Society for Acupuncture Research Announces Calls for Papers
The Society of Acupuncture Research, in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will hold its 2000 symposium in Baltimore, Maryland. Although the meeting will not be held until October, the Society is calling for abstracts representing the results of scientific research and programs related to acupuncture and Oriental medicine.
Papers and panel proposals are welcomed. Papers and proposals may address any facet of acupuncture and Oriental medicine research, including design, results of clinical trials, physiological mechanisms and public policy issues. Presentations of original research may include discussion of protocols as well as data.
Interested parties should submit proposals in abstract form to:
Richard Hammerschlag, PhD
Research Director
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
10525 SE Cherry Blossom Drive
Portland, OR 97216
New Staff at Traditional Acupuncture Institute
As part of its ongoing expansion, the Traditional Acupuncture Institute in Columbia, Maryland has named three new members to its senior staff. They are:
Barbara Ellrich, executive vice president. Ms. Ellrich has more than 18 years of experience at TAI, having previously served as the school's vice president for education, dean of admissions, and registrar. For the past four years, she has also served as the executive board treasurer of the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.
Patricia DeLorenzo, dean of educational programs. Before joining the institute, Ms. DeLorenzo spent 12 years at Johns Hopkins University and developed an executive certificate program to help physicians receive a specialized MBA degree. In her new role at TAI, she will be responsible for all new program development and faculty-student services.
Stan Heuisler, vice president for planning and development. A graduate of the Wharton School and a former Fulbright professor, Mr. Heuisler's duties will include fundraising, marketing and communications, external relations and strategic planning.
"As we celebrate our many accomplishments, the institution is also on the cusp of many exciting new possibilities," said Robert Duggan, the school's president and cofounder. "The balance of continuity and new creativity in senior management will move us forward."
Alternative Care Commission to Begin Meetings in July
Nearly two years after it was approved by Congress, a White House commission on complementary and alternative medicine is expected to begin meeting in July. The commission will be responsible for making recommendations to Congress about policies for research, training, insurance coverage, licensing, and other issues facing complementary and alternative medicine.
"I expect it to be launched, hopefully, before July 4," said Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, a long-time supporter of alternative medicine. "The future of CAM is bright."
Under Harkin's guidance, the National Institutes of Health has expanded its research of CAM from just $2 million in 1992 to $100 million this year. In 1998, the NIH established the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Practices, which has the ability to award grants and fund research without first clearing proposals through the National Institutes. An additional $1 million had been appropriated by Congress in 1998 to establish and operate the White House commission, Harkin said, but it had never been officially formed.
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
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One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
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