Traditional Chinese medicine takes root in Palestine

Traditional Chinese medicine takes root in Palestine

RAMALLAH, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Suheir Subhi finally gets some relief from her chronic shoulder and neck pain, thanks to help originated thousands of miles away and dates back many centuries.

Subhi, a 40-year-old professional who commutes daily to and from work at an advertising company, is one of the patients receiving care from Ousama Habiballah, the first and only Palestinian in the West Bank city of Ramallah to have had formal training in traditional Chinese medicine.

For almost two months, Dr. Habiballah has been providing Subhi with weekly 40-minute sessions of acupuncture, cupping and therapeutic massage at his one-room practice within an alternative medicine clinic inside an office tower in downtown Ramallah.

The combination treatment helps stimulate blood circulation and the flow of "qi," or vital energy, and restore balance in the body, thereby reducing pain and fatigue, Habiballah said, applying heated cupping and acupuncture on Subhi.

"I feel more relaxed and feel the tension greatly reduced. The muscles are more relaxed; the shoulders are more relaxed; the neck is more flexible," Subhi said after the procedures. "There's a big difference."

Habiballah, in his early 30s, graduated from the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing in 2011. He takes an average of six patients a day at his practice, which has been in business for almost three years and opens from about 10 a.m. through 7:30 p.m., most of the week.

Some days, he would travel to East Jerusalem to work at a clinic dedicated to traditional medicine.

Leafing through a slightly dog-eared Chinese-language booklet containing a gist of Compendium of Materia Medica, a classic in traditional Chinese medicine, at a desk inside his tiny practice, Habiballah said his dream is to open a comprehensive center in Palestine for Chinese philosophy and medicine.

"I think that this center can promote the Chinese methods of therapy to heal problems," Habiballah said. "It can be a center for healthy people as well, offering courses in martial arts, de-stressing techniques and even herbal remedies."

His practice currently does not prescribe herbal medicine for its patients.

Habiballah blames the tense political situation and poor economic conditions for the high incidence of stress and hypertension among Palestinians.

He also points to some of the poor lifestyles in modern societies due to the increase in technology use worldwide.

"People are spending more time on computers and smartphones working through the life's stresses," he said, adding that the lack of exercise among some Palestinians could also aggravate their health problems.

And Habiballah's services could help relieve many of these problems.

Acupuncture, he said, relieves pain and fatigue for the patient to regain balance in the body. Inserting small needles into as many as 350 acupuncture points in the body can stimulate the nerves, muscles and connective tissue.

Unfamiliar to many locals, acupuncture can also be used for cosmetic purposes such as skin lifting, and for weight loss, which makes the summer the busiest season for Habiballah.

Although the term Chinese medicine could be a new concept to some Palestinians, the older Palestinian generations have been using some similar methods at home for decades.

Arab culture has always believed and practiced healing with natural remedies similar to Chinese medicine. Some practices, such as cupping and the use of herbs, have been passed on from one generation to another in the Arab world.

"The cupping method is used in both Chinese and Arab medicine," Habiballah said. "The doctor places cups in specific areas on the body, and assesses the patient's condition by observing the skin color of the cupped area to judge blood circulation and the flow of "qi," or vital energy, in the body."

"The color can tell us more about the muscles," he said, referring to subcutaneous bleeding resulted from the procedure.

While the younger generation might be skeptical about these methods, some local villagers still try to avoid the intrusive methods of Western medicine and rely on herbs to treat health problems.

Many have embraced Chinese medicine, Habiballah said, since it does not have any side effects and that it takes the entire human body into account.

"We see the body as a whole unit, and when there is disease, we look to cure the main problem, rather than symptom-relieving," he said.

From A Nurse to An Acupuncturist

Acupuncture and asthma

Holly Carling/Doctor of Oriental Medicine 

Coming from a conventional medical background working as a nurse, generally in the intensive care unit or the emergency room, the switch to acupuncture school was quite the culture shock! I went to acupuncture school never having had traditional acupuncture before. After having met my educational requirements, I was able to start my internship. This is where my story really begins.

I had just stepped into the clinic on my first day of my internship, when I heard a rushing noise behind me. I whirled around, to find three men, practically carrying a mostly-limp man between them. The man in the center was having a severe asthma attack, and was cyanotic. He was in bad shape. I would expect most people to take someone like this to a conventional emergency room or call 911. But they hadn't. He wanted acupuncture.

