National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine    Acupuncture Center of Excellence for the Neuroimaging of Acupuncture Effects on Human Brain Activity Specialty: Acupuncture Principal Investigator: Bruce Rosen, M.D., Ph.D. Address: Massachusetts General Hospital Department of NMR/Radiology 149 13th St., Bldg 149 #2301 Charlestown, MA 02129 Description: This Center aims to increase understanding of the neural basis for the effects of acupuncture through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging. The Center will test the hypothesis that acupuncture generates a widespread response in the brain, and that the brain's limbic system plays a central role in this response. This Center will also explore the neural basis of deqi, a unique acupuncture sensation that is considered essential to clinical efficacy in traditional Chinese acupuncture. NESA Acupuncture Research Collaborative Specialty: Acupuncture Principal Investigator: Peter Wayne, Ph.D. Address: New England School of Acupuncture Research Department 40 Belmont Street Watertown, MA 02472 Description: This Developmental Center for Research will bring together leaders from the Oriental medicine (OM) and conventional medicine communities to critically evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupuncture, and to develop sound methodologies for acupuncture research. The Center will strengthen and build upon ongoing collaborations between the NESA and two other HMS-affiliated institutions, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Children's Hospital Boston. The Center will support three exploratory studies, including one that will try to assess the reliability of a method for reaching traditional OM diagnoses in the context of clinical trials. This study will also explore issues related to the individualization of acupuncture treatments in the context of clinical trials, appropriate controls for acupuncture clinical trials, and the development of outcome measures consistent with the philosophy of traditional OM. Other studies will assess the benefits of acupuncture as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of chronic pain in young women with endometriosis, and in the treatment of women with ovarian cancer who are receiving chemotherapy. Academic and administrative mentoring programs are an integral part of this Center's mission. An important goal of the Center will be to enable NESA to play the lead role in the future submission to NIH of competitive applications that build upon these exploratory studies. CAM as Countermeasures Against Infectious and Inflammatory Disease Principal Investigator: Mark A. Jutila, Ph.D. Address: Montana State University, Bozeman 309 Montana Hall Bozeman, MT 59717 This center will study biologically based CAM therapies and their effects on immune system function in infectious and inflammatory diseases. One project focuses on effects of botanical extracts—from apple polyphenols, which are concentrated in apple skins, and from yamoa, which comes from the bark of an African gum tree—on white blood cells, using models of infection and inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. A second project examines two compounds in licorice root—glycyrrhizin and 18-glyrrhetinic acid—for their potential antiviral effects in models of influenza and small intestine infection. A third project will focus on bacterial products to see how they treat autoimmune diseases, like arthritis, which may also help build understanding of probiotics' action. Center for Herbal Research on Colorectal Cancer Principal Investigator: Chun-Su Yuan, M.D., Ph.D. Address: University of Chicago 5801 S. Ellis Ave Chicago, IL 60637 Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Dr. Yuan and his colleagues will examine the anti-tumor effects of different preparations of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and notoginseng (Panax notoginseng). They will seek to learn more, through laboratory and animal studies, about how these traditionally used botanicals act upon cellular and molecular pathways involved in cancer. Energy Medicine Center for Mechanisms Underlying Millimeter Wave Therapy Specialty: Millimeter Wave Therapy Principal Investigator: Marvin Ziskin, M.D. Address: Temple University Commonwealth Center for Biomedical Physics 3420 North Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19140 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). Mind-Body Medicine Complementary/Alternative Medicine: Expectancy and Outcome Specialty: Mind-Body Medicine Principal Investigator: Barry Oken, M.D. Address: Oregon Health and Science University Department Of Neurology 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road Portland,OR 97239 Description: This collaboration will focus on defining and understanding patient expectation and other factors related to patient-provider interactions that produce desired biological effects. The long-term goal of the investigators is to develop strategies to maximize the benefits from these factors, improve clinical trial design, and gain insight into mechanisms underlying mind-body medicine. This new center will foster the existing relationships within a unique collaborative effort involving Oregon Health and Science University, the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, and Western States Chiropractic College. Metabolic and Immunologic Effects of Meditation Specialty: Meditation Principal Investigator: Frederick M. Hecht, M.D. Address: University of California, San Francisco 3333 California Street, Suite 315 San Francisco, CA 94143-0962 Description: This center will study a program combining mindfulness meditation, mindful eating (the practice of awareness and attentiveness in the present moment while eating), and a diet and exercise program, for use in obesity and metabolic syndrome. They will test whether this program helps alter participants' hormonal responses to stress and helps enhance and maintain weight loss. Metabolic syndrome involves a cluster of abnormalities—including increased cholesterol, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance—that increases one's risk for developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Wisconsin Center for the Neuroscience and Psychophysiology of Meditation Specialty: Meditation Principal Investigator: Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. Address: University of Wisconsin, Madison 21 N. Park Street, Suite 6401 Madison, WI 53715-1218 Description: This center will examine the impact of two forms of meditation—loving-kindness/compassion meditation and mindfulness meditation—on the brain and body, focusing on the regulation of emotion and on emotional reactivity. Potential applications in health include biological and behavioral processes linked with emotions and/or stress, such as recurrent depression. Traditional Chinese Medicine Alternative Therapies for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Specialty: Traditional Chinese Medicine Principal Investigator: Yue-Wei Lee, Ph.D. Address: McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School Mailman Research Center Bio-organic and Natural Product Laboratory 115 Mill Street Belmont, MA 02478 Description: Center investigators will evaluate whether two traditional Chinese herbal remedies and an electrical acupuncture technique can be used to prevent addiction relapse and craving for alcohol and drugs of abuse. The four interactive projects will encompass the biochemical and biological standardization and characterization of the herbal remedies, test their effect in vitro and in animals, and perform a clinical evaluation of efficacy. In addition, the effectiveness of the electroacupuncture technique in animals and human participants will be evaluated. Center for Chinese Herbal Therapy Specialty: Chinese Herbal Therapy Principal Investigator: Xiu-Min Li, M.D. Address: Mount Sinai School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics 1 Gustave Levy Place Box 1198 New York, NY 10029 Center researchers will investigate a three-herb Chinese formula (known as ASHMI) 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. Center for Phytomedicine Research Specialty: Botanicals Principal Investigator: Barbara N. Timmermann, Ph.D. Address: Arizona Center for Phytomedicine Research University of Arizona College of Pharmacy 1703 E. Mabel P.O. Box 210207 Tucson, AZ 85721-0207 Description: The Center will focus on three botanicals (ginger, turmeric, and boswellia) widely used in Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Ayurveda, a medical system primarily practiced in India for 5,000 years, includes diet and herbal remedies, while emphasizing the body, mind, and spirit in disease prevention and treatment. The UA researchers propose to identify the active constituents of these three herbs and study their pharmacological activity. This research will lead to clinical studies of arthritis and other chronic inflammatory conditions, including respiratory diseases such as asthma. The UA group is recognized for their work in natural products chemistry research. It is anticipated that their future research efforts also will be important to the field of complementary and alternative medicine. Functional Bowel Disorders in Chinese Medicine Specialty: Traditional Chinese Medicine Principal Investigator: Brian Berman, M.D. Address: Kernan Hospital Center for Integrative Medicine 2200 Kernan Drive Baltimore, MD 21207 Description: This center will conduct multidisciplinary research on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practices-acupuncture and herbs—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.