Alternative Medicine - Herbal Remedies in Acid Reflux Treatment

Alternative medicine was once an area regarded by many as pure quackery. Indeed "modern" medicine frequently dismissed any form of herbal or alternative medicine as nothing more than a joke. The mere concept of a modern doctor referring patients to an alternative medicine practitioner was unheard of.

How times have changed! The use of alternative medicine has become hugely popular over the last 10 - 15 years. The general public has tightly embraced many alternative therapies in a world filled with superbugs, avian flu and
numerous other horrifying disease and afflictions. It's now becoming increasingly common for doctors to refer patients to aromatherapists and acupuncturists in combination with their own pharmaceutical treatments.

Do You Know What You Are Taking? People suffering from acid reflux are especially keen to find any possible cure for their condition - be it alternative or not. Have you ever taken any medication without checking the contraindications printed on the leaflet inside? Of course you have and so have I. It's sobering to actually sit there and read some of the potential side effects many such medications can have. This is equally true of tablets you may be taking to treat acid reflux.

Shutting Down The Digestive System For example some antacids interfere with vitamin and calcium absorption of the body which could lead to future problems with conditions like osteoporosis. Also unknown to many heartburn sufferers is that certain antacids reduce the discomfort of acid heartburn by shutting down the acidic secretions in the stomach. This does not cure the problem - it simply tops it from happening for a short while. Then take into account how some people react to medications. An antacid may be very effective on one person and totally ineffective on another. This will "force" people to try several different types and brands thereby exposing themselves to the danger of ingesting several different types of medication in a short space of time. Talk about a bad idea!

This is where alternative therapies come in. Normally one type of treatment will be enough to resolve the symptoms the sufferer is experiencing. A single tea concoction or capsule of herbs may be enough to alleviate all the patients problems. The basic logic behind this is that the fewer treatments or medications a patient has to take to cure one problem the better. Your body can only handle so many toxins or potential toxins at any one time.

Another reason people turn to alternative medicine is because of the chemicals used in the production of antacids. Here is a short list:

* Sodium Bicarbonate

* Magnesium Hydroxide

* Calcium Carbonate

* Aluminum Phosphate

All of these have the effect of helping to neutralize the hydrochloric acid in your stomach. Hydrochloric acid is necessary for the proper digestion of food. By reducing or disabling this acid your body will then be prompted to produce more acid to replace it - due to the effects of the antacids you just took. This can cause a condition called "acid rebound" whereby the body will wind up with far more stomach acid than it actually needs. It's a case of short term gain for long term discomfort - if that makes sense?

Are Herbal Medicines Effective? Herbal medicines are largely based on the faith of the practitioners and the users themselves. This faith should not be discounted - especially if the products do actually work. Alternative therapies rarely aim to cure acid reflux but rather to help the body be better able to deal with the condition. How? By strengthening the digestive system so that the affects of acid reflux either do not occur at all or are severely minimized.

So what form do herbal treatments take? You can expect them to be available in the form of tea, juice, capsules and food supplements which all herbal treatment suppliers will claim to be 100% safe. That being said it never does any harm to do a Google search on the ingredients to ensure that they are 100% safe and that there has been no negative web or newspaper reports on them.

Jill Seimer shares her devotion to healthy living at RefluxLife.com She published Natural Medicine for Acid Reflux recently to inform readers of natural acid reflux cures.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jill_Seimer

Herbal gardens for 10 Colombo schools

The School Herbal Garden Development Project organised by the Public Health Department of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) will hold its inaugural tree planting ceremony on April 3 at Kotahena Central College, CMC sources said.

The CMC’s Public Health Department in association with the Indigenous Medicine Department of the CMC and Hettigoda Group plan to introduce herbal gardens at 10 selected schools in the CMC area for the initial stage of this project.

Chief Medical Officer of the Public Health Department of the CMC Dr.Pradeep Kariyawasam said by introducing herbs a healthy environment can be created.

The students could be taught how to get a nutritious diet at a very low cost like “mallung” and herbal porridge, he added.

National Herbal Medicine Group Launches Legacy Campaign

The American Botanical Council (ABC), North America’s leading nonprofit research and education organization on herbs and medicinal plants, announced the national launch today of a new initiative called “Creating an Herbal Legacy” (Legacy) designed to ensure that herbal medicine continues to play an increasingly important role in both self-care and healthcare. The formal debut will occur on March 8, 2007 during the American Botanical Celebration at the close of the Nutracon conference and the beginning of the Natural Products Expo West convention in Anaheim, California.

Key volunteer leadership involved from across the natural products community will help ABC launch the campaign at a gathering of more than 250 academic researchers and industry leaders at its annual celebration.

The Legacy campaign will provide long-term financial support in three key areas. Individuals, companies, foundations and organizations will select the area(s) of most interest by designating donations to the following funds:

ABC Endowment Fund – Establishing long-term stability of the organization and ensuring its continued international impact.
ABC Scholarship Fund – Providing support to students and others participating in ABC’s onsite pharmacy and dietitian internships and ethnobotanical eco-tours.
ABC Green Development and Beautification Fund – Improving physical facilities and gardens at the ABC headquarters, including rainwater harvesting, solar electric generation, herbal medicine gardens, and more.

At the Celebration, ABC Board of Trustee Morris (“Mo”) Shriftman, Senior Vice-President of Marketing for Avalon Natural Products, a natural body/skin care company, ABC Trustee Neil Blomquist, formerly the President & CEO of Spectrum Naturals, an organic food and supplement oil company, and Loren Israelsen, president of the LDI Group, and the Executive Director of the United Natural Product Alliance, a trade association, all will help ABC launch the Legacy campaign to fellow leaders in the natural product community.

“Creating an Herbal Legacy is ABC’s effort to ensure a solid future for herbs and herbal medicine” said Mark Blumenthal, ABC Founder and Executive Director. “We anticipate great support for this initiative and are grateful to our many friends and supporters in academia, the health professions and industry who will be helping us initiate the campaign.”

