The application of systems biology methods to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Emphasizing the harmony of the human body with the environment, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has evolved over thousands of years. It is a systemic theory derived from clinical experience, the philosophy of holism and systematology, and the belief that man is an integral part of nature.

"Systems Biology for Traditional Chinese Medicine" describes how the latest methods in systems biology can be applied to TCM, providing a comprehensive resource for the modernization and advancement of TCM as well as general drug discovery efforts. It is the first comprehensive work to propose a system-to-system research methodology to study the interaction between TCM and the human body and its applications in drug research and development.

Using three popular traditional Chinese medicines--Shuanglongfang, Qingkailing, and Liushenwan--as examples, the authors set forth case examples demonstrating how to find material groups, perform efficacy screenings, and conduct safety evaluations of TCM. The book also: Describes the mechanisms of TCM at the molecular and systems levels using chemomics, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformaticsPlaces modern scientific technologies within the context of TCM, helping drug researchers improve experimental designs and strategiesIllustrates how a systems biology approach is compatible with TCM's traditional, holistic therapeutic strategies and treatment modalitiesPresents topics of current interest, such as integrated global systems biology and the application of chemometrics research to herbal medicines

This book not only opens a new pathway for the continued development of TCM, but also for systems biology. In addition, it fosters collaboration and discussion among Eastern and Western scientists by applying systems biology to TCM.

The fascinating Tibetan medical system has never been so clearly explained as in this collection of oustanding lectures presented at the University of Virginia in 1980. Tibetan medicine restores and maintains balance among the three humors of the body through a variety of treatment, diet and behaviour modification as well as the use of medicine.

Yogi, a scrappy Jack Russell terrier,

has a pain in the neck and hasn't walked for weeks.

Nikita is a fifteen-year-old seal point Himalayan cat

who has lost all interest in eating.

And then there's Angel, a curious cockatoo whose

bacterial infections defy every antibiotic known to science.

Meet just a few of the remarkable, real-life characters in "The Last Chance Dog," a collection of heartwarming, entertaining, and instructive tales as told by Donna Kelleher, one of the country's most esteemed holistic veterinarians. Here she recounts a series of complex and compelling cases, taking us through the intuitive art of diagnosing animals and curing them with safe, natural remedies -- such as acupuncture, herbal treatments, and chiropractic adjustments -- when conventional veterinary medicine has failed. In "The Last Chance Dog," Kelleher offers advice on everything from vaccinations and pet-food shopping to affordable, easy-to-administer treatments for allergies, digestive problems, urinary tract infections, pain, hot spots, itchy skin, fear, and anxiety. Inspirational and nothing short of miraculous, the stories of ailing and recovering animals -- and the people who love them -- are as unforgettable as they are true.

This is Alasdair Barcroft's third book on the subject of aloe vera and he believes the aloe vera topic will run and run as more and more people, both lay people and professional healthcare specialists and therapists alike, begin fully to understand the powerful healing and health-giving properties of this amazing plant. He believes that 'we are still scratching the surface' in terms of aloe vera's vast potential. Aloe vera has been around for over 4,000 years - it has stood the test of time - and it still continues to confound and very often baffle the medical profession and scientific researchers with its complex, silent actions, potent properties and powerful healing benefits. Aloe vera truly is nature's silent healer. Aloe vera has been known for its wide-ranging healing properties for over 4,000 years, but it is only in the last few decades that scientists have really begun both to realise and understand the enormous scope of this amazing plant's actions and benefits. Medical practitioners, vets, dentists, therapists, nutritionists and many others involved in healthcare throughout the world are finally realising that the anecdotal evidence of the powers of this ancient plant th

Premodern and early modern yoga comprise techniques with a wide range of aims, from turning inward in quest of the true self, to turning outward for divine union, to channeling bodily energy in pursuit of sexual pleasure. Early modern yoga also encompassed countercultural beliefs and practices. In contrast, today, modern yoga aims at the enhancement of the mind-body complex but does so according to contemporary dominant metaphysical, health, and fitness paradigms. Consequently, yoga is now a part of popular culture. In Selling Yoga, Andrea R. Jain explores the popularization of yoga in the context of late-twentieth-century consumer culture. She departs from conventional approaches by undermining essentialist definitions of yoga as well as assumptions that yoga underwent a linear trajectory of increasing popularization. While some studies trivialize popularized yoga systems by reducing them to the mere commodification or corruption of what is perceived as an otherwise fixed, authentic system, Jain suggests that this dichotomy oversimplifies the history of yoga as well as its meanings for contemporary practitioners. By discussing a wide array of modern yoga types, from Iyengar Yoga to Bikram Yoga, Jain argues that popularized yoga cannot be dismissedthat it has a variety of religious meanings and functions. Yoga brands destabilize the basic utility of yoga commodities and assign to them new meanings that represent the fulfillment of self-developmental needs often deemed sacred in contemporary consumer culture.

Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food – Hippocrates, ca. 460–ca. 370 BC For millennia, the Chinese have taught that a balanced and nutritious diet is an integral part of maintaining good health while healing a wide range of disorders. Here, in a new and third edition of the acclaimed Chinese Nutrition Therapy, the author further demystifies Chinese dietetics, one of the pillars of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Joerg Kastner's introduction to the principles of TCM and the "energetics" of foods emphasizes a holistic approach throughout, providing readers with tools for integrating the principles of Chinese dietetics into their daily lives. Included are a comprehensive classification of more than 300 readily available foods such as vegetables, grains, herbs and spices, fruits, meat and poultry, seafoods, dairy products, oils and fats, and nuts and seeds. Many clinical examples and treatment suggestions artfully combine Western medical conditions with Chinese diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. The explanation of causes of diseases, the different symptoms, and lists of recommended foods and foods to avoid are supplemented by advice on appropriate acupuncture treatments. The third edition has been expanded with chapters covering allergies, food sensitivities, dietary support in oncologic cases, fasting, "superfoods," and smoothies. Where appropriate, bridges have been constructed between the paradigms of TCM and those of contemporary scientific medicine. The section "Food Classification" has been developed further to include more detail and many more foods. Highlights Descriptions of Chinese dietetics in practice and discussions of dietary factors, such as seasonal adaptations and differing requirements for children and seniors Practical tips on how to adapt Chinese nutrition therapy to Western products and cooking methods Clinical examples covering the major organ systems A handy "A to Z" list of common foods and their healing characteristics User-friendly Chinese Nutrition Therapy is an essential reference for students and practitioners of TCM, likewise to be valued by nutritionists, dieticians, physicians, and anyone interested in living a long and healthy life. This book includes complimentary access to a digital copy on https://medone.thieme.com.

Various types of traditional medicine and other medical practices referred to as complementary or alternative medicine are increasingly used in both developing and developed countries. In order to promote safe and appropriate use of these medicines and practices, as well as to ensure the quality of service and practitioners, national regulations are vital. Establishing national policies on traditional medicine, and/or complementary/alternative medicine and their medical practices, should therefore include creation of legal frameworks. This review summarizes the legal status of several major practices in traditional medicine and complementary/alternative medicine in 123 countries. It includes data on: the use of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine; the regulatory situation of traditional and complementary/alternative remedies and practitioners; health insurance coverage of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine; education and training of practitioners of traditional and complementary/alternative medicine. Information provided in this review will be useful not only to policy makers, but also to researchers, universities, the public, insurance companies and pharmaceutical industries.

Does the art of medicine matter? Does it really help us become better doctors and improve results? Dr. Claudia Welch explores how the effectiveness of a physician extends far beyond the ability to prescribe correct treatments, and how mastering the art of doctoring can make the medicine more effective. Drawing on Eastern medical traditions and experience as well as on Western science, Dr. Welch examines how we know what we know, the mechanics of doctor-patient emotional contagion, and the degree to which a patient's sensory experience in a medical office affects their experience of treatments delivered. Dr. Welch also offers practical steps that doctors can take to cultivate more refined perceptive abilities and improve results. Dr. Welch's book will be essential reading for all health care practitioners interested in understanding the art of their practice and how it can enhance therapeutic outcomes, including doctors of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Naturopathy, as well as western medical professionals and other complementary health practitioners.

Formidably illustrated and written, the correlations between spinal nerves and segments in skin, musclar system and bones as well as the projection areas of internal organs on the body surface area are deduced from the anatomy of the nervous system. These correlations between spinal nerves and the periphery of the body explain how acupuncture, neural, and manual therapies take effect . Great accessibility through: Full colour images Drawings that depict the correlations in detail Cearly structured layout facilitating the reading of this complex subject

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. The Practice of Texts examines the uses of the Sanskrit medical classics in two educational institutions of India's classical life science, Ayurveda: the college and the gurukula. In this interdisciplinary study, Anthony Cerulli probes late- and postcolonial reforms in ayurvedic education, the development of the ayurvedic college, and the impacts of the college curriculum on ways that ayurvedic physicians understand and use the Sanskrit classics in their professional work today. His fieldwork in south India illuminates the nature of philology and ritual in the ayurvedic gurukula and showcases how knowledge is exchanged among students, teachers, and patients. The result, Cerulli shows, is that the Sanskrit classics are presented and applied differently in the college and gurukula, producing a variety of relationships with these texts among practitioners. By interrogating the politics surrounding the place of the Sanskrit classics in ayurvedic curricula, this book reveals a spectrum of views about the history and tradition of Ayurveda in modern India.

