Women's Health & Asian Traditional Medicine: News Bulletin 27.06.05

[Guest guest]

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WOMEN’S HEALTH & ASIAN TRADITIONAL MEDICINE (WHAT

MEDICINE)

 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, 23-25 AUGUST 2005

 

http://www.whatmedicine.org

 

 

 

WHAT’s new? NEWS BULLETIN – 27 JUNE 2005

 

Skin Health and Beauty in Asian Traditional Medicine

 

 

 

This news bulletin contains the following items:

 

 

 

Speaker profile – Professor Terence J. Ryan

Collaborative project to develop Regional Dermatology Training Centre in

China

Phthalate link to birth defects: good news for traditional skin care?

Special offer for international exhibitors at WHAT Medicine 2005

 

 

 

 

 

1. SPEAKER PROFILE – Professor Terence J. Ryan

 

 

 

Terence Ryan is Emeritus Professor of Dermatology at Oxford University,

Honorary President of the International Society of Dermatology, and Immediate

Past Chairman of the International Foundation for Dermatology. He is also a

co-director of the Global Initiative for Traditional Systems (GIFTS) of Health.

Pr. Ryan has contributed to the Morbidity Control Program of the Global Alliance

for the Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis, and is a member of the World Health

Organization’s Essential Drugs Committee on Leprosy. He has published over 500

articles in the fields of dermatology, sexually transmitted diseases, leprosy,

microcirculation and related subjects, and has a particular interest in

promoting healthy skin in the developing world. He will be speaking at WHAT

Medicine 2005 on the topic of “Healthy skin for women: the role of Asian

traditional health care systems”, and co-chairing the Skin Panel on Wednesday 24

August.

 

 

 

Professor Ryan was a co-founder of the Regional Dermatology Training Centre at

the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Tanzania, which is now a WHO

Collaborating Centre, and is currently developing a similar program to promote

dermatological education in China in collaboration with traditional health care

providers (see below).

 

 

 

 

 

2. COLLABORATIVE PROJECT TO DEVELOP REGIONAL DERMATOLOGY TRAINING CENTRE IN

CHINA

 

 

 

China is the most populous country in the world, and about 70% of its 1.3

billion population lives in rural areas, with minimal or no access to skin care.

In the year 2000 there were only 1.2 dermatologists per 100,000 people, mainly

practising in cities, and an average of 0.89 hospital beds per 100,000 people

allocated to skin diseases. Many of the existing providers of skin health care

in rural areas are under-trained and do not have the expertise and knowledge

needed for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of skin conditions, especially

those related to HIV/AIDS, which are increasingly becoming a major problem in

China. Leprosy is also on the rise again.

 

 

 

Regional Dermatology Training Centres (RDTCs) are set up by the International

Foundation for Dermatology (IFD) to address the urgent need for training or

re-training of medical workers in Dermatology and Venerology to serve the needs

of local and rural populations. To date, one major centre has been set up in

Tanzania and a smaller centre in Guatemala. The establishment of another RDTC

for Asia in China is now under way. As the project advances, an appropriate

number of satellite centres will be set up throughout China.

 

 

 

The Institute of Dermatology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (IDCAMS)

in Nanjing will act as the Chinese collaborator of the project, and will be the

central training base for the RDTC. On the international side, the Global

Initiative for Traditional Systems (GIFTS) of Health, as part of the IFD-Oxford

group headed by Professor Terence J. Ryan, will be involved in the project

throughout its lifespan. A major involvement of traditional medicine in the

project has been suggested and encouraged by the chairman of GIFTS of Health,

Dr. Gerard Bodeker, International Co-Chair of WHAT Medicine.

 

 

 

 

 

3. BAD NEWS FOR PHTHALATES, GOOD NEWS FOR TRADITIONAL SKIN CARE?

 

Chemicals called phthalates, widely used in cosmetics, have been shown by a team

of American scientists to affect the normal gender development in baby boys.

Research published this month (10 June 2005) in `Environmental Health

Perspectives’, the journal of the United States National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences, has demonstrated a clear correlation between

phthalate exposure during pregnancy and subsequent genital abnormalities in male

children.

 

Boys whose mothers had the highest exposure to phthalates during pregnancy were

found to be more likely to have smaller penises and lower sperm counts, and less

likely to have full testicular descent. They also tended to have a shorter

perineum, the area between the genitals and anus, which is normally twice as

long in males as it is in females.

 

Product tests conducted for the London-based Women’s Environmental Network in

2002 found the phthalate DEP in 68 percent of personal care products tested,

including deodorant, hair care products and all the perfumes tested.

 

Parabens, another family of chemicals used in cosmetics and toiletries, have

been shown in animal studies to have similar effects, although no human trials

have yet been conducted. Not only were live birth and postnatal survival rates

decreased among newborn mice whose mothers were exposed to parabens during

pregnancy, the weights of testes, seminal vesicles and prostate glands were

significantly decreased, as well as sperm counts and sperm motile activity in

the epididymis.

 

This could all be good news for the ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ market. Sales of

herbal cosmetics and toiletries might be expected to soar over the next few

years, as safety-conscious pregnant and nursing women increasingly steer clear

of conventional products containing phthalates and parabens.

 

 

 

4. SPECIAL OFFER FOR INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITORS AT WHAT MEDICINE 2005

 

 

 

>From 10am to 7pm daily during the WHAT Medicine 2005 conference, from 23-25

August 2005, there will be an exhibition in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

Manufacturers, suppliers and traders of Asian traditional medicines and

therapies (including skin care and beauty products from traditional Asian

sources, dietary supplements, and natural/functional foods and beverages) are

invited to participate. Practitioners of Asian traditional medicine and

companies providing ancillary services related to the field (e.g. laboratory

testing, certification services, consultancy & design agencies, education, trade

associations and franchising) are also welcome.

 

 

 

We are offering an Overseas Exhibitor Package, which includes a 3m x 3m booth

and five nights’ accommodation at a four-star hotel for US$2,000. The

application deadline for those wishing to take advantage of this special offer

is 10 July 2005. A number of other booth sizes are also available. For more

information, please e-mail exhibition or visit the exhibition

page on the WHAT Medicine website: http://www.whatmedicine.org/Exhibitormain.htm