News from our member in Slovenia: 
The 1^stSlovenian Acupuncture Congress will take place September 21st-23^rd 2018, Lubljana. It is part of the 11^thECIM – European Congress of Integrative medicine http://www.ecim2018-slovenia.org/first-slovenian-congress-of-acupuncture/

ICMART congratulates the Slowenian Association for Acupuncture within SZD also for the elected new board and wishes big success for all upcoming activities.

The new Board of Slovenian Acupuncture Society:
President - prim. mag.sci. Marija Cesar Komar, MD    
Vice President - Prof.dr. Zmago Turk, MD,              
Secretary - Prim Jadwiga Hajwska Kosi, MD           

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr Sukarto on Friday 29 June 2018. He is a current member of the ICMART Board representing Indonesia. He founded the Indonesian Association of Medical Acupuncture and has been the President of this Association. In 2015 he was the Congress President for the ICMART Congress held in Bali. He is a valued member of the ICMART Board and will be missed. A tribute will be published in the near future on this website.

Interested in the history of acupuncture in Latin America? Get some glimpses from the 'brief history' by Dr. Tomas Dawid, MD, Chair of ICMART Latinamerica Chapter here.

2nd International Symposium on Research in Acupuncture
AMAB, SAR

20-21October 2018, Bologna, Italy

Dear Colleagues,

The first International Symposium on Research in Acupuncture, organized in Bologna in 2015, gathered together more than 200 physicians and researchers coming from over 14 nations. It was successful for a number of reasons, but most importantly because of the increasing interest the integration of acupuncture with conventional biomedical treatments, as informed by an emerging research evidence base.

In this context, the Association of Medical Acupuncturists of Bologna (A.M.A.B.) and the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR) are organising the Second International Symposium on Research in Acupuncture, to be held on October 20th and 21st, 2018 in Bologna, Italy, at the Savoia Regency Hotel.

We will again, in Bologna, host many of the most recognized international authorities in the field of clinical and basic acupuncture research, with the final aim of providing updates and practical and authoritative insight into the most controversial aspects and issues concerning acupuncture research and its integration within healthcare systems.

Please check our program: www.acupunctureresearch.eu

Looking forward to meeting you in Bologna! 

Carlo Maria Giovanardi, MD

Scientific Committee Co-Chair-President of the Federazione Italiana delle Società di Agopuntura (F.I.S.A.)- President of the Associazione Medici Agopuntori Bolognesi (A.M.A.B.)

Vitaly Napadow, PhD, LAc

Scientific Committee Co-Chair- Massachusetts General Hospital, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, MA- Co-President of the Society for Acupuncture Research (SAR)

Welcome to the 6th Interdisciplinary Acupuncture Symposium!

www.acupuncturesymposium.com 

Dear friends and colleagues, 
the Scientific Association of Medical Acupuncture in Greece organizes the 6th Interdisciplinary Acupuncture Symposium in Athens, on the 09-10 June 2018.
This year’s symposium is focused on stress.

Stress isn’t always bad. But when we are constantly running in emergency mode, our mind and body are affected. Chronic stress can lead to serious health problems.

The congress program will contain multiple lectures and workshops concerning acupuncture clinical applications and current scientific research on our field.
Physicians, biologists, physicists and psychologists from Greece and other countries will discuss how to provide a therapeutic opportunity for a complete stress treatment and thus improve health. 

We will be delighted if you join us in this interesting scientific quest. 

Dr. Konstantina Theodoratou MD, MSc, Med.Psych
Chair of the Symposium

Dr Michael Tarabe, MD, MSc, PhD, Plastic Surgeon
Co-Chair of the Symposium

The 10^th Taipei International Chinese Medicine Congress was held in Taiwan on 17-18 of March.

2000 of participants, mostly from Asia, but also from Brazil, Canada and USA. The Prime minister of Taiwan joined the opening of the congress. As he is a western and Chinese doctor he mentioned the necessity of co-operation of the two medicines. 

ICMART signed the MoU, with the Taipei association and both sides mentioned the importance of our co-operation. The agreement is related with the scientific exchanges of the two parties but also with the cooperation on common goals of the use of acupuncture worldwide.

People from Asia were much interesting in our work and invited ICMART to join more congresses in the area.

In remembrance of Prof. John Longhurst and his wife Cherril Longhurst

John Longhurst and his wife Cherril died in a plane crash

With great dismay and sadness we have learned about the deaths of John Longhurst and his wife Cherril. The couple had departed from Gillespie airport, California on their cessna jet on the morning of February 6. Shortly after departure the plane crashed presumably due to a technical failure. 

We offer our sincerest condolences to their children Dr. Chris Longhurst, Jenny Cretu and Dana Holve.

Prof. Longhurst was nominated as congress president of the upcoming ICMART-iSAMS 2018, a joint congress of DÄGfA, ICMART, the LMU Munich and iSAMS taking place in Munich in September.

The news of John’s and Cherril’s early deaths fills us with great sorrow. We will do our best to hold the congress in his spirit.

John Longhurst was a cardiologist specialized on the prevention and treatment of cardio-vascular disease. During his career at the University of California, Irvine he had been professor of medicine, chair of the Department of Medicine, chief of the Division of Cardiology, associate dean for programs and development as well as professor at the Departments of Physiology and Biophysics at the Department of Pharmacology and at the College of Medicine. From 2003 to 2014 he was director of the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine. 

