February 2008 Starting a 15-year effort to identify the constituents of herbal preparations used as medications for centuries in China. The Herbalome Project is the latest-and most ambitious-attempt to modernize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Herbalome will use high-throughput screening, toxicity testing, and clinical trials to identify active compounds and toxic contaminants in popular recipes. Initial targets are cancer, liver and kidney diseases, and illnesses that are difficult for Western medicine to treat, such as diabetes and depression. The Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), one of the biggest and best-funded institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, won a $5 million start-up grant to develop purification methods; the Ministry of Science and Technology is reviewing the project with a view to including it as a $70 million initiative in the next 5-year plan to start in 2010. A planning meeting will be held at a Xiangshan Science Conference, China's equivalent of a Gordon Research Conference, in Beijing Spring 2008. Our source: www.honso.com 6/03 a quote from Brian Benjamin Carter, Editor, The Pulse of Oriental Medicine (TCM for laypeople) http://www.pulsemed.org/ "... I'd like to make the point that there is a Chinese herbal tradition, but it's not frozen in time. Chinese practitioners write new formulas for new and old diseases. They are also innovating by combining knowledge from scientific studies with the principles of traditional Chinese herbal medicine. In this way, they've created formulas for serious modern diseases like cancer, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, glaucoma, diabetes, and sciatica." Event at SHARE (a NYC-based self-help group for those with breast or ovarian cancer). Ann Fonfa used to run the study group on CAM. The speakers were Kevin Ergil,MA, MS, LAc,Dipl.Ac(NCCA),F.N.A.A.O.M., F.A.A.P.M., Director of the Pacific Institute of Oriental Medicine and advisor to the TCM staff at Comprehensive Cancer Care for Women(this place has since closed). Also speaking was Sharon Taylor, a SHARE member and ovarian cancer survivor who actually came up with the concept for this group. Integrative Medicine is conceived as a safe place for bridging the gap and supporting a patient's access to therapies of many types, combining both bio-medical(conventional) and Shiatsu, nutritional interventions, yoga, tai chi(for example) and Traditional Chinese Medicine. A critical element of this is communication. CCC offers case conferencing to discuss all the possible therapeutic approaches and their interactions, benefits and conflicts. Although TCM has been used for thousands of years and Western medicine for hundreds, we do not know much about how they can work together. Kevin Ergil spoke about some research that takes place in China where lots of combining of treatments both Eastern and Western is typically used. The patient is empowered using integrative medicine and is a full participant in determining what will help themselves. Kevin then spoke about Traditional Chinese Medicine, offering a slide show of information. He first mentioned that this is based on observations of physical function not on anatomical research and therefore is very hard to directly compare to Western medicine. He told us that the first written work on TCM dates back to 100BC and that the first principles of herbal medicines were written in 220AD. Yang is the energetic or mobile aspects compared to the flame of a candle, while Yin is thought of as nutritive or nurturing and is the wax of the candle. The five principles are Fire, Wood, Earth, Metal and Water. Qi(Chi) is the vital force pervading the body, nourished with water, food and breath. There are four diagnosis in TCM: Inspection-looking at facial color, lustre or spirit in the eyes, the tongue in particular Listening and Smelling-Sound of the voice is important Inquiring-getting a patient history Palpation-the pulses(there are three on each wrist) and some acupuncture points, especially the abdomen. Kevin told us that in China, at least one medical center uses bio-technical equipment to diagnose and then prescribes herbs as treatment. He also mentioned that a very important aspect of TCM is the statement: One Disease=Different Treatment and Different Disease=One Treatment. This is explained by their method of treating a root problem which may manifest with various symptoms in different people but indicates one specific meridian. An example is the stomach meridian which goes through the chest and arms. It is difficult to summarize his entire presentation which was filled with interesting information on TCM but one point he made was that the Chinese have a pharmacoepia of over 6,000 herbs. He did say that the general practitioner uses about 300. Most cancer treatments consist of boosting the qi or life force which could be considered comparable to immune competency. Traditional Chinese Medicine is also used to help sustain the body during bio-medical interventions. In China, herbal agents are used in conjunction with chemo or radiation OR as treatment independently. In response to a question on the use of herbs with chemotherapy, Kevin responded that they have been used in conjunction for the last fifty years in China with no signs of conflict or interference. The use of tamoxifen in China has largely been replaced by herbs. We did not find out what herbs though. He also mentioned that Oxford Health plans has a rider that covers acupuncture and the use of herbs. There is also a group called Wellcare in upstate New York with such policies. |
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