Jan 23

Acupuncture and Parkinson’s

Acupuncture No Comments »


Researchers are studying whether acupuncture can be effective for treating Parkinson’s:

“South Korean researchers say that acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine technique of inserting and manipulating needles into various points on the body, may be effective in treating the type of brain inflammation suffered by patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Lead researcher Sabina Lim at Kyung Hee University in Seoul and her colleagues used a standard mouse model of Parkinson’s disease, in which injections of a chemical known as MPTP kill off brain cells that manufacture dopamine.

Some of the injected mice were then administered acupuncture every two days in two spots, one behind the knee and one on top of the foot, the points which in humans could potentially be seen as targets for treatment of Parkinson’s.

Another group of mice received acupuncture in two spots on the hips, not believed to be effective for acupuncture, while a third group had no acupuncture at all.

By the end of seven days, the MPTP injections had decreased dopamine levels both in the mice that not receiving acupuncture, and those who received it to about half the normal amount. But in the acupuncture-treated group, dopamine levels declined much less steeply, and nearly 80 per cent of the dopamine remained.”

Jan 23

Traditional Chinese medicine treatment in China

General No Comments »

Interesting article exploring the traditional treatments in China:

“With doctors urging amputation to stop the gangrene spreading upwards from his toes, Liu Guorong was sceptical when a friend said bee venom might save his foot.

“I was doubting this place,” the 58-year-old diabetes sufferer said in a raspy voice during a visit to the Xizhihe Traditional Medicine Hospital on the outskirts of Beijing.

“When I got here, I had no idea what I was doing and what the bee sting treatment was all about.”

As Liu found out, it was painful.

Bees were placed on his foot and provoked to sting him in a bid to rejuvenate the blackened, rotting flesh by flooding it with a rush of protein-rich blood.

A folk remedy for treating arthritis, back pain and rheumatism for 3,000 years in China, practitioners say that such pinpointed stings can repair damaged cells, stave off bacteria and ease inflammation.

Doctors at Xizhihe hospital believe they can even cure liver ailments, diabetes and cancers.

They admit, however, that they do not really know how it works. “Our knowledge has increased over the years,” said Xu Xiaowang, Xizhihe hospital director.

“But there are still large areas that are unknown to us all… There are too many unanswered questions,” Xu said.

Western-trained doctors dismiss the treatment as unscientific and dangerous.

“It’s alternative medicine and has no basis in western medical science… I would doubt its efficacy,” Professor Christopher Lam, a chemical pathologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong said.

“People allergic to bee stings can develop hypersensitivity reactions like a sudden drop in blood pressure, swelling of the airways, cold sweats… it may be life threatening,” Lam said.

Hazy science notwithstanding, at 20 yuan (about $2.50) a sting, the treatment offers a cheap alternative to mainstream medicine.

“Doctors at other hospitals were telling me that they needed to cut my foot off,” Liu said. “I’d spent loads of money.”

Liu has been to Xizhihe several times to get stung and is now on a course of orally-taken bee venom medication. He now expects to keep his foot.

“The flesh is growing back … I’m feeling better,” Liu said.

Bee venom is just one of an exhaustive catalogue of ancient folk remedies involving bugs, herbs, animal parts and massage that make up traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Incorporating elements of mysticism and based on a philosophy developed several thousand years ago, TCM is regarded as an alternative medicine in the West, but in China it remains a central plank of modern health care.

About 3,000 private clinics provided TCM treatments to more than 230 million people in 2005. Health officials say it generated 95 billion yuan that year – more than a quarter of the medical industry’s total income – and revenues have grown an average 20 percent a year over the past decade.”

Jan 23

Chinese herbs and menopause

Women's Health No Comments »

Scientists are exploring traditional Chinese medicines to treat menopause:

“A related concern involves so-called bio-identical compounds pharmacies make to treat hot flashes. These compounds are similar to prescription estrogen, but often contain different ingredients or in different concentrations tailored to an individual patient’s needs.

In November, the American Medical Association called for tougher FDA regulations of the compounds, claiming some pharmacies improperly tout them as safer than FDA-approved estrogen. Pharmacists argue that they are sufficiently supervised by state licensing boards.

The absence of federally authorized alternatives to estrogen has aroused keen interest among some biotech executives.

“The potential market opportunity for a safer drug to treat menopausal symptoms is enormous,” said Dr. Mary Tagliaferri, chief medical officer at Bionovo, who said she and another executive sold their homes to help start the company in 2005.

Bionovo calls its Chinese-herbal extract treatment, which is taken orally, MF101. Like many estrogen treatments, MF101 attaches to receptors on a woman’s cells, triggering a genetic response that tends to limit hot flashes. But unlike estrogen, MF101 doesn’t activate a type of receptor linked to cancerous growths, according to an early-stage study of 22 postmenopausal women that was published in the November issue of the journal Endocrinology.

