Posted by DAAN on June 14, 2009 under Uncategorized | 
New treats for animals-acupuncture therapy!
BLISSFIELD, Mich. —
James Leonard carefully looks over the patient on his examining-room table before applying a laser light to a front leg.
The Blissfield veterinarian holds the laser in place for about 10 seconds each time in several different areas. Josie, a 3-year-old Australian blue heeler — that’s another name for an Australian cattle dog — stands quietly on the table as her owners, Gary and Stacey Derby of Morenci, look on.
Josie, who is deaf, had a right shoulder injury last October when she got bumped by a vehicle she couldn’t hear coming. A would on her leg would not heal.
Posted by DAAN on under Uncategorized |
Chinese herbs can detox your body and enhance your health
DETOXING has become the buzzword of the 21st century, with stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow leading the rush to try new ways of removing chemical nasties from the body.
When the Academy Award winner stepped on to the red carpet for a New York film premiere in 2004 sporting strange circular bruises on her back, it emerged the marks resulted from cupping, an ancient form of traditional Chinese medicine thought to play a role in helping the body rid itself of toxins.
Posted by DAAN on June 7, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Embracing Chinese Medicine
I guess it was only a matter of time before I gave in to some form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Several years ago during SARS, I showed up at my doctor’s office for an appointment one day, and the kindly receptionist thrust a cup of black, swamp-like, liquid in my hand. The smell was like nothing I had ever encountered – not bad – just exotic. I looked at the concoction suspiciously. “Drink this! To avoid SARS!” she exclaimed. Why not? I obediently downed the entire up.
While considered alternative treatment in the west, Traditional Chinese Medicine is popular in Hong Kong and much of Asia. It mostly consists of using remedies such as herbal medicines, acupuncture, and massage to cure one’s maladies. TCM, as it is called here, is thousands of years old and based on ancient Chinese principles such as yin-yang and Daoism. While my Chinese friends all embrace western medicine, they also routinely consult their TCM practitioner – as the need arises – thus combining what they see as the best of two worlds.
Posted by DAAN on under Uncategorized |
Chinese medicine offers hope in treating autoimmune disease
ScienceDaily (June 8, 2009) — A drug derived from the hydrangea root, used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine, shows promise in treating autoimmune disorders, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children’s Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI), along with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. In the June 5 edition of Science, they show that a small-molecule compound known as halofuginone inhibits the development of Th17 cells, immune cells recently recognized as important players in autoimmune disease, without altering other kinds of T cells involved in normal immune function. They further demonstrate that halofuginone reduces disease pathology in a mouse model of autoimmunity.
Posted by DAAN on May 9, 2009 under Alternative therapies, Herbs, Men's health, Uncategorized |
Could there be an alternative to the blue pill?
Italian researchers are testing a promising alternative to Viagra that they’re calling 3,7-bis-(2-hydroxyethyl)-icaritin – or more simply put, “horny goat weed.”
In lab experiments, a semi-synthetic derivative of the active compound in Epimedium brevicornum, an ancient Chinese herbal remedy for impotence, performed as well as Viagra but with the potential for fewer side effects, the researchers say.
Posted by DAAN on March 17, 2009 under Uncategorized |
As the recession continues, people are choosing to use alternative treatments, in part because they are cheaper:
For the three months that ended Dec. 28, nationwide retail sales of vitamins and supplements totaled nearly $639 million, up almost 10 percent from the same period in 2007. That includes a nearly 6 percent increase in sales of herbal supplements alone, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm. Its numbers do not include Wal-Mart or club stores.
Nationwide herbal and botanical supplement sales totaled $4.8 billion in 2007, when the recession began, up 4.3 percent over 2006. That was a marginally higher increase compared with the previous year, according to Jason Phillips of the Nutrition Business Journal, an industry-tracking publication. Sales of animal oil supplements — mostly fish oils — were up 29 percent from 2006. While that was a decline from the previous year, both categories continued to show strong growth in a faltering economy.
A government survey released in December said concerns about the cost of conventional medicine influenced Americans’ decisions to try alternative remedies. “Nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products,” including fish oil and herbal medicines, were the most commonly used alternatives, taken by almost 18 percent of Americans in 2007, the report said. Among those users, roughly a quarter said they delayed or didn’t get conventional medical care because of the cost.
Report co-author Richard Nahin of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine offered cautionary advice on the topic.
People taking herbal and other supplements should let their doctor know what they’re using, said Nahin, acting director of the center’s branch that oversees outside research the agency funds.
Posted by DAAN on December 21, 2008 under Uncategorized |
US Air Force uses acupuncture in treating its staff
“Medical acupuncture, which is acupuncture performed by a licensed physician trained at a conventional medical school, is being used increasingly for pain control. Richard Niemtzow, MD, PhD, MPH, Editor-in-Chief of Medical Acupuncture, a peer-reviewed journal (www.liebertpub.com/acu) and the official journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, is at the forefront of these efforts in the military.
The technique developed by Dr. Niemtzow has been so successful that the Air Force will begin teaching “Battlefield Acupuncture” to physicians deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan in early 2009
. “Battlefield Acupuncture” can relieve severe pain lasting several days.”
Posted by DAAN on November 23, 2008 under General, Immune system, Uncategorized |
Herbal tea is shown to boost immune system
This week a leading study from Queensland University, in Brisbane, Australia, revealed that drinking three cups of green tea a day for eight weeks may lower blood pressure and shrink fat cells, confirming the long-held belief of herbalists in the therapeutic effects of a warm brew.
Posted by DAAN on under Disease, Immune system, Uncategorized |
Chinese Herb shows promise against HIV
An herb used in Chinese medicine — the Astragalus root — contains a chemical that could be used to complement antiretroviral therapy or possibly even replace it, suggested Rita Effros, a member of the UCLA AIDS Institute, which made the finding. Effros, co-author of the study, is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The study will be published in the Nov. 15 print edition of the Journal of Immunology and is now available online.
Astragalus, also known as milk vetch, has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine, usually in combination with other herbs, to strengthen the immune system. It is still widely used in China to treat chronic hepatitis and as an adjunct therapy for cancer patients.
Astragalus has also been used to combat heart disease, as well as to prevent and treat common colds and upper respiratory infections.
The AIDS Institute study examined the relationship between TAT2, a chemical in Astragalus, and telomeres. Every chromosome has a telomere at its end that has a protective function — similar to the plastic tip that keeps a shoelace from unraveling.