ABC’s Wayne Silverman, PhD asks that people view this effort as a new way of supporting the entire herbal medicine community. “We appreciate and need annual support. However, the Legacy funds represent a new way to make financial support count in very specific and tangible ways. Supporters have wanted more control over how their funds are used, which is why we are so enthusiastic about the Legacy campaign.”

Gillian Christie of Christie Communications understands how vital the Legacy campaign is and has thus offered to help ABC launch the campaign. She explains, “There is a great interest in making natural products more accessible to mainstream healthcare and beauty care. The Creating an Herbal Legacy campaign is a great step forward in helping to raise awareness of natural health and wellness. I am particularly gratified to see one of the choices, the ABC Green Development and Beautification Fund,” said Christie. “I applaud ABC for creating choices in donor support and for offering one that helps to improve environmental awareness and conditions.”

For further information about the Creating an Herbal Legacy Campaign or any of the nonprofit educational work of the American Botanical Council, please contact the Development Office development@herbalgram.org.

About the American Botanical Council

Founded in 1988 the American Botanical Council is the leading nonprofit organization in the United States addressing research and educational issues regarding herbs and medicinal plants. ABC’s members include academic researchers and educators, universities and libraries, health professionals and medical institutions, botanical gardens and arboreta, government agencies, members of the herb, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries, journalists, consumers, and other interested parties from over 70 countries. The organization occupies a historic 2.5-acre site in Austin, Texas where it publishes HerbalGram, a peer-reviewed journal on herbal medicine, a monthly e-newsletter, reference books and other educational materials. ABC has published three reference books, including one that is also a continuing education course for healthcare professionals, The ABC Clinical Guide to Herbs, containing extensive monographs on the safety and efficacy of 29 popular herbs. Information: Contact ABC at P.O. Box 144345, Austin, TX 78714-4345, Phone: 512-926-4900. Website: www.herbalgram.org.

Life-threatening Effects From Mixing Supplements, Herbs, Over-the-counter Medications And Prescription Drugs

People are mixing supplements, herbs and over-the-counter medications and prescription drugs to cure themselves of ills, unaware that they could be making themselves sicker, says George Grossberg, M.D., director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at Saint Louis University.

Dr. Grossberg is about to change all that. He is the co-author of a new book, "The Essential Herb-Drug-Vitamin Interaction Guide," which is a comprehensive listing of what various herbs and supplements do, possible side effects and how they might interact with other medications and foods.

"People think if it doesn't require a prescription, it's got to be safe, and that's not true. There could be life-threatening effects."

Dr. Grossberg first became interested in the topic after a routine six-month visit with a patient he had successfully treated for depression. He had been seeing the patient for four or five years, and asked if the man was dealing with any new health problems.

The patient mentioned that he was scheduled to go in for cystoscopy in a couple weeks because there had been blood in his urine. The procedure involves inserting the pencil-thin tip of a probe through the urethra, up to the bladder to detect the cause of the problem.

The patient had undergone thousands of dollars of MRIs and CAT scans of his lower abdomen and pelvis, which had not revealed the reason for the bleeding, and the test was the next diagnostic step.

Dr. Grossberg asked if the patient had changed anything - perhaps had started taking a new medication.

No new medicine. Then the patient's wife pulled from her purse a vial containing a supplement she had purchased from the health food store to enhance memory. Both husband and wife had started taking the herbal memory enhancer, which largely contained ginkgo biloba

"One of the side effects of ginkgo biloba is an increased risk of bleeding. He had no awareness of this. I told him to stop taking the herb and get rechecked before having cystoscopy. The bleeding stopped, and he didn't need the test."

Dr. Grossberg ticks off other common herbs that people take without realizing their side effects or how they might interact with medications.

St. John's wort sometimes is taken for anxiety and depression. Those who also are taking antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, such as Prozac, Zoloft or Paxil, should beware. Mixing St. John's wort with these medicines can cause serotonin syndrome -- with symptoms that may include agitation, rapid heart beat, flushing and heavy sweating -- that may be fatal.

Dong quai, which some women take for menstrual disorders and to ease symptoms of menopause, has been linked to cardiovascular problems, such as irregular heart rhythm and low blood pressure. If a patient takes the herb along with an antihypertensive drug, her blood pressure could plummet, putting her at risk of stroke.

Some people take echinacea, which enhances the immune system, for the common cold. However, those who also take Lipitor, Celebrex and Aleve face an increased risk of liver damage. Echinacea also can be harmful for those who have multiple sclerosis, diabetes, HIV infections or allergies.

Dr. Grossberg and his co-author Barry Fox make it clear that they're not anti-herb or anti-medicine.

"There just are a lot of things people can take that have a lot of bad interactions. And on some level it makes sense for them to think that what they're doing is safe. They associate natural remedies with nature and think if the supplement wasn't safe, they couldn't pick it up without a prescription.

"Hopefully this will get them to think more about it so they look before they leap. People can look up what they're thinking of taking and see if there's efficacy. And they should always talk to their doctor about everything they're taking."

Many doctors don't know much about herbal remedies, which have been used as medications for thousands of years.

"When I trained, there was nothing like this in our medical education," says Dr. Grossberg, who graduated from medical school in 1975. "The younger doctors are more likely to know this than older doctors."

Elderly people, he says, use herbal remedies and don't always tell their doctors and pharmacists. They should.

"A lot of our older patients are buying herbals and botanicals. In addition, while those over 65 represent about 14 percent of the population, they consumer 40 percent of over-the-counter medications," he says.

The book, published by Broadway Books, a subsidiary of Random House, is being released in mid-April.

The traditional roots of modern medicine

The African’s practice of medicine is a mixture of the traditional and the western. This stems from our understanding of illness: as the effect of both physical and metaphysical causes.

