April 2009 Archives

"NCCAOM Promotes National Acupuncture Recognition August, 2008: The NCCAOM is working with the CCAOM, AAAOM, FAOMRA, ACAOM, and the NAF to have "acupuncturist" listed as a distinct profession by the US Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Currently, "acupuncture" is only listed as a treatment modality technique under the professions of nursing and chiropractic. 

Other than this listing for chiropractors and registered nurses, there is no other recognition for acupuncture in the bureau's listings.  This clerical oversight hampers the progress of acupuncture in the US.  Inclusion of "acupuncturist" as a distinct profession will facilitate improvements with insurance reimbursements and possibly the institution of Medicare coverage.  This will also help to create legal protections for the profession regarding the use of medicinal herbs. 

The NIH (National Institutes of Health) will also provide direct funding for grant research once the listing is created.  As it stands today, the NIH cannot provide direct funding due to this oversight.  The work of the NCCAOM (National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), CCAOM (Council of Colleges for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), AAAOM (American Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), FAOMRA (Federation of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Regulatory Agencies), ACAOM  (Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), and the NAF (National Acupuncture Foundation) may also assist with the creation of a federal loan forgiveness program for licensed acupuncturists."

It would be great if acupuncture was more widely covered by health insurance.

"Psoriasis is a systemic disease and should be treated as such, a fact that Chinese medicine has identified for hundreds of years. A recent article published in the British Journal of Dermatology stated that people with psoriasis have an increased risk of heart disease. The authors stated that traditionally western dermatologists mainly focused on psoriasis in the skin and joint level, but failed to view any correlation to other organ systems.

Because psoriasis is an immunoinflammatory disease, affecting the body as whole, it makes sense that the same inflammation causing the skin manifestations could also aggravate other diseases known to be induced by inflammation, particularly cardiovascular disease. See research here.

Chinese medicine's view of psoriasis as a systemic inflammatory disease is seen in the main traditional patterns attributed to it, mainly fire toxins and heat in the blood with stasis. It has always held that psoriasis is a disease of the blood, hence any part of the body influenced by the blood can be affected, particularly the heart.

It is interesting to see that many of the herbs used to treat psoriasis in Chinese medicine also have cardiac protective properties. Dan Shen, Salvia miltiorrhiza, is one of them. I use the herb a lot in my prescriptions to treat psoriasis, as it's main functions are to cool and invigorate the bloods flow. Dan Shen has been used both traditionally and in modern times to protect and repair heart tissue. Many studies have been done on this herb and I recommend you look at my research section to view one of them.

The more western research that comes out showing that the body is an integrated whole, that problems in one area (like the skin) influence other body areas, the more impressed I am with the observations of the ancient Chinese. By treating the roots of a disease pathoglogy, then not only is the disease itself healed, but so is a multitude of other associated problems. This is wholistic medicine."

Trevor Erikson, March 25, 2009 ;The Chinese Medical Dermatology Website

Mr. Erikson's Skin Disease Photo Gallery shows Before and After pictures of skin diseases treated with TCM.

Trevor Erikson's article is apt because of this April 8, 2009 article in the New York Times "Genentech announced on Wednesday a phased voluntary withdrawal of the psoriasis drug Raptiva from the United States because of a link to a brain infection.

Raptiva has been associated with an increased risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, a rare and usually fatal disease of the central nervous system."

Sitan Chen will be offering a community Tai Chi course at New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Mineola, Long Island, New York in May 2009. The class will be on Fridays from 1:30 to 2:30 pm for 10 Fridays.

See NYCTCM website, Community Services page, for details. You must pre-register before May 7. $100 for 10 sessions.

Community Tai Chi Course (New Session starting May 2009)

New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Mineola, Long Island, NY is pleased to announce the opening of a new Tai Chi Course to the public.

The course will be starting in May 2009, once a week, for 10 sessions in total. We will only charge $100 as an administration fee for this 10-session class.

World Tai Chi Champion, Mr. Sitan Chen, will be the instructor for this Community Tai Chi Course. You will have this special opportunity to learn Tai Chi from a Master.

This is a great opportunity. Don't miss it. Limited to 20 participants for this course.

Course Time: Fridays 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM (Starting from May 2009) - Total 10 sessions;

You only pay $100 administration fee

Location:

New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
155 First St.
Mineola NY 11501

Tel. 516-739-1545

Email: president@nyctcm.edu

Please send a check for $100 payable to NYCTCM at the above address by May 7, 2009