Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine

Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine in Hamburg opened.

(02.07.2010) Asian naturopathy is now also entering Western science. Yesterday, the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was opened at the Hamburg University Hospital Eppendorf. This was the first time that a center for naturopathic traditional Chinese medicine has been set up in northern Germany. The carriers come from both the private sector and the public sector. The center is supported by the HanseMerkur, the UKE and the city of Hamburg. The applied TCM will be examined more closely in the center. Germany's first TCM clinic is in Bad Kötzting.

Naturopathy is not only a trend, but now also an important component in medical research. In North Germany's first TCM center, research, teaching and therapy are to be brought together under one roof. With their work, the scientists want to prove and test the effectiveness of naturopathic TCM. For example, neurobiological methods are used to test the effects of acupuncture and herbs on the human nervous system, as well as the function of the immune system and hormone balance. The effects should be investigated using systems biology. For this purpose bioinformatics is included for the evaluation. "We expect that the scientific study of this Far Eastern healing art will help to define transparent quality standards for TCM medicine in Germany," said Fritz Horst Melsheimer, from the "HanseMerkur" insurance group.

Numerous doctors have been combining conventional treatment methods with naturopathic findings for some time. The neurologist Dr. Sven Schröder, that he has been using Chinese healing art in his practice for some time. "Now there is the opportunity to prove success through research," says Schröder.

Traditional Chinese medicine was founded around 2000 years ago and has continued to evolve since then. First and foremost is the naturopathic drug therapy and traditional acupuncture. In addition, certain massage techniques such as Tuina Anmo and Shiatsu and exercise exercises such as Qigong and Taijiquan are part of TCM therapy. (Sb)

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Picture: Sabine Weiße