Western medicine cures only those ‘physical’ ailments for which it has managed to find cures. We have a lot more ‘physical’ ailments against which Western medicine is quite simply impotent, so far. The psychotherapeutic care of traditional African healing has been praised by many Western doctors. And the tradition is so deeply embedded in our culture that even the educated elites resort to them. Our dual understanding of disease as the effect of both physcial and metaphysical forces means that our prescriptions usually involve the use of, herbs, animal substances, prayers and incantations. This holistic and comprehensive approach to medical care also defines the Eastern tradition - both Taoism and Hinduism share this metaphysical view of man.

However, this dual approach to medical care should not be confused with the magical invocations of the visionary or the cult-healer. It is more accurate to see it as a recognition, imaginatively grasped, of what Western medicine today calls the ‘psychosomatic” nature of many diseases-- ie, the aggravation of physical illness by mental conflict or stress. so, What better medical approach to have than a comprehensive one? Through trial and error, especially in herbal medication, we’ve come to crystalise what works and what does not.

We often forget that the pharmaceutical industry ‘has its roots in the ancient art of botanising’, and blockbuster synthetic drugs, like aspirin and heroin, were minor modifications of molecules extracted from, respectively, willow bark and poppy seed-pods.’ The superiority of western medicine is not borne out by the evidence: according to the WHO, out of a 119 plant-derived pharmaceutical medicines, 74% of them are used “in modern medicine in ways that correlate directly with their traditional uses by native cultures”. The chinese, for example, have been using the herb, ephedra, to cure asthma for over 2000 years, in the same way that today’s commercial pharmaceutical companies are doing. In fact we can claim the superiority of herbal medication, given the speedy toxicity of synthesised drugs, even in small doses.

Even Western society subsisted on herbal medication for centuries before the discovery and synthesis of anti-biotics. Nicholas Culperer’s, The English Physician, was a valued herbal pharmacopeia, which is still widely consulted today. 80% of the world’s population use herbal medicine. Are they all wrong? There are about 750,000 plants, and very few of them have been studied by Western science. There must be many cultures in the world with knowledge of certain plants which western science does not have. These western scientist must return to the classroom and learn from the oldest primary care system in the world.

Another Korea (220) Taking Pulse of Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine occupies a very prominent place in the North Korean health care system.

In fact, it would be but a minor exaggeration to say that nowadays the North Korean health care system is largely built around traditional herbal medicine.

But this was not always the case. In the early years, until the mid-1950s, herbal medicine was looked upon with disapproval.

It did not appear ‘scientific’ enough, and the Sovieteducated doctors saw it as a potentially dangerous superstition.

The first signs of the coming change in attitude were in 1954 when the licensing system for herbal doctors was first introduced.

But the revival of herbal medicine began in earnest in April 1956, when the North Korean cabinet of ministers accepted Decree No. 37, which envisioned the incorporation of herbal medicine into the official medical system. At the same time, Kim Il-sung made a very positive reference to herbal medicine in his lengthy speech delivered to the KWP Third Congress. By the end of 1956, there were 10 herbal medicine centers operating across the country, and by 1960 the number had reached 332.

I think it was not without good reason that this sudden revival of the medical tradition took place in 1956. This was when the North began to steer itself away from its Soviet patron, whose new policy of de- Stalinization met with growing disapproval in Pyongyang. It was also the time when nationalist trends began to grow in the North _ partially because nationalism served the interests of Kim Il-sung and his group, but also because it resonated with the feelings and world view of common Koreans. This created a fertile soil for the rejuvenation of hitherto neglected traditions. It is not incidental that in later eras the initial rejection of herbal medicine came to be blamed on the ‘factionalists’ _ that is, people who did not share Kim Il-sung’s nationalism and his drive for heavy industry and a powerful army at all costs.

And there was another dimension as well. We have been accustomed to thinking of herbal medicine as more expensive than its Western counterpart, but back in the 1950s the opposite was the case. Generally, East Asian medicine, which relied on local herbs, tended to be cheaper and this mattered in a poor country with limited resources.

Around the same time, herbal medicine was encouraged by the South Korean authorities as well. They also saw it as a cheap palliative, a substitute for the “real” Western medicine which only a few South Koreans could afford.

And, last but not least, the basic ideas of herbal medicine resonated quite well with Kim Il-sung’s new policy of selfreliance.

In a sense, herbal medicine was an embodiment of self-reliance in health care.

Thus, the 1960s was a period of triumphal advance for Eastern medicine in the North. For a while herbalists were trained in junior colleges, but from 1960, Pyongyang medical college opened a traditional medicine department. A number of research centers were created with the task of fusing the achievements of Western and traditional medicine. From 1960, a state evaluation committee began to operate, and in that year 239 North Korean herbalists became “Eastern medicine doctors, first class,” while 1,495 had to satisfy themselves with their inferior standing of “Eastern medicine doctors, second class.”

Of course, the growth of herbal medicine was accompanied by claims about wonder drugs and miraculous discoveries, to which the Stalinist regimes were so vulnerable (suffice to remind ourselves of the Lysenko affair in the USSR, or the improbable claims of wonder harvests in Mao’s China).

But the domination of Dr. Kim Pong-han, North Korea’s Lysenko, lasted for merely six years. In 1960 he claimed that he had discovered a new principal type of centralized system in the human body, somewhat similar to a nerve system of blood circulation. There was much talk of this alleged discovery and related medical miracles, but from 1966 all references to Professor Kim suddenly disappeared from the Pyongyang press.

The subsequent decades witnessed a continuous growth in the herbal medicine endeavor, which frequently received direct encouragement and approval from the Great Leader himself (after all, Kim Il-sung’s father once was a part-time herbalist himself). The reasons for the policy remained the same, and even some statements by Kim Il-sung were remarkably frank.

In 1988 he said, “If we produce a lot of Koryo medicine drugs, it is good not only for curing diseases, but also for solving the drug problem, since it will reduce the importation of drugs from other countries.” More than a dozen colleges now train herbalists in the North, and from 1985 would-be Western doctors have also been required to take introductory classes in Eastern medicine.

