systems medicine;
treating the disease with same mechanism in the same way
- From:
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2026;67(13):1359-1364
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Under the background of the medical model shifting from biomedicine to systems medicine， the traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） concept of "treating different diseases in the same way" demonstrates unique scientific value. From the perspective of systems biology， this study proposes that "treating different diseases in the same way" is essentially "treating the disease with same mechanism in the same way"； that is， different diseases share common pathological links at levels such as neuro-endocrine-immune network homeostasis， inflammatory signaling pathways， or gut microecology. Through the application of the "same formulas" and "same medicinals"， TCM intervenes in these shared network nodes. On this basis， the modern medical value of the "treating different diseases in the same way" concept is elucidated from three dimensions including "network causality" in epistemology， "systemic modulation" in methodology， and "comorbidity management" in practice. It reveals that as a life network regulation concept based on holism， "treating different diseases in the same way" provides novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for complex chronic diseases and multimorbidity.
