Prof. Emilio Minelli, Vice Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine, University of Milan
Title: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Personalized Medicine: similarities and differences
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General concepts of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine was founded in the eighth century B.C.. According to this doctrine, diagnosis and treatment are based on a holistic view of the patient and of his symptoms, expressed in terms of balance between yin and yang. The term yin refers to the land, the cold and femininity, the term yang instead refers to the sky, the warmth and masculinity. The actions of yin and yang affect the interaction of the 5 elements that make up the universe: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The therapists of Traditional Chinese Medicine control the levels of yin and yang through 12 meridians (well-known in acupuncture), responsible for transporting energy to the body. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda similarly, can be used both for the maintenance of physical well-being and for the prevention and treatment of pathological situations. Traditional Chinese Medicine employs a wide spectrum of therapeutic methods which include acupuncture (cited above and amply demonstrated experimentally and scientifically), the moxibustion (heat released from a dry plant of the genus Artemisia which is placed in contact with the skin), herbal medicinal products, manual therapies, breathing techniques and special diets. Traditional Chinese Medicine includes rarely the need for surgery. This medical doctrine, and in particular acupuncture, is the most commonly Traditional Medicine used: it is in fact practiced in every region of the world. It is interesting to note that acupuncture is intimately related to the concept of Biophotons, proper of Quantum Medicine: it is in fact verified that the cutaneous points, corresponding to acupuncture points, are characterized by an electrical resistivity lower than the other skin portions, or rather they hinder less the passage of electrical currents. Analyzing the same points through the measurement of biophotons, it was found that the emission of biophotons appears to be greater in correspondence of the points of acupuncture.