CAN WE LIVE ROBUSTLY UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH? Do we have to suffer from debilitating conditions and sickness? Is it possible to add more vibrant years to our lives? In the #1 "New York Times "bestselling "The End of Illness," Dr. David Agus tackles these fundamental questions and dismantles misperceptions about what "health" really means. Presenting an eye-opening picture of the human body and all the ways it works--and fails--Dr. Agus shows us how a new perspective on our individual health will allow us to achieve a long, vigorous life.
Offering insights and access to powerful new technologies that promise to transform medicine, Dr. Agus emphasizes his belief that there is no "right" answer, no master guide that is "one size fits all." Each one of us must get to know our bodies in uniquely personal ways, and he shows us exactly how to do that. A bold call for all of us to become our own personal health advocates, "The End of Illness "is a moving departure from orthodox thinking.

The articles in this final volume fall into two main themes, lifestyle and medical paradigms. By using lifestyle as the point of departure for describing the use and users of alternative treatment, research moves beyond the traditional scientific research categories. Alternative treatments foremost function is thus perceived to be the creation of identity. The scientific theoretical concept of paradigm leads the discussion to differentiate between conventional and alternative treatment seen in relation to the basic science or knowledge behind them. How is it possible to characterise an eventual break with tradition? Finally, this volume of Studies presents several documents related to the termination of INRAT; an article concerning the methodological problems connected with the network's research area, a series of abstracts on methodology submitted by network participants, and the organising committee's final report on the research project to the Research Council of the Humanities in Denmark.

This volume combines a number of examinations of alternative therapies, in widely diverging contexts, under the title of communication. The contributions discuss the difficult question of communication or non-communication between East and West, or between the alternative and the established, in both therapeutic and scientific worlds. In addition, the discussion of the body, or of nature itself, as a communicating medium, in command of its own organising and healing resources, is breached. This third volume contains contributions from areas such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, medicine, and natural science. In 1995, the three year old International Network for Research on Alternative Therapies invited outstanding international researchers to present their work under the heading, "Communication in and about Alternative Therapies". The most significant results of that seminar, held in Copenhagen, are published here.

Are you one of the millions of people searching for natural ways to improve yourself and eliminate bad habits? Hypnosis is a highly effective tool for behavior modification-and this practical and inspiring handbook will show you how to begin today to use hypnosis to change your life.
Hypnosis For Change provides simple, step-by-step details to help you harness the power of your own mind. You'll learn about the different trance states, the effective use of treatment scripts for either self-hypnosis or the hypnosis of others, and the best use of these techniques to bring you success.

"From the Paperback edition."

The Art of Cupping For over 5,000 years, cupping has been used across the globe to treat a broad spectrum of health disorders. It is a safe and well-tolerated therapy and requires only simple and inexpensive tools to achieve highly effective results. This comprehensive guide features all the information a practitioner needs, including step-by-step instructions for application, treatment of specific health problems, and a review of the historical background. Key Features: Detailed explanation of dry and wet cupping Practical application described for 48 different disorders Illustrated by real-life photographs from the author's practice Compact, user-friendly format for easy reference Each chapter of the practical section deals with a specific area of the body and the disorders associated with it. Each topic discusses a patient's complaint, the appropriate cupping application, supplementary and alternative therapies, as well as preventive treatment. Practice-oriented and highly detailed, this is an invaluable reference for experienced practitioners and students alike. The second edition features new subchapters on cupping in foot reflexology, treating irritable bowel syndrome, vegetative regulation disorders, and burnout. The topics are presented in a new and improved layout and explained with the help of enhanced four-color illustrations. The Art of Cupping is the ideal introduction to this fascinating traditional healing method, while also serving as a helpful review for the experienced practitioner. This book includes complimentary access to a digital copy on https://medone.thieme.com.

The Plains Indians found medicinal value in more than two hundred species of native prairie plants. Unfortunately, modern American culture has not paid much attention.

White settlers did learn a few plant-based remedies from the Indians, and a few prairie plants were prescribed by frontier doctors. A couple dozen prairie species were listed as drugs in the U.S. Pharmacopeia at one time or another, and one or two, like the Purple Coneflower, found their way into the bottles of patent medicine.

But in both the number of species used and the varieties of treatments administered, Indians were far more proficient than white settlers. Their familiarity with the plants of the prairie was comprehensive--there probably were Indian names for all prairie plants, and they recognized more varieties of some species than scientists do today. Their knowledge was refined and exact enough that they could successfully administer medicinal doses of plants that are poisonous. All of the species used by frontier doctors were used first by Indians.

In "Medicinal Plants of the Prairie," ethnobotanist Kelly Kindscher documents the medicinal use of 203 native prairie plants by the Plains Indians. Using information gleaned from archival materials, interviews, and fieldwork, Kindscher describes plant-based treatments for ailments ranging from hyperactivity to syphilis, from arthritis to worms. He also explains the use of internal and external medications, smoke treatments, moxa (the burning of a medicinal substance on the skin), and the doctrine of signatures (the belief that the form or characteristics of a plant are signatures or signs that reveal its medicinal uses). He adds information on recent pharmacological findings to further illuminate the medicinal nature of these plants.

