The art and science of Qigong, which is the foundation of all Chinese Medicine, is over 5,000 years old. Much research has been conducted over five millennia on Chinese medicine, but only recently is it being conducted using the scientific paradigms of the West.
At the Fifth World Congress of Qigong held in 2002, Beverly Rubik, Ph.D, a biophysicist, President of the Institute for Frontier Science USA, and member of the Advisory Council of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, suggested that scientists and Qigong practitioners develop clearer terms for basic theory to bridge the gap between Western and ancient Chinese medical concepts. “Nothing is fresh in the scientific terminology,” Rubik said. “Even the term ‘energy’ has been mechanized. (But) Qigong energy is a special kind of intelligent information that facilitates healing.”

The opening speaker at the World Congress was Dr. Deepak Chopra. Chopra said: “There has been a fundamental shift in the premise of science. The essential nature of the material world is that it is not material….The human body is as proportionately void as intergalactic space….We are not in the world, the world is in us.” Chopra has given a positive endorsement of Master Lin’s Spring Forest Qigong.

Over the past 15 years, there has been significant concentration of research on Qigong. Studies have been conducted on the effects of Qigong on hundreds of diseases.  
Dr. Kenneth Sancier, a PhD chemist and founder of The Qigong Institute, has conducted an extensive review of Qigong research. The following are excerpts of some of his published findings.
After extensive review of numerous qigong studies, Kenneth M. Sancier, PhD presented the following findings in a scientific report, “Medical Applications of Qigong,” published in Alternative Therapies Vol. 2, No.1, PP. 40-46 (1996)
 
Stroke and Mortality Rates Decrease
In a study of hypertensive patients over a period of 20 years, the mortality rate in the group that practiced Qigong was nearly half of the group who did not practice Qigong.

Blood Pressure Stabilizes
Over a 20-year period, blood pressure of the Qigong group stabilized, whereas that of the control group increased.

Sex Hormone Levels Improve
One consequence of aging is that levels of sex hormones change in unfavorable directions. Studies indicate that this trend [including Estrogen imbalances] can be reversed by Qigong exercise. In an auxiliary study, changes were accompanied by improvements in symptoms such as soreness, dizziness, insomnia, hair loss, impotence, and incontinence associated with kidney deficiency hypertension.

Bone Density Increases
Bone density increased in men who practiced Qigong for one year. It is likely Qigong therapy would also help restore bone density in women as well.

Cancer and Drug Treatment Improve
Patients with “medically diagnosed malignant cancer” were divided into two groups. All received drugs, but one group also practiced Qigong. “Both groups improved, but the [Qigong] group showed improvement in strength, appetite, freedom from diarrhea, and weight gain four to nine times greater than the control group.”

Senility Symptoms Improve
After six months, eight of the 14 main clinical signs and symptoms in the Qigong group had improved more than 80%, whereas no symptoms in the control group had improved more than 45%.


Bloodflow to Brain Increases. Memory Improves. Insomnia, Numbness, Vertigo Headaches , and Cholesterol Decrease
Qigong exercise has been shown by rheoencephalography to increase bloodflow to the brain. Two studies show Qigong increases bloodflow to the brain.  Subjects with cerebral arteriosclerosis who practice Qigong for one to six months, improvements were noted in symptoms such as memory, dizziness, insomnia, tinnitus, numbness of limbs, and vertigo headache. During these studies, a decrease in plasma cholesterol was also noted.

The following findings were presented by Kenneth M. Sancier, PhD in a scientific report, “Therapeutic Benefits of Qigong Exercises in Combination with Drugs” in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Vol. 5, #4, PP. 383-389 (1999).

Combination of Qigong and Drugs is Superior Drug Therapy Alone
Research shows “Qigong is believed to relax the body, promote the flow or Qi (energy), blood, oxygen, and nutrients to all cells of the body, and promote the removal of waste products from cells. We may assume that Qigong also promotes drug uptake by tissue and cells.”


The following are excerpts from an article titled, “Medical Applications of Qigong and Emitted Qi on Humans, Animals, Cell Cultures, and Plants: Review of Selected Scientific Research,” written by Kenneth M. Sancier, Ph.D., and Bingkun Hu, PhD,  that appeared in the American Journal of Acupuncture, Vol. 19, No. 4, PP. 367-377 (1991).

Tumors Reduced or Eliminated
Researchers suggest that emitted Qi damages tumor cells, inhibits their growth, promotes the regenerative function of the lymph system, and increase anti-tumorigenic function in rats. ... Therefore, such studies provide support for the numerous claims that emitted Qi and personal Qigong exercise can cure or inhibit cancer growth in humans.

Qigong Effects Cancer Cells
Researchers conclude that Qi-treated lung cancer cells tend to lose their neoplastic character, but they exhibited less of this tendency than liver cancer cells, which they also studied.

Qigong helps cure disease and promotes health
We observe that the emitted Qi affected all the functions of cell-mediated immune systems that were measured, not just one part of the system. Thus, the study offers a mechanism by which Qigong helps cure disease and promote health in a holistic way.

Helpful with HIV and AIDS
Qigong was hypothesized as being helpful to HIV-infected individuals. Anxiety, depression and T-cell counts were measured. A statistically significant increase in T-cells and a statistically significant decrease in anxiety and depression were found.