Depomed hopes to one day win FDA approval for its proposed hot-flash treatment using gabapentin. That drug was approved in 1994 as a medicine for seizures. But this summer, gabapentin also proved as effective as estrogen in easing hot flashes in a preliminary National Institutes of Health-sponsored study involving 60 women.”

Jan 20

Green tea’s anti-bacterial properties

Tea No Comments »

Green tea, in addition it’s antioxidant properties, also inhibits some types of bacteria:

“A cup of green tea contains up to 200mg of catechins, whose biological activity has been mainly attributed to its antioxidant activity.

In Asian cultures especially, the efficiency of green tea extract in oral hygiene has also been known for centuries, and gave the researchers a clue on how to study it.

Now scientists from the National Institute of Chemistry in Ljubljana, Slovenia discovered that the main ingredients of green tea bring lots of benefits.

They found out that green tea catechins inhibit the essential bacterial enzyme DNA gyrase, which is the target of several existing clinically used drugs.

Pinpointing the most abundant catechin

By the use of NMR spectroscopy, researchers from Slovenia have now pinpointed the ATP-binding site of DNA gyrase as target of EGCG, the most abundant catechin from the green tea extract.

Up to now several compounds targeted against the ATP-binding site of bacteria gyrase have been known but couldn’t be used as drugs due to their side effects on mammalian cells.

Lead researcher Roman Jerala, the head of the Laboratory of Biotechnology at NIC, explained: “We can anticipate to avoid the problem of toxicity using the compounds based on the green tea catechins, which have centuries of established safety record in the human diet.”

This finding may be used to develop even more potent antibacterial compounds.”

Jan 20

Infertility and Chinese medicine

Women's Health No Comments »

A story about a couple in Manhattan treating infertility with traditional Chinese medicine. Some interesting background on some of the theories behind Chinese medicine:

“Hunyuan is an alternative fertility treatment of acupuncture and herbs, used by practitioners around the country trained and certified by Yaron.

A philosophical Taoist concept, Hunyuan translates as “’primordial origin or energy’ n the inborn energy in everything that’s there by itself,” says Yaron, who is fluent in Chinese. “We have an inborn ability to be healthy.”

In fertility, Hunyuan refers to the inborn ability of every woman to conceive naturally.
Chinese medicine believes that to conceive, both partners must be in optimal health. “We need to get you as healthy as we can, and pregnancy happens naturally, as it should,” Yaron says.

Most of the Seidmans’ patients have tried in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and are looking for another option.

“Doctors don’t know why IVF fails,” Yaron says. “They say the woman is too old or has poor egg quality. But from the Chinese-medicine point of view, if a body isn’t in optimal health, a pregnancy won’t develop.”

Nutrition can affect the quality of both egg and sperm. Taly tells of a patient diagnosed with a low sperm count, who took Chinese herbs for two months, and tested normal.

Chinese medicine does consider egg quality, but only in relation to the woman’s state of health, not as much to her age. All women eventually stop ovulating naturally. But a stressful life can affect the health of the egg, Yaron says. “If you eat well, keep stress away, and use Chinese medicine, you can be 44 but your reproductive system can be like 38. Your ability to conceive all depends on what you do to get your health back.”

Western medicine addresses infertility with harsh drugs and invasive procedures, but Chinese herbs work to repair the body. “Our challenge is to educate people that there is a gentler way to treat infertility,” Yaron says.”

Jan 20

Chinese herbs and hypertension

Herbs No Comments »

Danshen, the active ingredient in some traditional Chinese medicines used to promote blood flow shows some promise for treating hypertension:

“Many patients with high blood pressure have sought relief from complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In so doing, many have consumed danshen, a Chinese herb used in Oriental medicine that promotes blood flow and treats cardiovascular disease.

Tanshinone IIA is an active ingredient of danshen. Since tanshinone IIA is widely available, a team of researchers has used it to investigate if this active ingredient can reduce blood pressure. In a soon-to-be-released study, using an animal model, the scientists have found that tanshinone IIA does reduce blood pressure. “

Jan 10

Herbs and Alzheimers

Herbs No Comments »

A medicine derived from a Chinese herb is showing promise for Alzheimers:

“In health, researchers are testing a new way to prevent or at least slow down Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a Chinese herb that early research shows might be better than the drugs currently being used to treat Alzheimer’s disease and slow down memory loss.

When you hear Melvin Zuckerman recall events from the past.

“I moved away from that house in 1938,” said Zuckerman.

You would never suspect he has Alzheimer’s disease.

