Eu Yan Sang Academy joins training pool
Straitstimes.com, 1 September 2015

Under the voluntary CTE program by the TCM Practitioners Board, practitioners can claim credit points for attending approved training events. The points are recorded by the board, 13 TCM academic institutions are accredited as training providers. Since Eu Yan Sang Academy incorporated, and about 111 of its own staffs, and 96 external physicians have attended courses. It has also partnered the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine to offer some training programs.

About 60% of registered TCM practitioners have taken courses to upgrade their knowledge
Straitstimes.com , 1 September 2015

Continuing TCM Education (CTE) program allows registered physicians and acupuncturists to claim credit points when they attend approved training events. Although it is voluntary, there has been a good response from practitioners eager to upgrade. As of Dec 31 last year, 1706 registered practitioners have taken part in the scheme, said the Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board (TCMPB) under the Health Ministry, about 60%.

Medical tourism flourishing in Asia
Lifestyle.inquirer.net , 1 September 2015

Countries across Asia are pouring resources into medical tourism, hoping to attract patients from overseas seeking advanced treatments and medical checks. China has 46 medical facilities that have been accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), an American hospital accreditation system. The China figure is the highest for an Asian country, one reason why China is that members of its own wealthy class often go abroad for treatment, analysts said.

Guangzhou Pharmaceutical announces co-operation with Industrial Park
Macaubusinessdaily.com , 8 September 2015

Mainland Chinese pharmaceutical company Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Ltd. signed a framework agreement with the operator of Guangdong-Macau Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Industrial Park in Hengqin to mark co-operation initiatives on marketing Chinese medical products and product registration.

Toads skin, herbs feed China's $2.7 billion cancer fight
Bloomberg.com , 9 September 2015

China has been one of the most rapidly expanding markets for oncologic drugs for years, and alternative approach is growing about twice as fast, traditional Chinese medicines. Sales of traditional cancer treatments surged 35% to almost 17 billion yuan last year. China's overall cancer drug market of 65 billion yuan grows at a compounded annual rate of 17%. Patients should inform their doctors about their alternative therapies because of the potential for herbal supplements to cause harmful interactions.

Global Alternative Medicines and Therapies Market: Japan is expected to show high growth rate by 2020
Medgadget.com , 10 September 2015

Japan is expected to show high growth rate in the alternative medicines and therapies market in next five years due to rise in aging population and high spending in alternative medicines and therapies. In addition, rapid increase in aging population, increasing demand for herbal medicines and rise in demand of alternative drugs and natural therapies are expected to offer new opportunity, however, safety in clinical trials and standardization is a challenge for the market.

TCM tonic herb "can kill HIV", study finds
English.news.cn , 10 September 2015

Schisandraceae, a sex-booster herb widely used in TCM, has shown promise in treating HIV/AIDS, according to a 20-year-long study led by the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Several derivatives of the herb's lignin, which is the compound extracted from the leaves and stems of the woody vine plant, have strong anti-HIV properties and low toxicity, however whether the finding will lead to a cure for HIV/AIDS won't be known anytime soon, a leading researcher said.

Seminar on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines 2015 concludes successfully
HKSAR Government , 11 September 2015

The Seminar on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines 2015 held by the Committee on Research and Development of Chinese Medicines concluded successfully. About 20 guest speakers and more than 500 representatives from the government, industry, academic and research sectors in Chinese and Western medicine-related fields attended the seminar.

Putting traditional Chinese medicine to the test
Timesofoman.com , 16 September 2015

TCM remains very much a craft, largely unregulated and barely vetted by science. China's TCM industry has resisted disclosing or acknowledging the side effects of their treatments. These problems are well-known to the Chinese public, which remains emotionally split over TCM and its effectiveness despite government efforts to promote it. For the Chinese government, this is a public policy problem that needs addressing. Achieving those goals, and putting overseas patients at ease, won't be easy.

China: dried toad and snakeskin rivals orthodox vitamins
Reuters , 23 September 2015

China's much-hyped market for vitamins and supplements is facing a steep challenge from traditional remedies from ginseng to deer antler, even as the sector's rise fuels billion-dollar deals and share price surges. Traditional remedies are used in China to treat everything from low energy to cancer, making for a business that's broader than Western-style vitamins and health supplements.

83-year-old doctor gets Qiu Shi Award for leukemia drug
Wantchinatimes.com , 23 September 2015

Zhang Tingdong, an 83-year-old hematologist from China, was awarded the Outstanding Scientist Award of the Hong Kong Qiu Shi Science & Technologies Foundation, for his contribution to treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) with arsenic trioxide. The Qiu Shi foundation was established by Hong Kong entrepreneur Cha Chi-ming in 1994 with a US$20 million endowment.

Leading experts discuss prospects of Chinese medicine in Barcelona
Xinhua , 26 September 2015

Leading experts of Chinese Medicine gathered on the occasion of the 12th World Congress of Chinese Medicine (WCCM). Around 1000 experts from 35 different countries discussed the techniques of traditional Chinese medicine, Kampo (the practice of Chinese Herbal medicine in Japan) or Korean traditional medicine, among others. The Congress is organized by the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies in collaboration with the European Foundation of Chinese Traditional Medicine.

Acupuncture, real or fake, works to reduce hot flashes, Penn study finds
Newsworks.org , 27 September 2015

In a study testing alternative therapies to treat hot flashes, fake acupuncture easily outperformed a sugar pill and actually helped women even more than a real drug. After two months of treatment, the real and fake acupuncture reduced the frequency and severity of hot flashes by 48% and 45% respectively. In comparison, symptoms fell by 39% for those taking the drug and 22% for those getting the placebo pill. The patients who had received real or sham acupuncture still reported about a 50% improvement three months after stopping therapy.

Acupuncture relieves post-stroke anxiety & depression
Healthcmi.com , 28 September 2015

Acupuncture relieves anxiety and depression experienced by stroke patients. Researchers from the Shanghai University of TCM investigated the efficacy of acupuncture and medications for the treatment of post-stroke anxiety and depression. The SSRI drug sertraline demonstrated a 73.3% total efficacy rate. Conventional acupuncture achieved an 80% total effective rate. The combination group achieved a 93.3% total effective rate.

Harper makes direct pitch to Chinese Canadian voters
Ctvnews.ca , 30 September 2015

Harper has long courted coverage from the ethnic press, of which Chinese-language media is a dominant force in Canada. Harper also called on the Chinese Canadian community to help further cement that relationship, noting they've already had an impact on the domestic agenda of his government, among them a GST exemption on acupuncture products and the announcement of an advisory board on traditional Chinese medicine.

Paying a little homage to China at MTSU
Wgnsradio.com , 30 September 2015

MTSU returned a favor to the Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, affixing a plaque at a special laboratory on campus that recognizes their partnership in the study of ancient Chinese herbal remedies. The partnership, which began in 2011, plays to the strengths of both institutions. Garden researchers cultivate and prepare extracts. MTSU scientists, led by professor Elliot Altman, then screen the samples to determine their medicinal promise.

Compiled By:
Rose Tse, Integrated Chinese Medicine Holdings Ltd.