Not since 1919 has the ethnobotany of native Great Plains plants been examined so thoroughly. Kindscher's study is the first to encompass the entire Prairie Bioregion, a one-million-square-mile area bounded by Texas on the south, Canada on the north, the Rocky Mountains on the west, and the deciduous forests of Missouri, Indiana, and Wisconsin in the east. Along with information on the medicinal uses of prairie plants by the Indians, Kindscher also lists Indian, common, and scientific names and describes Anglo folk uses, medical uses, scientific research, and cultivation. Descriptions of the plants are supplemented by 44 exquisite line drawings and over 100 range maps.

This book will help increase appreciation for prairie plants at a time when prairies and their biodiversity urgently need protection throughout the region.

Despite thousands of years of medical use and an impressive record of safety, versatility, and efficacy, Cannabis sativa has existed outside the modern pharmacopeia since the 1940s. Primarily driven by popular demand, this botanical has returned to health care, but most clinicians lack the knowledge essential for identifying candidates for treatment, guiding patients, maximizing benefit, and minimizing harm. Dustin Sulak provides health care professionals-including physicians, psychologists, pharmacists, and nurses-with an accessible and evidence-based reference that empowers them to intelligently discuss cannabis with their patients and implement cannabis and cannabinoid therapies with confidence. Based on over a decade of clinical experience and an extensive review of the literature, this detailed and scientifically accurate guide includes the history of cannabis in medicine, the foundations of endocannabinoid physiology, the pharmacological effects of cannabis' myriad active constituents, the clinical utility of its various preparations, and specific strategies and cautions for treating the most common conditions presenting to a cannabis clinician. This guide is an essential resource for practitioners of any specialty field or experience level who wish to improve their patients' outcomes, harness the healing potential of the endocannabinoid system, and wield a powerful solution to many of healthcare's challenges.

Hailed in the New York Times as "entertaining and immensely educational," Snake Oil Science is not only a brilliant critique of alternative medicine, but also a first-rate introduction to interpreting scientific research of any sort. The book's ultimate goal is to illustrate how the placebo effect conspires to make medical therapies appear to be effective--not just to consumers, but to therapists and poorly trained scientists as well. Bausell explores this remarkable phenomenon and explains why research on any therapy that does not factor in the placebo effect (and other placebo-like effects) will inevitably produce false results. Moreover, as the author shows in an impressive survey of research from high-quality scientific journals, studies employing credible placebo controls do not indicate positive effects for alternative therapies beyond those attributable to random chance. Readers will come away from this book with a healthy skepticism of claims about the latest "miracle cure," be it St. John's Wort for depression or acupuncture for chronic pain.

The applications and use of mindfulness-based interventions in medicine, mental health care, and education have been expanding as rapidly as the empirical evidence base that is validating and recommending them. This growth has created a powerful demand for professionals who can effectively deliver these interventions, and for the training of new professionals who can enter the fold.

Ironically, while the scientific literature on mindfulness has surged, little attention has been paid to the critical "who" and "how" of mindfulness pedagogy. "Teaching Mindfulness" is the first in-depth treatment of the person and skills of the mindfulness teacher. It is intended as a practical guide to the landscape of teaching, to help those with a new or growing interest in mindfulness-based interventions to develop both the personal authenticity and the practical know-how that can make teaching mindfulness a highly rewarding and effective way of working with others. The detail of theory and praxis it contains can also help seasoned mindfulness practitioners and teachers to articulate and understand more clearly their own pedagogical approaches.

Engagingly written and enriched with vignettes from actual classes and individual sessions, this unique volume:

Places the current mindfulness-based interventions in their cultural and historical context to help clarify language use, and the integration of Eastern and Western spiritual and secular traditions

Offers a highly relational understanding of mindfulness practice that supports moment-by-moment work with groups and individuals

Provides guidance and materials for a highly experiential exploration of the reader's personal practice, embodiment, and application of mindfulness

Describes in detail the four essential skill sets of the mindfulness teacher

Proposes a comprehensive, systematic model of the intentions of teaching mindfulness as they are revealed in the mindfulness-based interventions

Includes sample scripts for a wide range of mindfulness practices, and an extensive resource section for continued personal and career development

Essential for today's practitioners and teachers of mindfulness-based interventions

"Teaching Mindfulness: A Practical Guide for Clinicians and Educators" brings this increasingly important discipline into clearer focus, opening dialogue for physicians, clinical and health psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, pastoral counselors, spiritual directors, life coaches, organizational development professionals, and teachers and professionals in higher education, in short, everyone with an interest in helping others find their way into the benefits of the present moment.