October International Links
TRADITIONAL Chinese medicine holds that autism is caused by insufficient original energy for the brain. One DIY therapy involves burning mugwort in a special bamboo "hat." Zhang Qian investigates.
Locked in his own little world, six-year-old Tom Sun sits quietly in a small hospital chair, wearing a very peculiar traditional Chinese medicine "hat" that is intended to treat his autism. A few needles are placed in acupuncture points on his closely shaved head.
He seems quite oblivious to it all, including the moxibustion, or burning of mugwort herb inside the small (10cm x 5cm) hollow cylindrical bamboo tube "hat" with holes to release the smoke. Sun has been receiving this therapy, and other treatment, for four months at home. His mom, Diana Liu, says it seems to help because during recent thunderstorms the boy was not terrified and screaming. www.shanghaidaily.com
FIFTEEN foreign women living in Shanghai observed traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in a hospital and all came away highly impressed.
The women, ranging from housewives to students and all interested in Chinese culture, volunteered for the three-hour promotion that included demonstrations of diagnostic techniques and lectures on the age-old practice and its relevancy to the worldwide medical profession.
Under guidance from Pudong New Area government, the Pudong TCM Association carried out the initiative, a first for the city. The visits are expected to become regular events, with another one penciled in for next month. The 15 expatriates yesterday toured Shuguang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park.
"It was interesting and fantastic," said Priti Nopany, an Indian woman, who was told by TCM doctors at the hospital that she suffered a qi deficiency due to a cold. She received the prognosis after putting her tongue in a machine to check her health via TCM.
Karen Vecellio Rochester, who is from the United States and has been in China for three weeks, was fascinated by the diagnostic methods. "Just imagine ... your tongue can tell you about diseases in other parts of your body," she said. "In the West we know nothing about qi or yin deficiencies in our bodies."
www.shanghaidaily.com
Researchers from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM), Chinese Academy of Sciences reported in the recent issue of "Cancer Research" the discovery of a novel mechanism of a traditional Chinese medicine in treating cancer.
The traditional Chinese herb medicine Euphorbia fischeriana Steud has been widely used in China for treating various cancers. Several compounds in the medicinal herb have been reported to have anti-tumor effects. However, the mechanisms of these compounds in inhibiting tumor growth have not been fully understood.
Dr. Ying Wang from Dr Yu's research group, identified 17-hydroxy-jolkinolide B (HJB) from the herb as a novel inhibitor of the JAK family kinases. The mechanism of this compound is rather unique. It covalently cross-links the JAKs into dimers and inactivates their kinase activities. This effect on the JAKs is very specific. It does not affect many other kinases. As a consequence, it induces apoptosis of tumor cells, particularly those with constitutively activated JAK/STAT3. The JAK family kinases are important targets for anti-cancer and anti-inflammation drugs.
This discovery provides a new direction for JAK inhibitor drug research and development. It also helps to understand the mechanisms of the traditional Chinese medicines in treating cancer.
insciences.org
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) had proved effective for preventing and curing A/H1N1 flu in clinical tests, Beijing health authorities said. After five months' scientific research, the effectiveness of TCM on A/H1N1 flu patients had been proved in clinical tests, said the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau.
The city has reserved 2 million TCM doses to fight against the flu. "The Beijing municipal government has invested 10 million yuan (1.4 million U.S. dollars) to test the effectiveness and safety of TCM to treat A/H1N1 flu since May," said Zhao Jing, head of Beijing Administration of TCM.
news.xinhuanet.com
The Tibetan Medicine Hospital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, in downtown Lhasa, is packed with patients from Monday to Friday.
All the doctors in this hospital are of the Tibetan ethnic group, said Tsewang Tanpa, director of the hospital's outpatient administrative office. We accept about 800 patients every day. Around 70 or 80 percent of Tibetans would choose here as their first choice for treatment.
Tibetan medicine, with a more than 2,000-year history, has developed from the experiences and wisdom of people on the plateau. During the third century B.C., a primitive medical system formed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It provided instructions for daily life, including what to eat and drink, and prescribed simple therapies such as using butter to stop bleeding, bloodletting and massage.
Tibetan medicine dictates that diseases are caused by the influence of the environment, climate and diet, said Tsewang. Doctors normally first instruct the patients to change living habits or diet instead of giving prescriptions.
chinatibet.people.com.cn