August International Links
From Shanghai Daily: A TRADITIONAL Chinese medicine developed in Shanghai has received a permit from the United States Food and Drug Administration to conduct clinical tests on American hepatitis C patients who have developed fibrosis of the liver.
The development was seen as a primary step toward entering the North American market, experts told a medical forum in the city yesterday. Fuzheng Huayu, a compound containing six herbs, was formulated after long-term Chinese research in treating liver fibrosis and was approved by China's FDA for public use in 2002.
If it passes all clinical tests, the Fuzheng Huayu capsule developed by Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine will become China's first TCM to be officially recognized by the US FDA.
www.shanghaidaily.com
From India: The world herbal medicine market is worth a staggering $70 billion today, of which China’s share alone is 13 percent while India accounts for a measly 2.5 percent, with our tribal medicines being nowhere in the picture yet, said Acharya.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 80 percent of the global population, including rural India, relies on traditional medicines because of easy accessibility.
www.thaindian.com
from Thailand: Krisana Kraisintu had taught the world how to make a drug that can control HIV, but it was the fragrance of Thai flowers - the pikul, jasmine and lotus used in the herbal medicine called ya hom to improve blood circulation - that brought her home again.
She has returned to Thailand to work with Ubon University's Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences to create forms of ya hom and other natural remedies for use in rural hospitals and for sale in local markets.
"Traditional herbal medicine is our cultural heritage," says Krisana, widely regarded with much admiration as "the gypsy pharmacist." A training centre was established in Ubon to teach pharmaceutical professors and their students how to re-create traditional herbal medicine.
"I hope they will pass on this knowledge from generation to generation and make is as widely known as possible," says Krisana, 57.
www.nationmultimedia.com
from Malaysia: CHINESE medicine hall owner Wong Siew Wai, 49, from Subang Jaya said there had been a slight increase in sales of Chinese herbs and herbal teas.
“Some opt to buy the pre-packed herbal medicine to balance ‘heatiness.’
“There are also some suppliers who have increased the prices for some herbs,” he said.
Herbal relief: A customer buying Chinese herbs at the Herbs N Food outlet in SS15.
Loo Tet Nyen, managing director of Herbs N Food Sdn Bhd, a chain store that sells Chinese traditional medicine and herbs, also said there had been a boost in business and agreed that some of the suppliers had increased prices by about 10%.
According to the chain store’s herbs department head Lee Foong Sang, the sales for herbal medicine had increased by 50%. Loo recommended some traditional Chinese medicines like the Porcupine Bezoar, which he claimed was a remedy for dengue and flu and maybe even the A(H1N1) flu.
thestar.com.my
from the U.K. -Here at the John Roberts Holistic Dentistry Practice, in West Yorkshire, they draw not just on common sense, but on the specific teaching of traditional Chinese medicine. Just as Western opticians have now started inspecting the eyes for signs of diabetes, Chinese physicians have for centuries been using a tongue 'map' to chart what's happening in the rest of the body.
'Each area of the tongue corresponds to a different internal organ; which means, basically, the tongue is the window through which one can look into the body,' Dr Roberts explains.
Dr Roberts is looking for, then, is any swelling, discoloration or cracking that will give him a clue about the wider me. He's gazing at the rifts and chasms of my tongue as closely as if this were Crime Scene Investigation.
www.dailymail.co.uk
From Hangzhou, China’s paradise city: The Huqing YuTang Chinese Medicine Museum’s exhibition halls narrate the origins, development and application of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the role of traditional Chinese medicine in world history. More than just a repository of ancient relics and knowledge, the museum practices what it exhibits — it has a clinic, pharmacy and restaurant that serves dishes prepared with medicinal ingredients.
thestar.com.my
GPs should develop acupuncture schemes through practice-based commissioning (PBC) to help implement NICE back pain recommendations, the British Acupuncture Council has said.
NICE guidance issued in June recommended a course of up to 10 sessions of acupuncture should be offered as a treatment option to patients with low back pain. Mike O'Farrell, chief executive of the British Acupuncture Council, said he was keen for individual GP practices to take a lead in developing referral schemes. ‘Practice-based commissioning would be the way we would love it to go,' he said.
www.healthcarerepublic.com
from Islamonline.net: Natural therapies like reflexology, acupuncture and acupressure have been shown to have great effects on people with addictions. In fact, acupuncture has been shown to have results superior to those of using addiction recovery programs and medications alone. Acupuncture has been used to heal addictions since 1974 when the first acupuncture clinic for addictions opened at the Lincoln Memorial Hospital in New York City. Today acupuncture is being used to heal everything from drug and alcohol addiction to nicotine and food addiction. (Phillips)
www.islamonline.net
from ecoworldly.com: Poaching for “traditional Chinese medicine” is already responsible for decimating wildlife populations in Asia and Africa. Acting now to save bears could prevent global catastrophes, such as the decline in wild tiger population from 100,000 to approximately 4,000 in 100 years, and the decline in wild black rhino population from 65,000 to a low of approximately 2,300 in just 25 years.
In the new book by Dr. Laurel Neme, Animal Investigators: How the World’s First Wildlife Forensics Lab is Solving Crimes and Saving Endangered Species, a detailed account is given of the events leading to the conviction of Sang Ho Kim for bear gallbladder trafficking in Canada, finding him guilty of 11 of 12 counts against him.
ecoworldly.com
Polycystic ovary syndrome, a common condition among women, can be relieved by the use of acupuncture and exercise. This has been shown by a recent study at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
During the study, one group of women with polycystic ovary syndrome received acupuncture regularly for four months. They received a type of acupuncture known as "electro-acupuncture", in which the needles are stimulated with a weak low-frequency electric current, similar to that developed during muscular work. A second group of women were provided with heart rate monitors and instructed to exercise at least three times a week. A control group was informed about the importance of exercise and a healthy diet, but was given no other specific instructions.
The study showed that activity in the sympathetic nervous system was lower in the women who received acupuncture and in those who took regular exercise than it was in the control group. The acupuncture treatment brought further benefits.
"Those who received acupuncture found that their menstruation became more normal. We could also see that their levels of testosterone became significantly lower, and this is an important observation, since elevated testosterone levels are closely connected with the increased activity in the sympathetic nervous system of women", says Elisabet Stener-Victorin.
www.genengnews.com