Overseas Chinese Heavily Rely on Natural Medicine

Overseas Chinese Heavily Rely on Natural Medicine

A study was conducted to collect, preserve and document primary ethnopharmacological information on common natural remedies (NRs) used by the Chinese community to treat and/or manage common diseases in Mauritius, a tropical multicultural island in the Indian Ocean. Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 52 key Chinese informants using a semi-structured questionnaire. Quantitative ethnobotanical indices, namely, the informant consensus factor (FIC), the use value, the fidelity level, the index of agreement on remedies and the relative importance were calculated. Plants (61) and animal species (17), belonging to 43 and 9 families respectively, constituted the exploited flora and fauna by the Chinese community. Based on the FIC the main categories of plants used were employed against injury and poisons due to external causes (FIC=0.97), diseases of the respiratory system (FIC=0.96), diseases of the eye and adnexa (FIC=0.95), undefined pains or illness (FIC=0.95), diseases during the postpartum period, diseases of the digestive system and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (FIC=0.94 each). For zootherapy, diseases of the circulatory system, diseases of the eye and adnexa, diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases had total consensus (FIC=1.00). It was found that the Chinese community of Mauritius still relies, to a great extent, on NRs which need to be preserved and used sustainably. Nonetheless, further research is needed to probe the possible active constituents that could be the basis of an evidence-based investigation to discover new drugs.

Source: Mahomoodally MF, Muthoorah LD. An ethnopharmacological survey of natural remedies used by the Chinese community in Mauritius. Asian Pac J Trop Biomed. 2014 May;4(Suppl 1):S387-99.

Three Approaches to Alleviate Menopausal Symptoms Naturally

Three Approaches to Alleviate Menopausal Symptoms Naturally

The Chinese women do not fear this stage in life, possibly because they do not experience the adverse symptoms as the American women do. They do not consider it something to develop anxiety over nor is it an illness needing some medication. This stage of change is embraced and found to be deeply valued as they enter the new stage of life.

The steps that TCM typically take in order to help women going through various menopausal phases are quite simple: diet, acupuncture, and herbs.

1. Dietary therapy – Food is considered a medicine and a fundamental process in part of any diagnosis and treatment. Studies show that a diet rich in phytoestrogens can reduce the adverse symptoms associated with menopause.
2. Acupuncture – In combination with Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture has been found to be the most effective level of treatment. Studies have shown that this method is effective and offers an alternative to hormone replacement therapy.
3. Chinese Herbal Medicine – Women with any deficiencies or imbalances in the body are considered to have a higher chance to develop the risk of menopausal symptoms in the future. The Chinese practitioner can tell which organ in the body is most effective from the deficiency and will work to address the problem with herbal remedies.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can also help treat women who develop menopause like symptoms such as irregular menstruation, black spots on face, and acne after stopping birth control pills.

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Acupuncture Relieves Postoperative Pain

Acupuncture Relieves Postoperative Pain

his study was performed to examine the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on postoperative pain, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and recovery in patients after a supratentorial tumor resection. Eighty-eight patients requiring a supratentorial tumor resection were anesthetized with sevoflurane and randomly allocated to a no treatment group (Group C) or an EA group (Group A). After anesthesia induction, the patients in Group A received EA at LI4 and SJ5, at BL63 and LR3 and at ST36 and GB40 on the same side as the craniotomy. The stimulation was continued until the end of the operation. Patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) was used for the postoperative analgesia. The postoperative pain scores, PONV, the degree of dizziness and appetite were recorded. In the first 6 hours after the operation, the mean total bolus, the effective times of PCIA bolus administrations and the VAS scores were much lower in the EA group (p < 0.05). In the EA group, the incidence of PONV and degree of dizziness and feeling of fullness in the head within the first 24 hours after the operation was much lower than in the control group (p < 0.05). In the EA group, more patients had a better appetite than did the patients in group C (51.2% vs. 27.5%) (p < 0.05). The use of EA in neurosurgery patients improves the quality of postoperative analgesia, promotes appetite recovery and decreases some uncomfortable sensations, such as dizziness and feeling of fullness in the head.

Source: An LX, Chen X, Ren XJ, Wu HF. Electro-Acupuncture Decreases Postoperative Pain and Improves Recovery in Patients Undergoing a Supratentorial Craniotomy. Am J Chin Med. 2014 Aug 29:1-11.