My first thought as I observed what was before me, was "where's the epinephrine or oxygen or nebulizer?" I was clearly out of my element, so I briskly sat the man down in the waiting room sofa and ran off to get the head physician/Clinic Director. He responded amazingly quickly, prepared with 4 needles in hand. In a flash, he expertly inserted the first two needles. The asthmatic man instantly calmed, drew in a good breath, and pinked up. We're talking 30 seconds. I was stunned. Never had I seen any treatment in the emergency room work that fast! He inserted the other 2 needles and the man relaxed into a deep sleep. I looked at the Doctor with an obvious shock to my countenance, and said "Wow! This stuff really works!" He laughed and walked back to his other patient.
I hate to admit it, but the culture of acupuncturists tends to be a bit odd. I think to be an acupuncturist, you have to think differently. When I first started acupuncture school, I kept trying to pigeon-hole what I was learning within the context of conventional medicine, because that's what I knew. Nursing and conventional medicine was my background. I came from a family of nurses, and started in medicine at an early age. Now, in acupuncture school, I was really struggling and not doing well the first few weeks. It wasn't until a teacher in acupuncture school told me to forget everything I know about conventional medicine and learn with a clean slate, that I finally got it. Now as a seasoned practitioner, I can explain it in conventional medicine terms.
The most important thing that I took from school, and from that first day, and first real experience in clinic, is that acupuncture works. After a number of acupuncture treatments, that first man was eventually cured of his asthma. Since then, I have seen some pretty remarkable ailments resolved with acupuncture. While I still believe the first place to go to while in an acute asthma attack is the emergency room, I sure enjoy helping people resolve or lessen their asthma condition.
The source of the story is here.

Acupuncture patients have less back pain when less afraid of physical activity

Study shows acupuncture patients have less back pain when less afraid of physical activity

Upon investigating the psychological covariates of longitudinal changes in back-related disability among patients undergoing acupuncture, researchers found patients’ perception and self-efficacy for coping with pain were associated with changes in disability during the course of acupuncture treatment for lower-back pain.

In a longitudinal, postal questionnaire study, the researchers collected data at baseline (pretreatment), 2 weeks, and 3 and 6 months. A total of 485 patients were recruited from 83 acupuncturists before commencing acupuncture for back pain. The questionnaires measured four theories (fear-avoidance model, common-sense model, expectancy theory, social-cognitive theory), clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, and disability.

According to study data, a decrease in disability was commonly associated in patients who also had a decrease in fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity and work, catastrophizing, consequences, concerns, emotions and pain identity.

The researchers also found patients who were less disabled had weaker fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity, had more self-efficacy for coping, perceived less-severe consequences of back pain, had more positive outcome expectancies and appraised acupuncture appointments as less convenient.

The researchers concluded that positive changes in a patient’s belief about back pain might underpin the large nonspecific effects of acupuncture seen in trials and could be targeted clinically. – by Robert Linnehan

Source of the report is here.

From Wharfer to Acupuncturist

Former Wharfer Adopts Acupuncture as Second Career

Sharp needles, sheer pain and a hefty helping of scepticism summed up Priti Heath's assumptions of acupuncture.

But that was a decade ago.

The former Wharfer is now a fully-qualified therapist in Oriental Medicine, having practised her sideline career in Chinese hospitals and her south east London base.

The self-confessed "running freak" was undergoing massage sessions at her gym which sparked her interest.

It was at Romford's Academy of Oriental Medicine that she picked up skills in acupuncture, qualifying in 2007, and taking on clients at Blackheath's BlissKi in 2013.

"There is a certain amount of intrigue about acupuncture," said the 45-year-old IT project manager.

"People are sometimes scared. Often, they will be here for a Chinese massage and I wouldn't force them to have the needles, but I ask them if they want to try them.

"You put the needles on the skin and you send electrical impulses through which relax the muscles.

"People can get huge amounts of pain relief and I get clients who just want the needles for relaxation - they are just really stressed out."

Sessions last at least 20 minutes and the fine painless pins are aligned to one or more of the body's 12 meridian channels.