Perhaps, in some post-unification world the North will become a major source of quality herbal doctors, and their presence will help to drive down prices for this service which many Koreans take so seriously. Who knows, but there are already North Korean herbalists working in the South.

Herbal Extract Extends Life For Heart Failure Patients

A herbal medicinal substance, Crataegus Extract WS®1442, safely extends the lives of congestive heart failure patients already receiving pharmacological treatment for the disease, according to a study presented recently at the American College of Cardiology's 56th Annual Scientific Session. Crataegus Extract WS®1442 is an extract of leaves of the Crataegus tree, and is a natural antioxidant. The herb is currently approved for use in some European countries to treat early congestive heart failure, a condition in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body's other organs. ACC.07 is the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists to further breakthroughs in cardiovascular medicine.

The randomized, double-blind trial, known as the SPICE study, was conducted at 156 centers in Europe. The majority of the patients were male (84 percent) and nearly half the group (44 percent) were classified as NYHA III, meaning they were significantly impaired by their heart condition. The primary endpoint of the study was time to first cardiac event, including sudden cardiac death, death due to progressive heart failure, fatal heart attack, non-fatal heart attack or hospitalization due to heart failure.

A total of 2,681 patients with markedly impaired left ventricular function - indicating advanced congestive heart failure - were randomized to WS®1442 or placebo for a duration of two years. All patients were already receiving pharmacological therapy with ACE-inhibitors (83 %), beta-blockers (64 %), glycosides (57 %), spironolactone (39 %) and diuretics (85 %).

Dr. Christian J. F. Holubarsch and his team saw a 20 percent reduction in cardiac-related deaths among patients on WS®1442, extending patients' lives by four months during the first 18 months of the study. The safety of the compound was confirmed by a lower number of adverse events among the study group than those on placebo.

"WS 1442 is safe in patients with more severe congestive heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction lower than 35 percent," said Dr. Holubarsch of Median Kliniken Hospitals in Bad Krozingen, Germany, and lead study author. "It postpones death of cardiac cause after 18 months and sudden cardiac death in an important subgroup of patients."

Dr. Holubarsch presented "Crateagus Extract WS 1442 Postpones Cardiac Death in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure Class NYHA II-III: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Trial in 2,681 Patients" on Tuesday, March 27 at 8:30 a.m. in Hall A.

Deutsche Bank sees stake in Chinese traditional medicine company

Deutsche Bank sees stake in Chinese traditional medicine company

BEIJING (AFP) - A Deutsche Bank-led consortium is offering four billion yuan (517 million dollars) for 40 percent of China's largest traditional medicine producer, state media said Tuesday.

The price offered by the Deutsche Bank consortium is the highest among the five potential investors in state-owned Sanjiu Enterprise Group, the 21st Century Business Herald reported, citing an unnamed source.

The five potential investors are a Deutsche Bank-led consortium, China Resources Group, a New World Group consortium, a Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holding) Co Ltd consortium and the Fosun Group, the report said.

The newspaper cited the source as saying that the Deutsche Bank consortium and China Resources Group are likely to be the front-runners as the other three investors have been left out of the shortlist due to low bids.

China Resources Group, which is owned by the central government, is the front runner, planning to buy 70 percent of Sanjiu Group for 3.9 billion yuan.

According to the bid requirements, Sanjiu Group is intended to remain controlled by the state-owned asset regulator, which in turn comes directly under the cabinet.

Any cash paid must also be enough to pay off bank loans worth of 3.7 billion yuan owed by Sanjiu Medical and Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, the group's listed arm and core business.

Sanjiu Group has estimated net assets of around six billion yuan and is restructuring its debt of 10.7 billion yuan.

Both Deutsche Bank and Sanjiu Group declined comment when approached by AFP Tuesday.

The Bank of New York Appointed as Depositary by Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company for Its Listed ADR Program

The Bank of New York Appointed as Depositary by Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company for Its Listed ADR Program

The Bank of New York, a global leader in securities servicing, has been selected by Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company as the depositary bank for its Level III American depositary receipt (ADR) program. Each Tongjitang ADR represents four ordinary shares. The ADRs trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "TCM."

Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company is a specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on the development, manufacturing, marketing and selling of modernized traditional Chinese medicine in China. The principal executive offices of the company are located in Shenzhen, China.

Wang Shaolan, chief financial officer of Tongjitang, said, "After a careful assessment of depositary banks, we decided to appoint one with solid track record -- The Bank of New York. The Bank's guidance and support are streamlining our entry into the U.S. market."

Christopher Sturdy, executive vice president and head of the Bank of New York's Depositary Receipt Division, said, "Tongjitang Chinese Medicines Company joins a number of Chinese companies going public with a listing on the New York Stock Exchange. As the depositary bank for the vast majority of Chinese companies, we have the expertise needed to help them access and serve the international investor community."

The Bank of New York is depositary for more than 1,250 American and global depositary receipt programs, a 64% market share, acting in partnership with leading companies from 62 countries. With an unrivalled commitment to helping securities issuers succeed in the world's rapidly evolving financial markets, the Bank delivers the industry's most comprehensive suite of integrated depositary receipt, corporate trust and stock transfer services. Additional information is available at http://www.adrbny.com.

The Bank of New York has been conducting business in the Asia-Pacific region for over 50 years. The Company has 18 offices in 12 countries in the region.

The Bank of New York Company, Inc. (NYSE: BK - News) is a global leader in providing a comprehensive array of services that enable institutions and individuals to move and manage their financial assets in more than 100 markets worldwide. The Company has a long tradition of collaborating with clients to deliver innovative solutions through its core competencies: securities servicing, treasury management, asset management, and private banking. The Company's extensive global client base includes a broad range of leading financial institutions, corporations, government entities, endowments and foundations. Its principal subsidiary, The Bank of New York, founded in 1784, is the oldest bank in the United States and has consistently played a prominent role in the evolution of financial markets worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.bankofny.com.