John was an internationally recognized and highly decorated expert in the field of cardiology focusing on peripheral and autonomous regulation of the cardio-vascular system. Since 1978 his research had been continuously granted by the NIH. His work also laid a solid foundation for the understanding of the role of acupuncture in the treatment of hypertension. John was an appointed member of national and international scientific and medical boards; his life's work comprises more than 190 original scientific publications as well as 63 reviews and book chapters.

John was one of the first orthodox medical practitioners and scientist, who continuously supported the implementation of acupuncture and integrative medicine in the academic community.

One year ago, John and his endearing wife Cherril had been guests at the annual meeting of DÄGfA in Bad Nauheim, Germany. In his plenary lecture on the peripheral and central mechanisms of the autonomous cardio-vascular regulation through acupuncture he clearly defined the potential of the use of acupuncture in cardiology. His calm, thoughtful and sincere manner, his open-mindedness towards acupuncture and integrative medicine and his extraordinary competences impressed us deeply.

With John we lose an important advocate for acupuncture. His sharp mind, his open spirit and the integrity in his actions were exemplary.

His greatest passion was his family and enjoying nature during countless hikes and excursions with his beloved wife Cherril.

We will preserve an honor-filled memory of John and Cherril.

The ICMART-iSAMS congress board

Munich, March 21, 2018

Encounter in Geneva with Dr. Zhang Qi, in the W.H.O. 

On 9th of February 2018, a new meeting took place in the W. H. O. headquarters in Geneva, with Dr. Zhang Qi, Director of the Department of Traditional and Complementary Medicine of this Organization. Along 90 minutes, our President Dr. Konstantina Theodoratou, and our Board Members Dr. Patrick Sautreuil and Dr. Dominik Irnich had the opportunity to exchange ideas about projects that benefit Medical Acupuncture worldwide. Health systems and current health issues have been discussed from the integrative point of view and the importance of the benefits of acupuncture use in the public health systems was highlighted.

Both parts agreed to meet more often and work together.

In the photo Dr. Zhang Qi with the ICMART delegation.

In the picture, from left to right: Dr. Rosalía Diaz, Vicepresident of FILASMA; Dr. Francisco Lozano, President of FILASMA; Dr. Konstantina Theodoratou, President of ICMART; Dr. Guillermo Chaibún, President of the Uruguayan Acupuncture Association, Dr. Tomás Dawid, Secretary of the Uruguayan Acupuncture Association and FILASMA, and Board Member of ICMART, Dr. Fernando Genschow, President of the Brazilian Medical Acupuncture College and Dr. Hildebrando Sábato, Former President of the Brazilian Medical Acupuncture College.

Submission ICMART-iSAMS Congress 2018, Munich, Germany

https://www.icmart-isams2018.org/1507898909.htm

Thank you for your willingness to contribute to the ICMART-iSAMS congress 2018!

In order to facilitate abstract review we kindly ask you to carefully read through the instructions for abstract submission.

Please submit proposals for congress contributions by filling in the submission form provided below and sending it to submission@icmart-isams2018.org. Deadline for abstract submission is June 15th, 2018.

You can choose between a contribution to a clinical or research breakfast, an oral presentation or a scientific poster. A detailed description of these four different formats is provided below.

All submissions will be reviewed by the ICMART-iSAMS 2018 scientific committee and acceptance is based on a competitive scoring system. Please indicate on the submission form if you agree that the format of your contribution may be changed according to the committee´s discretion. Notifications of acceptance or rejection of abstracts will be sent to the corresponding author by end of June 2017. You will also be informed about the congress session, date and time of presentation as well as presentation length in a notification email.

Clinical and research breakfasts

Clinical and research breakfasts are a key element of our congress to foster communication among participants. They provide the possibility for interactive round table discussions which are moderated by experts in the respective field. One clinical and one research breakfast will each be held in the morning from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. of every congress day. There will be time for three to five short oral or video presentations of five to eight minutes which should trigger discussion and critical appraisal of the respective topic. Please indicate on the submission form for which topic your submission should be considered.

Topics for clinical breakfasts

· Acupuncture and related techniques in the perioperative care setting

· Acupuncture and related techniques for depression and anxiety

· Innovative approaches for the treatment of back pain

Topics for research breakfasts

· Predictors for acupuncture effects

· Role of peripheral neuromodulators in acupuncture effects

· Effects of acupuncture on neuropathic pain – aspects from clinical and basic science

Oral presentations

Oral presentations provide the possibility to update the congress audience about latest research results, clinical and diagnostic advances as well as healthcare and education issues in the field of acupuncture and related techniques. Please classify your proposed contribution accordingly as research, clinical or healthcare/education in the submission form.

Presentation length will be 10-15 minutes. Some highly relevant or scientific excellent contributions will be selected by the scientific committee for presentations of 20-30 minutes. Congress sessions will be chaired by respective experts in the field who will encourage participants to engage in a lively discussion. Consequently, please include opportunities for questions and remarks when drafting your presentations.

Posters

Posters are the most important pillar of scientific and clinical exchange. Posters will be exhibited throughout the congress in a designated part of the community area in order to promote informal and relaxed communication. In addition, chaired poster sessions with three minute presentations per poster will be held.

Posters should illustrate latest research results, therapeutic concepts or diagnostic considerations concerning acupuncture and related techniques. Posters should use graphical elements to clearly structure the content to be conveyed. Content structure should already be recognizable in the submitted abstract.

The German Medical Acupuncture Association (DÄGfA) grants awards for the best two posters. For more information on poster awards please visit the ‘AWARDS’ tab of the congress webpage. 

Negotiations with possible sponsors for further poster awards are ongoing. Please stay aware of the notifications on our website and facebook page.

Download Abstract SubmissionForm.pdf

online registration icmart-isams congress