Nature publishes a News story today (5 April) about China’s plans to modernize traditional medicine. (Nature 446, 590-591; 2007; subscription or site licence required). The article describes China’s plans to bring traditional medicine in line with modern standards, but reports scepticism among many about whether the research will reach “the scientific standards necessary for international recognition”.

Some critics also worry that the plan doesn’t set strict enough scientific standards. Although clinical research is listed as a priority, the plan doesn’t specify whether there should be randomized, controlled trials in which neither practitioners nor patients know who is receiving active remedy and who is getting a placebo. And there is no requirement for TCM researchers to publish in internationally recognized journals. “Most research on TCM in the past is of poor quality, and is published only in Chinese medical journals without proper peer-review processes,” remarks Wang [director of the National Centre for Drug Screening at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica]. “Without a clear position from the government, it is unlikely that the situation will change.”

Other similar concerns, and the question of whether traditional medicine is even susceptible to a mechanistic approach, are discussed in the News article.