The Bank of New York provides no advice nor recommendation or endorsement with respect to any company or security. Nothing herein shall be deemed to constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities.


Source: Bank of New York

Training the doctor to do sensitive exams

Training the doctor to do sensitive exams


CHICAGO (Reuters) - Dr. Carla Pugh seems an unlikely patron of porn shops.


But that's exactly where Pugh, an assistant professor of surgery at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, procured some of the male body parts she uses to train medical students about human anatomy.

Pugh, 41, has patented technology that combines portions of fully formed anatomical mannequins with computers to teach medical students to do exams on the body's most private and sensitive areas -- genitalia, breasts and rectums.

These are the exams, she said, that students are often most afraid of and that many medical school instructors, themselves often long-time practicing physicians, still find to be a source of embarrassment.

"We've got big issues in the U.S. with sexuality," Pugh said in an interview during a break from teaching first-year medical students. "These guys have to be able to do it and act professional, so that adds a lot of pressure."

Getting supplies to build the models was no easy task. Medical education has largely glossed over such training, limiting demand for products in the industry. In some cases, erotica was the only option, she said.

The simulators are a far cry from the flesh and bones of a living, breathing person. But they are close enough to the real thing to let students know whether their touch is too rough, too soft or if they've missed a key spot entirely.

NOT THE REAL THING

In traditional medical training, students often go straight from textbook to exam room with live patients, where they observe skilled doctors in action. Questions are asked later.

"Guess what?" said Pugh. "They're sweating bullets because they haven't had a scenario where they can talk about it comfortably, safely and with someone who is more knowledgeable."

During the Northwestern class, training is hands-on. Simulators are arranged at various stations according to exam type. At the prostate station, for example, several models of the male posterior are arranged on a table in various positions.

Inside each plastic model -- yes, they have a fully formed anus and rectum -- are paper-thin sensors that measure a student's touch and send individual readings to an attached computer monitor.

Students show up at the station for a brief overview from an instructing physician and then moments later, fingers are inserted, line readings from sensors go up and down on the computer screen, questions are asked and answered.

Scatological humor is inevitable. An instructor assures a student that, yes, you can tell a patient it's OK to pass wind if necessary during the exam and ask for a warning first.

Time is called and students move on to the next station. On another table, several examples of the penis, circumcised and not, limp and erect, await another round of students, who smile nervously.

Dr. Sudha Rao, a pediatrician, prepares to give an overview of the proper methods for performing an examination of the penis.

"It's very helpful," said Rao of the anatomical models. "I think they're fantastic to be able to show a young student who is starting out."

PLAYING WITH DOLLS

Pugh began performing "surgery" on her dolls as a child, transplanting eyes and limbs with a sewing kit borrowed from her mother. Since then, she said she has always maintained a hands-on approach to medicine.

She was disappointed with the level of feedback she received while doing her own surgical training in medical school at Howard University in Washington.

"It frustrated me because I was unsure," said Pugh, one of fewer than 400 black women surgeons in the United States. "I didn't have the level of access to the human body that I wanted."

She came up with the idea for the technology while working on a doctorate in education at Stanford University and obtained a patent for the sensors and data accumulation technology in 2001.

Pugh formed a licensing agreement with Medical Education Technologies Inc., a company specializing in medical training products, in early 2003.

Her pelvic exam simulators are already on the market at prices ranging from $16,000 to $20,000 each, and are used by more than 60 medical and nursing schools around the country. The prostate exam simulators used in the class as well as those for breast exams are still in prototype form.

Any help in these often taboo topics will make the first clinical encounters with a patient's private parts a little easier for medical students like 28-year-old Meredith Hirshfeld at Northwestern University in Chicago.

"It's the first time we're doing something invasive," she said. "It's nerve-racking."

UC-Davis School of Medicine Investigates Human Disease Genetics with OpenArray(TM) System

UC-Davis School of Medicine Investigates Human Disease Genetics with OpenArray(TM) System

BioTrove Technology Enables Research into Link Between Genetic Variation and Disease Epidemics

BioTrove, Inc. announced today that the University of California, Davis School of Medicine will use the BioTrove OpenArray(TM) technology platform to explore genetic variations in common human diseases. Led by Michael F. Seldin, M.D., Ph.D., Rowe Chair of Human Genetics, researchers at UC-Davis are utilizing an OpenArray NT Imager to conduct single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping of large community-based patient cohorts, with the goal of identifying genetic variations linked to disease susceptibility.

"To better understand the genetic variation of disease and its links to human ancestry, we have embarked on a study using tens of thousands of patient samples," said Dr. Seldin. "These studies will provide the ability to both look at whether ancestry is linked to disease, as well as to better design experimental studies in admixed populations such as African Americans and various Hispanic groups."

"Finding a possible link is a first and vital step toward broader research leading to better treatment," he continued. "Now, with the OpenArray platform enabling faster, more cost-effective analysis of large patient populations and hundreds of SNPs, we can conduct research that was previously untenable - helping UC-Davis pave the way for scientists in academic, medical and industry settings across the nation to identify the most promising ways to fight disease."

OpenArray technology also enables researchers to confirm associations in very complex diseases. Unlike other technologies, which can genotype hundreds of thousands of SNPs in a few patient samples, OpenArray allows researchers to analyze SNPs across tens of thousands of patient samples - dramatically expanding study size and data significance. OpenArray SNP genotyping is also more efficient than previous technology because of its flexible design. A single OpenArray plate holds as few as 16 or as many as 3072 separate assays, which can be run against 48-144 samples per plate. Since the OpenArray NT Imager can process three OpenArray plates at once, it can generate more than 9000 data points in less than 10 minutes, ultimately generating over 100,000 data points per day with a single employee.