Here’s the give away: He can’t remember 3 words for 45 seconds.

How does this happen? Well when new memories travel through our brain they are led by a chemical called acetylcholine Alzheimer’s deteriorates the production of acetylcholine in effect stealing memories.

But researchers are hoping this experimental drug, derived from a natural Chinese herb, can change that. It’s called huperzine and Doctor Hillel Grossman says it works similar to drugs currently on the market that boost acetylcholine.
He’s testing it on patients like Melvin to see if it works better.

“If you can prop up the amount of the acetylcholine that is there, that’s available, flowing through the neurons than memory can be sustained,” said Dr. Hillel Grossman, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

Melvin just started the drug. He realizes it won’t stop Alzheimer’s but hopes it will help him hold on to his memories a little longer.”

Jan 10

Spicy foods can be good for you

Food No Comments »

Capsaicin, a chemical that gives spicy food its heat, is being studied for its effects on cancer:

“UK scientists have shown that capsaicin, the chemical that burns your mouth when you eat chillies and an active ingredient of over the counter drugs, can kill cancer cells with little or no harmful side-effects.

…

The study that led to this discovery is the first to emerge from a newly formed Nottingham UK-China Collaboration on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NUKCAM). The collaboration has members from the University of Nottingham and the Chinese National Academy of Sciences, for example Professor De-An Guo, who is head of the Shanghai Research Centre for the Modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Prof Guo is working with Dr Bates to discover why traditional Chinese medicines are successful in treating cancer and other diseases.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is considered an alternative medicine in the west. But in China it is an important part of the public health care system.

The last twenty or so years have seen an increasing interest on the part of the West and China to come together and explore this wealth of knowledge that dates back thousands of years. The main thrust of joint projects, like this one, is to examine the theories and uses of TCM using western scientific methods and tools.

Another important milestone in this East-West collaboration will be when The World Health Organization’s (WHO) initiative to to standardize TCM nomenclature reaches conclusion. It is said to be in its final phases, and there is a paper on this by Tony Reid in the The Journal of Chinese Medicine.

As lovers of Sichuan food and dishes will know, chillies do feature prominently in the Chinese diet, and apart from adding fire and flavour are believed by local followers of Chinese medicine to help ward off the ills caused by their damp and muggy climate.”

Jan 10

New Zealand embraces acupuncture

Acupuncture No Comments »

New Zealanders, like many others, are finding relief from a variety of ailments in Chinese herbs and acupuncture:

“An increasing number of Kiwis are turning to the ancient disciplines of acupuncture, herbalism, moxibustion (acupuncture combined with the burning of herbs) tuina (medical massage) and qi gong (breathing exercises) as treatment for virtually any ailment.

For Wellington man Rob McDonald, 57, acupuncture has become a semi-regular part of his life.

“I’ve never liked the intervention of taking pills that much . . . Some people probably think that sticking in needles is more invasive. It seems to me that it’s using the resources of your body a little bit more than throwing drugs at it.”

Rob, a manager, first had acupuncture about 10 years ago for a knee injury. Since then, he has also turned to it for hip pain, allergies and back pain. He says it was particularly effective for occupational overuse syndrome.

He’s not squeamish about needles and doesn’t wince as acupuncturist Karuna Olatunji inserts their fine points in his forehead. He describes it as a relatively effortless treatment. “You turn up. They stick a few needles in. You lie about for a while. Twenty minutes later, you shove off and you tend to get an improvement.”

Besides acupuncture, he has used other branches of traditional Chinese medicine. He practises tai chi (or taiji) – a gentle exercise that helps reduce stress and maintain mobility and flexibility. ACC promotes tai chi as part of its “preventing falls” programme for older adults.

He has taken herbals in the form of “little black pills” that include a range of ingredients to meet his body’s needs. “I’ve used some of the herbal remedies a bit, but generally in conjunction with acupuncture.” “

Jan 02

Tips for beating the flu-ginseng!

General No Comments »

Some good, basic tips for beating the flu. Among them:

“Drink hot tea. A Harvard study shows that sipping tea may boost your body’s defenses against infection. Researchers discovered that the blood cells in tea drinkers’ immune systems responded five times more efficiently to germs than the blood cells of coffee drinkers. That’s because tea contains a potent class of chemicals called catechins, which may spur your system to fight viruses. White tea is best: A Pace University study found that it was the most effective at fending off germs.

..

Try ginseng. People who took 200 mg of ginseng twice daily during cold and flu season had shorter colds than those who just popped a placebo (11 days versus 16.5 days), according to a study performed at the University of Alberta. Look for products that contain at least 1.5 to 2 percent total ginsenosides, which means they contain enough ginseng to be effective.”

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