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Translated from ´El País´, España
The darkest side of the expansion of traditional Chinese medicine
The diagnosis and treatment system of this Asian practice is not based on scientific evidence but on the superstitions of millennia ago
Traditional Chinese medicine uses bee stingers against cancer. AFP/GETTY IMAGES ED JONES
Ancestral, millenary, mystical ... Around the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) there is a kind of ethereal and magical aura. In fact, the existence of either the energy or vital force called "Chi" or the concepts of Yin and Yang, basic pillars on which the TCM is based, has never been demonstrated. Nor has it been any obstacle for TCM that these principles contradict what we know for sure about the functioning of the human body. According to this diagnosis and treatment system, whose knowledge goes back more than 2,500 years ago, the disease appears when the flow of vital energy is disturbed and there is an imbalance of Yin and Yang . Therefore, the role of the TCM is restore that balance to restore health through acupuncture, medicinal herbs, moxibustion, manual therapies ... It may be that millennia ago, when medical knowledge was limited and very poor, these ideas made some sense. However, accepting them today involves throwing away many years and medical research efforts to establish solid knowledge about how the human body works and how diseases occur. If at the time we discarded the ancient and millenial theory of humors, why is the TCM still in force? Unfortunately, the answer lies more in Chinese socio-cultural and political reasons than in the scientific evidence and the effectiveness of its treatments. After the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911, the TCM was banned for being considered superchery and its practice was clearly declining. However, after 1949, with the Establishment of the People's Republic of China, and the lack of resources to treat the entire population with modern medicine, the TCM was used as a much more affordable alternative to serve people. In addition, the villagers, who strongly supported the Republic, were believers in this discipline. Thus, the government recognized the TCM with the same validity as Western and scientific medicine in 1955. Since then, this discipline has been slowly expanding in and out of the borders of the Asian giant. University in Barcelona In recent years, the Chinese government led by Xi Jinping has been aggressively promoting TCM at unprecedented levels as part of its cultural pride and a business that moves billions of euros worldwide. So much so that in 2016 a national strategy was developed with the objective that in 2020 there would be universal access to the TCM. As The Economist detailed : TCM licensed practitioners have increased 50% in the last six years and the hospitals that offer it among their services have increased from 2,500 in 2003 to around 4,000 at the end of 2015. In addition, through the Confucius Institutes network, they have promoted the teaching of TCM beyond their borders and TCM centers have been opened in dozens of cities worldwide, including Barcelona where a university center is planned to be launched by 2020 , the result of an agreement between the Chinese and Catalan political authorities. Even the medical tourism of the TCM is flourishing: in recent years tens of thousands of foreigners come to China to receive their treatments. With all this promotion, the business of selling Chinese remedies is going well.
In the midst of this climate of euphoria in the promotion of TCM, the Chinese government has achieved an unprecedented milestone that supposes the definitive endorsement of its strategy. For the first time in history, WHO has recognized TCM and its diagnoses in the new version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) . This is an influential manual created by panels of experts and used by doctors worldwide to register, classify and document diseases and causes of death and that plays a crucial role in conducting epidemiological studies and raising public health measures. It is a kind of "Rosetta stone" of medicine, because it allows to standardize diseases from countries around the world to universal codes that allow international comparisons. Among diseases recognized as Alzheimer's disease or type II diabetes in ICD-11, we now also find "diseases" defined by TCM in Chapter 26 such as "stagnation of the liver chi" or "meridian syndrome triple heater ". By 2022, with the official entry into force of ICD-11, the concepts behind these "diseases" defined by the TCM will be further developed. Thus, this inclusion is a great success for the TCM that will be supported in worldwide appearance by WHO, in the eyes of people who do not truly understand what this means. In fact, WHO itself has qualified this controversial incorporation of TCM : "A critical point in the entry into the ICD is that inclusion or exclusion is not a judgment of the validity of a disease or the efficacy of a treatment. Therefore, the inclusion for the first time of traditional medicine is a way of recording epidemiological data on diseases described in ancient Chinese medicine, commonly used in China, Japan, Korea and other parts of the world. " This clarification, however, will probably be ignored by those who use ICD-11 as an argument in favor of the TCM. This boom of the TCM is having and will have disastrous consequences for both humans and a multitude of endangered species. With regard to humans, TCM is a diagnosis and treatment system not based on scientific evidence but on the superstitions of millennia ago. Scientists around the world have spent millions of euros to perform quality clinical trials that provide evidence on the real effectiveness of Chinese therapies and remedies. The result? Only a handful of treatments with medicinal plants has proven effective to treat certain health problems. Neither acupuncture , nor moxibustion , nor gua sha , nor cupping , nor many other therapies applied by TCM have been able to demonstrate benefit beyond the placebo effect. Meanwhile, two thirds of TCM therapies still have not passed any rigorous scientific evaluation .
No proven effectiveness In spite of everything, the Chinese government is promoting these practices as a whole, without assessing, at any time, their lack of effectiveness. In addition, criticizing certain TCM remedies within China can be a risky practice. Tan Qindong, an anesthesiologist, spent three months in jail for criticizing a quack tonic for the elderly and considering him "poison." Why? The laws of the country allow entry into prison for damaging the reputation of companies and causing economic damage. On the other hand, criticisms of the remedies are frequently blocked through the Internet in China, and there are documented cases of scientific studies that have been withdrawn at the request of TCM associations. Doctors and lawyers are afraid of trying to silence critical voices with the TCM in a country that is determined to take it further. To the generalized inefficiency of the TCM are the adverse effects and the very poor quality of traditional Chinese medicines. A study published in 2015 found that an undeclared drug was present in 50% of the TCM remedies . In addition, 92% of remedies had some kind of contamination with toxic substances (such as heavy metals) or replacement of components. It is no surprise that, every year in China, the authorities are informed of more than 230,000 adverse effects from TCM remedies.
The abandonment of proven efficacy treatments by resorting to TCM is another great danger. Recently, the news picked up the dramatic case of an Australian boy who died by rejecting his parents the treatment he was following with insulin and resorting to an TCM practitioner who treated him to slapping (a Chinese discipline called "paida lajin") until he died . Cases like this show the serious risks of expanding the TCM at any price, without a critical evaluation of its real effectiveness.
Traditional Chinese medicine market, Bozhou. China. GETTY IMAGES
Endangered species Unfortunately, the dangers of TCM are not limited to humans, 22% of the 112 ingredients most used by this discipline come from endangered species. Shark fins, pangolin blood, rhinoceros horns, tiger bones, jaguar fangs, black bear bile ... The list of threatened animals that are hunted and sold on the black market to be part of the TCM is very extensive . The expansion of TCM around the world poses an even greater risk for threatened species that are part of the list of ingredients of remedies that, in addition, have never shown benefits and are based on magical thoughts. This is the case, for example, of the pangolin, an endangered species that is hunted, among other reasons, to get its blood that, supposedly, brings virility to the men who consume it. The last twist of the TCM in its role in species extinction occurred when the Chinese government announced a few weeks ago that China was going to legalize the rhinoceros horn and tiger bone for medical purposes . Only a few days ago, the authorities backed down with this measure and said they were going to postpone it after studying it without clarifying what will really happen. In the midst of the turmoil of the promotion of TCM, both the survival of endangered species and the health of patients are collateral damage. Thus, arrogant pride in their own traditions and economic benefits are the only winners of an TCM in full expansion. |