"A significant issue facing researchers today is securing access to efficient, precise and cost-effective SNP genotyping technologies," said Albert Luderer, Ph.D., president and CEO, BioTrove. "Our commitment is to enable research centers such as the UC-Davis School of Medicine to conduct innovative, large-scale research projects like Dr. Seldin's, unlocking the possibilities to improving public health. BioTrove is excited that an outstanding group of scientists are combining their know-how with our technologies."

About BioTrove, Inc.

BioTrove, Inc. offers two innovative technology platforms: RapidFire(TM), which enables the acceleration of drug discovery and pipeline decisions, and OpenArray(TM), which advances genomic research in a wide range of life science fields, including agriculture, disease research, bio-defense, and public health. With more than half of the world's ten largest pharmaceutical companies as clients, and partnerships with prestigious research and public health centers around the world, BioTrove's products and services ensure that an industry committed to accuracy and speed can meet business goals.

RapidFire(TM) Mass Spectrometry (RFMS) uses an innovative microfluidic technology to facilitate analysis at faster than 10 seconds per sample, eliminating the bottleneck created by traditional mass spectrometry throughput. RFMS is routinely used in many applications including the high-throughput screening of previously intractable drug targets, cytochrome P450 inhibition and other ADME assays and directed evolution studies.

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or
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Arielle Bernstein, 212-508-9643
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Source: BioTrove, Inc.

Herbal: Pinning hopes on herbal Viagra for biotech push

Pinning hopes on herbal Viagra for biotech push

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's answer to Viagra is a traditional herb the country has picked to spearhead its push into biotechnology, but now it faces the challenge of convincing the world the remedy is both potent and safe.

Surging interest in the herb, "tongkat ali," has spawned dozens of products, from pills to beverages, that play up its reputed aphrodisiac properties, and could even threaten the sway overseas of ginseng, a more-widely established remedy in Asia.

Generations of aging Malaysian men have sworn by the rejuvenation effects of "tongkat ali," scouring the countryside for it so eagerly that it has almost vanished from all but the deepest rainforest, and now has the status of a protected plant.

Scientific studies show that concoctions of "tongkat ali" can help hormone production, making rats and mice more frisky, but have yet to prove it can reliably produce the same effect in humans, researchers say.

"It can have different effects on different people," said Abdul Razak, head of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, which is driving research and commercial production of the herb.

"For me, it gives the energy to play a game of golf without getting tired, but has no other effects," said Razak, who takes two capsule supplements of the herb before each weekly game to increase his stamina.

"Tongkat ali," which scientists call Eurycoma longifolia, is a slender evergreen shrub with bitter, brownish-red fruit that is native to Malaysia and Indonesia.

All parts of the plant which grows up to 10 meters (33 ft) tall can be chopped up fine and boiled in water to make the traditional medicine.

As Malaysia looks to biotechnology for economic growth, scientists are taking a harder look at the aphrodisiac qualities of tongkat ali, which means the "walking-stick of Ali," in Malay, and they say it could spawn drugs to treat cancer and malaria.

PREPARING FOR COMMERCIAL USE

Five years of research studies in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have helped to identify the key compounds in the herb, Razak said.

"All these compounds have been found, have been tested and have been patented, and we are now in the process of carrying out clinical studies, and hopefully after some time we might even commercialize this," he added.

A Malaysian industry and government group says the rapidly growing global market for aphrodisiacs is worth about $4 billion and could reach nearly $7 billion by 2012, but plans for "tongkat ali" to grab a share of this pie hinge on proving it is safe.

In Taiwan this year, Taipei city officials banned six brands of coffee from supermarkets because they contained "tongkat ali," saying the plant had not been evaluated for safe use, although there were no confirmed reports of side-effects, newspapers said.

The episode in January stirred indignation in Malaysia, where some officials publicly defended the herb, saying its safety and efficacy had been demonstrated by hundreds of years of use.

Others said the incident showed how far Malaysia still has to go to prove its claims for the herb.

"We've still got a lot of homework to do as a nation," said M. Rajen, chief executive of Tropical Botanics Sdn Bhd, which counts among its products Malaysia's most popular fish-oil brand.

Makers of ginseng, which has a global market of about $2 billion a year, according to some industry estimates, would be ruthless in battling competition from "tongkat ali," he said.

"What we see in Taiwan and elsewhere is an example of this ruthlessness," Rajen added. "Because we have not done our homework, we cannot fight it."

But Malaysia is confident it will convince the world. Officials of Power Root Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which exports tea and coffee drinks containing the herb to Japan and
South Korea, have said they are looking to the United States and the Middle East.

"One day 'tongkat ali' will be marketed internationally, even in Harrods of London," Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said in January, at the launch of a $7 million biotech research center that will study ways to clone the herb.

At the Forest Research Institute, workers in white protective gear poured sacks of the herb into gleaming stainless steel dryers and grinders to turn out powder for capsules.

"It's high time for 'tongkat ali' now," said researcher Mohamad Shahidan, grinning through his face mask. "Everybody wants to try it."

HEalth: Morning Rituals and Meditation

Morning Rituals and Meditation

Posted by Victoria Anisman-Reiner
Some people meditate, others do yoga; some have a protein shake every morning for breakfast or a green drink like fresh vegetable juice or wheatgrass as a morning ritual.

This morning, I got out of bed fifteen minutes after my alarm went off (a morning ritual I'd like to shake).

I went to my desk and did my morning written meditation - 3 written pages based on the concept of Julia Cameron's "morning pages" to clear my mind and harmonize my thoughts and feelings. I find that writing or doing any ritual first thing in the morning helps me to connect with what is happening on the inside of my psyche. It enables me to break through the barriers of my wide awake, conscious mind to learn what's going on underneath, stabilizing and calming both my body and my mind.

I have another morning ritual that I follow at least 5 days a week - vegetable juice before breakfast. I have a great little juicer into which I'll stick anything from organic carrots, half of a lemon, celery or apples slices to lettuce, bitter chard or kale, and live, protein-rich sprouts! Juicing is one of the best things you can do for your health. A fresh juice just before breakfast - particularly one with something green in it - sets your body up with a wealth of vitamins, minerals and enzymes to support you through the day. Organic fruit and veggies are especially good for you to juice.

