Letter from the Editors – Volume 13 Issue 1, 2025

Modern medicine focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms of health and disease at the molecular, cellular, and systemic levels, and is characterized by its emphasis on evidence-based approaches. However, human health has been a topic of study since the dawn of civilization. In this issue of IMMpress Magazine, we seek to explore traditional medical heritages from around the world and assess their place in the ever-advancing field of medical knowledge. As we delve into these diverse practices, we aim to better understand their relevance and potential intersection with contemporary medicine, allowing for a more holistic perspective on health and healing.

We start with an infographic describing various traditional medical practices around the world that are still in use today (p. 8). This is followed by a case study on how Chinese scientist Tu Youyou and team discovered an effective anti-malarial agent based on ancient knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (p. 10). We next assess the viability of cannabinoids as an effective treatment for various health conditions due to its increasingly widespread use (p.12), followed by articles considering the different perspectives of health and wellness encapsulated by various cultures (p.14) and in traditional medicine (p.18). Our alumna interview for this issue is with Dr. Nazik Hammad, a clinician-educator from Sudan who has made great advances in medical education and global health (p. 16). We have several articles that critically analyze the scientific basis of traditional medicine as a whole (p. 20) as well as in specific practices including gua sha from TCM (p.22) and homeopathy (p. 24), followed by articles that review the current regulatory framework around traditional medicines in Canada (p. 26) and common home remedies that use traditional medical knowledge as a basis (p.27). We end off with articles analyzing how traditional medicine may integrate into a Western medical framework (p.28), as well as how current technologies can advance traditional medical knowledge further into the future (p.30).

We would like to thank our wonderful team of writers, editors, and designers for making this issue of IMMpress Magazine possible, and we hope our readers enjoy this latest issue!