10th Anniversary Celebration UCLA Center for East–West Medicine East Meets West for Comprehensive Pain Management

Abstract

There is a new journal! For this first issue of Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM), it is especially appropriate to focus on an event at UCLA because of its significant association to Dr Ka-Kit Hui and others are members of our Editorial Board. Patient care, and perhaps any spill over into basic research, is of great interest. We are pleased to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the UCLA Center for East–West Medicine. The program began with registration and a continental breakfast followed by a welcome address and introduction by Dr Ka-Kit Hui, and then a rather extensive introduction to traditional Chinese medicine and the emerging health paradigm of integrative East–West medicine. This was followed by a break to allow the delegates to network and then a prolonged interesting presentation: Integrative East–West Medicine—The Perspective of Patients and Their Families. This presentation was open—at times touching and a bit wrenching—as patients recounted their difficulties, followed by appreciation of the East–West Center for their treatment and well-being. Post lunch, there was an expert panel discussion on pain management from the perspectives of Western medicine, complementary/alternative medicine and East–West medicine. After another afternoon break, there were two prolonged workshops on pain management that included Tai Chi/Qi Gong; Acupressure/Tuina; Herbs and Nutrition; and Advances in Western Medicine. The workshops were led by Marc Brodsky, MD; Jie-Jia Li, Lac; Xiuling Ma, Lac; Tim Pan, MD; Bill Tu, MD; and Jun Liang Yu, Lac. The speakers included Dr Michael Ferrante (MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Anesthesiology) and Dr Alan Fogelman (MD, Executive Chair, Department of Medicine). Dr Fogelman's presentation was especially pertinent since it focused on the history of the East–West Center and expressed his willingness, interest and support to Dr Ka-Kit Hui and the East–West Center. Dr Lonnie Seltzer (MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology and Psychiatry) like Dr Hui, is also a member of the Editorial Board of eCAM. Towards the end, we had another break followed by special recognition and closing remarks by Dr Hui and others. It is worthwhile to consider a brief overview of the Center.