I usually add an ounce of wolfberry antioxidant juice and some hemp seed oil for omegas, and sometimes a fiber supplement. It's an acquired taste, but by now I love green juicing and I can feel the good it's doing for me.

What do you do for your wellness and health as a morning ritual? The discussion boards are open and I'd love to hear from you.

Diet: Protein in dietary balance

Protein in dietary balance

How much protein you need may vary, depending on what else you're eating. Raw foods and juicing includes enzymes that balance blood sugar in ways a processed diet won't.

The really interesting thing about dietary protein, as far as I’m concerned, is how the standard varies with who you ask. Most general food guidelines recommend that 10-15% of our diet come from protein. This number can vary depending on your body’s individual metabolism and your daily activity, and holistic practitioners tend to recommend more rather than less protein. Bodybuilders and athletes have been known to eat about 35% protein to support the growth of lean muscle mass - yet many nutritionists claim that this is not necessary and that, like the Atkins diet, athletes who consume this much excessive protein are putting their heart and kidneys at risk.

I have type A blood - the blood type that is typically considered the least protein-dependant and most condusive to being vegetarian. However, I tend to feel tired, dizzy, or get a stomach ache if I haven’t had enough of a complete protein at a meal - particularly if there are a lot of starches, sweets (even healthy ones) or other carbohydrate foods involved.

When I focus my diet on raw fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, my need for protein to balance the blood sugar high of the carbs decreases - thanks primarily, I think, to the high count of enzymes in the raw produce. I notice a particular difference when I'm juicing (green vegetables, lemons, and whatever else I have on hand) first thing in the morning, as I have been lately. Despite the high sugar content of most raw fruits and veggies, the sugars don’t hit my system the way processed carbs do, and I feel less need for protein when I’m eating a more raw diet.

Energy Medicine in the Real World

Energy Medicine in the Real World

It’s here and it’s being discussed on Oprah. Is Energy Medicine and energy healing work the real future of medicine?

I grew up on aspects of Energy Medicine. My mother studied Touch for Health Applied Kinesiology and Brain Gym when I was a child, so I knew, at least in theory, how profound the impact of energy work could be. Energy testing or “muscle testing” was invaluable for working with my allergies and sensitivities as a child and as a teenager. However, it was only after I took a 5-day Energy Medicine Intensive taught by Donna Eden in August 2005 that I really began to feel the impact that the simplest of these exercises could have on my body and mind.

After the Energy Medicine Intensive, I began to practice Donna Eden’s “5-minute tune up” every morning. Within days of starting to do the three thumps, the hook-up, cross crawl, and all the rest, I noticed that I had more energy, my mind was clearer, and I felt stronger as I used the daily tune-up as part of a morning meditation.

I do everything I can to encourage others to try using these exercises daily - not only for those who are healthy, to improve your strength, immunity, and brain function, but also to help those who are ill come into better balance with your health.

I firmly believe that there are solutions in energy work and Energy Medicine to help almost everyone with their healing challenges - whether they have simple aches and pains or serious illnesses like cancer, chronic fatigue, and MS. Energy Medicine is so versatile and powerful that it can make a difference for almost everyone.

My favorite applications of Energy Medicine are the ones I’ve used the most - those to relax, to “unscramble” a cluttered mind, to help calm kids (children with ADD/ADHD tend to respond especially well to energy work), to ease pain and tension, and to settle anxious pets (believe it or not, they have the same energy systems as we do - it just takes a little more effort to work with them).

I’ve had some experience using Energy Medicine on skeptical relatives when they were sick enough to be willing to give anything a shot. My efforts helped them to feel better, get out of bed, and go back to grumbling about my odd habit of offering to help them sort out all kinds of situations with energy work.

The most exciting thing, for me, is the public perception of energy healing and the way it is gradually becoming more accepted and appreciated. I think we’ve come a long way from labeling alternative medicine “witchcraft” and essential oils “snake oil.” Last week, a doctor appeared on Oprah’s show and called Energy Medicine “the next big frontier” in medicine! You can’t get much more mainstream than that.

Oprah’s guest, Dr. Oz, said, "We're beginning now to understand things that we know in our hearts are true but we could never measure. As we get better at understanding how little we know about the body, we begin to realize that the next big frontier… in medicine is energy medicine. It's not the mechanistic part of the joints moving. It's not the chemistry of our body. It's understanding for the first time how energy influences how we feel."

3 tips for Toronto vegetarians

3 tips for Toronto vegetarians

Posted by Victoria Anisman-Reiner
Torontonians reading my recent articles about the pros and cons of vegetarianism - or anybody else - might be interested in trying these three food discoveries!

I'm admitting straight off the top that this is a silly post. In light of my recent article about vegetarianism, I thought some of my readers might be able to make use of the fabulous results of my recent foray into vegetarian health food cuisine. I've found three things I'd like to share:

1. Basil pesto from Sunflower Kitchens

2. Vegepate from Fontaine Sante

3. Free hulled hemp seed samples at Noah's at Bloor and Spadina

1. Sunflower Kitchens is a small operation that cooks up various forms of hummus, pestos, and other dips and sauces to gourmet and health food stores in the Toronto area. I've tried some of their catering, over the years, and it's very good - but nothing compares to their fabulous BASIL PESTO. It has a rich, fresh flavour and is completely vegan - any creaminess is due to the ground sunflower seeds added to the pesto. It'll last for at least two weeks, opened, in the fridge (I've never had one longer than that before I use it up!) and it's great on salads, sandwiches, to dip raw veggies, you name it. Don't confuse it with Sunflower Kitchens' Kale and Basil Pesto - which is not as flavourful.

