One researcher thinks the drugs of the future might come from the past: botanical treatments long overlooked by Western medicine.
Brazilian peppertree, which is being studied for antibiotic potential. Credit: Damon Casarez for The New York Times. Image sourced from The New York Times. Available at: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/09/18/magazine/18ethnobotany2/18ethnobotany2-jumbo.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
The immune system affects -- and even controls -- social behavior, a new study has found.
Photo by Shutterstock 344282432. Image of an MRI showing the brain sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/mri-image-head-showing-brain-344282432
In a new study, Olivier Civelli, professor and chair of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues show how YanHuSuo effectively treats different forms of pain.
Photo by Kamwo. Image sourced from Kamwo.
A new compound, SBEL1, has the ability to inhibit hepatitis C virus activity in cells at several points in the virus' lifecycle. SBEL1 is a compound isolated from Chinese herbal medicines that was found to inhibit HCV activity by approximately 90%.
Photo by Shutterstock 135358625. Image of ingredients for Chinese herbal soup sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/ingredients-chinese-herbal-soup-135358625
Acupuncture to the abdomen, boosted by an electric current, helped relieve severe constipation, a new study found.
Photo by Stuart Bradford. Image sourced from The New York Times. Available at: https://static01.nyt.com/images/2013/09/23/health/cn-well_alternative-copy/cn-well_alternative-copy-articleLarge-v3.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, has released research validating the effectiveness of acupuncture and other non-drug health therapies for pain.
One manuscript in this collection celebrates a plant native to the Mao mountains, the herb atractylodes, cangzhu 蒼朮. It describes not only the medical properties of the plant but an entire array of health-related and salvific practices. It is revealed by the Goddess, the Lady of Purple Tenuity, Ziwei Wang furen 紫微王夫人, whose title refers to the canopy of heaven surrounding the pole star.
Excerpt from reconstructed Mawangdui Daoyin tu, excavated from tomb dated to 168 BCE. Photo by Wellcome Images. Image sourced from Hypotheses. Available at: https://f.hypotheses.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/866/files/2014/11/Yansheng.Crop_-300x133.jpg
A meta-analysis of eight clinical trials conducted between 2000 and 2014 demonstrates the efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of stable angina.
Image sourced from HealthCMi. Available at: https://www.healthcmi.com/images/4ceu/AnginaSTtx.jpg
Now, when asked about acupuncture or herbal therapy, I no longer say, "It's not going to hurt. You have nothing to lose." I now recommend without hesitation that anyone going through infertility treatments consider using acupuncture or herbal therapy during their journey.
Photo by Stocksy. Image sourced from MindBodyGreen. Available at: https://mindbodygreen-res.cloudinary.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,w_480,h_322,q_auto,f_auto,fl_lossy/crp/acupuncturefertilityobgyn-531x369.jpg
Motherwort’s Latin botanical name is Leonurus cardiaca: lion hearted. This is a bold name, bestowed in part due to the plant’s resemblance to a lion’s tail.
Image sourced from The Herbal Academy. Available at: https://theherbalacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Motherwort_Leaf2-byJane-667x1000.jpg
In the Yinhai Jingwei (Essential Subtleties on the Silver Sea), a text on ophthalmology from the time of the Ming Dynasty (1), there is a discussion of floaters, described as "black blurred specks in the eyes resembling fly wings." The pathology is said to be related to the "water of the kidney" refers to the kidney yin, as distinguished from the "fire of the kidney," which corresponds to the kidney yang or mingmen fire.
Image sourced from ITM Online. Available at: http://www.itmonline.org/image/floater.jpg
A recent study by researchers at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center took them to a not-so-likely destination: local farmers markets. They went in search of fresh ginger root.
Caption: Dr. Didier Merlin (front row, center) and colleagues with the Atlanta VA Medical Center and the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University are exploring the use of edible ginger-derived nanoparticles to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Credit: Lisa Pessin. Image sourced from EARI Media. Available at: https://earimediaprodweb.azurewebsites.net/Api/v1/Multimedia/027a5e55-acd2-4f7a-a7ff-622c2291a70f/Rendition/low-res/Content/Public
As with any number of the fMRI studies done with acupuncture, needling the point activated a number of areas in the brain. The researchers, however, did notice a difference in responses between genders – “relative to males, females exhibited greater brain activation in the right-sided postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, precuneus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, declive, middle occipital gyrus and parahippocampal gyrus”.
Image sourced from YYH Media. Available at: https://yyhmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/media/member-uploads/2/fmri-225x300.jpg
A functional magnetic resonance imaging study
Photo by Shutterstock 251320126. Image of moxibustion sourced from Shutterstock. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-photo/moxibustion-251320126
"Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water," said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Photo by Gabriele Ritz / EyeEm / Getty Images/EyeEm. Image sourced from NBC News. Available at: https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1240w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2016_34/1683101/160824-bar-soap-mbe-456p.jpg
Non-biomedical health systems and various forms of traditional medicine remain a crucial avenue through which many Nepalis seek care for chronic and acute illness, including mental health and responses to trauma.
A Nepali amchi diagnosing a patient through pulse analysis. Photo credit: Joan Halifax. Image sourced from Asian Medicine Zone. Available at: https://www.asianmedicinezone.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AMCHI-1024x824.jpg
“This is America’s other drug problem — polypharmacy,” said Dr. Maristela Garcia, director of the inpatient geriatric unit at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica. “And the problem is huge.”
Harriet Diamond at the UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif., in May. Photo by Heidi de Marco/KHN. Image sourced from Medscape. Available at: https://img.medscapestatic.com/thumbnail_library/khn_160830_elderly_patient_hospital_medication_250x188.jpg
Medicinal herbs, the limbs of animals, and minerals are used as natural forms of medical treatment. They are sometimes used individually and sometimes used together for
medicinal purposes. Mongolians combine medicine with psychological therapy and use sayings, such as mantras, shamanic charms, and prophecy. There are certain influences of Buddhism in Mongolian medical treatment, such as the use of spells and the stating of one’s requests and mantra expressions.
Image sourced from Asian Medicine Zone. Available at: https://www.asianmedicinezone.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/P5170431-640x372.jpg
A common feature of Xu’s cases is the attention he pays to his arguments with other physicians present. Well-off families frequently consulted more than one healer and often made use of more than one healing modality. Even a very elite physician like Xu had to argue down the other physicians present in order to win the confidence of the patient’s family, but unlike some of Xu’s other case records, the emphasis here is not on the ignorance of his opponents so much as it is on content of Xu’s resolution of the “doubts” surrounding this case.
Image sourced from Asian Medicine Zone. Available at: https://www.asianmedicinezone.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/01_doctor_house-big-672x372.jpg
An effective herbalist must speak the language of herbs fluently and be able to construct new sentences (formulae) on the fly to adapt to changing circumstances.
Image sourced from Asian Medicine Zone. Available at: https://www.asianmedicinezone.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_2385-640x372.jpg