Acupuncture Helps School Children Perform Better

Acupuncture Helps School Children Perform Better

A study was conducted to evaluate school success in pediatric patients undergoing acupuncture treatment for various indications. The grades achieved during both school terms by children undergoing acupuncture treatment for various indications at the pediatric outpatient clinic of Ulus State Hospital were analyzed. Exam grades in mathematics, social studies, and Turkish was compared between the first and the second terms. Forty children were included in the study, with 22 male and 18 female, and their average age was 11.1 years. These patients were undergoing acupuncture treatment for attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), enuresis nocturna, migraine, obesity, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, and Tourette's syndrome. Treatments were done at the beginning of the second term. Four of the 25 patients with ADHD had borderline intelligence quotients. The report cards of all 40 patients were examined, and their grades in the first and the second school term were compared. There was a statistically significant increase in the grades obtained in mathematics, social studies, and Turkish (P < 0.005) by the students from the first to the second school term. When 4 ADHD patients with borderline deficiency in intelligence were excluded, and the grades among the 21 patients with ADHD were compared for both terms, there was also a statistically significant increase in mathematics, social studies, and Turkish grades (P < 0.05). Acupuncture contributed to the academic success of the children who underwent acupuncture treatment for their primary symptoms.

Tas D, Acar HV. Does acupuncture have a positive effect on school success in children? J Tradit Chin Med. 2014 Aug;34(4):450-4.

A Reported Acupuncture-related Pneumothorax

A Reported Acupuncture-related Pneumothorax

Acupuncture-related pneumothorax (PTX) is a poorly reported complication of thoracic needling. Recent Chinese literature reviews cited PTXs as the most common adverse outcome. Because of delayed presentation, this complication is thought to be underrecognized by acupuncturists and is largely addressed by hospital and emergency room personnel. The goal of this case study was to demonstrate common risk factors for a PTX, the mechanisms for its development, and protocols to use if one is suspected.

A 43-year-old, athletic female with chronic neck pain that was poorly managed with oral medications sought an alternative intervention for pain control. Her treatment plan consisted of weekly acupuncture sessions in the prone and supine positions targeting points along the Bladder, Gall Bladder, and Small Intestine meridians, as well as the right scapular Ah Shi point. She also received infrared lamp therapy. The aim of this approach was to help the patient achieve subjective pain reduction and increased range of motion. One hour after her third treatment session, this patient experienced pleuritic chest pain and dyspnea. She was transported to a local Level-1 trauma center by emergency medical services and was diagnosed with a right-sided PTX. The acupoints addressed, a practitioner's knowledge of variations in anatomy, and a patient's body habitus and medical history are risk factors for PTX development. A patient's initial presentation does not predict future outcome. A benign presentation can evolve into a potentially life-threatening cardiovascular collapse. When PTX is suspected, discussing it with the patient and facilitating appropriate evaluation and intervention by a tertiary-care facility is warranted.

Source: Hampton DA, Kaneko RT, Simeon E, Moren A, Rowell S, Watters JM. Acupuncture-Related Pneumothorax. Med Acupunct. 2014 Aug 1;26(4):241-245.

Increasing the Patient Return Rate

Increasing the Patient Return Rate

A study was conducted to determine whether an after visit summary (AVS) provided to patients at the conclusion of their first acupuncture treatments affects the number of times patients return for follow-up treatments, a retrospective cohort study was performed. Two random samples of 100 new patient records (N=200) at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine's (OCOM) outpatient clinics in Portland, OR, were reviewed over a 3-month period before and after the implementation of using the AVS. Patients who had been seen previously at any of the college clinics were excluded. The number of return visits recorded in the MediSoft™ database was hand counted for each patient. The use of an AVS did not significantly change the mean number of return visits for acupuncture (2-sided p-value=0.91), but there was a trend toward more frequent returns by patients who received AVS, compared to those who did not (2-sided p-value=0.0827, relative risk [RR]: 1.51, confidence interval [CI] 0.95-2.41). These data support the concept that the AVS has a positive influence on patient return rates. In this study, patients who received an AVS were 51% more likely to return for 5 visits than patients who did not receive an AVS.

Source: Dehen RI, Carter SU, Watanabe M. Impact of After Visit Summaries on Patient Return Rates at an Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Clinic. Med Acupunct. 2014 Aug 1;26(4):221-225.

A New Application of Acupuncture

Intellectual acupuncture for business survival

When Swedish futurist Magnus Lindkvist is booked to speak at conferences about the future, he is described in publicity material like a rock star who mesmerises audiences.

Mesmerise and rock, he did, at a conference for 400 accountants in Singapore earlier this year.

The time to future-proof the accountancy profession is now, he told the number crunchers at the Singapore stop of a regional tour which took him to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and cities in China too.

He says he uses "intellectual acupuncture" to wake people up to the harsh realities of survival in the future.

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