If someone was suffering from an ankle injury, Priti might place needles around the foot and more around nearby kidney and bladder lines.

Prescriptions for Chinese herb and medicinal treatments are also popular.

Red flower Hong Hua combinations are said to be beneficial for blood health when balanced with other varieties, while a mixture including Chuan Xiong may also ease muscle tightness.

"I get people who are just desperate to have something natural," she added.

"They have been put on steroids, or given strong drugs, and they quite like to come to me so they don't have to continue taking them.

"In China the hospitals practise both Western and Chinese medicine.

"Doctors would give steroids to people who wanted a quick fix but also offer herbs and say 'take the steroids, but then for the long-term, you need to take the herbs'.

"It's good to have a balance - I would never say to someone with heart problems 'come and just have Chinese medicine', but it's definitely got its place."

Source of the story is here.

From An Ancient Medicine to A Modern Life Style

My Presentation to Odyssey Networks Today

Acupuncture, Acupressure and Women’s Wellness:

From an Ancient Medicine to a Modern Lifestyle

Fang Ji and Ebola

Tetrandrine: Compound from Japanese, Chinese Herbs Shows Promise for Blocking Ebola Virus

In a new study published in the journal Science, tetrandrine – an alkaloid found in Stephania tetrandra (commonly known as stephania root or ‘han fang ji’) and other Japanese and Chinese herbs – inhibited infection of human white blood cells in petri dish experiments and also showed therapeutic efficacy in lab mice.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of filamentous Ebola virus particles (blue) budding from a chronically infected cell (yellow). Image credit: NIAID / CC BY 2.0.

Ebola is a rare and deadly disease caused by infection with a virus of the family Filoviridae, genus Ebolavirus.
There are five identified Ebolavirus species, four of which are known to cause disease in humans: Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Taï Forest virus, and Bundibugyo virus. The fifth, Reston virus, has caused disease in nonhuman primates, but not in humans.
Ebola was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and currently has no approved therapy or vaccine.
The new study, led by Dr Robert Davey of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, focused on stopping the Ebola virus before it has a chance to enter or interact with cellular factors, as that is a critical first step to combating infection.
The virus begins its entry into a cell by first binding to several types of cell surface proteins. Then the virus is taken into the cell and follows an endosomal route, or membrane-bound route that transports the virus to various cell compartments.
From previous studies, Dr Davey and his colleagues from Germany and the United States knew that calcium signaling in cells, which allow cells to transmit electrical charges to one another, controls many of the processes in the cell and was important for Ebola virus infection.
“We were not able, however, to pinpoint the mechanisms involved in this process,” Dr Davey said.
“With this research, we discovered that two pore channels (TPCs) are the key calcium sensor involved in Ebola virus infection. These TPCs essentially need to be turned on in order for the virus to function properly.”
Two pore channels are unusual calcium channels found in endosomes that control the way endosomes move through cells and the environment of the cells.
The scientists compared TPCs to traffic cops and air conditioners, helping direct the endosomes and any virus it might be carrying through the cell and making the endosomes and its passengers more comfortable along the way.
They were able to show the critical role of two pore channels in Ebola virus infection, which has not previously been shown in any other virus.
In addition to identifying this critical mechanism to infection, the researchers also showed that drugs targeting this interaction show some efficacy as potential treatments against Ebola virus disease.
They determined that existing drugs currently used to treat high blood pressure have an ability to turn this key calcium sensor on and off. They tested several small molecules to see which was most effective at turning the sensors off thus prohibiting Ebola virus from moving any further through the cell.
The scientists found a compound called tetrandrine protected mice from disease without obvious side effects and was the best candidate for further animal testing, because it was the most potent compound tested, gave little evidence of cytotoxicity and required a smaller dose to be effective and tolerated.
“When we tested in mice, the drugs stopped virus replication and saved most of them from disease,” Dr Davey said.
Essentially, tetrandrine shows an ability to stop the virus before it has a chance interact with cellular factors, thus stopping the virus from continuing its infection process.
“We are very excited about the progress made in this study and the momentum it provides as scientists across the world vigorously search for effective vaccines and treatments against Ebola virus,” Dr Davey said.
“We are cautiously optimistic. The next step in the process is to test both safety and effectiveness of the interaction of the drug with Ebola virus in non-human primates.”

Source of the report is here.
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