Monterey, CA Chinese Herbal Remedies Gaining Traction In The U.S.

Chinese medicine has traditionally been a niche are in the United States but some western medical practitioners are starting to embrace herbal and other remedies which have been around for thousands of years.  Researchers are now studying how genes and proteins interact throughout the body as a disease develops, rather than examining single genes or molecules, something which the Chinese have been doing for years.  "Traditional Chinese medicine views disease as complete a pattern as possible," Jennifer Wan, a professor in the school of biological sciences at the University of Hong Kong, told The Wall Street Journal.  She studies traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, and is working with a 200-scientist consortium at King's London College on a project that they dub good practices for studying traditional Chinese medicine, or GP-TCM.  They hope that herbal concoctions can be standardized and lead to drug developments.  One has already been a success.  A Pharmacology Professor at Yale University, Yung-Chi Cheng, has developed a four-herb combination known as PHY906 which reduces the side effects of chemotherapy.  This once niche area appears to be gaining traction, with the renowned Cleveland Clinic recently opening a herbal therapy clinic and the U.S. government's National Center for Complementary Alternative Medicine has seen its budget increased to over $120 million.  It's great to see that natural treatments which have been well known in China for centuries can be helpful to people with cancer and other devastating diseases.