Huangpu lawmakers seal of approval for unique TCM clinic
The LAM clinic of Xiangshan TCM Hospital serves patients.
The Xiangshan Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Hospital of Huangpu District has become China's only hospital capable of diagnosing and treating a rare lung disease affecting primarily women of childbearing age.
Legislators from the Huangpu People's Congress conducted an inspection on the specialized lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) clinic at the hospital on Thursday. The inspection aims to underscore the government's commitment to supporting traditional Chinese medical approaches in treating rare diseases.
The clinic has been at the forefront of integrating Chinese and Western medicine to provide effective treatments for the rare lung disease.
The legislators' tour was to evaluate and possibly boost the clinic's resources as part of broader health initiatives in the region.
The specialized LAM clinic at the hospital serves a third of China's LAM patients.
The hospital at 528 Fuxing Road M. has specialized in LAM since 2008. In 2023 alone, the hospital's specialized clinic served 757 patients and has established health records for 336 individuals, accounting for over a third of diagnosed cases nationwide, according to Chai Liping, president of the hospital and a Huangpu legislator.
Under the leadership of Wu Jialiang, the hospital has developed a unique approach using traditional Chinese herbal medicine, which has not only improved symptoms such as chest fluid accumulation and breathing difficulties, but also reduced the side effects of conventional treatments like sirolimus, a drug commonly used to treat LAM.
The national health authorities have endorsed the hospital as the sole TCM center for LAM treatment in China, according to the hospital.
