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Three New U.S. Centers of Excellence and Two International Centers Approved for CAM Research
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced the funding of 3 new centers of excellence and 2 international centers for the study of traditional herbal medicines and other forms of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
Both traditional African and Chinese herbal medicines, particularly traditional herbal combinations, will be included in the research being funded in the new centers. Other modalities include acupuncture and a type of energy medicine (millimeter wave therapy).
According to an NCCAM press release on October 14, with these new awards “NCCAM continues to enhance CAM research capacity by funding centers at leading U.S. institutions and by establishing new global partnerships.”1
Stephen E. Straus, M.D., NCCAM Director, stated, “We are excited by the addition of these centers to our research program and the unique collaborations and approaches they bring to studies of CAM practices. All five centers will strengthen our research portfolio for major health problems--HIV/AIDS, arthritis, asthma, and pain. Plus, the new international centers will conduct basic and clinical studies of promising CAM interventions drawn from traditional medicine indigenous to the locations of international partners.”1
U.S. Centers of Excellence for Research on CAM
The three new Centers of Excellence provide 5 years of financial support for experienced researchers at some of the leading universities in the United States. NCCAM states that these researchers apply “cutting-edge technologies” to identify the potential benefits and underlying mechanisms of CAM practices. The 3 new centers and their first year funding totals are:
1. Center for Arthritis and Traditional Chinese Medicine; $1,197,651
Principal Investigator: Brian Berman, M.D.
Institution: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
This center will study traditional Chinese medicine approaches, i.e., acupuncture and herbs, for the treatment of arthritis. Researchers will conduct a clinical trial of an 11-herb Chinese formula (known as HLXL) for osteoarthritis of the knee, as well as assess acupuncture's effect on inflammatory pain in an animal model, and study the efficacy of HLXL in an animal model of autoimmune arthritis.
2. Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy; $1,144,274
Principal Investigator: Xiu-Min Li, M.D.
Institution: Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY
Center researchers will investigate a three-herb Chinese formula as a therapy for allergic asthma. Studies of the herbal formula will look at mechanism of action in an animal model, characterize the herbs' active components, and investigate the formula’s use in asthma patients.
3. Center for Mechanisms Underlying Millimeter Wave Therapy; $1,025,895
Principal Investigator: Marvin Ziskin, M.D.
Institution: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
This center will study the mechanisms of action of millimeter wave therapy (use of low-intensity millimeter wavelength electromagnetic waves) for a variety of diseases and conditions, as well as looking at the therapy's use in animal models of chronic neuropathic pain and pruritis (itching).
International Centers for Research on CAM
The International Centers for Research on CAM are the outgrowth of planning grants awarded by NCCAM to 11 international teams in 2003. Each of these teams were given 2 years to develop a research collaboration and infrastructure that could compete for 4-year centers grants. The recipients of these international centers grants will now conduct research on CAM and traditional medicine practices in countries where the specific practices are indigenous. These partnerships between researchers in U.S. and foreign institutions will address whether the traditional practices can aid in health care locally and globally and build CAM research capacity internationally. Co-funders for these centers include NIH's Office of Dietary Supplements, Office of AIDS Research, and Fogarty International Center (the International division of NIH). In addition, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will fund a third international center.
The 2 NCCAM recipients and their first year funding totals are:
1. Functional Bowel Disorders in Chinese Medicine; $807,253
Principal Investigator: Brian Berman, M.D
Partner Institutions: University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD; Chinese University of Hong Kong, China; University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; University of Western Sydney, Sydney, Australia
This center will conduct multidisciplinary research on TCM practices (acupuncture and herbal medicine) for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Researchers will study effects of acupuncture and a TCM herbal preparation in an animal model of IBS and conduct a preliminary study of the herbal preparation with IBS patients.
2. The International Center for Indigenous Phytotherapy Studies: HIV/AIDS, Secondary Infections and Immune Modulation; $1,100,000
Principal Investigator: William Folk, Ph.D.
Partner Institutions: University of Missouri, Columbia, MO; University of the Western Cape, Bellville, Republic of South Africa; along with University of KwaZulu-Natal, University of Cape Town, and the South African Medical Research Council
This center will study the safety and efficacy of traditional African plant-based therapies already in wide-spread use for HIV/AIDS and some of its secondary infections. Researchers will conduct a small clinical trial using sutherlandia (Sutherlandia frutescens, syn. Lessertia frutescens) leaf in adults with HIV and conduct preclinical and clinical research with African wormwood (Artemisia afra) aerial parts, which are used by traditional healers for treatment of many conditions seen in people with HIV/AIDS.
Finally, the NCI will fund the:
International Center of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Cancer
Principal Investigator: Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D.
Partner Institutions: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai, China
This center will conduct preclinical and clinical studies of 3 TCM approaches (herbs, acupuncture, and qi gong) for treating cancer and its symptoms, as well as treatment-related side effects.
-- Mark Blumenthal
Reference
1. Anon. NCCAM Expands Research Centers Program with Three Centers of Excellence and Two International Centers [press release]. National Centers for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Oct. 14, 2005. Available at <http://nccam.nih.gov/news/2005/101405.htm>. Accessed Oct. 23, 2005.
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