2. Fontaine Sante is a fresh health food company out of Quebec. I'm not as familiar with their products, but I picked up a small package of VEGEPATE yesterday at the health food store and I was surprised how good it tasted. It also has a sunflower seed base, with onions, nutritional yeast, carrots and other veggies, but it tastes like nothing so much as my Jewish great-aunt's recipe for vegetarian chopped liver. Excellent on crackers. I doubt that it will have the longevity of the Sunflower Pesto - which I like to stock as a staple! - but it's nice on occasion.

3. I was at Noah's Natural Foods at Bloor and Spadina this evening and they have a basket of FREE HEMP SEED SAMPLES on the check-out counter at the front. I doubt it'll last long, but while it does - free hemp seeds! They're a great source of omega-3 oils and of protein. And they taste great. (I was amused to see fine print on the tiny card insert in the package which reads, "Batch 6. THC Test: 0%"

HERBAL : Vegetarian Restaurants in Toronto

Vegetarian Restaurants in Toronto

Posted by Victoria Anisman-Reiner
On the lookout for a restaurant in the city of Toronto? Check out these five vegetarian restaurants for creative dining options for vegans, omnivores, and all in between

By no means an exhaustive list, this post is in intended as a follow-up to my recent articles, Benefits of a Vegetarian Diet and Disadvantages of Going Veg to suggest a few of Toronto’s best restaurants for great cuisine, good atmosphere, and healthy eating!

1. Fresh / Juice for Life

Juice for Life has three locations in the city: at Bloor and Spadina, on Queen Street West at Crawford, and on Spadina south of Queen Street West. Each is a bouncing spot for vegetarians and vegans to enjoy wholesome meals, fresh juices, and a range of desserts made with natural ingredients and healthier sweeteners. Their specialties include a veggie burger made from almonds and rice bowls topped with any and every combination of vegetables, tofu, tempeh, nuts, seeds, and sauces you can imagine. Most of their desserts come from Sweets from the Earth, the exquisite Toronto vegan bakery (most of their goodies are, however, made with unrefined cane sugar).

2. Annapurna

One of the oldest vegetarian restaurants in the city (and perhaps across Canada) is Annapurna Restaurant, a quirky, quiet place in Toronto's Annex, on Bathurst Street just south of Dupont. Annapurna specializes in delicious Southern Indian cuisine, with daily soups and specials, all very reasonably priced. Their masala dosai, a lentil flour crepe filled with potatoes and served with spicy sanbar lentil soup, is a favorite, as are the honey-sweetened carob balls for dessert.

3. Live

Live Organic Food Bar, located on Dupont at Spadina, is the only restaurant in Toronto that offers raw food appetizers and entrees as nearly half of their menu. They specialize in gourmet vegan food, fresh juices, and gourmet raw vegan desserts. Live is new, trendy, and more than a little pricey, but the food is excellent. They also offer cooking classes, catering and healthy packaged foods in the entryway.

4. Le Commensal

Le Commensal has been around since 1996, and it’s still going strong. Located in the heart of Toronto at Bay and Elm Streets (near the subway at Dundas and Yonge), Le Commensal is a buffet-style vegetarian restaurant where you pay for your food by weight before you eat. Food choices include a range of salads, rice, tofu and seitan curries and stews, pizza, lasagne, and more. Their soups and the favorite dishes are prepackaged and frozen so you can also enjoy them at home. As a bonus, they make the best tofu cheesecake in town.

5. Vegetarian Haven

Set in the U of T/ Kensington Market district on Baldwin Street, Vegetarian Haven has a huge menu - from the more conventional stews, noodles, and stuffed vegetables to unusual veggie simulations which included the popular “tofu drumsticks” as well as tofu "ham", "pastrami", "salmon" and more. The food is nicely presented and, for the most part, in very generous portions. Like Fresh/Juice for Life, they also serve desserts made by Sweets from the Earth (see above); and they’ll blend any cake or cookie into a dessert shake to order.

Traditional Medicine, why is Important?

Importance of Traditional Medicine

Traditional medicine has always been regarded as important in Bhutan, and a dispensary which doubles as a training centre was opened at Dechenchoeling in 1967. In 1979, a traditional medical hospital with a laboratory for making medicines was opened in Thimphu, subsidized by the World Health Organization. This hospital can be visited (see page 161). Four dispensaries were also set up in the rest of the country. In 1988, a project for cataloguing plants and establishing a training centre for doctors was begun with the help of an Italian non­-governmental organization. This project today is being continued by European Community.

Traditional Medicine : Diagonistic Techniques

Diagonistic Techniques

Diagnosis begins with an examination of the 12 pulses, the tongue and urine, and questions to the patient. Illnesses develop with the increase, decrease or destabilization caused by bad food, the weather, evil spirits, the weight of previ­ous actions, karma, or way of life. Remedies, in general, consist of a diet that varies with the nature of the illness, and medi­cines, which may be aided by acupuncture and moxibustion.

The decision about what kind of treatment to use for a particular condition is made by the physician mainly through the reading of the pulses. In modern medicine, pulse reading is only used to detect anomalies of the heart and of the circulatory system. Using the So-bar Rig-pa method, it is possible to detect diseases of any organ through the pulses. The eyes, tongue and urine are also examined for signs that will help with the diagnosis, and sometimes the physician will record the patient's medical history.

Therapeutic applied in traditional medicine

Therapeutic Practices

Several forms of treatment are applied in traditional medicine. Hundreds of medicinal plants, minerals and animal parts form the basic drugs used by the practitioners. These ingredients are processed and mixed in different combinations to make about 300 medicines in the form of pills, tablets, syrups, powders and lotions. Other treatments include dietary and behavioural advice. There are also so-called surgical procedures that include gtar (blood letting), bsregs (cauterisation by lerbal compounds), gser facos (acupuncture by a golden needle), tshug (cauterisation with instruments of different materials), dugs (applying heat or cold to parts of the body), byugs-pa (medicated oil massage), sman-chu (stone-heated bath), fsha-chu (bath at a hot spring) and turn (vapour treatment).