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AAMA
Newsletter
Serving the American Academy of Medical
Acupuncture
December 2001
COLORADO
Rocky Mountain Chapter held its quarterly meeting on Nov. 15, and it was
a great meeting. Members planned events for 2002, especially the next
CME conferences and how to attract more people for quarterly meetings
and conferences. New leaders elected include: President Craig Anderson,
MD; Vice President Elizabeth Sebestyen, MD, and Treasurer Karen Steinberg,
MD.
The Nov. 10 fall conference on Gentler Japanese Acupuncture Techniques
in Pain Management was postponed because of small/late interest. A similar
conference will be organized in 2002.
INDIANA
This Chapter is having an initial membership drive. If you have an e-mail
address listed in AAMA's directory, you will receive a message about the
Indiana Chapter. Contact Bill Driehorst, MD (wldmd@aol.com)
to express your interest in joining. Program suggestions and locations
are encouraged.
NEW YORK
The New York State Chapter of AAMA has been officially sanctioned. Founding
members are: President Joseph Sciammarella, MD, FACP, FACEP; Secretary/Treasurer
Bruce R. Gilbert, MD, PhD; and Directors Joseph Ippolito, MD, and Kathryn
Calabria, DO.
Intial goals of the Chapter are to recruit members, and to begin to formulate
educational goals for the upcoming year.
Those interested in joining the Chapter are invited to contact Dr. Sciammarella
(516/594-1057, joescam@mdacupuncture.net).
NORTH CAROLINA
The North Carolina Academy of Medical Acupuncture officially became a
membership organization in December 2000 and has recently been formalized
into a state chapter. Members meet once every two months in Charlotte,
NC. Outside speakers are often invited in to participate. Officers include
President Christine Hughes, MD; Vice President Neil Taub, MD, and Secretary-Treasurer
Sewell Dixon, MD. For more information contact Dr. Hughes (704/366-0030,
clhmd@yahoo.com).
AAMA's 15 Chapters are urged to send their news (bdortberg@aol.com).
Visit: www.medicalacupuncture.org
for a list.
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MARF president recaps 2001 activities
By James K. Rotchford,
MD, MPH
MARF PRESIDENT
Here's the latest news from Medical Acupuncture Research Foundation (MARF):
Acubriefs is now a year old. The database online at: www.acubriefs.com
was recently updated to include all entries made during the past year.
The Acubriefs newsletter is being read and appreciated worldwide. If you
haven't subscribed yet, please do. It's free to Academy members, and you
can easily sign up at: www.acubriefs.com.
The MARF Board recently approved providing customized acubriefs database
searches for Academy members free of charge. Most simple searches can
be done online. Sometimes, however, one has more specialized needs. For
example, MARF recently conducted a review of all the citations related
to immunology for someone writing a grant proposal for the National Institutes
of Health. MARF was able to quantify the number of references per year
that have appeared during the recent past.
MARF currently has more than 13,500 citations, making it the largest known
database of English acupuncture references. If you need specialized help
with the database, contact Acubriefs coordinator Peggy Albers (peggy@acubriefs.com).
Each year, MARF sponsors a research contest. You can link to details again
at our website: www.acubriefs.com.
Remy Coeytaux, MD, was MARF's Board representative at the White House
Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy meeting in
Washington, DC in December. He made suggestions regarding future directions
in acupuncture research. WHCCAMP's recommendations on policy and legislation
are due to the President through the secretary of health and human services
by March 2002.
MARF is taking steps to have a symposium to explore controversies in current
acupuncture research. There are many new members on the Board. If you're
interested in contributing to Board activities, please let me know (kimber@olympus.net).
You can also learn more about MARF online at: www.medicalacupuncture.org.
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By William D.
Rutenberg, MD, DABMA, Chair
MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Things have been quiet on the home front. There are no new legislative
issues. Members are still asked for comments on the federal legislation
that can be reviewed on AAMA's website (www.medicalacupuncture.org).
Send comments to me via e-mail at: wdrutenber@aol.com.
The Slide sharing project, under the chairmanship of Allen Fein, MD, has
generated a great deal of interest. Members who would like to participate
should contact Dr. Fein (631/283-6446).
AAMA welcomes its newest Chapters, New York, under the leadership of President
Joseph Sciammarella, MD, and North Carolina, under the leadership of President
Christine Hughes, MD. The Academy now has Chapters in 15 states. (See
Chapter News on page 6.) For a list of Chapters, presidents and phone
numbers, click here.
The Illinois chapter, which is in the formative stages, had an organizational
meeting chaired by David Bilstrom, MD. More than one-third of members
residing in Illinois attended, some traveling for two hours. The next
meeting will be in January 2002. Members from Illinois should contact
Dr. Bilstrom (630/434-7640) for directions to that meeting.
Academy members who have changed their e-mail address or acquired a new
one since the 2001/2002 Membership Directory was printed, please notify
me at: wdrutenber@aol.com.
I represented AAMA at the meeting of the White House Commission on Complementary
and Alternative Medicine Policy in December. The Academy is committed
to preserving and protecting the practice rights of its membership. You
can read what happened on the front page of this newsletter.
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AAMA Bookstore has Dr. Wong's second book at discounted price
The second book
in the series on Neuro-Anatomical Acupuncture by Joseph Wong, MD, has
been published and is now available from AAMA. The 202-page book, A Manual
of Neuro-Anatomical Acupuncture, Volume II, for Neurological Disorders,
is now available in AAMA's Bookstore. This book shows how to bring acupuncture
therapy to deal with modern neurological disorders. There is a clear and
detailed mapping-out of TCM acupuncture meridians and points in the head
and face, along with acupuncture studies in brain stimulation. Also presented
is an anatomical analysis of acupuncture points with reference to brain
functions, as well as an exploration of scalp acupuncture and its relationship
with TCM acupuncture points.
Originator of neuro-anatomical acupuncture, Dr. Wong has more than 40
years experience in Western medicine and acupuncture. He is a certified
medical specialist in rehabilitation medicine and a Fellow of Royal College
of Physicians, Canada. The author of A Manual of Neuro-Anatomical Acupuncture,
Volume I, for Musculo-Skeletal Disorders (also available through AAMA),
Manual of TENS, The Science of Acupuncture Therapy, Dr. Wong received
his PhD from the Open University for Complementary Medicines.
Dr. Wong's book retails for $48. However, Academy practice members can
buy it through AAMA's Bookstore at the discounted price of $40.80, plus
shipping costs of $3.50 for first book and $1.50 for each additional.
(California residents add 8% sales tax.)
To purchase a copy, fax 323/937-0959 providing your credit card information,
click here
or mail to AAMA, 4929 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 428, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
Checks or credit card (VISA or MasterCard only) are accepted.
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